The sunlight sneaking through the slats on a worn pre-fab house tinged the eyelids of a drowsy young man a delicate orange as he turned in an attempt to find even a few more minutes rest, the tempting smell of fresh bread and cinnamon touching his nose only roused him further from slumber. Opening his eyes to a white flash that accompanies dark attuned eyes, Jasper sat up in his bed, a lone sheet falling to his waist as an arm went into the air, with a yawn to follow the stretch, ridding his muscles of the nights atrophy.
A mouth thick with saliva opened and closed a few times as Jasper blearily looked around the room, falling to the table beside his bed, showing the time at barely 5:00am Standard Earth Time. Groping for the glasses on the same table, his less than stellar eyes spotted a quick flurry of colour, a young girls dress he presumed hiding beyond the slight crack of his door. Grinning mischievously Jasper made a big song and dance about going to the bathroom via a connecting door in his room. Making many thumping noise representing large footsteps he in fact made his way over to the door, silent as a ghost he made a knock on the wall to simulate a door being shut and waiting on baited breath for the little devil who was about to create a stir.
A little girl of nine years gently pried open the door and snuck in the exaggerated fashion that small children so often do, without making a noise Jasper leapt from behind grabbing her in a bear hug and started blowing raspberries into her neck.
"Hehe haha J-Jasper ssttoopp!" she said unable to make full sentences through the slew of giggling and struggling.
"Hmm I don't know Jane" Jasper said with an evil inflection, "what does happen to little girl who sneak their way into their big brothers room while they sleep."
"NO!"
The tickling continues until she was on the floor gasping for breath, little tears forming in the side of her eyes from all the laughter and Jasper on his behind laughing at her demise.
"Your mean Jasper" Jane moaned with an adorable little pout.
"Aww you don't mean that do you?" he said with wide eyes beaming innocence."
"Mum sent me to come and get you" she ignored his eyes responding with a small pink tongue in his direction, "she said just because you turned sixteen doesn't mean you get to sleep all day like a log."
"Mhmm and that involved sneaking up on me in the bathroom?"
"I swear I wasn't"
Jasper didn't fall for it instead choosing to get up and leave the room, a little wait echoing after him. Jane catching up as he walked down the hall and latching onto his arm, nuzzling it fondly. He smiled from ear to ear for as much as they bickered his little sister was the be all and end all of his love for anyone and she worshipped her big brother like he was a god, so small mercies. As they walked into the kitchen a woman whose smile erased any small mark that age could place on her, warmed his heart, the smell of her cooking, the fresh bread he smelt earlier, the gentle hum she made as she sashayed around the little kitchen preparing food and drink for the day.
"Morning mum" Jasper inflected with yet another yawn, sitting down at the table to begin his feast.
Ever since he hit his teen years, his appetite has skyrocketed leaving his poor mother wondering if he had worms in his stomach, but no was just the appetite of healthy growing young man.
"Good morning sleepy head" Mum said innocently "dreaming too much of Mindy again eh?"
Choking on the food he had just swallowed, Jasper went beet red and the coughing fit ensued, helped nothing but the trickle of pure mirth from both his mother and his little sister. Now his reddened eyes focused on Jane but the little traitor had already looked away and began attacking her own breakfast.
"What are you talking about?" Jasper spluttered.
"Oh please" his mother snorted in a very un-lady like fashion "probably half of citadel space knows you can't keep your eyes off of her and her swaying hips."
Jasper suddenly felt a burning desire to have his shower and leave as quickly as possible, standing up and attempting to flee. However was captured in a motherly embrace and had a sloppy kissed placed on his hair.
"Don't take too long now dear!" she chuckled as he continued his escape.
Jasper dropped his damp towel to his room's floor and pulled on his underclothes and soft fabric he farmed in. Grunting as the slightly tight fit around his shoulders his reflection caught his attention. Already standing at nearly 6ft he was big for his age but probably wouldn't grow too much more, black close cropped hair set of a startling set of green eyes, his jaw was wide but more rounded than most giving him a slightly moon faced appearance and a slight shadow of facial hair covering his jaw and cheeks made him swell in pride. The men of Mindoir were considered adults by 16 and he had his first drink only 2 months ago at his party, where to no one's knowledge he and Mindy had snuck off and snogged until daybreak. She had told him his rough stubble made him look heroic she he stubbornly refused his mother's snippy comments at how he should be clean shaven. Jaspers shoulders, wide from years of farming framed his impressive upper body, rippling arm muscles and abdominal muscles surrounded only by the barest tinges of baby fat. Shaking his pride away with a quick smile he pulled on his shirt and boots then with a quick kiss for his mother and a pat on the head for Jane he exited his home into a bright new day.
It had only been 45 minutes since he awoke but the colony was already bustling with business, markets getting ready for traders, small businesses opening for the day and the local bakery with the smell making his mouth water. Only getting half way across the main 'road' he was stopped by someone covering his eyes from behind and a gentle warmth across his back, his mouth going from watery to dry in an instant.
"Guess who" a sultry tone asked.
"Asari dancer?" Jasper mocked
"No you pig it's me!" a young woman said indignantly letting og os his eyes and swinging around to the front.
Barely reaching his shoulder was Mindy, the colony beauty only a year younger than himself but for all his eyes she was grown up in all the right places. Today she wore a clinging summer dress the only just reached her knees, showing off her silky white legs, her eyes burned into his with unbridled passion.
She hooked one finger in his belt loop and dragged his the half step until he pressed against her, Mindy then stood on tiptoe and whispered something very naughty in his ear, the soft feel of warmth breath against his cheek and then giggled and skipped away, making sure her hips swayed to garner only his attention. Jasper's face flaming red enough to draw in passing spacecraft he beat a hasty retreat to the transport hub before his hormones overrode common sense.
Jonesy and Allan or 'the old boys' as Jasper referred to them were the transported who programmed the gliders to take people out to their various positions, today Jasper was working one of the outer fields as he had the responsibility of running it single handed since his adult hood two months prior. A large commitment he had filled gladly he would be getting almost the entire crop ready for harvest.
"Heya fellas!"
"Eh Jas' me lad!" Jonesy shouted quickly followed suit by Allan.
Giving a wave as he hopped aboard his transport he flew out to his station and got to work. It was hot, heavy but the more his worked the more satisfied he was, Jasper loved to work. He earned a good some of pay for it and it kept him fit. As he fiddled with the hydroponics replacing a damaged spigot his mind wandered as it did strangely enough to old home videos filmed on omnitools. Jasper remembered his favourite one fondly…
Jane walking around in her nappies, stringing her little sentences together as Jasper the ever vigilant big brother stood a mere step behind her eyes wide for any change and a hand either side.
"You looking after her Jasper?" his father asked.
"Of course dad, I'm her big brother" Jasper said with a smile from ear to ear, eyes still never leaving Jane.
"She'll never be alone and I'll always look after her I promise."
His mother and father laughing, Jane giggling at a butterfly landing on her nose and Jasper grinning like a madman. Everything perfect.
The sun began lowering in the distance, Jasper wiping for dirt and sweat from his forehead with a damp towel, he set everything for auto minding overnight and headed back to his glider. His lunch seeming long ago, Jasper wondered what would be for dinner as he fired up the machine and set of for home.
Coughing out dirt Jasper rolled over and stared at the now dark night sky, his head banging like a drum and his sides hurting like he been hit by a thresher maw. His nose felt wet and sticky and he fumbled around for his glasses, finding them half an arm's length away, cracked but usable. After sitting up, with much groaning and getting used to the kaleidoscope vision his glasses now provided he looked around and saw Jonesy lying done too.
"Hey Jonesy get up" Jasper muttered rolling him over "Where is…"
Instantly vomiting over what was left of Jonesy's caved in face, curled into a permanent scream of terror, he retched and retched trying to control his stomach, tears flowed down his face, not able to look at Jonesy, his dead body.
"What's happening, is this real?" Jasper whimpered, wiping away the bile around his mouth.
"Better believe it human whelp."
That was all he heard as the rifle butt connected with his half turned face, cracking his jaw like tinder and sending back into oblivion.
The screaming is what woke him up, screams of pure terror and anguish, fear and loathing flew around him. Jasper tried to move his mouth but it was swelled shut, the pain of it being broken now more than a distant memory and more a current agony. The pain in his head now localised to the side, Jasper forced his eyes to open and what he saw burned, seared and dug its way into his mind and wouldn't leave until his death.
Chaos, pain, murder, death the sight and stench was overwhelming as Jasper his eyes forced open wide took in his home, a peaceful home now a battlefield for the dead and dying. His friends either bodies stomped into the ground or locked into cages like the one he found himself in, grimy bars coated in gore and entrails. He tried to move but all that happened was the throbbing in his head turned into a shock which arced his body, ripping open his broken jaw Jasper scream served only to draw attention to him and the captor's mirth.
"Look Gnash the whelp survived" a gruff voice filled with malice said off to his left.
Jasper focused on the voice and what colour was left in his face left as four eyes set in heavily wrinkled face stared back with an evil smile revealing pointed teeth caked with black. Batarians, the word vaulted through his mind, slavers that operated in the traverse, attacking colonies where they could and taking prisoners. The orange glow of fire, the smoke only served to fuel Jaspers fear, the devil was in these men, Jasper never believed in gods but if he had these men were the devil.
"Aww look he's going to cry" the one called Gnash whimpered mockingly "give him a zap."
Jasper body was once again wracked but indescribable pain as he arched his body and flung it all over, the hand restraints on the top of the cage serving only to keep him from falling over.
"Haha music to my ears, but hey be glad, you've got front row seats to the fun!" the as yet unnamed Batarian crowed.
Jasper's eyes widened in horror as Mindy was dragged forward by two others, she had been stripped, beaten and had blood dripping from her mouth and nose, the purple and black bruising along her ribs, like water colour in water, stained her beautiful skin, a sin of nature. She didn't scream, she didn't reach out even with everything they did to her, her innocence taken away from all of her, her body just waiting to catch up to the death in her eyes, transfixed on him, staring into him, boring into his soul, burning him with questions.
Every time Jasper tried to close his eyes, he was whipped and if he cried out, whipped again. Mindy lasted for hours before one Batarian got bored and shot her through the eye. The back of her skull exploded and her brains coated the dirt beneath them while Jasper ignoring his whipping kept trying to break free, his voice now so hoarse no sound came out.
Sunset and sunrise had no meaning anymore, just the beatings. One after another the Batarians would get bored cataloguing their new slaves and beat him, whips, grazing gunshots, nail tipped shoes, eventually Jasper just shut off the pain. Life had no meaning and the only thoughts that entertained him were wondering is his eyes felt as dead as his soul, as he looked into each and every Batarian that came to him looking for a laugh, skin black from dirt and blood, Jasper resigned himself. Death would be a blessing.
Jasper thought he knew pain, thought he understood it, and came to terms with it, until Gnash came out one day holding his little sister by the hair.
"Jane" his voice gravelly and harsh.
Her screams resonated and awoke him from the sleep he called life, a reason to feel the pain and his nerves burned with fire, a reason to keep pushing despite it all. His brain rang every alarm bell a brain can as he began shouting with every fibre.
"Jane!" he yelled, "Jane!"
"Jasper" she yelled squirming free of Gnash, "Jasper where's mummy, where's daddy, I hid like a good girl, what's happening?"
Her screams mixed with his as Gnash dragged her away from the bars, Jasper yelled and rattled his cage, bringing his arms down trying to break the restraints cutting deeper and deeper into his wrists, the shocks so hard he soiled himself but he refused to stop.
"JANE!"
"JASPER!"
Jasper's cage was opened and he was thrown onto the ground, the straps ripped out of the gashes they made in his wrists, Jane was on the ground just meters away, he crawled and dragged himself through the dirt until he could hold Jane. Her sobs wracked through him and shushed and whispered lies in her ears.
"Everything's going to be okay, big brothers here."
"Aww that's sweet, gonna be even sweeter when I skullfuck the kid" Gnash laughed along with all of his fellows.
"Jasper please take me away, make everything okay" Jane cried looking at him with those sweet blue eyes, "you can make it alright again can't you?"
"Yeah Jane, I can make it all okay" Jasper sobbed pulling her in close.
"We'll raise her right then sell her sagging asshole to some rich pimp on Ilium" Gnash ignoring the two in the dirt now, bragging to his crew.
"I love you Jane, I love you so much" Jasper cried into her hair, "I swear no one will ever touch you."
He pulled her off him and looked once into her eyes bloodshot and crying, her future would be brutal and cruel, Jasper needed to save her.
"She'll never be alone and I'll always look after her I promise."
Jasper moved his right hand toward her neck, pushing against the soft skin and pulling the back of her head jerking her into a tight embrace, a tiny gasp and her body jolted was the only sounds she made as tears flowed down jasper's cheeks onto her hair. He felt her blood on his hands as the hydroponic spike he had in his pocket for the last week went through her artery into her brain. It trickled down and his chest heaved, it kept heaving, sorrow as he clutched her hair, a wolf's howl erupting from his lungs. He heard the Batarians shout in a rage as they rushed over and yanked them apart, her lifeless body falling to the ground, Jasper looked up and saw the sun, as his chest was stood on and pushed down, the blade that went for his face, coming in slow motion, meant nothing for he felt empty. Big brother saved her.
