Things To Make You Old

Posted on Tue Nov 20th, 2012 @ 5:04am by Eldren Tohr
Edited on on Tue Nov 20th, 2012 @ 5:57am

Mission: Sections of the Delta Quadrant
Location: Bajor & SB900
Timeline: Contemporary to Hell Of A Time To Be In Jail
Tags: Eldren, Tohr, Kon-Mah, cardassian, ivam, qarth

**** Bajor, somewhere underground. many years ago ****


Lights.

Strong.

Vral brought a hand to his head to partially shield his eyes from the blinding lights directed on him. He hadn’t to wait long, though, before the voice spoke to him.

“Welcome Dolen. It’s been a while from the last time.”

“Indeed.” Vral responded still averting the headlights with the hand. He knew the drill, every time the Kon-Mah superiors summoned him the place changed and it was in utter darkness or… Utter light. In any case he was rendered unable to see them.

A thoghtful precaution. You cannot betray to Cardassians what you don’t see, not even under torture.

“You will be wondering why we’ve called you here. Will this be a new mission? An assassination? Sabotage?”

The voice paused leaving the questions linger in the air. They were testing him as usual, gauging his reaction, searching for that little sign of nervousness or anxiety that could possibly jeopardize a mission in the future. Unthinkable in a Kon-Mah member and worthy of expulsion… In an organization where ‘expulsion’ went hand in hand with ‘removal’.

And as usual, he stood firm. Unwavering.

Seemingly satisfied the voice reprised from somewhere behind the lights. “It’s about your pupil this time.”

“Tohr?” escaped from Vral’s mouth quickly followed by the inward damning of his lack of coolness. That was quite the superfluous question to pose.

“Right him. Eldren Tohr has come to the attention of the leaders. His service record is impeccable. You two have been grinding success after success against the Cardassians. You have become a real thorn in the side of the Guls in the region and the bounty for your heads has reached unprecedented amounts…”

The tone of the voice seemed amused as it proceeded in the listing of the cell objectives conquered.

“That’s enough. I know every one them, I was with Tohr every time.” Vral almost snapped. He never was one apt into celebrating himself. War against the cardassian conqueror was dirty enough.

“That was only to underline the good job you’ve done with your comrade, Vral. He was just a nameless lost boy subject to cardassian mercy when we took him in. Without perspective, without purpose. Without future.”

The voice paused again letting the word sink in Vral who simply stood silent.

“Vral, you gave him all of this and more. You turned him in a formidable weapon against our sworn enemy.”

Vral didn’t like where the talk was leading to. Many a time in his sleepless nights he had regarded Tohr asking himself how much Tohr’s attitudes were his own and how much he had delved in them.
Every time he justified his actions by telling himself that he’d done what had to be done. It was Cardassia’s fault with its thirst for conquest, the atrocities and the hell they’d plunged all of Bajor in.

But in the depths of his heart not always he’d been able to fully convince himself.

“And what do you require of him?” He managed to say suddenly emerging from the thread of thoughts.

“The weapon has to be made perfect.” The voice replied quietly “There are experiments undergoing that could make him impervious to telepaths power. With an unreadable mind he would be the perfect assassin. No Gul or anyone else could be protected by telepath bodyguard and no information could be extracted from his mind in the same way.”

“What’s the catch?” Vral asked.

“There are risks. The experiment could fail with unpleasant consequences but Bajor requires it, freedom requires it. Talk to him Vral, he will listen to you. It would be better if the boy volunteers.”

It would be better if the boy volunteers Vral lowered his head breathing deeply. The end justifies the means… Any of them?


**** SB900 – Maintenance Access Conduit ****


The circuitry sparkled in reaction to Tohr’s tampering with diodes and cables connected to the hub.

“Damn.” He snapped in disappointment. “Security systems on this base seem to be better than I thought”. Shaking his head he kept working adding two small cables from his Padd-like device to the hub. In few instants a flow of data started scrolling on the display.

“Let’s see.” He mumbled typing some commands on the device “Deck 202, sector 41… Here it is. Ivam Qarth’s quarters” Relief surged from within. The target had been localized every piece of the plan was falling into place almost effortlessly and that was much more that he could have hoped for… Until the klaxons for a started sounding and red lights flashing in the conduit.

“What the…” Tohr started to say.

Then, responding more to instinct than reason, hurriedly he detached the cables and closed the panel of the hub. Tucking the disruptor in the belt behind his back he quickly crawled towards the exit of the conduit.

Reaching the Jefferies tube crossing he poked cautiously his head out just enough to be sure there were no surprises. Then dragging himself forward with a grunt he plunged in the tube feet-first, skidding all the way down.

Uncaring of the bruises he was procuring himself, he finally landed hard out of the Jefferies tube with a thump. He barely dusted himself off before hearing the commotion coming from one end of the corridor several meters away where it bended out of sight.

The red light flashed on the wall in front of him while the sound of heavy footsteps came closer and closer.

It mustn’t be me. How could they possibly… He thought trying to devise a plan.

Too quickly three security guys came running into view from the bend in the corridor.
Had they really picked his tampering with the computer hub?

Tohr backed against the wall, his eyes quickly shifted to the other end of the corridor assessing a ‘run for it’ scenario:

Impossible…

His gaze returned to the guys closing on him. Twelve meters… Eight…

To the hell.

His hand went for the disruptor.

“Deck 315 squad on our way, Sir!” one of the guys yelled as they ran past him proceeding down the corridor.

Tohr leaned back resting his head on the wall, the pulsing red light reflecting on his face. He exhaled heavily as the footsteps and yells of the security squad became lost in the distance.

“Things to make you old before due time…” he muttered to himself.




*******************
Eldren Tohr
Endorphins testing ground


(Dolen Vral
Almost feeling regret)