EXETERRPG: (1-1507) Lieutenant Edmond Branson

[Rob Davis]

Mission: Prelude to a Broken Promise Pt.2






Day:1






Stardate: 2446.04.23










(  Pirate vessel - Quarters with basic amenities - Lieutenant Edmond
Branson-1507)


A few hours after witnessing the attack on the Tellar ranger outpost,
Lieutenant Branson woke up to find himself laying on a bed in a poorly lit
room. He slowly sat up as immense pain struck his body. He could feel that
his face was swollen and that he could barely see out of his left eye. He
stood up , struggling a little bit and limped towards the exit of the small
bedroom and into a small living  room area, he looked around. He could tell
these were quarters aboard a starfleet ship. A sudden burst of relief
jolted through his body, but it didn't last long as he heard a voice call
out to him from the other side of the dimly lit living room.


" Lieutenant Branson,  glad to see you awake and moving around."


Branson looked and focused his one good eye on the man talking to him. It
was the man he had seen earlier.

" Yergo ?" He asked.


" Good memory,  I like that and having a good memory is going to work in
your favor." Yergo said as he stood up and approached him.


Branson backed away, fearful of another assault.



Yergo stopped and looked at him.

" Holy S#!+." He exclaimed.

" He really messed you up didn't he ?"


Branson looked at him with confusion.

" If you're going to kill me , just go ahead and do it. "


" Kill you ? No no, I'm not here to kill you , I'm here to explain …well ,
I'm here to explain how things are going to be for now on. " Yergo stated.


" Wh..what do you mean ?" Branson asked nervously.


Yergo walked over to the wall and adjusted the lighting in the room to
brighten it up.

" Your uniform looks like S#!+ Take a seat " He gestured to the couch.



Branson looked at him, his nerves on end.

Sensing the nervousness of the starfleet officer Yergo took a deep breath.

" Relax, just take a seat."


Branson hobbled over to the couch and sat down slowly.

" Where am I ?"


" You're in your quarters. " Yergo answered as he brought over a bottle of
vodka and two small glasses and sat them on the table in front of  him.


" You really think I want to have a drink with you , after everything you
all did ? " Branson asked, angry at the very thought.


Yergo laughed and poured vodka into the glasses. " Probably not, but the
alternative is I break this bottle over your face and beat the piss out of
you. "


" Kiss my @$$ " Branson snapped at him.


Yergo took a shot of the vodka and poured more into the empty glass.

" I'm going to be honest with you. I've never been much of a talker, all of
this is new to me. The last person who told me to kiss their @$$ was my
father. I was seventeen ,nearly Eighteen. " Yergo took another shot.

" I don't remember why him saying that to me  made me so mad ,  but I
remember what I did next with perfect clarity. "


Branson glared at him.

" Let me guess, you killed him? " He asked in an irritated tone.


Yergo laughed and rubbed his own face then took another shot.

" Yeah. I threw him out of an airlock. Not very imaginative I know, but it
was my first time killing someone. Had to start somewhere. " He replied and
pointed to Branson's shot glass.


" I don't need you to like me , hell I'd prefer it if you were scared of
me, but one way or another you're going to learn and learn fast that I can
either be your biggest problem or your best friend. " Yergo said , with a
stare that looked right through him.


Branson reached forward , picked up the glass and took a shot of the vodka.

" There… happy?" He asked and sat his glass back on the table.


Yergo smiled and poured more into Branson's glass.

" You know if it were up to me , I would have just killed you , not just
because I hate starfleet , but because there's no point in wasting the
resources keeping you alive. "


" Then why am I alive ? " He asked.


" Remember the guy with the mask and hood ? Well he's in charge around
here. What he says goes and he wants you alive. " Yergo


Branson looked down at the shot glass and sighed.

" You guys killed a lot of good men and women. The ironic part is we were
all two weeks away from going to Mars, we served our four months in deep
space. "


" Damn that's rough. " Yergo said and took another shot.

" Oh. Speaking of rough, that reminds me. " He stood up and walked over to
the dining area of the quarters. He picked up a folded uniform and walked
it over to the lieutenant.


" What's this for ? " Branson asked as he looked at the uniform.


" It's a gift. The boss wants you to have a clean uniform on at all times.
" Yergo answered and held it closer for him to take it.


Branson took the folded starfleet uniform and looked up at Yergo.

" You're joking right ? "


Yergo laughed and shook his head.

" No, I'm not joking. " He replied and walked back to the chair and sat
down.

" Oh one more thing, one hour after you wake up and put on a clean uniform
, someone is going to escort you to the mess hall. Once there you will have
a job to do."


" Let me guess ,serve drinks ?" Branson asked.


Yergo laughed and pointed his finger at him.

" You're funny, has anyone ever told you that ? " Yergo stifled his
laughter and shook his head.

" No, your job is actually very simple. Keep the uniform clean. "


Branson tilted his head.

" Do you guys have food fights or something ?"


Yergo laughed again and slapped his hand on his knee.

" For someone who just lost their friends you're on a roll. "


His words hit Branson hard.


" All jokes aside and I can't be any more serious with you than I am right
now. " Yergo said with a brief pause.

" One of my men is going to try to kick the S#!+ out of you and bloody that
uniform. Your job is to stop that from happening, and I'm sure a big bad
hero like yourself can handle that. "


Branson looked at him with rage.

" And if I refuse ?"


" We would start sending parts of you to Starfleet headquarters. Little
parts at first, but once those are gone obviously we would have no choice
but to send the bigger parts." Yergo said with a menacing smile and took
another shot.


" I don't know if you noticed , but I'm in no shape to fight anyone. I can
barely walk. " Branson remarked about his injuries.


" That's why our medic is going to heal you up as well as possible. You’ll
get a good night's sleep and tomorrow,  we'll see how you do. " Yergo said
and stood up.

" Keep the Vodka , consider it a gift.


" Starfleet will come looking for you, all of you. There is no scenario in
which you come out of this on top."

 Brason said as he stared at the folded uniform in his hands.


Yergo stopped and looked back at him over his shoulder.

" Maybe you'll be around to see it." He said and left the room.


When doors closed Branson immediately busted into tears and buried his face
in the uniform. His heart heavy with grief, his mind burdened with guilt.



( reply none )


( posted by Rob)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://startrekfreedom.com/pipermail/exeter-rpg_startrekfreedom.com/attachments/20220618/8ff47246/attachment.html>