Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Alone In A Crowded World
by Lyda Mae (RavenDove) Jeppesen-Huff
Chapter Two: The Haradin
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Bashir was given another ration of water and a stale cake of some kind before being let to the same frame as the day before. He felt a little stronger for the food and a little less pained after being allowed some movement. Though another day on display in this manner might be the death of him.
The parade of bidders and fondlers continued until midday when a fat creature of indeterminable gender covered in what Julian could only call the most gaudy burqa he had ever seen placed a long nailed finger on his cheek.
"This one is unique." it said in a rasping high voice. "I will pay you twice my usual price for him."
"It cost us three times that to subdue him." the foul breathed slug in charge said in indignation. "We had to map his brain twice for the implants."
"You over exaggerate, Migrat." The haradin said. "The way you treat your merchandise they always depreciate or die before you sell them at a fifth of what I'm offering."
The slug grumble, "I will take no less than 27,000 for him."
The hand of the buyer found it's way to Julian's bottom and along a most uncomfortably part of his left thigh. "He might be worth 23, but not 27."
The way the slug's eye's lit up made Julian sick. This was obviously the price he was holding out for. "For you Marteche, 24,000."
Marteche tilted its head under the burqa as if thinking. "Done."
Migrat released Julian's arms from the frame and Marteche clamped a gilded collar on his neck. He then found his wrists in restraints bound to his waist that allowed him to extend one arm at a time, but not both. He then fell to the ground as Migrat demonstrated the pain and pleasure settings of the control remote. He felt blood in his mouth from biting his tung as he writhed momentarily. He was then hauled to his feet and lead by the collar to a waiting shuttle.
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Marteche removed the burqa in the shuttle and Bashir was surprised to find that she was female, and though she was large in stature, she was not ugly. The skin of her face was lavender and there were streaks of blue hair on her perfectly round head. Her eyes were a shade of green like rolling grass. She had no eyebrows and her pupils were oval shaped. She looked him over in a way that was both gentle and frightening at the same time. With a gentle touch she removed his collar and the chains that bound his arms to his waist.
"Be seated." she said as she gestured to a bench on one side of the cabin.
For a moment Bashir hesitated, not sure if he should obey or try to gain freedom now before the shuttle departed the city.
Marteche smiled at the hesitation. "You don't have as much to fear from me as you might think." She took his hand and sat down on the bench beside where she had indicated he should. When Julian was seated she opened a compartment and pulled out what looked like a tricorder and medical kit. "She then began to run a dermal regenerator over his parched and burned skin. "I will treat you better than any slave merchant would."
Bashir frowned, "What is to become of me?"
"That depends on what you prove useful for."
Julian looked her straight in the eye. "My name is Julian Bashir, I am a citizen of The United Federation Of Planets, and a Starfleet officer. I am also a Medical Doctor. I was taken prisoner and sold against my will."
"That is a life that I can not return to you just yet, Julianbashir, but if it proves possible, you will gain your freedom." she said. "Though I may or may not find use for your skills, you will have to earn back the price I paid for you before I can grant you liberty."
"So you are not a philanthropist." he said with indignation.
"It takes money to pay for my operation." Marteche said. "I have to keep it running somehow." Once she had finished with the last of the burns she pulled out a form of hypo-infuser and began calibrating it. "This will help with the dehydration and restore your electro lite balance."
As it touched Julian's skin he felt himself absorbing the contents like a sponge, and he found it hard to continue sitting up with how deliriously good it felt. When Marteche finished the treatment she helped him to lay down on the bench and covered him with a soft blanket.
"Rest now and I will bring you food before we reach our next destination."
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