Rebellion

[Cmdr JFarrington 0]

Imaj of Kirok

ISS Manticore 5108032.4

 

Rebellion

 

"It doesn't take a majority to make a rebellion;

it takes only a few determined leaders and a sound cause."

--H. L. Mencken

 

 

The Empire fed him, clothed him, gave him everything he could possibly need, defended him against Imperial enemies. And for him to rebel, and to endanger the lives of his family with such aberrant behavior? It defied reason. His very existence reeked of contempt; he had no right to live. That he had even been born defiled the gods.

 

Yet, there was something about his eyes. The rebel, though bloodied and swollen from battle and interrogation, opened his eyelids enough to reveal defiance such as Imaj had never seen. It darted from his soul to hers, a piercing barb that cut her to the quick.

 

She was not in the room, but watching from the bridge, and yet the rebel seemed to sense her. Surely it was her imagination.

 

Moments before, she had been stroking Captain Sovak’s arm in eager anticipation of the interrogation about to unfold on the main viewscreen. A good interrogation never failed to excite her. And it would be intense. Stimulating. Those on the bridge would bear witness, thereby reinforcing their loyalty to command, and therefore to the Empire.

 

“’Tis a dangerous game you play.” Sovak whispered in her ear.

 

The rebel’s eyes had, at that very moment, opened. A groan and a glance toward Dr. Mele must have awakened in him the realization of what was about to unfold, and his body stiffened. He turned his head and, for a split second, he glanced towards the video feed to the bridge. The camera was hidden. The rebel could not possibly have known he was staring directly at the bridge crew. But he was. And his eyes met hers.

 

“Life . . . is a dangerous game,” she said, unable to look away.

 

The rebel, though barely conscious, his body battered and swollen, the bone of one leg protruding through the skin in several places, boldly set his jaw. He had no avenue of escape, and with the prospect of coming chemically-induced agony apparent, still he refused to comply. Had this senseless beast any idea, any inkling of what Dr. Mele was capable?

 

Then came her bond-mate. Alone. Sickbay had been cleared leaving none to witness but the bridge crew. With slow, contemplative pace he approached the rebel, released the restraints and pulled up a chair, taking the rebel completely by surprise. And yet, the man seemed to sense the deception.

 

“So,” Atragon began, “we have you caught in your rebellious activities against our glorious Empire. Do you want to help us and spare your life?”

 

“Spare my life? To serve the Empire? I would gladly give my life to destroy it.”

 

“And how about the rest of your friends down there? What if you could spare their lives, too?”

 

“They, too, would gladly give their lives to destroy the Empire. We shall live in freedom or not at all.”

 

Such resolve. Such strength. Imaj sat, transfixed by the exchange between the two. The rebel’s spittle dripped down the Admiral’s face as Atragon pressed the man’s broken knee unmercifully, then pinned him to the wall to choke him senseless. Still he remained adamant. Even with the Admiral’s crude ministration of drugs, directly into his jugular, an instantaneous shock to every synapse and nerve ending in his body, effectively setting them afire, he did not yield. He lay there writhing in agony, his primal scream reaching even those outside sick bay.

 

The rebel’s behavior was beyond comprehension. They were indeed a strange breed, these rebels. And yet….

 

It suddenly occurred to Imaj that the very thing she despised in the rebel, the very thing that separated them, was what they held in common: strength beyond mortality, intensity of will that would not die no matter what the consequences. She found herself admiring this loathsome, contemptible subhuman creature.

 

It struck her to the core.

 

Perhaps she had been in space too long. Perhaps she was consumed with an undiagnosed malady that stripped her of reasonable distance from her adversary. Yes, that must be it. She should see Dr. Mele at her first opportunity.

 

After he finished with the rebel.