The bindings were tight around my wrists as I was lead down the passage, and held my arms firmly behind my back, though I did not struggle. My white dress seemed to glow even in the dim light of the guestroom area, and my bare feet were silent on the soft carpet. I bowed my head as was expected of me, though my heart raced and I desperately wanted to look into the eyes of my coming fate.
Forgive me, I should introduce myself. My name is Sechs, or at least it was on that day. I was 23 at the time of these events. Like most people on my home planet, I have a slight olive-tone to my skin, with dark hair, and darker eyes. I was born into slavery on the planet Sacchari, a planet very distant from the long-abandoned Earth from which the first colonists on Sacchari originated. In accordance with tradition, as my Master's sixthly acquired slave, I was known as Sechs, the word six in the half-forgotten ancient language spoken by those original colonists.
This story is of a great deal of importance to me. Probably the most important story I will ever have. It is the story of how I came to be where I am, and why my collar bears the sign of the "Lady of the Stars" But I suppose I should start at the beginning.
The Master in who's service I was born is the same who I served at the beginning of my 23rd year. He was a strict Master, though not brutal. I was certainly no stranger to the shackle or the whipping post, but I was spared the bloodlust and outright execution suffered by many of my class. I served my Master in his small spacer's pub that he owned next to the spaceport, in the city of Bagra, capitol of Sacchari.
I was content in those days, counting myself lucky even. How many slave girls got the momentary freedom of listening as visiting spacers recounted tales of the planets they had seen or the pirates they had fought over the drinks I served them? More than often Master had me put in ankle chains as a reminder to stay grounded when my daydreaming distracted me. But the daydreaming continued, even as the shackles clinked with every shortened step.
So it was on what would become the most momentous night of my life. The chains clinked as the ever-present reminder of my status, as I brought a particularly harsh drink to a visiting captain. He was the closest thing to a regular we had in that pub, blowing in every few months for far too many drinks and a room for the night. He was always very quiet, but polite to me and the others, a noted rarity for slaves. And he was devilishly handsome. He was only slightly older than me, with similar darkened hair and eyes. His skin was weathered and rough, it might have been ugly on anyone else, but on him it only added to his persona of the space age buccaneer. I think I had something of a crush on him, though I dare not show it. Such a thing would have earned me a severe session at the whipping post, and a night in the stocks. But still...my smile was genuine when I got to serve his table.
As I was bringing him another round of drinks...and nearly tripping when his eyes made me forget the fetters on my feet...a sudden crash came from the door. It blew in as if it were hit with a rocket, and three men followed quickly behind it. These were rough men, brandishing rifles and armor, and they called for my Master by his proper name. To this day, I do not know what the quarrel was, but the moment they saw him, they leveled their weapons at my Master's head. Like him or not, my duty as a slave was to defend him, and I clumsily tried to step in front of the attackers...only to again forget my restraints, and trip flat on my face. My eyes were closed when the shot rang out. The another...and another. I looked up, expecting my Master to have been blown to bits. Instead, he stood unharmed, looking first in bewilderment at the bodies of his three would-be murderers, and then at the quiet captain in the back, who was returning a deadly pistol to a hidden holster under his black leather jacket.
He simply muttered something angrily about "interrupting my day off!" and returned to his drink. As I hurried to help my Master, he simply looked at me, almost in a trance. He told me "Sechs...you're shaken, return to your quarters and clean up." Not needing to be told twice to take a night off, I quite happily scurried to the back.
I was in the middle of showering, not easy considering Master had forgotten to remove those bothersome fetters, when Drei, another of the slaves found me. "Sechs!" She whisper-yelled, "The Master wants you in his office, right away!"
My blood chilled. There may be a thousand reasons for a Master to request a private audience with a slave. Approximately two of them were good.
I rushed through curling my hair and pulling on my best white dress. It was almost identical to my other two ,but seemed just a bit whiter, so I saved it for special occasions. Finally, I hurriedly polished the silver tag hanging from the steel collar locked around my neck. It bore the Master's symbol, and to present myself with it tarnished would spell bad things for me. Ready, I bowed my head and strode to the Master's office.
I closed the door behind me, and silently made my way to his desk. As protocol demanded, I dropped to my knees, toes back, back straight, head held aloft but bowed. My hands were placed palm up on my knees. I awaited his word. Finally, after a loud silence, he spoke. "Sechs...you witnessed today's event, yes?"
I gulped and nodded "Yes, Master." Was Master angry at my failure to protect him myself? For a moment, I almost began to fiddle with my dress in my nervousness. I didn't, of course. I was trained far too well for such a breach of protocol.
"The captain in the bar...he saved my life. I find myself indebted to damned offworlder spacer." Not sure how to answer, I remained silent. "But, hate it as I might, I owe him a debt of life. The honor code is clear on this." Still uncertain, I waited. "A life for life, Sechs. That is what it must be. Your life." For a moment, I nearly forgot myself to look up in shock. "After tonight, you will belong to the Captain, Sechs." I gulped hard now. Transferring owners is the most frightening event of a slave's life. Not that anyone was asking my opinion on the matter. "Come, Sechs, better to rid myself of the debt as quickly as possible."
Master bound my wrists behind my back with a length of strong cord, and tightened another around my elbows, leaving my arms locked behind me. Without a word, I struggled to my feet to follow him.
And so I found myself in that passage, weighing my fate as we approached the room the captain had rented for the night.
Again I knelt, heart racing as I stared at the floor. The Master gave three strong knocks at the door. There was a great deal of shuffling, and I heard the captain's voice. "God damned...hold on!"
After more shuffling, the door opened. He had obviously been sleeping. He was half undressed, revealing a toned and unevenly tanned body covered in spacer's tattoos. His hair was disheveled, and his right hand held the same pistol that had killed three men less than an hour prior. He looked first at my Master, then down at me, an eyebrow cocked. "Uh, yeah...can I help you?"
"Captain," the Master spoke, "you saved my life tonight. I am in your debt." The captain simply stared at him for a long moment, as if he were trying to understand exactly what Master was talking about.
"Uh, sure, can you just forgive my tab and we'll call it square?" The captain asked him, oblivious to the gravity of the moment.
The Master sucked in hard. In terms of the honor code, the captain had just equated the life of the Master to the worth of a few drinks. Red in the face, the Master continued, "No, captain, that will not do." The captain's face was beginning to harden into a look of obvious irritation. "This is my finest slave, Sechs. In recompense of my debt, she now belongs to you."
There was a long silence. The captain's eyes had widened at Master's last statement, and his mouth opened and closed several times before he found the words to respond. "Um...no, no she doesn't...we don't do this slavery...thing...where I am from. Or anywhere that isn't Sacchari, really."
"There is no other option, captain. A life for a life." There was more arguing, but I barely heard it. As nervous as I was to become his...I was more dismayed that he clearly didn't want me. Was it my hair? Or perhaps he was offended at the clumsy way I tripped over my shackles while serving him? I cursed myself silently. My ownership had not even actually transferred yet, and already I had displeased my new owner.
But, the Master had the final say. "Captain! You may take the bitch with you, or take her and shoot her in the street for all I care, but she is yours now, and my debt repaid!" For a moment, I was worried the captain may actually raise the pistol he held.
"Jesus, fine! ...fucking Sacchari, fine, I'll take her." The captain relented, with a look of pure venom.
The bar owner, no longer my Master, knelt and unlocked and removed his collar from my neck. "Here is the key to the girl's ankle chains," the bar owner said, handing them to my glaring Master. "Those, along with her dress and the cords on her wrists and arms, you may keep." Master continued to glare as the bar owner finished the duty, and with a final look into my eyes, strode away to his private chambers, nose held high.
