"No! Echo!"

"Girly!"

Peter grabbed at Yondu making him stumble as he reached for the strange woman, Kraglin crashing to his knees beside her checking for a pulse

"shes ok, think it only glanced 'er she'll have a scar lucky it didn't take her eye out" Kraglin murmerd as he brushed her hair back exposing a relitivly neat slash dissecting her eyebrow that was determined to continue bleeding like a severd limb

"Fuck what is she Yondu?" Peter's curious eyes peked out around his arm as yondu tore at his shirt till he got a strip long enough to bandage her head, no trace of her previous form other than the paw prints in the gravel

"she were a slave they ad er chained up in brothel" gental hands wound the makeshift bandage around her head taking the opertunity while she was unconscious Yondu traced the line of her neck moving the colar of his duster slightly he could see the slave marks tattooed on her skin one from the slavepens, her owners mark a new one each time she was sold, sex slave, battle slave and one that claimed her as terran hmm

turning he lifted her slight form cradaling her to his chest, the poor girl weighed nothing, Yondu looked out at his men

"If i ever find out who shot her ill fuckin kill ya!"

"she were gonna bite yah Captain" Half nut tried to argue

"she did look mighty pissed" Tulk walking forward trying to get a better look was blocked by Kraglin

"shes a slave whats been druged, helped us escape an put 'erself in danger to rescue Peters sorry ass leave 'er be" Yondu huffed out as he walked back to the ship

tulk and Half nut went to follow

"Capt'n said leave her be" spat Kraglin as he dragged Peter back to the ship by his scruff

Quietly so only the unconscious Echo would have heard Yondu wispered to her

" lets get you back to the ship girly fuck knows what we gonna do with yah but ya aint a slave no more"

Jogging buckles and an out of breath wheeze as Kraglin and Peter caught up while Yondu considered his choices med bay, barracks?

"best put her in with us captian"

"ewww gross Krags shes unconscious have some standards!"

"shuydup Pete, we stick er in the medbay anyone can get in there least the captians cabins blastproof if she goes all hairy again we can contain her easy enough an crew cant get to her"

A grunt of agreement as once again Yondu strode off

"Kraggles change the shifts around ur on 2nd and 1st put me oposite you 2nd and 3rd till we hit Contraxia less time shes alone tha better"

"cool! can i get a bot this time seeing as you two'll be in a good mood with her around?"

"Whos 'er pete the bilgesnipes muther? Her names Echo get tha door an fuck no ur still too young"

rounding the corner to the captains cabin he scurrys on ahead

" im 15! almost you need to start treating me like a grown up!'

laughing both Captain and Kraglin shake their heads

"yah dun even shave yet yah aint grown bugger off Pete" shoving him back Kraglin shut the door in his face coding the lock to only himself and Yondu

She was laid against Captains chest as Kraglin set up crude hammock attaching it to the pipework stuffed with furs from the nest, no, bed yondu got funny when they called it a nest

"i got first shift if she stirs an sees little old blue me probably freak out comm me if yah need me krags "

"course i will Yon" looking at his mates pained expression he kissed his cheek memories of his own days in the slave pens fickering before his eyes

"ur both safe now luv"

Yondu snorted derisivly as he left couldnt let him know how much that ment to him

... ... ...

The low hum of an engine woke her along with pressure from her bladder, eyes flickered open and shut again just as quickly, the unfamiliar room a shock calming her heart she could hear deap breathing, the faint lingering twang of sex and b.o alerting her to the men in the room

Peaking around the cabin small trinkets lined most surfaces a desk in the corner was covered in messy paperwork and holopads, a large nest like bed covered in blankets and furs to fight the cold took up half the room

clad in a long tshirt that fell past her hips, the ravagers coat she had been wearing long gone, she shivered the blanket draped over her was warm but the shock of the situation played havock with her body sitting up silently Echo contemplated her options she couldnt move from the hamock without waking her new masters

they might beat her but she needed the loo was it worth the risk of sneaking past or best to wake them so she better understood what was expectated of her

lost in that thought a door suddenly opens light spilling into the room illuminating the beds only occupant

kraglin wasnt it? he looked terran but that was no guarantee which ment the Centauruan Yondu? must have been up

his sleepy eyes almost missed her as a hand reached for the bathrooms light switch, pausing as the slight sway of the hammock gave her away

oh shit! thought yondu, couldnt she have woken in a few hours when he was on the bridge spare the poor thing? no of course not the universe didn't play nice and yet she saw him and wasnt screaming could she possibly recognize him as different to the Kree?

maybe just maybe

" yah a wake Echo?" tentative and soft Yondu tried to sound unthreataning as possible

"yes master" eyes dipped to the floor as she answered

"dun go callin me that aint ur master" shit that was gruffer than he intended as she flinched

"My apologies m . . Sir"

sighing shaking his head

""in here its Yondu out there" indicating the other door presumably to the rest of the ship

"its captain and sleeping beauty over there is ma first mate Kraglin "

Her head rose a little still not quite making eye contact hands clasped tightly in her lap

"why yah up girl"

not daring to ask directly her eyes flickerd to his then the bathroom still illuminated behind him

ah

leaving the light switch and sitting down on the bed yondu contemplated the woman she still hadnt made a move yet she needed to pee? wait, no, she was a slave till yesterday, he thought back did she think he would hurt her for moving? surley not

"you guna make a move before ya mess tha hammock?"

confusion and fear flashed on her face it wasnt a direct order to move he wanted something but it wasnt clear

might as well risk it her eyes found his in the gloom seeking, questioning, asking permission

sighing he strode to the hammock stubbing his toe on a discarded holopad he reached out for her helping her down remebering the days Aleeta led him by the hand too scared to belive he was free to brainwashed to fulfill his own basic needs wothout a direct order

" go on now"

Yondu sat on the bed back up against the wall how long had she been a slave? it had taken years of patience from Aleeta and Stakar to teach him and so much was still missing

walking back into the room a string of fairy lights now illuminated the ceiling light dancing of the trinkets to make the cabin sparkle forgetting herself Echo smiled before reality hit head bowed, back stright she tried in vain to supress the shiver that ran down her spine as she awaited instruction

" we aint ur masters yah know tha right? yer free now, fuck knows what we gonna do with yah but yer free"

hope blossemed through her veins, could he really mean it?

"you tired?"

"yes, but i cant sleep"

"how long were you . . ." not wanting to say the word as he rubbed the scars around his neck from his own collar

"two years give or take" it was scary how quickly Echos mind locked away the last few years of learned behaviours letting her slip into easy conversation, oh well that was a problem to deal with later she thought ashe patted the bed next to him rifling through the bedside draw empty bottles clinking, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth she was actually talking to him not screaming in fear go figure why not make the most of it

another shiver shock her body as a bottle was pressed into her hand

moonshine of some sort it singes her nose hairs as she takes a swig

"how?"

she took another long pull on the bottle before answering making him worry he had gone to far

"My brother... i came out with his team as a favor im not pure breed terran 'snickering' i was covering for the hired muscel but the job got complicated I shifted drawing fire . . . i didnt get back to the ship in time i guess, he left without me slavers grabbed me as it was taking off i was exhausted i couldnt fight anymore"

the alcohol flooded her body with faux warmth as she got comfortable

"Fuck thats strong" hand clasps quickly to her mouth

blue fingers brush hers seeking the bottle

" yah aint gotta worry bout that yah free 'member"

"i think its going to take time getting used to it"

the bottle passed back was half empty already he grinned downing the rest as they watched the stars slip by outside his window

The clock on the desk read 2 hours later than when he'd first woken to piss

"I got first shift soon think yah can sleep now?"

alcohol making her thoughts fuzzy reminants if the dugs still in her system she did the only sensible thing nodding as she laid back on the bed eyes already closed

"oh no you dont"

grinning yondu bent to lift her as kraglins hand reached over in sleep curling around her holding her safe against him, there was no way Yondu would be able to extract her without waking them both

a flash back to the safety of puppy piles from his own slavepen days had yondu giving in to the inevitable curling up with his arms around both of them till morning