Solbidyum Wars 3: Pirates of Goo'waddle Canals (34 page)

Since the events of the day had changed everything, we no longer needed to act out the role of slaves.  For the first time since setting foot on Goo’Waddle, Kala and I were able to sleep together in one of the bedrooms.  However, we still needed to keep up the act of Padaran as the newly claimed leader of the Ruwallie Rasson and made a show of his asking Kerabac to be his partner in the main room where the bugging device was still operating. 

“I’ve missed sleeping with you since we’ve been on this trip,” Kala said as we lay facing each other in the large bed. 

“I’ve missed you, too,” I said.  “We’ve not been able to really spend much time together since we arrived here.  I’ll be glad when this mission is over and we can get home and back into our routine of hiking to the lake every day.”

“Tib, how do you think all of this is going to play out with Padaran? He can’t simply pack up and leave the Ruwallie Rasson when all of this is over.  If he does, they will just revert back to their old ways of slavery again.  After all, ending slavery with the Ruwallie Rasson doesn’t rid this planet or any other of slavery — there are still thousands of other slave owners here on this planet who are not Ruwallie Rasson.”

“I know, and frankly, it disturbs me deeply that when we leave, there will still be hundreds of thousands of slaves here.  But as to Padaran, I have no idea where this will all lead.  I’ve not had a chance to sit with him and really discuss it.  I’m impressed, though, at what a quick thinker he is.  He’s come up with some clever solutions to some very sticky situations in the spur of the moment – and he may very well have saved all our lives.  His decision to claim Kerabac as his partner instead of simply putting on a show of taking over everything is brilliant and could actually serve two purposes.”

Kala looked at me curiously.  “How so?”

“For one thing, the arrangement should preserve the chances of Logden seeking us out; and secondly, it sets an example for the Ruwallie Rasson that some of their slaves may be good partners or employees.”

“You really think Logden is here, then, and not someplace else in the galaxy?”

“Yes I do, but I have the feeling that he is getting help from someone; otherwise, he would have been found by now.  The Brotherhood is doing everything short of a door-to-door search, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they decided to start doing that too.”

Kala was silent for a while and I just lay there, thinking about the events that had transpired since our arrival.  I was about to ask Kala if there had been any progress made in trying to locate Jenira, when I heard the deep, regular breathing that told me she was asleep.

I was awakened in the morning by the sounds of pounding and operating machinery.  I selected some clothing from the replicator in the closet and was actually happy to dress in normal clothing for the first time since donning the slave’s loincloth.  A quick look in the mirror showed me that I was badly in need of a shave and haircut so, using the styling wand, I quickly shortened my hair to a respectable length and refreshed the brown tint that helped to conceal my true identity as the red-headed Thibodaux James Renwalt, First Citizen of the Galactic Federation. 

When I arrived at the bottom of the stairs, I was surprised to see numerous workmen busily repairing the damaged windows and doors that had resulted from the Brotherhood’s visit two days earlier.  Endina was supervising them and giving orders, but I didn’t see any sign of Kerabac or Padaran.

“Good morning,” I said to Endina.  “Where are Kerabac and Padaran?”

“Out in the slave’s quarters, I think.  I saw them headed that way a moment ago with Marranalis.”

“Thanks,” I said as I turned to head in that direction.

“By the way, it’s nice to see you back in clothing again.  Not that you were hard to look at scantily clad,” Endina said with a grin.

“You’d best not let Kala hear you say that,” I said, returning the grin.

“Too late.”  Kala’s voice came from the stairs.  “I already heard.  But I can’t fault her appraisal; you do look pretty good scantily clad.”

“Enough of the both of you!” I said, laughing, as I headed out the door.

When I entered the slave quarters I found Kerabac, Marranalis and Padaran engaged in a conversation while Padaran also attempted to teach Tanden how to play chess.

“No, no, Tanden…this piece can only jump over one piece at a time, and it’s the only piece that can jump over other pieces.”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot…” Tanden muttered.

“Good morning, Tibby,” Padaran said when he noticed me.

“Good morning yourself,” I replied.  “How is the new leader of the Ruwallie Rasson this fine day?”

“That’s what we were just discussing,” Kerabac said.  “Now that he is their leader, he is going to be expected to spend a lot of time at their cartel headquarters, dealing with Rasson issues.”

“Do you think there is any personal danger to him?”

“No, actually, I think he is pretty safe — at least as far as the Ruwallie Rasson are concerned.  They may not be happy about a white man being their leader, but at the moment, they see it as the will of the gods, and they will respect that.  After the way he defeated Tondor yesterday, I seriously doubt anyone will be challenging him for leadership.  I doubt the Brotherhood will cause him any trouble, either, as he will be heavily guarded by the Ruwallie Rasson.”

“Padaran, I know this has all developed quite quickly, but have you given any thought as to what will happen when we leave?” I asked.

“YOU’RE GOING TO LEAVE HERE?” Tanden cried out, grabbing hold of Padaran tightly.

“It’s going to be OK, Tanden,” I said.  “We’re going to take you and your sister along and your parents, too.”

It was a few hours later that Endina came to me and said that she believed she had located Tanden’s sister.  She was no longer at the Purple Flower, because she was older now and the Purple Flower specialized in pre-adolescent girls.  Now that she had reached her teens, she had been sold off to a house that marketed teenage girls.  She said the place was reluctant to sell her, but they agreed to a price that was close to a quarter million credits.  Fortunately, we had enough credits with us to buy her, but it was not going to leave us with much, if we happen to encounter any other major expenses. 

Since we were no longer posing as slaves, Marranalis and I headed to the
calgana
address Endina provided and began looking for a place called
Soft and Tender
. 

“I truly find this all disgusting,” I said to Marranalis as we began our search of the street we were sent to.  Up and down the length of the street stood lines of enslaved prostitutes of all ages as their pimps and madams touted their services.  Not all of them were in chains or collars, and I asked Marranalis about it.

“Those are women working as prostitutes of their own volition.  They frequently contract themselves to specific houses to service men.  Frequently they are preferred over the slaves, because they show more enthusiasm in their performances than the slaves do.”

“They WANT to be prostitutes?” I exclaimed.

“Sure, Tibby.  There are prostitutes on almost every planet, both in and out of the Federation.  Only inside the Federation none of them are allowed to be slaves or are forced into slavery.  It’s a choice made by many women – and men too.”

I shook my head and had a very hard time adjusting to this new element.  “So you’re telling me that some individuals
want
to be prostitutes?”

“Yes!  Isn’t it that way on your home world?”

“No!  Well, maybe for some, but it’s not considered a decent occupation.”

“
Hmmph!  On some of the planets prostitutes are almost worshiped by the citizens — they’re practically treated like stars,” Marranalis responded.

I thought about what Marranalis told me and about some of the celebrities back on Earth – the scandals and sexual video clips of them on the Internet that seemed to only elevate their status in the eyes of a significant portion of the public – and I had to concede that it may not really be all that different from Earth.  To be honest with myself, I had to also admit that I’d heard of women who prostituted themselves out of necessity and choice.  But I still found it disgusting.

As it turned out, the house Soft and Tender wasn’t as bad as many of the places we had passed on the way there.  It looked clean and sharp on the outside, with bright, albeit gaudy, lights and a large vid screen that showed clips of the girls that the house had to offer.  Two very large guards stood by the door, but they said nothing to us as we approached, though one did step over and open the door for us.  Inside, it was even more of a surprise.  While the outside was bright and gaudy, the inside was very well appointed and conservative in appearance.  Opulent wood panels sheathed the walls and beneath our feet was a marble-like floor with carpeted runners.  The furnishings consisted of large leather-like chairs and divans that reminded me of pictures of wealthy gentlemen’s clubs back on Earth.  A rather attractive woman dressed in a quite stylish yet conservative outfit, who I would have guessed to be in her early 40s, approached us in the large foyer.

“Greetings, gentlemen.  Might I be of assistance in your selection of a young lady?  We have many to offer, and I am sure we can find one to your liking.  Will you be looking for two girls, or do you wish to share one?  There is a surcharge if you wish using the same girl at the same time.”

I was choking on my own bile as she spoke and it was difficult for me to maintain my composure as I said, “That is not necessary.  I believe an associate of mine, named Endina, has contacted you concerning a young girl named Jenira.”

“Ahh, so you are the ones who want to purchase her.  We recently acquired her ourselves, and she has been a huge favorite with our clients.  You must want her pretty badly to pay such a high price for her.”

“Yeah,” was all I could say.  Lovely as this woman was, I wanted to punch her teeth down her throat.  Then I noticed her collar and realized that she was a slave hostess, and probably did not particularly like her job either.  Regardless of the situation, I just wanted to get Jenira and get out of the place.  The woman raised a jewel-encrusted bracelet to her mouth and said, “Sonrea, could you bring Jenira out please?  Her new owners have arrived.”  Then, to us she said, “If you gentlemen will come this way, we will finalize the transaction and provide you with ownership documents.”

That last line nearly set me off.  Ownership papers — as though she was an object, like a piece of furniture or a vehicle. 

We were led into a rather opulent office that had several vid screens on the wall, displaying scenes that I can only imagine were encounters going on in various rooms about the establishment.  The woman escorting us quickly picked up a remote and turned off the displays.  “I do apologize.  While we do not wish our guests to know we are watching.  We do so only for security reasons.  We have the highest regards for the privacy of our guests; but we also have a huge investment in the girls here, and we cannot afford for them to be damaged.  You do understand.”

“Ahh, yeah, sure…” I muttered.  I was finding it very difficult to stay in character.

“I get the sense by the way you gentlemen are acting that you are merely agents for some client and that you are not purchasing Jenira for yourselves?”

“Ahh, yes, ma’am.  We are only here to close the deal and deliver her,” I said, as I tried to regain some self-control.

“I see,” she said with a rather sad look on her face.  “I do hope her new owner is not a harsh or cruel man and that he will treat her well.  She is a sweet child — very delicate, actually.  We have tried to see to it that only the kindest and gentlest of men were availed of her services.”

“I can assure you, Madame, that her new owner is one of the kindest and most considerate men I have ever known,” Marranalis interjected.  Just then, the door opened and another young woman, who I judged to be about eighteen, escorted a very lovely young girl into the room that I would have guessed to be not more than fourteen years old.

“Ahh, here is your young lady, now.  Jenira, come here, child.  These men are going to take you to your new home and owner.”

I could see the conflict in Jenira’s eyes.  She had no idea what lay ahead of her.  She had been taken from her home and placed in one house, sold and placed in another, and most certainly used in all sorts of vile ways.  She drew back a bit and clung to the woman I assumed was
Sonrea. 

“I don’t want to go,” she said.  “What will happen to me?”

“There, there.  It will be alright,” Sonrea said.  I could see a tear in her eye and it was obvious that she cared for Jenira.

“Where are they taking me?” she asked.

Before anyone had a chance to say anything, I said, “We’re taking you to be with Tanden.”

“Tanden!” she exclaimed, her eyes open wide.  “To be with Tanden?!  He’s OK?”  Her face lit up with excitement and joy.

“See, there?” Sonrea said.  “I told you it would be alright!”

“Ahh, yes, but first there is the matter of some money, I believe?” the other woman said.

“Yes,” I said, and I pulled out a strip of maxalite and a handful of the electronic chip coins that were considered so valuable.  When I did, I saw the woman’s nostrils flare and a huge smile spread across her face.