Some Kind of Hero [Nihilistic_Impact and Sigr]

[Sigr]

"I told you it was a bad idea" Galatea chided. The white haired girl struggled against the bindings that had her tied into a bundle, hands behind her back, ankles fastened together. "The offer was simply too good to be true" she explained for the umpteenth time, trying at least to dislodge her cuffs from the floor so she could turn around to talk to her partner instead of a wall. Wearing a mostly black bodysuit from neck to toe, the pale skin of her face that matched her hair made her look like a ghost, trembling as their transport floated over uneven terrain. It was clear that something was wrong with the gravitic suspension of that old model, that rattled and clanked every now and then.

In the search of money to earn or perhaps a wrong to right, they had ended in an awful position, betrayed, overwhelmed and captured. "Maybe he wants to ask for a ransom or..." Galatea's eyes looked around the vehicle, always quick to adapt to low light environments and what she saw sent a shiver through her spine, her usual composure flaking. The shackle on the floor she was cuffed to was far from being the only one there, as many of them were around in a regular interval, with dry and dark marks of dried blood here and there. "He's a slaver" she just stated, so the chance for a ransom was getting thinner.

She wasn't going back to menial labor, not now when she had seen a glimpse of what was out there. Her past life seemed almost unreal when she thought about it, someone else's nightmare, not hers, but it wasn't that long ago when she was rescued from the depths of the earth, from her skyless routine, her mindless job. She wasn't GA1Ax10EA anymore, no hexadecimal designation for her inside a hive. No alienating number. "So what's the plan? Because you have one, right?" Galatea asked, noticing that her partner had been awfully silent. Was she just giving her space to whine as she usually did when she was right or was it something else?

They had took a beating from at least a dozen goons before being subdued into those binds, but it hadn't been that bad right? "Captain, please, don't scare me, I won't say 'I told you so' again" she bargained, unable to turn around and check the state her captain was in, hoping that the more veteran spacefarer would have a plan or perhaps wait for a better time.

 

[Nihilistic_Impact]

Dark eyes gave Galatea a sardonic look as Erlea slowly flexed her knuckles, anger boiling beneath the surface at her current condition. The repetitive action held at bay any rash action as she considered the message inked in each digit: h o l d f a s t

With a sigh the tension bled away, there was no escaping the shackles which held her wrists tight to the floor. In their haste to disarm Erlea they had neglected her modesty, leaving her with just her boots and under garments. Slowly she nodded at Galatea's statement, their captor indeed was a slaver. Erlea was hating herself for falling for quick money, a short job clearing out an old weather station of dangerous beasts. In retrospect it sounded more and more like a trap and now they were being hauled off to an unknown fate, their pinnace was at the mercy of any scavangers while their ship drifted through the void.

It was not a good day to be these two.

"You just did; but I deserve it. Should have seen it from the horizon. As for a plan, well we wait. Not much we can do shackled while in a moving transport."

The ride was a bumping one as the wheeled vehicle traveled across salt planes to reach a port town. There they would be sold to anyone of the great ocean going cities of Scamander. Whoever bought them the future looked very bleak at that particular moment as Erlea's thoughts explored the possible fates before them. She had gotten them into the mess, hopefully she could get them out.

 

[Sigr]

Hearing the captain's voice, even if it was to say that there was nothing they could do, made Galatea felt relieved. Even if her words were ones of defeat, they didn't sound weak, making Galatea believe that their fate was far from sealed, their story far from done. The transport stopped abruptly, the trip coming to a clattering end. Listening attentively one could catch the immediate ruckus around the transport as their captors shuffled around, but also activity on the distance, as they had arrived into a place with more people, probably a place to sell them. Galatea could only hope that they were kept together, part of her mind working in her usual logical fashion and guessing that it was what gave the better odds of escaping, but also a part of her that was just scared of losing Erlea and getting separated.

As the doors of the truck opened, blinding light barged into the dark confines of the truck, making Galatea remember the day they met. That light had been a warm one, one that illuminated her future full of possibilities, while the one that rendered her world white while she accustomed to it was dry and lifeless, bringing just promises of a barren world. Strong masculine hands separated her cuffs from the truck and roughly handled her, pushing Galatea out of the truck and seeing that Erlea soon followed her in the same fashion. As Galatea tried to avoid the scalding sun in her pale face, she saw that her captain has been reduced to her practical undergarments, her body covered by more ink than fabric at that point. Galatea's eyes instinctively moved to the first thing she saw of that wild looking woman when they met, the words on her forearm as she offered a helping hand.

No Gods, No Master, her tattoo detailed, the same creed that inspired Galatea back then, encouraged her at that moment. The ground crunched under her feet as she tried to stand next to Erlea, the place looking like the sea had swept over it, crusted salt all over the place. "I can take whatever happens" Galatea boldly muttered to her captain, even if she wasn't so sure. "Lets just make sure we stay together, even if they have to..." her eyes drifted to the state of undress of her friend, making her aware that the black bodysuit she was wearing was the only layer that protected her from the merciless sun and the stares of the men alike, the only thing that sheltered her unblemished alabaster skin. "Even if they have to check the merchandise" she managed to utter, her imagination filling with dread the many unknown spots she had about the topic at hand, Galatea's worldview being yet quite inexperienced.

 

[Nihilistic_Impact]

Erlea felt the rumbling engine die, their captors had reached their destination and time for planning was drawing to a close. Galatea was taken first through the opened hatch. Harsh light casting dark shadows as salt laden air mixed with the taint of industry assaulted her lungs, forcing her to cough and regret the loss of her rebreather. The chain restraining her was loosed and suddenly she was out into the light, coughs still wracking her body.

Fighting the air Erlea took a deep breath, breathing just as much salt and pollution as actual oxygen, and raised her head to the sky. Somewhere up there was her ship, her refuge and home. She nodded at Galatea's conviction of surviving the situation, regardless of events, firmed Erlea's resolved to not lose a second home.

She reached for Galatea's hand, tightened her grip in what she hoped was comforting as her eyes adjusted to the brightness. Before them was what had once been a natural harbor, time had seen it shaped and built tell a massive industrial port sat on the edge of a body of water that stretched forever. Dry docks, shipyards and factories were awash with activity, the sound of thundered up to where the two women were bound at the far edge.

Their destination was an open air market, kept outside of the port proper due to long tradition. They were watched over by armed men and women who threatened violence by look alone. The air clawed their throats as they were forced to stand with others, many bent over with fits of coughing, under the shade of an open tent. Other tents with crowds filled the immediate area.

"Looks like we're waiting for the buyers to show up. Shouldn't be too long with all this merchandise."

 

[Sigr]

The rancid air that surrounded them wasn't better than the situation itself, smoke and salt making the air noxious, as slavery poisoned people's souls. Galatea was no stranger to low quality air, even if the salty trace was a first, she had been living her whole life with faulty and poor air filters in the arcology. Part of her task was in fact making sure they were at least on working conditions, an awful task that at least had the reward of keeping her and her 'sisters' alive. Returning Erlea's tight grasp, she felt a bit safer, but Galatea herself wanted to help her friend, her captain, even if there was little she could do at the moment to offer relief. For a moment she thought about asking for water, but even the inexperienced girl knew enough to see that such a petition would surely go poorly.

Shielding her eyes from the sun with her free hand, Galatea eyed the people around. Some of them carried their own slaves to the sale, so it had to be some kind of scheduled event. Others seemed to be there as buyers, judging by their more lavish clothes and all sorts of containers and bags. As a grotesquely obese man draped in unending layers of white silks dropped a pouch, Galatea could see that the iridescent content that spilled from the brown fabric were none other than pearls. Of course, the one picking those lustrous spheres to return them to their owner was a slave, promptly prodded by a gadget that seemed to be designed with electrical punishment in mind.

Averting her eyes from the sorry display, Galatea noticed that the crowd wasn't just formed of dealers and slaves, as there was a third kind of people there that seemed to have an interest for it. The ones that dealt in flesh and soul were horrible enough to make one's stomach churn, but it was the rest of the crowd the ones that both unnerved Galatea, making her feel more queasy than the sickening air itself could have ever done. Judging by the expression on her faces, the half caught words as more slaves were reigned in, there were people there for the show. What kind of wretched world had they ended it where some kind of bid for slaves was an eagerly awaited entertainment?

Hiding her face from the sun with hand and hair, turning it around trying to avoid it was working for the time being, but Galatea's black skin suit wasn't made for such an environment. Even if she hid on her taller's friend shadow, she was starting to sweat considerably, but had to endure until a buyer presented that would ideally get them both. It was bizarre thinking of being bought by a slaver as salvation, but for the time being it was their only way out from that situation. After all, they wouldn't want to harm the merchandise they bought, or so Galatea hoped. "It's starting..." she whispered, seeing how one average male slave was paraded for all to see, rendering a few timid bids before changing hands. To buy a person's freedom so fast, so easily... Galatea's lips uttered a sigh, part of her eager to go on with the process, another part scared of how it could go.

 

[Nihilistic_Impact]

Corpulance must have been a sign of wealth on Scamander from what Erlea was seeing. The more people a person bought the heavier set the buyer was. Some of them had been carried in on palaquins while others road grav sleds; either option showed off the wealth of the individual.

When it was her turn Erlea was dragged out of the shade and paraded while bids were shouted to the auctioneer. There was no hurry in his voice as he called out his responses; but when no one dared raise the price he was forced to end the bid. Erlea had no idea how much she had been sold for and vainly hoped it had at least bled the buyer a little.

Looking towards Galatea she smiled as she was lead away to her new master. He was an obese man of some considerable height which made him look like some egg on stilts. His bald head shimmered with sweat and his clothes dazzled as foreign constructed fabrics flickered through a riot of shapes and colors.

Around him where five body guards wearing form fitting leather armor with knives worn openly, to which she payed especial attention.

 

[Sigr]

Galatea tried to keep eye contact with Erlea as those monsters bid on her, even if she felt the notion nauseating. No one could own her, as Erlea was free to roam the stars as she pleased, blazing a trail whose light was a guide for Galatea. And yet, there she was, being demeaned and dragged to the towering presence of an obscene mockery of a man, a ridiculous specimen that dressed as he was some kind of gift to the world, wrapped in garish fabrics. It was painful to look at him, but it would be way worse if the two of them got separated, so she did her best to look appealing and attractive to him, even if as she walked out of the shade all she could do was to hide her disgust and keep facing his general direction.

If the heat was bad under the shade, standing under the sun in her black jumpsuit made her feel miserable, cooked with her own sweat. She normally wore layers that would prevent such a thing even in a harsh environment like that, but since she had been stripped down to her last layer the same as Erlea, she didn't have such protection. Starting to feel dizzy, Galatea looked at the one that bought Erlea, to see in horror that he didn't seem interested on her. As if her worst thoughts were made true, she would have to resort to expose herself, to bare her body if she wanted his attention. Hoping that Erlea would put good word with her buyer, providing she was allowed to talk, Galatea took a deep breath and steeled herself to what she was about to do.

Awkwardly releasing the clasp of her suit's neck with her still cuffed hands, the frontal zipper to her skintight suit was accessible. It was just a mere gesture that precluded the show, but she could already see a rise in interest from some of the buyers, once shy bids hastening in pace, rising in volume. Galatea unzipped the suit until the end, just above her mound, but managing more than the peek of snow white skin that such a meager opening allowed was a struggle, both physical and mental. She managed to uncover her shoulders and show more of her unblemished skin, as Galatea felt the bite of both sun and stares, making her breathing faster and more shallow.

The one conducting the bid wasn't foreign to her intentions, so he approached Galatea from her back to lend a helping hand of his own. Distracted with the noise, she wasn't aware of his change of position until his rough, dry hands grazed her shoulders as he took hold of the suit. "Wha-" Galatea mumbled, lowering her arms and turning her face, as the man pulled her suit down in a single brutish pull, making it bunch around her waist and wrists where it didn't go further. Exposed from the waist up, her small perky breasts were for all to ogle, finally managing to garner the interest of the one that bought her friend. Unable to cover herself with the bunched suit difficulting her to raise her hands, all she could do was to try and cover herself with her upper arms, something that barely hid her pink nipples and pressed her flesh together.