Greetings and salutations. I know I have been away a really long time and some folks have actually sent PMs wondering what's up. I'll leave an update on the forum thread for interested parties. Please use the following link and read the update before asking questions.
http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=1346444
This is a brand new story in the Savage Shore Universe with brand new characters. I have taken a slightly different approach this time. This is a short story broken into chapters, but I am grouping them all into a single upload. At the end of each chapter there will be notes so you do not have to scroll all the way to the end to find out what terms mean. Any time you see an asterisk (*) after a word, there will be a note about that word.
Now, for clarity and because I know some readers will ask, this is labeled 'Part 1' because there will probably be a part two and maybe more. I have ideas for what happens after this story, but they are amorphous. This is a complete story in its own right, though, and it is all here. I hope you enjoy it.
*****
Captives, Slaves, Killers
Part 1
In Durance Vile
Chapter 1
Aches and pains were the first things Aste`Rey Mherr became aware of. The next was the smell of scorched circuit boards and burnt carpet. Where was her helmet? Someone beside her was breathing hard through a poorly designed respirator. There were two of them, one on either side, gripping her arms and jostling her along through dimly lit corridors. Bright sparks burst from damaged control panels and conduits. Lights above flickered. She blinked away tears and wished the air was not so acrid with smoke. Her eyes burned and her throat felt coated in cinders. What had happened?
Vague memories of the battle surfaced in disjointed flashes. She recalled the alert. She recalled going to her action station. Had the carrier been hit? She could not remember. She thought it had. They had gone to its defense, had they not?
A rough hand under her chin and rougher fingers peeling back her eyelids. Crackling, buzzing words. Words she did not understand. They sounded like commands. She shook her head, confused. Someone stood before her, dressed in black with a half-moon of white metal about his neck. A gorget*? The front of her environment suit was suddenly gone. Fingers grasped her undershirt and tore it away, exposing her breasts. Whistles, hoots, clicks and what might have been laugher. A hand stroked the soft fur on her chest, cupping her breasts, fingers questing, pinching her nipples painfully.
"Stop that!" she snarled and kicked, connecting with someone. A pained grunt was followed by more whistles, more hoots. The one with the gorget was on the deck pointing. The ones on either side of her threw her down and tore off the rest of her clothes. Cheers rang in the tight space and she felt her wrists bound. She was a prisoner. The Humans had her. A sharp prick on her right buttock. She flinched and then, like the coming of night, darkness.
*****
Darkness ebbed. A tide going out. Aste`Rey Mherr opened her eyes to slits and did not recognize the compartment she was in. Dark grey walls, dingy with mold and dust. A low ceiling. Yellow lamps at either end of the very small room. A warm body lying beside her, an indistinct pale shape. Her mouth tasted terrible. Dry. Her lips were cracked and her throat ached for want of water. Her fur was dirty and mussed. Her wrists were still bound behind her back and now she realized her ankles were, too. A rod connected the two sets of cuffs, making it impractical to sit or attempt to rise. She was tired, anyway. Better to sleep while she could. At least her nose was no longer full of burning smells.
She turned to get a better look at her companion and jerked in surprise. A Human! A Human less than an arm's length away! With a croaking cry she scrambled, trying to roll away. After considerable effort she succeeded, groaning as she came to rest against the bulkhead and facing the Human. She had only doubled the distance but anything was better than being within reach and helpless.
Panting and dizzy Aste`Rey Mherr stared. Slowly into her panicked, overwrought mind came the realization that the Human was no danger to anyone. Battered, bloody and scorched, his naked form did not stir. After a moment she was not certain he was even alive. Forger and Builder! His ear was gone! And those had to be a pair of shrapnel wounds on his belly! Blistered burns on his upper arm and chest showed wetly under the dim lamps.
"Why would Humans do this to another Human?" she asked aloud, not realizing she spoke.
Lying there, catching her breath, Aste`Rey Mherr examined the Human thoroughly. It was obviously a male and one of considerable size, at least as large as the average dTel`Qohar male. She had never seen a naked Human, male or female, and felt considerable trepidation. Virtually hairless and yet so like her own kind. And this one was very well muscled. Whoever had captured him had plugged the wounds on his belly with something like synthetic skin. Was he injured during the action her squadron had fought in? Perhaps he was aboard one of the ships her cannon had targeted. What if he woke? What if he thought she was responsible for his injuries? He appeared to be restrained in an identical manner to her, but he was strong. Perhaps the restraints would not hold him if...
"Stop it!" she scolded herself.
This Human was in far worse condition than she was. He would be unable to get free. In fact, she deemed if he did not get medical attention very soon he would certainly die. Even under the yellow light she could see his coloration was poor. Worst of all, he smelled of death. The whole room stank of waste, but he smelled of blood and decay.
*****
A loud reverberation through the deck and bulkhead woke her. This time Aste`Rey Mherr was not surprised by her surroundings. She did not realize she had fallen asleep, though, and wondered how long she had been out. Her cramped arms and legs were still bound and her cellmate remained where he had been. His color looked no better or worse. The bleeding from his missing ear had stopped, but his face was now a mask of crusted blood. He was still breathing.
There was a dull, off key chime and the bulkhead behind her began to slide. She rolled onto her belly but lacked the strength to do more. Peering at the opening she saw a lean figure crouch and enter on all fours. White skin, no hair, stylized features and obviously mechanical joints all screamed of a synthetic being. Aste`Rey Mherr's heart pounded and she tried to scramble along the floor, desperate to evade the thing.
"Do not do that," said the synthetic. "You will damage yourself."
Aste`Rey Mherr blinked, astonished. It spoke Meith `pth qHrr* without accent.
"You will be fed and watered shortly," the machine continued. "Do not move. Make no attempt to escape. Do not attempt to assault me. I will not harm you if you comply."
"Who are you?" Aste`Rey Mherr asked, her voice little more than a cracked whisper.
The machine gave her an inscrutable look and then stepped over top of her on the way to the Human. Aste`Rey Mherr turned her head to watch, afraid and confused and not in the least reassured.
"Does he live?" she asked.
"He does," the machine said. "Humans are surprisingly durable."
"He smells like death."
"Not surprising," said the machine. "Two deep punctures, multiple lacerations, severe burns, a missing ear and all of the injuries infected. He's running a fever. Notice his sweating? Of course you didn't. Been fighting your own fever. I can tell just looking at you. I must remove these shrapnel fragments, first. I suppose I could grow him a new ear, too. These burns need to be attended to before that, though."
"Are you a surgical unit?"
The machine did not answer.
"Where are we? What will the Humans do with me? Why did they imprison this male? What is going on?"
"Just because you ask a lot of questions does not mean you will get answers," said the machine.