The Sacrifice - Ch 4

The Sacrifice

By Triplover

Disclaimer: See Chapter one.
Summary: See Chapter one.
Rating: PG-13 for violent graphic content
A/N: I think my beta deserves some thanks for this chapter! He’s really been helping me with my writing! Don’t worry… I’m getting better! Or at least I hope so!

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Chapter Four

Tortured Soul

Time had been going by way too fast for Jonathan Archer’s liking. Only two days before Judge Corrow would execute Trip and T’Pol. Two days… he would lose the two closest people to him in just two more days. He’d been looking over the evidence against them which was really circumstantial. He’d sent his own evidence to show that they couldn’t have done it but they dismissed it, saying that they could have ‘altered records to help their friends’. Damn Roelorians! He was getting a headache just thinking about them. He just hoped that Trip and T’Pol were okay. The Judge had sent him information on their justice system. The use of torture to get out a confession had been the first thing to catch his eye. Jon had asked that they not do this to his own people, but he had no idea if they would or not and there was nothing he could do about it. This worried Jon; he had a feeling that the government wouldn’t listen. And their form of torture was anything but humane--obviously. Jon had a bad feeling; he just hoped they were okay, or he’d come up with his own justice and beat the crap out of anyone who hurt his crewmembers. He wasn’t about to let them just treat his people that way. He wasn’t going to be letting things go anymore, not when there was a mission hanging over him and his crew.

==

T’Pol watched Commander Tucker sleep silently. His features were soft, peaceful. She couldn’t move her eyes away from him. She’d never seen him look more at peace. He was a beautiful man to say the least. Even she was willing to admit to the fact that he was aesthetically pleasing. She didn’t really understand why she was so mesmerized by such a man as he. He was illogical, unpredictable and he was always finding ways to ‘get under her skin’ as Commander Tucker would say. Of all the men she knew on Enterprise, of all the people in the universe… and she found herself wanting only him. It was upsetting. How could this happen? Being in such close contact with him, talking to him… it had changed her in ways she never thought possible. Trip opened his eyes and looked into hers. She couldn’t help but hold her breath. “Hey.” She wanted to look away; she knew she had been staring, but she couldn’t. She didn’t move a muscle. Not only was he illogical, but now he was making her act illogical as well.

“Sleep well?” She asked, trying to push back the emotions flooding to the surface.

“I dreamed we were back on Earth and the Xindi were gone. You and I were walkin’ on the beach together.” He told her with just a hint of a smile.

“I see. I will take that answer as a ‘yes’

He moved over to her and took in a breath. “You okay?”

“I was simply thinking.”

“’Bout what? Tell me.”

“It was nothing important.” She answered just before they heard the door open and three guards walk in.

“The male! Come with us!” Trip stood up immediately. They didn’t look like they were messing around.

“Where are you talking him?!” She asked as coolly as she could. Two of the guards took him away while the other smiled at her.

“Interrogation. Don’t worry; you’ll have your time too.” He assured her and left. T’Pol walked to the door. Mr. Tucker… she hoped he’d be okay, yet she feared he would not.

==

The guards didn’t seem to care that Trip was already hurt that the man wasn’t even from the planet. They batted him through the corridors like a tennis ball, pushing him around here and there. It took awhile before they reached small room the size of his quarters, maybe a little bigger. In the middle of the rectangular room was a huge chair which they promptly put him in. It was cold to the touch, much like the guards, Trip noted. Only there’s was in personality.

They said nothing to him as they tied each of his hands to the chair’s arms and then each leg to the floor. They restrained his head from any movement with a leather strap while the third guard took a needle and put something in it, some type of liquid. It was clear with just a hint of blue. The guard turned to him once the needle was full and smiled. “I am Dorta… leader Guard. Do you see this needle?”

Trip was unable to move a finger, and the straps felt tight. Any tighter and I’ll lose feelin’ in my extremities. “Yeah I see it, I’m not blind.”

The guard laughed lightly, like one of those evil men in old movies he’d seen on movie night. Or perhaps it just seemed evil to *him*. It was a playful little laugh. Trip didn’t like this guy. “Well, this liquid inside affects the sense of touch in the brain; in other words… whatever pain you feel… will be ten times worse than normal. And no matter what, you’ll never pass out. I could torture you for hours and you’d never go unconscious, but each hit will feel like someone just lit your body on fire and now that fire is slowly burning up your skin, your entire body. I’ve had many ask for death just by one punch to the face.” Trip felt his body tremble in fear but he said nothing.

“So? Here ta teach me bout all yer sick methods of torture? Because I’m not interested!” He wanted to make it clear that he wasn’t frightened by this man or his little torture method.

The man laughed again. “Did you kill Ambassador Vassion and Assistant Utaine?”

“No.”

“You’re lying! Tell me the truth! Or was it the Vulcan? Did *she* do it?!” He was shouting now.

“We were supposed ta meet him. When we looked fer him we found that little scene there. We didn’t kill him!”

The guard shook his head. “Oh no, you were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time! Am I right?” Trip could sense the sarcasm in his voice; he ignored it.

“Yeah, yer right!”

“Well then, since you obviously want to lie to me… we’ll just have to beat the truth out of you. Guards!” The guards quickly took his restraints off him and then tied his hands together by chains in the front. Hanging over him was a metal crane. The guards slipped his chains onto the cane making him hang there before them. They then ripped off his clothes until he was in nothing but skivvies. His chest was bare as they walked behind him. He couldn’t see what they were doing, so he just looked forward as his legs dangled not completely touching the ground. The Roelorians seemed to be all very tall compared to Humans.

The guard he’d talked to moved in front of him as the chair was taken out of the room by a forth guard. “This is going to hurt Commander Tucker. This will be like nothing you ever felt before.” He whispered in Trip’s ear before taking the needle and putting it in his neck. Trip took in a sharp breath. He felt the liquid move inside him and suddenly he felt more awake as if he’d just had a lot of coffee. The guard focused on his reactions, his yellow eyes watching him intently.” Then he nodded to the other guards behind him and took a few steps away from Trip. It was then that Trip felt the most intense pain of his life as a sharp leather whip cracked on his back, slicing it. It was then that like a ripple affect in his body, like throwing a rock in a pond, he felt his entire body seem to shatter into a billion pieces. It was like feeling his body get ripped apart piece by mind-numbing piece then burned with fire. Tears involuntarily streamed from his eyes at the pain being inflicted upon him. The whip hit him over and over and over until Trip was sure he would soon die from the pain and in that moment… they stopped. Trip breathed in and out hard, the tears still falling down his eyes. The guard moved over back to him. “Now… want to tell me the truth this time?”

“I didn’t kill the Ambassador! Why don’t you believe me?! I didn’t do it!”

The guard cocked his head at the man. Trip could hear the guards in the back disconnecting something then return behind him. The guard let out a long breath. “All right Commander. It seems not even torture will work with you. I must say you’re a hard one to break. No one else has ever lasted this long. Perhaps if I gave you another dose.”

“Or two.” A guard from behind added.

“No, that would probably kill him. We want this Human alive. I doubt the other dose would help anyway. This man isn’t like the others. He might have been trained to take pain. No… this one is different.” The man just stared at Trip for a long time seeming to try and understand him, as if he were some puzzle that had a thousand pieces to it and a few were missing. Trip finally gained back some control although his body was now shaking from the cold and the pain he still felt throughout his body. “Perhaps we should talk to the female.” That got Trip’s attention instantly as he looked into the guard’s eyes. “Sub-Commander T’Pol isn’t it? She certainly was a fine looking female. The perfect body, with all those nice curves in all the right places. I bet she’d be quite good in bed, don’t you think?”

“You touch her and I’ll kill ya with my bare hands! You sick son of a bitch!” He yelled, anger ragging through him, his pain suddenly forgotten.

The guard lifted his eyebrows in mild surprise. “Ooooh, well that certainly hit a nerve didn’t it? Maybe I should bring her in here right next to you.” He moved to Trip’s ear. “Tie her up like you… then tie up her legs so that they open wide. Perhaps rip off all her clothes and poke her till she’s broken like all the others before her.” The guard laughed at Trip’s look of horror and terror. This was the sickest man Trip had ever met. Even the Xindi didn’t hold a candle to the demented man before him. He knew he couldn’t break loose of the chains holding him but he struggled anyway. All he wanted to do at that point was kill that guard slowly until *he* was the one calling out for death. But the chains were too strong, and Trip was just too weak.

“What do you want from me?!” He finally asked with the last bit of control he had left.

“Oh Commander, I could not care less about you. But at this moment eye witnesses are talking with our judge, claiming that you killed Ambassador Vassion.”

“But I did no such thing!”

“I know Commander, I know. But you will be guilty when the court is done with you, along with your little friend the Vulcan.”

“Why?!”

“That’s none of my business. What is my business is your torment.” Once again Trip heard one of the guards move, this time reconnecting something then come back into position. “Now I’ll ask you again Commander… did you kill Ambassador Vassion and his assistant Utaine? Or do I need to bring Sub-Commander T’Pol in here to be whipped as well.” A wicked smile appeared on his face once again. “Among other things.”

Trip felt his body shiver at the thought of what the guard could do to T’Pol. The mere thought of her hurt broke his heart. “No!” Trip had made up his mind. He wasn’t about to let the guard hurt T’Pol, and there was no way in hell that he’d let her be rapped by the man! “I killed them! It was me! T’Pol had nothing to do with it! Only me! I killed Ambassador Vassion and Assistant Utaine!”

The smile on the guards face quickly turned into a grin. “I see Commander Tucker. In that case I will inform the court of your confession and schedule your execution.”

“Execution?!”

The guard laughed loudly before beginning to walk away. “Guards, the drug still hasn’t worn off… hit him until it has and then throw him back into his cell.” He ordered and was gone.

“No wait! Please!” Trip cried in a panic as the whip once again cut into his skin and sent him into tears once again.

T’Pol moved her hands to her ears as she heard the cries of pain coming from Mr. Tucker. Her control was slipping rapidly and she could do nothing else but shut her eyes and cover her ears before she lost all control. Tears welled in her light brown eyes, but she dare not let them fall as the screams were getting louder and louder and louder every second. But when they stopped, T’Pol feared the worst.

When the guards threw Charles Tucker back into the cell she could see that they had hurt him bad. His eyes rolled back in his head then looked at her as he fell face forward into the dirt floor. But when she was about to help, he moved her away and got up himself with the help of the wall. “Are you okay Commander? I heard... you….” She felt her voice waver; she was unable to even say it.

“They interrogated me… if ya can call it that. T’Pol, I… I told ‘em I killed Ambassador Vassion and Assistant Utaine.” The bombshell he’d dropped made it difficult for her to hide the fear and surprise she felt at that moment.

“You did what?” Perhaps she was mistaken… Vulcans did make mistakes sometimes.

“I had to… I’m sorry.” She was not mistaken.

“But you did not commit the crime Commander, why did you lie?” She didn’t understand why she was so upset over this, but she was. What could he have been thinking?

“It gets worse.”

“How much worse?” She asked, although she knew she didn’t want to know.

“The penalty for murder of an Ambassador is death. My execution’s tomorrow.”

T’Pol felt every emotion she’d suppressed try to bubble to the surface. “Of all the most illogical things you’ve done Commander, this one is the worst. Why did you tell them you killed the Ambassador and his assistant? What could have possibly come into your mind to take such an illogical course of action?” T’Pol tried hard to calm herself, but even she could not control the panic, the anger, the worry she felt at that moment. The Commander glared at her.

“Ya wanna know why I did it huh?! HUH?! I’ll tell ya what got in my mind, I’ll tell ya why I did it!” He shouted just before crossing his arms, grabbing the ends of his shirt and pulling them over his head, while turning himself around, his back facing her now. She was stunned instantly at the sight of the slashes covering his back. She’d heard of such punishments used in history, of course, but this was different. This had happened, now, to him. His entire back was sliced with large gashes and bruises. All blue, red and purple. “Doesn’t seem so damn illogical now, does it?!” Slowly she walked towards his back, her eyes still wide from the shock of his injuries. He looked over his shoulder at her, breathing hard.

“What have they done to you?”

“They used some sort of whip. Never felt so much pain in all my life.” He muttered before putting on his shirt to cover the wounds on his back. “They wanted to do that ta ya too.” Tucker sighed then moved around to face her. “Among other things.” He added before walked away to sit on his cot. It took awhile for T’Pol to gain back her control. Her heart felt shattered to pieces by that last statement.

“You… told them that… for me?”

He nodded infinitesimally, not saying a word.

“Why?”

“Didn’t know they were gonna execute me. I just figured they’d give me jail time. Rehabilitation. All I kept thinkin’ bout was how awful the pain felt. And how I’d be damned if I was gonna let you go through all that. Didn’t wanna see what they did ta me happen to you. No one should go through somethin’ like that… not anyone. They said Enterprise would be informed of the situation, and they’d come pick ya up and take ya home. At least you’ll get outta here all right.” His voice was wavering. He was dealing with more emotions now than ever before, and T’Pol knew that ‘this’ was just not something a person could get past. She could not even imagine the pain he must have must be going through. She walked over to him. Standing in front of him and moved her hands behind his head, allowing it to fall to her stomach. She held him even tighter now as his arms moved around her. There were no words of comfort this time, not this time. Just silence as they held each other close. They could do nothing else. And T’Pol knew she didn’t want to let go. No one had ever done what he had just done for her. She just wished she could do the same for him.

A/N: Hee hee… you guys have no idea what I have in store for this little story! Things are bout to change a lot! I hope you enjoy this one… even I had trouble writing it without getting a little teary eyed!

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Seven people have made comments

Poor old Trip, and those vile sick sods! You could see it was a set up from the start but how to catch them out and prove it in time to save our intrepid explorers? Can't wait for the next part, and hopefully the Captain and crew will get a chance to kick some major butt. Ali D :~)

Poor,poor Trip. What horrible sadistic people. How can they get away with this??. Why doesn't Archer use the transporter to get Trip and Tpol off the planet. How can he just watch while Trip is being executed. Please provide explanations for his behaviour. Can't wait for next chapter.

Great story so far, can't wait for the rest.
Thanks

Interesting story so far. I'm not sure that I see Trip being so foolish as confessing to the crime...regardless of his love for T'Pol.....but it does make for a great love story. I wonder. Would T'Pol have made the same confession to prevent harm to Trip... despite the illogic of it? Maybe she will....who knows what is in that keen storytelling mind of yours. Keep up the good work.

I CAN see Trip confessing to save T'Pol, he's one of those extremely passionate people. The kind of person who'd do anything for something he believes in or someone he loves, that's one of his best qualities to me.

You and your freakin' cliff hangers, im am actually about to die here, help me out. Write quickly, I like the way you stay as true as is possible to the character's personalities, you're a great writer.

Why did Trip confess so easily. I'm sure Tpol could have looked after herself. I also can't believe that Archer and Tpol would not try harder to rescue him. How can they just stand by and watch while he is being executed for something he didn't even do.?? Oh the poor, poor man.Look forward to your next chapter.

Nice job. Actually, I think you could have drawn out the interrogation and description of the pain a bit more, for a more lasting influence.

For those who think Trip surrendered easily, just remember that the guards basically threatened to rape T'Pol. It wasn't just the pain. Trip, who strikes me as a gentleman when he wants to be, who just had a sister taken from him. Seems he would be a bit sensitive about these things. And, if this is a true love story, he has feelings, whether they're conscious or not. They're probably getting in the way.

Great job, can't wait for the next chapter. Don't make us wait too long!