“Jess protected me,” Calla said, the pitch of her voice raising slightly. “I was small for my age, a natural target. Somehow he was always there, always taking care of me when things got rough. Sometimes he got in trouble for it, but he managed not to get in enough trouble to make the termination list…”
“T-t-termination list?” Dani asked in a horrified whisper.
“Well,” Calla said in a matter-of-fact voice, “If a child caused a problem, they would cull them out and terminate them whether it was that child’s fault or not. If you complained, that was causing a problem. Trust me, it’s an extremely efficient way to keep the peace. Those kids were willing to do a lot to keep someone like Jess from bringing trouble down on them. He did terrible things to keep us alive.”
“I had no idea,” Dani said, tears building in her eyes. No wonder the Guild wouldn’t allow members to own slaves.
“When we were ten, our entire crèche was sold in one lot to a broker,” Calla continued. “He had been taking orders throughout the mining field, and since Jess and I were born in incubators next to each other, we had sequential identification numbers.
That’s the only reason we ended up together at Jenner’s.”
Calla looked up at Dani with a soft, mocking smile.
“It was easier for the accountant to give us to her, it made the books look tidy. That’s all we were, numbers in a book.”
“Calla, I don’t know what to say,” Dani whispered after a second. “I didn’t realize…”
“Few people do realize,” Calla said harshly. “Besides, I wasn’t even conceived. I’m not even human. Why should it matter?”
Dani just sat there, trying to digest what she’d heard. She had known there were slave farms, had guessed they were awful places. She never approved of slavery, never owned slaves… but she had friends who did. With horror, Dani thought of the times she’d been served by a slave in a restaurant. How many of her clothes had been made by slaves? Public slaves cleaned the streets and corridors of most communities where she’d lived. How many times had she carelessly dropped a food wrapper? Not often, but enough.
“So you see,” Calla continued. “I’m not actually that afraid any more of what Seth might do to me. I am afraid of things. I’m afraid of the asteroid field, I’m afraid I’ll get caught, and I’m afraid that I’ll never find Jess. I’m even afraid of Seth. But I’m tired of living in fear. I got soft at Jenner’s hostel–she was actually a pretty good mistress. She fed us and she was too cheap to pay for obedience conditioning. In fact, she was so good to us that we forgot she could get rid of us. Jess wanted to escape but I talked him out of it. I was wrong, Dani. We should have gone while we could. If I can’t find Jess, I’ll never forgive myself.”
Tears were pouring out of Dani’s eyes, running down her cheeks and even dripping on her beautiful silk tunic. She dropped her head in her hands, overwhelmed by Calla’s story. Calla seemed unmoved, carefully picking a small piece of lint off the elegant yet practical traveling outfit she wore. Her hand shook, though, and Dani realized she was not as calm as she appeared.
“Dani,” Calla said after a second. “It’s almost time for me to go. I don’t want our last moments together to be sad. I don’t know if I’ll ever see you again, but if I make it I’ll send you a letter to let you know.”
Dani pulled herself together. Calla was right. This was no way to say goodbye; realistically, they might never see each other again.
“I can never thank you enough for what you’ve done for me,” Calla said, then stood and held her arms out to her friend. The two women embraced for several minutes without talking. Dani, the taller, rested her head against Calla’s, wishing they had more time. Calla had become far more than a friend, she realized. This was like losing a family member. The past few weeks had brought them closer than many people would get in a lifetime. There was a soft knock at the door, and the house manager stuck her head in.
“Your client is here, Devora,” she said, looking at the younger woman with sympathy. Devora had made friends during her brief stay at the house; they were all concerned about her.
Dani put both her hands on Calla’s shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes.
Then, her voice breaking, she whispered, “Whatever anyone ever tells you, you’re just as much a beautiful, strong and fully human person as anyone else–I’ve known that from the day I met you. Don’t believe what Jenner told you, and don’t be afraid to go out and take what you deserve.”
Calla pulled away from Dani’s embrace, and wiped her eyes. Then she straightened herself resolutely and pulled a light veil down over her face. Dani handed Calla a satchel. A larger trunk–filled with her new clothing–had already been sent ahead to Seth’s ship.
“Goodbye,” she said briefly, then turned away from Dani. She stepped out of the room and walked over to where Seth stood, glowering at her. His face was grim, and he had several armed guards with him. He watched Calla, fingers flexing with anger, then turned his attention to Dani.
“I won’t forget this,” he said, flaying her with his eyes. His hands clenched again, and for a second Dani was worried he might break into violence right then and there.
Poor Calla deserved better than this, she thought. She’d failed her friend with this contract–Seth was a madman.
When Calla reached his side, he reached out for her satchel. After a second’s consideration, she handed it to him. He passed it to one of his men, then placed one hand at the small of Calla’s back to guide her. The implication was clear–‘Devora’ was his. As they left the House of Lilies, the only thing giving Dani any hope for Calla was the fact that his touch had seemed gentle.
With a sigh, Dani allowed herself to sink into a chair and dropped her head back. It was over; there was nothing more she could do. Tension flowed out of her, and she realized she was shaking. It was time for a vacation, she though wearily. And then perhaps a new work placement. She was sick and tired of Discovery station.
Calla’s last trip through the station was a blur of excitement and trepidation. After seventeen years of slavery, she was finally free. All she had to do was make it out of the station unrecognized. Given the contingent of warriors surrounding her, that probably wouldn’t be a problem.
Seth had a transport waiting, which deposited them at his ship within five minutes of leaving the House of Lilies. The ship–only briefly visible to Calla through a porthole in the station’s bulkhead–was small and light. The kind used by smugglers. There wouldn’t be much room on board, she realized. His men must not be going with them.
That was all right with her. The last thing she wanted was to have to service another man if Seth got tired of her.
“Your things are already in the sleeping room,” he said, firmly guiding her into the ship. She could feel the tension in his arm, though he remained gentle. “As you can see, it’s small. There’s the cockpit, an all-purpose room and galley, the sleeping chamber and some cargo space. Stay out of the cockpit unless I tell you otherwise.”
With that, Seth turned away from her and entered some numbers in the portal control panel. The little light over the door went from green to red, and Calla could hear internal pumps clearing the air out of the airlock. They were really leaving the station.