the remote was actually doing anything, while they continued to discuss me like a piece of meat. The thing that did seem to interest them was seeing a display of my enhanced strength and other hardware.
A house lackey was summoned with a gravity belt that he strapped about my waist before activating it. The pull on my shoulders and legs was immediate, and I sagged momentarily under the weight until my servos kicked in. I straightened my knees, back stiff in a feeble show of defiance, with the equivalent of carrying at least an extra 200 pounds if not more. Just the fact that I was still standing at all, that I wasn’t screaming in agony, crumpled into a pile of broken bones, made the T’ivk’s dark globular eyes light up with excitement. Alexi cocked her brow at Quin with an amused expression.
I was ordered to jump as high as I could; my palms thumped off the twelve-foot high ceiling. After that I was ordered to continue with a lazy jump rope hop for nearly five minutes non-stop. The animated banter between Alexi and Quin told me my fate was now sealed; I’d just become a victim of my body and what it was capable of doing. The command came for me to stop, and I was placed in a sterile holding cell while the negotiations continued. Sure I was a little sore, I was out of shape after all, but I could have easily kept going.
I watched the negotiation emotionlessly, growing cold inside. Somewhere in the back of my mind a change had already started to fester like a puss filled sore. This was it, this was my life now, I was a slave and nothing was going to change that anytime soon. I started to revert without even knowing it into the person I’d been long ago. It was a defense mechanism that had helped me cope through the worst times of my life, and now it was needed again in order to survive. I would do what I had to do, willingly obeying my new Masters without question from now on.
It wasn’t long before the I’s were dotted and the T’s were crossed. It was official; I was now a slave belonging to the Holloway Trading Company. Alexi was more than happy to take me off of Quin’s hands after a display like that.
“Miles,” her voice was smooth as silk now. “I was wondering if you would join me in my office to…ah…finalize the transaction. I’ll admit that I’m a bit curious as to how a remarkable specimen like this came into your possession. She’s worth every credit you said plus maybe a little extra for thinking of me first, instead of that lowlife Charagin.”
“I’ll tell you all about it, Alli, by the way, I need a favor.”
She rolled her eyes with a tight-lipped smirk, shaking her head in disgust. “I should have known; you’ll never change, will you?”
Quin followed her out, giving me a toothy grin of parting satisfaction. And why shouldn’t he be happy? He was free, while taking everything from me in the process, to include my freedom. My ship would follow soon enough; a modest bribe with the bonding authority and ownership along with the authorization code and registration would be transferred in his name no questions asked. That’s how things worked in the Outer Rim, possession equaled five tenths of the law. The other half consisted of brute force.
A brief flicker of dimming emotion surged through me when Dobbs grabbed his crotch, smiling, winking playfully as he disappeared from my life. Someday you son of a bitch… I felt no desire for him whatsoever now that the remote had been surrendered to one of the brokers. Just thinking about how he’d made me act, the things I’d said to him, threatened to push me over the top. Yeah, some day I’d make him pay for what he’d done to me, and John, my stupid droid that I loved as a man. I’ll make all of them pay for everything I had yet to experience.
My first day as a piece of property, if it wasn’t bad enough already, was one rude awakening after another. Within minutes of being sold, I was fitted with my restraint collar, the
A house lackey was summoned with a gravity belt that he strapped about my waist before activating it. The pull on my shoulders and legs was immediate, and I sagged momentarily under the weight until my servos kicked in. I straightened my knees, back stiff in a feeble show of defiance, with the equivalent of carrying at least an extra 200 pounds if not more. Just the fact that I was still standing at all, that I wasn’t screaming in agony, crumpled into a pile of broken bones, made the T’ivk’s dark globular eyes light up with excitement. Alexi cocked her brow at Quin with an amused expression.
I was ordered to jump as high as I could; my palms thumped off the twelve-foot high ceiling. After that I was ordered to continue with a lazy jump rope hop for nearly five minutes non-stop. The animated banter between Alexi and Quin told me my fate was now sealed; I’d just become a victim of my body and what it was capable of doing. The command came for me to stop, and I was placed in a sterile holding cell while the negotiations continued. Sure I was a little sore, I was out of shape after all, but I could have easily kept going.
I watched the negotiation emotionlessly, growing cold inside. Somewhere in the back of my mind a change had already started to fester like a puss filled sore. This was it, this was my life now, I was a slave and nothing was going to change that anytime soon. I started to revert without even knowing it into the person I’d been long ago. It was a defense mechanism that had helped me cope through the worst times of my life, and now it was needed again in order to survive. I would do what I had to do, willingly obeying my new Masters without question from now on.
It wasn’t long before the I’s were dotted and the T’s were crossed. It was official; I was now a slave belonging to the Holloway Trading Company. Alexi was more than happy to take me off of Quin’s hands after a display like that.
“Miles,” her voice was smooth as silk now. “I was wondering if you would join me in my office to…ah…finalize the transaction. I’ll admit that I’m a bit curious as to how a remarkable specimen like this came into your possession. She’s worth every credit you said plus maybe a little extra for thinking of me first, instead of that lowlife Charagin.”
“I’ll tell you all about it, Alli, by the way, I need a favor.”
She rolled her eyes with a tight-lipped smirk, shaking her head in disgust. “I should have known; you’ll never change, will you?”
Quin followed her out, giving me a toothy grin of parting satisfaction. And why shouldn’t he be happy? He was free, while taking everything from me in the process, to include my freedom. My ship would follow soon enough; a modest bribe with the bonding authority and ownership along with the authorization code and registration would be transferred in his name no questions asked. That’s how things worked in the Outer Rim, possession equaled five tenths of the law. The other half consisted of brute force.
A brief flicker of dimming emotion surged through me when Dobbs grabbed his crotch, smiling, winking playfully as he disappeared from my life. Someday you son of a bitch… I felt no desire for him whatsoever now that the remote had been surrendered to one of the brokers. Just thinking about how he’d made me act, the things I’d said to him, threatened to push me over the top. Yeah, some day I’d make him pay for what he’d done to me, and John, my stupid droid that I loved as a man. I’ll make all of them pay for everything I had yet to experience.
My first day as a piece of property, if it wasn’t bad enough already, was one rude awakening after another. Within minutes of being sold, I was fitted with my restraint collar, the
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