In Darkest Hours

[T'aral 0]

T’Aral sat in the slave cage, doing her best to care for Lieutenant Kvar. While she was still calm and reserved, even the most logical parts of her mind could not stop from reminding her that this was all her fault. She should have been more forceful about insisting that the Commander leave immediately. She should have chosen a more populated area to exit through, where capture would have been hindered by the presence of bystanders. It was her fault that they were in this predicament, and now Tifa’s well-being was entirely her responsibility.

 

The inquiries to their Orion captors were most enlightening; she would need to share them with her fellow prisoner promptly, but she would need to do it carefully. The one enemy was despair, and if either of them fell to it then the odds of their survival deminish drastically. T’Aral sat and watched, waiting for a sign that Tifa was awake while seeking just the right words to say.

 

It didn’t take long for a sign to arrive, as Tifa suddenly and violently began to cough. Her whole body heaved as it attempted to purge what remained of the gas. Once things calmed down, the young woman took a moment to open her eyes and get a first glimpse of where she ended up.

 

“Ughhh......” moaned Tifa as she started to slowly sit up. Her head was killing her, and the coughing didn’t help that. As she held her head with a hand, she soon realized she wasn’t alone in what appeared to be a cell. Slowly turning, Tifa saw the doctor sitting by her. “Doctor?” the confused woman looked to the Vulcan. “W...where are we?” She looked around again to confirm it was just the two of them. “And where is Audraya?”

 

T’Aral did her best to ease Tifa back down. She was clearly in pain - the chemical mix that was dropped on them was causing a bad reaction within the lieutenant. So far all she could provide was a cool, damp cloth. Their captors had promised medical supplies … hopefully they would arrive soon.

 

“The Commander is not here. We have been captured by Orion slavers. Regrettably, I have no knowledge regarding the Commander’s whereabouts or condition.” While it was usually T’Aral’s nature to be more free with pertinent information, she was reluctant to share the full details of their situation. Tifa would find out soon enough; there was no sense in upsetting her prematurely when she was only now recovering. “I must ask that you follow my directions for the time being: our situation is perilous, and it is important that you allow me to see to your safety and well-being.”

 

Tifa slowly nodded as she laid back down as best she could on the hardened cage floor. “Orion slavers...What do they want with us? Have you talked with them? Are they Black Kris?” So many questions seemed to pop up as she grew more and more worried.

 

T’Aral would have preferred not to answer Tifa’s questions quite so directly, but there was no point in deceiving her or, at this point, trying to soften the blow. Their situation was dire and she needed to know that. “To answer your inquiries in reverse order: I believe that they are Black Kris or somehow associated, I have spoken with the individual who appears responsible for us, and they intend to sell us both as pleasure slaves - assuming we survive some manner of blood sport referred to as ‘The Maze’.”

 

Now came the difficult part: inspiring confidence in such a situation. “I have considered our situation as well as how we came to this state. I believe I can mitigate our circumstances, but only if I have your full and complete co-operation. Each stage of our situation can be dealt with if it is approached logically. That logic, however, may take some unusual forms.”

 

Tifa frowned at the thought of going through a maze. She had heard rumors of such a trial, but never considered once she would be a part of one. Looking to T’Aral, she nodded lightly. “Right, I will do what I can. For both of our sakes...” She only wished Audraya were here to rescue her.