3000 CE Ch. 02: A Land of Ashes

3000 CE - A Land of Ashes

The hoverbike rumbled softly as Ness rode down the derelict highway. It was dark out, and the wind was ash.

She looked again, across the desolate plains, at the metropolis gleaming in the distance. It shone like a hub of light, against the vast darkness of the broken world. A low rumble shook the dusty plains - a passing City, headed in the direction of the gleaming towers. it's large traction wheels propelled it steadily across the devastated countryside.

It was strange; even in this hell, man still found a way to persist. Like a moth clinging to a dying flame - it was the twilight of humanity.

She zoomed past a sign. "Los Angeles." Ness remembered that city, centuries ago, full of life. Now it was but a husk, weathered by time and apocalypse.

A short rest stop. Ness slid to a halt next to a collapsed building. A satellite dish beeped nearby, still receiving old signals a millennia old. It was bullshit, she shook her head. All the satellites were destroyed in the War of Fire; Humanity had long since moved on from this dying world. She only wondered why she stayed. Perhaps it was sentiment, or perhaps it was to root out the last vestiges of the organization that had caused that intergalactic conflict. The Order of the Eye, or the Cosmic Order - she wondered if she and her sisters had acted sooner, whether they would have been able to prevent the disaster of the past millennium. Alas, it was already too late, and the greedy and the lustful had all but plunged the world into a living hell.

And now it was up to her to stop it. Once again, plunged into the world of death and men.

Sighing, the girl hopped down from the machine, setting it to standby. The bike folded in on itself and droned softly behind her.

As Ness approached the derelict bunker, she reflected on what her companions might be doing. Worrying, no doubt. Emma seemed insistent on being the motherly figure, even though they were all functionally immortal.

Nevertheless, she was glad for her companions. She didn't know what she would do if they moved on, like all the other girls she knew throughout the ages. It had become difficult to make friends, as everyone she once knew died of war, sickness, or simply through the passage of time. It seemed as though her soul was tied to this world.

The door in front of her slammed open, and a pair of roughnecks stepped out, conversing in low tones. They paused as they saw her, but walked away, casting only occasional looks of suspicion.

She entered the small bar. There was a low din. The place was not very populated; only the innkeep, a barmaid, and a few workers of the supply stations nearby.

She spied a sturdy steel table near the back, facing the door. She made for it, eyeing the surrounding men with wariness. The barmaid opened the sliding bar door and made her way to the newest guest. Ness cast a glance toward the approaching figure. She was quite pretty, and quite young. Ness reckoned she was of at least 19 Solar Years.

The maid was barely dressed, wearing only a black bikini. As she padded over her, Ness noticed that she was very dirty, her bare feet caked with grease and her thin frame visibly malnourished and trembling from what looked to be abuse. She timidly made her way towards the traveler.

"Ma'am," the girl ventured, "What can I get you today?"

As Ness looked at the girl, she can't help but be reminded of her, five millennia ago, a slave of Dominia. It seemed that with every age, there will always be a hierarchy of chains and terror.

She shook her head again. There was only so much she can do to help. Ness reached out and touched the girl's hand gently. She startled at the contact, wide eyes darting back and forth.

"It's okay, dear," Ness smiled. "I would just like a drink of water. It's been a long journey here."

The maid bit her lip and let out a nervous smile of her own. "Yes ma'am, right away ma'am. Thank you."

As the girl padded away, Ness followed her movement with sadness. It wasn't fair, she thought. Humans should not enslave each other. There should never be binds of slavery in any age.

Ness looked out the window and took a moment to reflect. Meanwhile, the servant girl approached with her drink. As she walked past a table of two miners, one reached out and slapped her ass, eliciting a small yelp and a skip from the girl. The men laughed as the girl balanced herself, managing to just stabilize herself before spilling the water. Ness eyed the men with distaste.

The girl reached her table. "Here you go, ma'am. Enjoy." The girl smiled warmly, and Ness returned the gesture. A good girl, she thought. Didn't deserve this lot.

She sipped the water and took out the index. This was what they fought for these days. This is what all those men had died for. And for what? A small piece of Cosmic energy? Pointless. She was almost tempted to toss it out the window and forget about the whole thing. But another yelp drew her eyes elsewhere.

It was the girl. The strong hands of the miners have ripped off her bikini and were busy molesting her, grabbing at her breast and fingers shoved rudely up her vagina.

"God, after all these weeks, you're still so tight Bella." His companion laughed. "And I see you still haven't shaved your pubic hair. Let's teach you a little lesson!" One of the men pulled out a short razor.

It was some sort of perverted obsession, but Ness tried to stay out of it for once. She endured the girl's screams as the men shaved her body hair and trimmed her buns down to a short crop. She ignored the moans of the girl as the men entered her, ramming her again and again. But what she couldn't ignore was when she started begging.

Tears saturating her eyes, the girl cried out in pain and humiliation, her naked form completely helpless between the loins of two dominant men.

"Please, ma'am! Please, help me! Help me! AHHHHHH!"

"Screw this," Ness thought.

With a soft sigh, she drew her nanoblade. It shimmered in the dusty air as she approached the two men. Without a word, Ness held it up to the close one's throat.

"Let her go." Her voice was a low hiss, and she moved closer. Lifting the blade slightly, she forced the man's head up, until he was standing, hands raised. His friend eyed the blade nervously, slowly standing as well.

"Alright alright. You win. Let him go; we were just having some fun with the barmaid, that's all."

"That didn't look like just fun, did it?" Ness leaned closer. "Stay away from her from now on, or I will kill you both." She moved her blade aside, and sheathed it in one fluid motion. She tilted her head to the door, and the men ran out, taking furtive glances backwards.

The innkeep ran over. "What have you done?!" He shouted, drawing an angry look from Ness. "Those were my customers! Now who am I to do business with?"

Ness looked up at the ragged curtains and around at the dilapidated interior. "It seems, my friend, that the only thing keeping your customers here was this girl."

She stepped towards the indignant man. "She is not your slave."

He huffed. "On the contrary, I bought her with good money from a passing City. Who are you to tell a man what to do with his wealth?"

Ness looked at the naked girl, cowering and whimpering in the corner of the now vacated seat.

"It doesn't matter. She is no longer yours to torment." She walked towards the girl.

"Shhh, shhh," Ness placed her hands on the thin girl's shoulder. "Everything's alright now. I've got you."

"Where will you even take her? It's wasteland for miles out here." The innkeep approached Ness.

"That," Ness turned around and backhanded the man as he reached out for her exposed back. "Is none of your business." She looked down at the man's prone form. "And if you want to 'acquire me' as well, you will have to try harder than that." The man cursed as he rubbed his cheek, but dared not raise a hand against this strange traveler.

She grabbed the maid's forearm and helped her up. "My bike is outside. Just a little further."

The two girls walked out of the inn, shadowed forms eclipsed by the white halo of the rising sun.