Project Boussh: Faced With A Problem
by Alison Sky

"Voices,  Footsteps.  A door being opened.  a tray sliding across the floor. 
Water splashing my face... face...water..."  
Blinking awake, Face looked around the room that he was in. IT was 10 feet by
7feet, brick walls with a strong sealant.  He with his ears to the floor, he
could hear water, as well as high pitched noises that reverberated around the
room.  "Whales," Face thought.  "We must be underwater.  But where?"
"Wake up!"
Face grimced as he felt his ribs kicked, and quickly scrambled to a sitting
position.  He knew that he had been gone a long time now, and he could only
remember bits and pieces of what was happening to him.  Looking in the corner,
he saw Shannon curled up in a tiny ball.  Ever since their kidnapping, she had
put herself into an unconcious state.  "Sleeper state," he remembered Tycho
recalling the condition.  It was the same one that Tycho had been in during his
Lusyankya time.
"Eat."
Face looked up at the guard above him.  He was a rough faced man, with a
mis-matched eyes.  If he had been a woman, he would have assumed he was Isard's
sister.  But instead of arguing with the man, Face just grabbed his hunk of
bread and started to eat.  
While he ate, he watched Shannon.  He knew she was eating.  The hunk of break
was always gone during the night while he slept, and with his senses, noone had
entered the room to take it.  She was going to be ok, but being held captive
wasn't the best of ways to break into an acting career.
When he was finished, the man grabbed Face by his arm and pulled him up. 
"Mister Retsim wants to see ya."  Without letting Face ask a question, he
pushed Face along and out of the room.
Face watched as they walked along the hallway.  The same rocks lined the walls
until they entered a glass turbolift.  At that point, Face confirmed that he
was underwater from the sight of the fish that swam past the tube.  He didn't
get to look long, though, as they lift entered a metal station and the door
opened.
"Move," the man said, and pushed Face out of the lift. 
"You know, for a man of little words, you sure do push hard," Face said,
rubbing his arm and feining hurt.
"Quiet."
Snorting, Face followed the man down the hallway.  It was now lined with metal,
and the floor was cold.  "The floor is cold??" Face looked down and noticed
that he didn't have any shoes one.  "Man, i must look like a real bum," he
thought.
They reached an electronic door, and the man punched in a code.  The doors slid
open, and he grabbed Face's arm, pulling him into the rooom.
Retsim turned to look at Face as he entered.  "Ah, the actor has awoken.  You
must know that I was concerned after your last treatment when you didn't
awaken."
"Treatment?" Face asked.  He let his mind race through his memories, but he
couldn't remember anything.  In fact, he didn't remember getting to this place
either.
"OH yes, I forgot," Retsim smiled, and waved his thunkie to leave them.  The
dual-eyed man nodded and went to stand by the door.  "Captain Loran, you are
quite a prize.  Young, in perfect health, and leader of one of the more
succesful intel group in the New Republic.  Also, your atractiveness does not
escape the eye either.  You would make a wonderful recruit."
Face laughed.  "You have a horrible sign up plan."  Retsim smiled, and Face let
his laughter fade.  Something was very wrong here.  "What are you planning?"
"IT's not what I'm planning, Captain, it's what I'm doing."
With that, a dart flew through the air, landing on Face's upper pectoral. He
looked down at the dart, then up at Retsim.  The drugs worked fast, and Face
found himself blinking in an effort to stay awake.  "What..."
"Goodnight, dear actor,"  Retsim stated as Face fell to his knees.  "And when
you awaken, we shall continue to consider your life with Atner."
"Ne.... never..." Face said, and he collapsed onto the floor.  He could hear a
wailing of a whale through the floor, then the grasping of hands that lifted
him to unconciousness.