Rose Rico never believed the rumors that the government was secretly selling human beings to the Alphas in exchange for advanced alien technology. The idea that human sex slaves were a luxury item throughout the galaxy was just too ridiculous to take seriously - until Rose found herself, along with hundreds of other human captives, bound for the far reaches of space, and compelled to cater to the depraved desires of her new alien masters. As a rule, pleasure slaves don't live very long, especially the stubborn ones. But Rose refuses to give up. Someday, somehow, she'll win back her freedom - or die trying!

Originally published by Pocket Books (2003) as part of the Slave Trade trilogy including Slave Masters (2004) and Slaves Unchained (2005). www.susanwright.info

Chapter 23

Ash gets what s/he deserves

            "More blood!" Rose exclaimed, as they watched the Fury in the imager as it struck the battleship with their lasers. "More blood!"

            It was the traditional call in the blood sports arena back in Tijuana that the kids used to urge on the contestants. But G'kaan's crew didn't seem to appreciate the invigorating chant. Rose didn't care, she was laughing out loud to see that huge battleship pounded by the Qin warship.

            They had chased after the Domain battleship for days, keeping out of reach of their long-range scanners. The regular bursts from the gravity slips were their only way to tell they were keeping pace behind the battleship. At any moment, they expected the ship to turn to see who followed them.

            But in this pocket, they had neared the slip without seeing the customary gravity flash from the battleship passing through. Then finally they came into scanner range, and M'ke located the Conviction proceeding to an emergency beacon that was some distance away from the slip. It was too late to pull back; the battleship must have detected them at the same time.

            At Rose's urging, they continued to move closer. She couldn't believe they would hesitate to take advantage of finally catching up to the battleship. As the battleship picked up the beacon and proceeded to the slip, G'kaan and L'pash had been busy lecturing her on how it was impossible for a warship to successfully attack a Domain battleship.

            Then the Fury leaped out from the lee of the slip and fired on the Conviction.

            As they engaged in battle, G'kaan shook off his shock and went to maximum speed. He couldn't believe his eyes when an explosion rocked the battleship, taking out their propulsion systems. The entire time, Rose pounded the back of his seat, urging on the Fury. "You go get 'em, S'jen!"

            L'pash's lip curled in disgust and she shot Rose nasty looks. M'ke was too busy with the scanners and reporting damage to both ships to pay attention to her. G'kaan looked thunderous.

            "Approaching interception," he finally announced.

            "The Fury's shields are off-line," M'ke told them. The small icon in the imager appeared to drift sideways. "They're barely out of range of the battleship's lasers."

            "That battleship doesn't look too good either," Rose put in. A couple of lifepods twinkled near the edge of the field, so the crew was starting to abandon ship.

            "Shields are down on the Conviction," M'ke confirmed. "And engines are dead. They're maneuvering by thrusters."

            "How did the Fury do this much damage?" L'pash demanded.

            "No matter," G'kaan declared. "It's up to us to finish it off.  Lasers ready."

            "Now you're talking!" Rose exclaimed. 

            G'kaan met her eyes with a fanged grin. They were all charged up, even L'pash. "Better sit down," he told Rose. "This could get rough."

            "Watch out for that forward weapons array," M'ke cautioned.

            "Going in," G'kaan said.

            Rose crouched down, holding onto the edge of the terminal next to G'kaan. She could still see the imager between the three main terminals. Their ship was diving toward the battleship, coming at them from behind.

            She held her breath as they closed.

            "Targeting their fuel cells," G'kaan said softly.

            It was quiet, unlike a blood sports game where everyone was yelling and urging their side on. This silent maneuver in vacuum was different, but had everything in common with the arena.

            "Firing lasers," G'kaan announced.

            The bright red lance shot from the tiny representation of the warship. It struck the battleship low on the fat rear end. The lasers held, burning in as the Resolve closed distance.

The battleship skewed heavily to one side, spun on its axis by thrusters. Long purple laser beams slanted out from the front weapons array, but they missed the warship as it peeled away.

            "Again!" Rose cried out.

            "Shut up!" L'pash retorted. "Let us fight!"

            "Calm down, sister. I'm on your side, remember?"

            "Coming around," G'kaan said, cutting them off. "Prepare for another attack run."

            Rose grinned, leaning forward. The battleship was slowly spinning, trying to cover every angle. But with one of its arrays a smoking ruin, there were blind spots.

The Resolve came in on a twisting approach. The fact that one of those purple lances could skewer their ship didn't bother Rose. She was thinking of the cubes she had been shut into, foul air she had breathed for weeks and that awful induction. Plus Jolene Alpha with her disgusting games...

            Rose wanted them dead, every alien who subjected Solians to such degradation.

            "Firing lasers!"

            "More blood!" Rose cried out as their red lasers slashed into the rear of the dark battleship.

            The Conviction staggered, then the side of the hull blew out in a shower of rainbow sparks. It was followed by an even bigger explosion that engulfed the entire battleship.

            Rose was thrown to the floor by the heaving warship. At first she thought they had been hit, but then she realized the cries from the crew meant they had won.

            She bounded up and leaned over the imager. The Resolve and the Fury were floating in a billowing cloud of debris, obscuring the star-speckled void.

            "We did it!" she exclaimed.

            "The battleship has been destroyed," G'kaan confirmed.

            Rose started dancing around the command center. It could be done! They could strike back against the Domain! They didn't have to take it anymore!

            "More blood!" she laughed and called out, spinning around the command center. The others were on their feet too, jumping up and down and clasping arms as Rose kept chanting, "More blood!"

* * *

            Ash felt the distinctive jolt and knew the Fury had been fired upon. It had awakened hir survival instinct. Something was happening, and s/he needed to be on her toes to deal with it.

            So s/he dragged hirself from hir bunk, slapping hir own cheeks to bring hirself to alertness. After another series of jolts, this time much stronger, the lights went out and the reddish glow of the emergency illumination switched on.

            Still, the door to hir berth didn't open as they were designed to do. Which meant there was a lock attached to the outside. S/he pounded on it and kicked the latch to no avail.

            Same as always - Ash was locked in with no way of knowing what was happening. Who would come to take hir away next? It wasn't a long wait, but it was enough for hir to recall dozens of horrible confinements that had ended badly. S/he had been having terrifying flashbacks ever since S'jen started giving hir the serneo-inhibiter. Once s/he had been locked in a grav bed for three days, floating and crying out for someone to let hir out. It appeared the Alpha who had put hir there had been called away suddenly and simply forgot about hir.

            That floating disorientation was bad enough, but more Alphas than s/he could count had locked hir in a cupboard or closet or even a trunk. S/he never understood why they didn't send hir back to the slave barracks, but some were paranoid that others were using their slave, while some wanted immediate access to hir whenever they wished.

            S/he was usually dragged from the darkness, blinking and cramped, to be called upon to perform amazing sexual gymnastics. S/he was violated in every way possible, with no thought of resistance. Some possessive Alphas like to keep hir around to show hir off to their friends, displaying hir naked and examining hir genitals like s/he was an animal. Occasionally they even penetrated hir while others watched in curiosity.

            How could this time be any different?

            Ash curled up on the floor in a corner, rocking slightly. The flashbacks had so demoralized hir that s/he couldn't look up when the door finally did open.

            "Ash!" Rose cried out, rushing to hir side.

            Ash thought s/he had finally snapped. Maybe everything in hir mind had broken loose and was sloshing around in random patterns, making hir see things that weren't there. But s/he could smell Rose, that earthy native scent that creche-Solians didn't have. It filled hir nose and hir lungs like s/he was home. A place s/he'd never been.

            "Rose?" Ash asked, questioningly touching the irrepressible girl. Rose seemed strong and vibrant. Real.

            Rose helped Ash stand up. In the doorway was S'jen with C'vid behind her. S'jen's forehead had a long cut across the top and dark blood snaked down her face and neck, smearing her jumpsuit. Ash couldn't tell at first what was different about S'jen other than the nasty cut, until s/he realized S'jen was smiling slightly with the tips of her fangs showing. S/he had never seen S'jen look happy.

            "You locked Ash in?" Rose demanded, glaring at S'jen. "I thought you said s/he agreed to come."

            "She abducted me!" Ash said weakly, pointing at S'jen. "I agreed to tell her about Rikev, but then she brought me out here."

            Ash knew that "abducted" was a loaded word for Rose, having been so recently abducted herself. But s/he didn't expect the reaction s/he got.

            "You're nothing but a dirty stinking Alpha!" Rose's hands tightened in fury, and Ash knew that if s/he could have stood on hir own, Rose would have attacked S'jen right there.

            "It worked," S'jen said calmly. "We destroyed the battleship because of the information Ash gave me. Rikev is dead."

            "Rikev Alpha is dead?" Ash asked in disbelief.

            "Isn't that what you wanted?" S'jen asked.

            Ash vehemently shook hir head, denying any complicity in what S'jen had done. "You drugged me against my will! You kept me locked up!"

            "We're going back to Qin," Rose assured her. "We'll tell them what their precious hero did to you. Wait until G'kaan hears about this."

            "No. Stop." Ash grabbed hold of the front of S'jen's flightsuit as Rose tried to shove by. "I kept my end of the bargain, now it's your turn."

            "The collar...," Rose remembered. "You're still wearing it. I thought you said she could take it off. Was that another lie?"

            "I can do the procedure now, if you wish," S'jen assured them. "For both of you."

            Ash let go of her flightsuit, realizing S'jen wasn't fighting hir. The Qin meant it.

            "No way are we going to trust you," Rose declared. "I'm not going to let you 'accidentally' fry both of us."

            "I'll come with you to the Resolve. G'kaan can oversee the procedure."

            Rose was shaking her head doubtfully, but Ash was certain. "Yes, come with us now. You're going to take my collar off like you agreed."

            Ash wasn't sure if S'jen would actually do it. S/he had spent too many days watching S'jen dictate everything to be comfortable with this new quiescent attitude. But S'jen seemed almost euphoric, distracted by her recent victory, as if what was happening now wasn't really important. She completely ignored the horrible wound on her head.

Ash knew better than anyone how much S'jen had wanted to destroy Rikev Alpha. So this was a satisfied S'jen. Yet Ash could still see the seething interior that wouldn't rest with anything less than total victory over the Domain and vindication for her people.

            So Ash could say s/he understood S'jen, even if s/he didn't agree with her. S'jen truly believed Rikev had been on the Conviction. Ash wasn't so sure. Rikev Alpha was such a cold, hard man - how could he be dead? But she liked the idea that she had contributed to his demise. She could only hope there was that much justice in the universe.

When they reached the Resolve and Rose found out that it was a medical procedure that S'jen was preparing to do, she tried to convince Ash to forget it.

            "This is crazy," she warned. "That woman held you captive and abused you. Now you trust her with your life?"

            G'kaan was glowering, his arms crossed as he stood against the wall of his day cabin. "If she harms you, she will be arrested and tried for murder."

            Rose crossed her arms in return. "Some comfort that'll be to Ash!"

            S'jen ignored the raging debate, waiting quietly as L'pash floated in the bio-pod and set it up near Ash.

            Ash took Rose's hand. "Listen, S'jen isn't going to kill me. It doesn't matter what I say to the Clan Council. They won't care what happened to me especially since she did it to save them. She's already thinking about what she can do next to the Domain."

            S'jen raised one brow slightly, but it was G'kaan who agreed, "You have a keen eye, Solian."

            Rose grumbled a bit. Then she turned and held up a finger at S'jen. "If you hurt Ash, I'm not waiting for the Clan Council, I'll take care of you myself right here."

            L'pash murmured to G'kaan, "Nice threat. Good thing it's on the logs."

            "Stand right here, Rose." Ash didn't care what they thought; s/he wanted Rose to be okay with this. "Which side do you need, S'jen?"

            S'jen picked up a bio scanner and passed it in front of hir head and shoulders. "Left side. It was for me, too."

            Ash tilted hir head back and far to the right. It felt wrong offering hirself up to S'jen like this, but s/he couldn't see any other choice if s/he wanted the collar off. S'jen wouldn't have any compunction in ripping out the throat of her enemy. But Ash wasn't S'jen's enemy.

            Ash, on the other hand, had more than enough reason to hate S'jen.

            "Hold very still." S'jen sprayed hir neck with the anesthetic. It felt cold, then quickly went numb.

S'jen picked up the molecular scalpel and brought it close to hir neck. It cauterized the incision, inhibiting the flow of blood from each ruptured cell. Ash felt looseness in hir skin as it spread apart.

"Is that the translator?" Rose asked.

S'jen reached for a clamp. Ash broke out in a sweat. Suddenly it was pouring from hir.

"Only a few moments more," S'jen said quietly.

For some reason that made Ash feel better. If nothing else, S'jen was the most competent person next to Rose s/he had ever met; she accomplished exactly what she set out to do.

"There it is." S'jen removed a silver and red disc from hir neck. It was round and slightly bigger than hir thumbnail.

S'jen placed it in a cup. Then she held it up for Rose and Ash to see. Ash straightened her neck, realizing s/he didn't have to worry about the open incision.

"See that red cylinder that goes through it?" S'jen asked, pointing to the spot with the stylus. "That controls the collar. You have to smash it. But be careful, if you ruin any of the other parts, you'll have to get a Qin replacement."

"I'd rather have that," Rose said grimly.

G'kaan shrugged. "We don't have any on board."

Ash looked confused. Their voices sounded like normal but the meaning was hard to understand. "I can barely hear you."

"The translator sends information via wave patterns directly to a probe it plants in your audio cortex. You're far enough away that it's interfering with the translation."

Rose looked revolted. "You mean there's something in my brain?"

"Something," S'jen agreed. She put the cup on the medpod and adjusted the stylus, holding it against the red cylinder. With one hard whack, she hit the stylus down into the cylinder. There was a crushing sound like crystal breaking.

"That should do it," S'jen told the rapt audience. "Let me take this to the other side of the room to sterilize it while you cut off the collar. You won't be able to understand anyone for a few moments, Ash."

G'kaan came over to help, wielding the ion saw, while Rose held padding against hir neck. There were so many people fussing around hir that it felt good. It was funny listening to them without hearing the translation. Qin had a melodious language, while Rose's words were as quick and fiery as she was.

Mostly Ash was afraid that something had gone wrong and s/he would be fried by the collar as soon as they started cutting. But it was over before s/he realized with a few passes of the laser saw.

As Ash opened hir eyes, Rose pulled off the two halves of the collar. Then Ash had to hold still again while S'jen inserted the translator back into hir neck. She pulled the skin together and sealed it with one stroke of the bonder.

S'jen stepped back while Ash felt the sealed wound. It was smooth, so it would probably heal well. It was still numb. "Can you hear me?" Rose asked.

"Same as before," Ash replied.

"Good, then do me next!" Rose demanded, nudging Ash to get up. Ash almost laughed at her sudden turn-around.

But Rose was uneasy, the whites of her eyes showing as she tried to watch S'jen. Rose obviously didn't trust her. So Ash stayed close by while S'jen expertly re-did the procedure.

The whole time, Ash kept rubbing hir skin where the collar had rested for so long. S/he couldn't help it. S/he felt lighter. S/he was finally free.

But s/he didn't let that wonderful feeling get in the way of watching every step of the procedure. S/he would need to do it for the other Solians after they returned to Qin.

When Rose stood up with that same wondering expression that Ash had felt, s/he was finally satisfied. Even being held captive was worth it.

But Ash caught S'jen before she left to return to the Fury. In a voice loud enough to be heard by everyone, Ash warned her, "If you hurt another Solian again, I'll personally make sure you pay for it."

S'jen still had that strange half-smile on her face. She didn't reply.

Ash shuddered as the Qin silently left. S/he was lucky to have some feeling left inside of hir in spite of a life twisted by Domain hands. Clearly some people were damaged beyond all hope.