Slave (24 page)

I may have failed to mention the fact that alcohol not only makes me lose control, but tends to make me a bit maudlin whenever I drink to drown my sorrows. It never quite manages to drown them, but rather, gives them a boat upon which to remain afloat. I should have known better than to finish my drink. I’d have to warn Cat not to buy me drinks unless I was already quite giddy with happiness; otherwise, I might end up becoming downright suicidal. Still, in my moderately drunken state, I had managed to convince myself that if Ranata wanted to leave Statzeel, she’d have to do it with me. There was no other choice. She could take it or leave it. All I had to do was give her the option.

Interestingly enough, while I was sitting there staring off into space and planning the rest of Ranata’s life for her, Cat kept himself occupied by talking with some other people who were more in the mood for conversation. Many were travelers such as ourselves, but there were some local people, a few of whom actually knew my sister. Cat told me later that he hadn’t even needed to ask about her or show her photograph to anyone, because one couple had volunteered the information, even referring to Ranata by name. I suppose they mentioned her because they thought that, being human myself, I should be interested in a person who, for all they knew, would be a complete stranger, just because we happened to hail from the same planet. It was logical, especially since we were so far from home. That we might be sisters probably never crossed anyone’s mind, and that I was there to abscond with her—well, they’d have hardly suggested that I visit her if they suspected me of plotting such a thing!

I came out of my reverie eventually, and found that I had relaxed enough to notice that it was quite cozy and comfortable there, as befitted a local hangout that saw a regular business. It reminded me of the neighborhood pubs back on Earth in England, where they’d held onto their traditions for over a thousand years. Nowadays, you might be able to hop across the solar system in a matter of minutes, but going down to the pub for a pint of ale was still a popular pastime. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I couldn’t wait to take Cat to such places on Earth and show him what life was like there. I considered it most unfortunate that he had no home planet to show to me, and I seriously doubted that he would care to return to any planet where he had lived as a slave.

It also seemed that I would be able to introduce him to my sister, for, as I said, once the locals noticed that I
was human, they all encouraged us to pay a visit to Ranata. Apparently they knew her and seemed fond of her. Ranata and I looked nothing alike, so there was no reason for anyone to assume that there was any connec-tion between us whatsoever.

The thing I found most odd was that none of them referred to her as being particularly beautiful. In fact, one of the men congratulated Cat because his Earth woman was much better looking than the one up on the hill. I figured it must have been my nose, already proven to be popular with the locals, because I certainly didn’t have any other feminine charms to recommend me; I mean, I wasn’t called Captain Jack for nothing! I was pretty sure Cat only considered me to be attractive because he loved me—for whatever reason. He’d made that one remark about the fact that I reminded him of the women of his world. Being “fiery and very, very stubborn” didn’t seem like much of a reason to fall in love with a woman, but what the hell did I know about the mysteries of the male mind? It wasn’t as though I had years of great relationships and experiences to draw from, and men were so fuckin’

strange, anyway. The customs of Statzeel illustrated that sad fact better than just about anything I’d ever seen before. I mean, any planet where the guys felt that they had to chain their best women to them was pretty damned strange, if you ask me!

Having presented ourselves as traders, as we had in the previous town, Cat and I decided that setting up shop in the marketplace would be the best way to avoid suspicion. It would be expected of us. If we played our cards
right, people should get used to us being around and no one would even notice when we packed up and left town with an extra person in our party.

Oh, who was I trying to kid! Of course they would!

As soon as Ranata turned up missing, they would know exactly who had taken her, and probably be able to make a decent guess that we’d headed back to the main spaceport in the area. We might end up having to steal her away under cover of night, and though the thought of taking off into the jungle after dark held no appeal for me whatsoever, I was forced to admit that it was probably the only way we could do it without getting caught.

We made a few useful business contacts in the pub, especially after I mentioned some of the products I was carrying. The funny thing was, I would never have guessed that there would be such a market for tooth jelly on that planet, and usually, I can make a pretty good guess as to what will sell just about anywhere I go. I found out later that they didn’t use it on their teeth— well, not directly, anyway.

So, at the insistence of everyone in the common room, Cat and I saddled our horses and rode up the hill to visit my sister. As we rode along, I decided that the man she belonged to must have been fairly well off to have paid two thousand credits for her, and the well-tended gardens lining the road seemed to indicate a fair amount of disposable income, as well as a decent-sized work force. I could take some comfort in the fact that if Ranata had to be a slave, she was at least living in a nice place—unless, of course, she was the only one doing the gardening!
I’ll have to say that during all the years of my search for my long lost sister, envisioning what she must be suffering, it never once crossed my mind that when I finally found her, she would not only be living in comfort, but would be pregnant. At least, the Earth woman who came out to greet us certainly seemed to be, though if she was Ranata, she sure as hell didn’t look anything like I remembered her.

I stared at the approaching woman in disbelief. It had only been six years, but, my God, she looked older than I did! I reminded myself that those six years couldn’t have been an easy time for her, but surely— “Jack?” she squealed when she saw me. “Oh my God!

Is it really you?” She rushed up and flung her arms around me, hugging me as tightly as her pregnant belly would allow. She’d recognized me, which was a damn good thing because I wouldn’t have known her if I’d passed by her on the street!

My once lovely sister was now painfully thin and frail-looking, and her hair, which I remembered as having been a thick, luxuriant gold, was now wispy and pale. The skin around her eyes was etched with fine lines and she walked with a decided limp. I took one look at her and made a mental note to kill the bastard who’d bought her, for of all the people I’d seen so far on Statzeel, she was the only one who didn’t appear to be brimming with good health.

“Ranata?” I croaked. “Sweetheart, are you all right?

My God, you’re so thin! Don’t they feed you?” I was horrified at the change that had been wrought in my beautiful little sister. I felt tears stinging my eyes as I
gazed at her, thinking that the scumbag who owned her must be starving her into submission. I knew I would enjoy killing him, slowly and painfully, for not only was he starving her, but for heaven’s sake, she was pregnant!

Didn’t he care how the child would fare with her in such a state? Didn’t he worry about that? And being pregnant at all would probably put such a strain on her that she might not live to deliver that child! What an idiot!

“Oh, of course they feed me!” she exclaimed in a voice brimming with laughter. “I eat like a horse all day long—and I see you have a horse, too,” she added. “You know, Jack, I was so thrilled to get here and find that they had horses! It was almost like coming home!”

Well, this certainly wasn’t what I’d expected to hear from her. I was so taken aback, I was speechless. Fortunately,
she
wasn’t.

“Come on in!” she urged us, beckoning us across the threshold. “Just tie your horses there in the shade,” she told Cat. “Oh, I can’t wait to hear how you managed to find me!”

She bustled inside and into a well-furnished sitting room, summoning someone named Alanna. “Bring some food and drink, if you please,” she said. “You’ll never believe it, but this is my sister!”

I regained my senses enough to frown at her. “Sh-h, Ranata! Don’t say that so loud! I don’t want anyone to know I’m here for you!”

“Here for me?” she asked in a puzzled tone. “What do you mean?”

“I
mean
,” I whispered as soon as Alanna had gone,

“that I’m here to rescue you and take you back to
Earth!” I eyed her dubiously, thinking that she probably couldn’t withstand the journey back to the spaceport, aside from the fact that pregnant women had no business riding horses. I decided that I was going to have to land my ship closer, somehow, and take her out that way.

To my surprise, the startled look on her face gave way to an outburst of laughter. “Rescue me?” she squeaked.

Her laughter kept her from speaking for a long, heart-stopping moment. “Aren’t you a little late?” she went on.

“I mean, I’ve already
been
rescued, Jack! I don’t need to be rescued again!”

I glanced over at Cat who appeared to be as mystified as I was. Suddenly, I didn’t think my legs would hold me up any longer and sat down heavily in a nearby chair.

“Already rescued?” I echoed. “What the hell do you mean by that? I’ve been on your trail for six years, kid!

You can’t expect me to believe that your knight in shining armor has already come for you!”

“Oh, but he has!” she said, giggling merrily.

“Dantonio isn’t exactly a knight, but he’s such a sweetie, and I love him dearly, as you can probably tell,” she added with a gesture toward her unborn child. “He bought me in a slave auction and brought me here several months ago. He’s so good to me, you’ve no idea.”

“Well, you’re right about that!” I said, agreeing wholeheartedly. “I have no idea what’s going on here whatsoever! You’re still a slave, aren’t you?”

She appeared to be uncomfortable about answering that question for some reason, for she made no reply,
but, instead, glanced briefly at Cat. “Who is this you have with you?” she asked, abruptly changing the subject.

“Oh, this is Cat,” I replied. “I, um, bought him a few days ago in a slave auction on Orpheseus Prime. The smuggler I got the lowdown on Statzeel from said to take someone with me to this planet that I could trust, so—”

I shrugged my shoulders briefly, “here we are.”

She appeared momentarily diverted by this. “
You
bought a
slave
? Really, Jack, I wouldn’t have thought that of you!”

“Well, shit!” I exclaimed. “You’re a slave, yourself, so it shouldn’t surprise you that there are a few others around! Besides,” I added, a tad bit defensively, “I freed him as soon as I bought him. He followed me home, though.”

Ranata smiled. “Strays always did take to you,” she said reminiscently.

I wouldn’t have said that Cat had been taken with me at all, in the beginning, but I guess I’d been wrong about that. Perhaps I wasn’t quite so unlikeable after all. I shrugged my shoulders in reply as the one named Alanna returned with refreshments.

“Well, Cat,” Ranata said carefully. “It’s very nice to meet you, but would you care to excuse us for a moment?

I have something to tell Jack that I really shouldn’t mention in front of you. Alanna will show you to another room for a little bit and give you something to eat. Okay?”

Cat nodded agreeably and followed Alanna out of the room, leaving me to wonder just what horrendous tales Ranata was about to regale me with.
“Okay,” I said as soon as they were out of earshot,

“tell me everything, Sis. You’ve really got my curiosity piqued now.”

“Well, first of all, thank you for trying to find me for all of these years. It may not seem that way now, but I really
did
need rescuing up until Dantonio found me.

Before that, it was…horrible.” A shadow crossed her face and she shuddered at the memories of things she’d undoubtedly rather forget.

“No problem,” I replied. “I came after you as soon as I got a lead, but you always seemed one jump ahead of me. I came close a lot of times, but then, always, just when I got there, you’d already been taken somewhere else and I had to start all over again. It’s not easy to find someone in space, you know.”

“I’m sure it isn’t,” she agreed. “And if I had been you, I’d have given up a long time ago. But now that you’ve found me, I hate to have to tell you this…but I really don’t need you anymore.”

I was just slightly pissed at hearing this, let me tell you! “But you’re still a slave, Ranata!” I protested. “All the women on this wretched planet are! Are you trying to tell me you don’t want to leave?”

Ranata nodded. “I’m very happy here, Jack. Much happier than anyone in my situation could ever hope to be. I’ve been enslaved and abused for years, and I’m not even pretty anymore, but Dantonio loves me and cares for me. I will not leave him.”

“But—but the chains, the collars and leashes!” I sputtered. “Dammit, Ranata, it’s just not right!”

“You don’t understand,” she began, “but perhaps
Alanna could explain it to you better than I can. She knows the story much better than I do.” She called out for Alanna again, and the older woman returned, smiling. “Tell my sister about the history of your planet, if you please, Alanna. She needs to understand why I want to stay.”

Alanna nodded and took a seat near mine. “You must understand that what I am about to tell you is told only in the strictest confidence,” she began. “No male of this or any other planet must ever learn the truth.”

I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about, but I wanted to hear her story, so I agreed.

“Very well,” she said, settling her long skirts about her. I noted that her garments, and Ranata’s, were made of ordinary cloth, not the transparent fabric that I was wearing. It made me feel sort of naked. Nearly all of the women I’d seen out and about had worn the clear stuff, though I decided that at home, perhaps it wasn’t terribly practical. I’d seen some older women who weren’t dressed this way, either. It seemed to mostly be the realm of the young and beautiful to be dressed provocatively— just like everywhere else in the known universe. “For you to understand our history, I must explain that our planet was not always the paradise you see now. It was at one time a desolate, war-torn world with very little to recommend it. Our males, as you might have noticed, have a rather belligerent nature.”