Darterra Sagas: Book Two Marooned Chapter 2 New Friends and Old Enemies

The Darterra Sagas

Marooned

Chapter 2

New Friends and Old Enemies

 

 ¼ Miles North of the Crash Site of the Starship Yakali Kole

Western Territories, Darterra

 

          “Master!” the excited slave pointing at the crashed ship in the distance.

          “Yes, I see it Pip.”  The older grizzled bear of a man smiled at the pretty brown hairs slave girl standing beside him. Pip was good slave and young enough to be his daughter. Which at times she reminded him of his daughter. He only hoped that she was still alive out there somewhere and that someone was taking good care of her. It had been going on 10 years since the Cristo Corporation had seized his wife and daughter while he was away on false charges of unpaid taxes. The Corporation was good about that. Slaves were cheap labor not to mention profitable. They had both been sold in a public auction, which was all that he was ever able to learn. Nothing about who they had been sold to was available to him. It stank of corruption, but he expected nothing less from those heartless bastards.

          Perhaps that was why he had interceded when he found Pip being pursued through the forest. She had unknowingly offended a few of the social elite by showing that she was smarter than they were. For that they swore to make Piper Sullivan regret that she ever heard of them. Pretending to befriend her, of the young girls in the group asked if she wanted to try this wonderful new perfume that she had found. The last thing that Pip remembered was the bottle being passed under her nose so that she could take in the scent. When she awoke she was naked in a small cage that she couldn’t do more then curl up or kneel within it.

          They had told her that since she was so smart than she should have no trouble at all eluding them in the forest with a twenty-minute head start. She would, however, not be allowed to wear clothing or shoes. And should she be caught well she would be returned to town naked on a leash and might find herself in the local slave pens for the Corporation. Pip had done well and stayed ahead of her hunters, but while watching them she failed to notice a trap set by someone else. One designed with someone like her in mind to catch. He had watched as she was ensnared in the trap, and how they had discovered her in the slave trap and decided to leave her there to be collected by whoever it belonged to. This had not set well with Tyrel Blackburn. With what had happened to his own family he did not think much of the practice of slavery.

          In fact, Tyrel had planned on destroying that trap as it was property of the Cristo Corporation. And while she meant nothing to him, he could not just let her stay there to be collected by the next patrol that passed through the area. It could be days before one did. The appearance of the older and unkempt hunter had scared the girl at first. But he was kind and gentle with her despite her situation. She had been shocked when he had not restrained her after removing her from the cage. Which he disabled and damaged so that it could not be used again without being taken back to town to be repaired. Piper being an intelligent young woman reasoned that if he wanted her a slave then she would be already. But she could not return to town like this as that is what would become of her there, nor could she survive out here on her own. Reasoning that her best chance was with him, she submitted herself to him as his slave. Tyrel was not pleased with this given his feelings, but he could not just leave her. So, she was put on a rope leash and taken back to his camp. That had been over five years ago, Pip, as she was now called, and her Master had become not only comfortable with the arrangement but to the place that neither would change a thing.

          “But, Master, shouldn’t we go down there and see if they need help? Someone might be hurt.” Pip pressed.

          “Aye they might be. But I think it is best we wait a bit. We don’t know what type of people they are.” He told her, then pointed to two scantly clad women that emerged from the ship follow in a moment by an armed man. “Yes, see I could be wrong. But I think they are slavers. Whether they are on the Cristo payroll or not I don’t know. But we will wait here and watch them before we go any closer.” Then movement in the sky drew his attention to the clouds as a shadow started to move into the Valley. “Look, that is a Company ship, get back into the trees before we are spotted.” Sinking into the shadows, taking her with him.

 

Crash Site of the Starship Yakali Kole

Western Territories, Darterra

 

          “I can not believe that he is treating us like this,” grumbled Marla under her breath as she carried a heavy box out of the ship to be stacked with the others that her and the other four slaves from the hold had been moving under the watchful eyes of Terra and Nina. Terra and Nine were the only slaves allowed anything to wear. Nina brought a switch back down across the back of Marla’s thighs. “HEY! Why did you do that for!” spinning around to challenge Nina who lifted her switch causing the former Union Naval officer to reel about and hurry to deposit her load with the others.

          “She is a junior officer, Nina,” Terra softly laughed watching the younger woman rush off. Like the other slaves, Marla was still wearing only her slave collar. Unlike the other four slaves, she was the only one not wearing leg shackles.  Nina had leaned towards shackling her like the others, but Terra had overruled her.

          “I happen to think that Master was right, and she is going to be a pain in the ass.” Then holding up her hands, Nina added. “But that is just my opinion.”

          “And you are both right. But we still have to remember that she is one of us and not one of the ones Master bought for a mission that is likely a wash.” Smiling as she watched the young woman returning to them. “Something on your might, girl” Terra asked her when she got close. Watching as the proud young girl bristled at being addressed like that.

          “Why isn’t he,” seeing the switch raised corrected herself, “Why hasn’t Master, freed and armed us.”

          “Part of it is the simple fact that we are as much slave as the other four. We were enslaved and sold to Master. It has been documented. So legally we are his slaves.” Taking a deep breath and letting it out. “As for the rest, Master feels that as we have no intelligence to go on. It is best that we remain slaves for all to see. That armed women might insight others to attack more that seeing slaves running about. Stealing slave is a crime, but enslaving women that aren’t slaves already is not. Trust me, I have known Master for a very long time. If it looks like we are about to get over run. He will arm and turn us loose. All of us in the hopes that while they are chasing the others, then we might be able to slip off unnoticed.”

          “I was talking to the other human girl. Her name is Naomi, and she used to be a medic with the 3^rd Expeditionary Fleet. She was captured while taking supplies to refugees.”

          “So that is who she is.” Nina smiled and nodded looking at the other human slave girl.

          “You know her?” Terra asked.

          “It may be as she says. But the intel was that she was stealing medical supplies and was either selling them on the black market and they turned on her. Or that she was giving them to the locals and somehow she was turned over to slavers. Much of that intel came from Cristo.” Nina shrugged. “At this point, there is no way of knowing how widespread the corruption is or how reliable the intelligence we got from the Corporation is.” She snorted, “I thought I had them figured out and look where I ended up, a slave on a unknown world.”

          “Your guess is as good as mine, slave girl” Terra answered Nina and winked as they both had fallen down the same rabbit hole and were now slaves of the same Master. A shadow started to fall over the valley they were in. “Looks like we might get some rain, looks like it is clouding up”

          “Not rain, Terra, look!” Nina was pointing to the sky as a large ship moved across the sky blocking out the sun.

          “Get the others under cover quick. I will let Master know.”  Looking up at the ship and wondering how something so large and made of what appeared to be wood could sail through the sky with no visible engines. Then looking to their own ship and hoping that they had covered it enough as Nina herded the others back into the ship. Then darting for cover herself.

 

 

         

Skies above Crash Site of the Starship Yakali Kole

Western Territories, Darterra

 

          “Captain,” a young officer approached the seasoned officer that was standing by the window at the front of the bridge. “The Port lookout reports that they saw a reflection in the valley below. It appeared to have come from metal the best that they could tell.”

          “Are there any reported ships or wreckage in this area?” Turning to face the reporting officer. His name escaped him at that moment, not that it mattered.

          “Nothing in the available records, Captain.” Subconsciously straightening and adjusting his uniform shirt under the gaze of his Captain. But the expression that his senior wore caused him concern as it was clear that the Captain was anything but pleased with that response.

          “Available records,” The Captain snorted and shook his head in disgust. “How am I to do my job if they are restricting the information I am given to work with. Damned Bureaucratic Jackels!” He cursed the Corporation officials then instantly regrated it. As he had no clue how many of his officers and men were plants and spies for the Cristo Corporation. They didn’t even need to be official spies, merely relatives who had their commissions purchased as a favor. Turning to the sailor at the helm, “Make two low passes over the suspected wreckage.” Then turning to the officer of the watch, “If there are no signs of life or recent activity, note the location on the charts and the location in the log. If there is, then have the Master at Arm to have a landing party ready disembark soon as we can sit down. If not then resume coarse for New Dover”

 

 

          The airship circled as it came about, then proceeded to make two low runs down the middle of the valley looking at what they determined was the remains of a crashed starship. Most of the crew had never seen a starship other than in images in a museum. So, there was much excitement amongst them. But without sitting down for a closer inspection of the area and the wreckage, the air ship resumed its coarse for New Dover leaving those hidden below watching its departure from where they stayed out of sight.