Quick Rescue
By
There was a man who was visiting a planet
well known for its slave sales. I don’t think it was the Orions, but I could be
wrong. There was a group of naked women brought into a dimly lit and dingy
looking room. Two men sat at a table, drinks already emptied—signs of
negotiations past. The women were all lovely and obviously slaves for life—most
of them held themselves lower than the host, unashamed of their nakedness.
Except for one girl. She tried to cover herself with both hands, her eyes
downcast and full of frightened tears.
The buyer leaned
forward, eyeing the girls with a leer. The chair creaked as he stood.
“Show me your
wares,” he demanded easily.
His host rose
with a grunt, starting at one end of the line. His henchmen stood nearby,
watching the women with wary looks of lust. They fingered their swords in their
scabbards, grinning sloppily.
“I have a field
around them, so they can’t hear us,” the host announced proudly. He held his
meaty fists on his hips. “If you want to touch, I can lower it.”
“Yes, I would
like to…examine them.”
A hum in the air
ended and the women seemed suddenly clearer. The buyer grinned at the host and
they began.
“She’s a big one!” the host declared
loudly. He pointed at the first slave—a voluptuous woman with very large
breasts. “Great for resting upon!”
The unknown buyer
nodded, but rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Seeing that his customer was bored,
he moved on to the next.
“Dancer!” he
proclaimed. That was apparently a signal and the girl promptly spun and wiggled
her hips seductively. “Very…flexible,” he added, winking.
The buyer
shrugged, looking down the line. Cocking his head, he moved to the girl who was
trying to hide herself.
“Ah, a shy one,”
the host said. “She is new yet, not broken in…if you get my drift!”
The buyer and
host laughed together at that one.
“Look up, girl!”
the host demanded. “Show him your pretty face!”
She didn’t budge,
staring at their feet. She shuddered as he stomped and moved closer.
“Look up!”
With a sudden movement,
her head flew up and she gazed at the buyer for the first time…except, it
wasn’t the first time. Recognition appeared in her eyes. The buyer sneered and
nodded.
“Oh, I like this
one…”
“Excellent
choice, a fine specimen!” the host oozed.
“I’ll take her,”
the buyer announced.
“How many
nights—“ the host began.
“No, you don’t
understand,” the buyer said. “I mean, I’ll take her.”
The guards tensed
as the buyer reached into a pocket…and withdrew a large bag of coins. He tossed
it onto the table.
“Full ownership,”
he said, jerking his chin at the bag that began to spill.
“Agreed!
Agreed!!!” the host exclaimed, nearly drooling at the sight.
“Lovely doing
business with you,” the buyer muttered. He removed his long cloak and wrapped
it around the slave girl’s shoulders. “Come on, you.”
She didn’t speak
until they were in the street. “You…?”
“Hush,” he
hissed. “Wait.”
He remained
silent until they reached a small ship.
“Hey, Cap’n
Blimey,” a random dirty goon called. “Is that thing a ship, or a junk yard?”
“And what ship
would you be owning today?” the new slave-owner asked.
The goon snarled.
“I’ll play you for it.”
Pulling the slave
girl forward, he ignored the offer. He entered a code on some sort of remote
device and the hatch opened. He pushed her inside and whirled around to lock it
securely.
“What--?” she
asked.
“Wait…” he
snapped. Pressing what looked like random buttons, he sighed in relief and
turned to face her. “You look lovely this evening, Radina.”
She jumped into
his arms, hugging him tightly and sobbing. He held her for a while, murmuring
to her softly. Pulling away, she composed herself and gave him a dirty look.
“What the hell
took you so long to get here, Malcolm?”
He tried to look
offended. “Hey! We didn’t know where they’d taken you! I had to find you
myself!”
Radina gathered
the cloak around her and dropped into a nearby chair. She gave him a withering
look as he continued to babble about the effort he’d given.
“I knew you’d be
the one to find me,” she interrupted. He stopped and stared at her. “It sounds
silly, but I knew. Malcolm Reed, my old chum, would rescue me…again.”
He grinned
suddenly, blushing. “Come on then, let’s get you home.”
The End
