Chapter 6.15 - The Auction Block

"Hopefully we can finish this mission quickly." Mitch commented. He was less than enthused by being outside Haven. This was going to be the first time he could attend a harvest festival as a plated adult. "I have always wanted to attend a harvest festival, and we will only get older as the years progress. Plus I have seen how the girls get done up. It's quite the sight." Had this been the first time he had mentioned the harvest festival, the other Misfits would have laughed it off. But Mitch had brought it up incessantly for the last month, ever since they had placed 4th in the Summer Deathmatch and been assigned such an important mission. Out of all the Misfits, Mitch was the only one who seemed to get a big head about their success.

A head that was coincidentally hit by a rock hurled telepathically. Arte the lancer Gole blushed. "You are an idiot sometimes Mitch. I assume your dump stat was Intelligence AND Wisdom."

Mitch laughed it off. "Well Endurance keeps me young and Charisma gets the girls. I can't let either go to waste so I plan on pulling all the stops to find a partner at EVERY Harvest festival. Or partners! I can share."

Arte had to shut down Mitch's banter, as they would soon enter into more populated areas. It was for their safety as much as their sanity, as even the quiet Vena and apathetic Alexi were starting to roll their eyes at his constant drivel. Arte decided to not pull any punches.

"Mitch, There are a few reasons you should not care about the harvest festival as much as you do right now. The first is that we are currently pretty deep into GWA territory, protected only by the Merchant Seal you so absentmindedly carry. Announcing our participation in an Enemy Holiday is really asking for trouble. Second, this mission, if successful, will surely bring enough reward for you to get a larger property than the side room you currently share with Evie, and being able to provide for many young is the most important thing Changelings look for in a partner. I say partner because if you think you are bringing more than one home, you really need to brush up on your sociology studies, because you are asking for trouble if you think more than one changeling would come home with you. Third, you already are the Registered User of Evie, a Battlemaiden. You are probably the youngest person to be a Registered User since you plated maybe a few months before. You may look at her like a coworker or teammate, but to Evie you are her EVERYTHING. You are the reason she breathes and she would die to make you happy. You might not see it because she doesn't display emotions grandiose emotions like yourself, but if you could just look at her actions, she does everything to make you happy."

Mitch tried to backpedal "She just does that because she is programmed to!" Arte then had enough. As a Lancer Gole, she could always read surface thoughts. She had never really seen Mitch think about Evie as anything but a teammate, but she always heard what was on Evie's mind. Her every thought was about Mitch and his well being. But explaining that to a non-Lancer was difficult. So Arte had to make a point.

Arte looked at Evie, "Hey Evie. What is Mitch to you?"

Evie perked up, "Mitch is my Registered User."

Arte continued, "And what does that mean to you?"

"I am to follow his orders, and I am not allowed to grow stronger than him. I am also not allowed to incubate Constructs that do not match his genetic code. As I serve under him I must protect him and ensure his care."

Arte then asked, "Evie, you picked the carrots out of his bowl of stew last night. Why did you do that?"

Evie responded, "Mitch does not like carrots."

Mitch didn't catch on so Arte had to spell out the unsaid words. "Evie, it is in the interest of his physical wellbeing to ensure he receives proper nutrition. Carrots are a healthy food. Therefore ensuring his care would mean ensuring that he ate his carrots. Why, then, did you pick them out?"

Evie failed to respond.

Arte asked, "Evie, was there a reason."

Then Mitch and Arte saw Evie make a motion she had never done before. Hey eyes lit up, and she held a closed fist to her chest. She then responded, "I don't know."

Arte looked at Mitch. "Mitch, she might not fully understand it, but that is not obedience to a registered user. That is love. She doesn't even know how to process it. Constructs are people, and although their emotions are stunted, they can still develop. It's time you worked on being the man that Evie sees you as. Because she will never not feel this way about you."

The ride was silent from then on, and word of the Harvest festival didn't come again.

***

An hour later, they had arrived at their location. Mitch's team was entrusted with a transfer chest, and was able to send and receive messages with Dana back in Haven. They had received word that the people of a failed burb were being put up for auction.

As Mitch rolled in, he showed his merchant seal as he passed the guards. The rest of his retinue was not questioned, neither were his intentions. It was common for slaves and breeders to be sold outside the GWA, and when a burb failed to make quota, it was sold, and an influx of credits was given to the state through the sale. Normally the entire burb was sold individually, but due to events elsewhere in the GWA the burbs for sale this season were each being sold as a lot. The entire town, all in shackles, stood in stockades. Mitch had to hold his composure. Thankfully Evie was next to him, and sensing his discomfort, she leaned against him. Although there was no change in her expression, it then clicked in his head what Arte meant. Mitch pulled up and parked his cart. Emil and Vena, unable to hide their heritage, stayed and guarded the cart. Mitch, Evie, Alexi, Arte, and Nira in disguise approached the auction. It would start in a few hours, and for now they took time to review the 'product' and do what merchants do to pretend. All hands off of course.

***

Only seven bidders showed up for the auction. There was a representative from the Sarween Technocracy, three merchant caravans, and three groups of what looked like bandits. Mitch remembered. He was a child when the slavers pulled him from his failed burb, and sold him to bandits. He still kept his composure. When the GWA marked a burb as 'failed' they sold off the townsfolk and moved in a new colony of younger folk. It was a poisonous cycle, because they did not teach the young that the homes they were moving into were not built for them.

Mitch took solace in the fact that the townsfolk would not be threatened or hurt until after the sale. 'Damaged goods' did not sell as high.

The Auction started.

"Today we will be auctioning off the failed colony of AE4167, formerly known as 'saddleback burb'. Today's lot consists of 46 breeders, 88 workers, 17 unplated, and 24 undesirables. As you have had time to review, they are relatively free of defects, however they do not score well on the obedience scale, so despite their current docile demeanor, you will need to ensure to keep them magically or mechanically shackled. With that we will start the bidding at 25000 credits."

Mitch raised his hand. "100 thousand credits"

The other groups did not recognize him, but his merchant seal hung openly, showing his right to be there.

The Bandits were instantly out of the bidding. They stood up and started to head off.

One of the merchants raised his hand. "105 thousand credits."

Mitch knew this game. They believed that Mitch had wagered his entire budget to try to scare off the other bidders. If only they knew.

"200 Thousand Credits."

Mitch did not have time. He was angry, and it was starting to show. He did not appreciate bidding on human life. Hell, this entire operation skirted the rules of his nation.

His anger was misplaced, and the other bidders took it as a sign that he was mad he had to spend so much money. They politely backed off.

"Lot AE4167 Sold! Before the other bidders leave, I must ask you to confirm and complete your purchase to validate the sale."

Mitch came over

[Grand Woods Alliance requests 200,000 credits for the purchase of 175 slaves. Confirm?]

Mitch completed the purchase. He was not happy about it. Even for an instant, he was, in the eyes of the children on the auction block, the monster he himself feared as a child.

***

The auction was over and Mitch had the slaves follow him out. He used a direct and forceful tone, but did not raise a hand. After a few hours of walking, Arte said something. "As expected one of the bandit crews followed us. They are surrounding us as we speak."

Emil, the actual leader of the team, then took charge. "Everyone please lay down on the ground. We are going to be securing your safety, however we ask that you do not intercede. Arte, dull their senses and put them in a fog. Vena, ensure that the grounds themself grab our enemies and hold them steady. Mitch and Evie, protect the civilians, and Nira, enjoy the slaughter. Alexi, pull their life from their bodies should they get too close." Under their cloaks they had on the highest protective armor that Haven had produced, but did not wear masks. Only Haven's protectorate wore masks so it would be a dead giveaway.

The enemy was unaware how powerful the team they faced was. They might have been used to fighting humans, but the Misfits excelled at it. Their team included

They may have been outnumbered, but the Misfits worked well together. The dozens of debuffs and hindrance magic cast on the enemy more than toppled the scale in their favor, and in a matter of minutes they had been killed.

"Vena, speed up decay on the bodies and have the earth swallow their equipment. We leave no trace."

Mitch, a Merchant at heart and by class, wanted to protest. Their equipment could sell for a good amount of money. But he knew that having no trace of killing this group was more important. Plus the credits and experience of vanquished humans was instantly transferred to the victor, and by the smirk on Arte's face, she had taken out the member carrying the credit.

The slaves, unsure of what was happening just stood shocked. They realized they had been saved by a group of monsters, which meant that they had been purchased by an enemy nation rumored to eat children. The realization passed over the group in waves. Arte, hearing their surface thoughts calmed them down. "We don't eat children. And you were not purchased to be food or breeding cattle, so have no fear."

One of the slaves, an elderly man dressed in the modest finery of a merchant or town elder stood up. "We are still your slaves. What do you plan on doing with us?"

Emil smiled as he dropped his hood revealing the small rounded horns and reddish eyes of his people. "Well first thing is first, you are not slaves. You are evacuees wearing collars to fool the GWA."

The slaves murmured at both his words and appearance. Emil smiled, "And Second, we are here to take you to a new place to start your lives. Your own country, free of quotas, protected by your neighbors, and already prefabricated with the best dwellings a town could ask for."

The elder was not convinced, "Its too good to be true. What is it you ask for in return?"

"That is a discussion not for us, but between your people and my leader. I am only here to escort you there."

The elder nodded, "When do we leave?"

Emil smiled, "A few weeks. We have two more burbs that are going up for auction this week and they must be liberated. Then we will take all three groups to our home. If you could keep your collars on until then, it is useful in disguising our intentions.

The Elder smiled. Nobody 'needed' 3 failed burbs of slaves. It helped add credence to their story.

With that they moved on, the smallest children and the elderly riding in or on the autocart. Thankfully for them the auctions were close. Not as thankfully, the allied state might be crumbling and selling off its burbs in a last minute attempt to position the state to be absorbed into its neighbor, a preferential outcome to that of being removed.

The slavers were unaware of the catastrophe in the capitol earlier that week, as had they been aware they might not have been selling off their resources.

***