Fear, Pain and Suffering in Many Acts: Act 1
The ship's comm system chirped and announced, "Engineer Ifix. Please report immediately to the Brig." Ifix tapped his badge and crisply vocalized, "Acknowledged." The crewmates surrounding him in the Engineering deck took an instinctive step away from him, as if whatever fate had befallen him were contagious. Historically, being called to the Brig was a precursor for ship discipline. Most personnel didn't report back to duty for several days. Some never returned. On a ship where intrigue and infighting are the order of the day, when someone gets exposed, all the rats run for the cover of darkness.
To add to the intimidation factor, announcements like this go over the general PA, so that the entire ship knows who has been called to answer for their actions. As Ifix walked through the corridors, no other crewmember would meet his eyes or greet him. Many of the crew knew about his recent humiliation of brother_lothar, and figured that this was the reason for the disciplinary action. Even though Ifix was rumored to be the Ship's Torturer, he was never paged for that task, so the crew assumed he was not above discipline himself. Both of these statements were true, he was not paged for the task he enjoyed so much, and he was not above discipline.
Ifix, though mildly concerned at this interruption of his routines, possessed a critical piece of knowledge that the most of the crew did not: Ifix had kept Jellico aware and amused with his involvement in Lothar's "Outdoor Exercise." Ifix also knew that the torture facilities were not located in the Brig like everyone assumed; this was a charade perpetuated for disciplinary reasons. Official disobedience was extremely rare among the officers of the fleet, since it would usually interfere with their detailed and convoluted plans for promotion or succession, chiefly because the punishment generally ended one's career. Officers usually got beamed directly to the bridge for public execution. Ifix, however, was not officially an officer. He was a civilian Engineering advisor with officer’s privileges. The crew would naturally assume he would get called to the brig.
After exiting the lift, he was met by Jellico and some marines. As they began to walk him toward the brig, Jellico only said, "Khan has returned. His mission was reasonably successful." Ifix's emotions quickly changed from self-concern to relief, and his eyes lit up, "Once I finish with Storvik, I'll arrange to re-educate Lothar." Jellico smiled and his eyes flashed gleefully, which Ifix found it mildly disturbing. The captain reached the Brig door and entered his code. The door slid aside. The captained grinned even wider as Ifix stood amazed. "Not yet. There will be a briefing with Khan before you begin. We'd like you to do a very thorough job. It might take a little longer than you had thought."
Inside the brig, Ifix saw two restrained figures in separate cells. Both were Storvik.
To add to the intimidation factor, announcements like this go over the general PA, so that the entire ship knows who has been called to answer for their actions. As Ifix walked through the corridors, no other crewmember would meet his eyes or greet him. Many of the crew knew about his recent humiliation of brother_lothar, and figured that this was the reason for the disciplinary action. Even though Ifix was rumored to be the Ship's Torturer, he was never paged for that task, so the crew assumed he was not above discipline himself. Both of these statements were true, he was not paged for the task he enjoyed so much, and he was not above discipline.
Ifix, though mildly concerned at this interruption of his routines, possessed a critical piece of knowledge that the most of the crew did not: Ifix had kept Jellico aware and amused with his involvement in Lothar's "Outdoor Exercise." Ifix also knew that the torture facilities were not located in the Brig like everyone assumed; this was a charade perpetuated for disciplinary reasons. Official disobedience was extremely rare among the officers of the fleet, since it would usually interfere with their detailed and convoluted plans for promotion or succession, chiefly because the punishment generally ended one's career. Officers usually got beamed directly to the bridge for public execution. Ifix, however, was not officially an officer. He was a civilian Engineering advisor with officer’s privileges. The crew would naturally assume he would get called to the brig.
After exiting the lift, he was met by Jellico and some marines. As they began to walk him toward the brig, Jellico only said, "Khan has returned. His mission was reasonably successful." Ifix's emotions quickly changed from self-concern to relief, and his eyes lit up, "Once I finish with Storvik, I'll arrange to re-educate Lothar." Jellico smiled and his eyes flashed gleefully, which Ifix found it mildly disturbing. The captain reached the Brig door and entered his code. The door slid aside. The captained grinned even wider as Ifix stood amazed. "Not yet. There will be a briefing with Khan before you begin. We'd like you to do a very thorough job. It might take a little longer than you had thought."
Inside the brig, Ifix saw two restrained figures in separate cells. Both were Storvik.