The Complication

The Road Not Taken

"Which one of you will claim responsibility? Huh?" Morak asked. "Step forward and-"

Tasha cried out as Morak delivered a swift kick to her back.

"Beg-"­

Thwack.­

"For the life-"

Thwack.

"Of this whore-"

Thwack.

Richard Castillo was sick to his stomach as he listened to Morak inflict yet another beating on Tasha. It had always hurt to listen, to be the one to clean up after Morak had finished taking out his fury or satisfying his sadistic urges.

But this time was different.

This time Richard was directly responsible for her torment.

Castillo wanted to rush forward. Yet he remained firmly stuck in place. He tightened his grip around Sela, holding her firmly against his chest to muffle the sound of her screaming cries.

She was terrified – and so was Castillo.

The only thing that held Richard back was an oath he'd made to Tasha. She was protecting him so that he might continue to watch over Sela.

-X-

One Hour Earlier

It was colder than usual, cold enough that Richard Castillo could feel it in his lungs as he ran.

He paused, straining his ears as he listened to the sounds of the woods around them. It was a new moon – the darkest night. And they were deep inside the thick woods that surrounded Morak's compound.

Their attackers weren't far behind, and they were closing fast. They were nearly to the grasslands where a shuttle was waiting.

Sela whined.

She was cold and terrified. She didn't understand what was happening around her nor the gravity of the situation.

Castillo shushed her as he tried to identify which direction their pursuers were coming from. It sounded like they were all around them. But he knew the woods and the darkness could play tricks on the mind.

They had escaped Morak's compound an hour earlier – sneaking out while their captors were distracted. Castillo knew it was now or never. This was his only chance to get them to safety.

There wasn't enough space for everyone. The shuttle and escape were limited. But the men knew that, and they recognised the importance of protecting Tasha and the girl.

It had been the easiest vote the team had ever taken.

Tasha and Sela would go for certain. Getting them out was the priority. Much had changed since the days when Tasha was the outcast scorned by the other prisoners. They had come to recognise all she had sacrificed for them.

The other lucky three included Vic Kelley, a medic from the Enterprise-C and the closest thing they had to a doctor.

He would be joined by Tiro, a Romulan prisoner that was sympathetic to their cause. He was part of an underground dissident movement with contacts in the Federation. He promised that he would get the others to safety on a neutral planet.

Rounding out the group was Ghost who would serve as their pilot. The men had drawn lots for that space.

Tiro's source had left an abandoned shuttle in the grasslands. They would need to pilot it themselves to rendezvous with a ship waiting in orbit.