I wont say Goodbye

[Jeremy Hunter]

Alexis padded off the ship, being shoved a few times by Seryna. Guards moved forwards, stopping the now-harmed girl in her tracks.

"Kommodore Voelker!" One saluted. He spoke in his native tongue to Seryna, who nodded and returned the salute. Seryna then turned Alexis to face her.

"They will take you to orientation. This is prison, and it will be hard, but have heart that this place is not a pirate's den; You will be treated as a Prisoner of War."

Alexis nodded, then turned around to face the others. She began walking with the guards, stopping to look over her shoulder as Seryna said goodbye.

"I don't say goodbye."

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The warden looked up as Alexis was shoved in. She was forced into a hard metal seat across from the man. He took a drag of his cigarette and set it in an ashtray.

"Well, frau...hm. Let us start with your name."
"Alexis."
"Last name?"
"I have none."

The man eyed her, looking through his report, then looking at her bruised face and ripped shirt.

"I see you mouthed off to Kommodore Voelker."
"What can I say, she doesn't bat for the same side."

The man chuckled, writing something down on his tablet. He looked into Alexis' eyes, and held his gaze. What he saw was defiance, innocent, and something else. He did not know what, but he saw no fear in her eyes at the present time. If that would change, then it would not be anytime soon. the warden, underneath this bruised girl of twenty-two, held the heart of any soldier. He broke eye contact and wrote something else.

"Fraulein, I am the warden for a reason. I can profile people very well. Do not cross me." He looked at the guards. "Take her away. Clean her up and give her clothes. Take her to section D-4."

The guards saluted and yanked her up, nearly dragging her out. She regained her footing and walked with them down the hall to where she was put into a room with a middle-aged female nurse.

"Strip." was all the woman said, taking the ruined clothes and throwing them in a bin. She then pushed the girl into a cubicle and closed the door. High-powered jets sprayed her all over with lukearm soapy water, then washed her down with a cold spray. Dripping wet, she stood there, taking the moment to close her eyes and breath. She looked down her body; Few bruises, her left breast was slightly bruised, her scar was soft and did not strain. She waited until a towel was thrust into the cubicle. She grabbed it, wrapping herself up and huddling close. No where near scared, she continued to collect herself.

"Fraulein, once you are done drying off, the nurse will lead you to the scanner. Just lay down, and in a minute you can get dressed and then go to your cell."

Alexis took her time; No one came back to berate her and hurry her along, so she guessed she was lucky enough to be the only new prisoner. Stepping out, the nurse took the towel and led Alexis to the scanner, motioning her to lay down. Complying, Alexis laid down.

"This will take one minute. Your clothes are right over here, and no dawdling now." was the last thing the nurse told her. Alexis nodded.

The scanner began to hum, moving over her body, casting a greenish light over her. She looked at the screen. It was constructing a 3-Dimensional rpresentation of her body, taking in every pore, every hair. It stopped and took a few seconds over her scar before continuing on to her head.

"Scanning complete, get dressed. Now."

Alexis stood and up and went to the prison attire. She slipped on the plain grey underwear; Yep, as uncomfortable as the rest of the outfit. Fun. After she was dressed, the nurse took her to the waiting room, where an older guard took charge of her and escorted her into the block that she assumed was D-4.

"Here." he said.

Alexis took a look inside; There were two cots, one blanket per cot, one thin pillow, one sink, one toilet. On one cot lay a woman of around thirty, with a ring of tattoos around her neck and swirling designs going up her left arm and heading up under the prison outfit. Alexis was pushed in, and the door was locked. Not looking at the other woman, Alexis sat on the other cot and took a deep breath, finally able to have uninterupted time to think.

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"My name is Henrietta Heinkel."

It was the first thing the other woman said. She was, in any stretch of imagination, kind. She spoke roughly, always with a thick accent. She spoke decent english. In regards to Alexis, she did not look down nor pester; She instead struck up conversation, usually with a steel tone.

"Alexis. No last name; Have amnesia, will travel."

The woman gave a hearty chuckle.

"Not one thing?"
"Besides the name Rika, and weird flashbacks, I got nothing. I've met people along the way since I woke up on the Isis, but that's it."
"Isis?"
"A battleship....in the Omicrons."
"Corsairs?" The woman's steel tone dripped with venom.
"Order."
"Hmph. Better than those cannibals."

Alexis went silent, hugging her knees to her chest.

"I am a Red Hessian girl; I have downed many a Decurion."
"I'm from Liberty, that's all I know."
"Ah, no wonder you have ended up here."
Alexis nodded. "And without a clue for what. All I know is that Liberty and Rheinland are at war."

Henrietta leaned back against the wall.

"Ja, my Vaterland fights yours. A bitter struggle, with many a casualty for all, inlcuding civilians."
"I was not shot down in the war."
"Oh? Where then?"
"I don't know."
"You don't remember? Anything?"
"Well...I know I'm on the bridge of a ship. Then this whining sound, like...like weird guns? Purple bolts, and these blue thing is shooting at us."

Henrietta fell silent. She leaned forward, resting her hand on her knee and her face in her hand.

"Nomads." She looked up. "You have been attacked by a Nomad capital ship. The purple, the whine...it adds up."
"We then jumped to this green system with asteroids, and a smaller one smashed into the bridge."
"Ja...what type of ship?"
"No clue. All I know is that we fired something back...like...a huge teal bolt?"
Henrietta fell silent. "You were on a Liberty Dreadnought Fraulein. What perpsective? Standing up, sitting down? From where did you see it?"
"Center. I'm defienatly in the center."
"Hmm...did anyone shout orders?"
"I...I think I did."
Henrietta sighed. "Well then...Captain Alexis. You are a missing Dreadnought Captain."
"Captain doesn't sound right."
"What else can you have been?"

Before she could respond, she froze. Another flashback.

"Commodore?" Her XO, Aaron Rivkin, shook her. "Alex! Orders!"
Alex snapped out of it. "Recall Upholders, call Mitchell and Fairbanks, launch all forward batteries, prepare one heavy round."


She took a breath. "Commodore."
Henrietta drew a breath. "Dammit."

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Alexis was ushered back into the warden's office the next day. She again was shoved down into the chair.

"Ah Fraulein, how do you like your hospitality?"
"I perfered the Voelker's more."
He laughed. "Ja, i am sure you do...Commodore."
Alexis looked down. "I swear, I did not know. I still don't. I get bits, pieces."
"Ja, well. That does not satisfy me." He flicked his wrist at the men, who grabbed Alex. "Take her to Interrogation Room D."

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Room D was not your normal interrogation room; it looked like a high-tech scientific torture chamber. Alex struggled as she was strapped down to the table.

"What are you doing?!"
"Getting answers." Came the reply.

Two men walked in, the first one going to pull a cart with electrodes and a small box.

"Hey, come on, this has to be against any and every convention known to man."

They ignored her, cutting her shirt open to tape electrodes to her chest, breasts, and stomach. They put a few on her neck and sides, then checked her pulse and blood pressure.

"Who are you."
"Alexis."
"Name, rank, serial number."
"Alexis, Commodore, no frakkin clue."

They shocked her. She jumped against the restraints; it was little more than a wake-up shock.

" Name. Rank. Serial Number."

She repeated, getting more and more voltage as it went. An hour later, she was dumped back in her cell, a change of clothes on her cot. She was throbbing with a headache, her body convulsed in pain. Her clothes were soiled. Henrietta dropped by her side.

"Alex?"
"I'm fine...I've almost bled out before."

Somehow Alex undressed, throwing the soiled and ruined clothes into the hall. She slipped on the panties, but Henrietta stopped her from covering her scar up.

"This is your souvenir from that day?"
"Yeah..."

Henrietta stepped back, allowing Alexis to resume getting dressed. Once she was done, she laid down on the cot and closed her eyes.

"I think that was against the Curacao Convention, or whatever is the equivalent of the Geneva Convention."

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May you ever walk in the Light, Shizune.