Today marks a week since I began working for Hondo, the work has not been...what I was expecting for a pirate in fact, if it weren't for the alien species there hasn't been anything unique about the experience.
It's mostly manual labor around the compound, carrying crates, handling the Mastiff Hounds' droppings and feeding, and of course, mopping and sweeping the floors.
Not entirely too different from a normal work day on the farm, today is my first payday from a seven day work week, and the pay from what I gathered for my type of work is the equivalent of 15/credits an hour.
Which seems like a decent amount to me but from what I've garnered from the wait staff/cooks in the kitchens it is barely a living wage out here in the outer rim, in the mid core/inner core regions, it might be a kid's allowance for chores.
The general staff and other pirates didn't seem to mind me in the slightest, apart from seeing me, a normal human among their crew.
Luckily for me, Hondo has been generous enough to provide me with a datapad with multiple uploaded education programs to teach me written Basic also known as Aurebesh, basic mathematics and other things it is surprising the amount of illiterates amongst his crew, and it seems he values/favors those who willingly make an attempt to improve themselves.
A ding from the alarm on my donated datapad tells me it's time to go take care of the Mastiffs.
Letting out a sigh as I slide my feet into the bantha leather boots Hondo procured for me.
"Damn these things are the most comfortable things I've ever worn on my feet, ever." I sigh and head to the door to exit my private quarters, something of a rarity that Hondo assigned me after I expressed wanting to learn written aurebesh.
Making my way to the cold room where a few butchered Skalders are kept to feed the Mastiffs, entering the cold room pulling my knife from its sheath, I begin cutting off a hind leg from one of the hanging, skinned, gutted and cleaned carcasses.
There's a shine of uv light as I slide my knife into it's sheath, while throwing the full leg portion of meat onto my shoulder damned thing weighing near a 2-250lbs all on it's own.
Exiting the cold room heading towards the Mastiff pen/kennel, 'Hmm, that's odd, Bonsey and Lady aren't here…' I observe, Bonsey is a female Weequay pirate, who is also the kennel master/trainer of the Mastiffs, Lady is a currently pregnant female Mastiff.
"Maybe Lady is having her pups…or do they lay eggs?" I hum as I open the pen door and walk inside, throwing the leg into the food trough, then walking over to the water trough, and turning on the faucet allowing it to fill with fresh water.
Suddenly there is an aggressive growl behind me, I start to turn and see a Mastiff leaping at me with it's large alligator like mouth open, lifting my left arm up to block, the Mastiffs powerful jaws close around my arm, and I experience pure burning agony as its teeth rend my flesh while my arm bones snap like fried chicken bones.
The weight of the impact makes me fall into the large trough, my mouth open in a scream of pain only for water to rush into my mouth and flood my lungs while the Mastiffs clawed paws gouge my stomach and chest.
The pain is so intense I can't think straight on top of the panicking of drowning my vision pulses as dark rings encroach.
I desperately bunch at the animals flank but it accomplishes nothing but making it all the more savage.
'I-I-I'm gonna die like this.' Is the thought that enters my mind as my vision fully darkens even though I can feel that my eyes are open, a feeling of intense hot burning rage at the thought of dying pushes the pain away just enough that the mental image of my knife pops into my head.
My right hand scrambles to around the area where my knife is sheathed, my fingers are weak but I manage to wrap them around the handle, the knife seems like an impossible weight to free but somehow I manage, I can't aim, I can't see but I stab upwards and pull back before stabbing upwards again and again.
The Mastiff's clawing and grip of it's bite weaken before it's dead weight falls on top of me.
'Too heavy, can't…breath.' My thoughts seem to want me to give in, to accept my death and that just pisses me the fuck off, the anger of being thrown into this universe cool shit or not that has been festering for the past week explodes throughput my muscles, allowing me to throw the Mastiff's corpse off of me and roll out of the trough.
Coughing up water on my hands and knees, body exhausted and wracked with burning, pulsing pain, vision slowly clearing, my hearing coming back to me I hear cheers and boos alike.
The floor is covered with flesh, blood and entrails…my entrails and blood so much blood, the pain starts to ease as I'm lifted to my feet, I see Hondo to my right and Bonsey to my left there saying something…asking me something but I can't make it out of the ringing of the cheers and booing.
Suddenly Hondo is firing his blaster at the sky making the room go quiet, "Get the medical droid!" I hear Hondo roar as he and Bonsey start dragging me out of the pen, I look down and see my intestines looking like they are being sucked up by a vacuum…back up into my body.
By the time we make it out of the pen the pain has lessened to a full ache, at the same time the medical droid arrives with a stretcher, it looks like the 2-1B surgical droid.
"Why was no one here watching the pen for the fights?!" I hear Hondo questioning, I can partially make out a timid reply from a male voice and then a blaster sounds again.
"Let this serve as a lesson to any of you neglecting your duties again!" I hear Hondo holler as a medical droid hovers over me and starts removing what's left of my clothing as I look up from the stretcher.
"Doctor, will he survive?" I hear Bonsey asking in concern.
"This is most peculiar…his scans show him to be human but he is healing far faster than should be possible." I hear the medical droid's clinical reply but I it jabs a needle into my neck and I am blissfully swept away to a dreamless sleep.
~~ — — — — — — — — — — ~~
'Uhh-why does my blanket feel so heavy and warm?' I wonder as I crack open an eye and a wave of pure terror runs through me at a Mastiff laying on top of me it's open jaws just centimeters from my chin.
A bloody scream leaves my lungs that makes those massive alligator-like jaws filled with razor sharp teeth snap shut with a loud sound I try to roll off of the bed, while my hands reach for where my Particle Magnums should be, but firm gentle hands rest on my shoulders and I see the pink collar with a bow on it wrapped around this Mastiff's neck as it stands up and starts to wiggle playfully.
"Shh-shh, it's only Lady and I Shane…you're safe." Bonsey says to me and Lady whimpers while tentatively licking my face, my heart hammers in my chest at the sight of her open jaws and sharp teeth but between Bonsey's soothing voice and Lady's affectionate gentle licks I start to calm down.
Slowly lifting my hands up I rest them against either side of Lady's neck which makes the Mastiff bark happily and flop down on top of me drawing soft laughs out of both Bonsey and I.
"I…" My voice cracks with emotion as I start to cry, 'I'm alive…I'm really alive.' The mix of emotions at my realization are so intense and varied while Bonsey removes her hands from my shoulder and pats my right forearm while I unconsciously scratch at Lady's sweet spots at the quills on her neck.
"I've told Hondo hundreds of times that we should have a separate pen for the wild Mastiffs caught for fights." Bonsey grumbles as she sits heavily on a seat.
I turn my head to look at the Weequay woman who looks exhausted…like she's sat up for days.
"Fights?" I ask her my voice little more than a croak which makes Bonsey stand up and walk over to where a pitcher of water and a glass sat, she comes back over to me with a glass full of water with a straw in it.
She then sets it down on a small nightstand beside the bed then adjusts the hospital bed and me into a sitting position, before grabbing the glass and bringing the straw to my lips, I suck some water up through the straw and my body sings in joy at getting some hydration.
"Yeah, you're still new here and no one said anything to you wanting it to be a surprise…great idea that was!" Bonsey expresses angrily her face almost becoming that of a snarl before her expression softens, before explaining to me what she's talking about.
"Hondo organizes and broadcasts Mastiff and droid fights while letting the crew get in on the action as well."
'What an entrepreneurial little shit, Hondo is.' I express, while feeling annoyed at myself.
"Anyways Lady was so restless she won't even take care of her new batch of pups, as soon as I opened her den door she ran here to medical and curled up on your legs…wouldn't leave your side for anything." Bonsey continues and Lady flicks her tongue out of her mouth licking my chin.
"She's a sweet girl, sorry I was so scared of you when I first woke up, Lady." I say to Bonsey and apologize to Lady who happily yips and nuzzles my chest before jumping off of me when the door to medical slid open.
"Ahh, Our Champion has awoken, it is good to see you awake my young friend." Hondo says jovially and the smile on his face is probably the widest I've ever seen.
As he practically prances over to my bedside some bundle of cloth folded underneath his left arm while in his right hand he softly throws a stuffed to bursting purple cloth bag that carries a metallic sounding jingle and tinks like coins hitting against each other.
Hondo glances at Bonsey and Lady, "If you won't excuse me and my friend here my ladies, he and I have business to discuss." Hondo says suavely which only makes Bonsey huff a snort but, Lady seems to eat it up and stands up on her hind legs putting her front paws against Hondo's abdomen.
Which makes Hondo chuckle fondly and give Lady some attention before Bonsey who is already out of the door whistles for her to follow.
Lady's claws click and scratch against the stone floor as she chases after Bonsey, now alone Hondo sighs almost wearily before walking over and sitting down beside my bed.
"Yesterday was very very tragic and should not have happened, but with that said we made a massive profit off of your life and death fight and conquering of a savage bloodthirsty beast." Hondo tries to bring back his earlier bravado but it falls a bit flat as he hands me the pouch, I open it and see that it is full of metal coins and some cut gems.
"This is your cut from what the fight made, and these are clothes for you to wear I'm sorry to say but all that survived were your boots and blaster harness." Hondo continues as he sets the clothes down on the night stand near the glass of water.
"Uhh…thanks Hondo." I say at a loss for words which brings a smile back to Hondo's face before he takes a few extra coins out of his pocket, and drops them into the pouch, "And this is your weekly pay my young friend, the doc says you're clear to leave medical when you feel ready your blasters and knife are in the drawer here." Hondo tells me before standing up and heading to the door waving over his shoulder.
Looking back at the largish full pouch of currency I only have one real thought on my mind, 'I have no idea how much any of this is worth…' A groan leaves me at that thought.
Sealing up the pouch I roll out of bed my feet stinging from the cold floor grabbing the clothes Hondo brought me that are a simple but high-quality, pants, shirt and undergarments I get dressed and slide my feet into my boots before pulling open the drawer and putting on my gun belt the combined weight of the leather and the weapons offering me a sense of comfort and relief.