"My name is Taneleer Tivan, though you will refer to me as master," he said. "Some call me the Collector – others call me by names that are far less kind. They don't usually do so again."

Hanni nodded, still keeping her face down. She had been kept in a separate, locked room during the flight to her new home, alone with her thoughts until they had arrived. She followed her new master through stinking, muddy lanes and crowds of desperate people with worn faces and clothing. Knowhere was an entire city built around an industry inside of a long-dead celestial being's head – the people here were not soft or tender, and Tivan stood out somewhat in his pampering clothing and stately demeanor. His armed guards flanked them on all sides, but Hanni still did not feel safe. Children held out their hands and begged for food or units, but her master walked by as though he did not see them. After a short walk from his private hangar, Tivan held a gloved hand up to gesture to a large glass-domed building that had been heavily damaged. Hanni took it in for a moment, but her master cleared his throat impatiently and pointed at the door. With quick understanding, she walked forward and held the doors open for him, his guards lining up outside for protection. Hanni followed her master inside and tried to take in exactly what she was seeing.

First off, it was an absolute disaster. There were broken shards of glass, destroyed items, piles of ashes, rubble and metal everywhere. Secondly, what did remain was bizarre and a little frightening. Cage upon cage upon cage of various plants, animals, and artifacts lined every wall and even hung from the ceiling. Most of the containers Tivan had had were shattered or mangled, so Hanni imagined that this would be a much more impressive museum were it at even half capacity. There were seemingly endless floors of displays, and some of them she noticed with horror held actual living people. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest as she took everything in.

"It was impressive," he said softly, his voice echoing despite the rubble and debris.

It's still impressive she thought, craning her head around to take everything in. Tivan suddenly stepped in front of her, barring her path. She jumped in surprise, but immediately lowered her gaze to look at her feet. She felt one of his gloved fingers underneath her chin as he forcefully lifted her face up to meet his own.

"Do not look away from me," he said. "I find it disrespectful if one refuses to meet my eyes."

Hanni nodded, being careful to look him in the face despite her two years of "education" telling her to do exactly the opposite. He released her chin, turned around and raised his hands to gesture to the grand mess around them.

"I bought you so that you would be responsible for getting my collection back in order," he said simply. "Do not disappoint me, or you may find yourself housed in the very display you were meant to be cleaning."

Hanni nodded silently again, though Tivan had his back to her. He whirled around, annoyed by her lack of response. "Do you understand me?" he said in a low, dangerous tone. "I paid a substantial amount of units for you – I don't like regretting expensive purchases."

Despite the threat, Hanni felt immense curiosity at just how much money her master had shelled out for her. It couldn't have been much more than ten or fifteen thousand; she was inexperienced and of a fairly common species.

"You do speak the basic tongue, yes?" he snapped with annoyance.

Hanni nodded quickly, but reconsidered her silence and responded with a soft "yes."

"Good," he said in a clipped tone. "I expect you to respond to me in an intelligent manner, not just bob your head like a brainless bird."

"Yes," she said.

"What?" he seethed slightly.

"Yes, master," she corrected herself.

I'm already failing miserably, she moaned inside. I'm just so nervous.

Tivan continued walking around the museum, his highly polished boots clicking on the metal grating floor, showing Hanni around so that she would know where she would be cleaning. He opened the door to a small, dark room with a worn mattress on the floor and several faded blankets. There was a tiny closet as well, though it was not stocked with anything at the moment.

"These are your quarters," he said in a bored voice. "You sleep here, you dress here, you clean here, too. There is an area to bathe and relieve yourself up these stairs," he gestured to a small staircase to the right of the door, "I expect you to be clean every morning. You are my slave; your appearance is a reflection on me. Filth and impropriety will not be tolerated."

Though his tone was low, Hanni knew he meant business. Often, the most dangerous of people never needed to use a loud voice or harsh words. Their warnings would suffice, and if not, their actions certainly would. Hanni would not be foolish enough to try to displease him.

"It's already late," he said, turning away with a flourish to walk away down the main staircase. "Take the night to get yourself adjusted and rest, you will begin your work tomorrow."

With that, he left Hanni alone to make her bed, lie down, and ponder her new life before drifting off into dreamless sleep.