3

The terrified cub was carried to a separate transport than the one his parents had been taken to. He was
thrown in a room that was filled with about thirty other Thunderians, adults, kids, but he was the youngest.

Sobbing hysterically, he landed on his hands and knees on the hard metal floor as the door was shut.

"Look how young he is." one of the females in the little room said. She sighed and went to him, gently
grasping his shoulder. "Shhh," she said when he jerked away from her in fear. "It's all right, little one. Come
here." She pulled the child into her lap and held him as he sobbed into her clothing.

They all heard the reptile that had brought the child there yell, "This is the last of them! Let's lift off!"
And then they ship shifted as they did just that, headed for the dull green brown planet they called Plundaar.

"Wh-where are we going?" Orion sobbed. "I want my papa, my mommy, I want to go back home!"

The Thunderian woman could only rock him and speak softly to him. She was a single woman herself,
but liked kids and would have liked to have some of her own. But where they were going she did not think that
she would get the opportunity.

She knew where they were going well enough. Captured children were not sent to prison camps, so that
was not the group they were in. The warriors and most the adults were sent there, and often executed. She did
not want to be the one to tell this mixed breed child that he likely would not ever see his parents again. Or Thundera, for that matter. And so she only comforted him, and did not answer.

The journey to Plundaar took nearly three days. The prisoners were fed, usually a porridge type mush
fed in tin bowls. During those days they were not let out of the little room they were packed into except to use the bathroom, and between the moments of fear when the door was opened, there was boredom.

The seven or so cubs that had been captured got restless, when they were not crying for their parents, or just crying. The adults tried to keep them happy, but every time they began a story, or started a game, one of the Mutants would open the door to serve the scant meal, or for a bathroom break, and the frightened children would scatter to the edges of the room.

But finally the journey ended. The adults had been stripped of weapons, and some of clothing, and a
dozen well armed Mutants soldiers greeted them on the last day when they opened the doors. It was time to
split the prisoners up. They would be taken to slave camps, some government owned, and the slave labor used
for the planet and the military, and some privately owned, but who were strongly allied with the king and his
government.

Orion howled indignantly as the woman he had mostly stayed with was taken at the first stop, along with
five or so of the others, two children included. He was held back none too gently by one of the soldiers, and
shoved back in the room for the next stop.

Nearly a dozen stops were made, until all that remained were the frightened young mixed cat and two
adults. They were all forced form the room, and their hands bound behind them. Orion bit his lip hard to keep
from crying as he was shoved along. It did not work well, as the young cub was in tears by the time they reached the boarding ramp. It led into a large compound, whose west fence was visible several yards away. The others were far enough away to not be seen.

The sky was a dull orange, not a bright glowing orange like Thundera's sky in the morning and early
afternoon, but a dark, dull orange, like the color of a grappa seed that had gone bad. The air was hot and arid,
but even with that hot wind blowing in his face, little Orion shivered. He did not know what the word desolate
meant, but despite the buildings around, and the people he saw here and there, that's what it was.

The three cats were forced into one of the buildings in the middle One was a large manor, the other a
flat, square building, where the owner of the compound conducted his business, which included seeing new recruits, so to speak.

Felines! The jet black jackal was pleased. Dressed in slaver's clothing; black sleeveless vest, shoulder
armor, spiked belt and wristbands; the unusually big and muscular jackal looked over the first of the adults with
an unpleasant smile. He nodded his approval, and he was taken form the rear door to be chained, and sent
either to work or training, whichever the new slave's behavior indicated. As usual, the prisoner resisted and
was sent into training.

The next, an adult female, got a close looking over, the jackal leering at her slim, nude body. She got a
full feel up, for which he received a sharp kick in the thigh. It would have been his groin he he not quickly
turned to take it where it would hurt less. He growled low in his throat, but smiled, instructing the waiting
guards for her to be taken to a cell where the male had gone. She would require training as well, although hers
would be for a somewhat different purpose.

Finally came Orion. The trembling child was shoved into the office room, where the jackal's eyes
looked appraisingly over him "A child." As the soldier held the cub tightly, the jackal approached and took a
hold of his face, forcing him to look up at him. He examined his health, his strength, his pelt, and generally appraised the boy's worth as a slave. He had a number of child slaves, and although they could not work as long as the adults, they were cheap and could more easily get into small spaces like mines and vents for mining and cleaning.

"G-g-get away from me!" the boy cried fearfully, shaking his head as the jackal grasped it. He snapped
at him with his teeth.

The jackal had not expected a child to strike at him, especially being bound, and the boy's sharp little
feline teeth latched onto his hand. He growled and ripped his hand from the boy's mouth, then backhanded him
hard across the face. Orion screeched in pained surprise then started to cry.

The jackal was done with his examination, and glared at the little cat. "Take him to a cell," he told his
guards. He would keep this one for the sole purpose of breaking the little hellcat. He was a warrior, and to be
hurt by a child, that was a great insult. And in front of his guards, no less. Yes, he had a personal issue with this brat.

Chapter 4

Table of Contents
ThunderCat Stories Page
Main Page