A Truth and a Dare

Posted on Sun Jun 21st, 2020 @ 8:41am by Captain Nycolas Temple & Lieutenant Commander James Smith & Tisar Zemel
Edited on on Tue Jul 7th, 2020 @ 1:50pm

Mission: Into the Wild
Location: Guest Quarters

A Mission Post by Captain Nycolas Temple & Lieutenant James Smith & Tisar Zemel
Mission: Into The Wild
Location: Guest Quarters
Timeline:
Wed Dec 20th, 2017 @ 11:26am


Crew members fluttered about the corridors of the Pandora as Captain Temple and Lieutenant Smith walked towards the guest quarters. The ship had a plan now, following the senior staff meeting, and it meant returning to the dark matter nebula and a potential confrontation with the Ravagers. If they had any chance of defeating the pirates, they needed their informant - Tisar Zemel.

As the Captain and Chief Intelligence Officer approached Tisar's room, Nyx scrolled through a PADD with a worried frown.

"We have the Transport Incident Report from the Federation database regarding Tisar's ship," He explained to Smith, "It was reported MIA after leaving Cardassian territory and crossing into the neutral zone six months ago. It was supposed to dock at Deep Space 12 but never arrived. A search party was formed but found no evidence of the ship or any debris. It was as if the ship had simply disappeared."

Smith nodded, “I’ve been going over the sensor logs from the Ravager ship that we destroyed on the surface, but their was nothing of use to us most of the data was corrupted or missing.” Smith looked up the thought of ships simply disappearing without a trace really bothered him. Continuing Smith said, “we need to determine how thes ships are disappearing without any trace.”

"Attacking ships in the Neutral Zone is incredibly bold for the Ravagers. But if they suceeded in abducting Tisar's vessel, it's likely they will try again." Nyx added, "It may also mean that the Carnage is holding other civilians as hostages too. We may need to rescue them."

Smith frowned remembering the last time he had faced a Ravager crew, “If they have other prisoner, it could prove a challenge in rescuing them. The best way we could do this is by infiltrating the Carnage and see what we are up against. The only reason to keep prisoners is they serve some type of purpose.” Smith stopped speculating as they approached the guest room.

Arriving at the guest room, Nyx gave a solemn nod to the guards on duty and they swiftly opened the doors to speak with Tisar.

Amazingly, Tisar was awake and dressed. He had tied his hair back away from his face and was looking a little more presentable than before. He stood and bowed respectfully when the Starfleet group stepped into his room. "Greetings again, Captain and company. Thank you for being so hospitable. I can't even explain how much I needed the sleep." He smiled a little. "Please have a seat. I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

The worst part about being a prisoner of the Ravagers and being constantly deprived of sleep was that it had made it difficult to sleep on the quiet starship. Tisar had woken up every 30-45 minutes, worried about what was going to happen, then he would realize where he was and try to relax again. He was sure it would eventually go away and he would be able to sleep normally again, but for now it was definitely annoying.

Nyx couldn't help but smile at the Cardassian as he remarked, "You look so much better than when we first met, Mr. Zemel, if you don't mind me saying. I'm glad we were able to provide assistance to you. Have you eaten?"

Tisar smiled, it seemed a more genuine smile this time. "No, Captain. I have not. I can't really say that my appetite has returned to me yet, although I probably should eat anyway. I must say that I am very grateful to you and your crew. Regardless of our meeting circumstances, I feel as if I have been saved and I thank you."

Moving to sit down in the guest quarter's modest lounge area, Nyx stopped at the console on the wall, "I'm not sure how familiar you are with our technology yet, but our replicator here will make almost anything you desire. There's a limited selection of Cardassian dishes, I believe."

Tisar smiled a little and took a seat, rubbing his knees with his hands. "I spent several years in San Francisco as a shopkeeper, very close to the Academy campus, but thank you. I'm sure that once I'm back on a regular sleep schedule I might be able to expand that Cardassian selection for you. Right now, food is the last thing on my mind."

With a nod, Nyx lead the group to sit down, "Let's begin, shall we? And please know that if any questions we ask become too difficult for you, or if you need a break, then just say so."

Nyx gave a reassuring pat on the Cardassian's shoulder, hoping that his softer approach would encourage Tisar to be completely honest in his answers. There was still a voice in the back of the Captain's mind that told him to never trust a Ravager.

Tisar smiled again, his eyes studying the Captain's face for a moment. "I am ready to give you as much information as I can. You will want to know that I was a prisoner and my activities were mostly confined to the kitchen, but I am also a military man, Captain. So, I do have a little bit of experience at understanding of how a starship operates. I believe that my military experience is what led The Butcher to believe I might be an asset to him."

The Captain nodded, "We will need everything you can give us on the ship. Crew numbers, organisation, deck layout, weaponry. I anticipate we will come into conflict with the Carnage eventually, we need to be prepared if we're ever going to stand a chance against it."

Tisar chuckled a little bit. "I can draw you a deck layout from what I remember and can probably speculate with accuracy what I didn't see... but as far as organization goes, it's chaos. I don't really understand it myself. The Butcher uses brainwashing techniques to get most of his crew and fear to keep them loyal... and their numbers vary widely from one day to the next. He himself, is much like the ship, parts scavenged from whatever and wherever. The ship is filthy and crawling in vermin... and I don't just mean the crew. To be honest, it's the stuff of nightmares. If you do manage to take them down, I suggest burning that ship... Do you have something I can draw you a listing on?" He looked hopefully at Nyx.

When he was handed a PaDD and stylus he set to work immedately. It took several moments before he had something down that he could show people. He put the PaDD on the table and used the stylus as a pointing tool. "Captain, this ship is much like... I believe you call them tanks? Anywhere where the previous vessel they used was weak they would reinforce it. Most of their hull is duranium and tritanium, much like any vessel, but there are areas around these places..." he tapped the PaDD to the areas he was indicating. "... here and here... where the hull is thicker. I never got a chance to look at their shield generators, but those spots might be weaknesses in their shields and one of them is very close to a majority of their weaponry. You must love design flaws." He chuckled. "The command deck is here... all of this section..." He circled the area. "... all of this is part of a Klingon D7 battlecruiser. Some of their weaponry comes from the same ship. All of this in the aft section is... I'm afraid to say... mostly from a starfleet vessel. I believe you call them Constitution class? There are of course parts and pieces from all over the galaxy... but those two comprise most of the body of the ship. So... command is up here. Weapons are here and all of their power generators and drives are here. They do have some sort of multi-phasic shielding. I overheard crew members talking about shield cycles, but those places where the hull is thicker... might not be being covered by the shields. Where just the edge pokes out. I've run into things before, Captain, where the shields had trouble reading additions... and the Ravagers have definitely made additions."

Nyx looked down at the impromptu drawing with a curious eye, noticing the fluid movements of this Cardassian pilot's hand while drawing. He had a sophistication to his demeanour, a grace that Nyx had not seen before in others from his species.

"This is excellent, Mr. Zemel," Nyx spoke, "We may find a pivotal weak spot yet. If not to attack directly, then perhaps be able to board the craft."

Smith took in the information as Tisar relayed detailed information of the ship. Looking up from his Padd Smith said, “Where do they get new recruits or do they just rely on the ships and crew they capture?” Smith looked down before continuing, “Also I would like info on the brainwashing technique you talked about.”

Tisar nodded and smiled a little wanly at Smith. "As far as I could tell The Butcher totally relies on the ships they capture, but I may be wrong. I didn't perceive making any stops of meeting with another ship for crew, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen and I just wasn't aware of it. Most of the time when I noticed new crewmembers, they were from a captured ship." He leaned back on the couch. "They break your spirit, Lieutenant. I was starved, beaten, deprived of sleep for days. I believe that it would make most men mad beyond their right mind. I have military training, so I chalked up my unwillingness to give in to that. I'm certain that I'm not the only one able to keep their wits, but I did not see any other prisoners. I also must point out that, it became very difficult to tell if anyone was a prisoner or a crew member, as there is no uniform. They also run a continuous stream of sound into the holding cells. Some of it was talking, but some was just noise. Under the onslaught of all of that. Most would change sides or die. I watched The Butcher kill a young man where he stood once. A young human male. He had questioned a decision The Butcher had already given orders for." He leaned forward and grasped his hands in front of himself. "When I say he killed him... I don't mean with a phaser or disruptor... I mean that he killed the boy with his own two hands. Broke his neck like a twig. After so much of that in front of your eyes. Most people also tend to obey."

Nyx felt a shudder go through him, followed by a wave of anger. He had to walk away for a moment to collect himself, staring out the guest room's window into the abyss of space. He didn't want to imagine the young man, he tried not put himself in that moment of unrestrained violence - but the helpless feeling lurked in his mind like a waking nightmare.

Finally he turned back to the others, "You have shown remarkable strength to endure that torture, Mr Zemel. This Butcher believed he had you broken, but you survived. And it will be his downfall."

Tisar eyed the Starfleet Captain with a little bit of a smirk. "Thank you Captain. I would be forever in your debt if you could see to it that my effort was not wasted. I felt somehow that I didn't have a choice, but to survive. I'm not sure what to tell you about other prisoners though. I only wished for two things in my time aboard the Carnage. Rescue or death."

The Captain looked to them both with a firm glare. "We returned the Pandora to the nebula as a precaution against a Ravager incursion. But now I believe we cannot sit and wait while that madman continues to sail freely nearby. He is a threat to the region that must be removed."

Smith had been pacing back and forth fuming over what he had been hearing. His own torture by the Ravager and the death of his family was still fresh in his mind. Turning back to the captain and Tisar he said, “We need to get aboard the Carnage, we need to end this before anyone else is butchered.” Smith turned to look at Tisar, “Is there a way we can get a small team on board without raising too much suspicion?”

Tisar was quiet for a moment and then nodded, his head tipped to the side like he was still thinking. "I think so... but we might have to pose as something else. Maybe a lost shuttle? Give them a chance to take us hostage... Or... The Butcher doesn't know that I'm still alive. We might be able to take advantage of that. I could return with "prisoners" or "recruits"... I'm not sure he would accept recruits. You might be better as prisoners. If I went back to him with a present... he might not be suspicious of me returning. I'm not sure that I want to return to that ship though..." He looked at Nyx pleadingly. "I will if I must though... but I would prefer that you just blew him up from here..."

"As would I." Nyx replied glibly, "I'm not going to put you back in danger, Tisar. If possible, we can have you communicate with the Carnage to set up the cover story, but it will be us going over there to take him down."

Tisar nodded. He wasn't sure what they were going to say to The Butcher about who the Starfleet officers were or why they would want to come aboard his ship, but he was definitely willing to give it a try.

"The Carnage may have other prisoners onboard," Nyx continued, "Primary objective will be to take out the Butcher, but if we find any other prisoners it is imperative that we rescue them too."

"Captain, if I may... it may be possible that if you kill The Butcher, his crew may defect. I am certain that almost all of them were prisoners at one point," Tisar pointed out. If they were going to save people then why not try and save as many as possible.

Nyx smiled, "We will certainly be taking him into our custody. Starfleet doesn't kill people, but we will be forcibly removing him from the Carnage and hopefully the others will surrender."

"Captain, you may find it necessary to kill him... I'm not sure that The Butcher will take kindly to capture," Tisar warned. "Remember, Captain, that you are not dealing with a man that is in any way, shape or form sane."

The Captain clapped his hands together, as he was often fond of doing when he'd made a decision, "We still need to figure out the details but I think we have a plan. Tisar will provide a cover story that he's returning with prisoners and we will use this to board the Carnage. If we can isolate their shield weaknesses, we may be able to help disable the ship while the boarding party finds and detain Balek. Yes, I think we can pull this off."

Tisar nodded. "I am willing to try," he said simply. Tisar was certain that The Butcher would not let himself be taken captive, even if it meant taking his own life, but stranger things had happened and even Tisar had to admit that the man was unpredictable so the outcome of this could literally be anything. Being a man of military upbringing, where war was rather cut and dry, unpredictable outcomes made him nervous.

"Alright," Nyx looked between the two men, "We will know how to proceed once we reach the nebula. Until then, we should prepare ourselves to board the Carnage. Is there anything else?"

Tisar shook his head. He was more than willing to help his rescuers keep anyone else from falling into the same fate he himself had suffered. "I believe I am clear on what needs to be done, Captain. Thank you, both for rescuing me and believing my story. I will not let you down. I wish to see him out of commission," he said with all seriousness.

"As do I," Nyx nodded, "And with your help, we're going to bring him to justice."

OFF