Darterra Sagas: Book 2 Marooned, Chapter 4

The Darterra Sagas

Marooned

Chapter 4

The Enemy of My Enemy….

 

Crash Site of the Starship Yakali Kole

Western Territories, Darterra

 

                   Rafe looked around the dimly lit interior of the cargo bay. Magdella and the others were gone. And as far as he could tell neither Terra nor Nina had returned to the ship. Had that air ship returned? He didn’t think so, he would have seen something that big in the sky. Unless they were closer to civilization than he thought they were the chances of someone coming out to investigate were slim as well. There was always the distinct possibility that he had misjudged or been fooled by the slave from Thetanu. But he didn’t see the Latorian or the Psitauian working together to take control of the human slaves including his two-armed scouts. And those two should have been back long before now. They had far less area to cover that he did. Something didn’t add up, how seven women had vanished. Inside the hull of the ship there had been too much foot traffic to distinguish footprints.

          In the area immediately around the wreck it was the same inside. Tracks on top of track and nearly impossible to tell one from another. Fanning out in a wider circle of the ship, he found what he was looking for, boot tracks. The boot tracks of a large man to be exact, and not his. Squatting down to study the patterns in the tracks, Rafe was slowly able to piece some things together. Neither Terra nor Nina had returned from their scouting patrol. But a lone man had came from the direction they should have.

          Rising up slightly but not standing upright fully, he slowly started in a circle pattern around the ship once more.

          “There!” he said to himself aloud pointing to the ground, then continued with his interpretation. “The man came in from over there from the direction the girls should have come. He was alone. He departed leaving the ship headed in that direction to the South-Southwest.” Scanning the ground more then nodding to himself. “Several sets of smaller tracks, female, barefoot, moving in a single file. More than likely in a throat coffle. He was herding them like a sheep dog, close enough to keep them moving but far enough out to scout the way.”

          Rafe stood and looked out in the direction that the tracks had gone. Whoever had taken the slaves was good. The girl, Magdella, had done as he had told her and not put up a fight. The question was who had taken them and were. More importantly, did he have the other two as well. He’d bet a month’s pay that they were with the others, if not already then they soon would be.

          There was something else that was bothering him. So, he returned to the ship for another look around this time more detailed search and check. It didn’t take long to find what he had overlooked before. Tossed into a pile in one corner, covered with debris, there were seven slave collars. Whoever took the slaves from here, had taken Nina and Terra first, removed their collars and brought them back here. Why? Next question would be how did he remove the collars, when the key was in his pocket.

          There was something about the collars that the intruder didn’t want to take them with him. Why would he not want the collars to remain on the girls? He would want to replace the collars, but why here and why bring the other two back here? Then it hit him as he muttered under his breath. Moving to the armory he found nothing missing. Infirmary, nothing was missing. All the supplies that had the girls gather were still there.

          Whoever was behind this didn’t want anything to do with modern or advanced technology. They knew enough to recognize it when they saw it. And had a means to remove the collars without cutting or damaging them. Very interesting. Rafe would have many questions when he located this man and his girls. Then another thought crossed his mind. This location had been compromised once. It might be again. And if this person was smart enough to not want. What a minute, of course. The collars had a tracking locator ability built into them. So, by removing and leaving them here, the girls could not be tracked by their collar. But was this man not wanting him to find them or for someone else to track them.

          Just to be on the safe side, Rafe set several booby traps about the ship. All were motion activated, and when triggered, they would begin the self-destruct protocols to destroy the ship. There were too many things that would not be good if they fell into the wrong hands. And the man he was hunting knew enough to leave them alone.

 

 

Stables of the Lasigna Ranch

Fortier Territory Western Darterra

 

                The outer door to the stables opened and Terra and Nina strained to see out of their stall who had entered. They could faintly hear the sound of soft bare feet walking down the row of stalls towards theirs. In a few seconds a young woman stepped into view. She looked to be in her late teens more likely her early twenties. She had light brown hair and dark eyes, she was very beautiful. She was also wearing a slave collar like them. Unlike them she was more dressed than they were as while she just had a loin cloth to cover her pelvic region, she had a skimpy bikini type halter top to wear. In each hand she carried a bucket with something in it.

          “Well hello sleepy heads.” She grinned at them both, “And welcome to your new home for the time being.” When she sat down the pales they noticed that one was filled with water, and the other held some sort of mush.

          “Where are we and why are we chained up like this? Who are you and where are our clothes.” Nina fired off. She knew the answers already of course, all but one of the questions that being where they were.

          “Well, aren’t you full of yourself, Blondie.” The girl smiled at her with a knowing smile well beyond her years. “Just so we understand one another and there are no misunderstandings. I am a slave because a blonde-haired tight ass snooty bitch just like you didn’t like me because I was smarter that she was. So, I am going to make this simple. I am Piper or as our Master calls me sometimes, Pip. Yes, I am a slave. And if the collar, chains and being half naked wasn’t enough of a clue so are you and Red here.” Nina looked like she was about to explode, and Terra was doing her best not to start laughing. Without another word, girl Piper walked over to a high shelf and took down two bowls and two rough looking cups. She filled one cup with water from one of the pales she had brought in, offering it to Terra. “Am I going to have problems with you too, Red?”

          “No, Piper, none at all,” Terra smiled and accepted the cup and was grateful for something to drink. There was a time and place. They were chains slaves in a stable. Angering the one person who might be able to help them or at least tell them more about this world they were trapped on was not the right move. Terra extended the cup back with her chained wrists. “I would like some more if I may, please.”

          “It seems that, you have the right attitude, Red.” Piper smiled and refilled the cup while Nina watched still thirsty. Then turning to Nina. “What about you, Blondie?”

          Nina stiffened in her chains, and it was plain to see that she wanted to say something so badly. “May I please have something to drink, Piper?”

          “That is more like it.” Piper smiled and filled the second cup handing it to Nina. Then with a spoon dipped two big scoops of the mush into the bowls and handing one to each of them. “I won’t lie to you it tastes as bad as it looks. But Master said that he is not wasting good supplies on Cristo spies, slaves or not.”

          “Cristo spies!” Terra almost choked. “You think we are with them?’

          “You were wearing their slave collar. At least that is what Master said. I have never seen anything like them before.” Pip nodded.

          “We were wearing slave collars designed by the Cristo Corporation, but we are not with them. In fact, they are the reason we are here. They were trying to kill all of us and our Master.” Explained Terra.

          “That will be up for Master to decide. But till he does, you both are now property of the Lasigna Ranch and owned by my Master, Tyrell Blackburn.” Terra started to object but Pip raised her hand to stop her. “You were captured in what we called the Badlands. And at the time you had Cristo slave collars one, both of you.” Terra nodded, Nina was still sulking at this young slave speaking to her like that. “When we searched and stripped you both. Both of you had the mark of a slave branded into your left butt cheek.” Both of them unconsciously reached back with one hand and felt the mark on their left flanks at that being pointed out to them. “And now your old collars are gone, and you wear the collars of your new owner.” Pip smiles at both. “And who do you belong to now?” Ensuring that her point was made.

          “I am the slave of Tyrell Blackburn and the Lasigna Ranch,” Terra answered.

          “I belong to Tyrell Blackburn and this ranch.” Nina responded after a hard look from Pip who had glanced at a switch that hung on the entrance to the stall out of their reach but not her’s.

          From outside they heard a booming and gruff male voice calling for Pip who left them to go open the door to the stables and look out.

          “Master’s back.” She informed them. Then opening the door for him, she stepped out of the way.

 

          Terra and Nina heard the sound of several sets of bare feet entering the stables. Straining against their chains to the limits of their reach as they were each chained to a separate wall by an ankle and to each other by a common neck chain fasted to their collars. Their mouths dropped open as they watch a coffle of neck roped slaves entering the stables, led by Magdella, then Druilla, Olaca, Naomi, and Marla at the end. All had been silenced with leather muzzles and their hands bound behind their backs with rope.

          The look of shock and surprise was on the faces and in the eyes of both groups was evident. The sight of Terra and Nina half naked and chained as slaves in a stall of the stables already, caused most of the newly arrived slaves to make muffled noises coming from their well-muzzled mouths. Both the girls in the stall exchanged looks. If the other five slaves had been taken from the wreckage, what happened to Rafe? Not that the other five girls could have done much to help from back where they had been left. But now all seven were back in one place and in chains once more. Only this time with a new owner.

          Marla and Naomi were removed form the neck rope and placed in a stall further down the line from Terra and Nina’s stall. There they were knelt on the straw. Then secured in the same manner as the two ill fated scouts, chained by the ankle to the stall wall, collars connected by a common chain, and their wrists freed from behind their backs only to be shackled before them. Pip gave each of them a cup of water and bowl of mush as their master removed the muzzles.

          “I do not wish to hear much from you slaves unless I ask you something.” The man told all of them. “If you make a bunch of noise calling to one another. Then all of you will be muzzled and lose the use of your hands to eat and care for yourself.” He didn’t feel the need to expand on the matter, nor did he have to. They all understood.

          “What stall do you wish the other three slaves, Master?” Pip asked pointing to the Madella, Druilla, and Olaca still standing in the middle of the passage between the stalls.

          “Those three, we will need to keep out of sight. We’ll chain them to the walls of the tack and storage room. After they are chained and given food and water, lock the door so none can look in.”

          “Yes, Master,” she nodded as she went to Magdella and led her to the door, opening it and herding Magdella and the others inside where they were removed from the neck rope then led to one of the walls of the room. Each was knelt by a different wall were they were chained by the neck. None of their neck chains could reach the other two. Once they were secured in place, all fed and watered, she exited the room and locked the door.

          “Pip, I am going to talk with our first two newly acquired slaves and see what I can learn from them. While I am doing that, I want you to go out and erase the tracks of this last bunch of slaves coming here. I don’t want to lead those Cristo bastards back here.’

          “Yes Master,” she nodded and started off as he turns to go collect one of the slaves.

 

Forest Path East of the Lasigna Ranch

Fortier Territory Western Darterra

 

          Piper was lost in thought as she made her way down the path towards the meadow where the strange ship had crashed. She was amazed and puzzled at how much her Master seemed to know about these strangers. She had never seen collars such as these slaves had been wearing. They were lighter that the ones that she and they now wore. The ones they had worn were much more advanced that her’s as well. Master had said they were powered by the body heat of the wearers’ body. That it was also possible for the girl to monitored, tracked, and even punished from a distance.

          She was not sure that she liked the idea of someone watching her so closely. It was bad enough being a slave sometimes without someone monitoring your every move. She hated to admit it, but she didn’t mind being a slave. Her life was much simpler now. Before she had to worry about pleasing and making so many people happy. No matter what she did it was never enough. Now she only had to worry about pleasing and making one person happy, her Master. And even from the very beginning, he had treated her with nothing but kindness and compassion. Which had been completely opposite of those that had tricked her.

          Even though he had found her in a slave trap, naked and wearing a leather animal collar locked on her neck. While he had crossed and bound her ankles and wrists after releasing her from the trap. Piper now understood that was not to keep her prisoner as much as it was to keep her from running off and getting into more trouble while he disabled and destroyed the trap. Once the trap was no longer a threat to her or anyone else. He had picked her up in his massive arms and carried her back to the Ranch house. Master Lasigna was still living then. At the ranch she had not been chained or caged but placed on bedding on the floor near the fireplace, where she was nursed back to health.

          When she recovered, Piper had made a crude dress out of an old blanket. She cooked and cleaned for them and more. There was so much to be done, and the ranch slaves had either been stolen, sold, or ran off. She suspected the kindness and gentleness she was shown was because she reminded him a little of his own missing daughter that was a slave somewhere. It was only after she had fully recovered and it was offered to escort her back to her family, that she had refused to go and pleaded to be allowed to stay with them. Even if that meant she had to become a slave which she did without hesitation, stripping herself and offering herself in submission.

          Deciding that she was far enough out from the ranch. She took up a small branch and started to erase the tracks of the coffle of slaves. There were enough bends and forks in the trail that it would be nearly impossible to find the way to the ranch. She softly hummed to herself as she went about her task still lost in thought. Piper was so intent on erasing the tracks that she didn’t notice the man who had stepped onto the trail behind her. He watched her as he leaned against a tree letting her get closer to him. It wasn’t until a loop of rope dropped down over her head and then quickly tighten pinning her arms to her side that she was aware that she was not alone and cried out.

          “If you are going to wonder around out here in the wilds, girl.” The man said as he pulled her closer to him with the rope in his hand. “You really should be more aware of your surroundings.

 The man was not as old as her master but had the same hardness in his face and eyes as her master did. He was wearing a black wide brimmed hat and his clothing looked like they had been part of a uniform of some sort she was not familiar with.

          “Yes, Master, you startled me.” She responded. She needed to buy time and play dumb till she could get away and warn her Master that the owner of the new slaves was near. “I was just out checking my snares to see if I had caught anything for dinner.”

          “And do you always check your snares by brushing the ground with the leaves of a broken branch?” He laughed.

          “No, Master.” She shook her head. She had been caught in a lie already. Granted the checking snares had been a weak lie at best and might only fool someone that rarely left the comforts of civilization and had never had to forage for their next meal. Her gut instincts were that this man had spent more time away from the civilization than he had enjoying them. There was something about him that disturbed her though. She was his captive, and she knew that he would not tolerate noncompliance with his wishes. But she wasn’t scared of him, in many ways he reminded of the gentle giant that owned her.

          “I have lost some very fragile items, a couple of them very important to me. And you were attempting to brush away the tracks of which some of those items were taken.” As he was saying this, he tightened the rope and secured it where her arms were trapped. Then turned her about and pulled her wrists behind her back and lashed them together tightly with some sort of cord or rope, she could not tell or see what it was. She gasped as his hands were on her and touching her as she was searching for anything she might be hiding. His hands had missed nothing, yet she had not felt like she had been groped or that there was anything more to it than just a search. No crude comments or innuendos had been made while it was done. “I have the notion that you might know where my lost items are. Don’t you, girl.” He had said after spinning her around to face him as he looked into her eyes.

          “I…” she started to answer then stopped. This man was no fool and if she attempted to treat him as one would only make things worse. He was being firm but gentle with her. There was no mistaking that she was under his control and that he would learn what he needed to know the easy way or the hard way, either way it was up to her. Then she remembered that her Master was doing the exact same thing back home with Blondie and Red. Karma was a bitch. Then with a heavy sign, “Yes, Master. I know where your missing slaves are.”

          “I knew as much,” He smiled. “So, you know where all nine of my slaves are then.”

Her eyes grew wide at the mention of nine slaves. Master and her had only collected a total of 7 girls.

“Master, we only found and collected 7 slaves. I swear!” He smiled at her. Damn him! He had baited and tricked her into confirming how many they had.

“Who is we?” Rafe pressed.

“My Master and myself, He used me to help him catch the first two. Then later he showed up with five more, three of them, were unlike anything that I had ever seen before.” She responded, nodding her head.

“I doubt that you have.” Rafe laughed, then looking the girl over. She was young, he would guess in her early 20’s. Nicely figured and pretty. She did not wear the mark of a slave on her left flank, but she did have a steel collar locked about her neck proclaiming her the property of the Lasigna Ranch, which with her few clothing made it pretty obvious that she was a slave. That she had referred to him and the holder of the collar’s key as Master was also a dead giveaway. “None of us are from around here. So what are you called?”

“My name is Piper, Master. By my Master usually just calls me Pip.” She answered with a smile as she thought of her Master.

“Well, Pip. I have you now. And your master has my girls. I think you need to take me to him so we can talk.” The man smiled as he took a leather leash out and snapped it to her collar. “But I don’t want you letting him know we are coming before I am ready. So you will be wearing this too.” Taking out a muzzle and inserting it into her mouth then binding it in place. From her eyes he could tell that she didn’t like that. But hey, she was a slave and what she liked didn’t really matter. Picking up his rifle, they started back down the trail the way she had come. The tracks there, not having been wiped out yet were easy to follow.

 

          Lasigna Ranch

Fortier Territory Western Darterra

 

 

Tyrell had finished with the redhaired slave. She was very intelligent and seemed very forthcoming with the answers to his questions. She had only felt the initial fall of the lash on her back to let her know the price for withholding or seeming to withhold or lie to him. And as bizarre as her story sounded, he pretty much believed that she was once an intelligence agent for the Union Fleet, that she had been in the wrong place at the right time and found herself a slave. If the ingenious stunts pulled off by the man she claimed to be her master and owner were only half true. This Rafe McNally is someone that he would like to meet and talk with. But there was much that remained to be seen. Now the slave was kneeling on the porch of the house bound and muzzled. There had been little chance that slaves in the stables had heard her answers, but he wanted her chained out here so that he could see her reactions to the answers to the blonde while it was her turn at the whipping post.

It only took a couple of moment to retrieve the blonde slave from her stall in the slave stables. Like the red head she was nicely curved and very nice to look at or upon. Pip might like the idea of more slaves to help with all the work and chores. But he doubted that she would be thrilled to sleep in the stables while the red haired one or this blonde served his needs some nights. Then there were the two olive skinned beauties in the stables as well. The three exotics he was still not sure what to do with other then leaving them locked away hidden. He rarely had visitors, but with the crash having been spotted. It would only be a matter of time before patrols were sent out to investigate it. The four new human slaves he could make something up to cover how he gained four new slaves since his last taxes were collected. He might even have to give one of them up for taxes if there were Corporation agents in the patrol. If it came to that then maybe one of the ones in the stalls. The redhead was prime slave flesh, and this blonde showed promise of delight with the right motivation.

“Now, girl tell me who you are and how you came to be here.” Tyrell demanded of Nina

“I am Lt. Nina Ritter of the Union Naval service. You need to let me, and my friends go immediately!” Then she screamed as the leather of the whip kissed her back.

“Who are you?”

“Lt. Nina Rit..” the leather bit her once more and she screamed again.

“Who are you?”

“A slave only a slave, Master.” Tears rolling down her cheeks as her pride crumbled. Terra’s face was tear stained as well. Then she looked out at the distance. Tyrell noted her reaction and looked in the same direction. Terra did the same and mumbled “Master” into the gag as they watched Rafe walking towards them with Piper on a leash. She was bound and gagged as well.

“I take it that you must be McNally,” laughed Tyrell. “It seems that you have something that belongs to me.”

“I am and I could say the same about you.” Nodding to the collared and stripped Terra and Nina. “And yes I am McNally. And I have come here to talk and trade.”

“What can you have to trade?” Blackburn boomed.

“How about I give you back this slave I caught out there alone. And you can return the slaves that belong to me that you are holding.” Rafe smiles back with an expression that betrayed nothing.

“Seven slaves, some exotics, for one slave. That hardly seems fair now does it.” Tyrell countered.

“It is what it is.” Rafe shrugged. “I want my slaves back.”

“And I want mine, but not at seven for one.” He laughed as Piper stomped her foot and mumbled something into her gag.

“Well, maybe we come up with something.” Rafe rubbed his chin. “How about we compromise. You get Piper back, and I will get Terra back. The rest can work the ranch till we can work something out.”

“I see why you want that one.” He laughed hard. “But I can work with that.”

 

Crash Site of the Starship Yakali Kole

Western Territories, Darterra

   

 

Inside the wreckage of the Yakali Kole, two enlisted troopers of the Home Guard of the Cristo Corporation looked over the shattered controls of the bridge. Each time one of them attempted to access the computer, the panel sizzled while popping and cracking. One of the troopers jumped back shaking his hand that had been burned by a hot wire. Cursing under his breath.

“Private Hanson!” came a sharp reprimand from behind them. “That is not proper language for a professional soldier to be using.”

“My apologies, Lt Crenshaw. It will not happen again.” Hanson responded then thought to himself that Crenshaw was a tight assed stuff shirt that couldn’t put his boots on the right feet if his steward didn’t set them up for him.

“What have you discovered.” Crenshaw demanded.

“Nothing yet, Lt Crenshaw.” Answered Hanson.

“Lieutenant, I may have something,” called Private Smyth.

“That’s more like it! What have you got, Smyth?” Crenshaw pleased with the news.

“I am not exactly sure, Lieutenant. The volume was turned off on the panel and I am not familiar with this design. But the Computer is saying something.”

“Then turn it up, Man! Turn it up!” ordered the Officer impatiently. Symth rotated the dial to increase the volume.

“15…14..13..12..” came a mechanical female voice.

“What is the meaning of this!” Crenshaw demanded.

“8…7…6…5..”

“Oh, bloody hell!” groaned Hanson figuring it out a fraction of a second before the others.