Ero's Troublesome Past

A Mad Cardassians Lair, Part 2

Mykona
Four Years Ago
Author: Lt. (JG) Ero Cenza

A moment of calm washed over the room, followed by a sudden click, and a vile curse too wicked for the English language. Saran whacked the phaser against the wall in frustration, staring at it with outright rage.

“Oh, thank you whatever deity looks over me,” Sammy sighed with relief. He listened to the beats of his heart with gratitude.

“Never actually use a phaser purchased from me, Saran,” Ero said with a grin.

Ero’s grin last only a few seconds as Saran smacked the phaser into his face. He winched in pain, feeling the coppery taste of blood in his mouth. He wanted to raise a hand to feel the damage, but his hands were too tightly bound to move.

Satisfied with the site of blood around Ero’s face, Saran threw the phaser into the furnace, causing the flames to change to a vibrant orange. This went entirely unnoticed by the angered Cardassian. His attention was now drawn to one of the many meat hooks hanging from the ceiling.

“If a phaser won’t do, then you force me to go down the messy route.” Saran pulled a manic grin as he raised the hook above his head. The ferocious light now emanating from the furnace highlighted it’s sharpened edges, causing Sammy to start to struggle against his restraints.

“Sam, stop moving.” Ero warned as Sam’s struggles almost caused him to fall to the floor. But a nervous Sam paid little attention to the man who had allowed him to board his ship for a suspiciously low price. All he wanted to do was see more than the four walls of his room. Now, here he was, facing an early death. The thought only underlined a growing hatred for Ero, who had only led him from one fight to another.

“Sam, stop!” Ero exclaimed, as his struggling had caused them to move closer to the furnace, which had now begun to whine under the strain of the increased heat inside. The whining turned to a high pitched screech, along with a low rumble felt coming from it’s core. It was enough of a noise to cause Saran to lower the hook, and turn to inspect the furnace.

“I really wouldn’t get too close to that,” Ero advised, knowing Saran would never heed his advice. For a man who could turn a profit from anything, Saran was unbelievably predictable.
Saran ignored Ero, as he studied the orange flames whirling in a storm of orange and white flame. The metal casting around the furnace was beginning to glow red hot, then yellow, as the air tried to cool the heat threatening to break out from it’s iron hold.

The rumbling ceased, along with the whining for a moment. Seizing on a moment of calm, Ero shuffled across the floor causing Sam to struggle along with him. Sam had finally caught on what was happening around him. An escape plan had presented itself to the captives, although it was far from safe. If the furnace was to explode, there was no predicting where the flames would go, and who they would in engulf.

Eventually, the pair hit the back wall, which upon touch felt like a damp carpet. Peering around, Sam found that the wall was not covered in carpet, but a vibrant green moss. He spotted the water trickling through the gaps in the brickwork.

“Bastard. We’re trapped against a mouldy old wall.“ Sam uttered just loud enough for Ero to make out.

“Less of the bastard,” he half heartedly replied. His attentions were now focused on the wall. With his back up against it, he began to feel every bump and crevice for something he’d left behind the last time he had been tied up, and throttled in the very room. In that occasion he was captured by a more nefarious group, the Orion Syndicate. His escape had taken weeks, not hours, and he still nursed the scars from that encounter. Before escaping, he had hidden away a useful tool, just in case he wound his way back into the makeshift torture room.

Then, he let out a triumphant gasp as his fingers closed round a cold metal handle. He felt for the tip of the handle, eventually discovering a row of three grooves lining the tip. Anxiously, he pushed his thumb across the grooves. He heard the faint click of gears, quickly followed by a harsh hiss from the end. But the noise was thankfully covered as the furnace rumbled once more. The wooden flooring beneath the captives began to issue a threatening creak.

Saran, stepped back, and yelled to his men, “Turn it of!”

His goons, lingering by the exit, bumbled forward. One reached out to grasp a valve, but howled in pain, his flesh burning from the intense heat. The second man pushed the first out of the way, pulled his sleeve around his hand, and tried to turn the valve. The valve barely moved as it struggled against years of grime.

“It won’t budge.” the oaf spat out, a hint of panic rising in his voice.

While his captors tried to shut the furnace down, Ero worked away as the tool began to cut away at his binds. It only took a fraction of a second before the ropes were cut. Ero held his wrists, savouring the freedom for a moment, before cutting the ropes binding his and Sammy’s ankles together.

“Oh, I was so looking forward to a three legged race.” Sammy said in mock disappointment.

“Got your sense of humour back I see,” Ero commented, as he threw the tattered ropes to one side. “We need to get out of here pretty quickly. Just follow my lead.”

“Hang on, what was that thing that cut us free?” Sammy curiously asked, peering at a silver handled object in Ero’s hand.

“A very special spoon given to me by a rather eccentric friend.” Ero grinned.

“Here, take a look.” he threw the silver spoon into Sammy’s waiting hands. He inspected it with some curiosity, trying to figure out how a spoon is capable of cutting through rope. No feature seemed to distinguish from any other spoon he had seen. If anything, it was the most unremarkable dining implement he had seen. No button, no fancy laser or cutting blade. All Sammy could conclude was the extremely obvious, it was a spoon.

“How…” Sammy began, before his eyes widened upon the scene directly behind Ero. “Erm,… I hate to use a well used line, but look behind you.”

Before Ero could turn his gaze, a hefty fist came crashing into his face. Blood erupted from his lip, and he once more tasted the copper in his mouth. Staggering back to his feet, Ero focused on his attacker.

"Saran, if you love me so much just buy me some flowers.” Ero gasped, trying to get his breath back after the surprise assault.

“Thought you could sneak out of here again, Cenza? Not this time.” The manic grin crossed his face again in anticipation of smashing every bone in Ero’s body. An intense pleasure washed over him as he viewed his triumph over the captain of the Gray Angel.

“Well, if a fight is what you want, then a fight is what you’ll get. But consider the furnace about to explode right behind us.”

“No. You consider my fist splitting your skull open.” Saran retorted, blind to the increasing heat in the room, and the almost ear splitting groan of the furnace.

He went to punch Ero again with his full weight behind him. Unable to move quite so freely after Saran first punch, Ero was hit again. This time the punch landed directly on his nose. More blood erupted, coating his face in nightmarish crimson., Saran quickly followed up with another punch, this time an uppercut, sending Ero to the floor.

The Cardassian rounded on Ero, circling him as he considered the next violent move. It came quickly, as Saran unleashed a firm kick to Ero’s ribs, causing him to spit a concoction of blood and spittle.

“I hate to do this Ero, but you messed with the wrong people.” Saran said in lecturing tone, moving back to the hook he had picked up earlier. Grasping it’s end, Saran stood over Ero, raising it above his head. “I am a merciful man Cenza. As this will be your last moment, I offer you a last word. Something to recount to my ever so wealthy backers in this execution.”

“How much were you paid exactly?” Ero asked sceptically. He shut out as much as the pain as he could. Speaking alone caused pain to shoot along his jaw. But breathing was worse. Each breath he took was close to unbearable. He wasn’t a doctor, yet it was apparent his ribs were broken just as much as his nose.

“I hope those aren’t your last words Cenza, because the people who did pay will be so very disappointed.” Saran lowered the hook, swaying it to catch the light at it’s sharpened point.

“Throw the spoon.” he said in a pained reply.

“What did you say?” Saran asked with a confused frown, the hook wavering uncertainly in his hands.

“He said throw the spoon.” Sammy interjected, throwing the spoon directly at Saran, although completely confused as to why Ero had made such a request.. Confusion wa a state of mind Sammy had come to embrace in his journeys with Ero.

The spoon flew through the air like any other spoon would. However, as it drew closer to Saran, it didn’t descend upon the influence of Earth’s gravity. Instead, it speed on as if propelled by a miniature warp drive. Inches before it impacted with Saran, a thin silvered blade ejected from the handle and penetrated his eye socket. With barely a whimper, he collapsed to the ground, cradling his wound.

Saran’s two oafs looked on in shock, working out what to do without the orders of their boss. Looking from the spoon sticking out of Saran, to Ero, lying helpless and silent on the floor, to Sammy, mirroring the same look of shock as the pair of goons did.

“What should we do?” The first goon asked the second, who shrugged his shoulders with a gormless appearance on his face.

“I suggest you run as fast of your goony legs can carry you. That furnace is going to incinerate us all.” Ero casually replied, managing to ease himself up from the floor. Even though his current position hurt like hell, he had to get up and out of the room.

“Maybe we should run and just leave you here.” The first goon suggested with a hint of glee mixed with the same malice Saran was so proficient at expressing.

“The guy standing behind me just impaled your boss with a freaking spoon. Think what he could do with his bare hands.” Sammy said, in an uncharacteristic display of assertiveness.

The goons eyed the spoon, then Sammy, who stood rather uncomfortably at the increased attention. He had already escaped death by phaser, and was eager to avoid any other method of death the goons could think of.

“Fine,” the second goon said, “you can go, but we keep the spoon as a..... memento.”

The second eyed the spoon, thinking of a prominent place to mount it back at home.

“Yeah,” the first spoke up, “we keep the spoon for…sentimental purposes.” The second goon looked with ever increasing jealously at the first goon. He hadn’t quite pictured sharing the spoon and it’s potential fame amongst the criminal element.

“I’m sure another killer spoon can be found somewhere,” Ero answered, lamenting the loss of a perfectly good piece of weaponized cutlery.

“Yeah, there are loads of killer spoons out there, probably,” Sammy replied, still distracted by the quite remarkable turn of events.

“Good, the doors already unlocked. See yourself out." The first goon waved the pair away, his interest now focused on the spoon.

Without another thought, Sammy and Ero limped their way towards an unexpectedly easy exit. Ero, allowed himself a glance back, spotting the two goons crouched over Saran, trying to pull out the spoon. Not wanting to witness the pain Saran would now endure, Ero looked away.

The pair walked out of the room, up a narrow staircase, and out to the stone paved street outside. The only thing Ero could think about was not the overpowering smell of the planet, or the fact he was still alive. His one thought repeated over on a loop all the way back to the spaceport. 

“I’m really going to miss that spoon.”