Heavy boot steps clanked along the metal grating and echoed all around Tanna, and a strong hand had an almost painful grasp of her left arm, leading her blindly down a corridor. The captors had bound her hands in sturdy metallic cuffs, and they had blindfolded her before they dragged her from the tiny holding cell where her and her crewmates had been forced into after their cover was blown and they had been captured. They turned her left and right, sometimes it seemed like they were walking her in circles. Eventually, she was pushed roughly into a cold metal chair, tied her hands and feet to it, and then removed her blindfold. Bright lights stung her eyes, and she blinked painfully for a moment before her eyes began to adjust. The room was small and it smelled badly of stale air and dirty grease, and she could see two or three bodies looming in the shadows behind the light.

One of the figures spoke up, harsh and guttural. “Hello, Starfleet” they said, letting the words hiss from their mouth. Tanna’s eyes widened for a second before she had a chance to think. “That’s right,” the shadowy figure continued,  “We know who you are, and your two friends. Trying to recover some of your precious technology, are you?”

Tanna stayed silent, staring angrily at the shadows, doing her best to look stern and resolute though inside she was very afraid. Trying not to let that fear show through, she gritted her teeth and strained for a second against the bonds that held her in place. The shadows laughed out loud at her attempt, then one stepped forward and slapped her hard across the face with the back of their hand. Her cheek burned, and she could feel it start to swell slowly.

“Don’t worry, Starfleet, we won’t break you. That’s a job we leave to The Boss” said the figure. The other two laughed quietly as he finished, and postured menacingly from behind the brightness of the light. Just then, the sound of more heavy foot falls grew steadily louder from outside in the corridor, then came to a halt outside the door.

Rhaan Velik had mildly negative feelings about a lot of things, but he absolutely hated Starfleet. Finding them here on the Huelgh meant that the market was no longer the exclusive event it had been for the past thirteen times, and that in and of itself made him angry.

His eyes scanned Tanna, noting how the young woman was not at all the stubborn and brave officer she attempted to portrait herself as.

“Give her a break.”, he said, almost kindly. His anger rarely translated into the way he spoke.

Tanna fell to the floor of the cell as the captors threw her through the doorway, and slammed the metal cage behind her. The cell felt even colder now that the captors had taken her trench coat. Her captors removed her restraints, and then the blindfold. Looking around quickly she locked eyes with Nevaeh, but she saw no sign of Shahr anywhere. She crawled across the floor and balled herself up into the corner, placing a hand over her now throbbing cheek.

Naveah slowly moved over to her. Their captors had largely left her alone – mostly because she was the exact opposite from Tanna. Her training allowed her to remain somewhat analytical of the situation while her expression and behaviour were that of a scared girl. Which didn’t mean she wasn’t scared, she simply decided that she was the most experienced of the three, and if someone was to find a way out, it was her.

Shahr methodically flexed his muscles before opening his eyes. Checking for injury, he slowly moved his inspection from head to toe. He was sore all over, but no bones seemed broken. Satisfied, Shahr opened his eyes. He was immediately overcome by a wave of nausea from the uneven sight. An antenna must be damaged, because everything was swimming. Gritting his teeth, Shahr powered through it and pulled himself to his feet.

A guard sat outside his cell, leaning lazily against the wall. He watched Shahr with a look that seemed to oscillate between disgust and amusement. If Shahr had to guess, this guard was probably the one who had worked him over… And he probably enjoyed it.

“Where are my companions?” Shahr demanded of the guard. He still maintained the affect of Charl, unsure whether or not their cover had been blown. It has been hard to tell in the moments of the attack. That had been a blur, and Shahr wasn’t quite sure he’d be able to piece out together without help.

“You will find out soon enough.”, hissed the guard as he rose from his chair, evidently having decided that he had done enough sitting, and was going to earn himself Velik’s appreciation by making their prisoner talk.