"Rede's Prisoner"

[Joe Manning 0]

Nickles' eyes opened slowly as he regained consciousness. His senses were blurred and he felt light-headed, but he could tell that his wrists and ankles were strapped to the chair he was sitting in. There was a white humanoid shape in front of him ... but it was turning black. First one leg turned black, then the other. Slowly his vision became more clear; he could tell that the shape was a woman, a tantalizingly curvy woman, as she covered her nude upper body in a tight leather jacket that matched the sable pants. She had glistening silver hair that draped across her shoulders, but even that faded as she pulled aside the wig to reveal a bald head.

 

"Your muscles will remain weak for several hours, so don't bother to struggle," the woman said. Her voice echoed around and through Nickles; he could tell that this effect was a combination of his disorientation and the acoustics of his environment. As his sight cleared further, he could confirm that he was sitting in a large wide-open but enclosed space. High windows began to flicker into his view, windows with faint blue light filtering in at a sharp downward angle. A warehouse?

 

He tried to speak. His mouth moved but no sound came out. His muscles were reluctant to comply with his commands. He felt as if he was caught in a half-dream state. The woman strapped a flat device to her arm and Nickles could hear a beep. She tapped the face of the device and Nickles barely discerned something sharp penetrating his left wrist. His dizziness seemed to intensify.

 

"We Deltans are known for our ... sexual prowess," the woman remarked. "But we have other talents which are not such common knowledge. Talents of ... mental suggestion."

 

"Redera ... " Nickles managed to groan as he suddenly recalled the pleasant shape of the last person whose company he enjoyed before he lost consciousness. Soon after, he recalled the blast in the skyline ... and something being held over his mouth and nose. "Why ... "

 

"You were not willing to talk about your ship in the tavern," Redera said as she entered another instruction into her ODRI. The sharp object withdrew from Nickles' wrist. "I do not have the time to extract the information I need through ... pillow talk. So I will employ my other talents instead. By the time we are through here, you -will- want to tell me what I need to know."