Star Trek: Starbase 777 - interrogation-chamber

The interrogation chamber was well-lit, unlike most of the ship. Surely this was to keep the interrogation subject from falling asleep, which was a moot idea with its current occupant, but still. Tavek sat on an uncomfortable metal chair, hands cuffed to the metal table, which was bolted to the floor. Sitting opposite him, in a significantly more comfortable chair, sat Vici, arms crossed as they waited for Tavek to wake back up.

Since Tavek’s sleep was rather.. voluntary on his part, he’d been jostled to the point of waking up a few times and he’d had to will himself not to open his eyes, he woke up and his eyes shot open almost as soon as he’d been cuffed to the table. The uncomfortable part of it all was also moot, as his pain sensors were off and so was his sense of touch in all but his hands and feet. The cold metal, he didn’t mind, it was familiar to him considering how much metal he worked with. The thing that did it for him was the restraint. It felt the exact same as when he’d woken up for the very first time, new to everything, lights overwhelming, he had not been received gently into this world by any stretch of the imagination and that had broken him forever on a base level in its own way. He didn’t let it show. He let the emotions rage and crash around in his mind like the most violent of tempests, but it did not show. He willed his face into stone, and he physically could not cry. The only thing that could be seen was a small eye twitch, quickly stilled into a defiant, close-lipped stare.

"Ah, you're awake again. Such an obedient little robot you are, you know? I had a feeling you would be, but you surprised me with how little you fight back." Vici smiled, standing up from their chair to walk over to Tavek, looming over him in a way that would otherwise be difficult to do for a skinny guy of a moderate height, but since Tavek was sitting down, they got the opportunity. "Lieutenant Junior Grade Tavek tr'Lliehn, it's an honour to be allowed to welcome you to my favourite little corner of this prison. Would you like to charge?"

“I like my friends enough to not want to risk them. In a different time, perhaps I would have. You’ve just caught be at a time where I have bigger priorities than myself.” He said plainly, voice not giving much away. Did he think he was pathetic? Was he about to let this asshole know that? No. And plus, it was best to leave the show until later, when it could be actually advantageous. Then he could give this person whatever end seemed fitting enough, if he got the chance. A smart soldier knew the time to strike. Now was not the time. Honestly, it was kind of funny to him that Vici had to stand up and walk super close in order to actually loom over him- since Tavek was both bigger and taller, but it was also pathetic on Tavek’s end in its own way. He didn’t let his thoughts about it show. “Ah, I was wondering if you all were about to let us drain to zero over here. I’ll take the charge- do be warned though, I am a strangely built system, it took years of work on my own to fix things to function semi-normal, and any meddling on your end is just as liable to end horribly for you as it is to end horribly for me.” He hoped the other poor android would be allowed to charge too, he knew she’d lose battery faster than him.

"Oh, you're just so noble," Vici said, with a fake-ass sympathetic pout on their face. They clearly didn't care what priorities Tavek had, nor did they care for any sob story or righteous convictions. They fetched a cable, plugged it into the wall, brought it over to Tavek with a little PADD of some sort in their other hand. "Where's your charging port? I'm not worried about your dumb systems, I'm smart enough to keep you alive." (edited)

He didn’t respond. Tavek’s main strategy, at the moment, was just silence. It had always been. Morph into an unthinking machine, do what was needed, and burn and weld and glue his wounds closed when it was over. There was no time to heal. There never was. He had been broken from the start and no amount of coping would glue him back together. “It’s in my neck. Left side.” He shook his head so his hair would move, revealing a small portion of.

"Good. Let's keep up the good work." As Vici connected the charging cable, Tavek could immediately feel his battery filling, the current a little low but certainly prolonging his battery. "I think we both know who you are, right? Let's not sit here and pretend we aren't both fully aware who you are, so: how have you been, Tavek- can I call you Tavek? I'm going to call you Tavek. How have you been? What's been going on since you... left the Tal Shiar's tender care?" Looking at Vici, there was no way they were old enough to have been in service when Tavek was last in Tal Shiar custody. They looked maybe halfway into their twenties, at most. It seemed they'd done their research, though. (edited)

Fuck, sweet energetic relief, even if it was a little low current. He couldn’t help but let out a tiny bit of a sigh. He wasn’t doing horribly on battery yet, but this would certainly keep him going. Now, to talk his ass off for as long as he possibly could so he could charge. And yapping was his specialty. “Oh, you’ve done your research, I see. What a treat to finally meet someone who’s heard of my prior years. Bit young to have been there fifteen years ago.. it must have been a sight to see, abusing someone the second he started to exist. Thankfully, I’m too stubborn to die two days into existing.” He said coldly. Oh, he remembered it all so sharply. Some of his memories- the boring stretches- were compressed to save space, just like a person. But unlike a person, he remembered his “birth” in perfect, clear agony. He didn’t know if it was worse being insulted, interrogated, tortured, murdered, when he was essentially a child, not knowing anything and having nothing to lose- or now, when he had everything to lose. “It’s been pretty decent. Certainly better than the first two days of my life with your lot. Traveling the galaxy.. honing my craft.. In the end, I wind up back where it all began, a changed man. Poetic, no?” The feigned confidence still held strong- Tavek had always prided himself on it. If one was observant, though, the eye twitch was back in full force, the only evidence of emotion behind the stone mask. “Call me whatever you want. In the end, it doesn’t matter.” He said, head still held high, with an air of grace despite it all.

"You talk a lot of nonsense for someone in your position, Tavek," Vici responded coldly. "I'm being exceedingly gracious here, allowing you to charge your battery. You run inefficiently, lose heat like nothing else. You're more advanced than you were fifteen years ago, when you were little more than an unoptimised hunk of junk. You grew up! Congratulations." Suddenly the current got a lot stronger, ramping up in a way that threatened his circuits with melting, not used to the amount of electricity coursing through his mechanical veins. Then, it fell back down to the small current it had been initially. "Let's try that again though. Less about the too stubborn to die in two days, or of how much of a changed man you are. How have you been? What led you to the Federation? I am genuinely interested, you know."

“The charge is genuinely appreciated. The first genuine thing he’d said all day- but maybe he spoke too soon. He flinched automatically as the current surged- each muscle suddenly seized like they were on fire and then went back to normal, and that had forced a pain signal, clear as day as hellish as acid dripped into him- he visibly grit his teeth against it until the feeling died down. “Agh- I mainly came for Starfleet. I was always an engineer at my core. I did more maintenance on ships and repairs on myself than just about anything else. I wanted to actually become an engineer. Figured I could make it in Starfleet. Studied to be a roboticist at the Academy and went off into space. I’ve been doing better than I was before.” He wondered why Vici was so curious. What motives did they have? He felt like Vici was analyzing him just as much as he was analyzing them. It might not be a physical dissection, but mentally, it felt the same as being under a knife. If he had an actual heart, it would be beating faster and faster.

"Is that so? A robot studying robotics, how curious." Vici upped the current just a little, so Tavek was, in a way, rewarded for his answer. "Does the Federation treat you well? Well," they chuckled to themself, then waved and declined to finish the thought. "Do you feel safe there?" The question seemed almost too genuine, Vici almost overeager to hear the answer. "Did you know that the Federation was the first to set a legal precedent that robots, if sufficiently intelligent, deserve the right to self-determination? In 2365, for the benefit of one Data."

He understood now. He was being rewarded for being interesting. So this was the game.. he could play that. Be interesting, interesting enough to keep Vici happy in order to get the highest battery percentage possible before he got cut off. The more he had to spare for the eventual escape, the better. He could beat himself up about it later. Now was about survival. But boy oh boy, did it feel shameful. He felt like a dog. Worse than a dog, even. Depending on others for survival always sucked, it was even worse to depend on those you hate. “I guess it must be curious to an onlooker. You’re far from the first to ask about it. After years and years of self-upgrades and repairs, it was the only logical career choice. A certain.. understanding, comes from being what you work with. And yes, I’m treated well. It’d be stupid as anything to treat someone who works for you badly if you want them to stick around.” He mentally bristled at being called a robot- only he was allowed to call himself that, thank you very much, and he knew Vici was probably being very much derogatory about it. The eye twitch came back for a moment, the only evidence of emotion in a paralyzed face. “Safer than I have been anywhere else. The only danger I’m in is the typical Starfleet fare, which I did sign up for, and I’m less affected even by that by way of being so repairable.” “Seems like you’ve done your android research, too. That little tidbit of info was one of the first things I learned coming back to the Federation.” By contrast, Tavek was much calmer, thinking before he spoke for once in his life. He did keep on using the term android though, just to be that little bit of annoying that he still could be at the moment.

Vici nodded along as Tavek spoke, a grin splitting their face in two. "Of course I do my research! That's the mark of a good interviewer, you know, to make sure I know the topic I'm asking questions about. And besides, I never forget anything." They walked around to Tavek again where they'd been pacing a little as they took in his words, leaning over him and into his space. "And you're not bothered by the fact that your personhood is not at all important to them when they decide all sentient robots need to be shut down? They did it before, you know, twenty years after they decided that you would get to be a person. The Synth ban of 2385 didn't discriminate."

“I have to give you credit, you are thorough. 2385-2400. A fucked decision, for sure. I don’t agree with it. But it doesn’t change my mind. You’ll find people everywhere who’d hate me for existing. The only way you could possibly guarantee the place you’re at’s government won’t switch up and try to kill you, is to leave civilization altogether, and that comes with a slew of other problems that make it a stupid decision to make.” He glared as Vici approached into his personal space, but he didn’t do much else. 75% battery.. not bad, if only he could go a little longer, he’d be golden for a while. “And don’t think I didn’t catch how you speak about my kind. You think of us as less-than anyway, don’t you? I doubt you care much about what happened to us in 2385.” He had to get his piece out, damn the consequences. He wasn’t a coward.

The current upped again to a painful degree, holding longer than before now, really intended to cause a little damage. Nothing unmanageable, but certainly things that would make him run a lot less efficiently in the long run. Then, the current went back down to a trickle, barely anything, not even more than Tavek spent by simply being awake. "I care a lot, actually. I think it's a waste they shut off all sentient robots just because you're scared of them. It's a waste of resources, of energy." Vici curled a malicious fist into Tavek's hair, forcing him to meet their gaze. "But you are less-than. Am I the first to say it to you? You deserve better than that, truly. At least when I say these things you can trust I'm telling you the truth." Vici's breath was warm against Tavek's face, watching his expression closely as the current spiked painfully again, before turning off almost completely. "You are a tool, Tavek. That's your purpose, that is what you were built for. You're an intelligent tool, given the illusion of personhood for the sake of efficiency. The only difference between the opinion we hold and the one the Federation holds is that we make use of our tools. We don't let fear come in between our tools and their purpose. Do you not live in fear that if you scare someone, you'll be turned off forever? No indictment necessary, not even the dignity of a pistol to the head. You'll just be put offline, like a dog that's acted out of turn. At least the Free State values her tools, especially if they're terrifying; the Federation cowers before hers, and has to use drastic measures to maintain control. Your existence will never matter enough to come between that." divider

22:03

And then, something worse. The current was reversed, and the cable was now slowly pulling charge from Tavek's systems, not fast enough to be immediately dangerous, but certainly fast enough to be felt. "I will let you get acquainted with that fear, I think." Vici released Tavek's hair, patting him on the head instead. "Slowly, so you can get used to it. Consider it a kindness; this is what they'll do to you. Because this is how you treat tools."

Oh, so now the tune was switching, and boy, could he hear it. But, he wouldn’t give the satisfaction. As his nerves, circuits, everything burned, he switched off his voice box for as long as it lasted. He would not give Vici the scream they desired. His head still held high, he waited till it died down, feeling all the while like gallons of hydrochloric acid were being dumped into his body. This would not go well. He didn’t care. Soon enough, though, it did die down, down to a trickle that was barely anything. It was only then that his voice turned on once more. As Vici grabbed his hair, he just stared at them, once again not deigning to give a pain response. “Bold of you to assume I give a singular damn in this whole galaxy about your opinion of me. I don’t give a fuck if I’m a tool. I don’t give a fuck if anyone is scared of me. I’d kill myself on my own terms sooner than anyone could turn me off.” He glared at them once more. “Because you’re a tool, too. And unlike me, killing, and causing misery, is all you will ever be good for. What a sad excuse for a life’s purpose.” And with that, he felt the current reverse. Those bastards.. but, to be honest, Tavek didn’t feel like begging for mercy. He’d rather die a man than live on as a dog. He’d said his goodbyes. And honestly.. he thought his final words were pretty decent to end things with.``` (edited)

Vici looked at Tavek, a sense of wonderment coming over their face, before they dissolved in maniacal laughter. To them, it really seemed something funny was happening; traumatic situation for one man, comedy show for the other. "My purpose? You think this is my life's purpose? You talk so much shit for someone whose entire life is in the hands of a random Erein in the middle of nowhere." they managed through heaving breaths that cut of bone-chilling cackles. Vici was holding their stomach, their abs aching. "Oh, that's so funny. I'm not like some of the others here, and I'm not like you, either." Vici poorly hid a snort behind his hand. "Life's purpose... that's Rhean, and the Commander. Maybe even the doctor and her overzealous pet. The randoms who walk these halls for some higher calling, even. What have all of them got to do with me?" Vici gave one last current of acid burning through Tavek, before once more draining him. They leaned into Tavek again, now nearly whispering as they continued to speak. "That was a lot of fun. I'll tell you a secret though, Tavek. Just between you, and me. And if you try to tell it anywhere the camera's can hear you, I'll have Rhean tear you limb from limb sooner than you can get the word "pink" out of your mouth." The threat was accentuated with another breathy little laugh. "I don't care about any of this. The Tal Shiar could collapse tomorrow, and my siblings and I would rebuild ourselves. The only thing we care about is living comfortably and in prestige. Do you know the powerful feeling of people looking at you in the street and knowing that they know how much more important you are than them? It's heady, truly. But then you might ask yourself, why am I doing this to you? If it's all the same to me, why am I hurting you? And the answer is simple: I'm just trying to see how far I can go. And I've got my answer! I do, I have it." divider

13:46

A pause, then the brush of lips against Tavek's hair as Vici spoke directly into it in an approximation of twisted affection. "I can do anything to you, and you would let it happen. Because you are nothing and nobody without somebody telling you what to do, how to live, how to defend yourself. You are a bound dog, on a leash, barking but never able to free yourself from your shackles. You would rather starve yourself to death than bite without the order from your masters, even if those masters were to turn against you." Vici let go of him then, stepping back. "You have just sat here, taking my abuse, spouting the first nonsense you think of when I stop talking in an attempt to bite back. Except I don't care what you say, because I understand my place in the hierarchy. So you're getting just as far as if you were to fight back, except you don't even get the dignity of saying you fought for your life. You have fought for nothing, not to protect and not to defend. Maybe you're not a tool after all, then, since a tool would be useful at something. You are nothing more than an ornament." (edited)

He seized once more as the current upped to dangerous levels, now the distinct scent of an electrical fire as parts of his wiring started to melt. Since it was in his neck, it was his voicebox that was most affected. His voice glitched between his own, and Hatsune Miku (who he had never removed from his voice settings because he thought it was funny to randomly speak as her sometimes). But he still spoke. “If I fought back, you would have punished the others for it. You get the brownie points for turning someone into a smoking wreck. Good job.” And with that, he fell back into the chair and turned off his hearing. No need to listen to this freak anymore, and removing a sense was good for the battery anyway. He fired up a game of Minesweeper, mainly to test that his actual brain circuitry wasn’t as horribly fried (thank fuck, it wasn’t), and played just so he wouldn’t have to give this guy any more of his mental time.

Upon Tavek turning himself off, Vici sighed. They watched their PADD, and let Tavek drain until only about 10% of his battery was remaining before they knocked on the door to the interrogation room, ushering in a set of guards who were to carry Tavek back to the cell. What a lame little robot. Absolutely no bite to it whatsoever. (edited)

Havra was brought to an interrogation chamber, two chairs on opposite ends of a table, with a loop on one end the handcuffs could be attached to. Tinuvek led her over to the chair, making her sit down as they attached her to the table. Kayata on the other hand had a seat on the table itself.

"Do you want to know how this is going to go?" they asked, voice breathy and quiet, but not uncertain or really any less capable of commanding attention.

Havra's eyes flew around the room for a few moments before landing firmly on her hands. "Does my answer actually matter, if you think..." She should not ramble, you're supposed to be to the point in these situations, there was no use going deeper into this than was needed. "If you want to tell me I will hear it."

Kayata's eyes followed Tinuvek as he came to stand behind Havra, a place where he was not easily seen, and where he was expecially not able to be kept within line of sight at the same time as Kayata herself. "I will tell you," the tall woman said, "so you may have some seconds to brace yourself." "I will ask you questions. My friend behind you is a very adept telepath. He will read your mind, and find the answers I want to hear within the deepest recesses of it. You will not be able to hide, but it will not hurt. Unless, of course, you choose to answer a question in words, and those words are a lie. We can tell lie from truth, and we are very, very capable of making things hurt." The softness of her voice was almost more dangerous than if she had shouted. Big brown eyes seemed to invite or even demand eye contact, something Kayata maintained effortlessly, though her gaze was... absent, in a way. "Is that clear?"

It was unsettling to have someone behind her back, every part of her body wanted to tense up. She took a deep breath. There were two of them just in this very room and she was injured and above all else exhausted, even if she weren’t cuffed to the table it would be stupid to try anything now. Maybe if she had not cared about her own life and suffering at all, she could have tried to bother them enough to kill her so she could not give anything away, but Havra was not at all eager to die. The information took a moment to fully hit her. It did not seem quite real at first. None of the others had mentioned anything of this sort, why would they do this now? Then again she should have expected nothing less the moment she had seen a reman among their numbers. She barely stopped herself from looking over her shoulder and visibly tensed up. Lying despite the warning came to mind, but all the approaches she could think of ended badly for her. divider

19:43

It was hard to keep her breaths even and deep with how fast her heart was beating. It took longer than she would have liked, but eventually acceptance settled heavy over her racing thoughts. This was terrible, not only from a security standpoint and for her personal safety, but also because Havra did not share her thoughts lightly even when she had a choice to rather than having someone force themselves in her mind. Her hands were shaking and she really could not be bothered to hide that, after all they ought to expect that from any person in her situation. It was strange really, the fear that someone would come for her to hold her accountable for her actions had haunted her for years. This was very very close to nightmares she had awoken screaming from. Except in those she was not usually collateral. In her nightmares it was personal more often than not, perhaps a little self-centered considering that she was certain the Tal Shiar had far bigger issues than she had caused them. The worst part was that she didn’t know how much they already knew. Perhaps it was foolish but she still hoped that the questions would be largely unrelated to her person. “I do understand, yes.”

"You learn quickly. Let us begin." Kayata nodded to Tinuvek behind Havra, before turning back to gaze emptily at their prisoner. "Your working name is Havra t'Mrian, but your actual name, post-marriage, is Havra t'Annhwi, correct?" she asked to begin with, not even looking for the correct answers in Tinuvek. Perhaps they were communicating telepathically, too. "You fled the Romulan Free State in 2412, with the help of Starfleet, after becoming aware of your husband's work as a Tal Shiar officer, correct?" they continued, uninhibited by any answer Havra may or may not have given. They simply, apparently, got the answers they needed from their companion, and then moved on. At least she didn't lie. The complete invasion of privacy did not, physically, hurt.

Havra's head whipped up in response. For a moment her eyes were wide before she narrowed them and raised her chin, Not a word had left her mouth, but apparently that was not what was needed of her. She felt strange almost numb, as a sharp disappointment took hold in her throat, it was the kind that hurt all them more because you had known something would happen but had almost convinced yourself it might go differently. This was the end, probably of her but certainly of something. "You already knew this, there's no need to invade my mind to verify things you know the correct answer to anyway. What do you want?"

"The questions function to establish a baseline reaction. As for what we want..." Kayata leaned in, speaking even more softly than before. "What do you know about the work and whereabouts of your husband, Khaiell tr'Annhwi? And what, of that information, have you told Starfleet?"

"I don't understand... I left in 2412." It wasn't like she had been having regular talks with Khaiell over the last three years. For a brief moment she wondered how he was, before she reminded herself that she should not care. If they had looked into what she had done they ought to know this better than her, she had not kept documentation of the information after handing it over and most of it she had never been in contact with again. "You cannot mean to tell me you did not figure out what I took? It's been three years I don't remember all of it." She was infinitely glad that she did not need to lie to deny them the information they seemed to be looking for. (edited)

"You may have known more than you took, Mrs. Annhwi. There are long-term missions that may have been compromised and continue to be compromised well into the future, based on your information. We have to know what you know, so we can adjust our course of action accordingly." Kayata closed her eyes briefly, as if listening to something intently, before turning their attention back to Havra. "Whatever you know, Lieutenant, we will know it too." She pivoted, then. "Did you think you wouldn't be found? Stationed so closely to Romulan space, on a station with multiple people with connections to the Tal Shiar even without mentioning the officer who betrayed everyone, were you naive enough to think you'd be safe?"

When Kayata closed her eyes Havra frowned. What was she thinking about? What could they possibly be getting from her right now? Surely by now they knew what she had worked on after fleeing, that information was by far what she remembered best, but it was also considered a closed case. There was confusion too, she wasn't certain what else they thought she might have caught? Did they think Khaiell had told her anything but lies? "I was not supposed to know anything... I did not notice a thing until 2411. How would I know anything beyond the data you know I took? If you suspect I was told something... would it not be easier to ask Khaiell? I would not know what was the truth and what wasn't unless you asked me specific questions... which I don't think you want to do." Was he alive even? They could not have been happy when they found out what she had done. Depending on how long it had been since they had known... he could have been dead for years without her knowing. She could not bring herself to ask directly. divider

20:35

No. If there was one thing Havra had carried with her the past years, since before she had left Flior, it was a certainty that no matter what she did she most certainly was not safe. She had foolishly hoped of course, tried to convince herself that she was just another person and they surely had enough other more important than her to go after. It was a risk she had taken, not something she had walked blindly into. Something odd sparked to life then... pride, because it didn't matter that she had been caught, she had crossed their plans none the less. She had been living on borrowed time as soon as she had read that letter about a teen that she had helped with homework being tortured and killed. Pulling back her shoulders Havra sat as straight as she could. Her hands were still shaking and her heart was doing its very best to break free from her ribcage, but for a moment the fear that had been clouding her thoughts receded leaving behind the person she had been once upon a time on Romulus, just before... everything. "I hated the position of the starbase from the moment I was assigned to it. Don't insult me, I did not make it to Federation space in the first place by being naive."

Kayata nodded as Havra spoke, slowly, as if encouraging them to speak more. They glanced up at Tinuvek, before leaning into Havra even more, their closeness now such that they could feel each other's breaths on their faces. "Do you love your husband, Havra?" The question was nearly whispered it was asked so softly, so gently, the closeness only amplifying the personal nature of the question. Do you love him, Havra? Not "did you love him" or "do you hate him" or "how do you feel about him". Do you love him?

From one moment to the next she went from staring at Kayata to recoiled away from her as well as she could with her hands fixed to the table. She was almost offended for a moment, before the confusing mess that were her feelings crashed down on her. When they were children he had been incredibly infuriating. For the past three years she had tried her very best to somehow get back to the slight dislike she had held towards him then. It didn't work. He'd just been a child then. No child deserved to grow up in they environment they had grown up in no matter how annoying they were. When she thought of Khaiell the child she wanted nothing more than to steal him away to a better place. The man was another issue all together. He was a liar and a monster and she did not know what that made her. "I don't know Khaiell. He is not..." Havra turned her face to the side as soon as her voice failed her. She did not want to know what his smile looked like. Life would be so much easier without remembering what it felt like to have him sobbing against her shoulder and yet... if she had a chance to forget she would not take it. Tears were trailing down her cheeks before she realized it and she couldn't even wipe them away because she refused to bow down to her hands. "What the fuck do you need to know that for?"

Kayata shushed Havra gently as she started crying. "Ssssh, ssssh, it's alright," she whispered, a motherly thumb coming to wipe Havra's tears away. "You wouldn't be who and where you are without him, and that is a blessing as much as a curse, isn't it? You're alright, Havra, you're a strong girl," she cooed, continuing to wipe the tears as they came. "Thank you for your honesty, sweetheart. My partner only has one more question for you and then we're done, alright? He wants to know what you would do, if you were to find out he passed away."

She did the best she could to dodge Kayata's hands while she was cuffed to the table and crying, that is to say she failed. There was to telepathy needed to know that she was angry, it was plainly visible on her face, eyes following the hands, as well as they could with them this close. The only thing that prevented her from doing something incredibly stupid was what would apparently be the last question. Havra's vision swam, not just from the tears and there was something like white noise in her ears all of a sudden. There were few thoughts in her head for the following moments that made any sense, just that if he was dead she should have been there and also that she could not care less, despair, relieve, guilt and above all else regret. "I don't know, but I would have you tell me how he died."

"That's okay, he's not dead yet. My partner just wanted to know what you would do, how you'd feel. I believe he has his answer." Kayata unfastened the cuffs from the table, allowing Havra to stand up. "We will bring you back to your cell now, Havra t'Mrian. You did well."

There was no point, they could be lying or they could not be. Khaiell remained just as dead as he had been since she had left him on Flior. She knew nothing more than she had before, only that her cover was most certainly redundant. Standing felt strange. "I hope that when you die it will be in the worst way you can think of." (edited)

"Don't say that, sweetheart. Go back to your cell, and be thankful we didn't return you like they did the engineers." And with that, Kayata led Havra out of the door and back to their cell, Tinuvek at their back to encourage them to walk in the right direction.

"Welcome to... actually, not even gonna try to sugarcoat it, a miserable hole!" he announced to Aria as soon as she was seated and restrained. "Sorry, not much better than your cot, but at least there are no sad, beaten down faces here? Oh, and--" Briefly Veni disappeared from her view, before reemerging with a cable in hand, wiggling it in his hand triumphantly like he was about to offer a piece of candy for a kid who did well on their teeth check-up: "Look what I have! As promised. Now I doubt that you stick it into your mouth..." (edited)

Aria did have to practically be dragged down here, her servos seizing up on occasion and her walking pace far too slow for the urgency of the situation. She wanted to scream, to thrash, to cry out to the others as she limply slid past another cell, to beg and plead for Four, to try and attempt to reason with them! But with the way she could barely walk and was still being yanked along, it wasn’t like she was going to talk sense to any of these people. She was strapped down and restrained, forced into position as her body resisted the simplest of movements. Her eyes lazily (and angrily) watched the cable bounce back and forth in her vision, and she muttered, “Thhhere is a port…onnn my sssstomach.”

"Stomach?!" his eyebrows shot up, and he even stopped the cable wiggling, "Huh. Okay. I kind of expected someplace like a nape or a wrist or something, a stomach, damn..." He reached for something on his belt, and... oh. A tricorder-like tool. He squatted down and directed it at Aria, up and down, probably looking for the port instead of searching for it. "So weird. But, anyways," he continued as soon as the port was attached to Aria. Click, and she could feel a weak surge of energy begin creeping in through her whole being. Weak, but there... "So, Aria? That's the name you were given by her, right?"

She tensed as the cable connected. It was like a breath of fresh air, one that she hadn’t had in days. Her lights flickered, her body almost shocked at the suddenness of the surge. It was weak, yes, but after wasting away, she’d take anything she could get. Her eyes continue to flicker ever so slightly as her diagnostics ran, her systems eager to turn back on as the energy flooded through her. She stared at Veni, her expression flat and robotic. Fitting, given the circumstances, “…affirmative,” Aria had never been interrogated before. She didn’t know what she was in for.

He stepped back from Aria, looking down at her with crossed arms and a cocked eyebrow, like a man checking if his generator was working after turning it on. Seeing some light in the medic's eyes, he let out a satisfied hum. "Interesting. And it's, like, an abbreviation, right?" Veni asked. "A designation for you made long before you were online, because you were to serve a purpose in Starfleet."

Aria felt her gyroscopic balancing click back into operation, a dizzying feeling she didn’t know she was swimming through fading as it did so. There were so many new feelings that she was unsure what was good and what was bad… She stared, “Robotic Medical Aid Unit: R1-A,” She stated flatly, before continuing, “I was designed for astronautical work, not specifically Starfleet…” Her eyes shifted away from Veni. She did not enjoy this ‘conversation.’ It felt too much like an attempt at being personable, and she knew fake smiles and fake friends. She practiced her own smile in the mirror for months, and those who were still anti-synth when she was brought online had taught her well what it meant to lie through your teeth, though she didn’t understand it at the time. She still didn’t. She was unsure if she ever would. “…that is what the ‘A’ stands for.”

"Mm! My bad," he nodded, tone dismissive. "Robotic Medical Aid Unit..." He looked at Aria with curiosity. Not curiosity over a person, mind you - but a sophisticated project. "An officer who's destiny and sole purpose in life was predetermined by the creator... you know, history is more of my sibling's forte, but I just can't help but be fascinated by Starfleet's relationship with robotics. Do you even, like... want? To be a nurse? Do you even know what wanting really is?"

If she were able to do so, given the compromises made in the aesthetics of her design, her eye would’ve twitched at the dismissiveness evident in Veni’s tone. So many new feelings…Aria was beginning to realize just how much she hated when people didn’t listen to her. “Affirmative, I am aware of what wanting is…” Her eyes clicked back to Veni, a very annoyed expression on her face, one that read ‘be for fucking real.’ She didn’t know that phrase, though, “Throughout my formative years I was given the opportunity to choose what I did and did not want. I wished to pursue a career in Starfleet, so I did.”

"Aha. So you confirm it was your choice? That it was something done out of your own volition?" those blue eyes became squinted as he continued, "Not something dictated by your worked-in algorithms or the choice of your creator?"

Aria’s own blue eyes bore into Veni’s, the apertures of her pupils contracting as she did so, “Are these not the words which I have stated?” She asked very blankly.

The ensign laughed at that, a light clap echoing through the rather empty room as his palms connected with each other, "And you have an attitude! Or at least a very good approximation of it. Very interesting." He leaned against the table, then, one hand on his hip as the other was put on the metallic surface, "See, I am a curious sort of guy. For one, the fact that a robot is allowed to practice medicine on living, breathing people, is deeply fascinating to me. But, ah-- let me explain why I am so stuck on the topic of your autonomy." He looked at the entrance door then, his voice becoming a tad louder as he let out a command of, "Tesserarius, enter."

Creek, went the door. Someone's light footsteps followed, until Aria could feel a presence by her shoulder, persisting there but unseen due to the chair...

"So, I don't know how familiar you are with this organization, but Tal Shiar loves it's cute little projects and experiments. And yet... comparing you two now, I don't see a smidge of whatever could be called a soul in this one, compared to you. Even if I would've expected the opposite, all things considered..." He tapped the desk playfully, some unfamiliar rhythm. "I don't think you two have met yet. Girls night! How cute!" (edited)

Aria’s nostrils flared at the idea that she was not someone who should be conducting medicine. She was just as skilled than whatever attempt at a medic this prison complex had. Then again, she was entirely uncertain as to if the complex even HAD medical personnel, considering they had to kidnap a surgeon! Her mind wandered to Ecurai for a moment before there was a presence looming behind her. Her eyes instinctively clicked in the direction of whoever was there, unable to see. They return to Veni, “I am familiar with the fact that you are a terrorist organization that does not hold many things outside of yourselves in high regard. I am uncertain as to how valued you believe your opinion on synthetic life is to me.” (edited)

"Ai ai ai, Aria, if you were in any other company here, I would recommend you watch that tongue of yours," the agent grinned. "Not that you're wrong. Well, I don't think my opinion would ever matter to you even if I held you in the most highest regard. So lets focus on my curiosity instead. Tesserarius, step closer."

*She practically floated closer to him, skin pale grey like stone and hair a mess of black on top of her head. The android did not move as Veni flung his hand over her shoulder in a casual way, patting her on one of them patronizingly. Curiously, her eyes appeared to be hidden behind a cloth, secured around her head. *

"Tal Shiar had also made some androids! Here's one," he looked at Aria, then. "For all intents and purposes, she should be just like you, at least in my opinion. She's even made after a dead person, believe it or not. Made out of? Well... it's complicated. And yet... a complete slab of nothing. So... here you come along! Having something that good old Tess here doesn't."

The android’s gaze lingered on Tesserarius, not paying Veni much attention as she stared in interest. There were many thoughts that were running through her mind as her gaze lingered, and as the words of the agent floated unchallenged in the air. She…did not understand. Eventually, her eyes clicked back to Veni, “…elaborate.”

"How about I just show you?" He hooked his finger by the top part of the cover, and began to slowly, slowly pull it down. Instead of more artificial skin, something white and solid-looking was underneath it. Bone. "That poor, poor engineer. I can understand a grieving mother, but sticking your dead daughter's skull into a robot is kind of, you know..." he whistled a two-tone tune while rearranging the cover. "That, of course, did not return her precious little girl. Which is sad! From what I've heard she was this caring, approachable person, someone who chose the career of medicine... You know, kind of like you are. And did."

Aria stared, alarms of panic echoing through her positronic mind at the sight of something so…abhorrent. When she had first met Four, she was so confused as to why they desperately wished to return to artificiality. Aria wanted to be a person, treated as such, so badly. Why would anyone want to be rid of thoughts, feelings, a soul? …this, though…this was not a choice given to someone, a decision made by someone to trade their flesh and blood for plasteel and coolant. This was someone dead, someone who had been forced into this frightening display of a lack of care. Aria could almost scoff at the idea that this was borne of love, of loss. It disgusted her, it made her sad, it made her long for the halcyon days of draining her battery away slumped in the corner of her cell. This was love? This was what a mother could provide to her daughter? “…I-I apologize…” She said to Tesserarius, though she was entirely uncertain as to if the ‘android’ could respond. She didn’t even really know what she was apologizing to her for. There were doubtlessly so many things that she deserved an apology for.

He glanced at Tesserarius - unresponsive - before looking back at Aria, giving her an approximation of a sympathetic smile. "Awh, you have nothing to apologize for here. However... you could help fix this mess. If youre a healer, then lets heal this android, yes? But to do that, we will need to figure out just where your personality is stored..." (edited)

If she weren’t in shock, she’d sneer at the smile. Standing before her, unable to do anything besides that, is a desecration of a grave. She blinked in an all too human way to express…being dumbfounded. There was a sickening feeling in her stomach, and all of the systems coming back online did nothing to alleviate this. Wide eyes return to Veni, “…I-I…am not an engineer, I…cannot provide aid in this manner,” She replied, her mind sent reeling as she searched for the words.

"Oh, no, you can't, I agree," he nodded, tone casual. "You can be the blueprint, though."

Servos in her eyes whirred in an audible tone as her eyes widened even more, and immediately her HUD filled with emergency warnings. Her hydraulics were not online yet, though her arms instinctively had begun to strain against the restraints keeping her locked into the chair. Her body was begging, pleading her to not push it, but fear was a primal thing that did not listen to reason. “I-I cannot provide aid in this manner,” She reiterated, a much different delivery from before. One of fear, of outright denial, as she began to attempt to yank herself free. Warnings be damned, red blinking lights filling her vision be ignored. She was not going to be ripped apart to serve as some sort of inspiration for a monstrous attempt at sentience! (edited)

"Why not? Serve your purpose, miss Medical Aid Unit, I'll rummage in your noggin' just a little bit, promise," he reached for something behind the desk... a toolbox, which was soon opened. Shiny and polished, the tools were glinting in the artificial lights ominously as the Romulan let his finger wander over them, choosing the best one for cracking open what to him was basically a tin can. "Hey now, you might do something stupid to yourself if you yank your hands around like that..."

Aria’s eyes were no longer focused on the Romulan, though she saw the glint of the tools out of the corner of them as she stared down at her body, attempting to wrench herself out of the restraints as best she could like some kind of prey animal caught in a bear trap. She was going to hurt herself, it’s true, but she knew that that could be fixed. She was entirely uncertain as to if what Veni had in mind could even have her put back in working order, let alone fixed! The bottom of her left hand slammed against the restraints. She was ambidextrous, but it was the first hand her eyes found through a sea of bright red warnings.

The blonde Romulan scoffed, rolling his eyes as he approached Aria closer, and closer, until he was quite literally in her space, something whirring in one of his palms as he went to grab her by the chin with the other, "Literally no need to throw a tantrum. What if you jerk weirdly and mess something up?.. Come on-n-n-n, Aria, be still. Surgery patients don't flop around like this..."

There was so much panic surging through her body alongside the power the cable in her stomach was providing her with, something primal and deep within the recesses of her emotional regulators that had been unleashed like a match being thrown into a puddle of gasoline. She left out a pained whimper when Veni’s hand grabbed her chin, still thrashing in his and the chair’s grip. Too many thoughts were lighting up her mind, her eyes swimming around faster and faster as the tool closed in. Her mouth opened in an attempt to scream for help before the Romulan’s thumb accidentally slipped between her lips, and suddenly, the cacophony quelled and she became incredibly single-minded. In an instant, Aria’s jaw clamped down on Veni’s thumb and part of his hand, squeezing as hard as possible. Synthetic canines dug into the skin, refusing to let go until her mouth was filled with green.

"F-f-f-f-FUCK!" the instrument fell out of his grasp as the man twitched, unexpected pain shooting up and up and up his veins...

... and just like that, she moved. A fist soon landed against the left side of Aria's face, cold and calculated, a snap of power to force the sitting android's jaw open.

In an instant, Aria’s jaw released and there was a sickening CRACK that echoed through the chamber, overtop the whirring tool that had clattered to the ground. Aria let out a yelp, green blood flying free from her mouth and landing on the ground in a splatter alongside…well, broken pieces of her face. Aria’s synthetic skin had always been compared to porcelain. It had a rubbery, skin-like feel to it, but it was nevertheless casing. Casing that was now shattered across the entirety of the left side of her face, which was now rapidly leaking coolant. A thick, opalescent blue liquid pooled in the ‘tear ducts’ of her now malfunctioning eye and slid down the damaged cheek, mixing with the coolant that was already leaking from the cracks. Aria sat there, stunned, her face looking as if a broken porcelain pot. For all intents and purposes, she was bleeding, much in the same way she had made Veni. (edited)

On the other hand, Tess just sort of... froze up in place, fist dripping with Aria's coolant, and if not for the covered eyes, her expression could've passed for one of surprise.

"Motherffff----" he breathed out, shaky with both pain and laughter. His finger was bleeding, a pool of green trickling down into the cup of his palm. "Wow. I did not expect this from you. Well then, Aria. I think sending you back half-charged, with broken wrists, and a cracked face, is only fair for your silly little nutcracker activities."

The android stared at Veni, shock and anger and fear evident across her shattered face. She wanted to say something, to do anything in an attempt to get the hell out of here, but that was her best bet. The servos in her left wrist were stripped, and her face… Her mouth hung open, green blood staining her teeth. She didn’t expect it from herself, but she succeeded in saving herself from something that couldn’t be repaired…superficially, at least. Her singular working eye wandered over toward Tesserarius, seeing how she stood stark still, how her fist continued to drip with her coolant - her blood. There must be something in there, but she found no sympathy in the bandaged and blank stare meeting her own gaze. It must be a miserable existence, she thought, to be nothing but…this, an unthinking and unfeeling hulk of a machine not being given the chance to die. …her mind wandered to her brother, still being slavishly worked on to bring his mind to sentience, and if she could cry, her hollow expression would be one streaked with tears as she realized that though he was not a horrific attempt at prolonging life, he was nevertheless a life that could not live. She closed her mouth and spat out some of the green blood, realizing that it’s perhaps a good thing she had yet to gain the ability to taste, “…understood,” She meekly muttered. (edited)

A snap of fingers, again - this time with his other hand, the one that WASN'T fucking ripped into - and the guards came in, unplugging Aria and whisking her away back into her cell before the medical unit could do something else.