Batarian Captive: The Unbreakable Will of a Young Slave “Hehe, yeah that was fucking hilarious! That little pig of a man, gods I hope that wasn’t an example of what the humans consider ‘fighting’.” “You said it… Pig-Man didn’t even have a weapon. How the hell was he supposed to stop us? Har har…” Lysander Shepard slowly and painfully came to. Aches and pains pushing away the heavy veil of weariness. Dull throbs from his broken ankle, wounded leg, and dented forehead beat in time to his pulse. Small tugs of his limbs revealed binds encircling his wrists and for reasons only known to his captors, his aching feet and ankles. His throat felt as though he’d tried to swallow a mouthful of sand, his eyes felt enormous, too big for his sockets, and his chest and stomach ached every time he inhaled. “Ah! Look here, Shamul! The little one is awake!” An overhead light was suddenly turned on, stabbing the boy’s puffy eyes, making him moan in pain. “Urgh…” Was all he could make himself say. He jumped as rough fingers seized his chin and pulled upwards until his neck was craned painfully, and he was looking into the eyes of Geoul. “Humph…A bit worse for wear.” Geoul muttered, turning the boy’s head to survey the damage. Rage gave Lysander momentarily gave Lysander enough strength to wrench away from the batarian’s grip, growling as he did. Geoul cackled, and lit a fat cigar in his mouth, “Not bad, pretty good even. This one has some fight in him.” He looked over his shoulder, “More than I can say for the rest of these sorry sacks.” Shamul glided into view, eyes on the prisoners, Lysander’s countrymen, lined against the wall opposite him. Shamul stopped in front of a stout woman whom Lysander recognized as Martha, the owner of his father’s favorite deli. ‘Father…’ He thought, as tears clouded his vision. Shamul raised a hand to the woman, who whimpered, cringing away from him as far as she could. “Strange, isn’t it, Geoul?” The batarian stroked a finger down the woman’s battered cheek, through the silent tears rolling down her face. “We’ve been doing this for what? Thirty years? All the humans we’ve captured have been like little sheep. …but everything was about to change
