CH02: S [Time Unknown] Patriotic Dignity
CHAPTER 02: SUPPLEMENTAL | PATRIOTIC DIGNITY
“The lessons of relationship that our primordial ancestors learned are deeply encoded in the genetics of our neurobiological circuits. They are present from the moment we are born and activated at puberty by the cocktail of neurochemicals. It’s an elegant synchronized system. At first, our brain weighs a potential partner, and if the person fits our ancestral wish list, we get a spike in the release of chemicals that makes us dizzy with a rush of unavoidable infatuation. It’s the first step down the primeval path of pair-bonding.”
― Abhijit Naskar
[ Day Unknown | Duodenary Observation Pen | Biolabs | Main Research Hull | Precept-ship Versant ]
Attn: @chXinya @Numen (@Even Angels Cry - Optional)
The second hour, the woman in the corner understood the odds of her perseverance.
She sat there, staring through the white tresses of her hair, her breathing deep yet unsteady. The small area was barren. Sterile and unpleasant, with only a single hatch in the ceiling. She knew not who the captors were. Hadn't seen any of them, but she had seen the moving, mechanical arm behind the hatch when it had emerged. It had extended by the time she and the others had woken up, moved without compromise and fired at them, all four in turn. There had been no escape. She had barely been able to move at that point. The inoculation had hit her in the back, driving the air out of her lungs. Her side hurt as well, tender after falling on it.
Then, there was a contralto, almost feminine voice heard in the area, the sound making the floor beneath them all vibrate.
[Greetings specimens of Andorian variety, my name is Sclergyn and I will be overseeing this study,] the voice had said, but there was no speaker seen anywhere. Only the others in the small area, as if they were animals in a cage. She struggled to get up from the floor after she had been inoculated, weak as a newborn, while the voice droned on with a hint of boredom, as if the female speaker didn't care to talk to them at all, but some rule or policy forced her to. [You have been hand-picked to participate simply because you represent the four sexes of your species. We have not taken into account whether or not the four of you have met before, since that is inconsequential to the results. We have, however, made sure neither of you are biological kin, since that might have long-term negative effects.]
The woman got back on her knees, glaring at the mechanical arm as it returned behind its hatch - antennae angled forth like snakes. She didn't like the sound of what was going on, but the speaker wasn't finished.
There was a brief pause, with a sound reminiscent to a sigh. [The study will hereby commence, as you have been inoculated with a bremelanotide aphrodisiac to expedite coitus. The sooner you begin to mate, the sooner the study will be over. If you require nutrition, it will be provided, and if you need to urinate or defecate, it will be arranged for as well. The important thing to remember is that failure to comply will constitute unpleasant consequences, so it is better to fully comply with the process of the study. Please begin now.]
That had been two hours ago, and after the nature of the study had been revealed, all four Andorians in the room had taken up position in their corners, refusing to comply in the slightest. They were Andorian, and what had been suggested was beneath them to even consider as an option. This, the woman in one corner thought, as she tried not to look at the thaan, chan and shen, only one of which she had met before, but knew that the thaan had been serving on the Theurgy. The shen was completely unknown to her, but she had chosen not to speak to either of them, knowing that their captors were listening to every word they said. She did not wish to provide them with any information, since it could be used as leverage against them.
No, she had been staring upon the floor, and her shivers had nothing to do with the relatively warm observation pen. Whatever they had given her... it worked, but she refused to acknowledge the fact. So she would shiver, she would sweat, and she would glare ahead of herself, defiant and unbroken. She could sit there and hope the away team at the Coreless Moon had made it back, for she had no memory of what had happened to her. Despite all that had happened, and how she was an exile from Andoria, she would share in a patriotic stand against this perverse enemy. She would listen. She would observe. And she would see the weak point in the trap she was in...
...and she would break free.
This, ThanIda zh'Wann convinced herself, steeling herself against the unwanted effects upon her body.
She would be free again, and continue the Theurgy's mission. She would protect her crew. Regardless the cost.
This, by Lor'Vela, I so swear.