by T. J. Quinn
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,” Asgar 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 vit
al 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.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Myers has been a science fiction fan since seeing the original “Day the Earth Stood Still” at age eight. Her favorite sub-genre is space opera romance. Among the most influential in her work are the Lazarus Long novels by Robert Heinlein including “Time Enough for Love”, Marta Randall’s “Journey” and of course “Star Wars”, everything “Star Trek” and “Fire Fly”.
A lifelong resident of Silver Lake, NY she wrote her first novella at age fifteen. She has a BA in Cultural Studies from Empire State College majoring in creative writing. She writes a regular column in the local weekly newspaper Perry Herald. Chris has written four novels in The Aledan Series and is working on the fifth.
Contact the Author: [email protected]
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