The slaves of the Iscariot empire toiled through the bitter winter. The frozen terrain surrounding Fargo was brutal enough to cause lost limbs and other appendages. The masters were relentless this year. The uncovering of the hundreds of moles in the Iscariot government caused strong Anti-Human sentiment inside of Fargo. With the Queendom losing territory at an alarming rate, it was up to the plantations and farms inside of Fargo to pick up the slack.
The slaves had heard about NATO. Humans in the green jackets and blue berets. The ones that commanded beasts of iron, and dragons of steel. That could wipe out even the most skilled warrior from a mile away without so much as an after thought. It was them who the people admired. The Weed Rebellion was a distant memory in the minds of the Insectoid and Human slaves of the empire. But it was still a reminder that there was some hope. Some freedom, out there.
All of the slaves who worked in Est-Anglice were liberated when it came under NATO occupation. The people to the West under Chinese/ICCR occupation were also liberated from slavery. Even if it was to just be put to work in a factory, it was still heaven compared to the brutal torture that they faced in Fargo. The slaves came to regard the new Humans as saviours, and many dreamed of one day escaping behind the front lines to freedom.
In a quarry to the north of Fargo, the slaves were being pressed as hard as usual to dig into the rock. Insectoids, Reptillians and Humans alike worked into the rock. The shortages of pretty much everything made the quota much higher than it was before.
A few weeks ago, the slaves had saw a dog fight in the skies. It looked like dragons from afar but when the 'dragons' came near, it was clear they weren't from this world. They were made of steel, had fixed wings, and flew around at the speed of light spitting fire and exploding into fiery flames. It was an amazing sight to the slaves, but they couldn't experience it for long. The alarms around Fargo blasted and the slaves were ushered inside to the air raid shelters.
A few months prior there had been a Communist attack on Fargo. ICCR tanks had rolled through portions of the wild battling the Russian T-70's. The ICCR had to retreat however and the Russian maintained their hold on the city. The slaves were disappointed, but spirits were still high that maybe…just maybe…one of the attacks might succeed.
But for now, they toiled. A few days ago, a female slave by the name of Sharia had escaped up into the Wilds. Everyone was tortured for it. Nobody knows where she is now, if she is even still alive. Being alone with no equipment in the Wilds was basically a death sentence. And everyone knew it, but there was hope that she ran into one of the Earth-Powers patrols in the forest, or had good enough sense to head South towards Newfoundland. Only the gods of this world knew for sure.
Xyn, an Insectoid slave was one of the more prominent figures in the Quarry. He was "Captain of his Miners". The person who was basically in charge to ensure that the production Quota was met. He was treated no differently than the rest of the slaves, only in rank. Whenever one of the slaves escaped, he would be punished most severely. Whenever the Quota wasn't met, again it was his beating. It was supposed to make him a cruel person, and turn his back on his fellow Humans and Demi's, but if anything it seemed to have the opposite effect. Xyn loved his comrades more than anything, and was more than willing to take responsibility for any of their actions even if it wasn't his fault. He was the person everybody looked up to, they shared an equal respect and love for him, and would do anything for him. It was this brotherhood that had scared his Masters.
Xyn had a pickaxe in his hand and was busy laboring away at the rock in the side of the cliff wall. The soil was soft and of poor texture. Everything was wet and landslides were frequent because of the snow. It was miserable work, but he had to keep it up. Escape wasn't an option for him. A horse pulled into the Quarry and while the slaves were mining away. The carriage behind it carried his masters, Sir Windsor. Windsor and Xyn had been experiencing some 'Friction' lately. Most likely because as Xyn was becoming more liked and respected, Windsor himself was losing power. The slaves sometimes just refused to do what he said, and would only listen to Xyn, but it was hard to try and force Xyn to convince his fellow people to do anything.
Xyn was also quite a scary insectoid. A giant, 7 foot black and green insect. His wings were clipped so he couldn't fly off anywhere, but it was still enough to startle even a fully grown Grizzly Bear. He was strong, and Windsor found himself fearing Xyn as more and more time passed.
"Xyn!" The sound of Windsor's piercing voice made Xyn's antennae perk up in hesitation. Despite being an Insect, he was oddly Human.
Xyn's pod eyes glared down at the short rat that was Windsor. Luckily Windsor was surrounded by gaurds and a few of his colleagues.
"Yesssss, massster?" Asked Xyn, his insectoid vocals hissing and chirping in random places in the words. It was purely disgusting how he had pincers instead of a mouth. Windsor considered if it was possible to have them removed.
"W-we are changing things up around here. I don't think you've been leading my subjects in a way that has been most profitable if you understand what I mean." Xyn cocked his head to the side to piece together what he was saying. Xyn wasn't smart by any means, but he understood when he was being demoted.
"I'm going to have to remove you from your position. You keep getting in the way of things and messing everything up! From here on out there will be a new slave to keep you all in line, and he will do anything that I say. Isn't that right, Snowball?" The face of a Human poked up. He was small, pale in the face if anything and scuttered about always this and that. But he was essentially a pet. Loyal, and ever willing to serve his Demi 'superiors'. He never questioned anything that they did. Whether he was simply born into a lifetime of servitude and just thought it was normal, or that he was mentally broken by his superiors was different.
Xyn shot a steely glance at Snowball, who didn't flinch in return. Everybody else hated Snowball. He was a traitor. He was treated almost like a freeman, given quality food, service, he even had his own room inside the gigantic mansion that occupied most of Windsor's property. He had sold himself for luxury, and the rest of the slaves utterly despised him in return. He was the polar opposite of Xyn. Xyn was loyal only to his brothers and sisters who toiled with him and shared his hardships, Snowball was loyal only to those that fed him.
Snowball looked around at the Quarry, and straightened himself up. A small smirk grew on his face.
"Snowball, I'd like you to meet Xyn. Xyn this is who you will be referring to as your superior from now on," Snowball held out a hand to Xyn. The gigantic beast only looked at him, and hissed slightly in return.
"Where are your damn manners you animal?" Snowball demanded, hiding his hand back in his pocket. Windsor chuckled a bit, "Don't worry about him Snow. That's just Xyn for you, he's stubborn. Dumb, useless insect. Don't let him bother you."
The anger that was boiling inside Xyn at that moment was unbearable. This humiliation, the fact that his own fellowman would turn such a cod shoulder to him.
"I'm off to The Cryystal palace lads, the Queen has requested me to be there. You boys better behave, and Snow I expect to hear good things from you." Said Windsor as he turned his back.
"Of course master," Snowball bowed his head as his master embarked again onto the carriage, leaving on Xyn and Snowball left. Xyn's head turned from the departing buggy to Snowball. Snowball looked up at him.
"What are you looking at bug? Get back to work before I break your disgusting antennae!" Xyn hesistated for a moment and then slowly turned back around. This was not going to be good for the slaves under Windsor's command.
When the Quota was finally met after six excruciating hours of never ending work, the laborers gathered together to finally take the transports back to Windsor's property closer to Fargo. Snowball had brutally beaten and yelled at many of the slaves for so much as a slight misstep. Treating them all, Insectoid, Reptillian and even Human alike, as if they were below him. As if they were inferior simply because his master didn't like them. Snowball was a despiteful person, easy to hate if you faced his rage. He was probably so angry as he was letting out his pent frustration from being humiliated and treated like a pet by his own Master. But treating the rest of the slaves brutally, and taking his anger out on them was just mean.
There was a large caravan of buggies and carriages lined up at the gates of the Quarry. Guards in each. The Guards frequently tormented the slaves as well, but none of them did so as harshly as Snowball did. It seemed as if even the Guards feared him. He was after all "Windsor's favorite servant". Snowball wielded that power well, if that was the case. He could be frequently spotted around the slaves, having his way with the slave women, and doing all kinds of low-down debauchery. Snowball was not an unfamiliar face. Most nobles wouldn't even think to touch a Human or Reptilian woman for fear of contracting whatever vile illness apparently all 'Non Demi's' had been born with. But not Snowball, he was already a Human. And he had no restrictions on what he could do to his masters property.
The slaves were loaded into caravans. With a crack of a whip the horses were off pulling the laborers away back to the suburbs of Windsors home.
The trip from the Quarry was a long one, about an hour and a half even though they were only just going twenty miles. This represented a bit of downtime for the slaves too. The Guards were too exhausted from their own duties to really give a damn about the slaves. So they were usually knocked out inside the carriage, and even if they weren't they were a bit friendlier to the slaves. If it is only just a tad bit from their usual routine of degradation. It was an appreciated adjustment. It gave the non demi's some time to talk amongst themselves. To relax for once. And to rest.
Xyn was of course the center of attention. All the slaves wanted to know what was up with Snowball. His response…
"Windssssor felt that I wasssss obssssolete. That I would've led a rebellion againsst him or even worsse." Xyn hissed. General rumblings amongst the slaves began as they talked about what this would mean for them all. Xyn would never hurt one of his fellow slaves, and if that was the problem then with Snowball as a solution they would be in for a world of hurt.
But for now, they could only pray that it would get better. Soon, maybe one day the soldiers would be able to fight long enough for them to escape. To freedom...