by Ashe Barker
She handed it to him and he secured the cuff around the chair leg, then attached it to the one on her ankle.
“That should do. I’ll release you when I leave. Or the commander will.”
Caria was aware that she bristled every time her nemesis was mentioned, but she was cautious about openly criticising Phahlen. It was clear where the lad’s loyalties lay, and she didn’t want him to decide that babysitting her was just too much bother. She craved company, human contact, more than anything. She could keep her opinions about Phahlen to herself.
“How would you like to pass the time, miss?” Private East took a seat opposite her and offered a tentative smile. “We have an extensive library at our disposal aboard the Empyrean—music, literature, holovid scenarios…”
“Holovid? You have that?”
“We do. Our computers can recreate any video production you might care for as a holographic image and you can interact with the characters, take part in the drama. You might even manage to change the ending if you choose.”
Caria grinned. She had heard of this technology but had yet to experience it. For now, though, she preferred something less energetic.
“I don’t suppose you play Obelisk, do you?”
“Yes, a bit. Shall I request a set?”
Caria nodded and the crewman approached the housekeeping portal. Moments later the familiar structure of a tower and playing pieces materialised. Based on the ancient Earth pastime of chess, this version was played vertically and horizontally, required careful strategic planning and implementation and was notoriously difficult to master. Caria had long been fascinated by the game since her father had taught it to her when she was a child, and she had enjoyed playing ever since though opportunities had been rare on board the Luminaire, where no one but her understood the complex rules. The young private set up the opening sequences quickly, clearly familiar with the complicated arrangement of black, white, and red figures that made up the playing pieces.
“Do you prefer to start, miss?” He offered her the one remaining piece, a bright red queen that would afford the holder a slight advantage in the ensuing battle for supremacy on the various ascending layers.
“No, you can. I’ll start next time.”
The young man selected his preferred position on the tower and placed his queen, and the game commenced. They played in silence for the next half hour or so, both concentrating, both assessing the other’s strengths and weaknesses. Caria soon arrived at the conclusion that she would have little trouble outsmarting this opponent, but she enjoyed the game even so.
“Obelisk,” she announced as she manoeuvred Private East’s emperor piece into a corner from which there would be no escape. “Do you want to play again?”
This time Caria had the red queen, and the contest was a swift one.
“I’m not much competition for you,” her opponent observed ruefully. “You’d be better playing against the commander.”
“Phahlen plays Obelisk?”
“I do,” came the amused response from the doorway, “though the Vahlean version of the game differs slightly.”
Caria turned in her seat, wrenching her ankle, which was still attached to the chair leg. Her captor grimaced as she winced.
“Hold still, I’ll release you.” He nodded to the crewman who had scrambled to his feet and now stood stiffly, awaiting further instructions. “Thank you, Private. I’ll take over from here.”
Caria remembered her manners. “Yes, thank you, Private East. I enjoyed our games. Maybe you could come back sometime…” She paused, not sure if that was the correct thing to say. Phahlen was unpredictable to say the least and he may object to her befriending a member of his crew even though he had sent the young man here in the first place.
“I’m sure he will, when his duties on board the Empyrean allow.”
The private executed a swift but polite bow and exited. Caria eyed Phahlen with some unease, not sure yet what his current mood might be. He approached her and knelt to remove the cuffs shackling her to the seat. He offered her a rueful grin.
“I’m sorry about the need for this, but you’ll need to earn my trust. Young East is a fine crewman, but he lacks experience in dealing with dangerous criminals and I wouldn’t want you taking advantage of him. I thought you might enjoy his company though. Was I right?”
Caria nodded, though she still bristled from his remark about her criminal past. “I’m not dangerous. Why would you think that? It’s true that I was on board the Luminaire, but just as the partner of one of the crew. I helped in the galley, that’s all.”
“You were listed as an IJI by the authorities on Earth, an Individual of Judicial Interest, category alpha. We take piracy and robbery seriously within the interplanetary collective, not to mention the murder of innocent victims. The Luminaire was prolific, I gather, and the crew not known for showing mercy if anyone got in their way.”
“But I wasn’t part of the crew. I just—”
“Guilt by association, Caria. I suggest you accept your situation here as the lesser of several evils, not least in view of the fact that Earth has recently voted to reinstate the death penalty for crimes such as those perpetrated by the Luminaire, following a series of atrocities committed by terrorists on your planet. I’m sure you’re aware of this.”
Caria felt the blood drain from her face.
“I was not aware, but in any case that has nothing to do with me. I’m not like those people, not at all.”
He shrugged. “If you say so. I intend to ensure you have no opportunity to present a danger to the Empyrean, however, so you will be restricted to my quarters. I’ll allow you the company of other humans from time to time if it pleases you, but you’ll be restrained when I’m not here. There are no other females on board, but there are seven human members of my crew.”
“Am I to have no contact with anyone else then?”
He frowned. “You will, if it is necessary. Morele, for example, our doctor, and Lieutenant Baren, my second in command.”
Caria got to her feet to glare at him. “This is unjust. Private East said I had been convicted and that I am already serving my sentence, but I never even had a trial. I had no chance to explain…” She dropped her gaze in the face of his implacable expression. “I just want to go home. I have a family, my parents—!”
“I have fully explained about your conviction, and the length of your sentence. Private East’s words cannot have been unexpected. As for your parents, they have been informed of your capture and current situation, and you will be permitted to send and receive correspondence from them. That is why I’m here, in fact.” He handed her a small recording device. “If you care to dictate a message I will ensure it is uploaded with our next transmission to Vahle, and from there it will be forwarded to Earth. You will be permitted to make one transmission every ninety par-cycles, and you may receive any transmissions sent in return.”
Caria took the device but couldn’t bring herself to thank him for it. Apart from his rescuing her from the planetoid, she struggled to see why she should be grateful to him at all. He was a tyrant, and she had been treated abominably whilst on his ship. She had been denied the most basic rights and freedoms, and was not even to have control over her own body.
“I find myself with some spare time if you might care for another game…” he gestured to the Obelisk tower, “…or perhaps you prefer to be left alone to compose your message to your family?”
Caria drew in a breath, then shook her head. The prospect of enforced solitude held little appeal. “No, Commander. I can dictate my message later. I… I would enjoy another game.”
They seated themselves on either side of the table and Phahlen offered her the red queen. Caria took it and selected her opening position.
The next hour passed in what Caria might almost have mistaken for companionable silence, were it not for her simmering discontent. Phahlen proved to be a much worthier opponent: skillful, strategic, a master-planner. His style of
play reminded her of her father’s: studied, thoughtful, every move a part of a larger purpose. He beat her twice, but she managed to snatch one victory from him before the communication device on his wrist emitted a series of short beeps.
“I am required on the bridge. I trust you can be relied upon to remain calm in my absence and not to disrupt the smooth running of the Empyrean.”
“I’ll record my message home.”
He inclined his head as he rose. “I hope to be able to return soon. When I do so, I expect to find you in my—sorry, our—sleeping chamber, naked and on your knees.” Perhaps he caught the rebellious glint in her eye because he paused by the door and turned to regard her coolly. ”Do not disappoint me, Caria. That would entirely ruin your evening.”
Caria allowed herself several moments of bitter cursing, though she was careful to ensure the portal had fully closed before she heaped expletive after expletive upon her captor’s head. Only when she had fully vented her stream of self-pity and righteous invective did she turn her attention to the recording device Phahlen had left at her disposal. She wandered over to the sofa and made herself comfortable, then considered what she wanted to say. She decided to keep it simple.
“Daddy, Mum…” Her voice broke as she started to speak. She stopped, erased her words, and gathered herself together to try again. “Daddy, Mum, this is Caria.” She paused, then, “I know you’ve been told what has happened, and that I am a criminal. I swear to you both, I didn’t do what they say I did, though… I have made some foolish choices. You were right, both of you, about Petros. I see that now. I did love him. Or I thought I did…” She paused the recording, already questioning her latest statement. Petros had seemed exciting when she met him in a bar back on Earth. He’d oozed confidence and sex appeal and had only to beckon for her to follow him and his cutthroat mates. She had spent the ensuing five years trying to please Petros whilst being pretty much ignored by the rest of the crew. She was fairly certain he had not been faithful to her but she hadn’t made a fuss because it wasn’t as though she could just walk out on him. She brushed away the last few regretful tears. She was free of him now, but at what cost?
Caria had known the Luminaire’s trade was illegal, but she held no power or influence on board the vessel. She was just there, on the periphery. By some miracle she had escaped death when the Luminaire was shot down, and had somehow inherited all of the blame for their crimes. If Phahlen was to be believed—and thus far he had given her no cause to doubt his word on anything—she might be executed if she was to return to Earth. Was that a risk she might be prepared to take if it meant she could go home, see her parents again?
She started recording again. “I want you to know that I am unhurt, and that I am safe. I am in the custody of the Vahleans, on board an exploration and scientific vessel.” She wasn’t entirely certain what mission the Empyrean was engaged upon, but thought her description was probably fair enough. “I am a pris—They won’t allow me to leave, but I do hope to see you again soon, both of you. I miss you so much, and…” She paused again as she collected her shattered thoughts. Her final words were tearful, but she managed. “I love you. Please don’t worry about me, I shall be all right. I promise.” She closed down the recording and saved it, already wondering if she had made her parents a promise she couldn’t keep.
Caria set the device on the table, and went into the sleeping chamber. The butt plug, now washed and carefully cleaned, lay on the bed along with the wrist cuffs, the tiny vibrator, and the tube of lubricant. The ankle cuffs were still in the living area so she retrieved them and placed them with the other items. Phahlen might well wish to avail himself of them again and, now that the time was approaching, she found herself unexpectedly aroused at the prospect. He might return at any point, and he had made it clear what would be the consequences if she was not ready for him. A spanking at least, or maybe the hated strap.
She might have enjoyed a shower, but decided not to risk it. Instead she removed the all-in-one suit and placed it carefully to one side, then sank to her knees to face the door.
Chapter Seven
Phahlen stared at the screen before him, taking in little of the star-scape on the display. His thoughts were filled with his little prisoner, the human female who was probably trashing his quarters even as he sat here. She possessed a rebellious streak that she did little to disguise, though he had no doubt he could convince her to bury it, at least for the next few hours. She had proven malleable enough once he laid a few well-aimed stripes across her delectable bottom and he would be more than happy to repeat the lesson.
Or would he? Spanking a female was second nature to him, to most Vahlean males in fact, though they had little opportunity to hone their skills at home these days. That fact rendered his current situation even more urgent, more imperative. Vahle had no choice but to repopulate, and they needed to accelerate the process as much as they were able. Their people had few options, but those that did exist included the acquisition of females who would be forced to breed, if need be. Several compatible worlds had provided female convicts for the purpose, though the women had always elected to come to Vahle willingly in exchange for freedom, of sorts. Caria had been offered no such choice so he could sympathise with her anger, her resentment.
He was also starting to form a better appreciation of her conflicted feelings. For security reasons he had had to listen to Caria’s transmission to Earth before authorising it to be forwarded to her parents. It gave him no pleasure to hear that she had loved her previous partner, though why that should be of any moment whatsoever was a mystery to him. Suffice it to say that it bothered him. He was also not unmoved by her groundless optimism regarding the prospect of an eventual return to her home world. He knew that was unlikely, hopeless even. But he had no wish to be the one to crush her dream even though allowing her to continue in that forlorn hope might be even more cruel.
But his sympathies only stretched so far. Caria had been on board the Luminaire whilst her crew had committed criminal acts across the galaxies, and she had benefited from those crimes even if she hadn’t personally attacked other worlds. And he had only her word for it that she hadn’t. Caria was no shrinking little mouse; the evidence was there in the way she’d behaved when she’d first encountered him. He rubbed his balls in rueful remembrance. That had been close; if she’d succeeded in flooring him, as she’d clearly intended, they would both be dead now.
“Commander, the Galeians are all safely disembarked. Shall I set a course for the Sagitarian sector? Our sensors detect thermal activity on two small worlds there.”
Phahlen turned to regard his second in command. “Yes, Baren. Carry on, please.”
The lieutenant issued the commands and prepared coordinates for their next scheduled stop as Phahlen continued to gaze into the monitor. He was stirred from his own thoughts when the officer addressed him again.
“I trust there have been no difficulties with the Earth woman, sir, not since all that fuss earlier. Is there anything you need me to do on that score?”
“What? No, no, she’s fine. I’ll make sure she causes us no further problems. Private East was helpful in keeping her calm so I’d appreciate some more of his input, if you can spare him.”
“I’ll roster that in, sir. The poor little female will be glad of the company, I expect. This must all be very new to her.”
“Poor little female…” Phahlen echoed, unable to keep the scorn from his tone. “Tell that to the beings whose homes were destroyed and families murdered by those thugs.”
The lieutenant shrugged and eyed his commander thoughtfully. “I saw little enough of her, to be sure, but she didn’t strike me as a violent criminal. She was terrified of the Galeians.”
“They treated her badly and she probably thought we would just hand her back to them as their prisoner. Don’t be fooled, though, Baren. Until we know for sure that she is safe, I intend to assume that Caria presents a danger to this ship. She is of use to us so she is to
remain unharmed, but she is still a prisoner, and security around her will remain tight. Make sure all crewmen are aware of this, and no one is to enter my quarters without permission.”
“Yes, sir.”
The lieutenant said the correct things, but Phahlen sensed his dissatisfaction. He turned in his seat to fully face his deputy.
“You have something to say, Baren?”
“Just that it wouldn’t harm to investigate the circumstances a little more fully. We have access to the records and charges from Earth, and the testimony of the Galeians, but the female claims to be innocent.”
“How do you…? Ah, Private East.”
“Yes, sir. She spoke to him, and he reports that she appeared genuinely shocked at his statement that she had been convicted of a crime, especially one with such severe consequences. I could enquire more carefully into the facts, seek to establish a defence if one is to be found.”
Phahlen’s eyebrows shot up at that. ”You believe we should set her free?”
The lieutenant shook his head. “That won’t be possible, will it? Even if she was our guest rather than our prisoner, she would still be confined to this craft until we have cause to land on a friendly world, one from which she might seek passage back to Earth. And until such time…”
Phahlen stroked the bridge of his nose and considered Baren’s words. Whatever the circumstances, Caria would be with them for the foreseeable future. His second in command was right about another thing too; it would do no harm to investigate her claims of innocence though he harboured little doubt on the matter himself.
“We have an attorney-mediator on board; we might as well make use of his talents.” The ship’s complement of the Empyrean included a Vahlean, who was expert in interstellar law. The usual function of this officer was to negotiate with planets not familiar with the process of thermal extraction and the benefits such harvesting would yield for all races with space travel capability. Trans-galactic protocols were in place that authorised their activities, but those occasionally required explanation or even enforcement.