“Laxah, please!” the big Kindred said, frowning. “Don’t try to paint me as some evil, abusing bastard just because I bought the girl.”
“Well how else would you characterize someone who buys a sex slave?” the diminutive med tech demanded.
“She’s not my sex slave!” Need roared. “I never—I haven’t taken her like that, all right?”
“You expect me to believe that?” Laxah sniffed. “You males are all the same.”
“Ah, I see we’re mostly here and assembled for Last Meal.”
The cool, smooth voice cut through the increasingly angry conversation and made Lan’ara turn her head. When she did, she saw a person who seemed to be made entirely of branches and vines entering the common area from the front of the ship. He had glowing gold eyes which looked her over with interest.
“You must be Needrix’s new acquisition. Welcome, my dear, to The Dark Star,” he remarked, nodding his head at Lan’ara as a crown of pale white flowers sprouted from his forehead. “I am Captain Glo’ll.”
Lan’ara knew the proper way to greet a male of status and rank—it was practically the first thing they taught you at Twyleth Tigg Academy.
“Hello, my Lord Captain,” she said, sinking into a low curtsey. “I thank you for your clemency in allowing my Lord Need to bring me aboard. Your kindness is beyond measure and your ship is the most beautiful one I have ever seen.”
Which was true, considering the only other long-range ships she’d been in had been the pirate ship, which had been kept pitch black, and the filthy, crowded hold of the slave ship. But her compliment seemed to please the Cytovian.
“Well!” Captain Glo’ll’s eyes glowed even brighter and a lovely red rose suddenly burst into bloom right over his heart—or where a humanoid’s heart would be, anyway. He nodded approvingly at her. “Such lovely manners!”
“Thank you, my Lord Captain.” Lan’ara rose gracefully and looked at the rose he had grown. “How enchanting! Do you always make such lovely flowers appear on your person?”
“I am Cytovian, my dear—we are a plant-based life form. Sprouting flowers is one of the ways we convey emotions—among other things.” He plucked the red rose from his chest and handed it to her.
Lan’ara put it to her nose and inhaled its fragrance.
“I have never seen its equal or smelled such sweetness,” she told him honestly. “Even though gardening and the nurturing of plants was one of the activities I excelled at during my time at Twyleth Tigg Academy.”
“The nurturing of plants, eh?” The Captain’s eyes glowed even more brightly and three more roses—one blue, one purple, and one yellow—sprouted from his chest. He plucked them and handed them to Lan’ara.
“Yes indeed,” she said earnestly, taking them carefully. “For plants and flowers add beauty and richness to life.”
“They do indeed.” Captain Glo’ll nodded his head approvingly at Need. “I wasn’t sure at first, First Mate Needrix, but I must commend you on your taste. This little female is exquisite.”
“Thank you, Captain.” Need shifted uncomfortably. “Er…I’m glad you like her.”
“Captain Glo’ll, surely you aren’t going to allow this travesty of justice?” Laxah burst out. All during Lan’ara’s conversation with the Captain she’d looked ready to explode and now it seemed she couldn’t hold her words in anymore.
“What travesty are you speaking of, Med Tech Laxah?” The Cytovian captain inquired in his cool, smooth voice.
“I’m talking about the fact that Needrix, here, has bought himself a helpless sex slave!” the med tech spat. “When I signed onto The Dark Star, it was with the understanding that males and females were to be treated equally! I ask you, how is that equal?” And she stabbed a finger at Need and Lan’ara, who looked at her fearfully.
Her mind raced as she stared at the accusing finger pointed in her direction. She had done everything she could to ingratiate herself with the captain, but what if he agreed with Laxah and made Need get rid of her? Where would she go? What would happen to her?
“I have told you many times before, Laxah, that your primitive ways of reproduction don’t interest me in the least,” the captain remarked coolly. “Besides, Needrix doesn’t intend to keep the girl. He already has a buyer lined up in the next system we’re visiting.”
“What?” Laxah demanded.
Lan’ara had thought the med tech’s sharp gray eyes couldn’t get any angrier, but now she looked positively ready to explode. She glared at Need and if looks could kill, the big Kindred would have been dead on the floor.
“So you bought her just to sell her to someone else?” she nearly shouted. “To some other male, no doubt, so he can hurt and abuse her once you get tired of abusing her yourself, you raping bastard!”
“Enough!” Need’s voice rose almost to a roar. “I didn’t buy the girl to rape and abuse her! I bought her to save her!”