Fed's scream echoed through the ship. Sylvia and Melinda rushed to the cargo bay to witness Horatio place a tourniquet on Fed's mangled leg.
"Karch we'll need a captain's override on the medications." Melinda said over the intercom.
"Done." Karch replied.
Melinda and Sylvia picked up Cook while the two attendants, uniforms stained with blood, carried Fed to the sick bay. There was only one bed so Cook was laid on the floor next to the wall. Sylvia checked the computer for what might be the correct pain killer for Fed's condition. Hamlish held Fed down while Horatio reassured the patient with soothing words.
"Without Cook's expertise this will take longer" Sylvia said as she scanned the lists on the monitor. Melinda went over to Cook who was conscious but glassy eyed. Tina was applying a cold pack to the bruises on his face.
"Looks like a concussion and possibly some facial fractures." Melinda reported.
"Ah, I think this will do." As she chose the pain killer.
"Uh, ma'am? May I apply it?" Hamlish asked.
"You know what you're doing?" Sylvia asked.
"Yes we both have experience." Hamlish answered.
Sylvia handed the vial to Hamlish who then inserted it into a hypo gun. After injection, Fed calmed down allowing Horatio to cut away Fed's tattered pants and begin to examine the wound.
"The bone is pulverized, the leg below the knee is hanging by a few muscle tissues and tendons. Sylvia looked over their shoulders. She wasn't a doctor, but had much battlefield experience to know that Horatio was telling the truth. What puzzled her was how did a couple of teenagers become so knowledgeable about such things?
"You seem to know what you are doing so I'll defer to your judgement. What's the next step?" She asked.
"Amputation." They said in unison.
"You know how to do it?" She asked.
"Yes." They answered.
"You have free run of whatever we have in the sickbay. Please attend to Cook when you are done." She said.
"Hamlish I need a saw." Horatio said.
"Karch, Horatio and Hamlish are brevet medical technicians. Allow them full access to the medications." Sylvia ordered.
"As you command milady." Karch said.
"Tina, come with us to the galley."
Sylvia arrived first and set about looking for something to drink. Melinda got her grog which was red wine while Tina settled for tea. They sat down at one of the tables. Tina looked around at the Spartan furnishings wondering what she might have gotten herself into.
"Do androids drink?" Sylvia asked.
"Yes they do." Said Melinda.
"Let's not worry about that because I'm not an android." Tina stated.
"I thought humans weren't to do that job." Sylvia said.
"Yes, that's true, but it's a farce. Andriods are expensive to buy and maintain. It's more cost effective to use humans and buy the authorities silence." Tina said.
"You look awfully young to be in that business." Melinda said.
"I'm 22. Looking like a 15 year old is good for business." Tina said.
Melinda and Sylvia looked at each other incredulously.
"When I arrived at the base, they wanted to put me in the 9th grade. I had to show them pictures of my family to convince them I was an adult."
"Where did you come from? Sylvia asked.
"Delgas." Tina answered.
"Haven't they been in a perpetual state of civil war over the last 30 years?" Melinda asked.
"Not the whole planet at once. Just the part where I lived." Tina answered.
"So tell us how you got here." Sylvia said.
Tina's Story
The most recent flare up of war occurred when I was 18 years old. The government wisely decided to raise taxes yet again in hopes of reviving a flagging economy. Our country is a patchwork quilt of competing clans, religious groups and political philosophies united only by their hatred of the government, so it didn't take much for it to erupt into open rebellion. Initially the rebels made progress and it looked like they might win, but infighting took its toll and the momentum ground to a halt. Neither side was willing to negotiate and the conflict began to devolve into tribal warfare. Various groups decided it was time to settle old scores and expand their respective turfs.
My misfortune was to belong to a group that was small, weak and hated by everyone. Needless to say, a difficult life became nearly impossible. We were systematically driven from our homes, assaulted, robbed, starved and sometimes massacred. For a while we tried to be nomadic, but there really wasn't anywhere to wander. I saw many friends and relatives die from starvation, disease, or attacks from other ethnic groups. My father decided to simply run for the neighboring country and hope to reach a refugee camp.
We packed only what we could carry on our backs and travelled at night to avoid detection. My little sister died of a fever and my mother succumbed the night before we reached the border. Unfortunately we were discovered by 3 soldiers of the other country who refused to let us pass. My father tried bribery, but the corporal said no. The privates suggested that I would be a nice diversion from the boredom of duty, but the goody two shoes corporal again nixed the idea. He rifle butted one of them and the other tackled him. As the three rolled about in the mud, father took us past them and into safety. We travelled a couple more days until we reached a refugee camp.
Life in the camp was a little better, less death but more boredom. The only thing to do was take galactic language lessons from foreign volunteers. I excelled at it and the teachers thought I might be able to help out around the camp with language issues between the volunteers and refugees. I guess my skills caught the eye of the camp administrators who made me the official translator and representative of my people in the camp which was about 130 people out of 1000.
One day an army truck came by to deliver medical supplies and I was assigned to help with any language issues. Lo and behold the driver was the corporal that had saved me at the border crossing. He was only a year older and kinda cute, so I made sure to sacrifice my virginity to him as a way of saying thanks. His buddies were pissed because they were working while he was fucking me behind a tree.
I continued to improve my language skills and they started teaching me math and science. The camp administrator offered me a chance to leave the planet on a refugee scholarship program. My father was thrilled and gave his blessing. I promised him I would get him and his new wife (she was a widow he met in camp) out as soon as I could save enough money. I shipped out a week later arrived at the star base. After convincing them not to put me in 9th grade, I was enrolled in a work study program at a hotel. Technically there were supposed to be classes, but we worked long hours and were expected to complete courses in our free time. It was long and tedious, nothing like what I was told before I came and yet it was still better than life in the refugee camp. After a year I was beginning to tire, but due to my visa status had few options.
They usually had me on graveyard shift working the front counter. We had regular customers and it was not unusual for them to chat with us as they checked in or out. Some were hitting on me others just wanted to talk. This one older man used to take a room once a week. He would always look at me up and down as if he had x-ray vision, and touch my hand when I handed him the room card. The maid told me there were always lube packages and the occasional sex toy discarded in the trash of his room. I liked him because he could make me laugh and he always tipped me for getting him his favorite room.
One night he finally made up his mind to ask if I would be interested in making a little more money. My savings to rescue dad here were pitiful and I had just found out the manager had been skimming my paycheck with fictitious deductions, so lucky him I was in the right mood. He offered me two hours pay to fondle my tits for a few minutes. At first I thought I would have to remove my shirt and I balked, but he told me that he loved my uniform and would keep it on. True to his words he paid up and groped me for a bit then he was finished. He thanked me profusely and left without reserving a room. The following week, he made the same offer and for a little extra I let him put his hands under my shirt. It was only a matter of time before I sucked his dick and swallowed his load.
Eventually we started to meet on my days off. He offered to be my sugar daddy and I answered "How much and how often?" We haggled a bit before settling on the equivalent of two months' pay for 3 sessions per month. Later I realized that I could have asked for double, but at the time it was a princely sum for so few hours of work. Our first "date" he asked me to wear my uniform but with a skirt and no panty hose. I had to work my shift take care of customers while he hid under the desk and molested me. Kinda weird but it didn't bother me, all I could think about was the money in my savings account.
The manager got wind of our activities and tried to blackmail me into fucking him. He said that he would fire me and due to my visa conditions, I would be eligible for deportation. I told him I would just find another job and continue my studies. He countered by telling me that I would be blacklisted from every legitimate job on the base, so I walked out that night. True to his word, my applications were ignored and I began to get desperate. My old pervert found me a job at the Daybreak spa and since it was counted on the list of businesses as "hospitality" I was able to keep my visa.
The Spa was indeed just a fancy word for whorehouse, but it was actually not too bad. The manager didn't skim our pay and the tips were good. My coworkers were cool and most of the customers understood the rules of etiquette. I could ask for more because many men have young girl fantasies which was good because my sugar daddy managed to die in some kind of masturbation accident. I was able to save quite a bit, but now it's locked up. If the Boujoulis win control of the base, the money is probably gone.
I had been working there for two years and was beginning to tire of the business. Horatio, Hamlish and I planned on leaving soon and start an ethnic restaurant. That was when Cook walked into the waiting room. Finding out the Boujoulis had taken over simply made us exit more quickly than we had planned.
"So you are looking for a new job?" Melinda asked.
"Anything but the sex industry." Tina answered.
"I can offer you the chance to join my ship. You can learn everything you need and become an experienced crewmember." Sylvia offered.
