Sergeant Walken's Arrival

Posted on Mon Apr 12th, 2021 @ 5:11am by 1st Lieutenant Kyle Walken

Mission: A New Legacy
Location: Runabout Shuttle Yale
2440 words - 4.9 OF Standard Post Measure

Kyle rests his head against the seat in his transport shuttle, he was tired. He had thought he had gotten past this but the memory still lingered in his mind. Closing his eyes the final day of his time as a POW began to play like a movie.

---

"Get off me! Get off me!" Larson screamed as a Gorn grabbed a hold of her ankle. She tried kicking out at the creature but it hissed and snapped at her and she shrank back, cradling her left hand. One of the Gorn had bitten her there several days ago and she was terrified of being bitten again.

She sobbed but bit back her tears, she was not going to break down again. What they had done to Lieutenant Maxon had nearly broken her, she knew it and it had taken everything she had not to descend into madness. Even now she could still recall the smell of burnt flesh, she did not think she would ever forget it. But not now, now she was just staying alive, just a little longer.

Her hand was black and swollen, clearly infected, the fact that it no longer hurt was probably the most worrying. But the Security Officer didn't expect to live but she was sure one of these monsters would kill her before the gangrene did. She just prayed it would not be like Maxon or the others they had tortured.

The Gorn came at her again roughly grabbing her left ankle, where the shackle was attached. It touched some control device to the shackle and it opened. the Gorn gripped her ankle, stood up and dragged her out of the alcove.
Another one was stood waiting, it kicked her in the side as she was dragged past, she rolled away, trying to protect her injured hand.

She was dragged down across the floor, past the other alcoves. In one she saw the Marine, Walken, chained up as she had been.

Sergeant Walken had lost all sense of time, the pain was still coursing through his head, dried blood around his mouth from the various beatings and torture. It had been days since he last spoke, but watching them drag Larson set something off in him. Did he finally snap from the torture or was it some self-sacrificial thought that he had before he finally spoke of days of silence. "What you cowards sick of fighting someone who can still stand up!?" He glares at them no fear anymore if he was going to die he would go out fighting.

The second Gorn walked over to where Walken was chained on the floor. It squatted down, mindful to stay out of reach. They'd learned this Humanoid would fight back, eaven after they'd beaten it several times.

The Gorn stared at the Marine, it's white eyes giving nothing away. It showed it's teeth and ran it's tounge over them.

"Zthizzz one vill be our playzthinz fur a vhilez" It hissed at him "Butz du not vorryz, we will be backz fur you!" It gave a harsh gutteral laugh.

Kyle shows no emotion as he spits in the face of the second Gorn, "You're right you should keep me here I can see how afraid of me you are. Go on then tadpole run away from me. But I know your face and I'll be damned if I don't kill you before I die."

The Gorn sneered, stood up and drew a disrupter. It adjusted the setting, pointed it at Walken and pulled the trigger. It was on the lowest setting, less than stun but enough to set every nerve ending afire.

Kyle's body felt like it was on fire, it wasn't the worse pain he felt in the past two weeks. He tried to hold bad a shout of pain as he gasps for air. "What....so afraid....of some human?" He coughed in pain pulling at the chains. "Is that little....disrupter all you have?" He looks towards Larson for a second before focusing on the Gorn before him again.

Larson hated seeing the Marine in pain but forced herself to laugh as well. "Tadpole! Oh man that's funny! You hear that?" She yelled at the Gorn dragging her "You're pond scum! Green pond scum!"

The other Gorn turned, aimed it's disrupter at her and fired. She was instantly in agony, it felt like they were peeling her skin off. She doubled over, biting her lip as she struggled not to scream out. Thankfully it was over quickly.

She spat a mouthful of blood onto the deck. "There, you can clean that up pond scum!" The Gorn hissed and kicked her hard in the ribs.

Larson felt something crack, it felt like it had busted one of her ribs. She groaned in pain and the Gorn dragged her away. She made eye contact with Walken before being pulled out of sight. "Hoo yar" She mouthed at him silently

"Cowards." He mumbles as he watches what they did to Larson. He focused his attention on the Gorn he spit on, "You better hope that this boarding party kills you because if they don't I will and I will get myself a new pair of Gorn skin boots."

Moments later there was a deep rumble, the deck trembled and the ship seemed to shudder. It was followed by several more rumbles and then the lights flickered.

Several Gorn came to the detention compartment and began milling about, muttering amongst themselves

After awhile, another Gorn stopped by and deposited two prisoners, one unconscious.

---

His eyes open as he looks around silently in a panic, this had been the first time he had a panic attack. The marine took a moment to focus himself, 'Remember what the doctor said, confronting the memory is the first step to getting pass this.' He thought to himself. Resting his head he began to focus on it once more, it was the last day of his time as a POW.

---

"What are you doingz?" the new Gorn hissed at the others. "We are being boarded. Help uz move the prisonerz," He went over to speak with the other Gorn.

The conscious prisoner who had arrived sat awkwardly where he was deposited and rocked back and forth. His hair was disheveled and his gold uniform in tatters, yet the two shiny Lieutenant pips still shined as if new.

"Carson..." mumbled the disheveled LT. "Plante... Karafar... Hannaford..." the mumbling continued.

Kyle turns his attention to the Lieutenant, it didn't take a genius to figure out that he was mumbling the names of the senior staff, "Don't give up, these idiots just announced they have been boarded, that means rescue...now we keep fighting." He was never the best with words but he hopes his words gave some kind of boost to the will of the Starfleet officer.

The group of Gorn separated, in pairs they came to each of the prisoners. Releasing the chains that secured them to the alcove, then dragging them down the corridor and through a doorway.

They dumped the prisoners in a small room. The walls were featureless, a uniform light brown color, they only thing of note was a light and a small vent in the ceiling.

Once they were all in there, the heavy door was slammed shut, leaving the group alone.

Larson managed to sit herself upright, wincing in pain from her hand and her ribs. She blew out air. "Dammit that hurts!" She spat out another mouthful of blood "Ahh sonofabitch that hurts too!"

She looked around the small room. "Well the view improved, no Gorn!"

Kyle didn't answer right away, he was focused on the door. In his mind, he was trying to plan some way to get out. He shook his head knowing all he would do at this point is get killed or get in the way of this boarding team. "Larson..." he spoke quietly. "Why get their attention, your injuries are way worse than mine?"

"Because I'm not going out whimpering and crying!" Larson replied "And I'm not going out like Maxon!" Maxon had been a big strong Engineer. The Gorn Captain had come down and chosen him the day they were captured. They'd dragged him off and that was the last he was seen alive.

Several hours later a couple of drunken Gorn had returned with Maxon's head and arm. The pieces had been burnt and the Gorn bit off and ate chunks from them. Larson shuddered, even the thought of it made her want to throw up.

The deck shuddered again "Feels like we're in a battle" Larson commented "And I'm thinking this ship is loosing. Right now I don't care if we get blown to hell, as long as they kill these bastards as well!"

She looked around at the other survivors, This was the first time since their capture they had been in the same place. She looked to see who was still alive.

The disheveled Lieutenant was still mumbling to himself in the corner.

Kyle respected Larson's words, he gave up on rescue a week ago but he had hoped he could escape and go out fighting. Even if he had to fight with just his hands it would be worth it as long as he killed one of the Gorn, but now it looked like he was going to die with Larson and the mumbling guy. "It's weird...of the twelve of us why are the three of us still alive? Two officers and an enlisted marine." He went quiet again before he focuses on the mumbling Lieutenant again. "You, what's your name?"

"T-the others a-are alive... sorta...." the Lieutenant answered. "I-I'm St-stanford."

"Yeah, they're alive, just like Archer, Georgiou, Pike and Kirk" Larson replied wearily "As long as somebody remembers their name.... they're still alive sorta..."

"What do you mean Stanford?" Kyle questions.

"No... t-they're alive... just... the Gorn are experimenting with us," Stanford started crying even more. "T-they're putting stuff... i-in-into us."

"Poor bastards." The marine speaks softly.

"What do you mean lieutenant? Putting stuff into us? "Larson asked "Where are they doing this?"

"Ex-experiments... like... devices," the Lieutenant started to focus. He grabbed at the unconscious body lying face down on the floor, pulling up the shirt to reveal scars and some digital device along the spine.

"What the...." Larson was shocked to see the mutilations. "What is that stuff for?"

"I-I dunno..." Stanford started tearing up again. "The best-- the best I can t-tell is that it's a monitoring device. They w-would take us... and torture us with p-pain or gas, t-then mea-measure how our bodies re-reacted."

"So where are the others you say this was done to?" Larson asked

"I-I dunno. After the battle, they- they were moving us all around... those that sur-survived at least," Stanford answered.

Kyle was silent, their situation sounds even worse but right now they need to focus on getting themselves out of this room, worrying about the other survives need to come after they escaped....if they could escape.

There were several more shudders in the deck, a deep rumble, then almost a sinking sensation, before the inertial dampeners kicked in, followed by a definite change of motion.

"Something just happened, that was a serious maneuver" Larson commented

"Well I look at it like this, we have two choices. We sit here and do nothing or we attempt to get out of this room."

Larson struggled to her feet and shuffled over to the door. It was heavy, solid and seamless. There was no control panel on the inside. She ran her uninjured fingers around the edge, there was no gap and even if she had found one, they had nothing to use to pry it open.

Larson turned back and shrugged."I don't think we're going out throu -"
She stopped, turned back and pressed her ear to the door, listening intently.
"I can hear weapons fire! There's a fight going on out there!"

"Dammit!" Kyle kicks the door in frustration, "People are out there fighting and we are stuck in here."

"It doesn't matter... w-we're gonna die either way..." the disheveled Stanford responded, resuming his rocking and weeping.

A moment later there was another noise, a barely audible hissing sound. "Now what?" Larson looked up at the vent, the only place the noise could be coming from "Bastards are going to gas us!"

But then it became obvious, nothing was coming in through the vent. It was the reverse, the atmosphere was being sucked out of the compartment.

"Goddammit! Get your jackets off! We need to block that vent!" Larson began pulling her torn and bloodied tunic off, wincing at the pain from her broken ribs. She held it out to Walken "i can't reach it" The vent was maybe nine feet over their heads.

"Stupid Gorn!" Kyle pulls the top portion of his jacket off, and turns his attention to Stanford, "You've just been chosen." He didn't let Stanford answer or question what he was doing before he took the tunic from Larson in his other hand and crouched down. "Larson isn't in a fit state to do this, get on my shoulders and block that damn vent."

Stanford just looked at Walken and hesitated.

"This is better than what the others got..." Stanford sniffed.

Kyle grabs Stanford by the collar and lifts the sniffling bastard to his feet, "Listen up Stanford, you are not allowed to give up! We survived two weeks of this hell and we are not about to die because you can't handle this. Now you get on my shoulders!"

The Lieutenant looked at the Sergeant and was very still. It was almost unbecoming for a Sergeant to shake a Lieutenant and bark orders at him. Yet, it seemed to be what was needed.

---

The pilot's voice broke the marine's focus announcing that they were on their final approach to the USS Arcadia. Kyle opens his eyes and lets out a sigh, his brush with death and his rashness to just grab a navy officer. Not only had he been lucky to survive the Lieutenant had never informed anyone about what had happened. "I never did find out where he transferred to."

"You talking to me?" The pilot asks turning his chair around to look at the marine in the back.

"No sir, just thinking about my own past and spoke aloud." Kyle laughs to himself. "How long till we land."

"Just a few minutes is all, welcome to your new home jarhead."

"Thanks for the ride flyboy." the pair laugh together.