Chapter VIII
Life hurts a lot more than death
~ Jim Morrison
CW Blood Drinker,
Wolf Clan Black Lion-Class Heavy Cruiser,
Butte Hold Orbit, Greater Valkyrate,
September 15, 3049
Nobody had heard about the Clans before. Little to none was known about their origin. They were humans, thankfully, but they bore no resemblance to anything Marissa had known before. Some were huge, twice as tall and three times as bulky as Marissa. Others were small, with large head and large eyes and tiny, wiry body. And then there were anything in between. They called themselves the Wolf Clan. They spoke in a different dialect than normal English, and although Marissa could capture most of the words, it was their epithets that completely threw her off guard.
At first Marissa thought that she was captured by a military occultism. Slowly, painfully, she learnt that these people were descendants from Alexander Kerensky's Exodus fleet that left the Inner Sphere some 300 years ago. They settled down in an uncharted territory, morphed into a society of militants they called the Clans, and perfected their physiques to tackle one specific task. The huge men were their infantries. Their muscles were necessary to carry their mechanized armors and complicated weapon systems. The small ones were the aerojocks. Their large eyes could see far beyond normal eyesight, and their large head contained a lot of blood so they could sustain inhuman G-force. That explained the impossible maneuvers they pulled off during their fight. And then, there were the mechwarriors, the majority of their warriors who didn't seem to 'mutate' like their infantry and aerospace comrades.
The one that shot Marissa down called himself Star Commander Benten. He was a typical aerofighter pilot: small in stature, with a far too large head for his delicate body, and a couple of wide eyes that made him look like the 'little green man' from some old TV show. But behind his awkward appearance lied a demented soul that made Marissa's life a living hell. He harassed her, degraded her lower than a surat - the bat-monkey crossover that Clan folks took as pets - and forced her to satisfy his illicit, grossly deviant sexual fantasy.
Marissa decided it was enough.
"Get up, you genetic trash," Benten said one day, circling inside Marissa's cell. "Strip your clothes. You do not deserve even the worst of our rag."
Standing in the middle of her small cell, slowly Marissa pulled her t-shirt up, then pushed her slacks down into a puddle of cloth. She stepped out of her slacks, leaving her only with undergarment and a pair of flip flops. Benten's eyes widened as he inspected every inch of Marissa's taut body, paying special attention to her oversized breasts. He smacked his lips lightly as his eyes descended to her feet, humming a cheerful tune. Somewhere between Marissa's plump toes, her faded pink toenail paint, and her toerings excited him more than anything, and his body stiffened as he marveled her feet.
It was when Marissa launched her attack. She lunged and slammed her shoulder on Benten's face. Benten was caught off guard. His large head jerked, hitting the cell door behind him in a loud thud. His awkward body spasmed as his head flung back forward. His knees wobbled, and a second later he crashed to the cell floor.
As Benten struggled to get up, Marissa grabbed her t-shirt and wrapped it around his neck. The Clan aerojock gurgled and wheezed as the shirt dug into his throat. He swung his arm and elbowed Marissa on the ribcage, but his strike was weak. Marissa barely flinched, then tightened her grips on the shirt. Benten squirmed more violently, and with the amount of blood stored in his head, he put up a good struggle long after normal humans already fainted. But Marissa pulled the shirt as hard as she could. Benten's fight grew dimmer and dimmer, and sure enough his breaths came in exasperating, agonizing gasps.
But just when Marissa thought Benten expired, the cell door slid open. A giant man entered and grabbed Marissa's neck from behind. He was excessively large and bulky, but he moved in such speed and grace that Marissa didn't have time to react. The next time she knew, she was clawing the giant's arm, fighting for her own air, while Benten lied leisurely on the floor, trying to get his composure back.
"Do you need help controlling your bondswoman, Ovkhan?" the giant spoke.
"Neg," Benten rose slowly. Her large eyes spilled hatred at Marissa like a flood. "We are not like her kind. Let her breathe and take her to the mess hall. I will teach her the way of the Clan!"
The giant man released her neck and pulled her arms behind her back. He dragged her through the cell corridor, letting the other prisoners watch her, until he reached the end of the hall. He burst out of the double door and through a series of turns until they reached the mess hall. Benten followed him two steps behind.
The mess hall was full with people from all phenotypes, and Marissa knew Benten was going to make an example of her. She cursed her stupid oversight. She was bigger and stronger than Benten. There was no way Benten would go into her cell alone. He must have had a backup, and what better complemented his weak and wiry stature than a giant man with muscles like battlemech's myomer bundles? She should've known it better.
"This savashri attacked me, Star Commander Benten of the Wolf, without warning and at my utter disadvantage," Benten stated loudly as the giant man situated her in the middle of the room. "Yet she failed to kill me. I challenge her, bondsmwoman Marissa the freebirth, in a Circle of Equal. This is between me and my bondswoman, so let no one interfere!"
The people in the mess hall immediately got up from their seats and formed a large circle encompassing Marissa and Benten. The aerospace jock screamed something unintelligibly, then somebody throw him a long black whip with multiple thongs at the edge. He thumbed a button in the hilt, and the black whip glowed in pink charge, crackling as he whisked it as a display of superiority.
"Somebody throw her a weapon!" Benten croaked hastily. "You see, freebirth, we are not like you, striking without warning to gain an early advantage. This is the Circle of Equals, and even if you do not deserve to be treated as our equal, we do it anyway. That is the way of the Clan!"
Marissa's face reddened with shame.
Somebody threw a dagger into the Circle of Equal, right in front of Marissa. It was not hard to figure out that these people expected to see a bloodbath, and it made her nervous. She remembered Benten's whip, and she knew it had power to knock her out. Although Marissa herself was proficient in dagger play, Benten had a significant range advantage.
However Marissa didn't see any other way to escape it, so she bent down to grab the dagger. Just when her fingers grazed the hilt of the dagger, Benten flashed his whip. The multi-thonged whip wrapped around Marissa's wrist, and the charge gave her a jolt. It felt like a thousand razor blades clawing her hand. Marissa screamed, hard, and fell on her back. Benten mercifully pulled his whip, and Marissa rolled on the floor, holding her right arm. Her right wrist throbbed in burning fire, and there was a red welt where Benten's whip touched her skin.
"This is called an electro-lash," Benten chuckled. "The laborer caste uses it to drive cattles. We, the warrior caste, use it to discipline freebirths like you. It will not kill you, but it will burn a mark in your body – and most importantly, your mind – to give your utmost respect for the Wolf Clan! Now get up and fight, you filth! Let us see if you can actually win an honor duel!"
Marissa pulled herself together and lunged as fast as she could toward the dagger, but Benten swung it again. The tip of the thongs scratched Marissa's cheek, leaving deep burnt marks. Marissa yelped as she covered her face with her palms. Benten whipped his electro-lash, grabbing Marissa's left ankle, then pulled it as hard as he could. Marissa wailed as she fall face forward, her left leg suspended in the air by the crackling whip. Her toes curled from extreme pain. This time, Benten kept it up for some time, and only when Marissa's voice had turned sore did he release her.
That last attack burnt not only a deep, blood-red ridge on Marissa's ankle, but also a terrible image in her mind. The frail aerofighter had turned into a bloodlusty monster with electric tentacles crushing her from every direction. She stole a quick glance at him, and she wondered how such a decrepit-looking man possessed so much power over her.
"Now you have witnessed the mighty claws of the Wolf Clan, barbarian," Benten growled. "Now is the time of the Clans! We will take the Inner Sphere planet by planet until we reach Terra. You are just a genetic filth. You will stand no chance against us!"
Marissa gave one more defiant act by standing up, but Benten flicked his electro-lash and wrapped the thongs around her neck. She felt her head explode. She crumpled like meat without bones to support it, wheezing and crying at the mercy of her bondholder. And somewhere between the electro-lash crushing her neck and Benten's declaration of victory, she saw Seth, swimming in the sea of flame. Boy, was he the lucky one…
"You are mine, freebirth," Benten cemented his victory by standing over her. He crouched and grabbed Marissa's hair, forcing her to look into his eyes. "For every mistake I find in your life, I will punish you with this. Every time you say 'no' to me, I will break you in the Circle of Equals. And if you try to outsmart me ever again, I will destroy you until you beg for me to kill you. And do not think death will be your easy escape either. I will make it my business that you live a long life as my bondswoman. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Marissa managed to squeeze out a barely audible answer.
"Call me with my proper name! Yes, Ovkhan!"
"Yes, Ovkhan," she wheezed.
"Good. Now," he trailed his fingers along the arches of her shuddering feet. "We are kind of interrupted by this honor duel, quiaff?"
Marissa could only bit her lips as tears streaming down her cheeks.