Slave Trade

Susan Wright

Chapter 2

Ash endures, as s/he must

Ash knelt on the pliant flooring that so many Alphas preferred. Ash was centered in mind and body, poised to live for another day. The Delta guards regularly marveled in hir hearing about hir remarkable survival rate in Rikev's hands. Some attributed it to the fact that Ash was a herme, with dual sex characteristics. Others pointed to Rikev's wide-ranging tastes when it came to gender and physical attributes, correctly identifying that the one trait his slaves had in common was their submissive resiliency.

Like the floor, Rikev's slaves had to give when pressed but be firm enough to stand on. That's what Rikev got from Ash. And Ash thus survived another day at Spacepost

T-3.

Rikev Alpha was standing behind hir, but Ash stared straight through the transparent section of the hull of the spacepost, letting hir eyes wander among the scattered stars. Spacepost T-3 had been built in Sirius, one of the new sectors on the frontier of the Canopus region. It appeared that Ash had reached the end of the line.

Expansion gave Alphas like Rikev the opportunity to advance. Ash didn't know much about him except that he was ruthless and brilliantly perceptive. Rikev went through slaves like water, and he preferred to exterminate his slaves after he used them. Ash had been passed from Alpha to Alpha, some good and many quite bad, but Rikev was a new sort of master.

Rikev's hands rested lightly on Ash's shoulders as s/he knelt facing the window. S/he continued to breathe calmly, knowing he would not like to feel hir wince at his sudden touch.

Rikev released the narrow straps that held up Ash's slave tunic. The two panels of silky white material fell down. From hir thighs to hir head, s/he was naked except for the narrow reflective ring of hir slave collar. S/he stared blissfully at the stars.

"Lights brighter," Rikev murmured.

The glare in the room increased and the beautiful field of stars faded into a reflection of the room. Ash didn't react, though s/he knew Rikev had done it to keep hir mind from escaping into the stars. After nearly a standard year, he had come to understand hir very well, carefully stomping out every tiny rebellion in his demand for utter submission.

Now Ash could see the reflection of the restrained but expensively decorated room where Rikev spent his private hours. It was very large by spacepost standards, but that was because he was the Senior Alpha in the Sirius sector.

Ash could also see hirself in the reflection. The folds of the garment rested on hir dual genitals, but hir slightly rounded breasts and narrow waist were revealed. Even Ash could see the illusion s/he presented, seemingly shifting from male to female right in front of hir eyes. Some hermes in her crèche had presented as male-masculine with a heavy chest and thickened neck that were feminized by small features like their dainty hands and delicate nose and mouth. Other hermes presented as a curvaceous woman with a strong masculine face and powerful, muscled body.

Ash was gender neutral with a straight adolescent frame and regular features that could be either handsome or pretty depending on hir expression. S/he looked much younger than s/he was, which had helped at times with the occasional tender-hearted Alphas s/he'd encountered.

Rikev watched Ash in the reflection. Even though he was off-duty as he entered his cycle of lust, as usual he wore his brown Fleet flightsuit with the insignia that denoted his senior status. Above the low collar, his smooth head was perfect. He had a strong-boned face with a high forehead, and his satiny skin was pale gold as if he was lit within by an inner glow. Like all Alphas, Rikev was very tall, strong yet graceful. He looked like the ideal humanoid, which wasn't surprising since Alphas claimed they were descended from the original humanoids who had colonized and seeded the planets of the Domain hundreds of thousands of years ago.

Ash has seen plenty of aliens from the inside out, so to speak, and s/he could vouch that they were all basically the same model humanoid. Mutations had altered their appearance in sometimes striking ways, but their common ancestry could be traced in the perfect proportions of the Alphas.

Rikev was a subtle man, but his lust was clearly growing. He looked at their reflection, with Ash kneeling under his strong hands. Ash continued to breathe regularly, knowing that hir hard-won calm was the only thing that would carry hir through this cycle of lust.

Three high beeps pierced the quiet.

Ash didn't move a muscle, but s/he could feel Rikev's fingers tighten on hir shoulders. Who would dare to interrupt Rikev Alpha? Everyone on the spacepost knew his cycle.

There was a long pause after the beeps and it looked like a terrible mistake that someone would pay harshly for after Rikev's lust had passed. But as Ash was preparing for the session to continue, the beeps sounded again.

Rikev's full lips tightened in annoyance as his hands tightened, jerking Ash back against him.  He slapped hir face hard. S/he instantly went slack and unresisting, hoping he wouldn't use his boots on hir next.

S/he expected more, but Rikev was simply venting his frustration. He turned and paced away from Ash, leaving hir in the lower section of the room while he went up several steps to the desk. Rikev hardly showed annoyance except for the crease between his eyes.

Ash knew him well enough to push hirself back into a kneeling position without glancing back. S/he tried not to blink or sway as s/he absorbed the throbbing pain in hir cheek bone. It took deep calming breaths to get through the discomfort.

In the reflection, s/he could see Rikev resting his hands on the desk. Always self-contained and controlled. Finally he answered exactly as he always did, "Rikev here."

Ash couldn't understand the sibilant language of the Alphas since much of it was out of range of hir hearing. But hir translator implant interpreted the words as well as the cocky attitude of Jolene Alpha, the Second Commander of the spacepost. Jolene was as sensuous and undisciplined as Rikev was cold and hard.

"A courier docked with a timed message for you from the Regional Commander." The translator gave her hiss the edge of laughter as she signed off. "It's in your queue. Jolene Alpha out."

Rikev stood motionless. Ash wished s/he hadn't heard that. He must be furious, though you couldn't tell by looking at him. A timed message was an insult from Heloga Alpha. His superior was noting every second he delayed to listen to it. He would have to answer it immediately otherwise she would construe it as a deliberate affront.

Ash had been in the frontier Canopus region for the past five standard years serving different masters, so s/he knew a bit about Heloga Alpha. One of hir masters had lived in the huge and glittering regional headquarters on the very pleasant moon named Canopus after the region. Once it caused quite a stir when Heloga Alpha had sent several of her high-level administrators to the Alpha Institute for evaluation. Only one came back.

Rikev sat down at his terminal and called up the message.

Ash began to relax as it played aloud. Rikev hadn't lowered the hush field so he must consider hir as insignificant as the pair of chirping, blue ciladas living in the foliage that crowded the far wall.

Heloga's message was translated in full throaty tones. "Your excuses for the shortage in last quarter's delivery of cesium fuel ore are not sufficient. You have eight factory ships and thirty freighters. The fault lies in your production levels. If you cannot meet the demand that has been set by the Regents, then I will be forced to replace you as Commander of Spacepost T-3."

Ash stiffened again, trying not to shiver in the cool air. That was no ordinary message. S/he had never heard an Alpha threaten another in such frank terms. S/he didn't dare move, but s/he could see Rikev's reflection as he considered the message. He would have to reply quickly, despite the fact that it would take twenty days for a courier to return it to Heloga.

Heloga's reaction was so extreme that Ash couldn't help wondering how light those freighters had been. Maybe Rikev was skimming from Domain proceeds, the surest route to extinction for an Alpha. But s/he wouldn't put it past Rikev - no one could be that cold and self-serving without making sure things were always going to his advantage.

But speculating on that wouldn't help hir. Ash tried to put it out of hir mind, focusing on the greenery at the end of the room as a way to block out the pain of hir throbbing cheek. The plants were slowly rearranging themselves according to a shifting display of lights, creeping around on tiny feelers. It was Ash's favorite part of the room.

Rikev activated his terminal. "Reply to Heloga Alpha, Regional Commander of Canopus. I intend to take the battleship Diligence to Qin territory to investigate the disappearance of the four freighters. And I am currently overseeing the implementation of an increase in production that will result in meeting or exceeding our quota of fuel ore for the present quarter. Rikev Alpha out."

Rikev remained still for a few moments, as if considering his message. Ash was impressed in spite of hirself. It certainly sounded effective. Rikev may have intended to send the battleship into Qin to investigate, but surely Heloga's message had prompted him to take charge of the mission. Ash knew that meant s/he or one of the other Solians would go with him. S/he didn't know much about the Qin except that their territory was many days away. Rikev would never be without a slave for long. As hir cheek throbbed, s/he sincerely hoped that he would leave hir behind.

There were undoubtedly many things to do to prepare to go. And Rikev would have Heloga's threat hanging over him the entire time.

Extreme stress could certainly snuff out lust in an Alpha, but Rikev was tougher than most of his kin. He merely smiled as he got up from the desk and started down the steps toward Ash.

During his last lust, he had choked hir until s/he passed out while he was penetrating hir. S/he hated being suffocated. When his hands went around hir neck, s/he was always sure s/he would die. But he never quite killed hir. If he had intended to, he could have. Instead, his fingers left bruises on hir throat, a vivid badge of who s/he belonged to. It was worse than anything else he did to hir, though he did plenty of terrible things.

Rikev liked to see hir pain. He never used implements, it was always his hands that dug into hir, slapping, hitting and pressing into hir until s/he bruised. It was usually so bad he preferred not to use hir for his next lust, waiting until s/he presented a clean canvas for his next attack.

The sex was mundane in comparison. S/he never touched him, not even to go down on him. He penetrated both hir holes down below, and occasionally manipulated hir penis to make it easier to torment it, binding it tightly to hir small balls or twisting it until s/he cried.

As his hands closed lightly around the base of hir throat, s/he knew the session would be very hard. S/he wouldn't see the grand finale. Rikev always climaxed after he had choked hir into passing out. S/he hoped s/he would wake up when it was over. According to the Deltas, there were a predictable number of accidents that happened with Rikev's slaves, leaving a dead body and too many reports for them to file. Ash had seen more slaves than s/he could count cycle through the senior staff's slave barracks, and most disappeared after a session or two or three with Rikev. S/he could only hope they all didn't die.

Rikev smiled slightly into the reflection that showed him towering over hir. His fingers tightened reflexively.

Ash braced hirself.