PART 1

Tombshack was a little outpost in the middle out of nowhere and was a haven for some of the planet's shadiest smugglers.

It was the kind of place where you went to sell the carcass of your neighbor's pet for a handful of credits without anyone raising an eyebrow.

The buildings seemed to have been cobbled together from cosmic debris, a mishmash of scrap metal and space-aged oddities.

“Man, this place has barely ten rubbish houses.”

It was this the place Mark found after following the instructions of the scavengers.

And it was quite odd.

“Shit! I seem to have followed the opposite direction they told me!”

The locals, the rotund green creatures, regarded him disdainfully, their arms crossed in a display of annoyance.

Mark didn’t really care.

He straightened up, pretending to be a bigshot, and continued advanced forward to the largest building in sight.

This building, with its long, beat-up wall adorned with a faded sign that cheerfully proclaimed "Slavers' Den," seemed to scream for him to run away.

“This place seems to be perfect to ask for directions.”

With an enthusiasm that could rival a star in its final blaze, Mark drived.

Sure, in the past, he would've steered clear of such places, but now he barely had a sense of self-preservation.

So he parked his cylindrical, beat-up vehicle in front of the building and stumbled out of it with the dignity of a delivery man, by patting his ass out of pain.

Opening the front door, the first sight he saw was one of the round creatures hitting something on the floor.

“What do we have here?”

Craning his neck, Mark managed to see a young woman sprawled on the floor.

She sported a spiked collar on her neck and a sign money adorned her dirt-stained white blouse.

“You little vermin only know how to eat and blow up things.”

The creature spat out with a venomous undertone that echoed through the surroundings.

“Shit, I regret not selling you to the organ traffickers.”

Mark scratched his head, such a sight bothered him a bit, but he didn’t feel like becoming a hero that died in the middle of nowhere to save a girl.

“Oh, I know.”

He smacked his palm with his right fist, as if a brilliant solution had struck him.

Then, with his newfound confidence, he advanced to the green creature.

“What do you want, puny human.”

The creature tensed up, ready to strike mark at the slightest movement.

In response, Mark's expression remained as placid as the surface of a calm lake.

“Here, take this for the girl.”

Mark suggested, his arm extending slowly, revealing the glint of fifteen yellow credits clutched within his hand.

As Mark made his offer, a smile that seemed to stretch a bit too wide appeared on his face, revealing his insanity.

The creature looked at mark with narrowed eyes, suspicion hanging in the air.

“Fifteen?”

He scoffed, its tone laced with a cynicism.

“Ba, she is worth at least thirty. You’re trying to scam me!”

Mark didn’t back off, searching through his pocket, he drew out another ten credits.

“Twenty five.”

He countered, his smile becoming wider.

“And I take her away, no bath required.”

After a long moment of contemplation, the creature let out a sigh.

“Fine, water is precious, after all. But I want you out of my sight right away.”

PART 2

Catherine lowered her head, her eyes glistening as her fingers gripped the clothes of her new master.

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“Hold tight to me.”

Mark's voice carried a certain playful tone.

It was his attempt to distract her from her injuries.

“We're speeding toward the nearest city.”

He attempted to put on a reassuring smile, but his red skin, combined with his cartoonish goggles didn’t fit with the image.

Ignoring her ugly thoughts, Mark started the biker's engine.

The biker’s motor rang with a screeching sound.

It seemed to roar before barely managing to jerk forward.

“Slow!”

Catherine complained as her gaze swept across the unfamiliar landscape, her eyes betraying a peculiar blend of detachment and wonder.

Leaving behind the only world she had ever known, a world that could be described as a patchwork of horrors, was refreshing.

“Yeah, it’s slow.”

Mark laughed heartily.

“I think I was scammed! Mah, I don't really care.”

Immediately, Catherine's voice emerged like a whisper, soft but determined.

“Master, I’ll manage the money from now.”

And in that moment, as Catherine's words settled in the air, Mark's grip on the handles tightened.

This caused the vehicle's speed to increase. Then, Mark's voice shifted to a heavier tone.

“That's quite a tall demand, girl.”

At that moment, his eyes reflected a certain chaotic fire, an idea taking root into his head.

“I hope your skills are good enough tonight to back up such a request.”

Catherine increased the force of her grip, her cheeks getting puffed up.

“My name is Catherine.”

She hesitated, trying to hide the awkwardness that surged between them.

“And I don’t have experience. It would lower my price if I did.”

Mark chuckled once again, feeling pleased with himself.

His response was infused with both amusement and understanding.

“Really? That’s quite rare from where I come from, Cat. Though I suppose the locals aren’t into skinny humans.”

Catherine rolled her eyes, her cheeks heating up in shame.

“They don’t lay with women. They are asexual beings, laying eggs on their own.”

At that mention, Mark's imagination conjured a mental image of a rotund, green creature, akin to the ones he had encountered in this world, engaged in the act of egg-laying.

A shiver of revulsion rippled through him like lightning on a rainy day.

“Man, I won’t be able to sleep with such an image in my mind.”

After saying that, Mark slowed down the biker, letting go of one of the accelerators.

He rummaged through his clothes until he found a pouch and drew it forth.

“Here.”

His voice sounded carefree.

“Twenty-five credits of this world. I hope you can manage it well.”

Catherine gazed down at the pouch and her heart skipped a beat as disbelief and gratitude collided within her.

She couldn’t believe he would give her enough money to free herself.

“It seems my new master is insane.”

A whisper escaped her lips, barely audible but certain.

But beneath her voice, an inner resolve pulsed.

‘And it’s my duty to protect him.’

PART 3

Mark entered through the city gates of Lambast under the watchful sensors of two androids.

Everything about the place spoke of decay.

The gate was a metallic like fence, corroded by oxidation.

The buildings were tall, almost imposing. But their walls had holes peppering their exteriors like stars and the paint seemed to have abandoned them for at least a century.

Amidst the decay, human figures shuffled on the streets.

Observing the dirty, yet surprisingly well-fed humans meandering about with collars adorning their necks, and the rotund green inhabitants of this curious city , Catherine couldn’t help but be surprised.

“This place seems nicer.”

Hearing this sentence from her lips, Mark's brow furrowed, a ripple of annoyance traversing his expression.

“It’s not! This world is awful, Cat. They have no regard for galactic rules here.”

Catherine met his gaze, a flicker of unease dancing in her eyes. But her response reflected her naivety.

“For me, seeing the slaves well-fed is enough.”

Mark chuckled, finding the situation amusing.

He seemed to find amusement in the very contradiction of their dialogue.

“I will take you to plenty of places with well-fed people."

His promise seemed to echo across Catherine’s chest as he continued.

“Hell, I'll feed you until you become as fat as that thing.”

His finger extended, pointing on one of the city's largest inhabitants, an alien whose round belly wouldn’t fit in any standard delivery ship.

Catherine shuddered at that though.

“Please, don’t joke around like that master.”

Her words held an earnest plea, her naive spirit fearing such transformation.

“I would break my legs if I were to become like that. Then, the master would throw me away as I would be no useful.”

Mark chuckled once again.

“Don’t worry, Cat. I won’t abandon you, ever, even if you end up becoming ugly.”

In that moment, Mark's eyes betrayed more than just amusement. A spark of madness danced within their depths with a chaotic brilliance.

However, oblivious to this, Catherine's grip on Mark’s clothes tightened.

Mark couldn’t see it, but in that moment smile was so dazzling that it would have blinded him.

Her naive heart, until now closed off to the universe, absorbed his promise with an unadulterated happiness.

She might have a vice grip on his clothes, but her spirit felt as if it were floating amidst the stars.

However, much to Catherine chagrin, a sudden explosion rocked the air.

The ground quaked beneath them as chaos erupted and the buildings shook.

The biker balanced awkwardly, carrying them from side to side.

Catherine's grip on Mark's clothes tightened, anchoring them to the cylindrical vehicle.

“Shit!”

Mark barely managed to stop the engine before it hit a wall.

“What’s happening?”

Catherine felt frightened, her grip never leaving his master.

Mark pulled off his cartoonish goggles, looking ahead at a big pillar of smoke.

His eyes sparkled with a mixture of bemusement and exasperation.

“It seems fate wants to play another round against me!”

And so, a new chapter in their adventure started.