by T. J. Quinn
“Very well, we shall do it immediately.”
“When did you capture these ones?” the captain asked, with a slight frown, barely perceptible under the scales covering his face.
“In the year 2140, captain. May I know why do you ask?”
“Look at them, Eskol. They look practically the same. The same hair color, the same eyes’ color, the same body type… are they related?” the captain pointed out.
“No, captain. They were abducted in different continents. Earthlings have been experimenting with genetic improvement,” the slave master explained. “I guess that’s why they all started to look alike.”
“When did they start doing that?”
“According to our data, around the year 2100, captain.”
“We must stop going to the future then. These females are too dull to interest our customers,” the captain ordered.
“Who are you? Who gave you the right to bring us here?” the woman ranted furiously in response to the observations.
“Shut up, female, you are not entitled to question us,” Eskol ordered the woman.
“I won’t be shut up by you, you disgusting lizard,” as soon as the words came out of her mouth, the collar she had wrapped around her neck discharged some kind of drug into her body that immediately paralyzed the woman and inflicted excruciating pain, making her fall to the floor.
The captain lets out a cruel laugh. “Eskol, didn’t you explain to them the function of the collar?” he asked, turning to look at his man while crouching next to the helpless female.
“Of course, I did, Captain. I believe she chose not to believe in me.”
Rurik grabbed a full fist of the woman’s hair and pulled her head up, forcing her to face him. “The collar you’re wearing will react that way every time you chose to disobey a direct order, female. Here, you are nothing more than merchandise, meant to answer questions, not ask them. Is that clear to you now?”
The woman whimpered, as the drugs’ effect washed off, and nodded.
He dropped her hair and stood up.
“It is time to ring them,” he ordered the slave master. “Our customers will soon be here.”
“Very well, captain. We shall proceed immediately.”
The captain nodded and left the room.
Eskol called his assistants and one by one, they took the females out of their cells and inserted small metallic rings on the female’s left nipple. It was the Slythonians’ brand, and all of their slaves carried one. Most masters would remove it after the purchase, but meanwhile, it was the traders’ way to identify their merchandise.
The ring also carried a tracking device, in case some of the merchandise was stolen from the traders.
Once the ring was inserted, Eskol proceeded to remove the human female’s body hair, leaving them with just their blonde manes, falling down their backs. The slaves were finally ready for the auction, and the customers were starting to arrive.
The cells were opened, and he ordered them to form a line.
Quickly, all of the females obeyed, none too anxious to experience the fate of the human female.
“You shall follow my orders, immediately and in silence. I don’t want to hear any cries or whimpers. Are we clear?” he asked, with a stern tone.
“Yes, sir,” the answers came promptly.
“You will be taken to the auction room, and you shall wait there until you are summoned to the center of the stage,” he explained. “Don’t even try to escape, because your collars are programmed to stop any intent you make, and in addition to the pain you will feel, you will be severely punished for it. Are we clear?” he asked again.
“Yes, sir.”
Eskol turned to one of his men and asked him to take the women to the auction room before he turned one last time to face the slaves. “I expect your best behavior. Don’t you dare to make me look bad in front of my superiors or the customers.” The threat sounded even more ominous in his hissing tone, and no female would even dream in dismissing it.
They left the room following the other Slythonian and Eskol joined Captain Rurik on the transportation room, where the customers were being expected.
“Ah, Eskol, our first customers are arriving,” Captain Rurik informed when his slave master approached.
“Right on time, captain. The slaves are ready and waiting in the auction room.”
“Perfect.”
Warriors and dignitaries from all the galaxies around arrived at the Slythonian’s mothership. They liked to use their ship for these auctions because their planet was in a remote area of the galaxy and few customers would travel that far for a simple auction.
Captain Rurik was about to abandon the transportation room to start the auction when an unexpected customer was announced.
Chapter Two
Asgar looked out the window of his command center and stared at the starry night. He was on his way back to his home planet, after a new fruitless search for a possible breeding mate.
For some reason the men of science from his planet were not able to explain, for the past one hundred years, only a female was born out of ten children. With numbers such as those, their population had decreased to the point the king and his council had to take measures on the subject. And though they had searched throughout the galaxy to find the appropriate mates for their males, so far, the search had not been successful. The females they had mated so far, had proven to be unable to carry the Zuvrakians children, and the future of his species was starting to look very dark.
“Asgar, I have news that might interest you,” Egil, Asgar’s second in command informed, as he approached his superior.
Asgar rubbed the protuberances running through his temples, in a vain intent to calm his frustration.
“What is it, Egil?” he asked, impatient.
“The Slythonians are having an auction not far from here.”
“Why would I be interested in their auction? We are not looking for slaves,” his harsh tone denoted all his frustration.
“I know that, but the Slythonians are known to get females from all over the galaxies. They usually get species we haven’t even heard about,” Egil replied, ignoring his commander’s tone. He too hated to fail their king’s commands.
“Why haven’t we been told about this before?” Asgar asked with a frown.
“They hadn’t been on this side of the galaxy in a long time,” Egil explained. “I just got news that they are very close to our position and they’re having an auction in just a few hours.”
“I guess we won’t lose anything by paying them a visit.” Asgar agreed. “Do you have their coordinates?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Then set course to meet them. Perhaps, the gods will favor us this time.”
“Right away,” he nodded and gave the coordinates to the pilot. It would only take them a few minutes to reach the Slythonians position.
When their ship entered the area where the auction was taking place, Asgar was surprised to find several other ships around, surrounding one of the biggest vessels he had seen before.
“I guess they have a full house,” he said with an ironic grin.
“Their reputation precedes them,” Egil assured.
Asgar turned to his communications’ officer. “Ask permission to board and attend their auction.”
“Yes, sir,” he opened communications with the Slythonian ship, and soon Asgar and Egil were boarding the trader’s vessel.
“Lord Asgar. You honor my ship with your presence. It is the first time Zuvrakians have visited us,” Captain Rurik received them with a courtier smile on his reptilian features.
“Yes, it is, and yet you seem to know who we are,” Asgar replied his greeting with a nod.
“It is my job to know any potential customer in the galaxies, Lord Asgar. My name is Rurik, and I’m the captain of this ship, and he is Eskol, my slave master. Welcome.”
“Thank you, Captain Rurik. He is my second in command, Lord Egil,” Asg
ar made the introductions, and the Slythonians nodded.
“I believe you are here for the auction, correct?” Rurik asked.
“Yes, of course.”
“Then let us not waste any more time. The others wait impatiently,” Rurik signaled the hallway behind him, inviting his last guests to join the rest.
Asgar and Egil nodded and walked down the hall as invited. Asgar was surprised to see the Slythonian vessel was not only big but also luxurious and apparently technologically advanced.
“I see that you admire our ship, Lord Asgar. It is our home away from home, able to take us to the confines of the galaxies at the highest speed known,” Rurik explained as he walked beside him. “This vessel provides us with all we might need.”
“It would be interesting to explore it with more time,” Asgar admitted.
“We would be honored, Lord Asgar, perhaps when the auction is over.” Rurik accepted, pleased with the warrior's appraisal.
“That would be perfect, Captain Rurik.”
A few moments later, they entered a huge room, where several males occupied the chairs displayed around a circular stage.
Rurik invited the Zuvrakians to take seats near the round stage and walked to one of its sides along with his slave master to start the auction.
“Welcome all to our humble vessel,” he greeted his customers. “Tonight, we have brought you an excellent selection of females from all over the universe. I am sure you will be thrilled with them and will fight to get your hands in at least one of them.”
Cheers had come from the crowd before he proceeded.
“As usual, I shall present you each and every one of the females, and then they will be exposed for you to examine at your will,” he explained. “Only after that, shall we start the auction and the highest bid will take away the prize. May the gods be with you.”
He had concluded before he made a signal to his slave master.
One by one, the slaves came out to the stage, as Captain Rurik described them and extolled their qualities and best features.
Despite the beauty of some of the females displayed, Asgar felt no attraction whatsoever by any of them, until the last two. Rurik described them as humans, from the planet Earth, a small planet on the fifth quadrant of the galaxy, further than any Zuvrakian had ever been. His soul didn’t make the call he had been waiting for so long, but he knew he had found the right race, all his instincts cried out that truth, and when he looked at Egil, he could tell he was feeling the same.
After the show, the customers were invited to examine the slaves, and the Zuvrakians didn’t waste any time with the other females. They went directly to where the humans stood, with their hands behind their backs and their eyes lowered to the floor.
Other customers were examining them as well, running their fingers down their alabaster skin and their golden hair, weighing their perfectly round breasts, and even poking their holes.
The females endured the exam, in silence with their eyes locked on the floor, never facing the customers and Asgar assumed they had been instructed to do so. He recognized the collar they carried on their necks, so their obedience and acceptance was not a surprise.
The customers were summoned to return to their places since the auction was about to start.
Egil leaned over to his friend. “Are you going to buy them?” he asked, in a soft murmur.
“Yes, I believe they are the right species. I’m sure you felt it too,” he confirmed his man’s suspicions.
“Yes, I did. Though I doubt this will be easy. There are plenty interested in them.”
“Fortunately, our planet has more than enough richness.”
Egil nodded, and they turned to watch the auction. One by one, the females were sold, and after a rough battle, Asgar managed to buy the human females. He was sure two of his fellow Zuvrakians would find in them, their breeding mates.
After all the sales had been completed, Asgar and Egil joined Captain Rurik for the promised tour of the vessel.
“Ah, my lords. I’m happy to see you have bought two of my jewels,” Captain Rurik said as he closed the distance between them.
“Yes, and I wanted to ask you if you have more of their species,” Asgar went straight to business. They had no time to lose, but he didn’t want their enemies to know they were after something in particular.
“More humans, you say?” Rurik asked for confirmation.
“Yes, more humans.”
“No, not right now, but we intend to get some more. Would you like me to warn you of our next auction?”
“Yes, we would be very pleased to hear from you. I’m sure the specimens we bought today will give us immense pleasure,” Asgar confirmed, hiding their urgency and their real need. “When do you think, you’ll have a new auction?”
“Oh, soon, surely before the end of the next lunar cycle on my planet, Lord Asgar. I’ll make sure to warn you in time.”
“Thank you, that would be much appreciated. Now, show me this fantastic vessel of yours.”
Captain Rurik nodded and spent the next few hours showing their vessel to their guests. Something told him that he would do great business with the Zuvrakians and that pleased him more than anything did.
So, he showed him their farms, where they grew and bred most of what they ate, their medical unit showed the ultimate advances seen around the galaxies as everything on the ship.
“We have spent a lot of money on this vessel, as you can see because it really is our home away from home. We spend a lot of time in it, traveling all over the galaxies and quadrants, wherever our job will take us, so we need, efficiency and speed. It’s vital for us,” he explained his guests.
“Yes, I totally understand. We, the Zuvrakians, chose a vessel for its speed, weaponry, and resistance, nothing else,” Asgar stated.
“Of course, you are a people of warriors. We avoid wars as much as we can. They’re bad for business.”
The men chuckled and proceeded with their tour.
By the end of the tour, the women were handed to them along with the software containing their language.
“Here, we’ve uploaded the most important languages of planet Earth. Unlike most of us, they have hundreds of different languages on their planet,” Rurik informed, handing Egil a small disc unit.
“Thank you, that will be most helpful.”
When they finally returned to their vessel, Asgar and Egil were certain they had new allies in their quest against the disappearance of Zuvrak, even if those partners didn’t know how far their alliance went.
Chapter Three
As soon as they left the area where the Slythonians were, Asgar opened a communication channel with his king, Brynjar.
“Asgar, I was expecting you earlier,” his King stated in slightly scolding tone.
“Yes, we were supposed to be home by now, my king, but I am sure you will like the reason we were delayed,” Asgar explained with a pleased smile.
“Care to elaborate?” Brynjar asked, with a deep frown, his metallic gray eyes shining dangerously.
“I beg of your patience, my King. This you have to see for yourself. We have set course for Zuvrak, and we will be arriving as soon as possible.” The severe tone on Asgar’s tone must have convinced the king of the importance of the news because he insisted no more.
“I shall see you all then,” he nodded as he closed the communication and Asgar turned to look at Egil.
“Are the females installed?”
“Yes, they are. Should we remove their collars?” Egil asked, curious.
“No, not yet. They have been through a lot, and they may panic and do stupid things. The collars will restrain them better than anything,” Asgar replied as he walked out of the command center. “Take me to them; I would like to talk to them.”
“Of course. I’ve downloaded the software the Slythonians gave us, so you should have no problem with your translator,” Egil informed as he guided his friend down the narrow corridors of their ship.
“Yes, thank you for thinking of that.”
“I settled them together in a guest room and gave them clothes to put on. I thought they would enjoy each other’s company,” Egil continued as he opened the door and stepped aside for Asgar to get in.
Both women were standing near their chamber’s window looking outside chatting in a low voice. They were wearing the tunics they had been gifted with.
“Greetings, ladies. I am Asgar de Zuvrak, and he is Egil. I wanted to welcome you aboard our ship,” he greeted them. They weren’t exactly short, but they surely didn’t reach six feet tall. “May we know your names?”
One of them took a step towards him. “I’m Rosalind, and she is Erin,” she introduced, “Are you taking us home?”
“Yes, we are taking you to your new home, our home planet Zuvrak,” he explained, with patience.
“Our home is on planet Earth. You have no right to take us to… wherever you’re taking us,” she ranted, taking another step.
“That’s no longer possible, we’ve bought you, and by our laws, you now belong to us,” his tone wasn’t menacing, just so matter-of-fact it froze both women. “We are thousands of light years from Earth. You are not returning, and as soon as you accept that, the better it will be for you.”
Asgar watched the female clench her hands into fists and smiled. Despite their size, there was a fire inside them, which gave him high hopes for their future.
“It will take us a brief time to get to our planet. Use the time to rest and eat. It will do you good,” he nodded and left the room, followed by Egil.
“Quite a feisty one, our little Rosalind,” Egil said, with an amused grin.
“Yes, I noticed that as well. They will make two Zuvrakians very happy,” Asgar nodded. “See that they have anything they need.”
“Yes, of course. The men on the ship are curious and would like to meet the women,” he informed with a cautious tone.