Hardwired
four.
Kaja was guided across the catwalk slowly as if they assumed she would jump off of it to spare herself imprisonment but Kaja knew it would be pointless. For how much trouble the commander had gone through to arrest her, she assumed he’d collect her drifting body from space.
As they entered the ship, Kaja was dumbstruck. Never had she seen such a sophisticated, well-maintained ship in all her years.
“Is that…” Kaja trailed off as she stared dumbly at the state of the art weapons system mounted on the wall. Unlike hers which was just holsters rigged to stay up, this ship came equipped with it and it wasn't just blasters. The system held hand to hand combat weapons, other types of blasters for species that were non-humanoid, as well as restraints.
She lost sight of the system she was preening over as the enforcer lead her through a threshold. The hall had several rooms with clear doors to reveal barren rooms only equipped with a bench.
The enforcer blocked Kaja’s line of vision as he put in an alpha and numeric sequence on the control panel. The door hissed lightly before sliding open in one fluid motion. Pushing Kaja into the cell, the enforcer spoke, “Commander N’Vorti wants you to take off that suit. I'll give you five minutes to do it before I come back for it,” the voice that spoke wasn't what she expected. It wasn't a deep baritone, but a soft, melodic voice.
“The I.E.C. is letting women join up now,” Kaja asked, surprised. From what little time she spent planetside in Pharsouk, the culture had been clear. While the most advanced planet in the Galaxy, the traditions weighed heavily among its people. Woman were to always stay planetside, and would not be allowed onto a ship-- regardless of circumstances –unless they were granted a government waiver.
The female enforcer did not comment back about Kaja’s remark instead she grabbed her by her cuffed hands and immediately they fell off. As Kaja turned around, she saw the Enforcer walking out, the door sliding close behind her, hissing as it settled into place.
With a loud sigh, Kaja pulled the helmet off her head before tossing the helmet onto the bench. She didn't hesitate as she unzipped her suit and pushed it down until it pooled at her feet. Stepping out of the puddle of fabric, Kaja left it on the ground as she took a quick check of herself.
Her body still ached and throbbed from the abuse and more now that the adrenaline was making its way out of her system. Looking down at herself she saw that her whole left side was covered in a bruise, the most prominent near her ribcage. Gently, she ran her fingers across her ribs, counting each one as she did to check for breaks.
Abruptly, Kaja jumped when she heard the door hiss and whirled around to see the female enforcer stepping inside, her hand resting on the blaster strapped to her hip. She didn’t say anything to Kaja as she bent down to snatch up the suit and snagged the helmet off the bench before retreating as quickly as she had entered the cell.
Kaja wandered around the cell a few times, taking in everything even though there wasn’t much to look at before deciding to see what she could catch a glimpse of from her door. Shuffling towards the door, she touched it tentatively and received a small snap, “Oh,” she gasped in interest as she inspected it carefully. It was electrified as a second defense, so that way if someone was smart enough to somehow know how to disarm the lock, they still wouldn’t be able to touch the door.
Even though she was under arrest and would no doubt spend the next ten Pharsouk years in a work camp, Kaja couldn't help but be amazed by the technology she saw. Her mechanic's heart wouldn't let her overlook such craftsmanship.
Kaja wasn’t sure how long she inspected her cell but by the time Commander N’Vorti made his appearance she was exhausted and her body ached fiercely. She stepped back from the door, and crossed her hands over her chest as he opened a panel on the door to communicate with her, “Where did you get the suit, psenasu?” he asked her.
Staring at him, Kaja took in his appearance and put it to memory for when she either escaped the work camp or was released. She would hunt him down and punch him in the mouth for the dirty slur many Pharsii used towards humans.
While he still had his suit on, his helmet had been taken off to clearly reveal his sharp features and red skin. What she hadn’t seen before was his hair; and she marveled at the ebony length of it, which was braided tightly and hung down his back to his waist in the way many Pharsiian males chose to do. “Go fuck yourself,” Kaja snapped at him.
Commander N’Vorti growled at her disobedience, “Tell me where you got the suit, Kaja Sorkin.”
Shocked, she stared at him dumbly before managing to sputter, “H-how do you know my name?”
It was then that Commander N’Vorti grinned sadistically, his arrogance would have irritated her if not for the fact that she was too dumbstruck. “The registration of The Culprit still had Andon Sorkin as the registered pilot. In the record for the ship was an arrest made fifteen years ago-- when he was caught in Ja’Quen with several of his crew-- one of them admitted that the captain had a daughter who was born off planet that lived on the ship, a Kaja Sorkin. It was not hard to determine that you must have taken over your father’s pilot's chair when he died in the work camp.”
As the shock wore off Kaja clenched her hands into fists and glared at the commander, “You think you know everything, don’t you, you filthy government dog? Well, you’ll never get the information out of me about the suit, ever, and there is no trail you can backtrack to find the information.”
“If you give me the information I want I will let headquarters know you cooperated and they’ll likely allow you to go without punishment for the salvaging. The suits are a top priority because if they’re getting out to the civilians and pirates, that means other things are, including our weapons,” Commander N’Vorti explained slowly, punctuating every word with care.
Kaja stood firm, straightened herself, “Go ahead and throw me in the work camp because I won’t squeal.”
Commander N’Vorti slammed his fist against the door, revealing that the electric field was only on her side of the doorway as he yelled at her, “Do you understand what type of danger that puts us enforcers in?”
“I’m sorry but I’m fresh out of fucks to give,” Kaja spat bitterly at him, “My last fuck got sucked up when my ship got blown to fucking hell.”
“How about we make a deal,” He suddenly proposed, “I will track down the one who damaged your ship, get you released from custody for assisting us and you take me and my crew to whoever is selling those suits.”
As tempting as the offer was, Kaja knew she couldn’t take it. She would be the most hated Junker, right there next to Rickenn if she betrayed him, not that she was particularly popular as it was. “Death before dishonor,” Kaja told him as she straightened her back proudly, “Send me to the camp because there is honor among thieves.”
“Fine,” Commander N’Vorti snapped, “We’ll be taking off for Pharsouk soon and then, you will be handed over to the custody of headquarters to await placement in the work camp.”
The commander turned to walk away as the overhead comm system buzzed and a female voice spoke, “Commander, we need you on deck immediately. We have a situation.”
As they entered the ship, Kaja was dumbstruck. Never had she seen such a sophisticated, well-maintained ship in all her years.
“Is that…” Kaja trailed off as she stared dumbly at the state of the art weapons system mounted on the wall. Unlike hers which was just holsters rigged to stay up, this ship came equipped with it and it wasn't just blasters. The system held hand to hand combat weapons, other types of blasters for species that were non-humanoid, as well as restraints.
She lost sight of the system she was preening over as the enforcer lead her through a threshold. The hall had several rooms with clear doors to reveal barren rooms only equipped with a bench.
The enforcer blocked Kaja’s line of vision as he put in an alpha and numeric sequence on the control panel. The door hissed lightly before sliding open in one fluid motion. Pushing Kaja into the cell, the enforcer spoke, “Commander N’Vorti wants you to take off that suit. I'll give you five minutes to do it before I come back for it,” the voice that spoke wasn't what she expected. It wasn't a deep baritone, but a soft, melodic voice.
“The I.E.C. is letting women join up now,” Kaja asked, surprised. From what little time she spent planetside in Pharsouk, the culture had been clear. While the most advanced planet in the Galaxy, the traditions weighed heavily among its people. Woman were to always stay planetside, and would not be allowed onto a ship-- regardless of circumstances –unless they were granted a government waiver.
The female enforcer did not comment back about Kaja’s remark instead she grabbed her by her cuffed hands and immediately they fell off. As Kaja turned around, she saw the Enforcer walking out, the door sliding close behind her, hissing as it settled into place.
With a loud sigh, Kaja pulled the helmet off her head before tossing the helmet onto the bench. She didn't hesitate as she unzipped her suit and pushed it down until it pooled at her feet. Stepping out of the puddle of fabric, Kaja left it on the ground as she took a quick check of herself.
Her body still ached and throbbed from the abuse and more now that the adrenaline was making its way out of her system. Looking down at herself she saw that her whole left side was covered in a bruise, the most prominent near her ribcage. Gently, she ran her fingers across her ribs, counting each one as she did to check for breaks.
Abruptly, Kaja jumped when she heard the door hiss and whirled around to see the female enforcer stepping inside, her hand resting on the blaster strapped to her hip. She didn’t say anything to Kaja as she bent down to snatch up the suit and snagged the helmet off the bench before retreating as quickly as she had entered the cell.
Kaja wandered around the cell a few times, taking in everything even though there wasn’t much to look at before deciding to see what she could catch a glimpse of from her door. Shuffling towards the door, she touched it tentatively and received a small snap, “Oh,” she gasped in interest as she inspected it carefully. It was electrified as a second defense, so that way if someone was smart enough to somehow know how to disarm the lock, they still wouldn’t be able to touch the door.
Even though she was under arrest and would no doubt spend the next ten Pharsouk years in a work camp, Kaja couldn't help but be amazed by the technology she saw. Her mechanic's heart wouldn't let her overlook such craftsmanship.
Kaja wasn’t sure how long she inspected her cell but by the time Commander N’Vorti made his appearance she was exhausted and her body ached fiercely. She stepped back from the door, and crossed her hands over her chest as he opened a panel on the door to communicate with her, “Where did you get the suit, psenasu?” he asked her.
Staring at him, Kaja took in his appearance and put it to memory for when she either escaped the work camp or was released. She would hunt him down and punch him in the mouth for the dirty slur many Pharsii used towards humans.
While he still had his suit on, his helmet had been taken off to clearly reveal his sharp features and red skin. What she hadn’t seen before was his hair; and she marveled at the ebony length of it, which was braided tightly and hung down his back to his waist in the way many Pharsiian males chose to do. “Go fuck yourself,” Kaja snapped at him.
Commander N’Vorti growled at her disobedience, “Tell me where you got the suit, Kaja Sorkin.”
Shocked, she stared at him dumbly before managing to sputter, “H-how do you know my name?”
It was then that Commander N’Vorti grinned sadistically, his arrogance would have irritated her if not for the fact that she was too dumbstruck. “The registration of The Culprit still had Andon Sorkin as the registered pilot. In the record for the ship was an arrest made fifteen years ago-- when he was caught in Ja’Quen with several of his crew-- one of them admitted that the captain had a daughter who was born off planet that lived on the ship, a Kaja Sorkin. It was not hard to determine that you must have taken over your father’s pilot's chair when he died in the work camp.”
As the shock wore off Kaja clenched her hands into fists and glared at the commander, “You think you know everything, don’t you, you filthy government dog? Well, you’ll never get the information out of me about the suit, ever, and there is no trail you can backtrack to find the information.”
“If you give me the information I want I will let headquarters know you cooperated and they’ll likely allow you to go without punishment for the salvaging. The suits are a top priority because if they’re getting out to the civilians and pirates, that means other things are, including our weapons,” Commander N’Vorti explained slowly, punctuating every word with care.
Kaja stood firm, straightened herself, “Go ahead and throw me in the work camp because I won’t squeal.”
Commander N’Vorti slammed his fist against the door, revealing that the electric field was only on her side of the doorway as he yelled at her, “Do you understand what type of danger that puts us enforcers in?”
“I’m sorry but I’m fresh out of fucks to give,” Kaja spat bitterly at him, “My last fuck got sucked up when my ship got blown to fucking hell.”
“How about we make a deal,” He suddenly proposed, “I will track down the one who damaged your ship, get you released from custody for assisting us and you take me and my crew to whoever is selling those suits.”
As tempting as the offer was, Kaja knew she couldn’t take it. She would be the most hated Junker, right there next to Rickenn if she betrayed him, not that she was particularly popular as it was. “Death before dishonor,” Kaja told him as she straightened her back proudly, “Send me to the camp because there is honor among thieves.”
“Fine,” Commander N’Vorti snapped, “We’ll be taking off for Pharsouk soon and then, you will be handed over to the custody of headquarters to await placement in the work camp.”
The commander turned to walk away as the overhead comm system buzzed and a female voice spoke, “Commander, we need you on deck immediately. We have a situation.”