Slipping my data stick into the ship's console, I reported verbally. "Computer, Officer Amelia Robinson reporting in and loading prisoner files."
The sultry female voice of the computer answered, "Acknowledged. Officer Amelia Robinson, you now have the con."
"Computer, report status of ship," I commanded.
"Ship status at maximum functionality. No anomalies detected," she answered.
That was the expected, satisfactory answer. I'd done this run several times prior to this. Since we'd remain inside the normal patrol area, I expected it to be a quiet run. Now it was time to check the manifest on my handheld against the presence of the actual prisoners, who'd been loaded aboard by the transferal squad.
Proceeding down the confinement corridor, I briefly opened the observation partition to visually verify each prisoner. Yes, it would have been quicker and more efficient to flick through monitor screens, but they'd been hacked and fooled in the past. Now protocol demanded an actual visual check on every prisoner. Most of them were the usual sort of multi-species scum that would find themselves incarcerated and transported to Base 12. But one prisoner stood out from all the others... Drex! "So, they finally got him!" I thought as I peered into his confinement cell and stared at his ugly face.
He was a really powerful criminal and had amassed an astonishing amount of wealth from his illegal business enterprises. His criminal empire had grown and grown. Now, it was reputed to be stretched over our entire galaxy. Some hinted that it might extend even beyond that! And he was on this ship, and I was staring at him!
But I had to finish my rounds. All ten prisoners were in their individual cells. Everything looked secure for what should be a 5 hour trip, given the speed this ship could attain. This was an easy job, simply transporting the prisoners, as I'd done many times before. Since the ship was fully automated, I was the only officer present for this journey. I was just there to handle any glitches that might arise, sort of a backup fail-safe. The computer itself constantly monitored the inmates and all ship functions. It just waited for my command to proceed at normal speed to the Base 12 penal incarceration facility.
Back at the controls, I stated, "Computer, log that the prisoner check is complete and correct. Proceed to Base 12 at normal acceleration."
She replied, "Prisoner check is now logged. Proceeding to Base 12 as instructed."
We headed out and I settled in to the command seat, and brought up my current novel on my handheld. My tastes in reading were one of my guilty secrets. In this current novel, set in medieval times, the Princess of the kingdom had stubbornly disobeyed her father, the King. There was a long section of dialog between the King and the Queen as to what to do about their headstrong daughter. Their discussion took some time as they recalled the various things the Princess had done that led to this point. Finally, they reached a mutual agreement. Very curious about what they'd do, I read on.
So the King summoned his daughter and decreed that she must be punished. It was not just for this offense, he pointed out, but for all of them that led to this decision. Instructed by the King, his guards dragged her out to the village square, and, once there, had stripped her of all her jewelry and clothing. The peasants gathered to gawp at her revealed naked body. A soldier on each side of her had a firm grip on her arm and wrist so she could not cover herself, even though she shrieked in humiliation.
The novel was a multimedia presentation, so I could pause and bring up an image of the Princess being marched into the square, and another of her being stripped, and yet another of her being held naked and immobilized while she shrieked! As I read and looked at the pictures, I couldn't help but sympathize with the poor Princess. I read on and learned the soldiers then fastened her into a pillory. I wasn't familiar with that word, so I brought up the image. "Oh my!" I exclaimed. "Her neck and wrists are locked in that wooden thing and she's bent at the waist! No wonder her face is so red, her bare breasts are hanging under her torso, and her naked sex is peeking out between her thighs and bare butt!"
The novel went on to say that the soldiers proclaimed that anyone that wished to swat the Princess's bare ass was permitted, but only one swat per person. Gleefully, many people took advantage of that offer. And these were hard working peasants. Their hands were hardened by labor, and their muscles developed by work! Each swat had such an impact that it seemed to make the Princess's teeth rattle, and her ass cheeks reddened as they stung in almost unbearable pain! She was weeping freely when the soldiers declared her 15 minutes of punishment was at and end and freed her. But they carried her clothing and jewelry as they made her walk naked back into the castle, accompanied by the bawdy comments of the watching peasantry.
I was lost in thought, going back and forth through this section of the novel, examining the various images and letting my imagination cast me in the roles of the King, Queen, guard, peasants, and the Princess herself. I found I could identify with all the characters, but I was most emotionally entwined with the ordeal of the Princess, thinking I could feel her various responses to the events, and finding them actually quite exciting, in some strange way. Thus engrossed in thought, I was shocked by the scream of an alarm bell! The ship had been hit with a high energy beam!
"Computer, silence alarm and give ship status," I commanded.
The computer calmly replied, "Propulsion system is offline. No distress signal can be sent due to the damage. Life support systems still at maximum efficiency." So, we were 'dead in the water' so to speak, with no one knowing anything was wrong, and no way to signal for help. The soonest I could expect any help to arrive would be when we didn't arrive at Base 12 on schedule. With life support still working, we'd be OK, but we'd have a long wait before a rescue ship would be dispatched along our path to scan for us. It was bad, but all told, it could have been a lot worse.
"Computer, can you pinpoint the origin of the energy beam that hit the ship?"
"Working... working... Most probable origin of the energy beam is from the ship that just matched trajectories with us, and has locked a boarding tube to our airlock... ... ... which is cycling with two men inside," she calmly added, almost as if it was an afterthought.
"Boarding?" my mind was still processing that word when the inner airlock door started to cycle its way open! I ducked behind the central console to try to hide my presence, as I thumbed the release of the only weapon at hand, my sidearm, which was fully charged. But before I could finish drawing and aiming it, the airlock open enough that a gas canister was tossed into the control room. It exploded before I could react, filling the room with a thick fog of its contents! Since I wasn't holding my breath, I inhaled some of that gas, and was unconscious in no time!
When I swam back into consciousness, I found myself still in the control room, but now I was naked and chained in a portable maximum security cage. The type of cage used on the most troublesome prisoners -- the most violent ones, none of which were on this ship. The cage is very small and made of steel. In it, I was kneeling, bent forward with my hands cuffed behind my back, and the top of the cage pressing on my shoulder blades. My head was outside of the cage, and locked out in that position. My ankles were cuffed to the sides of the cage. I was still woozy and very confused, along with being helpless and exposed.
From what I could hear, all the prisoners were now loose in the cell block area. The hatch to the control room opened and Drex and his gang of two men walked over to me. Because of my confinement in the cage, I could only see their boots.
"Well, hello there. I see things have changed, Officer," he stated in his smarmy voice. "I have something special for you," he added. He knelt down and placed a control collar on me. Things had been bad, but they'd just gotten worse. These control collars could render you as helpless as an automaton. You almost turned into a drone, which is why they couldn't be used without a court order.