The Ecstasy of Tral-Gothica by Victor Hadnot, Amanda Travis

a
facility, deep within the jungle. The hatch opened and out walked
Stella in full uniform, she had recovered from her injuries nicely
and on her shoulder, she bore the rank of captain now. She had been
promoted, because from her superior’s point of view, her bravery
and obvious cunning, managed to kill the so called terrorist, poor
Aunt Jenny and her group, and save a whole bunch of civilians,
which the government could exploit, to their advantage. In short,
they thought that Stella’s quick thinking, gave them the propaganda
they needed. Touting Stella as a hero, so they could say that the
paramilitary, one of their young officers, risked her life to save
a group of hostages. They made a big deal of it and gave her a
promotion. Now Stella was being courted by a sector of the
government paramilitary called Rule 37. As she entered the facility
she was met by a tall good looking man named Ewin.
    “Welcome. It is a pleasure to have
such a famous patriot visit our humble facility.” Ewin
said.
    It was an understatement. The Rule
37 facility was the biggest on the planet. It was a processing
facility which turned out product better than the other facilities
of its kind. “I came to get a first hand inspection of what goes on
here. These are my orders.” And with that she transferred her
orders to the right person.
    They then began the long walk down a
maze of corridors. Littered about them, was all sorts of machinery
and advanced technology. “You are free to inspect any area of the
complex.” Ewin told her.
    “What is the primary purpose of this
facility, Ewin?” Stella started off.
    The man glanced over at her. “We
slaughter the intelligent natives of Tral-Gothica. Process their
flesh for consumption, and ship it off to various planets. There
meat is considered a delicacy. It is actually quite good. Tonight,
in honor of your visit. Because we really don’t get many visitors
at all, specially of your caliber and fame, amongst the
Pro-Tolerate, so we’ve prepared a special feast of all the best
parts of the natives. Their flesh taste specially good. Best meat
in this sector of the galaxy.” The man had a proud expression on
his face.
    So, this was why Aunt Jenny was
fighting and this is why she was killed? She must have known all
along, that the super-corps, brought the colonist to Tral-Gothica,
not just to mine and pillage the planet, but to enslave it’s
indigenous intelligent population, and to add insult to injury,
slaughter them like life stock, and cut them up into pieces, then
sell them to other worlds, as meat product. The thought almost made
her throw up right then and there, but, she kept it together.
Stella was determined to finish what her Aunt Jenny started with
her, to somehow, draw attention to the horror and crimes against
sentient beings. It was like crimes against humanity. There were no
Statutes of Limitations on such crimes. And then, the obvious
genocide that was taking place on the planet. Stella couldn’t
believe what they were so willfully showing her. The pride that she
saw on everyone’s face, like a work well done.
    Stella finally said. “You must be
making billions.”
    Ewin smiled. “Try trillions. The
government, super-corps, found this planet about a century ago.
While it has lots of natural resources. The most lucrative
resources are the indigenous population. They breed very quickly.
Grow rapidly, and their flesh is some of the finest tasting. On
some planets, their bones are considered an aphrodisiac. So, you
can see the gross value of our colonization. With what we have set
up, we can go on forever, breeding, corralling, slaughtering and
selling. The processing of meat is the big business on
Tra’Gothica.”
    Stella couldn’t help herself. “What
of the moral issues? The Natives of Tral-Gothica are intelligent.
Some might even say advanced?”
    “Ah. But not as advanced as the
super-corps, who have colonies all over the galaxy. They have
managed and acquire technology,