ANH 'verse. Slaver's transport on Tatooine. Start the story.

[random_xtras]

Restless, weary drones and organics rustled in the darkness of the hold, many of them uncomfortable in the heat of the world they'd landed on a few hours earlier. Over in one corner of the stinking, sweltering space two pair of glowing optics shone. The ones that were further from the floor held fear, the lower set, large and pale blue, held only patient exhaustion.

The silver femme frowned as an organic tentacle brushed against her leg, then moved her wrists in the restraining cuffs and looked up at her mentor as her soft voice broke the noisy silence.

"Random, I'm hungry."

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[astrotechmech]

This place stunk so much, he wasn't sure his olfactory sensors would ever be clear of the memory of the sheer filth and stink of the place. Worse was knowing where he and the young femme had landed up. Slave ship. Where strangers bartered, sold, and traded you like you were a piece of lifeless machinery to anyone that treated you like anything. And in this universe, they would neither be friendly or nice. If you didn't burn out from the sheer amount of hard labor, you burned out when they terminated your life--often painfully and mercilessly--when you couldn't meet their ridiculously high labor outputs.

But did she realize that? That one word could mean their doom? There was no way that she could. She barely had enough programming to function, let alone to understand as complex as situation as this one!

She was hungry?

When was the last time he refueled? It felt like ages ago! They had to give her fuel when they brought her in. There was barely enough in her tank to keep her spark alive without burning itself out. If she was running low on fuel--low but probably not critical given what her programming should be like, it especially did not bode well for Random. He had just hoped--. . . Hoping that they'd be able to refuel before she got hungry and he die of starvation had been a stupid thing to hope for!

He sighed. "I know, Kia. I'm hungry too." And tired. But he wasn't going to go into that. He needed to fear for the both of them . . .

[random_xtras]

She leans against him, her attempt to pat pat him comfortingly thwarted by the cuffs.

Then she frowns slightly. "Random? That big sound we heard when the escape pod started spinning... is... is the ship gone?"

"Shut up!" A massive organic snarls at the little femme.

[astrotechmech]

He smiled a small smile at her attempt despite himself. Stupid cuffs. He'd hold her close if they weren't there.

The brute interrupts him before he can get himself to reply. When the brute does, he settles for a Look in the organic's direction.

"Yes, it's gone."

[random_xtras]

She cringes slightly away from the harsh voice, looking confused, but then looks up at Random trustingly though with concern. "But what about the Princess? And Sneaker?"

"I said to shut...." The organic pauses, his expression going from anger to fearfulness as he registers a change in the movement of the carrier. Then he slips back into the darkest shadows. "We're stopping."

[astrotechmech]

He shifted awkwardly, and his face took on a worried kind of look. " . . . I'm not sure."

. . . Stopping . . .

[random_xtras]

Burning sunlight chases away the darkness around them, and rough hands drag and shove them roughly out of the carrier and force them to stand in a row. Kia, blinded and confused, stays as close to her mentor's side as she's able, and then hides her face against him to avoid both the light of the twin suns and the gazes of strangers.

[astrotechmech]

He had been dreading this moment, and now it was finally here.

As much as he was able, he tried to stay close to her as they made their way out even slowing his pace. They were not gonna take her away from him . . . Man, that sun--those suns were bright . . .

[random_xtras]

"Hey, Wheeljack, they have Transformers!" says a cheerful voice, sounding a little excited, and a tall yellow mech looks down at Kia and Random with a grin.

His friend doesn't glance up from where he's looking at the organic who had told Kia to shut up. "Find out what they can do."

"Sure, buddy." Still grinning, the yellow mech turns back to Random. "So what can you do?"

[astrotechmech]

Ugh. And the mech was okay with the fact that these creatures were selling off members of their own race? And why the heck didn't the slavers just snatch them up too?

The scowl he had quickly turns into a somewhat neutral expression, as he shifts his stance in a more protective position by Kia. "I'm good with fixing things: Mechanical, electrical, and I even have programming to deal with computers and computer programming problems." Just don't ask me to do anything medical.

[random_xtras]

"You're an astrotech?" The mech's optics brighten. "Sweet!"

He turns and walks over to the Quintesson in charge and asks him the price of the pair of Transformers, his face falling when the other mechanoid answers.

"Hey, Wheeljack, can I borrow some credit?"

"No. You already have most of mine."

"But I don't have enough for both of these guys!"

"So leave the femme. She doesn't look like she'd hold up anyway."

[astrotechmech]

Well, the mech didn't seem to be too bad of a character.

. . .

He shifts his position closer to Kia, if that's even possible. "If the femme's staying with the likes of them"--he tilts his head in the direction of one of the slavers--", I'm staying. I came too far with her to leave her behind."

Going over his bounds as a "slave" be blasted! He was sentient and he wasn't going to leave her!

Though he was still wondering why.

[random_xtras]

"Whoa!" The yellow mech catches the shock prod that the nearest Sharkticon swings at the blue slave. "Don't do that."

Then he looks at the other mech, his expression sober and quizzical. "Is she your bonded?"

[astrotechmech]

Random visibly flinches, fighting between the instinct to run and the one to remain as he is to protect the younger femme. His voice isn't as steady as it was when he first voiced his protest. "N-not quite."