"The Measure of a Man"

[Garnoopy 0]

Lieutenant Garnoopy

Chief Engineer

Personal Log Stardate 50308.17

“The Measure of a Man”  

Log Series Part VII

 

Garnoopy found himself strapped to the steel bed, unable to move his arms, legs, or head. The Romulans had been efficient at their movements. They had removed him from his forcefield and half walked, half shoved him to the interrogation room. Despite his attempts at resistance they had quickly tied him down to the bed and there he currently lay, unable to move.

 

A Romulan entered the room and stood next to Garnoopy. The two security guards moved back to prevent anyone from leaving the room. The Romulan looked down at Garnoopy, then held out a padd and read information off of it.

 

“Lieutenant Garnoopy, Chief Engineer of the Federation Starship U.S.S. Manticore. Registry number NCC-5852” the Romulan said.

 

Garnoopy gritted his teeth and held back any smart response he might have. Marguax was right, better to have to listen to the Romulans in peace rather than in pain.

 

“The biography we have on you is quite interesting, though some of the information we have from Starfleet isn’t quite correct about your family but we’ll let that pass for now. We have more important things to discuss” the Romulan said, and smiled down at Garnoopy.

 

The man set down his padd and began arranging tools on a small table next to Garnoopy, “You should know that my field of study is that of information retrieval. Not that of a computer of course, as yours would be, but that of information from one’s mind. I’m quite good.”

 

“I know already that you aren’t going to just hand over any information that I ask you for, your to loyal to your Federation and crew. However, perhaps you might feel more, shall we say, talkative after I finish some of my work” the man said while loading a hypo.

 

The hypo was pressed against Garnoopy’s neck and he felt a liquid injected into him. Garnoopy had no idea what the Romulan had just put into him but he didn’t like the idea that the liquid was inside him. He was an engineer, not a security officer. This was not a situation he should be in. He could resist for a long time he believed, but he had no past experience to base that assumption on. Roget had faith in him but was that enough? He refused to die and he hoped that was enough.

 

“That should help you. It’s designed to increase the sensitivity of your body’s senses. Everything will be much more sensitive from now on” the Romulan replied with a grin.

 

Instantly Garnoopy realized what the Romulan had done. The injection was not a truth serum or a pain creator. It was simply to enhance his pain receptors so they would be extremely sensitive. Anything that was done to him would be much more painful now.

 

He heard a rip as his uniform was torn across his abdomen. Cool air hit it and Garnoopy realized that his stomach was already extra sensitive to the chilly interrogation room. He felt an icy cold device pressed against his stomach.

 

As the small device was activated Garnoopy’s vision went from the Romulan to a blinding white light. His ears registered a scream somewhere in the room and after a moment Garnoopy’s mind realized that it was his own.  

 

 

48 Minutes Later

 

 

A loud thud echoed through the cargo bay as Garnoopy’s  body was dropped to the floor of his cell. The Romulan guard grunted at the body on the ground then left, reactivating the forcefield.

 

Garnoopy just lay there, not wanting to think, not wanting to function. He could not remember if he had said anything at all, he did not want to remember anyways.

 

His eyes closed and he just lay there, shaking slightly, and waited for what would happen next.  

 

Margaux stood as she watched the Romulans return Garnoopy to his cell, and her heart contracted at the myraid of lacerations that crisscrossed his body.  For a moment she had thought him dead, but now could see the uneven rise and fall of his chest, the slight shaking of his body that she knew would only get worse as shock set in.  

 

She would have given anything to have been able to get over to him, but instead had to settle on putting herself as close to him as the forcefields would allow.  "You did well, Slick," she said in hushed soothing tones.  "You hung in there, you survived.  We'll get out of this, just hang in there ...."