He woke again with his head pounding and a blaster shoved in his face.
“Wha—?” He stared groggily at the blunt silver-blue muzzle hovering just above his nose. Gods, his head was killing him.
“Get up.” The steely voice belonged to a female named Sidna, who he was pretty sure was the ship’s medic. It was her voice he most often heard arguing with Trin about what was to be done with him.
“Can’t get up,” he said, glaring at her. “I’m chained to the fucking—”
“I’ve unchained you. Stunned you first in your sleep to be certain you didn’t wake up in the middle. I’m taking no chances with you, Havoc.” She waved the blaster at him again. “Now get up—slowly. This is set to kill so don’t get any ideas.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Thrace said dryly. “What are you going to do with me?”
“I’m getting rid of you while Trin is gone. She’ll probably be upset with me when she comes back—if she comes back. But that’s just too damn bad.”
“What do you mean if she comes back?” Thrace sat on the side of his much-hated cot, trying to regain all the feeling in his extremities and relishing the feeling of freedom for the first time in days. But the diminutive medic’s words troubled him. “Why wouldn’t she come back?” he asked, looking at her.
“Because she’s gone into the Demon’s Eye by herself with no backup,” Sidna snapped.
“She what?” Thrace exploded, standing up so suddenly Sidna jumped and shoved the blaster right in his sternum.
“I said slowly,” she snarled. “Any more sudden moves like that and I’ll blow your head off—I swear by the Goddess of Judgment, I will.”
“Sorry,” growled Thrace. “But the Demon’s Eye—that place is a fucking viper pit! Every murderer, skinner, psycho-slicer, and mind-raper in the known universe is welcome there. Any one of them will kill you just for looking at them the wrong way. And with that type it doesn’t matter how you look at them—it’s always the wrong way.”
“You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know. Anything I haven’t already said to Trin,” Sidna said tightly. “But she thinks she’ll be safe because she knows the male who runs the place.”
“She knows B’Rugh?” Thrace could scarcely believe his ears. Trin certainly didn’t seem like the kind of person who was on speaking terms with the most notorious crime-lord in this or any other galaxy.
“She beat him in a card game once,” Sidna said. “He’s been after her to come and ‘visit’ him on his home base ever since. But up until now she’s never been stupid enough—or desperate enough—to go.”
“Why in the Seven Hells would she go now?” Thrace demanded. “Especially without anyone to watch her back?”
“Why do you think? Because of you.” Sidna waved the blaster at him accusingly.
“Because of me? What are you talking about?”
“You mean she didn’t tell you?” Sidna raised an eyebrow at him disbelievingly. “Buying you nearly bankrupted her. I finally got the whole story out of her the other night—she spent fifty thousand credits on you to get you free of that slaver at the Flesh Bazaar.”
“Fifty thousand credits?” Thrace could scarcely believe it. The sum was ten times what even the most accomplished and highly trained slave was worth. He’d been bought at a high price the first time he was a slave but his old Master could afford it—Trin couldn’t. “Why the fuck would she spend so much on me?” he demanded.
“I have no idea.” Sidna gave him a withering look. “Especially since all she really wanted was a male to stand at her back and look pretty at the Yonnie Six state functions. And you plainly can’t even be trusted to do that.” You worthless piece of scum, her tone implied.
“She told me she didn’t buy me for sexual reasons, like the Yonnite mistresses buy body-slaves,” Thrace said. “But I never knew she just wanted me for backup.” Backup he hadn’t provided—and wasn’t providing now. Trin was alone in a den of thieves, rapists, murders and every other kind of criminal. And he wasn’t there to help. I could’ve been, he thought. If she’d trusted me enough to let me up, enough to take me with her. If I’d given her any reason to trust me.
“She bought you to save your worthless life, Havoc,” Sidna snapped. “She told me the slaver who sold you was trying to kill you with the pain collar he’d put on you. In my opinion, it’s a pity he didn’t succeed.” She shook her head. “Trin always was too soft hearted—although I never knew her to let her feelings get in the way of good judgment before.”
“I can’t fucking believe it…fifty thousand credits.” Thrace shook his head.
Sidna sneered at him. “You would’ve been overpriced at fifty credits-let alone fifty thousand.”
“Look, I can tell you don’t like me but I didn’t ask to be captured and sold as a slave,” Thrace growled. “Any more than I asked to be bought and chained to a cot for days on end.”
“Well you’re out of your chains now—much good may it do you. Come on.” Sidna was poking him with the blaster again. “Get going. The sooner you’re off this ship the better.”
“What the fuck do you plan to do with me?” Thrace growled. “Blow me out the airlock into deep space?”
“Don’t tempt me.” The medic’s voice was grim. “But no—Trin would never forgive me if I did that. For some reason she’s grown fond of you—even though you tried to strangle her and you can’t keep a civil tongue in your head. Goddess alone knows why but she actually likes you. So I can’t kill you.”
“Then where am I going?” Thrace demanded.
“Into one of the life pods. They’re fully stocked and they have enough fuel to navigate deep space for a good long time. Providing you can push the autopilot button, you’ll be able to make your way someplace safe. And anyplace away from The Alacrity is good enough for me,” Sidna said tightly. “Now come on, let’s go.”
She herded him at blaster-point down the narrow curving corridor to one of the far ends of the ship. Then she pointed to a small metal escape hatch.
“There. You can take that one. Just get in, press the big green button, and never come back. That’s all I ask.”
“Fine.” Thrace opened the door and ducked his head to get inside.
Without another word, Sidna sealed him in, cutting him off from the rest of the ship with a final sounding chink of metal against metal.
Thrace looked around, assessing his surroundings. The pod was cramped for someone his size but it clearly had enough food and stores for several people so he should be fine. The controls were simple too. He’d been piloting ships for almost as long as he’d been alive. One look at the miniature but fully functional navicon showed a stable wormhole just a few parsecs away. He could take it back to the galaxy he’d started from, get The Empress out of dry dock and go look for his best friend and first mate, Solar who had also been sold at the Flesh Bazaar.
But that would mean leaving Trin to the mercy of B’Rugh and the Demon’s Eye.
Looking out of the viewscreen at the front of the little pod, he saw the huge silver space station gleaming ominously in the light of the red dwarf star at the center of the system. Trin was in there somewhere…alone…unprotected. Oh, he knew she was probably armed—she was a savvy female and wouldn’t go into a place like that without a blaster or two strapped to her belt. But what good was a blaster against such a hoard of dangerous, lecherous criminals? Against B’Rugh? Thrace’d had some dealings with the crime lord in the past himself—none of them pleasant.
She bought you and chained you up! snarled a little voice in his brain. Chained you to a cot for days!
Because she didn’t trust me. Because I gave her no reason to trust me, Thrace answered it. And she’s only there because of me. She bought me to save my stupid, fucking life. That damn slaver would have killed me if she hadn’t stopped him.
He remembered now…Sidna’s scathing words had brought the recollections of what had happened in the Flesh Bazaar back like a fever dream. The slaver demanding that he get off the platform so Trin could examine him…his own silent refusal…then the horrible pain like a stinging electrical current running through his entire body. He even remembered seeing her punch the scaly bastard in the jaw when he wouldn’t turn off the pain collar. Trin really had saved his life—he owed her for that, no matter what the last few days had been like.