Sailor Antiope stood in full uniform beside the Sovereign, who lounged about in an ornate chair adorned with their sacred beast.
From their spot, the Senshi could survey all that surrounded the pair. There were soldiers spotted about the edges of the gathering, ensuring that nothing got out of hand. However, the court yard was filled with one of the most disgusting things on the entire world.
Boys on the verge of manhood.
There were no less than 100 present, each with their wrists bound behind their back. Each had witnessed 12 cycles of the seasons, bringing them through infancy all the way to their current state. Each had eyes wide open, staring at the fully armored senshi before them. It was a known fact that their fate was in the hands of this world's senshi.
The decision was hers to make.
After surveying the area once more, she stepped forward, her steps solid and firm against the ground, demanding respect. Her shoes stepping upon the ground echoed across the whole courtyard, causing any murmurs from her fellow soldier to hush.
Being naturally right-handed, the senshi stepped to the very first boy at the very right and front of the gathering.
"Stand up!" she demanded.
The boy haphazardly got up to his feet, nearly tripping himself in the process, but once he was on his feet, he stood as tall as he could manage. He was breathing heavy, a hint of fear in his eyes.
The Senshi reached to her side and pulled out a sickle. She had no intention of touching the disgusting creature in front of her. With the dull end of the blade, she tapped the boy, signaling for him to turn around.
As the boy turned, the Senshi was able to spot the discoloration of his skin upon the lower back. A sign that there was wear and tear upon the potential merchandise. The overall physique was not impressive, muscles seemed to be rather lacking on this fellow. With another tap to the boy's shoulder with her sickle's blade, he turned to face forward again.
With a harsh bark, she commanded "Back on your knees!"
Trembling, the boy did as told.
With her sickle, she carved an X upon the boy's chest. Within a moment, the trembling boy's eyes started to flood with tears, running down his face, snot melting from his nostrils in a less than dignified way. None of the other boys could blame him, though they all cast their eyes down rather than stare at the first.
And X meant he would be used to bless the crops. His life was ultimately over now.
The next two showed about the same amount of promise. Not enough muscle mass, discolorations and other assorted aesthetic compromises. They were labeled for the crops.
The next one was a tall boy for this age with orchid purple hair and mantis green eyes. Why the Mantises would bless him with such lovely eyes was beyond Sailor Antiope, but it was cruel to have such a blessing.
"Rise, on your feet!"
In an quick manner, he rose to his feet in a certain manner, yet submissively keeping his eyes down to the ground. With a tap of her sickle, he turned obediently, still seeming to keep his wits about him. Unlike the first few, she found his skin tone to be even. With a bit of further inspection, she used her sickle to encourage the boy to lift his arms as best as he could with his arms restrained in such a manner.
There was good muscle tone. With another tap, she got the boy to turn to face forward again. This time she used the sickle's blade to touch the very tip of his chin, pressing it upwards to p***k him and encourage him to look up to her.
His blood dribbled down the blade as he looked into her eyes briefly, seemingly placid despite the pain.
She leaned in, her lips nearly touching his as he stood there with her weapon propping his head up.
"...you will bring in a good price... back to your knees..." Withdrawing the weapon and instantly wiping it clean with a rag, she left the boy unmarked. A good number of potential buyers preferred their merchandise being unmarked. Some buyers were possessive and only wanted the cleanest of servants, others just wanted to be the only ones responsible for marks. An odd type of ownership. The Antiopians could never understand what good a male-slave was, but if that was what the other worlds wanted to buy, they were more than happy to supply such a commodity.
A few more Xs were carved upon the chests of the boys she inspected. This year seemed less promising than previous years. However, she soon enough came upon a boy with long jade green hair tied back and ebony eyes. His skin was fair and even in coloration. Tapped with the dull side of her sickle, he turned to show off his back. It was an odd blend of toned, yet soft. It was almost like looking at a delicate doll. Another tap to the shoulder, and the boy turned back to her. She used her sickle to lift his chin. Antiope leaned in close again, eyes narrowing as she critically considered his features. He seemed dainty, almost as if he was also a girl. Had fate been kinder to him, he would have easily been a pampered child.
Fate was not nearly so kind though.
"...you will make beautiful children..." With a grin that crept upon her features, she lowered her sickle only long enough to pull it away. She didn't wipe it off like she had with the export. Instead she lunged forward and swiped the blade across the boy's beautiful dark eyes, cutting a line of crimson across his face.
A sharp cry filled the courtyard as the first seed donor of this year's batch of boys had been located. Though this boy was now blind, the mark upon his face was only a mark for now. Later on servants would remove the eyes completely before relocating him to a suitable village.
75 boys would be used to bless the crops this year.
19 boys would be used as exports, sold as male-slaves to any other world that would want them.
And 9 boys would be used as seed donors, breeding studs that would ensure the continuation of the Antiopian way of life.
The decision was hers.
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Groggily, Sailor Antiope rolled out of her futon, head still in a fog after her eyes blinked open.
The dreams she saw when she visited the asteroid were really bizarre. Perhaps the most bizarre thing about it was that they felt so right, even when considering how much needless violence had occurred for no reason at all.
Pushing herself up into a seated position, she yawned before dragging a bottle of water to her side.
"Let's get another day of training started..." she murmured, smacking her lips together, clearly needing time to actually wake up.
Whatever that dream was, she would think it over again at another point. Right now, she had real goals to keep up with.
She would become a Super Senshi!
