The Raider's Bounty (closed)

[Subjective]

(closed for TheGrind and I, please)

It was Katya's first command, she was a young captain for the company, but determined to do well. She had always tested and trained well, scoring high and meeting every task set for her. She gained the respect of her coworkers after they saw her work, but her youth and figure worked against her. She strained to look the part, her space black uniform fitted carefully, but her underlying form was of unmistakable womanly curves. She kept her long blond hair in a neat french roll, trying to offset the generous curve of her mouth and bright warm blue eyes.

It was an unlucky crewman who thought that her figure meant she was weak or unskilled.

But her first ship was not anything special, except to her. It was a large cargo ship, servicing the far colonies, full of stores needed on the frontier on the way out and with trade goods produced by those worlds on the way back to Earth.

She had been warned about pirates, looters of the deep black that took a vessel or two a year and instructed her weapons master to keep a sharp eye out for unfriendly vessels. What she had not been warned about was that key members of her second bridge crew, including security and navigation, were inside members of a raider crew, taking jobs on such vessels in order to set them up for their comrades for a cut of the loot.

Katya woke to an unfamilar alarm that put a chill in her breast when she recalled its meaning. Enemy Boarders. She struggled into her uniform in moments, her hair still in its braid for sleep and tried to run for the bridge. Her door wouldn't open, not even to her personal override. "Captain to Bridge, Report!"

No answer.

The alarm went silent and sometime later her door opened. A raider in a pressure suit made for battle loomed in the entrance, huge and armored, every movement made a hundred times more powerful by internal motors. She fought as best she could, but the outcome was known before her bare foot lashed out for the first time. She was bruised and exhausted when she was dragged into the holding cell.

"What do you want!" she yelled when she was tossed on the floor.

 

[TheGrind]

By now Augusten was an old pro. Capturing, sacking and destroying had become an art form. Rarely did he lose people when going after these lone cargo ships; all he had to worry about was incapacitating the target before it jettisoned its cargo. However there were those moments, those raids, when goods in crates weren’t the target. Sometimes it was people. Whether they be returned for ransom or sold into slavery it didn’t matter. People paid a lot for their loved ones, when they were up for auction, but that transport not only needed to be housed, it must be fed. Taking aboard these hostages always brought a little risk but that only made the ride a little more interesting.

Behind his mask and suit he looked down at her. The thick plastic she was forced behind was enough to trap her and at the same time keep an eye on her. Her door slammed shut with nothing but two holes on the wall of the cell to provide her all the oxygen she’d need.

Rather than leave her behind without a word as he had his other visitors, he removed the head piece he wore now that it was safe. On his own vessel there was no threat. Especially now.

Setting the piece under his right arm he stared at her with bright blue eyes but he didn’t say anything right away. He’d let her study his face just as he studied her entire body. As he looked over that tight fitting uniform he exposed his own flaws; a slight, yet noticeable scar skidding from the base of his nose to his upper lip from a fight years ago, blond hair, cut close and a square jaw. The rest of him was hidden underneath the suit but he knew better than anyone that she’d get a look at what lied underneath before he laid down to rest.

He let her question lie in the air, “You.” Then before leaving the room behind and locking it shut, he added, “I’ll give you a few hours to settle down. If you think about trying anything, just know, we’re watching.” And with that he was gone, the door snapping shut behind him.

 

[Subjective]

The door sealed with a hiss, the thick plastic distorting the world beyond it. She stood quickly and banged her fists on the smooth wall, dull echoes coming from her display of anger.

The raider took off his helmet, revealing a very human face, not so different from her own, in basic coloring anyway. They faced each other, her rich deep blue eyes on his iceier, brighter ones. She glared at him when she saw how he was examining her body in the trim uniform. She defiantly finished buttoning her uniform shirt, hiding any glimpse of cleavage and returning herself almost to code. It was hard to feel truly fighting trim without shoes.

“I’ll give you a few hours to settle down. If you think about trying anything, just know, we’re watching.”

And he was gone, his heavy footfalls disappearing when the door shut with a noise deadening thud. The room was soundproofed, and soundproofed well, which would be no help to her. She went up on her toes, running her fingers over the air holes in her plastic box of a cell, testing them for some sort of weakness. She backed up the few steps possible and ran at the door, bouncing off it with her shoulder and wincing, but not unseating the door's seal. The walls themselves seemed to go into the floor, permanently sealed to the deck for at least a handspan below the floor surface.

So the walls were solid, and the door was solid. She turned her attention down. The metal decking was worn almost smooth, its last coat of paint chipping in a few spots. It sloped down in the center of the cell to a drain with a grate cemented in place that prevented her from investigating the three inch drainpipe.

And that was it. The larger room surrounding her plastic box dimly lit, equipment seemed to lurk in the shadows, but between the lighting and the wavy nature of her view through the plastic, she couldn't make out much detail. She couldn't even pace around properly in the small box. She settled for sitting, cross legged, and trying to meditate. Giving up on that she rebraided her hair into a neat french braid. Boredom set in.

"Hey! Hey can anyone hear me! You bastards who took my ship! Someone come talk to me!"

 

[TheGrind]

Her plea, demand, remained unanswered. True to his word, her captor refrained from returning for the next three hours, letting her waste away her anger on nothing. There was some risk that it’d only boil more but there were things at his disposal that he could use on unruly prisoners.

The door slid open and Augusten revealed himself, without the uniform he’d used before to invade her ship. Now he stood in more rebellious attire; loose-fitting clothes and black boots. Along his waist rested a holster with a single weapon on his right side. It was clear the thing pushed projectiles from a barrel that couldn’t be seen until he remove it from its cradle. On the other side was a knife long enough to do damage but short enough so it’s balance would remain stable. And his hands were clean except for a set of handcuffs he brought from the old world.

Once he cleared the entrance the door snapped shut behind him, the same sealing sound repeated. Setting his eyes on the girl he approached the clear wall, watching her through the plastic. It wasn’t a perfect view but he could see almost everything he wanted to see.

“If you’re curious, your people are fine. Many are aboard this ship, the rest have to left on yours to steer it back home. Their communications have been ripped out but we will need a chance to get away so we can’t be pinpointed. If they comply with our requests, then your crew will be released and everyone will cry, be happy and all that bullshit. Except for you. I’ve decided after bringing you here that you won’t be leaving. To keep it simple, you’re mine until further ordered. You’re also to remain within these walls until you prove yourself a loyal creature.”

Augusten moved closed toward the two small openings in her cell as he brandished the cuffs. Each metal bracelet was good enough to lock her wrists to a stiff, iron bar. Her hands would be incapable of touching one another once the cuffs had been placed on her wrists.

“I’m going to ask you to do a few things. The first I’ll reveal now. Put your hands through these two holes in the wall so I can lock you into place. If you want to rebel, pout and don’t want to comply, you understand we still have your crew aboard. I only sent the message with your ship that I’d give them back alive if my demands were met, I didn’t say in what condition. Even if your crew isn’t of any value to you, I can grab a gas mask from our NBC area and return with something that’ll have you choking on the floor. You’ll be fine, unlike the others I would like to keep you alive, but you’ll still be handcuffed by the time the smoke clears. Its up to you whether or not you want this to be easy or hard.”

 

[Subjective]

She was lying on the floor when the door opened and she scurried to her feet to face the man who entered. He looked disreputable and dangerous, well armed against her bare hands.

She listened, her face impassive, hiding her relief at the state of her people. It was not unheard of for cargo ships to go missing entirely, at least now families and the company would know what had happened. And maybe, just maybe, the company could convince peacekeeping forces to come out and teach this ass a lesson.

The crew he had here was more of a difficulty. She raised an eyebrow at "loyal creature" and guessed that she would be inside these walls for quite a while. She eyed the cuffs wearily. After he finished she shifted up, placing her hands over the palm sized holes, again running her fingers over the smooth surface of the cuts through the plastic.

"What assurance do I have that my people are being treated well, much less that they will remain so? How do I know that you aren't lying completely and have killed them all?"

She didn't doubt that he could have her gassed, the sealed box would make it all too easy, in fact. But she hated being played for a fool.

"You show me my people are safe, and I will put those cuffs on myself. If you are lying to me, I will fight you at every point. Am I clear?"

 

[TheGrind]

Listening to the captive he understood almost immediately that she wasn’t going to comply. Before her first sentence had ended, he hooked one end of the cuffs around his holster to keep it in place and to free up a hand.

Augusten was decent enough though to permit her to finish what she had to say but he’d been through listening when she failed to do as he asked. “It is surprising they recruit those who refuse to take orders. Perhaps that’s why it was so easy to take your ship at will.” And then, “I’ll be back in a little while.” He turned and left the room, the sound of the door sealing behind him as he left.

He could’ve returned almost immediately but he wanted her to think about the possibilities of what he could be doing. Finishing off a quarter of the people? Plotting something even more sinister than a simple gassing. Or whatever her dangerous imagination could come up with. The not knowing, he knew and understood well, was the worst part. After nearly two hours the door cracked open, revealing Augusten once more. In one hand was small capsule of tear gas; in that same hand was the mask. In the other was a bloody ear, the drops of burgundy blood dripping onto the sharp, clean floor.

“If you ask more questions,” he raised the ear high enough so it was easily distinguishable through the plastic, “we’ll continue amputating our way down.” Then he let the flesh fall to the floor as he made his way toward the set of holes in the wall. In a fluid motion he ignited it, shoving it through the hole, exposing her to the fumes while he donned the mask which covered his entire head. The gas was nothing more than an initiator for severe coughing and virtual blindness. He knew that it would neither knock her out but it would take her nearly a half hour to be free from the fumes once they had dissipated.

Augusten waited while the fumes built up, covering the entire cell in one large white cloud before unhooking the cuffs from his side. Then he followed suit with the door. He’d fight with her then, no matter how hard, to get her hands through the holes of that wall.