Star Trek: DB Trapped Choices

Holis did a limited exam of the Vulcan and tore part of his shirt and started dabbing at the wound on Vorik's head. Vorik coughed and tried to stand but the doctor pushed him back down, when his head fell forward Holis noticed a strange device on the back of his neck. He touched the device lightly but pulled back when Vorik gave a groan of pain.



“What is it doctor?” Alexandra asked immediately concerned.



“I'm not sure. It looks to be connected directly to his nervous system. I have never seen a device like this.”



Alexandra held Vorik up by his shoulders and shook him lightly.



“I know you feel like pounded shit right now buddy but I need to know if you heard anything the Romulans said, what they want or if they are responsible for what happened on the planet.”



“Th..they didn't say anything and just strapped me to a table with some machine attached to it. They spoke in Romulan but I could still understand some of what they were saying.” Vorik began another coughing fit and Alexandra patted his back trying to calm the coughing.



“They didn't bother asking me anything and tried to scan my mind for information on the secure files. The procedure was somewhat...taxing. They seem to be working under the approval of the Romulan high counsel and the information that Dr Sevak gathered is of the utmost importance to them.”



“Why would the Romulans want research on human telepathy?” Lowell asked.



“Good question and one that will be answered as soon as we get out of here. I don't care what happens, I don't want them taking Vorik again. Lowell keep watch on the door, if you see them coming let us know. I want to talk to them myself.”



Lowell watched the door and Holis tried to take care of Vorik. Alexandra watched as the doctor laid Vorik down on the rough ground and do what he could for him. She was worried about her friend. He looked really bad and she had a sinking feeling that they were all in from the same treatment. 2 hours later Lowell gave Alexandra a heads up that the guards were coming again. Three men showed up, two centurions and a commander judging by their rank. The two centurions looked like typical Romulans, pale and green tinted. The commander was very different. He wore his shiny black hair in the typical Romulan fashion but his skin was the color of dark bronze and his eyes while they looked black were actually a deep warm brown. He had full generous lips and high cheeks sat on a strong jaw and instead of the typical thin and lanky build of most of his kind, he was broad shouldered and chested. He was like no other Romulan she had ever encountered and she had encountered a lot.



“Who is the leader here?” He asked



“I am.” Alexandra said stepping forward.



“What is your name?”



“Alexandra Torchescue.”



“That is consistent with the information we got from the Vulcan.” He said giving Alexandra an appraising look up and down.



“Alright. Now that we have been properly introduced maybe you can answer some of my questions. Like why did you capture us and are you responsible for the attack on the planet?”



“This science lab was outside of Federation jurisdiction so you had no right to interfere in the first place but you were useful in making progress on the files we want. If you and your associates can retrieve the information and hand it over to me I will let you all go.”



“You think there is some conspiracy going on here don't you?”



“The thought has passed through our minds”



“Oh right! So we put one of our most important research bases out here in the middle of nowhere, making it a perfect target for your ships. I see the Romulan I. Q's are up to their usual standard.” Alexandra said with laugh. “That's not what's going on and you know it so until I get some real answers I am going to make it my personal mission to make your life as hellish as possible.”



“Take the Vulcan.” He said ignoring Alexandra's threat.



“No! He's had enough. You want to take someone you take me.” She said standing in front of Vorik.



The commander looked at Alexandra for a few moments then nodded his head at the guards who took Alexandra's arms and led her out of the cell. On the way there Alexandra learned the commander's name was Roderian. They took her to a room where a large table with a complex machine was. This was the room they took Vorik when they interrogated him because she recognized the machine from Vorik's description. Alexandra took a deep breath and braced herself as they put her on the table and secured the restraints. There was a tray of wicked looking instruments near the table as they strapped her down.



“Do you mind telling me exactly what you are planning to do with me with this machine?”



“Not at all.” Roderian said with a smile. “You will remain here while we take your Vulcan friend from his cell and move him to another room were we will continue what we started. I must thank you for your cooperation, I had a feeling it would have gotten ugly in there if we hadn't taken you first.”



“Your rotten son of a bitch! I told you he has had enough!!”



“You are a very attractive woman.” Roderian said leaning over Alexandra. “Be grateful I have neither the time or the orders to interrogate you as well.” A guard came into the room saying that Vorik had been moved. Roderian order the first two guards to wait 5 minutes and then have Alexandra taken back to the cell then turned on his heel and left the room. Alexandra tried to break the bonds on her wrists but it was to no avail. When she got back to the cell, Holis was sitting on the ground sporting a bruise on his jaw.



“I don't understand this. Why do they keep taking Vorik?” Alexandra started pacing the cell. “The scientists here were studying the possibilities of human telepathy so why are they taking a Vulcan?”



“Maybe they need him to crack the files in the computer?” Holis said.



“I might buy that if they were doing the same to Lowell or even me but they are not. Just Vorik. Besides this is a medical research base. Why aren't they picking Holis's brain too? No it's something else, something big.”



Alexandra was still pacing an hour later when the guards dumped Vorik back in the cell looking worse than ever. The guards also dropped a tricorder and med case next to him and told Holis to keep him alive. Vorik was bleeding out his ears and the corners of his eyes and couldn't seem to stop shaking. Holis was scanning Vorik with the tricorder and started giving him a series of hypo sprays and after the third, Vorik's body started to still and he opened his eyes and was looking around. His breath was still ragged but seemed to be calming. He moved his hand to his neck where the device was and tried to remove it but couldn't.



“Lowell, you and Holis find a way to get that damn thing off of him.”



“I don't have any tools to work with and there isn't anything in the med case that I could use.”



“How about this?” Alexandra gave her wrist a shake and a slim silver scalpel came out. “I palmed this off a tray when they were strapping me down.



“Very slick.” Lowell said as he took the scalpel. “We'll get right on it.”



While they worked on his neck Alexandra sat in front of Vorik to speak with him.



“You look like you took a bad turn in a Pareses Squares match buddy.”



“Captain I must...” Vorik winced in pain. “I must tell you what I know before they come back again. They are trying to get Dr Sevak's research to use as a template.”



“Template for what?”



“To reactivate the dormant telepathic abilities in the Romulan species.”



“What?”



“Yes. Between the wars with the Dominion and the Klingons then The Remans the Romulan empire is quickly falling apart. They need a new tactical edge in the quadrant. That's why all the scientists were eliminated, the Romulans couldn't afford to have anyone find out. The only way this would work is if no one knew. Roderian will be executing all of us as soon as a successful reactivation is done.”



“Oh my God.”



“They needed me for the final stages of the experiment. The brain of a Vulcan and a Romulan are still similar enough so they stimulated my brain so my telepathic abilities were active and they could match it to one of there own.” Vorik spasmed in pain again as Lowell pulled the device off of his neck. Alexandra thought about what her friend had told her and thought desperately of how they could all get out of there. It was the oldest trick in the book but it was just old it enough she might be able to get away with it.



“Lowell, How do you feel about having and sore jaw and being thrown against a force field?” Alexandra asked lightly.



Lowell thought for a few moments. “I'm fine with it as long as it has to do with our escaping, if it doesn't then I will get right back up and clean your clock.”



Alexandra chuckled and thought that this crazy Englishman was really starting to grow on her. She outlined her plan and after hammering out a few details, they were ready to go. Alexandra and Lowell began a heated argument that soon drew two guards to the doorway to watch the arguing officers.



“I don't bloody care about the damn research! I want to live. Your the captain aren't you? Isn't it your responsibility to make sure we survive? I say we give them the damn files!” Lowell shouted angrily.



“We have a responsibility to keep the Federation safe and we are not giving them a damn thing!”



After those words were uttered, Lowell landed a vicious right hook on Alexandra's head. She stumbled back but rebounded with a hard left jab to Lowell's jaw. After circling each other, Alexandra delivered a kick to Lowell's middle which left him gasping and she then took the opportunity to shove him into the force field. Lowell gave a yell then feel to the ground immediately whereupon Holis moved to his side and checked for a pulse.



“I need another hypo spray! I've lost his pulse!” Holis shouted urgently.



The two Romulan guards looked at each other then open the force field, one knelt down where Lowell was and the other pointed his phaser rifle right at Alexandra. The plan was going perfectly. The guard never took his eyes off Alexandra and she made moves to make sure he wouldn't. She slowly raised her arms and placed her hand behind her head then took a beep breath which pushed her chest out in a very becoming way. As she thought the guard was young and his eyes drifted down to her large breasts trying to push their way out. His eyes went back to hers with a questioning and eager glance. Alexandra was never one to be awkward with men, her conquests of the rougher sex made her somewhat infamous at the academy and earned her several disaproving looks from Vorik. Alexandra's lips curled into her most seductive smile and her left eye made a wink, the whole act had the desired affect. The Romulan started licking his lips and lowered his rifle, Alexandra backed up to the wall and lured him in. Alexandra had seen Vorik do the Vulcan nerve pinch before and watch him closely as he did it and while she couldn't perform it with one hand the way Vulcan did but she knew if she hit the general area hard enough it would have the same effect. And she did just that, Alexandra brought both her fists down as hard as she could on his shoulders. The Romulan crumpled to the floor unconscious and Vorik who had been laying prone on the floor jumped up with remarkable speed and tackled the guard leaning over Lowell. Vorik's fist solidly connected with the guard's jaw, Alexandra's face frowned because she thought she heard a low aggressive growl from Vorik as he incapacitated the guard. She dismissed this as she must have heard wrong in all the activity. She had never known Vorik to be overly aggressive in all the days she had known him. As Vorik and Alexandra took the weapons and secured the guards, Lowell started to come around from being thrown into the force field.



“Ohhhhh someone owes me a bloody good dinner for this.”



“We all make out of here alive and in one piece and I'll even cook.”



They checked the corridor before leaving the cell then made their way to what looked like a turbo lift. They rode in the turbo lift for 5 minutes and when the doors finally opened they were in the on the ground level of the main building. They were almost to the entrance hall when a noisy alarm started ringing and decided to putting stealth aside and make a run for it. A few guards were at the entrance but after a brief fire fight they were able to escape into the surrounding forest. They had been running for about half an hour when Lowell spotted something hidden in the brush. It was a strange complex device and after examining it, Lowell gave an excited cry.



“I have been racking my brain trying to figure out they masked their bio reading from our scanners. Most bio masking devices are stationary and because of that they can be found by a regular energy cycle but this is a portable device so it can't be tagged by it's cycle. This looks like an experimental model, probably Breen.”



“That's lovely Lowell but we need to get going.” Alexandra said.



“Captain with just a little adjustment we can adapt this to us so the Romulans can't track us with technology.”



“Alright take it along. According to tricorder readings there are some caves up ahead we can stop there.”



Lowell swung the device onto his back and the group resumed it's quick pace to the caves ahead. They came to a small cliff and while the way down was not far, it was steep and had few hand holds. Vorik and Alexandra could have made the way down with out much trouble but Lowell and Holis were not experienced climbers so the way down was slow and Alexandra constantly worried that the Romulans would show up and shoot them easily. Luck was on their side and they reached the bottom, Alexandra told Lowell to go head and activate the device so from here on their bio signatures would be masked.

Alexandra left tracks for the Romulans to follow leading them in the opposite direction of where they were going.