Smooth Criminal

[Bellatrix]

"You know my price," Bellatrix said. "The temporary use of ships and troopers."

The Ajem removed an oval shaped device from her robes and pressed it to the back of Trinity's neck. Pressing the activation sequence it lit up with a green glow as six arms extended and then buried themselves into Trinity's spine. It looked like a mechanical insect.


Finished with the restrainment she pressed s hypo to the other woman's neck to wake her up and retreated to Dominus' side handing him a controller. "It's a Neural Interface. From that remote you can make her do anything you want. It overrides and replaces her motor functions. And if she tries to tamper with it or remove it, it will permanently damage her motor functions... or it could leave her brain dead or dead dead. There's really no way to tell. The forceful removal damages everyone a bit different."

[Trinity Talon]

"Wonderful..." Dominus said as he looked at the controller. "Welcome Colonel Talon. About the only thing marginally cool about your is your last name." he chuckled.

"What... where the... " Trinity muttered as she woke up and looked around and felt the controller on the back of her neck. "The hell... where am I?"

"I could be all dark and say 'your doom' or 'Hell' or something cliche... " Dominus said as he stood up and hit the control that had her stand at attention. "I hold your strings little puppet. Now... I need three things from you and I may even consider letting you go reasonably intact."

"Yeah right..." Trinity said and glared at him. "That's a lie and we all know it."

"Fine... but there are still three things I want from you and you won't die an agonizing death." Dominus said with a bit a smile. "One. I want you to tell me everything you know about this... black hole weapon that was used in your timeline. I am intrigued by it. Two I want to know if you're Iljuna sensitive like your grandfather and your mother in law. Three. I want to keep your hand and I need an egg. You have plenty, you're a young woman. Then... I won't do anything to you. I may keep you prisoner for a very long time, or use you as trade bait. Either way, I get what I want and you get to keep your looks and your life. Fair enough trade eh?"

"You're insane... I won't do anything of that." Trinity replied defiantly.

"Then I suppose we start with number three and a telepath can help us with one and two." Dominus said with a sneer. "For my counterpart's grandkid, you don't know how to bargain do you? Your life with a little info is a small price to pay. But suit yourself..." he used the controller to slap herself across the face. "We'll start right away... even if you don't tell me about the black hole weapon, your stock could be very useful in new clones."

"I would rather die." Trinity said and looked him in the eyes. "I am not telling you about the weapons, not that I knew THAT much but I don't even want you knowing they existed anywhere. Those are apocalypse weapons. That's the end of all life. You DO realize that includes you and your forces too?"

"Clearly you didn't get the memo that I'm a nihilist... I don't really care." Dominus said and looked at Bellatrix. "And she's planning on going back to her reality once she has what she needs."

"How's that possible? We've got thousands... millions that are stuck here...?" Trinity raised an eyebrow.

"Oh they're stuck, there are billions of alternate realities. Some are subtle, some are drastic. One guess which ones we're from?" Dominus chuckled and walked around her. "There's probably a Trinity Ryder that would be far closer to me than you in some other reality. Perhaps one that even became the dominating force in her reality. There are realities in which your mother forced out her parents, took out any that opposed her, including siblings and set up as more of a counterpart to myself. There are a considerable number of realities you would consider 'mirror' or 'dark' Not just that one 'mirror universe' that Starfleet kept finding. There are alternates of those realities. You want to know why I consider myself the 'Dominus' of everything? Because I'm the man that found the way to traverse all of them. At will. There are other like minded versions of myself, some stronger, some weaker, but they owe the technology they use to move about, to avoid death to me." he looked at Bellatrix. "She even killed her version of myself to take power. Kinda why I like her, and she's effective. I've had others attempt to get you in the past, but they failed. Why do you think I ordered one of the Ajem'dasis to try and injure you in some way? It's amazing the power one has when the entire multi-verse is at my disposable and what one will do when they can have anything or anyone."

"You like to hear yourself talk don't you?" Trinity said bitterly. "I would do the whole 'name rank and serial number bit' but I know that would just earn me a beating."

"And you'd be right. Considering I hold your strings little puppet." Dominus replied. "Don't worry, you won't willingly give up what I want, so I'll take it... then you're in the clear. Maybe I'll even return you and let you tell them that you divulged all kinds of secrets. Let's see how loving your husband and your family will be knowing you betrayed them all, even unwillingly... when I activate that first black hole weapon in this reality, I'll make it known that I couldn't do it without you." he snapped his fingers. "Bellatrix... can you oversee her... interrogation? Name what you want. I feel generous towards you today."

Trinity looked at Bellatrix "Please... you don't have to do this... he's insane... what he wants, it could destroy other realities too you know. It's far too dangerous to even know about, just the fact that you KNOW means that it could still be built, even without my information. Someone will figure out how to make it..."

[Bellatrix]

"I've been called crazy myself, so if he destroys a few million realities from an infinite pool that's fine. Not my normal MO," she shrugged, "But, when in Rome."

[Trinity Talon]

"Yeah and what if it's your reality that he destroys?" Trinity said and looked her in the eyes. "I'm fine with crazy but that's just stupid and no Rebecca Sandoval I've ever encountered would be considered stupid. A little nuts? Sure. Insane? Who isn't?" she clenched her fists. "Fine, get a telepath, you can listen for yourself the screams of a reality that dies in a black hole of nothing. Alpha and Beta Quadrants were gone in less than three hours, Gamma and Delta probably a few hours later too, we were here when Alpha died. As for cloning me... good. MAYBE you'd actually have troops worth us fighting against."

[Bellatrix]

She shrugged, "I'll go on to another, but the odds are pretty good that he won't. You know, your counterpart was at your grandmother's side when she betrayed me. Interesting how she cam back from the future as well. Of course Ethan didn't exist. I will say you got the better of that bargain. It was a pleasure to eliminate the husband of your counterpart. He was exceedingly useless. I assumed those where the kinds of men you like. I have visited 138 realities. Of those if you were present in the timeline you were married to said loser or single. Only three of them were with Ethan. Anyway what should I do to her? Nicholas and Julie Ryder betrayed me. Should it be a clean death? Or should I make her beg for death?"

[Trinity Talon]

"I'd have her do it herself." Trinity said coldly. "She was the one that ordered the weapon's use. Even this version of her... she's suicidal. More than once she's put herself out there to be taken down. I think she wants someone to kill her. She doesn't want to go like Tiberius." she looked at Bellatrix. "I'm a forgiving person but there are some things you don't come back from. My mother has disowned her. Although if you touch a hair on my grandfather's head. I will kill you." she threatened. "I'm an Alliance Marine and I am a loyal grand daughter. He didn't betray you. There are two versions of you that he considers sisters. I would even consider letting all this go if you return me. I'll even give you Julie Lei's tracker location, no skin off any of our noses with her. Just don't make it quick or easy like she wants. Hell, she even gave her blade to the Narlin Emperor you killed and told him if it made him feel better to take her out right there. Or so I was told."

[Bellatrix]

"Killed? Oh, no Magus is quite alive. At least for now. So is Ms. Kellow and the Emperor's wife and pup. A truly regrettable affair, but needs must. I have no beef towards you. You didn't help Julie kill Michael. You didn't help Nicholas steal my Empire. I know precisely where blame falls, but you are payment for my revenge."

[Trinity Talon]

"Payment? For what? So you can take it out on someone that only resembles someone that wronged you?" Trinity shook her head. "Unless what you really want is to start some shit and get a lot of people killed. I mean I won't help you willingly, even unwillingly if it means that. If it's just chaos for chaos's sake. Ethan will miss me but he'll move on. But there's something more at play here and I've been around enough people like you to know that much." she smirked slightly. "Everyone just underestimates how much the 'pretty little girl in the corner' hears and understands. Even if this isn't exactly the life I wanted. I didn't want to put on this uniform. I didn't want to fight wars. I was perfectly happy growing berries and running a ranch. Helping out veterans. But there are things about me that even my husband doesn't know. Because I'm good at letting people see what they want or need to see. You're not my mother in law, I don't need to 'honor' you. Try to control me... I'm a Marine, I've killed someone with my stockings and that was a traumatic experience, but I've done it. Ethan doesn't know that. Control my limbs, like I'm a puppet. Eventually I'll break free."

[Bellatrix]

"I'll not discuss it further. Needless to say I need things, and you are the payment. And, no, I am not your mother in law. It was regrettable that I had to trick you in that way, but it was the only way to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. The only alternative was a direct assault on the Erebus to which I would have had to destroy. As far as breaking free? I think not. This device isn't a matter of will. It's physically separates the neural impulses from your brain to the rest of the body. The neural interface then replaces those impulses with it's own. Forceful removal might end your torture assuming it leaves you brain dead or kills you outright. Though, paralyzing you probably wouldn't end it for you would it? That's the most common scenario. It takes those poor souls days to die of dehydration. You like it? Designed it myself."

[Trinity Talon]

"Useful toy... although if you really wanted me brain dead a slug to the temporal lobe would do the same job for less than a buck." Trinity replied. "I still don't understand how I'm suitable payment for what you need if you won't tell me what you really want. For all I know I can fulfill that and you don't need to deal with Dominus." she gave her a look. "Look, why don't you let the Emperor's wife and child and the young Tess go and I'll stay. Otherwise I am pretty sure my husband is planning a way of hunting me down and rescuing me and I'm even more sure that he'll get my grandfather involved. Do you really want that? Even if you don't die... you're going to be down a ship or two or a base and a lot of grunts. Best case scenario."