Orion Company
By Mr. J.
CHAPTER XIV: False Doom
“Let me go!” Dana protests as a Vang guard drags her kicking and screaming through the hall.
The guard grins evilly as she and Anna are hauled through the narrow corridor. Anna grimaces in pain. Yet despite being manhandled by a half-dozen officers, she shows no outward emotion. Not fear, not anger. Just a blank expressionless face.
“Aren’t you going to fight back!?” Dana tries to wiggle free. “What’s wrong with you?”
Anna doesn’t respond.
Her sister’s struggle is rewarded with a hard slap to the face.
“Shut up, prisoner!” The guard barks.
Dana glares at him.
The trio procedes slowly through the hallway. For Dana, the probability of being brainwashed and turned into a slave once more is inevitable. Yet it is her sister’s resignation that bothers her. More than the manacles that chafe her skin. Or the pungent breath of the guards escorting the both of them to their cells where they will spend the remainder of their conscious lives. Though Dana is not under any illusions of escape, she has to fight back—if not for herself, then at least for Anna.
And Rebecca. To say nothing of her mom and dad...and all the loved ones whose lived were destroyed by the Vang.
It’s a lost cause, but some battles are worth fighting.
After an invasive strip search the pair are thrown into into a tiny honeycombed cell. Despite the bitter cold, Dana tries her best to remain upbeat. All her old friends are here, every last one. Their eyes are sunken and defeated, but at least they can see each other. She forces a smile.
“Anna?” She asks. “Anna, can you hear me?”
Her sister doesn’t respond.
“Anna, please say something.”
“We’re going to die, aren’t we?” Anna wells up.
“Don’t talk like that,” Dana hugs her. “we’ll make it through this somehow. You have to believe me.”
Anna snorts.
“Fat luck that did.”
“You have to stay positive.” Dana reassures. “It’s the only way we’ll resist the Vang’s mental probes...”
“Stay positive?” Anna gestures wildly. “How can I be positive when all I can think of is my friends who’ve been languishing in cells like these, brainwashed beyond recognition? Think positive my ass...”
Dana sighs. She gazes at the rows upon rows of prisoners sit placidly playing cards as they pass the time, waiting for their numbers to be called. Her sister does seem to have a point. Did Anna really have to have been involved in all this. Maybe Dana should’ve left well alone...
“I’m sorry to drag you into my shit. I should’ve never have asked you to assist in the uprising in the first place...”
Anna clasps her shoulder.
“It’s okay. I’d be honored to die beside you.”
A clamor erupts as the sisters spy a pair of officers gliding towards them. Anna tenses up. Her stomach clenches. Yet Dana doesn’t even flinch.
Anna’s mind races. The guards escort them, whizzing past corridors and passageways. The flight lasts only a few minutes, yet for Anna the time slows to a crawl. This is it, she thinks to herself. She closes her eyes and whispers a prayer to the gods...
A door suddenly opens and the sisters are ushered past a bank of monitors. Anna glances confusedly at the screens. An endless loop of Vang propoganda plays on the sets, yet this doesn’t look like any execution chamber she’s been in. If they have any intention of killing her or Dana, they aren’t showing it. The guards escort them towards yet another antechamber.
Anna grimaces as deposit her and Dana on the hard, cold floor. She glances at the grizzled reptile standing over them, his slit eyes glimmering in the dim light. He licks his lips excitedly.
“My, my...” He tsks. “Look who just dropped in. Anna Polly, I presume?”
Anna glares at him.
“How do you know my name?”
“That is not important right now. What is important is why you’re here.”
Dana shoots him a look.
“The hideout was secure. How did you find us?”
“I admit locating you was a little challenging at first, but that is neither here nor there. Do you want to listen to what I have to say?”
“Whatever it is, we’re not interested.”
“Don’t be so so quick to judge, my love...” Finch stares into her eyes. “At least let me finish my sentence.”
“We’re not interested in what you have to say.”
“Too bad. Guards! Escort these women to the liquifaction chamber.”
The sisters struggle to wiggle out of the guards’ grasp.
“Now that I’ve got your attention,” Finch smiles sinisterly. “I have a proposal to make.”
“What is it this time?” Dana smirks. “Spying? Assassination? Prostitution?”
“If you let me finish, I’ll tell you.”
Finch fetches a cigarette from the vest pocket of his uniform.
“Mind if I smoke?”
“By all means.”
“My men and I have been deployed on this ship over nine months...” Finch exhales. “As you can imagine, they’re becoming bored and restless. Many have wives and girlfriends back home, but more and more these days they find it easy to become...distracted by their duties. Since this is your last day as free women, I am wondering if you could entertain them before you go. That is, if you don’t mind.”
Dana spits on Finch’s shoes.
“We’re not your personal concubines to do as you please. I’m sure you have a bunch of whores lining up outside your door. Why don’t you ask them?”
Finch clenches his fist.
“You were always such a firecracker. Between me and the rest of my team, you drove us all crazy with your fits. Yet you always found your way back to us. Tell me, does your sister know about your involvement with us?”
“Involvement?” Anna glances at her sister confusedly. “What is he talking about?”
“Ignore him, Sis. He’s just trying to get to us.”
“Go ahead. Tell her about all the things you did for us. The lies, the murders, the betrayals...”
“It’s not true.” Dana stares at her sister. “He’s just making stuff up...”
“Margaret Smith, H Block, 2503. Patricia Belknap, J Block, 2505... Kristen, Amber, Amy, Charlie...”
Dana looks away.
“It’s all true.” She sniffles. “I was a double-agent for the Vang.”
Anna gasps.
“How could you?!”
“It started when I first arrived,” She steals a glance at the reptile. “I was harassed day and night. When the bullying became too much, I lashed out at the guards. I was thrown into solitary confinement. It got so bad I couldn’t tell day from night. I was lonely and isolated. I tried to kill myself twice, but it didn’t take. I was out of options...then Finch came along.”
Dana takes a deep breath.
“He promised he’d protect me if I agreed to be his personal concubine. I went along with it at first. He said he loved me. My only concern was survival, but after a few months even I started to believe him. I knew he was using me, but the sex was good I never really gave it much of a thought. One day after making love he told me he had a job for me. There was a group of individuals who’d drawn up a list of officials to assassinate, including Finch. My job was to infiltrate them and stop the murders before they could be carried out. I was concerned for his safety, so of course I volunteered...”
“How many?”
Silence.
“Dana,” Anna growls. “I said how many.”
“Twenty, thirty, I don’t know exactly. All I remember is the sensation of my hands around their necks as I straddled them, choking the life out of them. Their screams haunt me to this day. Finch had no use for me after that. I was doped up with pheromones, mind-control drugs and passed around like candy for the next several months. The experiments started soon afterward. To this day I can’t bear to look in the mirror. The things I did for love...”
Dana wipes away a tear.
Anna spies a pair of figures in the monitor. The women stand idly in their seats as a pair of officers interrogate them in a windowless room. Despite their bodysuits and disheveled hair, she recognizes them almost instantly.
Caitlin and Vanessa? What are they doing here?
She looks away in disbelief.
“You can kill me, brainwash me, whatever you want.” Dana sniffles. “But my sister is innocent.”
“Oh, I plan to do that alright.” Finch exhales.
“What do you have in mind?”
“It’s a secret?”
“Tell us right now!”
“What’s the point in spoiling the surprise?” Finch smiles cryptically. “But I can tell you it’s something more...suited to your talents. I’ll have the guards escort you to your cell. Get some rest, girls. It’s going to be a long day...”
Caitlin and Vanessa stare as a Vang officer reviews their dossiers from behind a desk. Despite being notoriously thin, he appears satisfied with the scant information. He reviews them over and over between glances at his guests. Vanessa shifts uncomfortably in her hard metal seat. Her butt aches.
The officer pushes the files aside.
“So you’re both working for the CSF?”
“Yes sir,” Caitlin adjusts her sunglasses. “We enlisted six years ago.”
“What unit?”
“Tactical Support, sir. We mostly piloted convoy ships and provided logistical support to the various outposts in the Delta Quadrant. We were training for our third tour of duty when we went AWOL a month ago.”
“I see...” The officer nods. “What were you doing when you decided to defect?”
“We were gearing up to deliver sensitive cargo to the ship Destiny. We were told it was some kind of new weapon, sir. A device that was supposed to wipe out the Vang once and for all. My friend and I were excited. After six years away from home, we were finally going to see our loved ones again. Until...”
“Until what?”
“Vanessa discovered some incriminating documents.”
The officer glances at the brunnette.
“Is this true?”
“Yes sir,” She nods. “I found the schematics in the trash bin while I was cleaning up. It appeared to be some kind of microwave dish. We didn’t know what to make of it initally. We thought it was some kind of communications antenna at first, but as I studied them further I realized their true intent.”
“And that is?”
“A sort of mind control device.” Vanessa appears concerned. “The plan was to broadcast a short message at a certain frequency that only the Vang would hear. After repeated listenings the audience would become highly suggestible and act on whatever the message said.”
“And what did the message say?”
Vanessa looks away.
“What did the message say, Lieutenant?”
Vanessa removes her sunglasses.
“They were supposed to kill themselves, sir.”
The officer bolts up in his seat.
“Mass suicide...Do you have the blueprints with you?”
“Right here, sir,” Vanessa hands the crumpled sheets of paper over.
“The brass won’t want to hear this...” The officer’s finger hovers over the vidscreen. “I’ll have to inform the Defense Ministry right away.”
“Not so fast,” Caitlin warns him. “If we act too soon, we may tip our hand.”
“Right...right...” The officer grazes his chin. “How far along is it?”
“We don’t know, sir. But judging by the materials and the sophistication of it, I’d say it’s 90 percent operational.”
“90 percent?”
“Yes, sir. Trial runs are already being conducted as we speak.”
“Who are they targeting?”
“Frigates, destroyers, slave vessels...ships not unlike this one.”
The officer grows ashen.
“Dear Jove...We must do something to protect ourselves.”
“Conventional weapons are useless against it, sir. All we can do is watch and wait.”
The officer nods appreciably.
“Thank you for your cooperation. Is there anything I can do for you?”
Vanessa stares into space.
“Are you alright, Lieutenant?
“Yes,” Vanessa catches herself. “I believe there are a couple friends of ours that you have in custody. If it’s possible, we’re wondering if arrangements could be made for us to see them one last time, just in case we come under attack.”
“Duly noted. Anything else?”
“We were told we could have some of your men invited to our VIP suite,” Caitlin chimes in. “That is, if you don’t mind.”
Vanessa glares at her.
“What the problem?” Caitlin looks at her incredulously. “I have needs too.”
The officer coughs.
“I’ll look into it. Good day.”
“Good day, sir.”
The officer stops them mid-stride.
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“Do I know you? You look familiar.”
“It’s probably just the blood talking.” Caitlin gestures at the shot glass on his desk. “Take care.”
Nikki and Captain Lee moan as they rock back and forth in their cells.
“Vang cock...” Nikki calls out.
The rocking turns more rhythmic as they wail. The tears they shed are no less dramatic. Their cries drown out the rest of the cellblock. Yet the pair remain oblivious.
“Vang cock...” They cry in unison. “Vang cock...”
They massage their breasts and rub their thighs. But all they can think of is one thing.
Vang cock. Vang cock. Vang cock. Vang cock. Vang cock.
Welcome to withdrawal.
Though the outside world knows about the almost addictive hold that the Vang have on their victims, like any vice as soon as the pheromones fade and the euphoria dies down, that’s when the real drama begins. The shakes. The disorientation. An overwhelming emptiness can only be filled by one thing.
Vang sperm.
The women make do as best they can. They masterbate and stimulate themselves, but the high is no longer the same. It’s muted and subtle. Clinical, even. It lasts only a short while before they come down again, more sad and disappointed than ever. It seems the worst has happened.
The Vang have abandoned them.
Such is the Vang’s power in these parts. Some captives can become so warped by the Vang’s tricks that the pheromones and sexcapades literally become like a drug to them. The thought of not being having them is terrifying. Escape is unthinkable. Being rescued is a nightmare.
But just as the Vang giveth, they also take away.
The cries die down as Nikki and Captain Lee drift to sleep, whispering the same thing.
Vang cock...Vang cock...Vang cock...Vang cock...Vang cock.