A prison is still a prison
Posted on 18 Sep 2013 @ 10:07pm by Commodore Da`nal of the House of Varal
1,451 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
M10: Divine Intervention
Location: Nahroo Dungeon
Based on my last post we will all wake up bruised from the ride, we will also be chained but the cell will be 'progressive' for the era - un infested blankets, clean, shackles are beveled to prevent injury, freshwater, etc.
The lack of normal sounds brought Mallory out of his enforced sleep. Instead of trying to move around, he kept still and used his senses to gather information. The first thing that caught his attention was the feel of metal wrapped in a set of bands on his wrists and legs. The feel of the air was cool without being cold, and at least fresh, with the smell of water predominant. A moment more was taken to listen for footsteps or other human sounds, like snoring, from around him.
Da`nal rolled to his side as he woke. His abs ached and he smelled the sweat of an animal on his clothing. Whoever found them most have thrown them across the haunches and rode here...after someone had struck him. He raised his shackled hand to his forehead but as he did he noticed the shackle itself; they were beveled to prevent injury to the prisoner.
Sitting up he glanced around him. Stone construction, heavy wooden door, and fresh straw. The window were high and narrow to allow air flow but would prevent escape. Mallory laid opposite him and Lantiq to his left; to his right Bnor snored and Har'tar was no where to be seen. Was she in a separate cell or was she elsewhere? Being Andorian probably had her in great danger. Wherever...Whenever they were she was probably dead having been considered a demon of some kind.
"Commander...Chief, are you injured?"
"Light bruising from what was probably our ride over here to my ribs. Something tells me we aren't in Kansas anymore." Mallory responded while sitting up. "Permission to kick the snorer?" he asked in a humorous tone while taking in their surroundings. Something felt off to him.
Da`nal shook his head slightly. "Denied."
Lantiq was dreaming, if a nightmare is still called a dream. He had been asleep in his dream, when suddenly rough hands had grabbed him, holding him down while manacles and chains were forced on his wrists, he had been captured by the Cardassians again! He had tried to struggled and received a kick in the head, that had pushed him face down in the mud.
Now he became simultaneously aware of two things he was laying on something hard and cold and there was a foul taste in his mouth. His eyes blinked open, the was a gray stone wall a few inches from his face. The stones looked heavy and solid, the floor beneath him felt like the stones looked. Not what was usually in the brig of a Cardassian ship...
The nasty taste continued, he consider it further as he awoke more. Then sat up quickly and spat a gob of sticky mud from his mouth, drawing in a deep breath of air.
He sat there facing the wall breathing deeply, the air was damp and cool, but certainly not sweet, there was a rank musty odour. He heard voices behind him, voices he recognized, but not from his Bajoran past and now he realized he was in the present, not in a flashback to Bajor.
Lantiq shuffled around, Da'nal and Mallory were there, both shackled as he was, both grubby with mud, Bnor was laying down.
He spat out another clump of mud.
"So much for the Lord Father's integrity!" he snorted "Some kind of transporter interdiction maybe? So they could swap civilian archeologists for Starfleet officers as hostages?"
"That didn't feel like the transporter, and this doesn't feel like the right area sir. I didn't see animals on the last group, nor in the area, so I think something else happened. My phaser and tricorder are gone, and I don't feel any of the concealed weapons, so I was at least searched pretty thoroughly. How about either of you?" Mallory asked after a quick check.
Da`nal felt the hem of his jacket and felt nothing, his blade was gone as well. "Agreed. And this doesn't look like modern construction, more like something out of a history text. Regardless of where we are we need to get out of here." Turning he moved to where his chains were anchored to the wall. He examined the stone and pulled at the chain securing him to the wall, seem solid enough.
Just then a there was a sound at the door. There was the sound of metal on metal as the lock was opened and the door pushed inward. Two larger, armed guards entered followed by a man with a tray. The scents coming from the tray reminded him that it had been some time since he had eaten. After placing the tray down the trio left and resealed the door.
Lantiq watched the trio enter and leave closely, the men were oddly dressed and while two appeared to be warriors or guards there was a certain nervousness about them. Like they not quite sure of their captives capabilities.
Looking to his officers as he approached the tray. "Swords and daggers, leather and plate armor...", picking up one of the bowls, "...crude pottery and carved wooden utensils. I think we need to add When as well as where to our possible locations."
"When?" Lantiq asked, "You mean when in time Admiral? I'm not sure about that, we could have been beamed to a lower technological area of the planet. Or even off planet to another world. I've never heard to time travel being done without a starship..."
As he took in the sights, Mallory's thoughts were running parallel to the Admiral's. Reaching for the bowl, he sniffed at the mixture inside it. "Not necessarily Commander. We were in the middle of a transport, which changes the rules. I can't explain the why being former Intel, but my friend in DTI could. Something about energy states. I think he's right we need to add when, but until nighttime and we can look at the star patterns, it'll be hard to know for sure." He commented, tempted to eat what was in the bowl as his stomach started making noise.
"Look at the contraction Commander. These are stacked stones without mortar, wrought iron chains, and wooden hinged doors with mechanical locks...that's a t least a millennia of difference on any warp capable planet. Even the most ancient structures of the Klingon Empire have been reinforced and modernized. We need to find out more about what is going on, but in the meantime we need to keep up our strength."
Reaching down he took a twist of the dried meat and spooned himself some of the meal. Tasting cautiously it was thick with a sweet nutty flavor and he nodded. "Eat...that's an order."
There was a moment of apprehension as the Admiral ate without letting it be fully checked, but then they didn't have to the tools to run an analysis. "Eating." Mallory responded while taking a spoon of the substance. The taste reminded him somewhat of a cross between a pecan and an almond, with a thicker texture. "You know, I taste almond, which can mean cyanide." He remarked to them both in general as he continued to eat through the bowl.
Lantiq snorted softly and took a large spoonful "If they meant to kill us Chief, I think we'd have woken up with our throats slit" he said with a grin "Hmmm, it's not bad, kind of like nut porridge and biltong"
Looking around as he ate he mused "Well I figure, wherever we are, sometime soon we'll get a visit from somebody in charge of the guards. Where do you think the others are?"
"I didn't have a chance to read up on the history of this planet, but if they're more feudal or medieval, the females would be in separate 'accommodations'. Also depends on how xenophobic they are, and religious types tend to be the most. Do we even know if the UT's are still working?" Mallory asked as he finished off the bowl and set it back down. Standing again, he started to examine the walls and door to see if there was something they could use.
Da`nal nodded as he finished another bite of the jerky. "When we do we better have a plausible cover story to explain things. If we are in the planets past the Temporal Prime Directive applies. Suggestions."
Rear-Admiral Da`nal
Commanding Officer
LtCmdr Lantiq Ryal
XO
CWO Mitchell Mallory
Acting CSec/CTac
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