Episode 2
Visper awoke to the familiar, jarring sound of the loudspeaker. "You will work. You will obey. You will be punished," Rhaad's voice echoed throughout the canyon.
She realized that she had fallen asleep on the floor. Dirt was caked on the side of her face and on her arms. She shakily rose to her feet and dusted herself off. She felt a presence behind her and turned around. A pair of boots were visible under the burlap curtain over the cave opening.
"Slave, Rhaad wants to see you," said a gruff voice from outside. She slipped her boots on without tying them and grabbed her satchel. When summoned by Rhaad, every moment of delay could prove to be very painful. She pulled back the curtain and walked out, taking care not to make eye contact with the guard. The twin suns hung low in the early morning sky, already heating the air to an uncomfortable level. A bead of sweat rolled down Visper's neck, though from fear or the heat she couldn't tell.
Around her, the camp was coming alive. Slaves were rousing from their bunks and gathering their tools. A shouted order could be heard here and there. Some were followed by cries of pain. As she looked around, she noticed that the other slaves were avoiding her gaze. Was it the guard leading her? Perhaps it was the painful memory of the scuffle last night? Either way, it didn't matter much. Visper didn't know the majority of the slaves. The few she did know weren't much more than acquaintances, aside from Nala of course. She counted Gerrid as a friend, though they never spoke more than a few words to each other. He seemed trustworthy and was always cordial with her.
Visper and the guard walked past the tower and towards the administration building. She could see slaves exiting the main gate, trudging towards their daily tasks. She wondered how many of them would succumb to the heat and never return. As the pair approached the administration building, the guards standing at the door stood at attention.
"Taking this one to see Rhaad," the guard leading Visper said flatly. The other two guards relaxed and motioned him on. Visper entered the door behind him. She was met with a refreshing blast of artificially cooled air. Inside the building, all along the gray steel walls were various pieces of art. An ancient clay pot on a pedestal, a tapestry with some cryptic looking language and various other artifacts. They had the reddish-brown tinge of sand that let Visper know that these were all from Tatooine. They had probably been found by the slaves as they went about their various activities. Turning in such artifacts wasn't unheard of, and doing so would be rewarded. Typically, Rhaad would allow two meals the following day as payment; a lavish reward. The guard led Visper through the small number of offices and corridors to a stairway.
"Hes up there slave," he said, and pushed her roughly with the stock of his rifle. Visper stumbled forward, nearly tripping over the first stair. She regained her composure and walked slowly upward. She wished she could run away and wondered what punishment would be dealt. It would surely be severe to warrant a visit to Rhaad's office. As she reached the top of the stairs, she stopped for a moment to tie her boots and compose herself. She knelt on the small landing in front of the door to Rhaad's office. The smell of food radiated from behind the door. She wondered if that was to be a part of the torture, eating a meal in front of her that she could never hope to have. She smoothed her lekku and stood. Pressing the button near the door, she heard a chime.
"Enter," she heard Rhaad say. The door slid upward and she entered the office. It was simple and spartan. No rug on the floor or comfortable furniture. A single window let in the early morning sunlight, which clashed unnaturally with the artificial light from the bulbs in the ceiling. Rhaad sat at his desk reading something on a data pad. A plate with leftovers of food lay at the edge of the desk. Next to it a cup half filled with some sort of blue liquid that she had never seen before. The smell of the food was so intoxicating that she nearly didn't notice Shelod sitting on a chair in the corner. She looked well enough, aside from the yellow and black bruise over her eye. She sat with her arms crossed looking out the window. Behind Rhaad was a small set of shelves. Various weapons, armor and ship models were carefully placed on each one.
"Quite a night you two had," he said to Visper, not looking away from his data pad.
"Yes, master," Visper said, shakily.
"You know that we do not tolerate interference by slaves in guard activities, don't you slave?" he asked.
"Yes, Master," she answered.
"You know that the punishment for interfering is a day in the cages and shock treatment, then?" he asked. Visper risked a glance at Shelod, who was now intently staring at her.
"Y-yes, Master" Visper stuttered. Rhaad laid down his data pad and sat back in his chair. He folded his hands in his lap.
"Seeing as how you have had a shock already, I would say that punishment has been served for this infraction," he said. "You are very consistent in your duties. It would be fiscally irresponsible for me to keep you away from your work for a day in the cages," he added.
Visper couldn't believe what she was hearing. She came into this room believing she would be beaten or shocked, but she was being... complimented?
"You will take this girl with you on your daily work. You will teach her how to perform the digging duties and to be as efficient as you, or you will both pay the penalty," Rhaad said, raising his hand to point at Shelod. The two girls glanced at each other, both surprised and relieved.
"Yes, Master," Visper said as she looked at the floor subserviently.
"You are both dismissed. Do not disappoint me," Rhaad said, pressing the button that opened the door. Shelod stood and walked to the door with Visper. After they crossed the threshold the door slammed shut behind them. Shelod threw her arms around Visper's waist.
"I've never been so afraid!" she exclaimed. Visper bent down slightly to be eye level with her.
"Its okay now. I don't know why he showed us mercy but we ought not question it," Visper said in the most reassuring tone she could muster. "By the end of the week you'll be the best charge digger in the outer rim!" she added, trying to put on a smile.
"Thank you, Visper. Gerrid said you were a good person," Shelod said as a single tear rolled down her cheek from her blackened eye. Visper wiped away the tear with her thumb and gently patted Shelod on the cheek with her palm.
"Well, we'd better get going. We've lost a lot of time dealing with this mess," Visper said. She took Shelod's hand and lead her down the stairs. The guard at the bottom motioned them on towards the front entrance. They stopped for a moment at the entrance, sucking in a few last breaths of the artificially cooled air.
They stepped outside into the already sweltering heat of the morning. Visper lead Shelod to the tent where the digging supplies were kept. There were various bins of different types of tools, mostly old and broken from years of use. Visper handed Shelod the best shovel she could find among the bunch. They rummaged through the pile of work boots in the corner of the tent, finding a pair that were almost the right size for Shelod's feet and with only a few holes. Visper grabbed an aging data pad and a small burlap satchel, handing them to Shelod.
"You are beginning to look the part of a digger now!" Visper said. Shelod hefted the weight of the shovel and the burlap looked uncomfortable on her shoulder. Visper could tell that she was not looking forward to the hard work to come. She would have to get used to it though, since neither of them wanted to find out the 'penalty' Rhaad had threatened.
They left the tent and made their way to the water trough near the front gate. They were allowed to drink their fill before going out into the sand. Visper encouraged Shelod to drink as much as she could, as they would be wandering far afield and would probably not receive a water ration until late in the day. They both drank until a visible mound had formed until their bellies were distended. The water tasted horrible as usual.
The two exited the gate and rounded the canyon wall. Visper pulled out her data pad and instructed Shelod to do the same. She demonstrated the proper way to pull up the day's dig sites and how to navigate the desert. There were hundreds of small sensors planted all around the land owned by the slavers marking its boundary. These served as way points for the slaves as they went about their work. The area was massive, though, and would take many days to cross on foot. The markers did little more than provide a point of reference on the data pad.
They made their way to the first site noted on the pad. "Okay, I want you to watch how deep I dig this. It's important not to push yourself too hard. If you go too fast you'll get tired and you might die out here," Visper instructed. It was strange for her to have company. She wondered if Shelod would mind her humming as they walked along. "Besides, if you finish your quota early, they will give you more to do the next day. Always try to do what they ask you and nothing more," she added. Visper almost felt a sense of pride, as if she was a great teacher showing the young ones the way of the world. She knew the truth though, that she was showing Shelod monotony that would be the rest of her life.
"I want you to do the next one, just as I showed you," Visper said. They walked along quietly for the most part. Occasionally Shelod would ask a question involving the digging, but she seemed to be the quiet type. They reached the next dig site and Shelod did as she was instructed. She dug a few spadefuls of sand and piled it next to the hole. She marked the coordinates on the data pad as finished.
"Like that?" she asked.
"Perfect," Visper said. They walked on, taking turns on the holes. Hours passed and the suns reached their apex overhead. Visper felt the heat on her shoulders which began to blister as they often did. She could see Shelod's pretty pink skin turning an angry red. She knew that it wouldn't hurt until the evening and that there was nothing she could do to help. Visper thought it best that Shelod deal with the pain in her own way, come to terms with it the way Visper had. Alone.
"I hear you humming sometimes," Shelod said, snapping Visper out of her self pity.
"Oh; do you? I'm embarrassed," Visper answered truthfully. She thought it was silly and made her seem childish.
"Don't be, it's comforting," Shelod continued "It takes my mind off of things sometimes, when I hear you."
Visper didn't know how to answer. She felt self conscious and frightened. Had the guards heard her as well? She hated drawing attention to herself.
"Well, lets try to keep that between us. Wouldn't want the guards thinking I have any spirit," she said. "Might try to beat it out of me," she added, sourly.
"I'm sorry," said Shelod, bashfully.
"Don't be. It isn't your fault we're in this dreadful place," Visper countered. "We all have our little forms of rebellion. What do you do to take your mind off things?" She asked.
"I don't really know," Shelod said, thinking. "Talk to people I guess. Gerrid is friends with a lot of the other slave men. They always seem to have an interesting story to tell about living here. I bet he will have a good one to tell about last night..." she trailed off. Visper could see the streak of remorse wash across Shelod's face.
"Maybe I should have let that guard have me instead of screaming like a child," Shelod said. Visper's mind reeled at the thought. Shelod was a child. She spun on her heel and knelt down, taking Shelod's hand.
"They may own your body, but not your thoughts," she said. "That man was trying to take the only thing you have from you. You did the right thing. Gerrid did the right thing. The only one who was wrong was that slaver who tried to hurt you," she finished with tears welling in her eyes. Shelod looked surprised at the sudden outburst of kindness.
"Thank you," Shelod said, fighting back tears. "I thought my brother said those things just to make me feel better. Having you say the same is so..." she didn't get to finish. She spun around as she heard the squeaking.
From behind, dozens of small furry rodents were rushing at them. They swarmed over each other like a vile nest of worms. Some had small sets of razor sharp antlers. They squealed and gnashed their little teeth, hungry to kill to two seemingly helpless women. Visper recognized them from stories others had told.
"Scurriers! Run Shelod!" She shouted. They both stood up and started to sprint away. Several of the beasts had already made it to them and had leapt onto their backs and legs. They bit and gnawed, drawing blood and causing searing pain. Shelod screamed in terrified agony as they chewed at her. Visper instinctively turned to help, ripping the little monsters from Shelod's skin. Each one tore away with a small patch of her hide. A few had caught up and were pouncing on Visper.
She let out a strangled shout "Go!"
Shelod scrambled away, batting a few scurriers that had managed to jump on her. Visper stood unbalanced and began pulling the rodents off of herself. She saw Shelod's shovel laying nearby. She ran towards it, feeling the scurriers ripping at her heels. In one fluid motion she grabbed the shovel off the ground and swung it in a wide circle behind her. At least ten of the small rodents were sent flying away, their fragile bodies broken by the metal shovel head. She swung again and again, each time killing a few more. The horde began to retreat, giving Visper a moment to pull the last few from her body and stomp them into the sand. The scurriers lay all around her as their green blood seeped into the sand mingling with Visper and Shelod's. Visper fell onto her stomach, exhausted.
Shelod, seeing the outcome of the melee, doubled back and knelt beside Visper.
"Visper!" she exclaimed, "Are you okay? Speak to me!" She tried to soak up some of the blood on Visper's skin with her satchel, but it did little more than smear. Visper rolled over, groaning. The pain was stinging her.
"I'll be okay," Visper managed to say. "Just need water," she coughed. Shelod spun around in a panic, searching for a water carrier.
"Where...where do I go?" she stammered, tears running down her cheeks. Visper pointed back towards the camp.
"Follow the holes," Visper said before she fainted.