2. Chapter 2
Mika
“If you’re mammalian, are you able to produce milk for your young?” the Doringo med tech asked me. The tall feathers at the top of her head were lying flat, which meant she was concentrating. “Or are you having issues?”
“I’m producing, but not enough,” I told her. I hadn’t gotten enough food for the last few days and my breasts seemed to be producing less.
Though it might not be the lack of food. Giving birth and then finding out two days later that you’d been sold as an asset of the station you worked on was probably reason enough to cause any woman’s milk to dry up.
“How long ago did you give birth to—”
“I’m a free person,” I whispered to the tech, interrupting her.
My new owner was standing near the center of the med bay.
He was distracted and tapping on his Identification Cube.
If we were quiet, he shouldn’t be able to hear what I said.
“The station I worked on didn’t have the right to sell me.
They didn’t own me. I’ve always been free. ”
The tech’s head feathers fluffed slightly in sympathy. “I’m sorry, Mika, but that’s not something we can do anything about. All your paperwork is in order. According to station law and this quadrant’s requirements, you’re a registered slave.”
That was what everyone was saying—when they even bothered to talk to me.
Most simply ignored me. I was human after all.
I didn’t even have an inhabitable homeworld, let alone a government I could contact to advocate for me.
I was a member of a species everyone liked to exploit because who could we go to for help?
That’s why I’d worked a job that barely paid enough to live on and then ended up being sold as part of the station’s property. The owners wouldn’t have dared do that with any other species!
Fuck my life. I hadn’t meant to get pregnant, and now, here I was with a newborn and both of us were slaves.
“If you ask me to do anything for you outside of addressing health concerns, I’m required to inform your owner,” the med tech warned me. “Please don’t make me do that. Your new owner is a Talin. No one crosses one of them! I’d suggest you be obedient.”
I sighed and tried not to lose hope. This was only a phase. I refused to remain a slave for long.
“I gave birth five days ago,” I said, answering the med tech’s earlier question. “The station’s medical team said Nadia was in good health and we were both doing well. But I haven’t been fed much over the last few days, and that might be why I can’t feed Nadia enough.”
“That's very possible,” the med tech agreed. She tapped a few things into the information square in her hands. “I’ve ordered you a large meal fit for a human to eat. I’m also having them create something as close to your milk as they can get. We’ll supplement the baby for now.”
Ordering food made me want to hug the med tech. “Thanks.”
The med tech didn’t respond, only tapped for a while longer while another med tech positioned an old scanner over the bed.
“Can you please place your child on the bed?” the other med tech asked. Judging by this Doringo’s smaller size, they were probably a male.
It was hard, but I set Nadia down. She wasn’t screaming anymore, but she was making small unhappy sounds that were breaking my heart. I might not have planned to get pregnant, but now I couldn’t imagine life without her.
“I’m done, you can pick her up again,” he said, pulling the scanner away and tucking it back against the wall.
The two med techs stood together and stared at the results of the scan. They chittered so rapidly my INT couldn’t translate fast enough. I only got a few words, but it seemed they were trying to figure out how long they could detain me here without upsetting my new owner.
It was sweet. They were trying to help me despite their strict laws.
My Talin owner looked up from his Ident and walked back to us.
I could see why the med tech warned me to be obedient.
He was large! Very large. Bigger than any of the Tiltimun or Doringo that made up the majority of people on the station.
He was probably one of the biggest sapient species I’d ever seen.
It wasn’t only his size that made him intimidating. His muscled body was covered in armor plating, and he had long, quill-like spikes running up the outside of each forearm.
His hands had four digits: an upper thumb, two fingers, and then a lower thumb. That wasn’t surprising; it was common among several species. What wasn’t common were the tips of retractable claws that I could see hiding in his fingers!
I was curious if the light blue-grayish hue was common among Talins because it was a soothing color. Especially when it was paired with his brilliant purple eyes! If he wasn’t my owner, I might have tried flirting with him.
But that was me from a different life, when I had more certainty about what tomorrow would look like.
Now this handsome, purring alien was looming over me and Nadia.
“Nadia is still distressed,” he said to the med tech. He clipped his Ident back on his belt and crossed his arms. His face didn’t move, but I could feel the irritation radiating off him. “Why aren’t you seeing to her?”
“They are both underweight,” the female med tech explained as the male hurried away.
“We were discussing the best way to get sustenance into both of them. Your slave wasn’t being well fed, and consequently, the child wasn’t well fed.
The adult human, Mika, also has an infection in the abdomen that we need to address.
None of it is immediately life threatening, but they could become major issues if we don’t deal with them now. ”
“Do it,” he ordered.
“It will require an entire rotation’s stay here,” the med tech warned him.
“Fine,” he said, then turned his purple eyes on me. “They didn’t feed you?”
“They did, but not enough,” I explained.
“I’ll see that you have all the food you need,” he assured me. “I’ve also ordered items that should help make you comfortable on board my ship. We’ll be leaving as soon as the med techs finish caring for you.”
Leaving.
That thought filled me with dread. Once I left this station, there would be no chance of outside help.
This was the first time I’d set eyes on a Talin, which meant his homeworld was probably far away.
Even if Drew or El came looking for me, they’d never be able to afford traveling much farther than this station.
“I know you’re probably intimidated, but please try to remain calm. I’ll be a good owner,” he said.
What did that even mean?
He’d corrected the med tech when she called me a slave. He said I was a pet. But what was the difference? Would I be doing tricks instead of a job?
Oh dear god, was I a sex slave now? What about Nadia? Would he use her when she was older?
Acid churned in my empty stomach, and I had to work hard to keep bile from climbing up my throat. This all kept getting worse.
Trying to keep from panicking, I undid Nadia’s swaddling, checked her everclean jumper to see that it was still doing its job, then rewrapped her. I carefully picked her up and cradled her in my arms. The Talin stopped purring and made a sound reminding me of a distant thumping bass drum.
“Her head seems…” he searched for a word. “Floppy. Is that part of being underfed?”
That drum sound must be one of curiosity. I should ask the med tech if there was any information on Talins in the station's unibase.
I almost laughed. “It’s normal. Human newborns can’t support their own heads.”
He made another sound that was similar to wheels slowly bumping over uneven ground before speaking. “That’s an evolutionary disadvantage. Poor thing.”
Aw, that wheel bumping sound must have been sympathy or pity. Look at me, learning to read my new owner’s emotions already! From the trip to the med bay, I knew what anger sounded like. I’d much rather have all the different rumbles coming out of his chest instead.
He leaned in a little closer and spoke directly to Nadia. “Don’t worry, your dam will support your big head for you and keep you from accidentally injuring yourself.”
He waited, as if expecting her to respond. When all Nadia did was keep making unhappy sounds, he turned his attention to me and made the wheels-bumping-over-uneven-ground sound again. It was his way of asking without saying the words.
“Um, she can’t talk yet,” I explained. “She was only born five days ago.”
“She’s that old and can’t talk? No wonder she’s distressed and making such sounds; she can’t make any of you understand what’s wrong.” He sounded so appalled and sincere that I found myself smiling.
“I guess so,” I agreed.
“You’re displaying your teeth to me!” the Talin said. “That’s a good thing, isn’t it? You humans call it a smile.”
I’d momentarily forgotten to be careful about showing my teeth. Unlike humans, most species saw it as a threat display, except for this Talin. He knew what a smile was!
“Sir?” A new med tech came over carrying a chair and set it down next to him. “I’ve brought you this to use while you’re here.”
The med tech hurried away the moment the Talin thanked him. Then the Talin moved the chair closer to my bed and sat down.
“I’ll be glad to be gone from this place,” he grumbled. His words were annoyed but he went back to making that purring sound. “You’ll like my ship. It’s new and well designed. Not like this decrepit station.”
I couldn’t believe he called this place decrepit. It was only about five years old and had some of the most modern tech I’d ever seen.
It made me curious about his ship despite myself. “What kind of ship do you have?”
“I own a Science Tour Mark II. It’s a long distance, atmospheric tolerant, fully equipped relocatable domicile outfitted with a full lab of cartographic-ready equipment and deployable air and ground survey bots.”
Woah. It took me a moment to digest everything he’d said. The ship sounded expensive, which made sense. If he had money to burn on buying me and Nadia and then on taking us to the med bay, he must be wealthy.