Mind games

Posted on 27 Dec 2021 @ 7:22am by Commander Indi Hawk & Lieutenant Commander Cintia Sha'mer

1,899 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Home
Location: Realm of dreams

~~~~~ Realm of dreams ~~~~~

Indi sat down in her office. What you could call office. It was a wooden shack, no more, no less. A table like something had been dropped in the middle, and she'd even been granted a chair.
What planet was she even on? Ragnid III? She couldn't remember. Too close to the sun. Too hot for comfort. And yet, here she was. And so were a lot of others. Too many others. Her conscience was gnawing at the edge of her mind. This was where the Terran Union had sent her, but what the hell was she doing here?

With a sigh, she hauled herself back out of her chair, and walked one wall where an opening in the wood--one could hardly call it a window--allowed her a view of the nearby courtyard. Dozens of people, Ragnids but also aliens from some of whom she knew the species and some she didn't, were being drilled in the hot sun. Who was she kidding? They weren't being drilled. They were being beaten. They were being tortured. In theory, they were prepared so serve in the Ragnid army, having committed one felony or the other, and given the choice to serve or die. Most chose to serve. Most chose to die once they had been here for a while.

Why did the Union allow this? Did they even know? Once more, who was she kidding? The top brass called this an army training encampment, and they'd sent one of their best to streamline the training process. But she felt like a prison guard. Looking outside, she witnessed as one of the trainees fell to the ground from the weight of the beam they were supposed to be carrying and was rewarded with a beating that made him scream so loud it made her ears hurt. Closing her eyes didn't help, it only enhanced the sound, so she kept watching. The image burnt into her mind as the man was unable to get up once her, yes her, instructor was done and was dragged off limply to the side. Tossed with a few others who'd suffered the same fate, either they'd regain consciousness or they wouldn't.

In her mind, the scream echoed and echoed and echoed........

"You can't help them." The voice belonged to one of the aliens, who stood leaning against the outside of the building close to the window. Some kind of uniform seemed to indicate that the alien was not one of the prisoners. It wasn't a Terran Union uniform, but not quite one of the Ragnid ones either. The expression on the grey/greenish face was pained. "You have to build walls in your mind and lock this away. That's the only way you can do this without going insane. Other than requesting a reassignment – which I doubt will be an option you are willing to consider."

Indi's head snapped around. She wasn't used to people being able to sneak up to her. As her hearing was more developed than most humanoid hearing, she usually heard them coming. Not this time. Her mind had kept sending the scream to her ears over and over and ov---. Taking a breath, she narrowed her eyes at the stranger. She'd never seen her before. Not that she could recall anyway. Not one of the trainees, but not one of her instructors either. But whoever she was, she sure was presumptious. "Whoever you are, it's not up to you to tell me what to do or what not to do here."

"Fine." The other woman shrugged. "You want to go insane, that's alright with me. You'll fit in perfectly with most of the people here then, anyway." There was no way she would've been able to sneak up on anyone, not with the bad leg and the stick she used for a cane. Dark eyes roved around, rarely fixed long on anything, seemingly taking everything in at once. They landed briefly on Indi's face, her eyes, then moved on. Amazingly, a small smile flitted across the other woman's face for a moment.

The smile wasn't lost on Indi. (Nor was the physical state and the walking aid, which made it even more unnerving to her that this woman had managed to sneak up on her, but she filed it away for later self-recriminations.) "Did I say something to amuse you?"

"Not at all." Dark eyes roved around the field where people were running up and down, touched on the small pile of people lying on the side. "You are one of the few people whose eyes give nothing away. I was appreciating the irony, seeing that your mind is screaming loud enough to make up for that." The woman's free hand briefly massaged her temple. "Interesting technology by the way."

Suddenly very self-conscious, Indi narrowed her eyes once more. She used to have to do it to bring her implants better into focus, but had learned to do so without physical movement a long time ago. Right now, it was a remnant of a habit she hadn't bothered to unlearn. "Who are you?" she finally asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Sha'mer. Special consultant," the woman said. "Though stars know why they sent me here of all places," she added with a brief sneer of her mouth.

Another movement from the courtyard distracted Indi. Forgetting about the woman for a moment, she looked at what was happening now. She'd missed the action leading up to what she was seeing, but the reaction sent shivers down her spine. They didn't always scream. Some did. Some didn't. The new ones did. Once they realized nobody would come to their aid, most went quiet. This one was quiet. A survivor. So far. It was a woman. A young one. Couldn't be older than 30. Had to have been here a long time, unable to complete 'training' (as if they ever did). She took the beating she was getting with barely more than a whimper, but even that sound traveled all the way to Indi's mind. A feisty one, as it turned out. Once the instructor had his fun and had stepped back, she clambered back to her feet and continued on her way. Indi's jaw set. "Special consultant to do what?" she finally asked, a sharp edge to her voice now.

"That's exactly what I've been wondering myself." The woman had watched the scene unfold as well, with an impassionable expression. "Usually I get sent to a place where my talents are of any use. Here, not so much. Maybe I can recruit one or two specials, though, if I pull some strings hard enough. She has potential. Look." She shifted position to lean against the cabin and pointed briefly with her cane to the woman who had undergone the beating just now. Once the instructor was walking back, the woman turned her head briefly to look at him. What happened next was hard to see, but it appeared a loose stone moved under his boot, causing him to either slip or trip. The result was the same, he lost his balance, his ankle twisted and he fell down with a yell. The woman trudged on without a second glance, just like everyone else ignored the instructor – except a few of his collegues, who came running to see what happened.

That.. was a coincidence. Was it? Indi shook her head, both to her thought and to the statement of the woman. "She'll break eventually. They all do."

"Not an coincidence at all," the woman replied, chosing to answer the unspoken thought rather than the actual words. "TK."

"Excuse me?" Indi asked. This woman was strange. There was.. something. There was... no... why was it suddenly so hard to focus on her own thoughts.

"Mindpower," the woman explained. "Telekinesis. Moving things with your thoughts. That was what she was doing. Expertly applied as well." She gave a very slight nod of approval. "If she does break, let's hope you won't be around to see it," she added with another flash of that thin smile. "It's probably best if I request her before that happens. But maybe not just yet."

Is this why these people were here? So one or two out of a thousand could be picked eventually by a special 'consultant'? When they'd been beaten, tortured and broken enough to be deemed one of the lucky ones? Indi couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Are you one of them?" she finally asked hoarsely, old instincts roaring to the surface as she finally turned to bodily face the woman. She was ready to repay all those trainees. Ready to let this woman feel what she was prepared to let the others go through.

..but, she didn't move beyond the turn.

"Oh, I doubt they put in that much thought in it." Once again, the woman replied to the unspoken thought rather than the words. "Never attribute to planning what can be explained by sheer coincidence and actual malice." She idly rubbed her temple again. "No, I was sent here for my military expertise, believe it or not," she said with a wry smile. "But like you, I found soon enough that my advice wasn't wanted. But I do have some leeway… in other fields."

Something in the woman's voice gave her a lot more credit than Indi usually gave people. "What fields?" she asked, focusing on her breathing to rein back in what was about to burst out.

The dark eyes turned back to Indi, rested there for a few moments before moving on again. She pitched her voice low. Only someone with the acute hearing of, for instance, a Vulcan would be able to hear it – or someone who had to rely on sound far more than others, growing up. "No, you wouldn't have heard of that, I think. Something the Union has been working on for awhile. A kind of Special Ops… a Mind Division. Right now, they are only exploring their options. But in time…" She sighed. "Who knows."

Mind Division. Mind Games. Indi had always hated those, and she didn't think that would ever change. Those with the mind games didn't play it fair. They used tools that not everybody had. It wasn't fair. It was dishonest. It was.. unethical. Something in the depth of her mind bristled again, a renewed kindle to the fire.

"Define 'not fair'," the woman said. "I make use of what I have to compensate for what I don't. Much like you." Dark eyes flicked back to Indi's own, rested there for a moment.

Indi lunged forward, pinning the woman against the wooden wall. "Stop. Reading. My. Mind!" by the time she'd reached the end of that sentence, she was shouting loud enough for a couple of heads to turn in their direction.

The woman winced, but it was an almost automatic gesture. She was used to a lot more pain than this. She already experienced a lot more pain. In the grand scheme of things, this barely made a dent. "You only had to ask," she said, a little breathless from the way Indi held her. She made no attempt to break free from the hold. Instead, that thin smile reappeared briefly. "Got you distracted enough to stop screaming though. Maybe we should go and take a walk."

~~~~~

 

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