The Cost of Love
Posted on Sun Nov 12, 2017 @ 5:34am by Civilian Melvyn Raddon & Civilian Thereen Tera
804 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission:
Rumours
Location: Civilian Quarters
Timeline: MD 9 - 0100
"Tera..." the male's distorted voice said softly into the woman's ear. The room was completely dark, without any light. He waited for several moments before once again repeating himself, but this time more forcefully. "Tera!"
Tera jolted awake in her bed in her flat above her shop. Someone was in her rooms! She scrambled for the knife she slept with beneath her pillow, the one nearly every Bajoran collaborator slept with after the Cardassians had left Bajor.
"No...no...no… We can't have you making too much noise," the voice said as he pressed the tip of his finger to the side of her neck. Within moments the mild sedative took effect throughout her body. Within twenty seconds her body went limp, and her vocal cords seized as well, preventing her from making a noise louder than a whisper.
"Tera, you have become a disappointment to us," another voice said in the still darkened room. This voice appeared to be distorted as well; however, it was its lower pitch that distinguished it from the other male in the room. "Your father, although he was ta’cardăst, he was still smart enough to understand true power, and did everything he could to help them accomplish their mission. He knew the importance of remaining loyal to one's friends," the second voice said.
"But you have decided to turn against those who have given so much to help your family," the first voice interjected. "You and that diplomat..." the first voice hissed. "Do you think that because you choose to share a bed with him that he will be able to protect you?" the voice asked.
“Liam…” Tera whispered hoarsely. She could vaguely feel the cool knife under her fingers, but they refused to move, to close on the hilt and lash out at these monsters hovering over her bed where she lay in a rather revealing short blue nightgown. “My father…” Oh, Prophets! She had thought she was free of Cardassians!
"He is creating problems for very important people both onboard and outside of this station," the second voice stated. "He's just not being reasonable."
"Maybe he will become more reasonable if we gave him an incentive," the first voice said as he withdrew a blade from his sheath. The sound of the withdrawing blade was quick, but loud enough for the immobilized woman to hear. The owner of the voice placed the tip of the blade on her cheek bone and gently dragged it along her face.
"Maybe he needs some kind of motivation to make him see the error of his ways?" the first voice asked rhetorically.
Tera hissed, trying to flinch away from the blade, but was still held in place by the drugs.
"No, I don't think we'll need to go that far...right now," the second voice interrupted. "Because Tera is going to make him see the error of his ways, won't she?" the voice asked Tera.
Tera swallowed. “Wh-What do you want?” she whispered. “I d-don’t have anything to do with Liam’s work. “I can’t make him do anything! I’m just a shopkeeper!”
"You have always proven to be resourceful," the second voice said. "Use your...womanly wiles to get him to stand down and out of our way," he said, much more forcefully.
"Otherwise, our next visit won't be as friendly and polite," the first voice said as he and his companion quickly stood and snuck out of the room. The drug they had given her was only strong enough to last for five minutes. Therefore, they knew that within another sixty seconds she would have began to regain strength in her hands and legs.
Just as the two left, one of them took the dagger they had been holding and jammed it forcefully into the wall with a resounding THWUNK noise, a reminder to the girl of what could happen in the future. Just as quickly as they had snuck in, they had just as quickly disappeared.
Tera could only lie there, feeling the hot tears of fear and shame on her cheeks until she felt a finger twitch. She grunted, willing her muscles to move. Finally her body broke free in a jerk, and she gave a cry, a sob, stumbling out of bed. She staggered to her bathroom and vomited into the toilet, shaking with fear.
After finally recovering herself, Tera went to the sink and rinsed her mouth. She lifted her head, staring at her pale, clammy face, sweat-soaked tendrils of dark hair framing her wide blue eyes, her chest rising and falling, still breathing hard as the adrenaline wore off.
“Oh, Liam. What have you gotten me into?” Tera sobbed.
Thereen Tera
Bajoran shopkeeper
NPC Caleb Ryan
Masked Voices 1 & 2
NPC by Thom
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