What e're Thou Art

Posted on Sat Mar 24th, 2012 @ 4:17pm by Commodore Samantha York

920 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Subjugation
Timeline: Day 27

ON

Samantha woke, cold. She gave her last blanket to a sick woman the night before. It was a matter of giving the woman a blanket and a place to hide until she got better or watch one of the other gang leaders kill her so she wouldn't be a drain on resources.

Later, if she had time, she'd find Apu and negotiate for another blanket and maybe a few other necessities -- like a new pair of clothes. Hers were more than a little worn and were beginning disintegrate.

The siren sounded again throughout the complex, warning everyone in Sector 5 that it was time to get up and head back to the mine. She groaned and forced herself to sit up. She took a piece of burned wood and made another mark on the wall. Day 27.

27 days in this nightmare and what did she have to show for it? She still didn't know where Damon was, although she felt his presence from time to time.

She now had five members of the Von Braun in her gang and under her protection, but she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep it up. Two were sick and one of the rival gang leaders was making threats again. This time, he wanted Sam. She didn't want to fight another one if she didn't have to. The last time she'd come off the victor, but it wasn't easy.

Sam stood and stretched, her sore muscles complaining of the abuse and the cold. A few warm-ups she learned as a dancer and she was ready to face the group in the compound outside her meager tent. It was a luxury she was afforded as the "boss."

"Morning," she said quietly as she walked over to the fire in the metal barrel. For several moments she warmed herself, then she moved on to dish out a plate of mash for breakfast. It wasn't very tasty, but it had enough nutrients to keep her alive.

"Sam," a woman whispered as she also served herself to some food. "Magok is boasting again. You're weak and you give all your food to the crippled and sick. He's stirring up trouble."

"Fine. He won't find anything. Nor will the guards," Sam assured her. "We're quite safe."

"Watch your back. He wants YOU, too," she hissed.

"I know." As much as she tried, Sam couldn't block out the thoughts around her. The fear and despair was almost overwhelming. Then there was the hatred, the anger and the greed. Magok wasn't the only one, but he was one of the worst. She knew exactly what he wanted from her, as he thought about it in great detail every time he saw her. It made her want to throw up. He had a very ... twisted ... mind. But then, this place could turn a sane person mad.

She stood back and ate her food as quickly as she could so she would have time to round everyone up for their trip into the red zone and another long shift in the mine. Not for the first time she wished she could stay in the green zone and find a way to work organizing and protecting people, but everyone had to work. Work or die. Leave your sector without authorization and you die. Cross the wrong boundary and you die.

Now that Sam was a gang leader in her own right, there were a few hours after her shift in the red zone where she could cross into another green sector. The guards said it was a way for gang leaders to work together. From what Sam had seen so far, it was more like a way for gang leaders to intimidate one another and form alliances. Although the minute someone gained too much power in the slave sectors, they "disappeared."

Sam finished her meal, thanked the woman and headed for the gate into the red zone. Sam didn't tell the woman that Sam fully expected Magok to "disappear" soon. All she had to do was keep out of his reach until he was gone.

The other option -- killing him when he tried to beat and rape her -- was one she didn't want to consider and hoped she wouldn't have to. Not again, at any rate.

"Come on, everyone. Back to the mine. We're processing slag today." There were a number of groans and a few sighs id defeat. Slag was a hot, smelly job. But on the plus side, it was the only job that allowed them to get a shower after. Every group had a chance to process slag at least twice once a month. This was Sam's third time.

She counted her people as the walked through the first gate. Three were missing. She'd have to work extra hard to keep the guards from noticing.

The gate closed and locked behind them. Sam signaled to the others to keep the guards from getting an accurate count as they moved through the outer compound and through the second gate into the mine itself.

A whistle sounded the beginning of the shift. Ten hours and she could look for Damon again. It was one of the few things that kept her going from day to day. Find Damon. Find the rest of her crew. Get out of the mine. Get everyone home. She had five. Maybe today she'd find Damon. Or at least another member of her Calypso family.

OFF

Captain Samantha York
Commanding Officer
USS Calypso

 

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