I got my first taste of pheromones as well.
It was not what my perverted fantasies had expected.
This time, it felt like I could sense the anger and fury and the desperation inside the people locked in with me.
definitely from the Zeltrons. There were four of them.
I could hear their whispers, but I tried to shut the effect out as much as I could. I turned my thoughts instead to my own predicament.
Now that I did not have to worry about my immediate fate or who would save me, I found myself wondering about the freaking system.
I had chosen a Force sensitive smuggler, but up to now, I had yet to see anything about the Force side of things.
Then again, I think they had lived up to their deal.
They had equipped me with piloting skill, which was very important in smuggling, and they had given me a ship, which was the main tool.
The only thing left was the survival skill of smugglers.
The system had said that it could only be learned manually. I guessed manually meant by experience.
The Force, however, was something it had not clarified. Maybe it would never clarify. Maybe the system was in fact tied to the ship, which I had destroyed.
After a while, the thought became boring.
I turned my attention instead to the vibration on the deck.
There was no sleep. All I could do was close my eyes and listen to the continuous humming, while doing my best to ignore the growing chatter inside the locked segment we were in.
I guess that was the trick, because I fell asleep.
I was woken almost two hours later. It could have been more, but the moment I regained consciousness, I did not need anyone to tell me that we had arrived.
The absence of the constant vibration was proof enough.
I turned around and saw everyone else exchanging looks, but nobody really wanted to voice what was going through our heads.
We had arrived at our fate.
It was not until almost an hour later that someone eventually came toward us.
We heard several footsteps heading our way, and shortly after, the metallic door slid open.
The Rodian and the Nikto I had encountered earlier stood there, along with close to five other enforcers.
"Everyone up," the Rodian commanded.
"Get up."
None of us moved.
Until the Nikto pointed his blaster at the nearest Twi'lek.
Then you had never seen people scramble faster.
Being closest to the door, I was the first out. They led us in single file out of the starship.
It was only when we stepped down the ramp that I realized my guess had been right.
Hato the Bad was indeed a private smuggler.
I did not need much thinking to figure that out.
This starship was docked in what was certainly not a normal docking station. In fact, it looked heavily modified for secrecy.
Durasteel walls rose like skyscrapers all around us.
The compound was large enough, if I had to guess. It looked like a whole soccer fields... Maybe more.
I would later realize I was quite wrong in that estimate.
We were paraded in front of the ship, where the ship's captain stood waiting.
A human female stood next to Hato with a datapad.
Hato clapped his hands as soon as he spotted us.
"Welcome, welcome, everybody. See, we are home. Welcome to Mantel. You will love it here."
I strained hard to hide the hatred on my face.
He waited until all of us were assembled before him.
Only then did I realize that we were more than twenty. Humans made up the majority. There were other species here and there that I did not quite recognize.
"Now, first things first," Hato began. "Why are you here?"
"You are here because of Hato's kindness. Wouldn't you agree?"
He looked at me like he was daring me to object.
"All of you are running from something. And I, Hato, gave you a way out. I gave you an escape."
He gestured toward me.
"Like my friend here. He can attest. No one really does things for free. Freebies are not good for business."
"And so after my sacrifice, after my pain, you are going to repay Hato."
"But Hato is kind. Hato will give you jobs here. Isn't that what you came for? Isn't that what you wanted?"
He looked at the Zeltron group.
Every girl nodded eagerly. The male, however, did not look eager in the slightest.
"Good...Jobs," he said, spreading his arms toward the yard, which was filled with machinery and strange alien instruments I had never seen before. "Jobs are here in plenty...In plenty indeed."
"There is only one rule. You play along, and you live long."
"Now, your debts were varied. But Hato is a kind man. I shall waive all your debts."
He paused.
For a brief moment, I felt optimistic.
Then his next words crushed that hope.
"And I will let you all start uniformly. What do you say to ten thousand credits debt Everyone?"
A surge of murmurs and confused looks spread through the group. I saw the human girl beside him enter the amount into her datapad.
"Fuck you and your kindness," I screamed suddenly, unable to control my fury.
"I owed you three thousand. You said it. You made me sign it. And now you waive three thousand and give me ten thousand?"
"Careful," Hato spat, stepping closer.
Only then did I realize how far I had overstepped.
"You were stuck in a thin coffin. What was I supposed to do? Leave you to die? What would everyone think of Hato?"
"So I saved you, boy. The next words out of your mouth better be gratitude or silence."
I wanted to punch him.
He was so close. One stretch of my arm and I could break his nose.
But I also wanted to stay alive. I did not want to get shot on my first fucking day in the Star Wars universe.
And judging by the way the Nikto was gripping his blaster, he was itching to use it.
Hato stepped back.
"Now, tag them."
We were escorted down another ramp.
That was when I realized my earlier estimate had been wrong. Far wrong.
This place was massive.
Like any proper smuggler establishment, the compound extended underground.
Lower and lower we were guided until we reached another open area packed with what looked like cargo crates.
I noticed other slaves already working there.
Some wore gray aprons and overalls.
There were only five or six enforcers visible. Most of the security was handled by droids.
That was not good news.
Droids followed protocol to the letter. Deviate even slightly, and you were dead.
We were already expected.
The human girl followed us down. She glanced at her datapad, then looked up.
"You."
She was pointing at me.
The Nikto shoved me forward with his blaster.
I stumbled.
That blaster...I really hated it.
"Name?"
"Jax," I groaned.
She barely looked at me.
"You are 1 stroke 96. Step aside."
Where I was directed, another human was waiting, holding what needed no explanation.
A debt collar.
I could have resisted but then I could have died.
So I cooperated.
He clamped the collar around my neck. It buzzed lightly.
"Step aside," the Nikto growled again.
I moved and waited as they repeated the process with the rest.