Star Trek: Starbase 777

Edgar and Dezyim were lead through the corridors to a small laboratory — prominently featuring an uncomfortably person-sized table, complete with a sterile field. The dim, cold lights flickered ominously.

One of the few people present signed to the officers, and they let go of the Ensigns, blocking the doorway. She turned to them both, switching to SSL. 'You.' Pointed to Edgar. Pointed to a chair in the corner of the room. 'Sit. You,' Dezyim. She beckoned him forward with a finger.

"A Vorta...?" a much younger officer murmured, eyes wide with curiosity. "We're being spoiled today, sir."

She rolled her eyes. 'Don't get excited. There is work to be done.'

His stomach dropping at the sight of the sterility of the room, he hesitated, lingering for a moment before going to sit, eyes wide and locked onto the two.

As soon as he sat, he was bound to the chair, a forcefield popping up to wind tight around him.

Edgar struggled against the forcefield, frantic and horrified at the implications of what exactly was to happen. “—fuck— let me—“ He hissed, “Don’t touch him!”

'Quiet.' or, more accurately, she made a zipping lips motion. Her expression remained dull, disinterested. 'Or it will be twice as painful. Understand?'

Tearing his eyes away, he nodded, lips threatening to curl into a sneer as he turned his gaze back to his crewmate.

Dezyim moved towards the one beckoning him, eyeing them both. “Entertain me. What is your work?” His voice was cold, had an edge to it that hadn’t quite seemed possible before. He waved a hand at Ed, a small motion. Stand down. He looked evenly at the two scientists, ignoring the pounding of his heart.

"Ah.. sorry. I'm only a scientist." The younger of the two— around the Ensigns' age (if you ignored the odd Vorta-isms of it all) by the looks of it— split into a nervous grin. "Forgive me for my curiosity. Comes with the work, I suppose," she said, tilting her head a little as one of the guards shoved Dezyim on the table, locking him firmly into place with his arms down on either side, "Does it still hurt, when you die? Will your next clone remember how it feels when I kill you?" (edited)

“Oh, please.” He let himself be put on the table. It was not as if he was capable of much struggling, but it was the thought that counts. “If I answer your question, would you be so kind as to fulfill a wish of my own?” He knew what the answer was, so he kept talking before she could respond. He held eye contact as he was locked into place. “Make it take as long as possible. Please. For me.” He smiled coolly. He was dead the moment he had been transported off of 777. He had time to make peace with that in the time it took to get to the prison. But every second the scientists took on him was a second they couldn’t do something to his crew mates. He would come back. They wouldn’t.

"Of course," she replied sweetly, smiling down at Dezyim. "I like you, Ensign. You're lots of fun."

'Erein.' A gesture that was met with a look colder than steel. 'They remain alive. For right now. All the more reason for you not to screw this up.'

Aedhai's cheeks puffed out in almost a pout as she visibly deflated. "Fffine. Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir..."

Still glowering towards the two, Ed snorted. If he couldn’t move, he could at least toe the line of pissing them off. Maybe it’d keep their slimy hands off of Dezyim. “You argue a lot for professionals.” He snarked softly, “I thought you guys were gonna be all mysterious.”

“Yes, it hurts. He’ll remember it like he lived it himself. As I remember exactly how it felt for my predecessor to die. Would you like to know how it feels? I can describe it for you.” He tilted his head as much as the restrains would let him. His smile deepened, but it was as much a smile as it was the grimace someone would make when crying.

Aehv took her place behind the table, rolling back her shoulders as she scratched the back of her neck. Or.. looked like it. A screen flickered to life nearby, words flickering across it. 'Keep the mouse quiet, Hannam. However you deem necessary.'

She looked up from having her gaze transfixed on Dezyim. "But, sir—"

'Argue with me again and he will not be the only one cut open, Erein. Do as you are told.' Aehv sighed a sigh of someone who had been exhausted for twenty years straight, grabbing for a hypo. 'Hold still, Ensign.' jammed it into the side of his arm. The numbness would start to spread soon after.

Once again, she wilted, jaw tightening. "Keep your mouth shut," she snarled, "I have no qualms slitting your throat and, at the least, ensuring you never speak again."

Dezyim dropped the expression and focused his eyes on the ceiling, staring blankly. He was vaguely aware that somewhere in the back of his head he was disappointed the scientist hadn’t been allowed to take the bait. He’d have enjoyed being the one to crush that tiny dream. But he stayed focused. They’d said they didn’t intend to kill him yet, but the stress might still. He closed his eyes and tried to use all of his willpower to just… stop thinking.

“Unprofessional assholes.” He muttered, hoping to catch the attention of one of the scientists, and at least lessen the inevitable pain that Dez would be put through, or at least subject some of it elsewhere. “Neither of you have the guts.”

tw violence, blood // "I said—" there was a glint of metal in the cold lights of the laboratory, and a blade came from seemingly nowhere, driving into Edgar's shoulder. With his hands still bound, he couldn't do a damn thing. But Aedhai leant in, driving it in further, her other hand back against the wall as she loomed over him, watched the blood blossom through his uniform, "keep your mouth shut." She inclined her head to one side, a hand around his throat turning Edgar up to face her. Her voice was so, so soft, a whisper in the air between them. "You Starfleet types, you think you know everything. I have killed stronger men than you. I have brought stronger men to their knees, begging for mercy, and I have watched the light leave their eyes." The knife dug in that much more. "You are not special. You are not something worth missing. You will be a name on a plaque on a memorial site, missing in action until no one remembers you."

Stifling a pained cry, he clenched his jaw, angling his head and eyes to meet hers, but any malice in his eyes quickly glazed over with pain. He let out a sharp breath through his teeth, trying to play it off. “…you’re projecting.” He breathed, “And…” He mouthed the word ‘bitch’, before pulling back slightly, flinching at the feeling of the blade in his skin.

The Erein pulled out the serrated blade with a frustrated snarl. "Ennarrain—!!"

'Quiet him,' Aehv gestured to the guards, quite busy injecting Dezyim with something to the point he would find it difficult to move his body at all. She didn't even lift her gaze as the other officers tied a gag tight around Edgar's mouth, strapping his head back to the back of the chair so all he could do was watch. The disruptors made it abundantly clear just what would happen if he tried again. Unbothered, she carried on. 'You, little Vorta, will make a fascinating subject. Let's get that pesky implant out before you cause any problems, hmm?...' the text blinked on the screen for a moment as Aehv scanned Dezyim, watching quietly with a restrained sort of awe. 'Do try not to scream too loudly. Wouldn't want to disturb your friends,' (edited)

Seeing the woman move towards his friend, the flash of silver, Dezyim pulled against the restraints as hard as he physically could. It wasn’t clear what his intent was; to draw their attention back to him possibly, or just responding to a base instinct to do something. But he was fighting a battle he could never have won in the first place. He quickly grew both quiet and still, and there was nothing more he could do.

Feeling desperation well up in his throat like bile, he grit his teeth, watching his fellow ensign fall unconscious, or something close to it, fire still throbbing through his veins, pulsing from the point where the metal had met his skin. He exhaled shakily, unable to pull his eyes away. “…I’m sorry.” He mumbled, unwilling to attract another jab from Aedhai’s willing knife, although he wasn’t sure how well Dezyim could even hear him, “You’re gonna be okay.”

The room fell into a transfixed sort of quiet as Aehv set to her task, leaving Edgar to watch. At least they granted him the mercy of not being able to see inside Dezyim's head from where he sat...? (edited)

With the laboratory now nicely clean and freshly resanitized, Vidi lead Elohae inside. "Where do you want him?" she asked, then added, "Sir."

'Table', Aehv signed, gesturing to the table. The guards moved, strapping Elohae down just like they had Dezyim, the sterile field reactivating. Unfortunately, no way to communicate, unless.. 'One of the guards will be communicating with you telepathically,' she signed, gesturing to an older-looking Reman, 'and conveying the information to me.'

Elohae complied without resistance and settled onto the table. As he was then restrained he felt his heart rate as it proceeded to spike again. Did so before he quashed it with breathing exercises. He then looked from the stranger to the Reman. Glared at them. Okay. Well at least that suggested they didnt intend to prevent him from any form of communication at all. Hooray. He watched the Reman then as he calmed and blanked his mind for a moment. Focused on a slight confusion as to how this was going to work for now. Mind muddled by emotion as he grimly waited for whatever would come.

'Erein.' Her gaze flickered to her assistant, who was sulkily rearranging samples. 'Please show our friend the door. There is much work to be done.'

"Yes, sir." Aedhai turned to escort Vidi out of the room, turning just enough to show a split lip in the process. Vidi, unlike Aedhai, was smart enough not to argue.

The Reman did not respond to Elohae beyond blinking and tilting his head inquisitively. Aehv triple-checked the sterile field, and with one movement, Elohae was lying on his side. He would be able to see the screen her text appeared on while her hands were busy. 'You are not the first deserter to enter my laboratory, and I imagine you will not be the last. Tell me; does this place feel like home?'

Elohae considered the words then, what point was there in doing anything else? Wasn't like it happened to be information he'd have elected to resist having pryed from his mind. So he just remained initially somewhat confused how it was expected he'd respond but then just elected to guess. Remembered something he'd once been able to do. Attempted to form words like he'd done when he'd been younger and had still retained a scrap of hearing and prepared to try and speak. Something he'd not done in a few years now, but still remembered how to do. Formed the words and allowed himself to feel the feelings with them. 'Not surprised by that. Home is elsewhere.' wished they'd get on with it, whatever they'd decided to do. He had never been and remained uncomfortable with things that happened to not be signing. Also could he blamed for not liking the fact his mind was about to be invaded? Part of him in a way grimly hoped that the Reman happened to be a willing participant in this. At least then they could be hated. Not like the people he happened to fond of, the Reman members of the Hara and others. Hated for what they were about to do. Hated. A emotion somewhat better than the grim ice of expectation that had gripped him. Better than the small part of his mind that still lingered upon regrets. (edited)

'Home. Your starbase?' Aehv was kind enough to administer another muscle blocker, rendering Elohae unable to move. 'It's almost fascinating, how easy it was to slip past your defenses. How easy it was to let us in,' While she was fiddling with the hypos, the text carried on, her expression not shifting for a second. 'That boy of yours. Telim, wasn't it? He seemed like a sweet kid. Such a shameful waste.'

Elohae felt it as all his muscles slipped out of his control. Felt as his limbs laxed and everything stopped but breathing. Watched the screen then as he grimly formed more words. Waited for them. Reacted as he formed words in his mind again. 'Not decided on home yet, maybe that would have been it. I doubt you'd know how it is to leave something and find yourself without that purpose.' Were the words he formed. A admission he elected to give freely then, another thing he lacked a reason to not respond to. 'You showed yourselves to be quite adept again then, Tal Shiar. Braaavo.' Then that proceeded to come. Then they proceeded to speak about the charge. About the person he'd been charged with babysitting with protecting. So had he failed then? He didn't know, though pain and worry and grief and so much else howled about his mind. Howled about his mind as it briefly icely observed then. 'One day you'll end up on a table or dead, Reman, I hope you find yourself with less guilt than I then.' Not a threat not anything like that, just something observed and in some ways a hope. Something hoped for someone Tal Shiar. Something that surprised him then. Surprised him as he formed words once more, this time for the Romulan. 'If he's dead, I pity you, as his father wont rest until he's got you.' An observation formed as his emotions snarled about his mind as a hurricane of grief of anger of pain, deep deep pain and so many other things besides. Regret's just one of the knife's of ice that worked its way into his guts, into his soul as his mind snarled with it all, snarled with anger. 'I might have failed in my duty and who knows how things'll go for him.' Unable to stop the words that poured out, knowing full well that no matter what he said it'd have never have stopped the utter pain of failure. The pain of a duty failed at and whatever the Tal Shiar torturer planned to do next. 'But you'll be around to see that, won't you?' (edited)

'Charming,' she answered, the sarcastic drawl made clear even through text. Aehv meddled with her tools, ensured she had just what she needed, and got to work once she was sure Elohae was numbed just enough. Didn't want him passing out, after all.. (Her young assistant scoffed from where she was propped up in the corner, but said nothing else to him.) 'His father? That sad old man who couldn't even protect his station's civilians...? It's cute, the hope you Federation types have.' It didn't matter if Elohae was Romulan, if he was once a part of their Navy. In their eyes, he was Federation now. Maybe he always would be. 'It's adorable of you to think he didn't fall immediately to the hand of our operatives. Maybe if they had someone delusional as yourself in their ranks, they would have stood a chance.' It was difficult to tell just what Aehv was doing with the numbing agent doing its work, but there was actually very little work being done with actual flesh and blood. Fiddling around with something else entirely... More the work of an medical officer or an engineer, but who cared, really, as long as they could toy with the lab rats?

`Really? didn't think so.' Had been the answer anger ripped from him in formed but unspoken words within his mind at the single word response from the torturer that appeared on the text. Anger mixed with a grim mirth, the scoff unheard by the deaf Romulan, when the other text appeared on his screen. 'You did your job well, I won't see what comes next I imagine, but I'm sure no matter what there'll be interesting times ahead for you, huh?' Elohae reacted then at what they said. At the sheer obsurdness of the fact the text said what they said. Mirth marred then by grim grief at the text, text he assumed once again referred to Telim. 'You certainly have interesting opinions, Tal Shiar, get on with it.' Paralysed, he remained still then as more words formed within his mind. 'Quite the thing to be called a Federation type, in better company than I was in the fleet if I was one, die in it too though I suppose perhaps, I will be doing.' * *Formed in his mind as he added. 'If I had been their type, maybe I'd have defected earlier, but thanks for the compliment all the same.'

'And still, you insist yourself a martyr. And still, you insist that your life will end here in this place. All while being wholly unremarkable. You think yourself worthy of my blade?.. No. Elohae tr'Kyrmyra, you will not die here. Not on my table. Not by my hand.' 'Your friends may not find themselves so lucky.' Parts existed to be upgraded and improved on, did they not? Perhaps it could be considered a favor, the laser concentration of the Ennarrain as she tinkered, if it were anyone kinder. If it were from anyone else's hand. 'I am sure you know of the sensitive hearing of Romulans, yes? It is said we can detect things that your colleagues cannot.' A pause as she glanced up, ensuring Aedhai was paying attention to the procedure at hand, asking her with one hand for something — another tool retrieved, added to her arsenal. 'Humans, for the most part, cannot tolerate as high of frequencies. But sound, too, is a spectrum— like light. Just because it cannot be perceived, does not mean it cannot be recreated. It does not mean it cannot be displayed.' Aehv tilted her head just barely. 'Your ears are also partially responsible for your sense of balance. The vestibular system, to be exact. The canals are filled with fluid that follow when you tilt your head. Things like ear infections can disrupt your sense of balance as a result.' 'Now. Humor me, sir. What do you think these things could possibly have in common?'

Well, that happened to be a interesting piece of information. Part of him half wondered if they'd let him keep it. Not that he honestly believed them, not that he believed himself a martyr as this person called him. He just happened to know what they did to Defectors. Or well one of the things that tended to happen to such. 'Martyr?' He responded then intially. 'Just someone who knows how you treats your enemies and people you consider traitors or deserters, knows the options you tend to select from, after all. ' Grimly intrigued about the fact they'd out and out admitted that, not that he suspected what they had planned was any better. 'After all, I've not seen those you took from the fleet again, at least one of my friends again...it leads to certain assumptions, Tal Shiar.' Elohae watched the text as it played out. Noted everything it was said. Idly realized what was probably being fucked with. Oh joy. That happened to not bode well. Something the ice that twisted about within him agreed with as emotions continued to roil and snarled about in his mind. 'I'm sure you're fully aware of the state of my hearing or complete lack of it and the damage that caused it.' Awaited what they intended to do. Read what they happened to say. Discovered that he probably happened to be right, considering what they'd elected to yap about. It was his ears being fucked with. 'You're doing something to my implants, probably also actively manipulating the damage that caused hard of hearing to become deafness.' Came the grim words formed within his mind as emotion continued to roil about within him. 'And decided to lecture me about the ear while you worked' (edited)

'I cannot do anything to your ear itself. I can, however, make these implants better.' She could make them work, and work they would. Though.. Perhaps not in the way he would prefer. The implants would randomly shut off, or play a frequency that was uncomfortable, occasionally to the point of being disorienting. It seemed that the Tal Shiar would, unfortunately, have remote access to fiddle around as they liked.. 'I hope you were paying close attention. You have quite the lesson left to learn.' Once the relaxants and numbing agents wore off (the whole process was relatively short, all things considered), Aehv had Aedhai call for the guards, and Elohae was escorted back to #prison-cells-03 .

.. Down the corridor, into the laboratory. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, huh. A young agent looked up at the guards' arrival, brushing off her hands on the pants of her uniform. "Have a seat," she said, gesturing with her head, and Victoria was sat down. "I appreciate your help, you know. I'm new to this sort of thing. I've never.. well. Let me start by asking, do you have any experience with.. unusual life forms, miss?"

Victoria had found a little bit of strength within herself after being freed from the cell. Well, 'freed'. Enough strength to match the pace of the guards that ushered her along, at least, not enough to ask them what they wanted with her. She had braced to see a bloodied Starfleet uniform at the end of that tunnel. Instead... this. She looked at her guards, passingly, silently grateful for the seat lest her legs crumpled from standing still. Was it colder here? She was definitely shaking more. Her hands clamped around the edges of the chair in an attempt to stop herself. "We um... do what we can. Doesn't matter who or what," she rushed the words out between breaths. "Who's hurt?" she asked, wincing.

"Oh," she laughed, bright and bubbly, "No one. Not yet, anyway. I.. Well..." "I'm a scientist, you see, and I don't want to miss out on an opportunity to learn something new, even if it's not necessarily in my field." Aedhai's smile was tentative, bashful, almost, as she waved it off to start leafing through her notes. "Uh, I mean.. Well, do you.. what sorts of things do you deal with, in the fleet? You all still have experimental surgeries? Are expected to come up with medicines for diseases you've never seen, for creatures you've never met?.."

She didn't like that laugh, not one bit, practically recoiling back in her seat as though Aedhai had just spat poison at her. Her head cocked to one side at the question, unsure what exactly to make of it, but feeling a pit form in the depths of her stomach at where it was going. "Science deals with new meds. I'm an ER doc," Victoria said emphatically, muscles tensing as she threw her gaze to a random corner of the room. She didn't feel very much like what she claimed to be, not now. "Only time I cut people up are when they need it to stabilise. Yeah, it's touch and go sometimes, but you don't experiment for the sake of it. Starfleet doesn't train butchers."

"Right," she said, nodding, "right, of course, I understand. Our best chemists deal in sedatives. Or we get them from elsewhere," Aedhai mused thoughtfully to herself, almost in a trance. "An emergency doctor. Still, you have seen someone flayed open before? You know the maps of their entrails, where one would have to rip and tear to....?" Hmm.. "We've never seen a golem before," she said thoughtfully. "At least, I haven't. My senior officer is using this as a chance to take a closer look. You'll have your chance to lend a hand tomorrow, so.. I think it's best if you spend the night, okay?" Not that she was being given any room to protest, judging by the unmoving presence of guards in the room.

"You think I'm gonna help you cut someone open?" she asked, brows furrowing and finally turning from the blank wall she had opted to stare at instead of the sadistic freak before her. "What? Like some kinda sick joke?" Victoria scolded, "yeah, be my guest. Give me a knife and tell me to hurt my crew, you sick fuck- see how that works out for you." Victoria swung her arms crossed, face scrunched up in disgust. They were only words, but when words were the only ammunition she had, they could, at least, still feel good to fire. She scanned the room in search of the nearest guard whose face she could see, clearly attempting to reduce him to atoms with gaze alone. Maybe, oh just maybe, if she managed to do that for every guard in her room...

Aedhai tilted her head a little thoughtfully, hovering by the door before she moved closer to the chair. Behind her back, of the guards' holds on their disruptor tightened, a warning for Victoria not to try anything funny. She regarded the medical officer for a second, before she just smiled sheepishly. "I don't think you'll have a choice, miss Bishop. Sleep well, okay?" With that, Victoria's restraints tightened — leaving her all but bound to the chair, the door remaining guarded all through the night.

Ding! Not really, but you can pretend there's a fun little elevator noise. Victoria had been placed in an odd sort of forcefield, made to sit down to the side of the examination table. Her legs and hands were bound, but she could still wiggle around for the most part, provided they stayed within the bounds of the forcefield. The guards brought Ellie in, beginning to strap her down to the table.

Ellie considered fighting. What would that do though? Make the guards break a few parts? Dislocate joints? It was worthless, but some primal instinct still tried, kicking at the floor trying to find a hole in its jagged surface. Any resistanc she found gave at the same speed her breathing did. Faster and faster and faster until her vision blurred white around the edges. "Fuck you!" She spat at nobody, and everybody, rarely did she swear, but the situation seemed to call for a bit of vocal brutality. Her eyes flickered with the restraints struggling against them weakly. Why was she so scared? The silence? That was it, nobody treated her like something to acknowledge. Like some kind of animal. She moved her head the best she could, her eyes meeting the other starfleet officer holding the tools. We're they going to cut her open? We're they going to make another officer do it? She'd throw up if her body could, but the vile mixture of food the prison gave her sat at the base of her digestive tract. (edited)

"Pipe down," Aedhai muttered under her breath as she prepped a hypo with the muscle relaxant they'd been using, giving Ellie a nice little dose of it so she'd calm down (be barely mobile). The sterile field was already active, so she began to cut away some of the jacket of Ellie's uniform, and the undershirt beneath. "Right," she glanced over to Victoria, "We've put plenty of precautions in motion, 'kay? If you try to hurt me, or the guards, or yourself, it won't do a thing. Forcefields are handy like that.. Not to mention, I imagine the other officers won't be too pleased." She tilted to her head to the guards at the door. "It's like a game of memory match, yeah? We'll see just how different these lab rats are from normal people..." "You've got your tools, doctor. Go right ahead."

In the corner of the room, her mentor kept a watchful eye, but didn't have anything to add. She crossed her arms, leaning back against the wall.

"Make me you bitch." Ellie scolded at the mad woman and the scientific caravan that watched the Golem with piercing eyes. Struggling with her arm restraints. It surprised her when she actually did do something, the relaxant injected into her was the response to that 'make me'. Adrenaline dissipated rapidly, and she felt weak; no she felt tired. Her arms fell limp. And her legs stopped tensing. The fight inside her slowly dissolved with each passing second. Her body became a dead weight faster then she could react. Next, she felt the romulan officer cut into her clothing, exposing her to the cold calculation of medicinal eyes. That inhibitor didn't have anesthetic in it, did it? She wasn't going to feel it, was she? All Ellie could do was look around, her mouth moving limply in exhaustive strikes. It'd take a lot of brain power to talk, but that brain power was spent on one sentence lining the corridors of her wrinkled mind. 'Why me? Why me? Why me? Why me? Why me? Why me? Why me? Why me? Why me? Why me? Why me? Why me?' Over and over again. Why her? (edited)

Victoria could not sleep. Sat restrained in her chair for the better part of a day, she felt as though her nerves had been flayed by the sheer anticipation and dread of what was to come. She could not speak when Ellie was brought in, hoping if she just willed it enough and pulled her limbs as close to herself as the restraints allowed, their captors would simply miss that she was there to begin with. Oh, too late for that, she was being spoken to. She listened through gritted teeth and brows permanently arched inwards in equal parts fear and defiance, unaware until several seconds after that her limbs had been freed. Victoria stood, limply, gaze still affixed on the scientist. An attempt was made to reach for the instruments laid out before her, unsure what she would even do with them until a combination of her anger and the enervated state of her arms resulted in the bits of sharp metal clattering against the floor, a guttural sound filling the room as air escaped her lungs. The force at which she flung them pushed her back several, stumbling steps from Aedhai, until she was next to where Ellie's head lay. She turned for a moment to regard Ellie's eyes, leaned over with her arm supporting her weight against the metal table. "I- I don't want to hurt you," she said, emphatic, summoning whatever little bit of strength she had to address her crewmate directly.

One of the guards grabbed for their disruptor, but Aehv motioned for them to stand down, watching Aedhai with a curious look. Aedhai herself took a moment to process, a moment while Victoria tried to shield her crewmate as if it'd protect her from harm. A small, small tilt of her head, a smooth step forward — the tools were discarded, now ruined by the lack of sanitization— and she wound an arm around her shoulders, the serrated edge of a blade against her throat. They were about the same height, so she didn't really have to lean down to whisper. "Do you want me to make the first incision, doctor?" she asked quietly, voice hardly a breath in the air between them. She remained calm as she possibly could even as something primal boiled in the pit of her stomach. Her hand reached around— pried Victoria's fingers off of the examination table one by one, with a grip so slight it was clear she could break them if she wanted. "I can make sure to puncture a lung. Or maybe let the thing out of her misery and drive it through her heart?... She isn't really alive, you know? It's a grim imitation of living. A machine playing pretend." "It's going to happen either way. Do you want it done right or not?.. Our medics aren't exactly known for being precise and careful." Slowly, slowly, she let go, surveying her with a patient smile.

Ellie tried to fight back. Trying to let her mind go blank so she could focus on each ligament one at a time. Maybe, just maybe if she tried hard enough she could get an arm free, a leg free, something, anything at all. Just to try and get out, but where would she go from their? The conclusion was the same. The outcome was simile. There was one way out for both her and the other officer; and it was hiding under the pours of her synthetic skin. Thoughts controlled the Golem again, she had nothing else to do. There was nothing she could do but watch. Then shut out what was to come after the blade tore her open. Her brain tried to rationalize the sitatuation like it always did. The only way out for both officers was to let them pull Ellie apart. The only way out. The only way out. "Don't... please... just... get it... over with." She pleaded with crooked jawline watching the dirty blade be held up to the other officers throat. Her muscles at war with her with the simple action. The sores of exhaustion dug into her mind and body like struck nails. One way out. The only way out. Ellie wanted to fight back, but couldn't, she wanted to take the looming pain away, but there was no Robin Hood figure to steal it. Even now though. She tried to remain stoic; using the exhaustion to hold her face still.

Her limbs seized when Aedhai took her into a wicked embrace, hands raised, shivering, up to her own collar with palms splayed, her head rocking backwards and leaning her into the woman's shoulder as she tried to escape the sharp touch of the blade. Despite that, she had barely enough courage contained within to mutter under her breath, "do it." Alas, not so easy, Victoria. There was no reprieve afforded. When Aedhai slowly peeled off of her, Victoria leaned back, and back, and back, until she collapsed entirely onto the floor, scrambling and failing to hold onto something. "She's... not the one pretending," Victoria contended, already desperately hauling herself up, despite how stricken her legs were, despite how much her body complained, using the full might of both elbows hooked against the edge of the examination table. She would only manage to get up to her knees, positioned with her head level with Ellie's as though already pleading for forgiveness, breathless and panting. "Wh- what's- your name-, Ensign?" she asked. This one mattered.

Ellie stared at Victoria. Feeling guilty immediately after for doing so. She wished that the Tal Shiar stuffed her face under some burlap bag. Disguising the humanoid complexure. Disguising her own vision. Dousing it to only being able to decipher vague figures as they pulled at her organs like a pile of yarn. Yarn that squelched with each slight contortion. Yarn that felt damp and dank in insulating fluids to prevent the mixtures inside from pouring free. They didn't treat an animal like that though, did they? They didn't cover an animals face before it was skinned. Though, it still had the decency of not feeling it. Ellie's eyes were hollow as they reflect Victoria's figure. She focused all of her brainpower to see out those windows. Yet they looked like there was not a spark behind them. Exhausted, so exhausted. The question came 'who was she?' One she could give plenty of awnsers to, but all of them felt wrong. Instead she'd just avoid it. "I'm.... nobody.... don't... worry about... me... just... focus." She struggled the noise out her throat. Ellie feared her name gave challenge to the already monolithic task. Every detail she could give was a page in her story. Each page would make the incisions harder for both of them. They might slow things down, draw it out. Or worse, make it go too fast. Ellie knew what the Tal Shiar wanted, to watch the skin walker squirm as it was pulled apart. Too fast and their show would be over too early. She did and didn't want to be treated like a human. To have and to not have her family, and friends known. Her life story. Her family. A thought crossed her mind; when was the last time she talked to her mother? Her dad? Anybody from home? The thought brought tears to the edges of her pupils. She choked them down, and every sense of emotion that would make it harder. Choked down... down... down. Though it still showed on the edges. She was sentient, but that didn't matter.

"I am focusing," Victoria retorted, unmoving from where she knelt. Delaying or simply because she couldn't find it in her legs to stand, she'd be annoying their wonderful scientific hosts, all the same. She understood, of course, if it were her on the table she might have said the exact same thing. What the Tal Shiar had done to her poor patient before she landed here, if anything, she didn't know - but damn it all if she was going to collude with them to strip Ellie of her sapience. Here, and now, that was the only thing in the room that was worth a smidgen of her focus. "Look," she lowered her forehead until it touched the cold metal, then looked back up and continued. She wouldn't force Ellie, but she could go first. "I'm Victoria, okay? Victoria Bishop. I'm the person who's going to be working on you today. I'm only gonna do it because I don't want these sickos hurting you more than... I would - I guess." Yeah, that helped. Great job, Vic! "You can hate me if you want," she lowered her voice, inching on her elbows to get closer to Ellie's ear, as though Aedhai and Co. wouldn't be able to hear her in the sterile silence of the room regardless. "When they come for us, and when we get home, you need to report this." (edited)

"Fine... it's.... Ellie. Findley." The woman rasped quietly. She regretted it as soon as she vocalized it. The action was selfish. She should have stuck her ground. Dug heels into the sand. Better yet shove her whole damn thing under the sand. Keep herself quiet, say her piece and then let the inevitable come. To be fair though, everything felt like the wrong choice. Nothing was the one the two should make. It should be that scientist on that table. It's a cruel and malicious thought yes, but it was true to Ellie. They had no right to treat her like this. Flip the mirror, change the shoes, they'd be terrified too, but starfleet wouldn't do this in the first place. 'I'm better then you' isn't exactly a way to keep sane though when the eye of a needle was about to peel her apart. She also just didn't care about any of that anymore. Before the blades come down even once she's terrified and wants all of this over. Thoughts of her family and friends rack her mind. Would the federation be able to repair her? Was she going to die? 'I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die.' What sick game was this? All of these thoughts tattered and praded around her skull. She was nothing more then a head and torso now; limbs nothing but useless parasites as their muscles acted like the time to rest was now.

Aedhai remained quiet through the exchange, ears twitching just barely in careful intrigue. She'd left the fresh tray of instruments at Victoria's side. "Go on," she said in a murmur, "I won't give you another chance to mess this up."

"Ellie. Thank you," Victoria said, almost with relief, pressing a reassuring hand against the top of her head. It was a lie, admittedly, there was no assurance here for either or them, and Victoria supposed they both knew it. It was in this position that she remained, slumped next to lifeless against the side of the frigid table. When Aedhai prompted her, she turned - no, rolled her head to its side to glare at the scientist. Her eyes, although puffy and red, still hadn't the strength to summon tears. Still, she knew the threat to be more than mere speech, and by now her courage had run dry, dryer than she had ever felt before. In her own, selfish way, Victoria felt like she had been dissected, too; although, all there was to be found within her here was nothing but a pathetic specimen, an excuse of the ideals that led her to Starfleet, of every oath she had ever taken, of the person she thought herself to be, all too ready to acquiesce. It had to be done. Victoria rose with knuckles white against steel, the weakness in her legs slowly weaning as she took the Tal Shiar's instruments. Familiarity in duty. For once, she hated that feeling. She closed her eyes, and drew three breaths. "Okay, Ellie?" she began, steadied and tone flattened, approaching clinical, "we're gonna go fast. It'll hurt more, but, the sooner this is over, the better for you. Scream, swear, curse, do what you need to - but, if you don't I'm gonna ask you to be aware of your tongue, okay? Keep it pressed against the roof of your mouth for me." She threw another glare in the direction of Aedhai, as though giving the woman a final chance to admit she was merely messing. At the lack of reaction, though, she took another, long breath. "Ellie? I'm going to start now," Victoria cautioned, taking a step closer and looking her in the eye, "I'm sorry."

The procedure went on with a silence that stretched far deeper than the room itself, one that seemed to seep into their very bones. Ellie was stitched back up, mostly untouched beyond the initial incision, and the two of them were sent back to their cells.