by Tracy Lauren
“If you will excuse us,” he bows to the males, “this exhibition might take a bit longer than the last!” he laughs as though his commentary is hilarious, though he is the only one laughing. I follow him down another long corridor with a metal door at the end. Ju’toktah mashes his slimy fingers into the security panel and the door hisses open.
I survey the room. It is easily as large as, if not bigger than, the main sample room. Though this room only holds one large cage. Other than single worn bunk and a waste receiver, the cage is empty. Not that that offers me any relief. In the center of the room there is a reclining chair. With restraints. Mounted next to the main door are more of the electric prods Ju’toktah used on the large cats. There are collars hanging there too bearing the same electric components as the prods.
What worries me the most is the room itself is lined with metal carts. Each cart holding half a dozen large hanging bags filled with a cloudy white fluid. Disposable cryo bags. Too many to count. Too many to leave here with. Even if I had the space on my ship, I do not have the credits to clear out this number of slaves. Because that is what Ju’toktah is selling here. Dozens, if not hundreds of slaves.
My instinct had been correct. Ju’toktah is violating the most sacred laws in the systems. He is selling sentient beings. And violating them. As I take in the size of this atrocity everything in the depths of my being suddenly goes still. I will not be able to leave here with all these beings. I will not be able to kill all the Ju’tup to liberate these beings. There are too just too many Ju’tup on board. I will have to leave with as many as I can buy on this day and return for the rest. I am enraged that some of these beings might be sold and violated before I can return.
Another door hisses open and a new guard joins us.
“Ah, perfect timing Ju’keef. Let’s wake a new batch for our friend here. He is shopping for something unique on this day, so we will let him shop!” Ju’toktah and the guard both sway with anticipation, their secondary arms fluttering. I watch as the guard wheels one of the carts into the cage and pulls a jagged knife from his belt. He slits each bag open, from top to bottom, the fluid spills out unceremoniously and the beings within dump out onto the metal floor, unconscious. The guard steps forward and yanks a thick tube from their mouths--pulling the length of it from their throats. That wakes them.
Chapter 4
Kate
Rational thought isn’t possible in this moment. My brain is zeroed in on one thing alone: Ow. Freaking owie, owie, owie. Everything hurts. Then, slowly, I start to become more aware.
I’m on the floor. I’m vomiting. Milk? I’m in a puddle of white milky fluid. How did I get here? Was I out drinking with friends? My heart pounds and my brain works desperately to use what little my tunnel vision is offering me to explain what’s happening.
I see my hands. They are wet. I’m on my hands and knees and I’m vomiting. Dry heaving? Did I drown? It’s cold in this room and I’m soaking wet. I hear others around me coughing and gagging as well. The lights are bright. Bright, white lights. That seems familiar. Are we in a hospital? The floor beneath me is metal. Why am I here?
Sucking in air, I tilt my head to look around me. There are other girls, like me. We’re all on the floor. At least one of them is naked. They’re close to me and I’m disoriented, so I just see a blur of arms, legs and hanging heads. Someone is asking for help. Another is crying. I’m still struggling to breathe. My lungs feel like they are on fire and no matter how hard I try I can’t get enough air.
There are other sounds around me that I’m becoming aware of now. A low rumble, like a growl. It’s constant. And something closer, a strange popping and gurgling sound. I strain my eyes and my head rolls around trying to find the source. I see something. Something fat and green and covered in slime. My eyes connect with it and my adrenaline soars a notch higher than it already was. This something is not human.
It’s like some kind of frog-crab monster, the gurgling sound is coming from it. It shifts from side to side and gurgles madly. My feeble lungs try to gasp. I throw myself back towards the other girls, our bodies knocking together. This catches their attention and that’s when the screaming starts. And this frog-crab monster… call me crazy, but I think it looks excited. Is that gurgling sound laughter?
We’re all still on the floor but I hold my arms out, pushing the other girls back behind me. I feel their hands clutching me like I’m some sort of life preserver. I dimly wonder how the screaming women are managing the lung power it takes to belt it out like that. Unfortunately, I think this is one of those ‘you can scream all you want, no one will hear you’ situations. I struggle to my feet, my legs feel like jelly but I keep my arms out, in some sort of pathetic attempt to shield these other women.
“Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck,” one of the girls is saying. I don’t know how she can speak, rational thought is still something I can only aspire to in this moment. ‘Bad dream’ pops into my head. In dreams you can never tell if you are dreaming or awake, but when you’re awake… well it’s pretty damned obvious you’re awake. I’m wide awake right now. Or maybe I’m dead and this is hell. That’s a possibility.
My brain takes another step forward in assessing the situation again. There are bars surrounding us. We are caged. In a prison? Beyond the bars I see two more creatures. A daddy version of the frog-crab thing in the cage with us: bigger, fatter, slimier. Standing next to him is… well… it’s a straight up, fucking, gargoyle. And it’s growling and baring some massive fangs. Its wings go from being tucked at its back to spreading their full span. It’s giant. It’s speaking to the daddy frog-crab, but in some language I can’t understand. Baby frog looks over at this interaction. I realize it is standing in front of an open door to the cage we are in. And fight or flight? My body kicks in because my brain has checked the fuck out and I rush baby frog. I slam into what feels like sticky, cold pudding and almost lose my balance and fall forward with him. Luckily, his spindly bottom legs crumble beneath him and his bulbous body topples onto the ground just outside the cage. I grab the door and slam the cage shut. Then, I’m instantly embarrassed of my dead-end plan.
I jump back toward the other girls. Some are sobbing. “What’s happening?” one asks. Another is repeating her, “oh fuck” mantra. I notice two of them are completely nude. The naked girls are cowering on the floor to cover their bodies. I look down at myself, because I am actually not even sure if I’m wearing clothes or not. PJ shorts and a cami, plus underwear and a sports bra. I feel a wave of relief. I’m soaked and now slimy from baby frog, but it’s better than nothing. I hesitate briefly before I tear off my cami and toss it to one girl and send my shorts to the other. The shock is coming off us all now and the others help the naked girls up and try to shield them as they cover their bodies. We are silent, except for the occasional sobs and incoherent mutterings.
I quickly take in everyone’s appearance. It looks as if no one has regular clothes on. Just PJs for those of us who are lucky enough to have clothes. In some way or another we are all gripping each other for support or connection or something. Some type of silent camaraderie is going on between us. Without speaking we all scan wildly around the cage for something, anything to help us. A weapon? A back door? I’m not even paying attention to the monsters in the room with us. I am just searching for anything to help. Then the popping and gurgling starts up again. Baby frog is at the gate.
He is watching us, amused I think. I don’t know if the noise he is making is speech or laughter, or nothing other than gross. He taps the bars and makes a movement to open the cage. I leap to the door and push hard as I can against it so he can’t open it. “Help!” I scream and it takes only a millisecond for the other girls to respond and we are all pushing against this gate to keep the monster out. I look up and I see his wide set eyes. His mouth opens in a toothless smile which stretches to the junction of his jaws on either side of his face. He could probably fit a basketball in his big, gross mouth. He reaches in the cage and runs o
ne of his weird two fingered slimy pincher, hand things across our arms and bodies causing us to falter. Taking that as his opportunity, he pushes the gate open and snatches one of the girls--a blonde one, by the arm and starts to pull her out.
“No!” I scream, she screams. We’re all screaming. I try to pull her back, it’s not helping. The other girls try to hold her too. I switch my attention to baby frog and attack him. My balled fists slide over the slime covering him, his gaze turns to me and he lets the other girl go. All the girls fall backwards against the floor now that they aren’t pulling against his strength. And he grabs me.
I’m out the gate with him before any of the girls can get to their feet. He flings me hard into a chair just beyond the cage and starts to clamp me in. I strain against him and the clamps. I start to think about screaming. It’s this weird surreal moment where I waver back and forth over the idea of whether or not I should scream… then I see this thing unfold from baby frog’s abdomen. It rolls out like a butterfly’s tongue and starts reaching, like a snake’s body might, up my leg and towards me. This time I don’t have to think about it. I scream. Just as I do, a deafening crack of thunder shakes the room. A spear or something bursts through baby frog’s chest, spraying slime and viscera all over me. And I realize it isn’t thunder I hear, the gargoyle has just went berserk and the sound is coming from him.
Chapter 5
Rennek
I watch as these beings struggle to awaken. It is a pitiful and shameful scene. If I thought I had felt rage before, I knew nothing. I see their forms. They are wet and hurt, but I see their skin, their softness, their manes. I notice one in the front; her mane is a shock of red like nothing I have ever seen before. I recognize these creatures--everyone in the known galaxy would recognize these creatures.
“Ju’toktah! What is the meaning of this? These females, they are Goddesses!” I growl. I don’t know that I will be able to control myself for long.
“Eh? The Goddesses? Rennek, my friend! I did not know you were religious! It is coincidence, make good profit though. Everyone want to fuck a Goddess,” Ju’toktah laughs. “Take no stock in children’s tales, it will ruin the pleasure of this day.”
He is ignoring me and focused on the females. Blood is pounding in my ears. Never have I been filled with such rage. I struggle to maintain coolness so I might broker a deal for these females and all the others in the cryo bags. I must play this just right, even though I want nothing more than to kill every Ju’tup on this ship--to feel their necks snap in my hands and to taste their blood. What is happening here goes against all I know and believe in. It is unspeakable, unthinkable. I struggle to collect my thoughts and make a plan. And still the blood in my ears pounds on, a drumming calling me to battle.
“I wish to take them all, I do not want them touched… they must go to my buyer unsullied.”
Ju’toktah just laughs. “No one will want an untouched female! An untouched female knows nothing of pleasure, they cry and fight. We break them here, then--much better for buyers. No trouble. And,” he laughs and rubs his hands together, “it is my joy to take on this burden!”
He pays little attention to me; his eyes are on the females and he does not see my obvious outrage. “No!” I shout, “they must be untouched.” It is hard to get further in my argument with the pounding in my ears. It is like the steady beat of a drum. It feels almost as if I will pass out if I do not give in to its call soon.
“Ack! I will give you females fresh from the bags then, and these,” he motions toward the females, “will be my treat! A taste, so I know you will be back for more business, yes?” He seems irritated and wishes to swat me off like a fly. His gaze is hungry on the females. He sways, rubbing his hands together. His excitement disgusts me. I feel myself beginning to lose control. I cannot even think of a fair piece of reasoning to talk him out of harming these females. All I want to do is kill, to rip his throat open with my fangs and split him from top to bottom--letting his guts spill out onto the floor. I notice both sets of his hands are roaming over his body and his cock begins to unfurl. He takes joy from watching them being sick on the floor. The sight of his desire makes the drumming in my body pound harder. I growl uncontrollably and my wings extend to their full span.
“What is the cost for the lot?” I growl through my fangs. “I want them all.”
“All six? 100 thousand creds. Each.”
“No, the entire shipment.” This catches his attention, but I am beginning to see red.
“You could not afford such a thing, enforcer.” He says the last word as if he sees me now. His words become more hash. “Careful now enforcer, or I will not let you play.”
Just then the female with red mane dives at the guard’s top-heavy form and knocks him out of the cage. A warrior amongst her people. I am in awe. I worry she will be hurt in this exchange. I cannot keep my eyes off her. I see her protecting the other females. She leads them, she must be their queen. She sheds some of her flimsy garments and offers them up to the nude females, so they do not have to be unprotected. Not that her garments do much, but I assume they feel vulnerable with nothing on. She is generous, this queen. Instantly, I am dismayed however, because now she is wearing less and even more of her soft body is exposed to these filthy pirates. It is unacceptable.
I gather my faculties to try again. It is my duty to rescue these females--all of them. I breathe deeply and try to abate my growling, but my voice is like gravel even to my own ears. I close my eyes to steel myself against the horror these females endure. “I want them all, Ju’toktah. My buyer has an endless amount of credits at his disposal. Name your price. I cannot pay all now, but I will take the cargo and complete the transaction before the rotation is done.”
I now gain Ju’toktah’s full attention. I have angered him. He turns to me, “So, Rennek? You will take my cargo and not pay me? You think to leave here with such valuable goods and I will wait for you to send me the creds? Shall I suck your cock while I am at it, enforcer? You take my cargo and I wait here while you send the UPC to my doorstep?”
I see from the corner of my eye the guard is at the cage door again, he is toying with the females.
“You misunderstand, Ju’toktah…” I growl out, but he interrupts me.
“You, do not understand you filthy mixed breed!” He swings an arm down and I see he is holding one of his electrified prods. He is spitting his words at me, but I am keeping the majority of my focus on the females who are screaming now as the guard tries to pull one out of the cage. I see my red maned female attack the guard again, that is when Ju’toktah jabs his prod toward me.
“There is no UPC in this system you fool, I am not slave to their laws. Here,” he waves his prod, “I am King and you must bow to my laws. And you, I think Rennek, will make a good fighter for the rings. I think to sell you and your crew for my profit. You think you can even leave this place without my permission?”
His words do not register to me. My red maned queen is being touched by the Ju’tup guard. He drags her from the cage and throws her to the chair. Red clouds my vision and I drop from my hind legs onto all fours. The drumming becomes all I can hear. It is raging within me. Ju’toktah jabs me in the ribs with the prod. I feel nothing. My queen, she screams and I am lost to instinct. My battle cry rips from my throat. I grip Ju’toktah by the crown of his head, my claws sink in and his arms flap uselessly one last time. I rip his throat out with my teeth and he is dead before he hits the floor. I leap toward the guard and swing my tail to drive it through his chest. I fling him aside.
For a small moment we are out of danger. Now that I am close to her, I see she truly is in the form of the goddesses. She looks at me, we lock eyes. Hers are wide with terror and I am myself again instantly--perhaps, for the first time ever. “Are you hurt, my queen?” She does not speak, she only stares.
A great pounding at the door stirs me from my trance. My queen jumps and looks toward the door. I hear the calls of my crew outside. I make quick work of g
rabbing the guard’s knife and I go to Ju’toktah’s body. I chop off his hand and use it on the sensor to open the door. My crew nearly falls in. I see their eyes take stock of the situation. I see them eye the females and the cryo bags.
“By the Goddesses…” Dax says, their faces mirror my horror. Then, we hear the scurrying feet of more Ju’tup approaching. Da’vi is the first to move. He rips the cage door from its hinges while I unleash the clamps on their queen. The rest of my crew guards the door.
“I will carry you,” I tell her and move to lift her. She flinches violently. I see my hands covered in blood and I realize my face must be as well. She saw the violent death I gave Ju’toktah and his guard. I appraise her and realize the blood of the guard is on her precious skin. She witnessed my kills. I am shamed to show such violence in the presence of a female--this female in particular.
Just then, guns begin firing down the corridor. The Ju’tup are on top of us. “Dax!” I shout, “The females!” I pull their queen into my arms and go to the cage. Da’vi throws a female over each shoulder and Dax follows suit. I try to apologize as I grab the last and hoist her onto my back. Bossan and Kellen send sparse fire down the corridor until I give the word. “Now!” I bellow. Bossan and Kellen take the lead, issuing an unending spray of shots as we run towards our enemy. It is the only way out--so we run into the oncoming fire. I pull my wings down to give as much cover as possible to the small red maned female in my arms.
