When they entered the galley, the table was already standing in line to
leave for work detail. Negate clasped a hand over her stomach as it
growled harshly before getting in line. Piccolo looked around them, not
understanding. "We were last for inspection for a reason. They're trying
to break your spirit and my body." Negate gave a harsh laugh. "At least
one of us is doing well."
The workroom smelled hotter than it had the day before and the mound of metal sat at the far end of the room. Piccolo saw Nate stand when he recognized the two of them. He pulled the visor off of his face and watched Negate with a severe look of worry. Negate walked slowly toward him and smiled but it was weak. Nate rested a hand on her shoulder and studied her face for a moment before letting her go. "You look like shit run over."
"Thanks for the update." Negate frowned at him and walked stiffly to the pile of scrap at the far end. Nate clasped Piccolo's wrist tightly, Piccolo could barely read the number on the cuff for all of the mess but saw the letter 'C' engraved in blue. "You watch her today. I don't care how much she spits and snarls, she isn't going to fight you in that shape." Piccolo nodded and began to walk off but the grip tightened. Nate's eyes had narrowed and Piccolo got the impression that this man had been a warrior on some far planet, and he had been very good at it. "I mean it. She may be just a weak woman to you, but she means a hell of a lot to us." The infliction on 'us' set Piccolo's head thinking as he stalked to the pile of metal. He picked up a piece and watched Negate's form bob in the sparse line heading to the far wall. Then he realized where he was going, they were moving the mountain back to the same spot it had set yesterday. Piccolo watched Negate slow down much quicker than she had yesterday. He had passed her once and could hear her laborious breathing and was sure that she was weeping.
Around midday, Piccolo was nearly to the pile of metal with three chunks of iron piled on one shoulder when he heard a muffled shout and a harsh clang as metal cracked on the floor. Turning he could see Negate laying on her stomach, a chunk of metal inches from her head. She had collapsed. Guards came running, but none were fast enough to beat Piccolo there. He turned her slowly, blood leaked from her nose and her bottom lip was swollen, nearly bitten through. She breathed harshly, a spastic, hard cough blew blood across her chin. Piccolo could hear alarms bells ring in his head as the guards grew nearer, Nate had dropped his torch and was running at full tilt, trying his damndest to beat the guards there. He grasped one by the back of the collar and slammed the man into the floor, teeth and snot flying. Piccolo watched in awe as the man beat and tossed the biggest of the guards out of his way like they were infants. Piccolo crouched over Negate, feeling the sense of shock that ran through more than half of the worker's faces as they saw who lay bleeding on the floor. _She may be just a weak woman to you, but she means a hell of a lot to us._
Nate let out a sharp yelp and Piccolo felt the cattle prod hit his lower back at the same moment. Electricity arched through his body, a screaming pain that was meant to collapse even the toughest of men, but Piccolo was no man. He leaned his body protectively over Negate, taking charges of electricity and chi whips blow after blow. Piccolo roared, the raw ferocity that ripped through him made the chi cuff spark and sizzle into his skin but he never felt it. The guards paused in their torment at the energy and harshness that bubbled from his throat. They backed up several steps, unsure if they should continue. Nate fell to the floor inches away from them cupping Negate's cheek in his greasy palm before several guards flung themselves on top of him and began to beat him mercilessly. Piccolo looked to stand, a glint of hate making his black eyes cold pits in his skull. Nate's eyes pleaded with him and Piccolo mistook it for help.
Nate shook his head fiercely as Piccolo began to stand and a strangled, "No!" ripped from his body as a chi whip split his skin. Piccolo curled himself again against the beaten woman and heard her sob. He looked down, her face turned toward Nate, eyes wide as she watched him being beaten to death. Blood began to pool around Nate and his grunts of pain had stopped, his head lolling from side to side. Negate let out a wail of remorse so deep and awful Piccolo felt his heart nearly rip in two. He cupped her face and turned her head away but she struggled and he shook her lightly. "Don't look." Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes, leaving clean trail across her cheeks. Piccolo watched as Nate's body was drug across the floor toward the door and felt a small flicker of chi in his body. He sighed and opened his mouth to tell his news to Negate, but she had already fallen unconscious. Piccolo slowly stood, Negate held tightly to his chest. The guards stepped back, allowing him to leave. Piccolo didn't know his way around and left through the same door they entered. People eating in the galley gasped as he came through followed by several dozen guards all keeping their distance. Violet blood dripped down Piccolo's back and left a small trail behind him while Negate coughed fitfully and coated his chest in deep crimson. A small table in the corner that held the same people that had given Negate the pitcher of water stood swiftly and walked quickly toward him. "Don't get in my way, just show me where to bring her." The two women nodded and hurried off toward a door Piccolo hadn't noticed before. The old man walked slowly beside Piccolo, looking up at him in intense contemplation.
When Piccolo entered the small room, there was a man already waiting, the two women on either side of him. Piccolo lay Negate gently on the tabletop, glaring icily at the man who began to tend her wounds. The old man asked him to sit but Piccolo remained solid, keeping watch over the proceedings.
"Please, you are badly injured." The old man motioned again for Piccolo to sit. Piccolo sat, but scooted the chair near the table and growled at anyone who came near him with gauze or ointment.
Piccolo could hear the two girls as they whispered to themselves. He had ignored most of it, but they slowly gained his attention as they pointed between Negate and himself. "You can see where he covered her.yes but why would that beast care.maybe he's one of us.I don't trust him." Their voices carried on, and with it Piccolo could feel his anger slowly build. The old man lay a hand on his shoulder and Piccolo violently shrugged it off.
"Look here boy, don't mind the twins. What you've done today you can't even begin to fathom. Yes, you saved a woman but you've done more than that. She is what keeps most of these people breathing. If she had died today it would have broken any resistance we have started to build." The old man looked at the prone form half bandaged and bleeding.
Piccolo grunted. He was getting the feeling that there had to be more to the story, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. "What about the man? What are they going to do with him?" The old man looked at him, confused. "Nate."
The two girls came to tight attention at his name. "What happened.to Nate?" One finishing the other's sentence.
"He fought off several guards to get to Negate but he was beaten nearly to death." The old man shook his head, stringy gray locks waving in his face. The twins gasped in unison and clutched at each other.
"Well, if he isn't dead he'll be dropped in the hole to die or heal. If he dies so be it, if he is healed he'll probably be beaten nearly to death again and made to work tirelessly." The man pushed his hair from his face and sighed deeply.
Piccolo nodded, knowing that it would be something like that. Negate moaned on the table and blinked the world back into focus. Piccolo helped her sit up, her swollen lip making her appear to pout. She smiled sickly at him, the medicines swimming in her blood stream making her nauseous. Negate struggled to her feet, weary and ready to sleep.
"I'm afraid it's a scrub-down day, you'll have to help her until she gets a decent amount of sleep. There won't be work duty for the next two days at least because of the outburst, but after that you'll probably be worked even harder."
Negate struggled to the door and opened it, stopping to lean into the doorframe to catch her breath. She motioned for Piccolo to follow and he obliged, carefully falling into step behind her, waiting to catch her if she fell.
The old man watched them go, and smiled slightly. Shook his head and shut the door.
The workroom smelled hotter than it had the day before and the mound of metal sat at the far end of the room. Piccolo saw Nate stand when he recognized the two of them. He pulled the visor off of his face and watched Negate with a severe look of worry. Negate walked slowly toward him and smiled but it was weak. Nate rested a hand on her shoulder and studied her face for a moment before letting her go. "You look like shit run over."
"Thanks for the update." Negate frowned at him and walked stiffly to the pile of scrap at the far end. Nate clasped Piccolo's wrist tightly, Piccolo could barely read the number on the cuff for all of the mess but saw the letter 'C' engraved in blue. "You watch her today. I don't care how much she spits and snarls, she isn't going to fight you in that shape." Piccolo nodded and began to walk off but the grip tightened. Nate's eyes had narrowed and Piccolo got the impression that this man had been a warrior on some far planet, and he had been very good at it. "I mean it. She may be just a weak woman to you, but she means a hell of a lot to us." The infliction on 'us' set Piccolo's head thinking as he stalked to the pile of metal. He picked up a piece and watched Negate's form bob in the sparse line heading to the far wall. Then he realized where he was going, they were moving the mountain back to the same spot it had set yesterday. Piccolo watched Negate slow down much quicker than she had yesterday. He had passed her once and could hear her laborious breathing and was sure that she was weeping.
Around midday, Piccolo was nearly to the pile of metal with three chunks of iron piled on one shoulder when he heard a muffled shout and a harsh clang as metal cracked on the floor. Turning he could see Negate laying on her stomach, a chunk of metal inches from her head. She had collapsed. Guards came running, but none were fast enough to beat Piccolo there. He turned her slowly, blood leaked from her nose and her bottom lip was swollen, nearly bitten through. She breathed harshly, a spastic, hard cough blew blood across her chin. Piccolo could hear alarms bells ring in his head as the guards grew nearer, Nate had dropped his torch and was running at full tilt, trying his damndest to beat the guards there. He grasped one by the back of the collar and slammed the man into the floor, teeth and snot flying. Piccolo watched in awe as the man beat and tossed the biggest of the guards out of his way like they were infants. Piccolo crouched over Negate, feeling the sense of shock that ran through more than half of the worker's faces as they saw who lay bleeding on the floor. _She may be just a weak woman to you, but she means a hell of a lot to us._
Nate let out a sharp yelp and Piccolo felt the cattle prod hit his lower back at the same moment. Electricity arched through his body, a screaming pain that was meant to collapse even the toughest of men, but Piccolo was no man. He leaned his body protectively over Negate, taking charges of electricity and chi whips blow after blow. Piccolo roared, the raw ferocity that ripped through him made the chi cuff spark and sizzle into his skin but he never felt it. The guards paused in their torment at the energy and harshness that bubbled from his throat. They backed up several steps, unsure if they should continue. Nate fell to the floor inches away from them cupping Negate's cheek in his greasy palm before several guards flung themselves on top of him and began to beat him mercilessly. Piccolo looked to stand, a glint of hate making his black eyes cold pits in his skull. Nate's eyes pleaded with him and Piccolo mistook it for help.
Nate shook his head fiercely as Piccolo began to stand and a strangled, "No!" ripped from his body as a chi whip split his skin. Piccolo curled himself again against the beaten woman and heard her sob. He looked down, her face turned toward Nate, eyes wide as she watched him being beaten to death. Blood began to pool around Nate and his grunts of pain had stopped, his head lolling from side to side. Negate let out a wail of remorse so deep and awful Piccolo felt his heart nearly rip in two. He cupped her face and turned her head away but she struggled and he shook her lightly. "Don't look." Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes, leaving clean trail across her cheeks. Piccolo watched as Nate's body was drug across the floor toward the door and felt a small flicker of chi in his body. He sighed and opened his mouth to tell his news to Negate, but she had already fallen unconscious. Piccolo slowly stood, Negate held tightly to his chest. The guards stepped back, allowing him to leave. Piccolo didn't know his way around and left through the same door they entered. People eating in the galley gasped as he came through followed by several dozen guards all keeping their distance. Violet blood dripped down Piccolo's back and left a small trail behind him while Negate coughed fitfully and coated his chest in deep crimson. A small table in the corner that held the same people that had given Negate the pitcher of water stood swiftly and walked quickly toward him. "Don't get in my way, just show me where to bring her." The two women nodded and hurried off toward a door Piccolo hadn't noticed before. The old man walked slowly beside Piccolo, looking up at him in intense contemplation.
When Piccolo entered the small room, there was a man already waiting, the two women on either side of him. Piccolo lay Negate gently on the tabletop, glaring icily at the man who began to tend her wounds. The old man asked him to sit but Piccolo remained solid, keeping watch over the proceedings.
"Please, you are badly injured." The old man motioned again for Piccolo to sit. Piccolo sat, but scooted the chair near the table and growled at anyone who came near him with gauze or ointment.
Piccolo could hear the two girls as they whispered to themselves. He had ignored most of it, but they slowly gained his attention as they pointed between Negate and himself. "You can see where he covered her.yes but why would that beast care.maybe he's one of us.I don't trust him." Their voices carried on, and with it Piccolo could feel his anger slowly build. The old man lay a hand on his shoulder and Piccolo violently shrugged it off.
"Look here boy, don't mind the twins. What you've done today you can't even begin to fathom. Yes, you saved a woman but you've done more than that. She is what keeps most of these people breathing. If she had died today it would have broken any resistance we have started to build." The old man looked at the prone form half bandaged and bleeding.
Piccolo grunted. He was getting the feeling that there had to be more to the story, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. "What about the man? What are they going to do with him?" The old man looked at him, confused. "Nate."
The two girls came to tight attention at his name. "What happened.to Nate?" One finishing the other's sentence.
"He fought off several guards to get to Negate but he was beaten nearly to death." The old man shook his head, stringy gray locks waving in his face. The twins gasped in unison and clutched at each other.
"Well, if he isn't dead he'll be dropped in the hole to die or heal. If he dies so be it, if he is healed he'll probably be beaten nearly to death again and made to work tirelessly." The man pushed his hair from his face and sighed deeply.
Piccolo nodded, knowing that it would be something like that. Negate moaned on the table and blinked the world back into focus. Piccolo helped her sit up, her swollen lip making her appear to pout. She smiled sickly at him, the medicines swimming in her blood stream making her nauseous. Negate struggled to her feet, weary and ready to sleep.
"I'm afraid it's a scrub-down day, you'll have to help her until she gets a decent amount of sleep. There won't be work duty for the next two days at least because of the outburst, but after that you'll probably be worked even harder."
Negate struggled to the door and opened it, stopping to lean into the doorframe to catch her breath. She motioned for Piccolo to follow and he obliged, carefully falling into step behind her, waiting to catch her if she fell.
The old man watched them go, and smiled slightly. Shook his head and shut the door.
