by K. Rowe
a reason for his mysterious actions.
Dar waited a few minutes, occasionally peering around the corner to see if Gwog picked up his slaves. He’d been quick and was one of the first in line to pay for Krodus; now he’d wait until Gwog was gone before picking him up. He wondered if it was such a good idea. They hadn’t seen each other in more than ten years, but Dar felt certain the bad blood between them would still be fresh.
Several minutes later, Gwog walked off with his two new slaves. Dar crept out from the corner and approached the large alien handling the slaves. “Number,” the slave master said gruffly.
For a moment, Dar wasn’t quite sure what he meant. “Oh.” He dug the receipt out of his pocket. “Number fifty-six.”
“Mmm, the Satiren, huh?” He turned and then stopped. “Funny to see a half breed buying a purebred. Gonna keep him as a pet?”
“Not exactly. I have purpose for him.”
“Well, you better feed him a few good meals, otherwise he’ll keel over dead on you.”
“I intend to. Thank you.”
The slave master went back and brought out Krodus. He handed Dar the “leash”—the chain that came from the collar around Krodus’s neck. “Here you go.”
Dar studied Krodus for a moment. His spirit was so broken he didn’t even bother to acknowledge his new master. Master, Dar thought, here stood Krodus, the bully who made life miserable, and now he was his master. “Come along, slave,” Dar growled, giving the chain a yank; Krodus lurched forward, shuffling along. Heading to the shuttle, Dar hoped Gwog hadn’t gotten impatient and left him. Krodus lagged behind. “Get on with it, slave,” he said, giving another firm tug.
Krodus stopped. “Dar?”
Dar spun around. “That’s master to you, Krodus!”
He tried to straighten up. “Puny little half breed, whatcha gonna do to me?”
“Don’t start with me, I’m warning you.” Dar shoved him against a wall. “I’d say you owe me for buying you from those Kiburgins.”
“I owe you nothing.”
“Fine. Then I’ll go find one of them, sell you for a small loss, and walk away happily knowing they’re gonna bend you over a fallen Ickbahk tree and fuck you til your hair turns white.”
“You wouldn’t.”
Dar leaned close. “Oh, yes I would.”
Krodus pushed him away. Dar was quickly losing patience; he brandished his knife.
“Hey, that’s my knife,” Krodus grumbled.
He stuck the point right into Krodus’s chest. “Yes, it is. I don’t suggest you trifle with me, I’m not in the mood…And if you want your knife back…” He leaned into the blade, piercing the Satiren’s skin. “…Then I shall return it—point first.”
Krodus felt a trickle of blood run down his chest. Evidently the little half breed was far tougher now since he’d spent so much time in space. “No, that’s okay.”
“I thought you’d see it my way.” He sheathed the knife. “Now let’s go, we have a shuttle to catch.”
“What are you going to do with me?”
“I haven’t decided just yet.” Dar gave a hard snatch on the chain.
They reached the shuttle to find Gwog standing in the door. “So, what have you done, little one?” he asked, pointing to Krodus.
“I’ll explain later. Let’s get the slaves back to the ship. They need a good bathing, they stink.”
Gwog stepped aside while Dar loaded Krodus. Then they settled down in the cockpit. “Dar?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Would you explain why you bought your worst enemy?”
“Mmm, I suppose it’s torture of sorts.”
Gwog started up the engine. “Torture for whom? You or him?”
“Right now, a little of both.”
“I understand…Do you think he’ll be a problem?”
“I hope not. I made it very clear that I’m more than willing to give him his knife back; be it buried in his chest.”
Gwog shook his head. “My, my, the little one has some moxie.”
“No more. I can’t and I won’t be bullied by him.”
“Good for you.” He set course and headed back to the Cunik.
Once on board, Dar collected Krodus and took him to the crew quarters. “First thing on the list for you: a shower.”
“Thank you,” Krodus said softly. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been able to bathe. Dirt and grime were smeared all over his skin, and his normally luxurious green hair was a matted mess.
Dar led him to the shower room. “Take off that rag and throw it away. I’ll try and find something for you to wear.”
“Dar?”
“What?”
“How come you’re being nice to me? I can understand your hatred for everything I’ve done to you.” He untied the ratty cloth from around his waist. “I guess maybe I deserved everything I got these last years.”
“Quite a while ago, we made a stop by Erotis. I wanted to see my mother and make sure she was okay.”
“Was she?”
“Yes.” He tried not to retch as he got wind of Krodus. “And I stopped by the tavern and saw your father.”
“How was he?”
“Mmm, at the time, fine. But he told me you’d left the planet in search of drig—taking a mining job on Ladnis 5.”
“Biggest mistake I ever made.” He sat down on a bench. “Some alien came around; not even sure what species he was…He said they were looking for big, strong adults to make fantastic drig mining Thidium on Ladnis.”
“And you had no clue that the Versithians hired the Renthids to overrun the planet and enslave others to work in the mines?” He walked in a small circle. “They enslaved other species because the Crinians couldn’t work under those conditions. They’re a rather frail species—now pretty much extinct.”
Krodus rubbed his face. “Come on, Dar, you know me, I wasn’t the smartest youngling in class. I was big, dumb, and a bully. What would I know about who took over what planet?”
“Oh, sorry,” Dar scoffed. “You’re not the experienced space traveler that I am…I knew what was going on…But when your father told me where you’d gone, I knew they’d enslaved you.”
“You didn’t tell him that, did you?”
“No, I didn’t wanna worry him.”
“And it took you this long to find me?” Krodus asked.
“I wasn’t even looking for you. I figured if the Renthids enslaved you, that in a matter of a year or so, you’d be dead. I didn’t have the heart to tell your father that.”
He stood and went to a shower stall. “So what do you plan on doing with me?”
“One of two things. I haven’t made up my mind yet.”
Turning on the shower, Krodus adjusted the water. It felt so good even running over his hand. “If it’s worth anything, I’m sorry for the way I treated you when we were younglings.” He stepped in, the water rushing over his body. “I spent the last ten years being treated like shit. I’ll never raise a hand to anyone again.”
“Do I take your words earnestly?” Dar sat on the bench.
“I’d hope you would. We’re both adults, and we’ve both grown up.”
“And I may still not like you, but I understand the value of a purebred Satiren.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Krodus poured out some soap; it smelled like fresh rain on the Erotin plateau. “Gonna sell me to a pleasure barge?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“We’re supposed to be picking up a shipment of Jamaraian rum in a couple of days. I’ll ask Gwog if we can make a detour by Erotis.”
“You’re taking me home?”
“Yes, stupid, I’m taking you home where you belong…Your father’s old and needs you to run the tavern, and you need to find a nice purebred female and carry on our species.”
“Our species?”
Dar got up and took a few steps toward Krodus. “Look, I’m sorry that I’m a half breed, it wasn’t my choice. But
I’m half Satiren, and I’m proud of that half. There aren’t many purebreds left out there, so you need to get busy and make some more.”
Krodus finished washing and turned off the water. Dar tossed him a towel. “I figured you purchased me out of spite—that you wanted to subjugate me to your will; not to spend all that hard earned drig and then turn me loose,” Krodus said, drying off. He could’ve spent hours under the water, but for now, the quick shower would suffice.
“All I ask in return is your acceptance of me.”
Wrapping the towel around his waist, Krodus stood in front of Dar. He looked the smaller half breed in the eyes, and slowly bowed to him.
12
Jartis stood on the gangplank of the shuttle. “Well, come on, let’s go!” he said, waving to Dar. After some polite requesting, Gwog made a detour to Erotis. He was still a bit confused over Dar’s generosity for his most hated enemy; but figured it would also be a good excuse for him to see his mother. Dar hadn’t seen her in quite a long time, and Gwog knew she was an important part of his life.
“Hang on, we’re coming,” Dar replied, giving Krodus a nudge. It had been two weeks since the auction, and Karnis did his best to feed up the big Satiren. He still needed many more good meals, but at least he wasn’t going to drop dead on them. Dar managed to find some clothes to fit him; they weren’t great, but far better than the fowl smelling rag he came with.
As they walked on board, Karnis, his son Xetroiss, and Vikkis were waiting. “What’s this? A shore party?” Dar asked, taking his seat at the helm.
“No, Gwog is sending us down for supplies. Next stop is Newrillis and then onto Sirrix,” Jartis said as he closed the door.
“Lemme guess, picking up a shipment of arms?”
“Of course. Although Gwog
