A lesson in servitude

Posted on Thu Dec 26th, 2019 @ 1:53pm by Avalon [ADMIN NPC] & Lieutenant Commander S'hib

Mission: Casperia Prime - A lesson in relaxation
Location: Unknown
Timeline: MD2 - Sometime after being kidnapped
1564 words - 3.1 OF Standard Post Measure

A damp repugnant smell assaulted S'hib snout, rousing him back to consciousness, his now naked body aching all over as he opened his eyes to what little light was available. The cold stone floor he had been left on was damp and jagged, with no semblance of comfort spent on whoever had the luxury of being left here to rot.

And left here he was, inside a cage, as far as his eyes could tell anyway. And for the moment that was all he did, stared, unmoving on the wet floor. Was he alone? he couldn't say for certain, but his ears could hear the faint cries of others reverberating around his cell.

He wasn't sure how long had passed since he had woken up, fear grounding him to the spot, but eventually, he did move, one limb at a time until he was pulling himself off the floor.

Fear returned as a heavy metal chain rolled off his body and clattered onto the floor, the weight tugging against a thick metal collar around his neck.

"Wonderful..." S'hib mumbled as he painfully stood, the length of the chain keeping him somewhat uncomfortably bent over, though as imposing as his surroundings where they had been crudely constructed. Perhaps he could escape he thought, wrapping his arm around the thick metal links.

But before he tested the strength of his bonds he heard the quiet taps of footsteps approaching, a guard perhaps? he thought, letting go of the chain and moving closer to the metal bars of his cell.

A slim figure appeared in his line of sight. It was female, and humanoid. As the figure drew closer he could see she carried a small tray which, the human, now he could see better, placed beneath the bars of his cage and slid it in. She was dressed in tattered clothing, wore a shock collar, normally used by Orions around her neck and was barefoot. Her eyes were downcast and her hair, a dirty blond, hung in lanks down her face and back.

S’hib was about to start shouting, his frustration at his situation getting the better of him, but upon seeing the woman his mood changed to that of concern. “What's your name?” He said gently walking closer to the side of the cage she was on, the heavy chain anchoring him to floor rattling as he did so.

The woman/girl, it was hard to determine age's head came up and she shook it violently and placed a finger to her lips. She glanced around obviously scared and then stood and pointed to the food on the tray. Then she held up her hands and all ten fingers were displayed. She tapped her wrist and then headed back into the gloom.

His heart sank as he watched her leave, wondering how many others there might be like himself or her, or perhaps even worse. “Some paradise planet this is...” He muttered to himself, bending down to the tray on the floor, his muscles and joints aching as he did so. “God, what even is this...” He grovelled, picking up the tray in one hand, the contents making his nose curl in curious disgust.

“I’m gonna need more than ten minutes to eat this” He said quietly to himself, bringing the tray closer and sniffing, only to quickly pull back and stop himself from gagging.

"Or not..." He sighed, placing the tray down with a dismissive push, the contents tumbling with a clatter as he rejected his host's most gracious hospitality.

A low rumbling snort later and he was back on his hooves, jolting against the chain he had forgotten about, the heavy metal collar digging into his neck as he orientated himself to its length. "Well, I know this isn't a ship... so we must still be on Casperia." S'hib thought aloud, wrapping his arm around the crude chain, gripping it with both of his four-fingered hands. "Which means," He said with a slight grunt, pushing against the stone with his powerful equine legs. "This operation has been going on for a while." he summarised, curling his lip and lashing his tail out behind him as he pulled.

There seemed to be no sign of anything budging but stubbornly he persisted, fighting against the four massive bolts holding his restraints to the rock beneath him. "Come on~" He grumbled, hearing the faint crack of sediment and the groaning of metal before letting go, his arm aching with visible lines of rust and muck over his white coat.

Panting slightly he stopped to listen around him, his ears flicking every which way for footsteps, could he trust anyone? Did he think even the woman that brought him food could be? this was the Orion syndicate after all. Their slaves were indoctrinated to serve their masters, even to their own detriment. "Let's try again." He sighed, wrapping the chain around his arm once more, content at being his own master.

His large hooves dug into the damp stone either side of the metal plate, his muscles flexed and he pulled fiercely, fighting against metal and stone, winning. "Come on!~" He growled deeply, a low rumbling roar of defiance escaping his nostrils as the plate began to lift away from the stone.

His eyes lit up at the sight, the sudden slack of the chain reinvigorating his efforts until the stone cracked apart and the thick bolts slid free. "Orions!" He shouted, angrily and full of adrenaline coursing through his veins. "Orions!~" He yelled louder, fully aware he'd never get out of the cell without them opening it. "You shall not own me!" He snorted, pulling the heavy chain off the floor before spinning it around and throwing it along the bars of his cell, the sound was awful and echoed all throughout the cave, rumbling into distant ears.

"Orions!" He yelled, his lungs burning as he lashed at the side of his cell with his former restraints, his show of defiance neither rational nor quiet.

Another figure came into view. This one Tall and thick bodied. Male. He walked up to S'hib's cage. "Ah, the talking Horse." He sneered. "We have a circus for you. Do be quiet though or we will sever your vocal cords."

"I don't need my throat to make noise," S'hib snorted, glaring furiously at the Orion on the other side of the bars. "But it certainly helps." He added before nonchalantly throwing the chain to his side, metal hit metal and the cage reverberated in response like an awful oversized symbol.

"But if you really want me to be quiet..." S'hib said with a low growling snort, taking a step forward. "You can come in here," He added, grabbing the collar around his neck. "And take this bloody thing off!" S'hib shouted, shaking the collar and taking another step forward.

The Orion laughed and drew out an electric shock stick which he placed against the cage and sent a shock of electricity through the cage and chain and into the officer.

Seeing what was happening S'hib pulled at the chain just as sparks cracked between it and the cage, his muscles convulsed from the brief shock and he dropped to his hands and knees. "Coward..." He coughed, squeezing out a bitter laugh as he backed away from the side of the cage the Orion was on, "The lot of you...Cowards" He sneered, a dirty laugh snorting out of his nostrils as he glared up at the oversized figured behind the bars.

The Orion male just laughed. "Keep thinking that when your new owner takes you to your new role. Maybe he will hire us to hunt more of your kind. He said something about a breeding program." Smirking he sent another shock through the cage and walked away laughing.

S'hib continued glaring at the figure walking away, his tail hairs lashing out behind him as he thought about everything he said. "I'll try not to disappoint..." He muttered under his own breath, his words full of malice and ill intent.

Then reality began to seep back into his mind, the sudden realisation that the Orions seemed not to care that he had escaped his restraints, they were either lazy or he really had no chance of escape once out of his cell, the later feeling more likely.

"Ok, ok let's think... were In a cave system," S'hib started, quietly talking to himself as he sat down, trying to get comfortable on the uneven stone floor. "So any exit should, In theory, be up..." He postulated, running his hands over his face before leaning against the cold damp wall of his cell. "But... that would also be where the guards are..."

Falling quiet for a moment S'hib simply stared at the metal chain trailing out from him, his white coat mired and brown, dirt and grit clumping to his tail. "Deeper... I have to go deeper." He concluded, his ears twitching at the slightest sound, every droplet of condensation, or faint cry in the distance.

"But that means, getting out of here first..." S'hib snorted, glancing at the caged section of his hotel room. "Balls In their court, I just have to wait..." He concluded, wrapping his arms around his chest and closing his eyes, content at not wasting any more energy until the cell door was open.

OFF