-Enslaved-by-an-Officer[ Sold 8] (9 page)

“I am not compromised.” Honor stood on deck with several of his fellow officers. He knew something was going on when he entered the bridge and found that most of the Krase there were officers and all matched his rank. He was in command of the mission, which made him the final authority on all things, but there were several others who were the same caliber of officer as he so that all areas of the massive transport could be effectively managed.

“The human was witnessed by several warriors in the shuttle bay wearing your loincloth and covered in marks that were clearly the result of sexual congress.” Cursed Joy kept his voice even. He had nothing to gain but much to lose. By joining the hunt for the Earthlings, he gained ground with those who lead but lost chances to add to the three dots riding on his right cheek. “Our mission was to free the Earthlings, not to enslave them to our officers.”

“I didn’t enslave him.” Honor felt a rush of conflicted emotions. He and Carver had joked about enslaving one another, but Honor would never actually force Carver to be with him. The thought alone was nauseating. “Carver Tam came to me of his own free will. All you have to do is ask him.”

“Carver Tam had been on a
jild
farm for some length of time.” Honor waited, wondering what that had to do with anything. “Carver Tam may not have been able to think clearly or act in his

“I did not take advantage of him.” If anything, Honor had struggled to ensure that was something he
didn’t
do. Moreover, he’d also not just fucked Carver like some mindless warrior in the grip of releasing his fluids, but he had mated with him. Honor was on the verge of sharing that but refrained. He might actually hurt himself and possibly Carver worse by admitting he was emotionally involved with him. “It was mutual.”

“Perhaps.” Cursed looked grimmer than Honor had ever seen him, and that was saying a lot when they’d been on several violent campaigns together. “But you are relieved of duty until those who lead can determine exactly what has happened.”

Despair crushed down on Honor as if he’d somehow tumbled into a black hole. His life was in service to his world. There was nothing else for him. Ironically, he now understood far more deeply the pain that Carver had suffered. Losing everything one was familiar with was devastating. In Honor’s case, there was also a great fear. He could be retired. If he was extremely lucky, that was the penalty he’d face. However, if he wasn’t so blessed, he could be made an example of to other warriors. This could be done in a multitude of ways from stripping the mark of honor off his face to skinning him alive. Either way, he would no longer be working for the Krase military. Depending on which way those who lead went, he might not be able to even
see
Carver again.

When Carver had left, Honor had bid him good-bye without fanfare. Had he known it was the last time he would see him, he might have behaved differently. But he hadn’t. And now it was too late to change things.

“Just like when Carver went for a run that morning.”
“Did you say something?” Cursed asked.
“No.” Honor thought it best to keep his sudden insight to himself.

Just like Carver and all the other Earthlings, Honor had woken up and lived his life with no idea that everything he knew and took for granted could be suddenly taken away. It was terrifying. All he knew and accepted as normal was now in jeopardy, and there was nothing he could do.

Honor wanted to argue his case, but he knew he would simply be wasting his breath and everyone else’s time. Once a decision came down from those who lead, it was irrevocable except by them. Refusal to follow a directive would only worsen his situation. So Honor shut his mouth, handed over his insignia, his weapons, and then stood there feeling oddly naked.

Honor didn’t ask if he was going to be allowed to see Carver. He knew he wouldn’t be. If they thought he’d enslaved him and taken advantage of the human in some way, they certainly weren’t going to allow Honor to get anywhere near him. What was Carver going to think? Would he believe that Honor was abandoning him and ending their relationship? Honor allowed that scenario to run through his mind as he strode down the hall toward his rooms. He couldn’t help but picture an emotionally devastated Carver.

But then, he remembered how the humans behaved once they were mated. Now he saw an enraged Carver who would stop at nothing to get to him. The notion was somehow a powerfully romantic one that made Honor smile. Carver would fight to reunite them and that—no. That idea was not good because Honor feared Carver would be hurt. There were hundreds of thousands of Krase warriors on board the vessel. All of them would be vigilant in carrying out the orders of those who lead. If Carver refused to stay away from Honor, they would have no choice but to imprison him or possibly exterminate him if he became a danger to the ship and crew. Gone was Honor’s fear for himself. His concern now was for Carver. How could such a simple thing as handing him clothing be taken so out of context?

“Your devotee will also be confined to his quarters.” Cursed Joy nodded to his room, and devotee dutifully entered. Honor made no attempt to mentally communicate with him. Doing that would only potentially cause more damage to them both. Honor had heard rumors that sometimes devotees were interrogated first so that those who lead could glean information to use against the warrior they sought to condemn.

At his doorway, Honor turned to Cursed. “I would ask only one thing.”
Cursed considered him for a moment. It looked as if he would automatically refuse Honor’s request before he’d even asked, but then he nodded slightly.
“Carver is my mate. As such, he will be concerned about me. Please explain to him I have not been harmed but must be kept in isolation.”
“Mate?” Cursed lifted one brow with a curiously human expression on his battle-scarred face.
Honor used other words that he knew from other cultures. The Krase had no word for the notion as they simply didn’t pair off the way humans did. Once Cursed understood, Honor continued, “Once mated, a human can be extremely determined to protect their chosen. If you doubt me, all you have to do is take a look at what has happened between several of our officers and humans.”
“I’m aware.” Cursed made a face. It was fleeting, but still clear that he was disappointed and a bit disgusted by Honor’s actions. There was no doubt in his mind that Honor had made the exact same face when he’d discovered Noble’s love for Kyle. Just like Honor had thought all that time ago, Cursed believed he was immune to the allure of humans. Honor knew if Cursed spent any time around them at all he would fall victim to their charms just like every other Krase warrior had.
“You think I and the others who have fallen to the Earthlings’ appeal are weak?” Honor had thought that, too, until he realized how strong love made him.
When Cursed frowned, Honor knew that was exactly what he thought.
“You do not know them.”
Cursed met Honor’s probing gaze. “They are no different from any other species.”
“They are unique.”
“I do not think so. I fail to understand what you, Blessed, and Noble—it matters not.” Cursed cut himself off. “The issue is over as there will be no more Krase involvement in retrieving the humans.”
“Who will retrieve the illegally stolen Earthlings?”
Cursed stared at him without answering.
“Who?”
“You have no right to know.”
Had he made such a mess of things that they would rather let the remaining humans simply stay in their enslaved state rather than bother to find them and free them? If that was the situation, Honor felt responsible and didn’t think he could ever forgive himself.
“I ask that you tell me. This has been the most important mission of my career. If I’ve endangered those who remain…” Honor let his voice trail off because he had no idea how to put his shame and fear into words.
Again, for a moment, it looked as if Cursed was simply going to turn on his heel and walk away. But he seemed to take pity on Honor. “Those who lead have now cordoned off Earth’s airspace. What the unscrupulous slave trader did will not happen a second time.”
“This is good.” Honor had been aware of and helped to enact that particular plan. “Just in case one does try to go back, we will know and be able to stop him before any time distortion can occur.”
“They will also use that to find the humans.”
“I don’t understand.” Honor knew the device was like a massive metaphorical net around the galaxy the Earth was a part of. Even with their advancing technology, they wouldn’t be aware of the shield. However, as soon as any spaceship penetrated the web, the Krase would know.
“The humans will have to simply accept their fate wherever they may be.”
It took a moment for the full ramifications of that to sink in. Rather than look for the humans, the Krase would only get involved if they attempted to return to Earth. “But they were illegally enslaved.”
“And it is not our crime against them.” Cursed straightened, looking somehow personally affronted. “We only took on the task of finding and freeing them because they were sold on our soil. The Krase government has now tightened our slave trading policies, but we find that tracking all of them down is beyond our responsibilities.”
“But all those Earthlings…they don’t know they are free.”
Cursed glared.
“They could be in danger.”
“So are millions upon billions of other sentient species. I fail to see how those hapless few should command the resources of the Krase.” This time, Cursed turned on his heel and strode off, leaving Honor at his door with two guards.
Without a word, Honor entered his rooms and allowed the door to be closed and locked from the outside. He sat down on the edge of his bed, getting a pleasing whiff of Carver. As good as the scent made him feel, nothing was going to make him feel better for long. The rest of the Earthlings were being abandoned, and he couldn’t help but think their cruel fate was his fault.

Carver was just letting the idea that he might have singlehandedly destroyed Honor’s career sink in when Acerith lunged for him. They were sitting close with Acerith on his cot and Carver on another across the way when Acerith was suddenly on his knees between Carver’s parted legs. Acerith grasped Carver’s face with both hands and came so close Carver thought he was going to kiss him. His skin was oddly cool and slick, almost but not quite like a reptile’s would be. It wasn’t icky, only strangely alien and surprisingly intense.

“There is a picture of another human in your mind.”
“What?” Carver was so startled by his proximity and the major jump in the conversation he almost flinched back. He might have, but Acerith had such a fierce hold on him that if he moved he was going to snap his own neck. Hell, with that grip he’d be a fantastic ball player.
Acerith drew a deep breath through his nose. He spoke much slower and with a far calmer edge to his voice, but it was still plenty clear he was agitated. “I caught a glimpse of a human in your mind. He’s flipping his hair off his face. Who is he?”
“Oh, him.” Carver tried to disengage, but Acerith wouldn’t let go. Carver wanted to tell Acerith the truth about how he was abducted from Earth, but Honor had urged him to be cautious about who he told. So rather than tell Acerith that the man in question had died in the same explosion, Carver simply said, “He was auctioned off at the same time I was.”
“He’s near.”
“He is?” Carver wanted to look around, but Acerith wouldn’t let go. “Dude, you’re hurting me.”
“I apologize.” Acerith let go of Carver’s head, but he didn’t move away. “We have to help him. He’s in great danger.”
“You can feel where he is?”
“I can.”
Carver didn’t hesitate. He grasped Acerith’s hand and tried to take him to Honor, but they were both stopped at the exit of the shuttle bay by a massive warrior. As calmly as he could, Carver explained the situation, but the guard wasn’t listening.
“My orders are to keep all the refugees in this area.”
“Let me talk to your supervisor.”
It took a moment for the word to translate, but when it did, the Krase warrior lifted one edge of his lip and snarled. The noise was faint but clear. “I have my orders.”
“But this man knows where another one of the Earthlings is.”
The warrior looked at Acerith as if he were bored out of his skull. It became abundantly clear he didn’t give a crap about anything other than following his orders. Spurred on by Acerith’s desperation, Carver tried to talk to the other Krase present, but they wouldn’t listen either. Worse, he couldn’t even leave the area by himself when he’d been able to do so before. How had everything changed so fast?
“Let me talk to Honor. Or just call him down here.”
The warrior pointedly ignored Carver by looking past him and unfocusing his gaze. It was a clear sign of dismissal, but Carver had never been willing to simply accept things as they came. He thought of a dozen ways he could attack the warrior before he could reach for one of his weapons. But that was a terrible idea. It wouldn’t do him or Honor any good to have both of them in trouble. There had to be another way to get out of here and get to someone in authority who could tell him what was going on.
Carver backed away from the warrior, which actually snapped his attention to high alert. Grinning, Carver turned toward the area where the beds were arranged. Acerith was kneeling on the floor by his bunk with his head down. He looked like he was praying or maybe crying. Concerned, Carver moved over to his side and crouched down. As respectful as he wanted to be if he was praying, Carver also didn’t want to leave him if he was in pain.
“We have to find a way to get to him.”
“The human?”
“Jeremy. His name is Jeremy. He has a child with him.”
Carver felt panic infusing his body with adrenaline. He pushed the mounting dread away. A cool head and calm thought was going to get this situation resolved. But how? He sank down to his knees, adopting the pose that Acerith was in.
“What are you doing?” Acerith asked.
“I’m trying to think of a way out of this. What are you doing?”
“I am communicating with Jeremy. I’m trying to get him somewhere safe.” Acerith looked over at Carver. “I need you to go as your nearness is disturbing my focus.”
“Sorry.” Carver stood, and his loincloth slipped down. He grabbed it before he was exposed, but then he had a small nugget of an idea. It was crazy and probably wouldn’t work, but he had to do something. Ironically, it was the opposite of cool, calm, and collected thinking.
“Where’s that red pen they gave us to mark our laundry?”
“Over by the hygiene supplies.” Acerith spared him a quick glance. “Why?”
“I’m going to do something to get us help. No matter what I say or do, just keep helping Jeremy.”
Rather than wait for a response, Carver strode over to the hygiene area. He grabbed a few items as if he intended to clean up but his main focus was the red pen. Once he was out of sight, he used it to draw dots on the shaft of his cock. When he was done, it looked like his dick had either chicken pox or prickly heat. It wouldn’t hold up to close inspection, but that wasn’t his concern right now. He ditched the red pen and then let out a shriek that damn near shook the ship.
With his loincloth in hand, Carver exited the bathing area completely nude and utterly focused on his prick.
“What is the matter with you?” One of the Krase warriors moved close to him, but Carver held up his hand.
“Don’t you dare come near me!” Carver infused his voice with every hysterical vibe he could summon. He had only been in one play in high school as the acting gene just wasn’t as strong in him as the sport-playing gene, but he could certainly pull off the wounded lover. “Your commander gave me some alien VD!”
The guard frowned, clearly trying to translate what Carver had said.
“Look at my dick!” Carver shook it for good measure. “I don’t know about yours, but mine shouldn’t have all these red dots all over it. Honor gave me some disease! I demand to speak to him right now!”
Other Krase warriors crowded around but not too close. The only one who wasn’t budging was the one by the exit door. He was still at attention, but he was watching and looked curious.
“Oh, God! It’s spreading!” Carver thought they’d all gotten enough of a look at him, so he wrapped the loincloth around his hips. “Where is he? I demand to see him and find out what he’s given me!”
“Our orders are—”
“I don’t give a fuck about your orders!” Carver yanked off his loincloth. “Do you see this?” He pointed to his cock. “Look at what he did to me!”
While the Krase darted glances between Carver’s cock and each other, Carver noticed that Acerith was still in his kneeling position. The other refugees were observing the situation without getting involved. Carver needed to push the warriors into getting someone down here who could actually do something. He didn’t want to make false accusations against Honor, but it might be the only way he was going to get out of here.
“You have media, right? News? Mass communication? Just imagine how it will play when I tell the universe that I was rescued only to be used by one of your officers and infected with a sexual disease.”
That was what got a new and clearly superior officer down to the shuttle bay. He pointed at Carver and two Krase. After Carver put his loincloth back on, they escorted him out of the shuttle bay. The three of them followed the lead officer for a long distance that took Carver in pretty much the opposite direction of Honor’s rooms. He was disappointed, but at least he’d gotten out of the shuttle bay and captured the attention of a higher-up on the chain of command.
Once they entered a well-appointed room, the two Krase officers stayed at the door while Carver and the officer went inside. As soon as the door closed, Carver was alone with the guy.
“I am Cursed Joy.”
Carver immediately wanted to comment on how interesting his name was but refrained. He was on a mission, and he wasn’t about to get sidetracked. “I’m—”
“I know who you are.” Cursed sounded anything but pleased to meet him. “What is wrong with you?”
“Nothing.”
Cursed frowned. “I was told that Honor had infected you with some kind of genital illness.”
“I lied. I needed to get out of there and get to someone who would tell me what was going on. But I also need help to save another Earthling.”
“What other Earthling?” Cursed didn’t sound very interested, but that might just be standard for the species. All the Krase came off rather disinterested.
As briefly and coherently as he could, Carver described the auction he had seen, and that he recognized one of the other men as having been near when the fatal explosion occurred. “The slave trader took two from that accident.” He went on to explain that Honor’s idea had been that having a name might help track the man down but then Acerith had seen the image in Carver’s mind. “He says he can feel him. He’s near, he’s with a child, and he’s in great danger.”
“Acerith is the Venian?” Cursed didn’t seem to understand the gravity of the situation. He was pouring himself what looked like a complicated drink. For all Carver could tell, Cursed was acting as if he had all the time in the world. Carver realized he did. It was Jeremy who didn’t.
“Yes. Acerith is from Ven. We can confirm his vision or whatever you want to call it because Acerith said his name is Jeremy. If we can look at the news report, we should be able to verify that was the man’s name.”
“You mean the report that you and Honor already looked at?”
“We didn’t look at it. Not yet. We were going to.”
“I thought you said this was Honor’s idea?”
“It was. But before we could look for news reports, we got…distracted.”
“That is when he took advantage of you?”
“No. He didn’t—Honor and I had a mutual encounter. Period. The hysterics down in the shuttle bay were to get your attention so I could ask for your help.”
“So there’s nothing wrong with you?”
“Look.” Carver took a step toward him, and Cursed bristled, causing him to step back. “I don’t know what’s going on, exactly, but Honor didn’t do anything wrong. He didn’t force me or enslave me or anything like that. He gave me this to wear because the pants I was given didn’t fit. That’s it. I don’t want him to be in trouble over me, okay?”
Cursed simply looked at him.
“Is Honor in trouble?”
“His fate is no concern of yours.”
“It is if he’s my…” Carver didn’t know what to call Honor. They’d shared something a lot deeper than just sex, but it wasn’t quite love. Not yet, but he knew that was going to happen. Love was like a train coming at him, and sooner rather than later it was going to plow right into him. “He’s my mate.”
Cursed startled back.
Carver wasn’t sure why, but what he’d said actually frightened him. But why? Was the word translated oddly in Krase? It was the word he and Honor had used when they’d been together in his room. Mate sounded a bit strange to him at first, probably because it made him think of Australians, but the more he thought about that particular term in connection with Honor, the more right the word seemed.
Cursed was looking at him with an expression that was utterly unreadable. Carver thought there was a lot more going on here than met the eye.
“I can’t help but notice that you have a three planet mark on your face just like Honor does.” Honor had explained to Carver what the marks meant. “Are you condemning him so that you can take over his mission?”
Rather than answer, Cursed sipped his drink. Carver realized that he wasn’t going to give him any information about Honor so he pushed onward.
“As concerned as I am about Honor, I’m also worried about this other human, and you should be, too.”
“Why should I care about any of you?” Cursed polished off his drink and set the empty glass on the bar. “You humans are nothing but trouble. And finally, those who lead have recognized that we don’t owe you anything.”
“What do you mean?”
“You subtly accuse me of trying to take Honor’s mission from him when the truth is I have single-handedly ended his assignment. No more will the Krase government spend our time and money rescuing the slaves of Earth.”
“But I thought that since we were sold on your soil you—”
“The auction house has been reprimanded. Slaves are now implanted with a non-removable tracking device. The slave trader who illegally captured and sold your kind has not been found—”
“He’ll just do it again!” Carver felt too many things pressing on his attention, all of them time sensitive.
“He simply cannot. Earth in now considered restricted airspace. If the protective barrier is breached, we will know, and we will deal with those who violate that directive.”
“But there are still men out there falsely enslaved.”
“If you are so concerned, you may fund a mission to save them.”
Carver stood there, realizing that after he’d made peace with the life he’d lost on Earth and embraced a new life in space, he’d now lost that one, too. What absolutely infuriated him was that both of them were wrenched out of his hands before they ever got started. Worse, both losses were not his fault.
“I took the demise of my life on Earth pretty well. Considering everything I had to let go of, I think I made peace without a lot of struggle because I realized there was nothing I could do about it.” Carver approached Cursed. “But I’m not letting go of the one I have here. Not without a fight.”