The Price of Pleasure (9 page)

The corporate outpost had been the hardest stop for Calla, both logistically and emotionally. Each time they arrived at a station, she anxiously scanned the faces of those around her, seeking Jess. Several times she’d shown his picture to groups of slaves, always careful to keep her activities a secret from Seth. So far he suspected nothing, but she couldn’t afford to take anything for granted.

The corporate mine had been too large for her to question the slaves; even if she’d had the time to talk to all of them, the security was too tight. She’d taken another route instead, cozying up to the personnel manager while Seth was taking a tour. She’d created a cover story, telling the manager that the slave, Jess, had been sold by accident.

According to her story, Mistress Jenner had regretted selling him within days of his departure. Devora, as Mistress Jenner’s friend, had agreed to keep an eye out for the young man during her tour of the asteroid field. She would, of course, offer generous compensation for Jess’ return.

The manager had looked through his books, scanning the transactions to see if he had any workers who fit Jess’ description. He even had a series of holos of each “unit,”

as he called the slaves. Calla scanned the most recent purchases carefully, but none looked like Jess.

“I didn’t think we’d have the unit you’re looking for,” he told her after she’d examined the last of the holos. “We buy most of our units in lots, so unless it’d been resold to a wholesaler, odds are we wouldn’t see it. I think you’ll have better luck checking with smaller operations.”

His callous attitude toward the men who lived and died under his care horrified Calla, but she was careful to keep a casual smile on her face. The last thing she wanted to do was arouse suspicion by betraying her emotions.
You’re a free woman now,
she reminded herself.
The fate of slaves is unimportant to you.

But the faces of the captive men, filled with fear and trepidation, haunted her. Most of them would be dead within a year, none would ever leave the asteroid belt. Death, Calla thought sadly, would be merciful for these men.

And now Jess was one of them.

* * * * *

Seth gently guided the sleek ship toward the remote asteroid, eyes scanning its surface for a place to land. He’d heard from some miners at his last stop that there was an encampment here, although no mining claim had ever been registered. They’d warned him not to go there because the miners were crazy. According to Seth’s sources, they’d spent too much time in the middle of nowhere; they were paranoid. Once they’d even fired on one of the harmless peddlers who worked the asteroid fields, carrying supplies and trading among the camps and stations.

To Seth’s mind, it sounded like they might be exactly who he was searching for.

Intelligence reports indicated that a group of extremists was hoarding weapons in preparation for some kind of holy war against the Saurellians. The whole thing sounded ridiculous to him, but his source insisted that the threat was real. The whole purpose of his mission was to find these people, and return to his superiors with a report on how to control the threat they represented to the Saurellian occupation.

As he approached the asteroid, however, he felt a twinge of unease. He didn’t like the idea of bringing Devora to a potentially dangerous place. Having a willing woman with him seemed like a good idea when they’d left Discovery station, but now he was less sure of his decision. He had long since realized she was the best thing that had ever happened to him; he was happier with her than he’d been since he was a child. He didn’t understand why, but even the thought of her in danger was enough bring cold sweat to his skin.

He didn’t have any other option, though. He’d seen the way men’s eyes followed her at their stops so far. Women were hard to come by in the mining fields; he had little doubt that if he dropped her off at even the most civilized of posts she wouldn’t be safe.

He’d allowed her to move about freely at their previous destinations, but this time he was going to have to keep her on a short leash. Otherwise he could lose her, and that simply wasn’t an option.

“Are we almost there?” Devora called up to him from the base of the ladder. “Do you mind if I come up? I’d like to watch as we approach.”

“That’s fine,” he said lightly. “Make sure you stow everything first. I don’t know what the gravity will be like on this thing, so we could get bumped around a bit until the ship compensates for it.”

She still always asked permission to come up into the cockpit, although he’d long since stopped worrying about her moving or damaging anything. She was a puzzle, Seth mused. Half the time she was a self-confident seductress; the rest of the time she was almost pathetically eager to please. She took care not to intrude on his space and was constantly doing little things to make him more comfortable. Most of the pleasure workers he’d known in his life were prima donnas. They might do almost anything to bring physical pleasure to their clients, but they wouldn’t dream of cleaning. At times he had to force Devora to stop working. It was strange… it wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy being cared for, but she did more than her fair share. It wasn’t right, and it wasn’t part of their contract.

The thought of that damned contract made him wince. He didn’t like the idea that Devora was only with him for his money. Not that she didn’t enjoy his company. He could tell she genuinely liked being with him, and not just because they had great sex.

They’d spent countless hours studying the holo-maps together, discussing politics and swapping stories. She had remarkably little understanding of the war between the Empire and the Federation, but she was eager to learn. In the evenings they would play card games and even read books to each other. One night they got drunk on
bakrah
and chased each other around the ship like wild children. Seth had never spent time doing such mundane things with a woman, yet he was never bored. Sometimes they didn’t even have sex. His friends wouldn’t believe him if he told them that, he realized with amusement.

“All right, everything is stowed,” Devora yelled from below, then he could hear her climbing the ladder. She sat down beside him, looking eagerly out the window. “So, who are we visiting here? Is it another corporate mine, or something smaller?”

“I don’t really know what we’re going to find here,” he replied after a brief pause.

They were getting closer, and he could see what might have been a habitation bubble on the surface, but it was hard to tell. “This one isn’t actually on the charts, and there’s no official claim filed. I think they might be members of a survivalist group.”

His words sent a shiver through Calla. What kind of survivalist group, she wondered. Were they Pilgrims, like Jenner? If so, this stop might lead her to Jess. But she’d have to watch her step. She had met hundreds of Pilgrims at the hostel–they came for meetings once or twice a year, although she’d never learned what they were meeting about. They were extremely private, and didn’t even allow the slaves in to serve them food.

“What kind of survivalists?” she asked, trying not to sound too interested in his answer.

“Well, I’m not sure,” he said after a second. They were getting closer to the asteroid, and his maneuvering was becoming more complicated as several smaller asteroids brushed by their path. “I think they might be part of a group called the “Pilgrims of the Apocalypse,’ ever heard of them?”

“Um, no,” Calla replied, nervously crossing her fingers. She was so tired of lying to Seth. If only she could be sure he’d understand, she would tell him the truth. If it was just her life at stake, she probably would have. She had Jess to worry about, however.

“I guess it’s kind of a strange group,” he said. “I don’t know too much about them, because we’ve never had them in the Federation before now. That’s partly why I decided to take this trip. I’m curious about them.”

“Oh,” she said, unsure of how to answer. She was surprised he hadn’t realized Jenner was a Pilgrim after staying at the hostel for so long, but after a bit of reflection she realized it wasn’t really that strange. Jenner hadn’t held any meetings while the Saurellians were in residence, and there hadn’t been any other guests. In fact, there was no reason to think he would know Jenner was a Pilgrim. The old bitch certainly hadn’t gone out of her way to advertise the fact to the Saurellians, which was strange in and of itself. Usually if they had a guest who wasn’t a Pilgrim, Jenner would corner them to try and discuss religion.

“So, I take it they aren’t very friendly?” she asked finally.

“That’s their reputation,” he replied. “We know they’re opposed to the government, and the Saurellian government in particular, but we don’t know why. I’m not going to tell them that I was provisional commander of the system until recently, and I want you to stick close to me the whole time. I just don’t feel entirely comfortable about this visit.

Maybe it would be better if you stayed on the ship,” he added, looking over at her with concern.

That wouldn’t work, Calla thought in panic. She had to do something, or she’d never find Jess.

“That’s not fair,” she said in a pouty voice. She didn’t want to overdo it, but she had to convince him to let her leave the ship. If he didn’t want her leaving, she had no doubt that he’d find a way to keep her on board. “I’ve been trapped on this ship every bit as long as you have. I have every right to see some new people, even if they are some kind of strange Pilgrim.” She glanced at him under her eyelashes, trying to see his reaction to this new ploy. He looked somewhat startled.

“I didn’t realize you were feeling trapped,” he said after a brief pause.

“Well I am,” she said, tossing her hair a bit for effect. “I mean, I’m enjoying the trip, but I’ve been looking forward to each stop. I like meeting new people and going new places.”

“I’m just not comfortable with you leaving the ship here,” he said. “It may not be safe.”

“You know,” she said, adding a bit of pique to her tone. “I’ve traveled all over the Empire and managed to take care of myself. We have these ‘Pilgrims’ there, you know.”

“Would those be the travels with your former clients?” he asked tightly.

“Yes,” Calla said breezily. “And I’ve always managed to take care of myself. I want to go down on that asteroid. It’s ridiculous of you to tell me I shouldn’t.”

Seth stared at the asteroid looming ahead of them, a muscle in his jaw twitching.

Calla suddenly realized she might have spread it on a little too thick.

“I mean—“ she started to say, but he cut her off.

“I think you made your meaning clear,” he said tersely. “You’re tired of being trapped with me on this ship, and you’re perfectly capable of taking care of yourself.

Quite clear.”

“That’s not what I meant at all,” she said. She could feel the intimacy they’d built between them slipping away. This wasn’t what she’d been trying to do. A panicky feeling came over her.

“Don’t worry, I won’t make you stay here on the ship,” he said, not bothering to look at her. “But I want you to keep close to me out there. Now why don’t you go down to the main room and strap yourself in. Like I said, this could be a bumpy landing, and I don’t want to have to worry about you getting injured.”

“I’d rather stay up here with you,” she replied in a small voice. She’d hurt him, and she didn’t know how to fix it.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he answered. “I need to focus on this landing, and it will be easier if you’re not around.”

“I see,” she said quietly. “Seth, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I know you’re just trying to protect me.”

Seth finally turned to look at her, the asteroid momentarily forgotten. His expression was one of incredulity.

“Hurt me?” he said. “Don’t be ridiculous. I think you’re forgetting what we have here. I’m a Saurellian warrior, and I’ve hired you–a pleasure worker–to give me physical release on this trip. Nothing more. A woman like you could never hurt me.”

The cruel words hit Calla in the pit of her stomach. Abruptly, reality sank in. She was a slave on the run. She’d allowed herself to develop feelings for this man, but slaves couldn’t afford to have feelings. It was a weakness and it had to be covered up before someone took advantage of it.

Pasting a bright smile on her face, Calla replied smoothly, “Oh, don’t worry Seth. I know exactly what we have here.” Then she turned away from him and walked carefully to the ladder. She’d be damned if she’d let him know how much his words had hurt her.

* * * * *

The landing on the asteroid was every bit as rough as Seth predicted. Usually he was able to program the computer to adjust the gravity stabilizers, but he simply didn’t have enough information on this place. No one had answered his com hails, but at least they hadn’t attacked him. That was something.

He put the ship down on a flat area about a quarter mile from the habitation dome.

Another ship was already parked to one side of the field, a decrepit-looking junker that should have been scrapped decades ago.

He and Devora donned their pressure suits without speaking. He was still angry, although he wasn’t quite sure why. Pushing his feelings down, he tried to focus instead on the task at hand.

As they finished, the computer chirped a warning. Someone was approaching the ship.

Seth and Devora stepped into the airlock, closing the door tightly behind them. With a whooshing sound, the ship started pumping air out of the small chamber. As Seth waited for the cycle to complete, he watched the figure coming toward them. By his size, Seth figured he was male. He was carrying a gun, although it wasn’t held in a threatening position. Not the most promising of situations, but at he least hadn’t come out shooting.

The light above the door flashed, and the outer portal slid open. Bouncing slightly from the low gravity, Seth made his way down the landing ladder. Normally he would turn to assist Devora, but this time he stayed focused on the man, keeping a hand on his blaster. He had a bad feeling about this stop; he should have made Devora stay on the ship despite her protestations and pouting.