Juno watched as Laurel shoved another prisoner over the edge of the platform. His screams stolen by the wind as the prisoners she was guarding grew more agitated. Naked and huddled together, the cold kept them docile more than the bayonet at the end of her rifle. Conna came back and grabbed another, taking him to the edge and asking some questions. His response, unsatisfactory, sent him over the edge with the others. One by one they were questioned and pushed over. Astra seemed to be laughing every time.
Liddy walked with Inky farther down the platform, nearer to the loading doors where a church vessel accepted the Emberborn. "I thought I ordered them questioned for other farm locations."
"You did," Inky replied. "Ving found the owner's personal ship parked in the garage below the platform. She's catching them and handing them off to the Church's troop ship."
"Oh, alright." Liddy didn't seem to care either way. "We should be leaving as soon as they are finished. Getting to another city and getting to work like normal is important. The farm couldn't wait, but if anyone connects us to it we might have issues."
"Agreed. Vile is happy you broke your 'no men in the air' rule for her friend."
"The rule is to avoid any of you from gathering inconvenient relationships. I'm happy to accommodate old friends in a time of need. Though she should be mindful that he will have to leave at some point."
"She knows. She just wants to catch up and hopefully recover some memories from before the farm. Have you talked with Easy?"
"Poor girl, I'm happy yet saddened by what happened. Her mother, I'm glad we found her, but the things they did to her."
"Hope says she can't do much for her wings. The healing of damage is one thing, but replacing what's missing is another."
"I think the most healing she can get now will be from Easy herself."
****
Hope finished talking with one of the Templars who commanded the levy currently sweeping the compound for any stragglers. Kilty waited until Hope kissed the man on his cheek and turned to leave. She fell in alongside Hope.
"Old friend? Lover?" Kilty asked, trying to recover the levity the whole farm had sapped from her and the girls.
"My brother, actually. Haven't seen him in years," Hope replied with a glance at Kilty.
"Oh, oops." Kilty felt a tad embarrassed.
"It's alright. And no, he doesn't know about my interests and no, you can't 'corrupt' him."
"That's fine, it's been hard for any of us to find the mood since we got here. I'll be glad to leave. That being said, not since the first farm have I felt... like there was a goodness about what we were doing. At first, I only felt it after we saved Foxy and the others because we didn't know what was going on. Here, my nerves were steady, even while waiting, when they should have been on edge. No fear during the fight, no guilt, it was just a certainty of purpose."
"That, my girl, is the feeling of the righteous. Doing a thing with the utmost belief that it is the right thing to be doing. It's how I like to approach everything in my life. Even the work on the ship or any mundane task. Though it is always the strongest in battle. It's how I keep my mace burning, it's not entirely a matter of the ember fuel I use. Most people never feel it. Consider yourself blessed with the moral fibre to feel it today."
"I don't think I'm the only one."
"No you aren't. We seem to be collecting them on our ship. It happens. People see in others, parts of themselves. Being sex-crazed women isn't the real reason we have found our ways to where we are. At least, not the only reason."
Hope and Kilty laughed for the first time since they had arrived at the slave farm.
****
Boorman, who had intended to talk with Vile, sat in the lounge with her as they listened to Easy chatting away with her mother almost without pause. While her mother was silent, she seemed focused on Easy, as if still trying to decide if the miracle was real. He listened as she introduced Mari, as her lover. It almost surprised him as much as it had when he had been introduced to Inky. Then he saw the woman with red hair share a long kiss with the green-haired woman in the doorway before entering. It quickly became clear that the ship was an entirely new place for him.
Liddy shoved Hannah out of the doorway so she could board with Inky - who repeated the shove with a smile. She stopped as she looked into the lounge.
"She sparkles like you!" Liddy exclaimed, indicating Easy's mother.
Easy had not noticed, "She does! She didn't when we found her!"
The woman smiled as her daughter embraced her with a giant smile on her face. Liddy wasn't alone in sharing the infectious grin. Boorman took the opening to finally get a few words in.
"She's been at the farm so long! She is amazingly resilient. It's a common hope in the farm that someone's child would come back and buy their freedom. Though I don't know how many thought it could happen."
"On this ship, it's our side-business," Leira commented as she entered.
"Technically it's a hobby," Cat corrected, entering from below with some food, followed by Foxy. "People get paid for doing business."
"I know, that's why I told one of those church guys to claim the ships as a 'prize' and sell them off. Since we were never here, they just send the money to Harlottown." Leira paused to collect the surprised stares. "I can't be the only one who knows anything about piracy!"
Liddy's eyes widened in surprise, "Oh my, we 'are' pirates!"
"Isn't the church taking credit?" Emma asked, holding a tray with her spectral hand.
"Yes, but that doesn't change what we actually did."
"Score!" Hannah shouted, holding Ving close. "I always wanted to be a pirate! We are going to need hats with feathers!"
"Please stop," Liddy pleaded.
"All shall fear the sexy harlot crew under the command of the Terrifying Trixie!" Hannah continued.
Liddy winced, wondering how long it would take to rip out a floorboard to make a plank she could force Hannah to walk.
****
Inky spotted Mari in the hall, coming from her room where she had helped Easy put her mother down for a rest. The gentle rocking of the ship, while it travelled, had put the woman to sleep quickly. Inky wondered if Easy was staying to keep watch and mouthed her question silently to Mari, who nodded. They tiptoed to the laundry room where they could speak plainly.
"How's she doing?" Inky asked.
"It's been a mix of excited upset. I don't think she knows how to process it all, but she's doing all the right things so it will sort itself out. Liddy has already told her and Vile to not worry about working in the next city." Mari replied with a sigh. "Where is Vile?"
"Talking with her friend in Liddy's room. We seem to be running out of space on this ship."
"And our partners are too busy to take care of their lovers."
"Should we do them a favour and help them out?" Inky asked before gripping Mari by the breasts and kissing her deeply on the lips before she could respond.
Mari enjoyed the kiss but kept her mind focused on unfastening the uniform Inky had been wearing. Slowly, piece by piece, it fell away to reveal the tanned skin underneath. She had been wearing a simple slip-dress over her underwear, having tried to look a bit more classy while at the farm, but her ink was quickly uncovered by the hands yanking it off her body.
Inky kept the contrasting white lace enclosing the massive breasts, smiling as it strained to do so. Seeing the metal piercing the nipples shine through, she slid her hand under the other white lace that covered the rather wet womanhood that ached for Inky's touch. Mari returned the favour as her head was brought down to suckle the dark nipple pressed into her open lips.
Mari pushed her mouth so hard into the soft flesh that Inky had to bring her down to the floor quickly to avoid falling over. As she moved over Inky, she lifted herself so her breasts hung over Inky's face, kept just out of reach of her tongue by the white lace that constrained them. She felt Inky raise her knee up to give her something to grind against, but she refused to lower her breasts until Inky finally pulled the bra down and freed them. It was now Mari who felt the hungry attentions on her nipples, feeling the tongue playing with the metal that ran through them.
The biting and soft moans of a hungry woman as she felt fingers playing between her legs was too much for Inky. She slapped her open palm right across the artfully-inked bum of the woman on top of her to speed things up. Mari took the hint and started to work more vigorously inside the body below her, three fingers penetrating while her thumb stayed on the button. Mari worked her hips over the strong thigh between her legs so her own womanhood felt the pleasure she craved. She pulled her body upwards so Inky was forced to tug with her teeth on the piercings to keep her close. Inky slapped her across the face and Mari climaxed hard, her fluids flowing down the leg of the woman who had drawn them from her. Although there was a brief pause as she felt the hand inside her shudder, Inky clenched around it as she felt her own climax escape.
Inky, using a trick she learned to dismount an attacker, flipped Mari over and moved in on top. "Not done yet, bitch."
Mari moaned as Inky began to twist the metal on her breasts.
****
"Alright everyone, we are going to be landing in LilCap soon. Named due to it being referred to as the 'little capital' on this side of the mountains. It transitioned from governing city to a trade hub after the tunnels through the mountain were dug for the trains. That means lots of money, and we work as normal. If something comes up we will deal with it, but I'd like the focus to be on doing things we are supposed to be doing."
"Looting and pillaging?" Hannah asked, brandishing Inky's sabre.
"I can only agree to consensual looting and metaphorical pillaging, depending on the clients' tastes. That's all."
