Colin Cooper forced himself to walk down the ramp to his new slave quarters, resisting the urge to just slump down in despair as he saw the grim reality of servitude close around him. He looked around for a place where he can be most productive, somewhere far away from the frightening glow of the smelters. In the end, he would, if the Overseer didn't stop him, move towards the conveyor belt where slave-miners were supposed to sort the ores by quality and join whoever was doing the sorting, making a hurried "Sorry," for the intrusion if there was anyone else there. He would then begin seperating the good ores that carried purer quality metal from the bad ores that had more rock and base materials; he knew how to do so because his Engineering course in University included a lot of lessons in Geology, thanks to the overlap between the two subjects.

Noticing that his new Mining Guild slave wear was clinging tightly to his shoulders, retaining heat and sweat and ensuring maximum discomfort while ensuring actual safety, Colin pushed himself to find a rythm in his work and to do said work as efficiently as possible in order not to anger the whip-carrying Overseer. He was still in shock and would be for the first few hours, but knew that he couldn't let that influence him. [i]Forget about your old life,[/i] he thought. [i]You're a slave now. You will be one forever.[/i]

He missed Lisa; his parents, not so much. He also missed the Headmaster of his University. But as he worked on, Colin found a sense of...acceptance? Yeah, he was getting accustomed to his fate; after all, society on Armania was based on class and caste anyway; he'd just switched to a lower one. And what life was free of anguish anyway?

[i]The structure of the ore crawler is linear; the captain is most probably at the cockpit. And a place as big as this must have communication equipment. And also an infirmary for minor injuries and cases where it was cost-effective to take care of slaves. And a reactor; do not forget a reactor. And of course, maintenance rooms for spare parts.[/i] His brain wandered even as his hands kept perfectly sorting the ores, thinking treacherous thoughts. Colin noticed this, and forcefully clamped down on his mind, knowing full well that:

[i]That there is no escape, not even inside your head. The slavers will get to you, get in your head, make you so frightened of them that even your sleep and dreams will suffer. That is my life. That is my fate. Just accept it; maybe they'll give you slight rewards for being obedient.[/i]

[i]Do not cry. Hold back your tears until they give you a shower or a meal or until it is time for rest. Remind yourself: You are this forever.[/i]

"I am a slave forever," he involuntarily spoke in a haunted tone that tried to convey pain and despair, "And I will always be."

[@Sep]