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 Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 4:40 pm
A staff.
Aulus studied it with an expert's eye, and calculated that at this distance he could quite probably have it off her before he got shot unless she was really very good.... If he did though he had no doubt that people would abruptly appear and make his life really ******** painful, and Hayes' too. If they misbehaved, their friends paid for it. If he gave away information though... so what? What did he owe Team Rocket anyway? Not a sodding thing, that was what, but Claire was back at base somewhere and if he said something that led to her being hurt....
Aulus clenched his jaw. "No." If they did anything to Hayes it was his fault. He couldn't tell them anything. They were going to hurt Hayes. They were going to hurt him. He wanted to go home.
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Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 4:46 pm
"Castor." The commander touched two fingers to a small white bud in her ear, gazing coolly down at Aulus. "Increase his voltage."
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Galactic Commander Tethys
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Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 4:53 pm
Aulus' eyes widened. "Wait, what? No! You can't!" She could. He slumped back into the chair and curled in on himself. This wasn't happening, this couldn't be happening! This was his fault his fault! He was supposed to protect Hayes, not let people hurt him. "Look I don't know anything, I swear!" he said, looking back up with pleading clear on his face and ringing in his voice, arms still curled around himself. "Please don't hurt him because of me, I'm nobody important, I can't tell you anything useful!" He could tell her his rank. It wasn't like that was important, and maybe they wouldn't hurt Hayes if he did.... No, that was stupid. They'd hurt him anyway, or just ask another question that he really couldn't afford to answer.
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Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 5:00 pm
Tethys inclined her head slightly, as if to lend a listening ear. "Then: your rank."
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Galactic Commander Tethys
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Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 5:07 pm
"I...." Aulus curled in on himself more and dropped his head again. "I... can't. I can't tell you anything." They were going to hurt Hayes, they were hurting Hayes and it was all his fault. There was no logic involved in reaching this conclusion, no real thought at all, just a horrible sick gut feeling that he was causing one of the people who was most important to him in the whole damn world to suffer. He blinked away tears and said no more. It was his fault, but he couldn't start telling her things or he might not stop. He was supposed to protect his friends, not let them be hurt, certainly not cause them to be hurt.
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Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 5:11 pm
"You're choosing." Tethys raised two fingers to her ear. "Castor. Increase it again."
The woman listened for a moment, then cocked her head at Aulus. "Would you like to hear what you're doing to him?"
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Galactic Commander Tethys
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Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 5:16 pm
He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head vigorously. "No, no! Stop! Just stop hurting him! I can't tell you anything useful, just stop it!" She was trying to manipulate him using Hayes. Knowing that didn't make it any easier to resist giving in to her, and didn't do anything to protect his partner from whatever they were doing to him. Voltage. Electric shocks. It was his fault they were doing this. Hayes would hate him, and probably rightly so. He should have done something, or be able to do something now or or something! "Please!"
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Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 5:18 pm
Tethys repeated, "Your rank."
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Galactic Commander Tethys
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Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 5:24 pm
Aulus shook his head again, trying and failing to repress a sob. Didn't take much to make him turn into a pathetic ball, did it? He was weak. No wonder he hadn't been able to protect his friend.
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Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 5:39 pm
The commander observed him with an almost clinical detachment, then reached down to her belt for a remote.
High on the wall, a small panel slid aside to reveal a speaker.
'Agh!' It was a short, sharp bark followed by a hissed intake of breath. Male. Hayes, inasmuch as you could put a name to an involuntary yell of pain.
"Why do you keep hurting him? You have the ability to end this."
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Galactic Commander Tethys
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Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 5:49 pm
Aulus curled in on himself tighter still. This was his fault. They were hurting Hayes because of him, and it wasn't even something important she was asking. He looked back up again with tears running down his cheeks, retaining at this point just enough pride to wipe them away before he spoke. "If I tell you my rank you're not just going to leave him alone, are you? You'll just ask me more questions, won't you?" She was lying, she was! He couldn't make her stop this. No matter what he told her she would want more and more and more again until he'd be telling her things that really mattered and could lead to Claire getting hurt back at base. It was his fault. He couldn't make it stop though. It was hopeless.
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 1:34 pm
"Life is precious," Tethys replied.
The wall spoke with a strange male voice; Castor presumably. 'Your friend in the other room had a chance to help you. He didn't take it.' A long paused crackled with static, or ragged breathing, before Hayes wheezed.
'Yeah.. right.' It bore a trace of the incredulous.
The commander's eyes were strangely soft. "He trusts you."
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Galactic Commander Tethys
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 1:46 pm
Hayes trusted him. He shouldn't. He didn't deserve it, he'd thoroughly proved that just now. He looked over at the wall with the speaker on it as fresh tears started to well up in his eyes. He couldn't save him. This was his fault. Hayes really believed in him... and he was letting them hurt him. Aulus curled back in on himself as the tears started to run down his cheeks. "I won't tell you anything!" This was his fault. He hated himself. They would never get out. This was his fault.
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 2:00 pm
"You don't understand what he's feeling. Or perhaps you do-" Tethys paused, as if such a thought had only just occurred to her, "-and you just don't care."
She retracted her staff with a neat metallic noise and touched her ear again. "Castor." Red light filled the room and there, in front of Aulus, hovered her Starmie.
"This will be a lesson in empathy."
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Galactic Commander Tethys
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