by D. J. Holmes
“Well, clearly they did,” Sarah said, feeling her desire for revenge growing. “What happened after that. How did we come to be here?”
“You mother had already made all the arrangements,” Melissa answered. “She gave me a time and a place. It was a small farmyard in the country. When I got there, there was a man waiting for me. He took us both onto a small shuttle. Somehow, he got past the warships in orbit and to a freighter that was waiting just outside the system. He left us on it and then went back to Earth. The shuttle freighter had a couple of other people running away from the Elders. It was meant to take us to a safe haven. I don’t know what or where the safe place was. Before we got there, the freighter was attacked. Pirates boarded our ship and took both of us prisoner. I tried to keep you safe, to keep you with me. Yet when we got to Berius two different slavers bought us. Harkin wanted to use me for breeding. I tried to find you. It took me four years, but by then you were about to be sold. I tried to convince Harkin to buy you, but you were too young. He wasn’t interested in you. I’m so sorry.”
As her tears returned, Melissa moved forward to take Sarah into another hug. A part of her felt like pushing the older woman away. Yet the look on her face made Sarah stop. She has been through almost as much as me, Sarah told herself as she opened her arms and embraced the woman.
“Thank you,” she whispered into Melissa’s ear. “Thank you for doing what my mother asked, for saving me. It cost you your home and your family. Thank you.”
“I would have done anything for her,” Melissa said. “The Elders killed my cousin. I don’t regret taking you. I just wish I could have found a way to keep you safe.”
“You did your best,” Sarah said, trying to console Melissa. “Please, what was her name?
“Kate,” Melissa answered.
Sarah whispered the name back to herself. Kate. I finally know, after all these years. “What about my father?” she asked next as her thoughts turned to him.
“He was a good man,” Melissa replied as she leaned back to look Sarah in the eyes. “I respected him almost as much as I loved your mother. He worked tirelessly to help the people of Earth.”
“What happened to him that night? Why didn’t he protect my mother?” Sarah queried.
Melissa looked down at the floor. “I don’t know,” she said. “I thought he was a part of the Resistance too. I don’t know what happened him.”
“What are you not telling me?” Sarah pushed. She felt Melissa was holding something back. “Why can’t you look at me,” she said. “What is it?”
When Melissa looked up her eyes were bloodshot. “Someone betrayed your mother. Someone told the Elders about her. I don’t know who. But if your father got away...” she finished without saying what she thought.
“No,” Sarah said. “He wouldn’t have done that,” she insisted. “He was my father.” Her words sounded empty. What if my father was like Ranack? Ranack would have sold anyone out for the right price. “What proof do you have?” she demanded.
“None,” Melissa said. “I have none. I have replayed that night over and over again in my head. I don’t know why it happened. I don’t know what happened to your father. All I have are questions.”
“Then I will just have to ask him myself,” Sarah said with an air of finality. Deep down she had always feared her father was dead. Without any memories of her father, he had always seemed more distant. He was just a concept to her. Now Melissa had confirmed she had a father, she wanted to find him. He was as much a part of her as her mother was. She couldn’t get her mother back, but she could still have a family.
“What do you mean?” Melissa asked, her expression changing to one of fear. “You can’t go back to Earth. You will never make it past the warships in orbit. And even if you do, they’ll find you and you’ll be killed.”
“Maybe,” Sarah said. “But I am not as helpless as the little slave girl who was taken from Earth. I intend to go back and find my father and find out just who killed my mother. It was a Blackshirt that shot her, wasn’t it?”
“I don’t know,” Melissa said looking down to the floor. “I think so, but I don’t know why that man shot your mother.”
“Well I intend to find out,” Sarah said. “That is why I am here, I came looking for humans that can help me return to Earth. I have already found three miners from Alpha Centauri. Now I have found you. I am sure there is a wealth of information you can give me.”
“What happened to you?” Melissa asked. “You are not like the other human slaves that grow up with the collar.”
“You mean like Rex?” Sarah said. “He is your son, isn’t he?”
“Yes,” Melissa said. “He is my fifth.”
“Fifth,” Sarah said in surprise. “How many children do humans usually have?” Suddenly it dawned on her that she could have siblings out there.
“Normally two or three,” Melissa answered. “Harkin bought me for breeding. He treats us well, but at the end of the day, we are just a commodity to have. I have nine children. Four have already been sold as slaves.”
“I am sorry,” Sarah said, this time she wanted to pull Melissa into a hug. The look on her face was one of deep loss. It quickly passed though.
Instead she looked at Sarah with fear. “Thank you for freeing Rex. I thought I would never see him again.
“You are welcome,” Sarah began to say.
“But what do you plan to do with him?” Melissa broke in. “Are you going to take him to Earth? You can’t do that. You will get him killed.”
“I haven’t planned that far,” Sarah replied honestly. “I don’t think he understands the concept of freedom yet. If he wants to though, then yes, I will take him.”
“So, he really is free?” Melissa said.
“Yes, I don’t expect anything from him,” Sarah answered.
“How did you do it?” Melissa asked. “I mean, how did you get free, how did you get back here. Why are you so different?”
Sarah took a deep breath and then dived into her story. She told Melissa everything. If she was going to take her former guardian with her to Earth, she deserved to know the truth. As she told the story she stole a few glances back into the main part of the building. Many of the humans were still eating and chatting to one another. They seemed happy. Continuing to speak, her mind began to wonder. Harkin seemed like a good slave owner, as far as any slave owner could be called good. Yet she wasn’t going to leave a single one of her species in slavery. At the same time, she couldn’t take them all to Earth. Destiny couldn’t house them all and it would be too risky anyway. Slowly, a plan began to form.
“And so I need you to come with me to Earth,” Sarah finished. “You can put me in contact with the Resistance. You are the only way I have to reach them.”
“I... ah... your plan is admirable,” Melissa said. “But what can a few humans really do? Yes, you have Destiny and Alexandra. And everything you have accomplished so far is astonishing. But what can we really do?”
“We can try,” Sarah said. “That’s what we can do. I don’t intend to just throw my life away. We may have to take things very slowly. But with Destiny’s technology and enough time, we can come up with a plan. I know I can’t do it myself. I need help. Your help. And the help of the Resistance.”
“You are very like your mother,” Melissa said as she reached out and stroked Sarah’s hair. “Alright, I will help you in any way I can. But there is someone else here who is better suited to take you to Earth. The pilot who flew the small freighter that took us away. Harkin owns him too. He would be a better person to take you back. I have children still here. I would like to stay and look after them if that is possible.”
“That will work,” Sarah said after considering it. “I plan to buy all of Harkin’s slaves. In fact, I plan to buy his entire compound. I can’t take everyone with me back to Earth, some will have to stay here. This compound will be a safe place. Will you run it?”
“Harkin will never sell,” Melissa
said.
“I will give him an offer he can’t refuse,” Sarah replied. “Will you look after everyone who can’t come with me? I will leave you with enough gold to build better defenses and to buy a freighter or two. I want whoever stays behind to buy up the rest of the humans on Berius and to buy any more that are brought here to be sold.”
“I can do that,” Melissa said.
“What about the other slave species owned by Harkin?” Sarah asked. “If we free them, what will they do?”
“Some may try and get home,” Melissa said. “Others may want to stay here. Life is not too bad here, not compared to living on some Elder colonies. If we are free, we can make some changes around here too. We could start a school and open up some businesses.”
“You will need to be careful,” Sarah said. “Remember, there is a small Elder administrative team on Berius. “If Earth really is a planet that is meant to be unknown, then they might get concerned if they see a group of humans running free.”
“We can still wear our collars when we leave the compound,” Melissa said, thinking out loud. “As far as anyone is concerned, we can make it look like you left a representative here to continue to run Harkin’s business as a slave breeding compound. That would also give us a cover for buying slaves when they are brought to the planet. We can make sure no other humans are sold into slavery here.”
“That could work,” Sarah said. “At least for a while.”
“Harkin is back,” Melissa said as she nodded over Sarah’s shoulder.
“We can work out the rest of the details later,” Sarah replied. “Let’s see if I can talk him into selling.”
“Ah, Sarah,” Harkin said with a large smile when he saw her come out of Melissa’s room. “I trust your conversation was worth the money you paid for it? Have you had a chance to look at the rest of my slaves? Have you picked out one you would like to purchase?”
“I have had a look,” Sarah said. “I’m having a problem though. I can’t decide which I would like.”
“Well if you have two or three in mind, you can point them out to me and maybe I can help you,” Harkin said.
“That’s just the problem,” Sarah said. “It’s not just two or three I can’t decide on.”
“It’s not?” Harkin said as his face grew suspicious. “What are you trying to pull? We had a deal. You gave your word that you would buy a slave.”
“I will,” Sarah said. “I plan to keep my promise. I think I want more than just one slave.”
“Oh,” Harkin said as his eyes lit up. “Well that may be pricy. I wasn’t planning on parting with any of my slaves yet. How many do you want?”
Sarah took a moment to reply. “All of them,” she finally said.
“What!” Harkin almost shouted. His eyes looked like they were about to bulge out of his head. “All of them. That’s impossible. You would destroy my business. Dealing in human slaves counts for almost half of my profits.”
“I wasn’t just talking about your human slaves,” Sarah said. “I would like to buy you out. Take over your business. I am very impressed with what you have going on here. I foresee myself needing quite a number of slaves in the future. In the long term, I think it would be cheaper to breed my own.”
“No way,” Harkin said. “This is my business. I have built it from nothing. This is my home. I won’t sell.”
“You haven’t even seen my offer yet,” Sarah said, feigning disappointment. At the same time, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a credit chip. Handing it to Harkin, she waited for his response.
Harkin’s mouth opened as if he was going to speak, but nothing came out. Instead he just looked at Sarah. Several seconds passed and still he didn’t say anything.
“There are a couple of conditions,” Sarah said. “You are not to tell anyone exactly who bought you out. And you are to leave Berius. I’m sure there are a few other planets you have visited in your time. You can use that money to retire, or even set up an entirely new slave breeding operation. If you can agree to both of those, this money is yours.”
Harkin took a couple of seconds to look back down at the credit chip. “I accept,” he said as he looked back up.
“Good,” Sarah said with a smile. “I thought you might.” Really, she hadn’t doubted it for a second. She didn’t really know how much the compound and all the slaves were worth. It didn’t matter, she had offered Harkin sixty million credits. That would more than cover it.
*
Two hours later, Sarah was standing outside the compound watching the aircars that had come to take Harkin and his guards away from the compound lift off. It had taken her a while to sort out all the details with Harkin. Deeds of ownership had to be passed over to her and then sent to the government building in Kashal. She had also had to speak to the leaders of the other groups of aliens. Harkin had three other circular buildings that each housed a community of another alien species. All three had agreed to remain, at least for a while. Those who wanted to leave would have to be smuggled off Berius. It would raise too many questions if former slaves started turning up in Kashal.
As Sarah turned back to the compound she nodded to Divar. He was leading a group of humans who had volunteered to go with them to Earth towards the waiting aircars. Alongside Rebecca and her two friends, there were four other former slaves who had skills that might be useful on Destiny. Alexandra could handle the ship herself. Yet she was designed to operate with a crew. Having more hands and minds on Destiny would improve her efficiency, especially in battle. Sarah hoped they wouldn’t need the extra help. But the last few months suggested they would.
After Divar passed, Melissa approached with a man at her side. “This is Jake. He was the pilot who took us away from Earth. He will help you find Earth again and sneak past the Elder defenses. He is my husband.”
“Your husband?” Sarah said as her eyes widened.
“Yes,” Melissa replied. “It makes more sense for him to go with you. I said I would help you and this is how. I would go myself if that was what was needed. Jake and I have been together for the last seventeen years. We have never left each other’s side. But we are both agreed. He will go with you.”
“I... well, thank you,” Sarah said slowly. She could see the affection that Melissa and Jake had for each other in the way they were holding hands and the deep pain in their eyes. Nevertheless, Jake stepped forward and held out his hand. Sarah now knew what that meant. Holding out hers, they shook hands.
“You have freed my children from slavery,” Jake said. “If I can help you do that for the rest of our people, then I cannot just walk away.”
“Thank you,” Sarah said again, not knowing what else to say. “I promise you, I won’t throw our lives away. When I don’t need you again, I will arrange for you to return to Berius. Or we can bring Melissa and the others to Earth.”
“I wouldn’t want to bring them to Earth unless it is free from the Elders,” Jake said. “But with you leading us, who knows what may be possible. While you were making arrangements with Harkin, Melissa told me some of your story.”
“I just hope we can do something for Earth,” Sarah said.
“It’s time to go,” Divar called from where the aircars had set down before she could say anymore. “Everyone else is loaded up.”
“Good bye Melissa,” Sarah said. She looked away as Melissa and Jake embraced. They held each other and kissed, just as she and Ranack had done. There was a world of difference between what she and Ranack had shared and what Sarah saw passing between Melissa and Jake. They cared for each other deeply.
“Goodbye my love,” Melissa said to Jake as he turned to walk to the aircar. “And goodbye Sarah, thank you for everything.”
Sarah waved before she stepped into the aircar. As she sat down she reflected on the day’s events. Things had moved at a lightning speed. Never could she have guessed she would find her guardian on Berius. Now she had the very pilot who took her away from Earth as a child, guiding her back a
gain. She smiled, she would be home soon.
Chapter 32
Sarah stared in wonder as she gazed upon her homeworld. It was beautiful. There were vast blue oceans with white clouds swirling across them. Breaking up the oceans were marvelous green landmasses. And the greens were vibrant. Most planets she had visited looked the same from orbit. Earth didn’t. She could see various shades of green denoting what she guessed were varied habitats. Here and there she could see what must be deserts and then high mountain ranges. Earth had it all. It was beautiful. It was also approaching fast.
Sarah gritted her teeth as her body shook violently. Alexandra had warned her that re-entry would be rough. She hadn’t warned her just how rough. Through her view screen, she caught one last glimpse of the massive shipyard that was in orbit around Earth. Quickly, the heat from the friction of Earth’s atmosphere caused her view screen to go opaque. The material was designed to harden to protect her from the heat.
