[u]Roster:
Lee the Sheriff • Lee
Bopsheezi • Bop
Sweet Zbruh • Zhenya[/u]
The Capitol ship, [i]Troy[/i] sat silently in null space. The thousands of blinking lights coming of its sides blended in with the myriad thousands of stars in far away systems.
Inside [i]Troy[/i] all was busy and full of activity among the passengers. These were some of the last members of the human race, and their lives were hard, hard and short.
It was in one the marketplaces that the day's current dose of strife was being meted out. By a messy fruit stand in the center of the market were two men,staring each other down. One was very tall and was standing calmly at ease as the second man, obviously a soldier guard of Troy, was shaking his fist and yelling at him.
The guard, a younger man, yelled angrily in the other's face. "I said on your knees and give me the reparation, fool!"
The second man, a man by the name of Zhenya, responded in a reserved but not unkind manner. "Not do vrong. Vhy give reparations?" He spoke with a heavy Russian accent which for some reason angered the guard only further.
" You know why, idiot! Thievery is crime ya dumbass. "
Now Zhenya was truly confused, he hadn't stolen a thing. "No, must be mistake. I not steal." He said his words as calmly as he could despite the tense situation.
But the guard was in no mood to be contradicted, especially when he was being called out on a scam. "Look here, pal. Just give me the reparation and I'll it you go free, square?" The offer was sure to work the guard knew. After all, those who went to prison rarely made it out, unless it were being sold into slavery.
The only thing was that this man didn't back down.
"I do nothing wrong, I give nothing." As he spoke, he held out his hands to be cuffed. If he was going to resist the fine then there was no use in evading the law of Troy too, they always found you.
***
[b]Location: Trojan Prison Sector. Cell Block 3[/b]
Two prisoners watched as Zhenya was dragged by the arms and thrown into the public cell. His face was bruised and bloody from the "questioning" he had undergone.
One of the two prisoners, a man in an orange jacket and scarf, leaned forward to inspect the new inmate.
"Hey, pal, you alright?"
Zhenya nodded once in response as he propped himself up against a wall.
The third man in the cell was leaning against the bars, watching as the guards walked by on their shifts.
"So," the man asked. " What are you in here for? "
" 'Stealing, ' " the tone of Zhneya's voice left no doubt that he was falsely accused.
"You too!?" Came the man in orange . "they got me for "bribery". I swear, I was just being friendly!" He sat down on the hard bunk of the cell. "Name's Bop, by the way."
Zhenya nodded slowly at hearing the charge. It didn't surprise him much.
"You?" Zhenya questioned the third man.
"I tried to steal a ship."
" ... "
"Well, y'know. That is kinda illegal..." Said Bop cautiously.
"Yes. It is." The man walked away from the bars and turned to the other two. " But in my mind it's a far greater wrong to let my son grow up in this sorry excuse for a tub. I was going to escape with my son."
"Oh," Bop said. " I'm sorry... "
"It's fine."
Simultaneously, all three turn away and stared into nothingness.
What to do, what to do.
"Sooo," Bop looked sidelong at the other two from his bunk. " We're all innocent, more or less, there's three of us, and there is only a few guards at any given time... "
Zhenya's head perked up, "Yes?"
The third man, whose name was Lee, also turned around in interest. "You're suggesting we break out?"
Bop's head went up an down slowly for a minute. "I am. You guys in or what?" He had a grin on his face that belied the nature of this dangerous decision .
"Yes. Ve do it." Zhenya looked to the third man.
"...If I'm stuck in here I'm not much of a use alive am I?" Lee said. " I'm in. "
***
Two guards meandered down the hallway in front of the cells, chatting about all the latest gadgets brought in from alien traders.
Suddenly they became aware of the sound of scuffling in a cell up ahead.
"HEY! What's goin' on in there?" The guards called as the they approached the cell.
Three men were at each throats, screaming curses and threats as they sought to murder each other.
"I knew we shouldn't have three to a cell!" One of the guards cried as he opened the gate. The two rushed in to pull them off.
As a guard pulled the kicking and yelling Zhenya off of Lee, and the other took Bop off of Zhenya, the three made their move.
The two men being held by the guards went limp in the guards' hold and pulled their feet up from under them, letting their weight bring them and the guards down. The moment the guards were off balance, Lee sucker punched the guards in the jaw.
The three looked down at the prone figures on the ground. No turning back now. It was to be a life on the run.
Bop, Lee, and Zhenya looked the bodies as before they ran out of the prison at break neck speed.
As they ran, they knew there was only one place they could go where they could be safe. One place where they could make their living.
Space, forever the final frontier.
[spoiler]Meanwhile, another group of of spacefarers were preparing to embark on their terms...[/spoiler]
-
Amazing read, great job man