"Since your coup, I have been living in squalor on Effica. I will have to say that I don’t understand your reasoning behind letting me take all my treasure with me. It made the bribing of those patrolling that space as easy as snapping my fingers. When I contacted Mr. Dearls and learned of your proposal, I was giddy with excitement. You walked right into my hands, and now I get to exact my revenge!"
Tanni Marcos turned toward Moor Dearls. "Mr. Dearls, I believe our prior arrangement is now back in force? It is now time that I return to my station to begin cleaning up the mess that these two made. As a parting gift, I would like to leave this Grunta in your care. I am certain he will make an excellent worker in the mines for your clients. And I will trust that under your care, he will be treated with the respect and care that he deserves?"
Moor Dearls poked his chin up in the air as he smiled. "I already have a place picked out for him in the lead mines of Telfor. They are always in need of hard workers, as most miners on Telfor rarely make it a full year. It seems the lead has a terrible effect on the brains and nervous systems of the living, leaving most with little more intelligence than a Cosiun rat before their bodies give out. A big Grunta like Mr. Beutcher will be a welcome addition!"
Tanni Marcos laughed as he turned to leave the room. "Enjoy your new exile, Mr. Beutcher. Hahahaha!"
Moor Dearls turned his head down and spoke. "Now, if you would please follow my associates, they have a nice room waiting for you just down the hall. We will be quickly under way, and you should be starting your new work on Telfor in a few days’ time."
I looked at Moor Dearls as I stood. "One question. Why was our proposal not considered?"
Moor Dearls laughed. "Mr. Beutcher, do you take us for fools? Once our organization had transitioned to a legitimate business, how long would it be before the good and decent law-abiding sector Governors would come after those individuals who had sold so many of their brethren into slavery? One year? Three, tops? No, I am sorry, Mr. Beutcher. Your dream of ending the slave trade in Omega was just that, a dream. We are highly profitable, and we like what we do. It’s too bad we didn’t have the opportunity to recruit you to our team. Intelligent muscle is an area in which we are lacking."
I looked down at Harga, who remained bleeding on the hall floor. "And what of him?"
Moor Dearls smiled. "The Gammatin is now under my control. He will be given back his club and will happily spend his remaining days bashing heads for our organization. I suspect he and our Gammatin will become fast friends!"
When I reached the doorway, I stopped to look back at the remains of Cal Hoog. His death would weigh on my conscience. I had taken him from his protected apartment, however small and insignificant that his life had been, and thrust him into a situation that he was not prepared for. His blood and the blood of all those on SS241 that would be retaliated against by Tanni Marcos was on my hands. I had failed to protect those that I desired most to help.
I was prodded along by the Talisans and deposited in a small windowless room. The next two days passed without food or water. A corner had been selected to deposit the remains of my prior meals. Fouling the small room was the only recourse I had to take against the Talisan slavers. After a short laugh about it to myself, I realized that as a slave, I might also be forced to clean up what I had deposited.
The lock sliding open on the door broke my thoughts. "Grunta! Get up! We’ve reached your new home. Come with us so we can get you down on the planet for your new owner to put to work!"
The Talisans with their blasters were grinning from ear to ear. A patched-up Harga stood behind them with a club. "Move, Grunta! Before I have to bash your skull!"
As Moor Dearls had reasoned, Harga now had a new master and a new loyalty to that master. He would do as asked and do it without a conscience for doing wrong. Following the orders of his master was always right.
I was walked out to a small transport in the docking bay and chained down to a bench along with a dozen unlucky Feldons, none of which had ever seen a Grunta.
One of the Feldons said, "What are you?"
I replied, "I am a Grunta. I come from the Alpha sector."
The Feldon’s eyes grew wide. "You have been to Alpha? Are the streets paved with diamond and gold, as they say?"
A second Feldon spoke. "Garmon, you are an idiot. The Alpha sector has no roads. They all have flying cars and helocycles."
I smiled. "They do have flying cars and helocycles, but they also have roads, and they are not paved with diamonds and gold. They are just like the roads in Omega, only probably better kept."
The second Feldon snarled. "You have no more been to Alpha than Garmon here. You are a slave in Omega. You could not be further from the riches and wealth of Alpha. The Salton family wouldn’t allow slave trash like you."
I chuckled. "Only a few short months ago, I was sitting in a room not much bigger than this, having a conversation with Harden Salton. He is just a man with problems like anyone else. Only his problems concern billions of people, while our problems only concern us."
Garmon grinned. "You have spoke with the Saltons? What were they like?"
The second Feldon slapped Garmon on the shoulder. "Why are you so gullible? It’s your curiosity that landed us here. If I were not your brother, I would have strangled you back on Fiveon for getting us in this mess."
I looked at the second Feldon. "What is your name?"
The Feldon looked back. "What is yours? And what are you? Does your kind even have names?"
I nodded. "We do. I am Knog Beutcher. I'm a Grunta. I'm also the first five-star inspection detective in the Triangulum galaxy in the last thousand years. I was exiled here by Harden Salton himself."
Garmon exclaimed. "Wow!"
The second Feldon turned back towards his brother to give another slap. "Can’t you tell when someone is spinning you along? This Grunta has never been to the Alpha sector, and he knows nothing about the Saltons."
I looked at Garmon. "I once had a sleek starship from the Betagen shipyards that was heavily armored and had powerful twin ion cannons. I once busted a ship’s captain who was transporting thousands of liters of bleurgh. And I freed a stolen freighter loaded with refined cesium ore. I received my fifth star by capturing a freighter hauling upwards of thirty million blaster tips that were to be used in a revolution."
The second Feldon turned back towards me. "Hmph. Bleurgh. Well, I will commend you on your storytelling. Perhaps we will all be in the same work crew. I'll be in need of stories to pass the days as we are made dumb like Garmon in the lead mines, just before we die. My name is Jallis. Jallis Karmea. This is my brother Garmon Karmea; that is Alto and Riga. These other poor souls I do not know."
I replied, "Jallis Karmea. It is a strong name. It would be respected on my home world."
Jallis shook his head. "You don't have to sell me so hard, Grunta. We are on the same side now. We are both worthless as dirt and will be dead within a year."
I smiled. "Perhaps some of us will be."
Jallis half laughed. "You think you can escape the Talisans? They will kill you, and a hundred others, just for thinking about escape. If I were you, I would prepare myself for the end. It will be coming soon enough."
I replied, "If you go into this fight defeated, your defeat will be certain. As a Grunta, what I believe is that there is no fate. Life is what you make of it. You are the one who has the most control over your outcome. Sometimes life is difficult. If you place the responsibility for your life in others’ hands, you should expect only the life which they are willing to allow."
Jallis shook his head. "We are sitting in the back of a slaver ship, chained to a bench. What options do we have?"
I tugged at the chains to test their strength. "So long as we are alive, we have opportunity. And it is up to us to make use of that opportunity. Until they take life from us, we should strive to regain our freedom. If we die trying, we at least die with freedom still in our hearts and minds."
J
allis offered a half smile. "Freedom in our hearts and minds isn’t much use when you are dead, but before you get any more philosophical, I get what you are saying. I'll still have to be convinced that there is opportunity."
A Talison guard walked back and stood in our midst. "You are now property of the Talin Corporation. You will do exactly as we say, no more, no less. Before doing anything that you have not been instructed to do, you must ask permission. That includes talking. There will be no further talking on this ship. Be silent, and you may find that your next meal is not withheld."
The guard turned and walked away from the benches. The flight down to Telfor was made in silence. When we touched down, a bright light shone as the hatchway was opened.
A Talisan guard stepped up and unlocked the chains securing us to the bench. "Walk down to the light. When you step out onto the deck, take a good look around you. It will likely be the last time you ever see the surface of a planet again. Hahahaha!"
One of the Feldons in our group said, "Where are we being taken?"
The Talisan walked up to the Feldon, raised the butt of his blaster rifle, and smashed it into the Feldon’s shoulder. "You did not ask permission to speak! Let this be a lesson to all of you. Do as you are told, and you will not be punished. Step out of line, and the punishment will be severe. Now, get off my ship! Follow whatever orders are given, and you might just live to see tomorrow!"
I followed the others out onto the spaceport deck. A second ship was parked beside us with another set of slaves emerging. Two Talisan guards stepped up and motioned us toward a small transport. The spaceport sat on a high hill above a lush jungle landscape. Several kilometers away, I could see the face of a mountainside that was dotted with mine shafts. Our lives as slaves were about to begin.
Chapter 8
The shuttle landed at the base of the mountain. We were herded into an empty warehouse and forced to sit on the ground. A mine administrator soon emerged from a separate room and walked to our location on the floor.
The administrator spoke. "You will only be told once. You will only be punished once. Any violation of the rules I am about to read to you is punishable by death. In fact, anything is punishable by death. The Talin Corporation now owns you, and they will determine whether or not you are an asset or a liability. Just so you know, liabilities are done away with just off the end of this plateau.
"As you came from the transport into this building, you probably got a hint of the smell of prior liabilities; their bodies are rotting at the bottom of a ravine just over that far edge. Of course, I am only talking about the ones that die from the fall. Any who live are attacked by the native Garantian Bears that roam these jungles. They are not eaten, but they are killed, as the bears are very territorial.
"Occasionally, for our own entertainment, a slave who has been found in violation of the rules will be lowered down into the ravine with an omnidirectional camera so we can watch. The longest runner lasted four hours. If you have any thoughts of escape, you are wasting your time thinking about it. There is nowhere to go."
A Feldon raised his hand and received a gesture to proceed with his question. "Are we to be fed? It has been over a day since I have eaten."
The administrator smiled. "You will be housed, clothed, and then fed, after which you will be assigned tools and a work shaft. We run on Earth Standard Time here, since you will not be seeing sunlight. Shifts are sixteen hours, with eight hours for personal time and sleep. If you choose not to use your personal time for sleep, you will be sent back to the shafts to work. If you are unable to rise for work, you will be taken to the edge of the plateau and dumped.
"I do have one more item to add. It is the Corporation’s benevolent desire that any slave who completes six years in good standing, while in the employ of the Corporation, be given their freedom. While I cannot say how often that has happened, I can say that it has happened. Now, if you will all rise and proceed to the doorway over there, my associate will guide you to your new quarters."
As we stood, the administrator singled me out. "Grunta. You stay here for a moment with me."
When the others had moved through the far door, the administrator spoke. "It is not often that we get beings in here of your stature. I believe you might be the first Grunta on Telfor. Physically, you are much bigger than most here. Therefore, you will have an increased quota. Think of that increase as payment for the larger bunk you will receive and the larger food portion you will also receive. Both of which I believe constitute a fair trade.
"Also, we have had others here of large stature that caused problems. The last was a Vautan. He was equal to you in size. After his second instance of rebellious behavior, he was lowered down into the ravine with a camera around his neck. His attempts to stay alive were a welcome distraction to our staff. If you should turn out to be a problem, keep in mind that the staff workers here will not hesitate to turn you in. They are always eager to find the next great runner."
I replied, "I will be of no issue."
The administrator smiled and nodded. "Sometimes trouble has a way of also finding those who have no issues. Make sure you don’t give any staffers a reason to turn you in, for they will not hesitate. Go join your crew."
I turned and was soon through the door. After a short run, I caught back up to the others. We were taken into a cavernous room that was lined with bunk after bunk of smelly, sleeping slaves that came from a variety of species. The Omega sector was called home to seventeen sentient species, and each was represented in the bunk room before me. I also took note of the fact that most had segregated themselves to bunk with those of their own kind. It was a form of discrimination that all sentient species practiced. It was natural for one to gravitate toward others of the same or similar culture and appearance. It had been that way all through time. The microcosm of the Omega sector that the slaver bunk room offered proved that norm to be true.
The Feldons with my group walked to a section occupied by other Feldons and began to select from the available bunks. As I stood surveying the room, I noticed Jallis Karmea waving his hand in a gesture for me to join them.
I made my way over and spoke. "I appreciate the invitation, Jallis."
Jallis laughed. "Well, the way I see it, I would rather have you as a friend in here than not. Who knows, maybe your size will come in handy. This place is about as close to a prison as you can get, and prisons always have a pecking order for who’s in charge. I figure that if you are with us, we are much less likely to get messed with. You can be like our guardian."
I thought for a moment before responding. "Hmm. That is the second time I have been referred to as a guardian in the last month. I would say that I was not very successful at it, as I am not able to protect the one who said that first."
Jallis pointed to one of the larger bunks. "You might want to grab that one. And if you want to make up for disappointing whoever said that first, just do a good job of protecting those who are saying it now."
Jallis looked around the bunk room. "It looks like the lights stay on here all the time. That is going to do wonders for our sleep habits."
As Jallis turned to sit on his bunk, another Feldon approached him. "I’m sorry, you will have to move over to the bunks over there."
Jallis replied, "Who says?"
The Feldon pointed back towards a sleeping Feldon. "Javel Gerkam is the Feldon Governor at this mine on Telfor. He makes the rules for all Feldons."
Jallis snarled. "We don’t answer to any made-up Feldon Governor. You tell him that we—"
I held up my hand. "You tell Mr. Gerkam that we will gladly comply. We are not here to cause trouble."
Jallis turned towards me with a scowl. "I invited you over here so we wouldn’t have to worry about idiots like this Javel. We picked these bunks, and we are keeping them!"
I shook my head. "If you truly want my protection, then you will have to listen to my counsel as well. If you butt heads with the established order on the first day, you are beggi
ng to be tossed over that cliff out there. The Talisans look for any excuse for doling out that punishment. Causing unrest in an ordered environment would make you subject to such punishment. We should comply with this request, at least until we are able to evaluate the situation."
Jallis sighed. "If you haven’t already figured it out, Grunta, I'm a hothead. I don’t like to be pushed around or taken advantage of. I don’t start fights, but I don’t back down from them if they come to me."
I nodded. "I take it that you see the reason in my suggestion. Keep this in mind: if I am taken away by the Talisans, who will be here to protect you then?"
Jallis snarled and walked to the bunks that had been pointed to by Javel Gerkam’s messenger. I walked to the next large bunk and sat down. I spun and lay back, extending my feet. I groaned as they stretched out beyond the end of the bed. Jallis grabbed the bunk nearest and pushed it forward until my feet were at rest upon it.
Jallis spoke. "I’m short, I won’t be using that end of the bunk anyway. You might as well keep it for your own."
I nodded. "I appreciate that, Jallis. Anything that you can do to provide for my needs is something that I shall endeavor to return. I am now in your debt."
Jallis half laughed as he pointed toward a sleeping Javel. "You are already paid in full. Just try to keep me out of trouble if you can."
A Talisan approached. "Let’s go! It’s time you received your work clothes. Line up and follow me."
When we arrived in the next room, the floor was wet.
The Talisan turned and spoke. "Drop your clothes in a pile over here. Then move to the center of the room."
I could see the discomfort in the eyes of some of the female slaves. They disposed of their clothing and huddled together in a mass of naked Feldon flesh. The Feldon men did their best to not stare. Streams of cold water then fell from valves in the ceiling, dousing the naked slaves. I could see shivers coming from the Feldons as their body temperatures dropped. My own thick skin meant the cold water was little more than refreshing.
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