- "So here we are once again. You, me, and well, everyone else behind those fake mirrors and the door." Said Edwards right after entering the interrogation room, like if he was in a hurry. "A couple days ago, we have had a try to rescue some prisoners from one of our prison stations. Yes, im telling you this, strange, isnt it? And do you want to know why i am telling you that information? Easy. They didnt attack even this prison. And they failed. All they died. I know what you're thinking, that they could have ejected, and later recovered. Yes, they did eject, and yes, we did tow them... towards the nearest nomad we could find."
The skin of the prisoner's arm shaked, like if the hot stream of blood had abandoned it, after hearing such words. -"My idea about torturing someone else in front of you seems to not have given as much results as i expected. I guess you're really monsters, not caring about the rest of your kind. Not so strange seeing how little you care about your pilots sending them to suicide missions, but still.. somewhat inexpected".
Not a single word coming from her lips, not even a sign of hate or suffering. "These terrorists are really inhuman.", he thought. "We have one last resort to get something we look for from you. Well, it's not really the last resort usually, but i am already getting bored about your stubborness. You will talk, or die. And i dont actually care about which one you choose. I can just assure you it will be painfull, one way or the other."
For first time the prisoner noticed the case he had brought, and then he put it over the table which separated both of them. Opening it, a series of vials and a syringe were ready for use. "You see the two rows? the first vials, red, causes an horrible pain. After a certain dose, which we would eventually reach, it causes a multiorganic malfunction. Your lungs, liver, kidneys and heart would all fail one at a time, causing horrible pain and hemorrages." He grabbed one of the eight available red vials, and put it outside next to the case. "These, the blue vials, contain a very useful drug our R+D team has been developing. It, basically, makes you feel completely alone. Can you imagine beeing alone in the darkness, water covering your body up to your lips, without anybody around to help you, neither any way to escape? Or maybe you would prefer feeling the decompression around your skin, jumping out to the vacuum of space. We will soon see." He grabbed one of the four blue vials, and left it outside, next to the red. "Oh, and yes, the single transparent one. Guess what it can be? Oh, try it, surely you can guess. It is not so difficult, is it? I will give you a tip: It is my favourite."
- "The one which will free me from you, then." She replied. "Of course. And from everyone and everything else. Like the pain."
Beeing her tied as she was, that prisoner had no chance to stop the syringe aproaching her arm. The needle pierced her skin, reaching a vein. "Hmmm.. which one will we use first? As i said, i had certain preference for the transparent vial, but, as i guess we need to get something from you before sparing your life, lets use something different." The red vial appeared in his hand, and was plugged into the syringe opening. The stream of blood-like liquid entered her bloodstream. At first, she didnt seem to feel anything. A few seconds later, she began to convulsionate. If it wasnt because of the ropes, her limbs and spine would be all moving and contorsionating in ankward ways, possibly even breaking bones, and even the spine. But, of course, they couldnt allow that. Yet.
- "You know i had been nice to you. I offered you to get into arrest peacefully. You rejected all the chances i gave to you. Do you believe in god? any god? Look around you. Even if there is one, he would never come here to help you." - "Shouldnt.. you.. have asked me something before.. beggining this.. torture?" she managed to ask, painfully and slowly. -" Oh, really? I knew i had forgotten something! Well, that can be easily fixed now. Where is your base of operations? We know the aproximate area of it... but aproximate is not close enough. We want coordinates.". She could feel every vein, every artery, every organ burning from the inside. That drug stimulated all nerves, pain, pressure, and heat ones, allowing a level of suffering that, on first experiments, resulted most times in a deep coma from which the subject couldnt awake, or if he did, he would be as intelligent as a potato. Fortunately, scientists managed to do all that, and develop proteins to avoid the brain from "shutting-down" because of the overload.
- "We can wait here forever. Do you know the best part?" - he grabbed the blue vial - "I can do this even worse." He retired the empty red vial, and pluggled the filled up blue one. "Feel it.. feel it.. now... i know your pain... relax, close your eyes." She slowly obeyed, closing her eyes, needing for that a sobrehuman effort. "Watch out... dont you see where you are? look around you! you're in a crystal box! Only one metre in every direction protects you from that. Fire. Yes.. you will be burnt alive." She opened her eyes, but she didnt see the room. Instead, she saw a small crystal box, in which she was trapped like an animal. The bursts of fire coming from all directions, and crashing into the transparent walls that were saving her life, but, for how long would they last?" - "I can save you. Look up, look at me. I am offering you a rope, but i cant reach you." The man's voice suddenly became a scream: "They dont let me help you! Tell me where those Order live, where do they build their ships, and i will be able to save you!" She looked around herself. The glasses were slowly vanishing, in some places, there were holes, allowing the heat to lick her skin. She had no chance to escape, if she didnt tell that man what he wanted to know.-"Its only a few numbers... only a couple numbers and you will survive! no more pain! no..." The man looked strangely upwards, to the "sky", which in the real world she was separated from, was the ceiling. The lights blinked, and then turned off. Red emergency lights were turned on, and a shake reached that room. In her own current universe, where air was fire, and her salvator had vanished up there, beeing replaced by a red glow, the shaking could only mean the crystal had broken, and the fire was burning her flesh. In the real world around her, the situation was different. "This cant be good", Edwards said, while reaching the door, seeing everyone running everywhere.
Then, what he feared happened. The speakers of the station sent a broadcast:
"Station under attack. All units to battlestations."
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