Interrogation: Teixeira

Posted on 15 Nov 2016 @ 7:23am by Commander Thiago Teixeira & Lieutenant Commander Temerant Bast

1,252 words; about a 6 minute read

The interrogation room was a small room, barely ten square meters. It was dark and damp, and very sparse - there was nothing in the room save for a chair. However, unlike the holding cell where they had all been confined, there was a hint of technology here. The faint hum of some sort of technology could be heard, and although the room's periphery was very dark, there was a bright spot in the center, illuminating the chair, where the Hunters pushed down their guest.

Thiago grunted as he was forced onto the chair. Immediately, he rose to his feet but an elbow from one of his captors quickly felled him. He crumpled back onto the chair, struggling to catch his breath. His chest still hurt from when Executor Kreller had pinned him down with a heavy boot, causing even greater strain to his attempts at evening out his breathing. The sound of the door slamming shut solidly caused him to look up. He was able to just make out the sound of a mechanical locking system sealing him into the confined space. Still sitting, he studied the walls, the floor, the ceiling, trying to find some way to escape. He slowly stood and walked towards the door.

The Interrogator leaned on his staff and examined the subject, shrouded as he was in the darkness at the far end of the room. From all indications, he was the leader of the group, and was the likeliest subject to offer the information they wanted. Executor Kreller had demanded information on their ship's weapons, and it was the Interrogator's job to get that information. His colleagues were already hard at work in other cells, but this one...

He quietly inserted himself in the captive's mind. As he approached the door, the Interrogator planted screams in the man's mind. The screams of his colleagues, painful and distressing - the screams of one who is being tortured. He planted the certainty that the man's crew was being tortured, and guilt with the knowledge that it might be his fault.

Through the door, the walls, even the floor and ceiling, Teixeira could hear the anguishing sounds of the Cochrane's crew. He pounded on the door with his balled up hands, his rational judgement clouded by his emotions. His crew was suffering. He needed to help them. "OPEN, DAMN YOU!" he shouted.

Were it not for his emotional state, Thiago might have been surprised when the door did, in fact, open. Instead, he gave the heavy door a shove, opening it faster, and then sprinted down the hall. He wasn’t sure where he was going; he just followed the screams.

Down the corridor he ran, stopping only when he came to a door, very much like the one from behind which he had escaped. He spotted the control mechanism and attempted to trigger the door’s lock. When the control was unresponsive, he pulled off the small access panel and furiously tried to manually activate the unlock sequence. It took several tries before he managed to find the proper set of capacitors to overload. A quick flash of light and the acrid smell of ozone went unnoticed by the Brazilian Commander, his focus instead on the door, which was now ajar. Pulling the door open, Teixeira was stunned by what he saw. The room was full of people from the Cochrane. Some were in obvious pain, while others just looked tired and defeated.

Behind him, the sound of pounding feet in the corridor alerted him to the approach of guards. When the first of the two Hunters got within reach, Thiago lashed out with a foot, planting his boot squarely in the chest of the red-clad reptilian humanoid. The Hunter fell back, trying to catch his breath. The second Hunter swung a heavy glove-covered fist, which Teixeira managed to just avoid. He retaliated with a palm thrust to his attacker’s throat, and followed that up with a knee to the stomach. The first Hunter, having regained his composure, came at him again. This time, the Cochrane’s acting CO was on the receiving end of several blows before he was able to maneuver and manage to grab a handful of the Hunter’s uniform. Thiago moved swiftly, turning while dropping to a knee and pulling the guard over his shoulder and to the ground. His fist followed through and connected with the Hunter’s face. Thiago stood briefly before dropping again to his knee, this time driving it into the throat of the fallen guard.

Before he could stand, the second Hunter grabbed him from behind, wrapping his arm around Teixeira’s neck, cutting off his airflow. He struggled, his vision starting to get fuzzy. His struggles seemed fruitless, the Hunter had caught him in a vulnerable position. Suddenly, the Hunter went slack, his grip around Thiago’s neck released. As Teixeira coughed and gasped, he looked up to see a Starfleet crewman holding the weapon of the fallen Hunter.

"Thank you Crewman," he said between deep breaths.

They needed to get back to the Cochrane. It was their only chance of survival. Without comm badges, they couldn’t contact the ship. But the Hunters had to have some sort of communication devices. He bent down and searched the body of one of the guards. He quickly discovered a small device that appeared to serve as a communicator. He activated it. "Teixeira to Cochrane."

The Cochrane’s computer made a short series of noises, indicating that the ship was listening. "Lock onto the bio-signs in this room and beam us up," he instructed.

======

Stepping back onto the bridge, Thiago marched to the Captain’s chair. "Evasive!" he commanded as he lowered himself into the chair.

The Cochrane began to move, putting distance between the crew and their captors.

"They’re pursuing," a voice called from behind him.

"Target their weapons," he ordered. "Fire at will."

The viewscreen showed the phaser beams lance out across the distance and land on the shields of the Confederate ship on their tail. A torpedo streaked towards the Cochrane. The ship rocked as the projectile impacted.

"They are too powerful, Captain," another voice said.

Thiago stood. "Keep firing. If we can take their weapons out, we stand a better chance."

The battle continued back and forth, with the Intrepid-class Cochrane getting battered by the Confederate ship.
"Prepare a tricobalt, standard yield. I’m not letting them capture us again."

For several more minutes, the two ships exchanged weapons fire. Both ships had taken damage, but the Cochrane was losing handily.

"Captain, tricobalt ready."

"Helm, once the tricobalt hits, get us the hell out of here," he said. "Fire."

The device sped towards the Confederate battleship. It impacted and Thiago watched the explosion envelope the massive warship. The bridge was bathed in light from the destruction, causing Thiago to shield his eyes with his hand.

Lowering his hand, he found himself still in the cell. He looked up and saw a Selamat standing over him.
At that moment, the door opened and Bast shot the Selamat.

"Commander," said Bast. "Ready to get out of here?"

Teixeira, confused by his recent escape experience, took a second to answer. He quickly abandoned his desire to make sense of his memory. "Absolutely Temerent." He motioned to the two weapons the Trill officer was carrying. "Mind sharing?"

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