Benevolence

Posted on 09 Dec 2017 @ 5:42pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Edward Bauer
Edited on on 10 Dec 2017 @ 8:47am

2,528 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: Earth - Australia, Perth Rehabiliation Center
Timeline: MD 50, 1406 hrs

[ON]

The Perth Rehabilitation center was a towering structure of four floors consisting of two hundred cells per floor. Each cell could hold anywhere from two to four people depending on the floor it was situated on. The exterior of the structure was comprised of layers of concrete and double thick tritanium plating in between. Inside, the floors mirrored one another consisting of little to no decor down the endless gray-walled corridors patrolled consistently by guards doing the standard black uniform of the facility. Forty meters across from the main facility, an annex building had been constructed to house various work areas for the residents of the center. One particular room, an area with twenty four benches was designated for the manufacture of Isolinear chips. Each bench consisted of a simple tool box with the basic tools, tools which could not match up to the body armor or weaponry of the guards and would certainly lead to the demise of an inmate who sought to use them as such. On this particular day, several inmates worked quietly at their benches, working through the monotony of their task until they would be told to leave for meals or bed.

Jade, Inmate 001-479-252 had completed work on thirty or so chips. Such was the routine of her day, at first she tried to make goals, completing more chips then the last day but soon realized the futility of her efforts. Regardless of her pace, she would not be recognized or merited for her work. She was just another face amongst many in the facility, her skills a memory of the past, her labour serving only to keep her out of time in solitary. She had worked in this shop for the past six months, becoming attuned to all the faces whom entered. There was a new face today, an orion female. It had been several months since she had seen her last Orion. The last was a brute of a man, a smuggler found bringing illicit substances into Federation space. He had served his time and moved on, now the female occupied his usual spot. This coincidence caused curiosity within the rather petite human female. "Hey you, Orion. I haven't seen you here before? New transfer?" Jade asked the new face.

It was Lirha's first day at work after processing and she was initially overwhelmed by the factory conditions inside the center's manufacturing facility. Unlike the housing barracks, she was quite sure much of the current building lay underground, and the lack of fresh air did nothing to reinforce her doubts.

She'd been shown to her station and started work on her task. It was a mundane and uninspiring use of her skill set that would consume the next five years of her life, and it took all her internal fortitude to not lash out at everything around her. Then she heard the quip from the worker next to her.

Saalm narrowed her light green eyes and looked over at the interruption. "What do you care?"

"I don't really." Jade replied looking back at her work. "Here I thought Orions were social. Even the last guy that sat there was, even thought he was about a smart as the table top your working on."

Jade's voice was notably raspy, almost as if she has sustained trauma to her vocal chords, her neck however did not indicate so. Infact, beyond the large scar across her left eye, Jade looked in great shape as if never having engaged in many physical altercations.

Great. The first day of her new life and some random convict woman was trying to make friends with her. "Do you know a lot about Orions, Human?" she grudgingly asked in reply.

"I know enough to know that if you Orions were not skilled talkers, that beautiful little facade you gals have going with the men would hardly have an effect on them, let alone fool anyone not coloured green. It's more then pheromones you know." Jade retorted gleefully already liking the new girl.

She turned to Saalm, leaning on the table top with her elbow as her eyes sized the Orion female up. "You must've had a treatment recently, otherwise poor Helen over there would probably be screaming in pain." She motioned with her head over to the woman working behind Saalm whom had a bandage wrapped around her head. "A result of a concussion, such a hazard a slippery floor and a well-placed table can be." Her tone was projected in an almost amused manner.

Saalm glanced sideways and cast an annoyed smirk to the talkative woman. "It's amazing you've gotten this far in your life being so ignorant. I thought your kind were supposed to be diplomats well-versed in cultural studies?" she mocked. Lirha had little intention of engaging in any meaningful conversation with anyone at the moment, but a quick glance over to watch the woman's work resulted in an advisory caution.

"And you might want to pay more attention to your own affairs. Your isolinear spanner is incorrectly calibrated," the Orion gestured to the other woman's workbench. Years of Operations training and starship deployments had made her an expert of sorts at assembling and fixing various forms of circuitry, and she could hear the audible frequency resonate at an incorrect wavelength for the type of chip being produced.

Jade let out a soft laugh just bearing over a chuckle. "Then it appears we are both looking through distorted lenses. For my part, I am as much an engineer as a diplomat. My expertise lies more in facilitation rather then the solution. If you would please, I would be quite grateful." Jade replied extending her hands out with the isolinear spanner placed in her palms.

Lirha narrowed her eyes at the woman, her gaze shifting between the device and the Human's face. She didn't want to ask what 'facilitation' meant for she was sure she'd met similar-minded people in the past, but a small part of her wanted to know what she'd been incarcerated for.

Reluctantly, the Orion took the spanner and placed it own her own table. She rolled it on its side then input several commands into the tiny interface with her sharp fingernails, then activated it to test her work. A high-pitched whir began to sound as the tip glowed bright red and indicated its readiness to micro-solder new isolinear circuitry. "Here," Saalm said in a dry voice, handing the spanner back. "That will cost you your breakfast rations for the rest of the week," she added.

Hunter clutched the spanner as a smile grew on her face. She gazed at Saalm appreciatively nodding her head in quick succession. "A payment unworthy of the service rendered for I could not honestly grasp why anyone would want a surplus of the detestable sustenance offered by our fine correctional staff. Such barter makes any further requests a mountainous task, one I fear a woman would find herself with a debt unpayable." Lindsay responded showing signs of shame and timidness as she rubbed her hand over her throat. She looked away from Lirha, back to her bench staring blankly at the tabletop.

Frowning, Saalm continued to look at the other woman and noticed the sudden change in her demeanor. "Relax. If it's as bad as it sounds, you can keep it. Or..." a thought popped in her mind, "if you can provide me with certain accommodations," she kept her voice low as she worked on assembling one of the isolinear chips in front of her, "maybe I can reconfigure the replicator to make something more appetizing?"

Jade looked back at Saalm, showing no change in demeanor. "I would most certainly be willing to strike an accord with stipulations I could most certainly fulfill." She let out a long drawn sigh. "Alas, the grotesque yield of the replicator is not as reprehensible as the voice I am confined to project. I fear its position on the scale..." she looked sheepishly over at the muscular female guard whom was half heartedly observing the room. "Has changed the guards perception of my femininity." She bowed her head, observing her petit chest. "I fear I will soon be required to self-impose restrictions upon my garb."

Saalm blinked with surprise and wondered if she'd heard the Human's words correctly. "That guard has submitted you for her pleasure?" she asked, gesturing to the same well-built gold-collared female on patrol.

Jade bowed her head, looking to her fingers which she began to fidget with. "I feel obliged to profess an account of submission by admission. I firmly refute a dichotomy of sacrifice and accomplishment, the two are symbiotic. The former, even if unpleasant must never be ignored." She swallowed deeply as she recalled memories of numerous night spent in the company of Starfleet's finest. "To impose a divide amongst them would be a subversion of my own moral." A tear fell from her eye causing her to swiftly wipe it with the back of her palm.

"To abandon one's pronciple, is the sincerest form of death." She muttered revealing a hint of anger in her tone.

As the Orion listened and tried to interpret the unusual phrasing the other woman used, she found herself bearing less patience than she otherwise would. "You speak like a Vulcan," she matter-of-factly stated. "Just tell me what happened. In Standard."

"Yes." Jade responded softly turning away from Saalm as she returned to her previous task.

Saalm began the mundane work on her task and placed a tiny circuit board inside an isolinear chip housing. "Well, what do you hope to gain from it? More yard time? Unrestricted comms?" she wondered out-loud as she slowly and carefully waved her spanner over the assembled pieces.

"Whatever my heart desires." A brief pause as she waved her spanner over the chip. "Except freedom. That is a request beyond the guard's capacity." She replied as she moved her head towards the chip focusing intently on her work.

The question Saalm had tried to avoid now seemed to bubble on the surface and would soon envelop them both if it wasn't asked. "What did you do and how much time are you in for?"

"I took that which was rightfully mine. Starfleet however did not agree and as such incarcerated me for a period of five years." Hunter responded. "What unfortunate circumstances have brought you to this dreadful abode?" She asked.

The inevitability of being asked about her trial still managed to catch the Orion off guard for a slight moment. She briefly wondered how best to respond and how much to initially reveal. "I was a flag officer found guilty of treason, destruction of Federation property, and violation of standing orders," she read off out-loud as best she could remember from the list at her court-martial.

Jade set down her spanner, turning to face Saalm. She could empathize with the former flag officer having too faced the ire of a court-martial. Saalm's sentence however, paled in comparison to Jade's. "It seems Starfleet has become all too hasty with labels as of late. I'm terribly sorry to hear of your circumstances, from what I gather you do not strike me as treasonous. If it is not rude of me to query, what were the circumstances of these supposed treasonous acts?"

Saalm wasn't about to explain the details of the last six months to this stranger, but offered an alternative for any inquiring minds. "I don't want to discuss it. If you want to know, I'm sure there is something on FNN. The press seems to have reporters everywhere these days."

Jade frowned. "I tend to give little credence to the accounts of the press corps." Before Lindsay could continue, the large towering female guard came up from behind Jade dropping her hand on the petite woman's shoulder causing her to jump and let out a high pitched squeak. Her face cringed as the woman's fingers pressed into her muscles.

"Inmate, I'll need to see you in my office later, that is unless you don't want a television anymore." The guard said grinning down at Jade, whom was now cowering below her. The tone was authoritative, but spoken with a subtle seductive tone. After making Jade stew for a few moments, the guard released her grip from Jade's shoulder, continuing her patrol of the room.

Jade looked at Saalm for a moment, as if embarassed, before abruptly turning back to her work.

The Orion had taken notice of the brief yet pointed interaction between the two, and offered a slight comfort as best she could muster to the Human. "At least she's not the most unattractive woman I've ever seen," she commented with a lighthearted shrug.

Jade smiled looking back at the Orion, knowing she was attempting to console her. "Looks can be deceiving." She said softly as she began to rub her left bicep. She cringed as if this caused her great pain. "You spoke of concessions earlier. What luxuries do you desire in this place?" She asked.

"I don't know yet," Saalm answered, "this is only my third day here. But if I were to guess..." she pondered the standards of living as she'd seen them since being inside the detention facility, "..I think I would like unrestricted replicator rations." She would start with that -- a minor revelation to this new woman to gauge her sincerity.

"It shall be done. By this time tomorrow, you will be indulging in a little piece of home." She tried to smile despite knowing what such a concession would cost her, but it would be worth it.

The thought of freshly replicated fried wing slugs quickly overcame her with anticipation. "Good.." she mumbled, sitting up straight and taking a deep breath of satisfaction. Maybe being an inmate wouldn't be so bad afterall...

"Your request however, would best be fulfilled if you could assist me in instilling more feminity upon my voice." Jade stated.

"Huh?" Femininity? "Your voice?" Saalm tried to clarify.

"I told you, the guards do not favour a woman who does not sound like one." Jade retorted seemingly upset by the remark.

Saalm frowned when she finally understood what she was saying. "I don't think I can be of much help. I'm not a doctor..." she warily replied.

Jade sighed resignedly. "Then I fear my evening will not be a pleasant one. I do suppose that is status quo however. Either way, my promise stands."

"I hope so," replied Saalm. "It would seem all that anyone really has in this place is their honor, which means their word." She then considered briefly what could possibly be done to alter the woman's voice in a non-medical manner. "Tomorrow, maybe we can speak more and you can tell me what happened to your larynx. There might be a solution...but it would be temporary."

Jade grinned slightly. "I would much appreciate that. Although it was existence that set forth the problem, perhaps it is not a doctor, but rather a technician that would see to it's solution."

[OFF]

--

Lirha Saalm
Prisoner 29-388-290

Jade
Prisoner 27-270-159
[NPC Bauer]

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