The humans had received the translation rune behind their ear from the same large, golden-tan-skinned prisoner. He had been with the Raxxians a long time, from what they’d learned. A prize of some sort, which explained why they hadn’t just eaten him outright. Heydar was his name, and he was a man of few words. He was also trained in applying the pigments, though none of the aliens thought he was an actual Skrizzit by trade. Whatever the case, he had provided them with the means to communicate with everyone else, and for that they were grateful.
When the Raxxian ship later fell under attack and subsequently broke into its many constituent livestock holding containers, the hapless prisoners had been afforded one shot at freedom when the individual segments auto-landed on the nearest planet. Many died in the incident, some containers being destroyed in the attack while others burned up enteringthe atmosphere or slammed into the ground when their auto-landing systems failed.
But some had made it down intact, and it was the occupants of those compartments who were now scattered across the continent, the angle of descent varying wildly between many of the segments given the very unplanned nature of their violent separation from the Raxxian vessel.
Ziana had been the sole survivor of her compartment, the unit hitting hard and collapsing on impact. She’d been severely concussed but somehow escaped the crumpling metal. It was just a fluke of life, her limp body tossed about and managing to avoid fatal harm. The other two who had been locked in with her had not been so lucky. She didn’t know that, of course, but the fact that they were not now with her stuck in this new transport container made that the most likely scenario. The reports of the others overhearing the guard team’s discussions about the “dead ones” when her unconscious body was unceremoniously tossed inside only served to confirm it.
As for Maria, she had made it out with seven others. The aliens among them scattered to the wind as soon as they’d made their way out of their crashed vessel. The humans, on the other hand, had stuck together, all of them utterly at a loss about what to do on this truly alien world.
As luck would have it, a small Raxxian retrieval team from the downed ship found them, capturing two of her fellow humans while Maria managed to escape. It was short-lived, however, and the lone Raxxian that had come chasing after her while the others hauled the rest of their catch back for processing caught up with her in short order.
Whether it was good or bad luck was still open for debate, but the group of armed men who ambushed them both had saved her from a certain Raxxian fate. She was a prisoner again, sure, but at least she wasn’t going to be food. She had that going forher, and she’d have many weeks to get her bearings before she might meet whatever fate had in store for her.
As for the Raxxian taken prisoner along with her, he had been stripped of his weapons and gear, bound securely, due to his kind’s violent nature, then tossed in with the rest of the prisoners. Just one more body to take to market, though Raxxians were not in demand for several obvious reasons. Regardless, he’d be taken to their destination, fed and sheltered until they could see if they might have a buyer.
Several of the prisoners had other ideas.
Raxxians were not only pretty much universally hated, they were also on the shit list of countless individuals for a far more personal reason than just some interspecies grudge. Raxxians had caused a great deal of harm and distress to families across the systems, and it was hard to find anyone who hadn’t lost someone to their aggressions or the byproducts thereof. Be it friend or family, it didn’t matter. What did was that it was personal.
The Raxxian was mysteriously found dead two days later, the guards hauling out the body and discarding it for the animals without much commotion about it. Yes, it may have possibly been sold, but the odds were slim, and not even the guards could blame whoever it was that had ended its brutal life. Of course, everyone denied any knowledge about what happened, and just this once they were allowed their little charade.
But none would make the mistake of assuming they could get away with that sort of thing with a prisoner who might actually be worth something.
Maria relayed all of that to her new friend when she finally regained her senses after several touch-and-go days while her body mended as best it could. But once Ziana was whole again, the two discussed everything, becoming thick as thieves withtheir shared common origin, though they did wind up on decent terms with a few of their alien companions.
“Any idea when we might finally get out of here?” Maria asked one of them, a red and yellow-skinned creature that appeared to be both male and female, if she was reading its morphology correctly. She could have sought a bit of clarification, but given the stressors they were all facing, she didn’t want to be rude and ask.
“Probably another ten days or so, if they keep taking in newcomers at the same rate.”
“Why ten days?” Ziana asked.
“That’s when we’ll hit our maximum capacity before we tip into being overcrowded. Since it’s not a prison transport, they’ll want us looking good when we arrive. And that means adhering to standard overcrowding regulations.”
It made sense when you thought about it. They’d look a bit haggard, naturally, but if they were to fetch a good price, they couldn’t look too beat up. It was why their captors had finally given Maria a medical kit for her companion’s injuries. Injuries that had healed up quite nicely as a result.
“Well, I guess we’re ten days from something new,” Ziana said, shaking her head with a resigned chuckle. “Let’s hope it’s better and not worse. I mean, sure, it’s a pipedream, but hey, maybe we’ll wind up in some amazing futuristic alien city and be appreciated as newcomers from Earth.”
Little did she know how accurate that statement would be. Just not in the way she’d hoped.
CHAPTER THREE
Ziana’s brow furrowed even further the first time the muffled sound had reached her ears, straining hard to make out its source.
“Seriously, whatisthat?”
Maria shrugged. “I told you, I don’t know.”
“Don’t you care?”
“Sure. But if it’s important, I assume we’ll find out soon enough.”
She was right about that.
“Everyone up and to the door!” a voice boomed inside the compartment as the transport shuddered to a rumbling halt, the interior becoming brightly illuminated to the point where they had to squint a little.
As it turned out, it was for a good reason. After so long in dim lighting, their eyes weren’t used to full sunlight, and their captors didn’t want them stumbling and tripping over one another when they stepped outside.
Outside.
