Disclaimer: I own nothing and am
getting no money
A/N: Another in the "The Bar Was
Loud" series (Stories with different genres but the same first paragraph)
The bar was loud. The band in the corner played their
instruments while their singer screamed as she bobbed her head wildly and
gyrated her hips. It was so loud Beka could barely hear her own thoughts. This whole city was loud. It was a lousy, dirty, crowded, and loud
city. Beka pushed through the dense
wall of patrons and made her way to the bar.
It took a few minutes to get the bartender's attention, but when she had
it she ordered a vodka tonic. While she waited for her drink she looked out
into the crowd.
Why was she here? She was in a
loud, seedy bar on a hole of a planet.
Why? The Maru needed parts and
she needed to get them. It was that
simple. She had heard this was a place
to make contacts and get a deal.
Looking at this crowd, she doubted it.
Obvious criminals, prostitutes, sleazy smoozers, and colorful
mercenaries filled the room. One such
character was standing far too close to her.
She looked at him and gave an irritated sigh. Unfortunately, this caused the scuzball to strike up a
conversation with her.
"Hello beautiful, I'm Lars Amheir."
"Beka Valentine" she was short and
did her best to convey the 'Leave me alone' message with her tone. This guy was probably the slimiest guy in
this slimy place. His black hair was
slicked back with far too much grease and his garish clothing choices made her
eyes hurt.
"And why is such a lovely lady in
this dump?"
"If you must know, I need an evac
pump and an alpha wave filter. Unless
you have these things, just leave me alone."
He was far too dense, she wasn't interested!
"Not only do I have them, but I got
a kid who'll install them for free."
Beka had no desire to be with this man any longer than necessary. But, she couldn't afford to pass up a deal.
"How much?"
"Well, since you're so pretty. 250"
she liked that price, of course she still didn't like Lars. She scribbled the number of the docking bay
where the Maru was parked and handed it to him.
"Just send the kid fast" she said
getting up. Lars smiled and nodded.
The kid was standing at her door
almost before she was. He really was a
kid, barely 20. He was thin and pale
too. Not the healthiest of specimens. He smiled broadly at her. "Sheamus Harper, Reporting for work, boss"
he announced. Beka was starting to
regret hiring Amheir and his boy. There
was no way this Harper fellow could be very good. She noticed the shiny metal port above his jaw, probably
downloaded the instructions for this job right into his brain, she mused. He had a shoulder bag containing the parts
for the ship. She sighed and led him to
the engine. She wasn't letting the inexperienced youngster alone with tools and
her ship.
He had just been a kid barely
scratching out a life on a star base similar to this one. Amheir had hired him, taken him to a bar, and
at some point Harper still couldn't remember, Harper had signed his life
away. He was a slave. This woman seemed nice enough, probably had
no idea she was dealing with one of the most heartless men Harper had ever
met. Keep in mind Harper had met many,
many heartless men.
Beka watched the boy work; he was
actually good. He was whistling as he
worked. "So, Harper. . . where are you
from?"
"Earth" he did not want to talk
about Earth, ever. Beka let the topic
slide. She had heard horror stories
about life on that planet. Hell was a
nicer place. She hung around while he
worked and talked to him. He had a
great sense of humor and a casual attitude that didn't match him damaged
body. She was curious, but didn't press
him for information.
Harper finished his installation
and reluctantly gathered his tools to leave.
He was having fun with this lady.
She was a salvager, he wished he could be in such an honest line of work. Slavery was an ugly business. She handed him the money. He nodded and left, suddenly dreading what
was coming next.
Beka wondered what had spooked the
boy after she gave him the money. She
followed him outside and watched him go.
She liked him, but she doubted she could offer him a better deal than
his current employer. So she got back
on the Maru and prepared to leave. Rev
Bem, her linguist and science officer, came into command and took his
place. "I see we are ready to go."
"Yep"
"I saw you and the mechanic. He's very talented"
"Yeah, the Maru's running great
now"
"I am sure we will make it to the
asteroid belt before someone else dose"
"God! I almost forgot!" they were supposed to salvage a derelict Neitzchien fighter. "We're on our way"
Harper boarded the ship he called
home. It was as dark and depressing as
always. He put Captain Valentine's
money in the slot with his name on it.
Then, he headed for the cargo bay.
He found Amheir along the way, "Hey kid! You fix the quantum ion valve yet?"
"No sir" this is why he hated
coming back here so much. As he expected
Amheir jabbed a pen-like tool into his port, it gave him a shock. Harper lost
all control of his muscles and found himself still shaking as he lay on the
deck. This happened regularly here.
"Get down there, No stopping 'til
it's done. I'll tell your supervisor
that."
"Yes sir" Harper muttered and
hurried to the engine room. He knew
this was at least a 3-day job. That
meant no sleep or food for that long.
Oh well, done it before, he could do it again.
His supervisor glared at him when
he arrived. His supervisor didn't like him very much. Of course, he didn't like his supervisor either; it was a mutual
dislike. The supervisor's name was
Henry. Henry kept Harper working
constantly, just waiting for him to drop.
Because when they dropped, on the sales block they went. Amheir was in the business of using people.
When his lack of humanity made his slaves unusable, he sold them fast. Harper knew Henry wanted him gone. He was too smart and too good to stay like
this much longer.
Tragically, this time he couldn't
do it again. He crawled into the engine
and found the offending valve. It was
horribly mutilated. This was going to
be hard even for a genius such as himself.
Eventually his eyelids felt like weights, he had long passed being
hungry and was just dizzy. "Dam" he muttered to himself. He had to keep going, ignoring his body's
despite cries for rest and nourishment.
But, he was only human and collapsed at the end of day 3, barely done
with the valve. So Harper was up for
sale. Henry just laughed. Harper was dragged off to the cage. The cage was a 10 x 3 foot cage where a
person was photographed, weighed, and otherwise prepared for sale. When Harper awoke he'd be poked, prodded and
put on the sales list. Then he'd be
taken back to the floor where he would do exactly what he had been doing. He'd keep fixing the ship and going out on
repair jobs. However, this time he
could find himself sold and with another, even worse master at any time. Most of the slavers who bought from Amheir
had no long-term plans for their new help.
But the worst part was how happy Henry was.
It was two weeks after they had
left, the Maru was back at the spaceport they had just left. They had made a pretty decent profit, but it
had taken a bit of a beating from rouge asteroids and the competition of the Broken
Clock, a rival salvage ship. She
hoped to meet up with Harper again by coming to this station. But, remembering her dear friend Lars she
brought Rev with her to the bar this time.
The bar was still loud. She used Rev as a shield and pushed her way
to the back of the bar. She managed to
get his attention and yelled, "Where can I find Lars Amheir?" The barman
figured she wasn't ordering and walked away again. He didn't get involved in the personal problems of his
patrons. Beka sighed. Lucky for her the woman next to her poked
her in the arm.
"You want the slaver?" she asked
with disgust
"Slaver?"
"Yeah, you didn't know? He owns those guys who work for him, and has
even more he sells."
"They're his slaves?" Beka was surprised to say the least. She had never heard of a slave operation
like this before."
"Yeah, treats them like garbage
too. It's awful, most are on the sale
block barely alive." Beka was
shocked. She hoped Harper was all right. "How do you know of this jerk"
"We used one of his mechanics a
couple of weeks ago"
"Did you?"
"Yeah, Harper"
"The little blonde?"
"That's him"
"Perfect example. Poor,
kid. I saw him fall apart. The bastard
worked him so hard he won't even send him out anymore."
"Are you sure?"
"Sister, He came here lookin'
pretty sickly. But, everyday Amheir
sent him out on some job. Last week, he
looked worse than ever. Had to stop for
a rest halfway back to the ship. I
haven't seen him last couple of days."
Rev broke into the conversation,
"Where can we find him?"
"Works out of his ship, the Dark
Night, over in hanger 2." She was obviously disgusted by this Woman and her
Magog, who associated with a man like Amheir.
Beka nodded her head in thanks and she and Rev exited the bar.
"Wow" Beka sighed as she and Rev
stood outside the bar.
"Indeed, that was an unexpected
turn. What shall we do?"
"Slavery isn't illegal. I suppose we have to let. . ." She could see Harper in her mind, his
reluctance to go back to Amheir. "Rev,
What do you think about making a purchase?"
Beka could feel the despair in the
air of the ship. She momentarily wished Rev hadn't gone back to wait on the
Maru. Amheir hadn't recognized her
through her disguise of long black hair and more make up than she had worn in
the rest of her life combined, but she wasn't thrilled about being alone
here. She had said she was interested
in a bit of help had eagerly led her to the reception lunge. She wanted to get
off as soon as was humanly possible. He
made a little small talk, to Beka's irritation. "It's quite an operation you have here" she said steering the
conversation to getting Harper
"Yes, we have some good workers"
"I'm actually interested in a more
permanent help. I hear you can help me
in that area." Beka felt very dirty now
"Thank you,
I do have some excellent merchandise.
What were you looking for?"
"I need
someone to take care of the machines"
"Ah, then I
have quite a few to show you"
Beka looked at the screens,
searching for Harper. There were so many sick and injured people working, or
sitting against the walls, waiting to be sold.
He was on the upper left screen, laying on his stomach and appearing
periodically from under a large machine. He was dragging himself exhaustedly through
his work. A large guy (Why was every
guy involved, except Harper, large?) came by and plugged a needled wire into
his port. Didn't ask, didn't warn him,
just plunged him into the computer world without any real warning. "Him" she
pointed to the screen as she spoke.
"Mr.
Harper, Excellent choice Miss." He
turned and made a call for the boy to be brought down. "Now we use him a lot for repairs,
especially to the main computer. But,
he's equipped to be an excellent data smuggler. We just put it in him and sent him across enemy lines. They'll pull it out of him and send him
back, very profitable.
Waiting
just made her worry. She really didn't
care what Amheir was babbling about.
She was worried because she didn't have that much money. If they asked 100,000 thrones for him, well,
what were her options? She didn't have
more than 4,000 in her savings. Even
with Rev's help, it could get out of her price range.
They led him out in chains. God, it hurt to see him. He was a sentient human being, not an
animal. His head hung and feet dragging
he made his way towards her. When his
captors knocked him to his knees she caught his eyes. They were dead, surrounded by dark circles, and blood shot. He probably hadn't slept in days. She could
barely believe this was the same kid she joked with on the Maru just a couple
of weeks ago. He had lost at least 10 pounds, maybe 15, since she had last seen
him, his clothes baggily hung on his bony frame. He'd been thin when she had first met him, now he was dangerously
skeletal. His body was actually swaying with the force of his heart beating in
his chest. At this rate he'd be dead by the end of next week.
"10,000
thrones" he told her
"He's
scrawny, and probably can't lift 20 pounds"
"He's solid
enough. Lasted 20 years on Earth."
"See, he's an Earther!"
"So?
Earthers rarely run. He probably has no
family left to escape to. He leaves
you, and he is alone in the galaxy. Not
to mention his expected standard of living is a leaky roof and just enough food
every few days to keep him alive"
"Maybe an Earther is a good slave,
but, no way, nobody would pay that much for him"
"He's an
Earther and he's got a pretty good face.
I got a bid from a girl who'll pay 9,500 for him to be her…companion"
the slaver was trying every sales trick in the book. Ether he thought Beka might like a companion, or she would be
appalled and try to save him. Beka had
too much experience to be coned. There was no other buyer; he was trying to
desperately to make the sale at his price.
It was time to bargain. Making sure to keep concern and caring from her
voice she continued coldly.
"I've seen the kid, he's sick as a
dog. Even if I spent the money to fix
him up, with his health he's got 2 years at the absolute most before he
kicks. I'll give you 1,000."
"That's
crazy. A little medicine, medical care, and he'll be great again.'
"And how
much will that cost? At least 4,000,
when you factor that in I won't pay more than 2,000 for him."
"He's got a port, I can't let him
go for less than 6,000."
"I could
find someone with a port who isn't half dead for that. After my expenses it'll
wind up being more than your original price, a major expense being I won't get
to use him for at least 2 weeks. 2,000"
"He's young
so he'll pull through. You get him fixed up, and he'll be a first rate
slave. But, I'm willing to accommodate
your added expenses and let him go for 5"
"That's
very generous, but I know I have you over a barrel. You send him back to his keepers and he'll be worth 1,000 by the
end of the week. By the end of next
week he'll be in the ground and you'll have lost all the money you put into
him. 2,000 now or I'll be back Friday
when there is no way anyone else will take him, and I'll let him die rather
than pay more than10 thrones.
"Fine 2,000"
Beka
couldn't believe it. She'd done
it! Her feelings on the negotiations
were really mixed, she was glad she'd been able to afford him but horrified
why. If he hadn't been so mistreated
she would never have been able to afford someone with his skills.
She looked
at him. A big burly man had delivered
him, so sick he had to be physically carried and dumped on the bed in empty
crew quarters. The kid was sleeping
now; getting some much needed rest. She had been right; he was more dead than
alive. She had called a doctor; he
would be arriving soon. Rev was waiting
just outside the door to pray over him.
It was a bizarre idea to wrap her head around, she owned this kid. She had a computer file that would stand up
to any challenge. She could do whatever
she wanted to him; deny him food and work him 20 hours a day like his previous
owners had. Then she glanced at the boy
and with a press of a button her 2,000 thrones investment was pretty much gone
and Harper was a free human. As her
ownership papers were deleted she decided not to tell Harper she had bought
him. It would be much better for him to
not know what she had done for him. If
he asked, she and Rev had broken in and kidnapped him. With all his other problems he didn't need
to be indebted to her.
