Page 3 of Auctioned to the Convicts
The shuttle rocked twice more before the pilot adjusted for the problem and the craft’s low hum filled the cabin once more. The lights had been set low, and the cargo hold had grown relatively quiet. Many of the prisoners slept on the floor while others talked in low voices. In the rear, the guards had a card game going. They were drinking too, on duty, a flagrant violation that could lower them from Level 1 straight to Level 3. Then again, the prisoners certainly couldn’t report them.
Coughing drew her attention to Gray Eyes who remained chained to the wall and floor. None of the guards had checked his injuries. They simply didn’t care.
Hannah took the bottle of water she had in her bag and eased off the chair. Her soldier’s eyes snapped to her as she approached, then quickly flicked toward the guards in back.
She understood the danger, but she was just offering water. It’s not like she could pull the metal chains from the deck or had a weapon to give him. He was injured. He needed the water.
Gray Eyes remained vigilant, suspicious even as she knelt before him. That hard edge of his didn’t soften as she lifted the bottle to his lips. The power in this man amazed her as he downed the water in several swallows. A few drops of water escaped, sliding over his chin to a thickly muscled neck. She resisted the urge to slowly wipe away the wet trail left behind.
With the pad of her thumb, she wiped the water away from his chin. As the corner of his lips lifted into a devilish smile, excitement shot through her. What had possessed her to touch him so intimately, she had no clue, but she didn’t regret it. The man wasdangerous,but he didn’t scare her, not in the least.
“You there, Raines,” a guard shouted from the back, waking all the prisoners. Dozens of eyes focused on her. “Get away from him!”
“Go,” Her soldier said, lifting his chin toward the guard heading their way.
Before she could rise, meaty hands yanked her backward off her feet. The guard shoved her into a different chair this time, one with a lock that worked. Carrick snapped her hands to the lock on the wall, above her head.
The guard with the obnoxious grin ran his eyes over her torso, lingering on her breasts. “You want company, just say when, Raines. There’s another storage hold in back, a private one.”
Hannah averted her eyes.
“Yeah, they’re going to have fun with you down on Narkos. Stay submissive. You may last longer.”
“Narkos?” she asked, unable to hide the shaking of her voice.
“Didn’t know, did you? I hope you’re sturdier than you look. The men down there aren’t the gentle type.”
The guard had misunderstood her reaction. Narkos was a Level 4 planet. She certainly wasn’t going to challenge the decision and chance ending up on Veenith. No matter how many men she’d be forced to mate on Narkos, the Level 4 prison world was still preferable to Veenith.
Narkos was one of the most highly prized planets in The Company’s portfolio, providing the majority of zurlite in at least three systems. The gems powered most modern conveniences, from starships and communication grids to simple flashlights and the blasters the guards used. Unfortunately, mining zurlite was exceedingly dangerous due to the gems’ volatile nature. The high demand for and delicate nature of mining zurlite meant there had to be rules, a system in place on Narkos, not like the free-for-all, cut-throat, kill-or-be-killed environment of Veenith.
Knowing which colony she’d been assigned was indeed a relief, but suddenly everything felt so damn real. She wasn’t ever going home. She’d live, work, and die on Narkos without ever seeing the tall, modern cities of Argus or her mom and dads again.
As soon as the shuttle landed, Carrick handed her off to two guards. Bixby and Wallace wore mud-brown uniforms similar to security on Argus, with that same damn black A emblem on their upper arms except these sported the letter ‘N’ to the bottom right of the ‘A’, to show Narkos belonged to Argus. In fact, every piece of equipment, every asset she’d seen so far, bore The Company’s emblem.
She didn’t know why those uniforms bothered her so much. Mud-brown. . . a reflection of where she’d spend the rest of her life. Narkos was a planet of mountains and dense jungles with no roads crisscrossing the landscape, no cities filled with opportunities, and most of all no chance of having a life filled with love and laughter.
“Get moving!” Bixby growled as he shoved her forward.
The port itself was rather large, with six landing bays, tall fencing with barbed wire at the top, scoped energy blasters at each corner, and guards patrolling in between. Her skin felt as if ants were scurrying all over her. God knows they had enough zurlite on the planet to keep that fence charged for an eternity. Escape would be impossible.
“There, turn right. We have a special intake area for females.” Bixby chuckled as he pointed out a ground car. Sure enough, the male prisoners were being led off in another direction. Separating her from the other prisoners made her stomach twist. She found herself searching for Gray Eyes as if he would protect her. He was as helpless as she was now. There’d be no saviors in her future. Only four dangerous men, criminals, who’d own her.
She needed to get her mind on her survival. How she’d pick the men, what questions she’d ask them when given the chance. How to test their temper, beliefs, and ability to work together. That last part was crucial. She and Amelia had grown up with three dads, men who never learned to get along. They’d fought constantly, making it hard to function in that environment. She’s sure that’s partly why Amelia turned to Flight, to relieve the stress of not knowing when another fight would break out and the pressure of being asked to choose sides. How long would the manager of the prison colony give her to select her husbands?
Hannah and her guards traveled by hovercar parallel to a set of industrial-sized rails likely used to transport zurlite to the cargo ships. They traveled through the dense jungle on a rough road that she guessed wasn’t used too often. Tall trees with enormous leaves and green fruit loomed over the road, making it impossible to see anything in the distance.
The port quickly disappeared from view behind them. Aside from the humidity, the jungle held a beauty she’d never seen on Argus. Colorful pink, orange, and red flowers decorated vines that strangled tree trunks while green monkey-like creatures darted from treetop to treetop. She didn’t miss the noise and crowds of city life on Argus. Perhaps life here wouldn’t be so bad.
The dense jungle peeled away, revealing their destination at the base of a mountain, the top of which disappeared into a thick layer of clouds. Four large buildings, only three stories high, stood against the mountain with another dozen two- and three-story buildings forming a semi-circle. That was it. The colony. Housing had to be elsewhere for a colony supposedly two thousand strong.
“No fences?” she asked Bixby. The port had a fence, unlike the structures here.
“No need. No one escapes Narkos. Even if they could, most wouldn’t chance it. Most of the prisoners are Level 4 here and won’t risk being lowered to a 5. As for the 5s that are here now, if they try to escape, Dresden, the colony manager, will ship them to Veenith.”
“Veenith?” she squeaked. The Company didn’t have to deal with the politics of whether capital punishment should exist or not. They simply sent the prisoners they wished to see dead to Veenith. Now that she thought about it, she understood why they’d sent her to Narkos instead of Veenith. She still had value as a woman—sexual and breeding value.
Hannah rubbed the spot on her arm where she’d had an illegal contraceptive shot ten months back. What would happen when it wore off? She’d asked the HR rep about babies born on a prison world. He hadn’t answered.
