Dren woke slowly. The pain all over was bearable, yet extremely annoying. His senses slowly started to sharpen, realizing that he had been strapped to a table, yet in a near vertical position, with his arms retrained in a raised position. He struggled to lift his head and saw a table nearby with his armor laid out on it, the power cell removed and placed beside it, and his translator amulet on the table as well, leaving him next to naked, save for the pair of skin tight shorts to save his dignity.<br/><br/>How did this happen? It took a moment then he remembered. The Paladin was brought aboard one of their ships and with the power out in the cockpit, it only took the Humans moments to release the hatch from the outside by force. There was a bright flash that confused him for a moment and he was yanked out of the cockpit. When his suit detected the atmosphere of their ship and was detached from the cockpit, the smart metal around his fur retracted into the main parts of the suit, and he was promptly drugged by a projectile dart, but not before receiving a beating while he was restrained.<br/><br/>His head hung in the darkness and a bright light snapped on above his head, casting odd shadows around the room. He heard someone breathing in the darkness of the shadows and lifted his head to try and squint through swollen eyes. These were the enemies of the Mankind people. Fanatics as he was told. He had no idea what was in store for him and he was worried, mostly for what they would do to his Mech, and Yuri inside.<br/><br/>"[Who are you?]" he coughed, his translator amulet too far away to work, "[What do you want of me?]" There was a slight chirp from the amulet on the table and it flashed white for a moment, then went dim once more.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold"><br/>Michael and his new second in command, a man he had yet to bother to learn the name of. When Dren blabbered off in some other language Michael took it as an opportunity to further his own agenda. <br/><br/>"Look at it...speaking in tongues! A vile being that is trying to corrupt us with his blasphemous words!" he gestured toward Dren and those who were there in the room gasped sharply before they fell into a hushed whisper and waited for what was to come next. <br/><br/>"Speak to us and stop trying to corrupt us with your words of hate and malice!" he practically commanded of poor Dren as he laid there strapped to the table.</span> </span><br/><br/>Again the translator amulet lit up on the table, yet the man's words before Dren went misunderstood. Dren sighed and opened his hand to point at the device on the table, wracking his brain for the right word. He could hear the Mankinds language at times though the translations and tried to remember the word they used for what he needed.<br/><br/>"Am-you-let" he wheezed, "Trans-late" he twisted his wrist to point to his own neck, but it was awkward and he was unsure if the man understood. Again his mind slowly started to sharpen, yet as the sedative wore off more and more, the pain returned to replace it. His sides started burning and he realized he was bruised and cut in a few places.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold"><br/>The man with Michael looked from their captive to where he pointed on the table. Eyes on the amulet as it flashed whenever words were spoken. <br/><br/>"Sir?" he spoke up meekly and held up the amulet. "I think he needs...this..." the hesitation clear in his voice and actions as he handed over the amulet. <br/><br/>For a long while Michael looked from the amulet to his fellow man, before he finally slipped it over the neck of the prisoner. "Now...speak. Tell me of your people, your technology and your secrets. Tell me of their secrets, about their ship..." he reached for an item that was behind Dren on another table, obscuring his view of it. "I know what you are," he whispered in his ear. "Monster..." the word was practically spat out at him before a sudden and sharp jolt of pain coursed through his body. "Unclean..." another jolt of pain. "Demon..." the pain this time lasted a little longer, just so that Micheal could watch the look of pain on his face. <br/><br/>"Now...tell me what you know!"</span></span><br/><br/>Dren squeezed his eyes shut trying to bear the pain of the torture, with each jolt his anger rising and his distaste for this man increasing. He dared to look and his blurred vision through the tear-soaked fur around his eyes seemed red as he guessed a blood vessel had ruptured in one eye. He panted, trying to compose himself, but he could feel his fur start to stand on end from the electrical buildup. He was trained in the military about torture, but his own people wouldn't put him through it so that he could learn what it was like. This was near unbearable. He finally understood how someone could crack under conditions like this.<br/><br/>"I am... a member... of the Nekan….Space….Force…." Dren panted, "I am not…. From this galaxy...I….come from….far...away…" Dren swallowed and coughed blood onto his chin, "The Mankinds I was with …. Are no threat...I...don't understand….why you fight." Dren took a breath and lifted his head, "What sort of belief would make you turn on your own kind?"<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold"><br/>Michael laughed and pulled his mask back so that Dren could see the large burn scar on the side of his face, "My belief is the one and only truth faith," he said simply. "It is my faith that will see us all into the next life, a life of bliss and reward for all the sacrifices we have endured," he grinned and the way it reached his eyes was unsettling. "By the time I am done with you, either you will repentant your sins, or you will break to our will. But, I will get what I want and need from you, starting with everything you know about the Elyandra and her crew. And I mean everything..." a look came to his eyes and the pain returned to Dren as Michael reapplied the device to his back.</span></span><br/><br/>-----------------------------------------------------<br/><br/>Rega remained silent as the room argued and it was one Human woman that spoke the most highly of Dren that caught her attention. She was slowly gaining insight into the situation on this side of the Galaxy where a real war was taking place over what she assumed was beliefs in religion. She really did feel disjointed from the situation and her sole focus was only to rescue Dren, but the desperation in their voices was evident and she felt a sort of obligation to help these people. Perhaps this was what Dren felt as well.<br/><br/>"Um, I would like to say that I appreciate your concern for my friend. He must have made a significant impact to your cause while he was here. I appreciate any help in getting him back safely and will offer any of my resources to help as well. I have Kit, my AI controlling many repair drones outside your ship to repair any damage they can find and there are several drones like this one patrolling the corridors of your ship offering medical attention. My medical bay is also open for anyone needing it and the interfaces can be changed to your language for better use." She said quietly, although her face was void of emotion spare for obvious depression.<br/><br/>"[Captain, is that wise?]" Kit interrupted, "[Allowing unrestricted access to the Mauna Kea?]"<br/><br/>"Kit, please don't be rude. Speak their language." Rega said.<br/><br/>"My Apologies, however, I don't think it to be wise to let these people we have just met roam the ship by themselves!" he insisted. The drone he was speaking from bobbed in the air, "How can you trust them so easily?"<br/><br/>"I trust them because Dren does!" She snapped, grabbing the drone by it's sides and lifting the occular sensor to her own face, "How can you say such a thing to the people who have graciously given safe harbor to Dren?!"<br/><br/>"I am sorry, Captain." Kit said flatly, "I do not have the emotional connection to Pilot Falon as you do. I am only thinking logically as my programming dictates." Rega blushed, the fur on her cheeks standing on end. She dropped the drone and it made a dull clunk on the floor as the antigravity propulsion system kicked in at the last minute to barely make contact with the floor.<br/><br/>"Let's keep on topic shall we?" Rega flatly said, "We need to find Dren."<br/><br/>"Yes. We will need a method to track him." Kit replied. There was a long silence as the room stared at her, yet she was deep in thought. Then for the first time since she came aboard the Elyandra, Rega smiled and her face lit up.<br/><br/><br/>"The Beacon!" she exclaimed, "When we sent the Prototype with Dren from Nekan space, we were going to try and track it with a beacon! It should still be active. Even if the whole mech is powered down, this would have it's own power source!" She turned to the Captain at the end of the long table, "Captain, I believe I will be able to find Dren, but getting to him undetected would require a co-operative plan."