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Chapter Two

S hadow

I pull the little human female in front of me so she’s not bringing up the rear. The strongest should be at the back of the group, not the weakest. What the drack have we done? We’ve paid 5,000 of my hard-earned credits for a female who’s probably suffering from Amlong disease. She’s clearly crazy.

The human females on the ship like to be covered and wear lots of clothes, but this one is running along with only a scrap of cloth across her ass. I have a very nice view of that shapely backside as I run. I notice the rounded curve of her bottom, the firm muscular thighs. I almost trip over the uneven pavement as I pay attention to her long strides and graceful movements.

She’s still laughing—I wish I could recall if Amlong is contagious. We jog left and pause in a dark alley on one of the side streets between the arena and where our ship is docked. The two females are panting.

“You were playacting back there, right?” Savannah asks, her eyebrow arched in question.

“I got him down to 5,000 credits, didn’t I?” She’s pretty with her mouth pulled into a smile.

“I’ve got to give you kudos. You did such a good job I wasn’t sure if you had some kind of space sickness or if you were trying to help us negotiate a lower price.”

“You’re still going to take me with you, right? On your ship? If I come up with the 5,000 credits to pay you back?” Her teeth are biting her bottom lip. The female looks and sounds desperate.

“Listen, about that,” Theos interjects, “I feel awful about this. We all feel awful. I know it isn’t fair at all. We should have rescued you and asked for nothing in return. That would have been the right thing to do.”

“It is what it is.” She shrugs. “I just want to get to the strip club, earn enough credits to buy my freedom, board your ship, and not be anybody’s slave.”

The only Earth female I’ve gotten to know since they all came onto the ship was my former cellmate, Grace. She cried a lot and couldn't accept that her life would never return to the way it had been. I assumed all Earth females were like that—weak.

This one seems strong. It took brains and guts to pull that stunt back there. We should definitely buy her another pair of pants.

“I’m going to go back to the ship and have the doc fix my eye. I think I need stitches,” I tell them as I turn toward the docking station.

“Ho, Shadow,” Theos says. “I comm'd the captain. He says Savannah and I should return to the ship, and you should take... what’s your name?”

“Petra.”

“Take Petra to the sex club.”

I shake my head. That’s the last thing I want to do after almost getting killed in the arena. My right eye is swelling shut even as we waste time in this filthy alley.

“I don’t know why you’re doing this. We can’t pick up every stray in the galaxy,” I complain.

“Here’s the credits.” He throws me the card. “Get her what she needs.” He looks at her thighs knowing there's probably still urine clinging there. “She’ll have to find a place to clean up. You clean up, too. The doc can fix you up when you both return to the ship.”

He tosses me a laser weapon, then jogs off with Savannah toward the ship, leaving me alone with the little human.

“What do you need?” I'm sure my voice sounds sharp and resentful. I’m not sure why I always get the shit jobs, but I’m pissed having to babysit this female—a weak human no less.

“Savannah said you were a dick. She was right. I need to clean up, then buy some sexy underwear and a rope.”

I arch my brow but don’t want to be a “dick,” whatever that is, so I say nothing.

We go to a quick food place and clean up in their restroom. I make her talk to me the whole time I’m alone in the males’ room so I know she’s not kidnapped again. She doesn’t jabber like I thought she would, she just counts out loud, like she doesn’t want to share anything personal with me. I understand that, I don’t want to share anything personal with her either.

We find a clothing shop where she grabs some tiny scraps of underwear in a rainbow of colors and darts into the changing room. I think I hear her opening her curtain, but when I look over I see a sliver of her naked body flash between the cloth and the partition.

I suck in a quick, deep breath. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t tear my eyes from her. She’s so tiny, but everything’s in perfect proportion. Well, except her breasts, those are large. The tips are a delicate shade of pink. My cock twitches in my loincloth, ready to perform. She moves out of my line of sight, but the display is still burned into my retinas.

She’s quick about her business, and it doesn’t take her long to emerge from the dressing area.

“It took you long enough,” I scold.

“Don’t be an ass, Shadow.” She gives me a withering stare and sashays to the checkout. Rather than being a turn-off, my cock responds to her put-down by kicking in readiness.

She has a few tags in her hand. She must be wearing whatever she bought. She also purchased new pants that look exactly like the old pants she left lying in a puddle of piss in her cell.

“Hardware store,” she instructs after I pay.

“What’s a hardware store?”

“I need rope. Find me a store that sells that.”

For the first time since we met, she looks me in the eye. It gives me the opportunity to inspect her. First of all, she’s tiny. She's the smallest of all the Earth women on the ship. She’s got long brown hair, pulled into a bunch, revealing the graceful curve of her neck.

She also bought cosmetics and put some on. The red on her lips accentuates that pert, sassy mouth, and the brown around her eyes makes them appear larger and more dramatic.

I’m having trouble not ogling her. She’ll definitely catch every male’s eye wherever we go. She's dripping sensuality. I breathe deeply, lick my lips, and hurry in the direction of the mercantile.

I hope she knows what she’s doing. She unquestionably needs me to guard her. Males will want to grab her and do things to her with or without her permission. I’m glad Theos gave me his laser. I might need it.

“What’s a dick?”

“That,” she says as she glares at my cock, “is a dick.”

I glance down to check it for no good reason.

“Savannah called me a leenz ? Does it have another meaning?”

“Yeah, it’s slang for an unlikeable person.”

I know I’m an unlikeable person. I’ve been an unlikeable person for most of my life, with good reason. I’ve never regretted being unlikeable until right this minima . Right this minima I don’t want little Petra to think I’m a dick.

Instead, I agree as I spear her with a hard look. “I am a dick. Don’t piss me off.”

She finds this uproariously funny and soon I’m laughing, too. I think of her stunt back in her cell, “I guess you’re the one I shouldn’t piss off, Petra. I wouldn’t want to have to buy you another pair of pants.” Inexplicably, we both keep laughing for far too long.

Petra

We couldn’t find the exact type of rope I was searching for, the one we got is too scratchy, but beggars can’t be choosers. I just want to get in, make enough money to buy my freedom and get out. Surgical strike. No lingering.

I’m mentally prepping myself for the skeeziest possible sex club I could ever imagine. I have to say, even if he is a dick, I’m thankful I’ve got Shadow.

I’m picturing the Star Wars cantina scene with the worst and weirdest scum of the galaxy all gathered in one place to prey on females of every sort. I have no idea if my money-making scheme will interest anyone enough to give me credits, but I’m going to give it my best shot.

“How do I make money at this, anyway? Do they give me credits? How do they transfer money onto your card?”

“A place like this is off the books. You’ll get local currency, not credits. Everyone uses paper money for illegal activities,” he explains. “They’ll give you paper.”

“Illegal? Strip clubs are illegal?”

“Of course, they’re not sanctioned by the Federation.”

“Great. Note to self, barbaric gladiator fights are legal, slavery is legal, kidnapping is legal, showing a little T and A—not legal. Good to know. By the way; they won’t give the money to me, they’ll be giving it to you.”

“What?”

“You’ll have my boots,” I tell him. “You walk around and put the money they give me in my boot. I’ll be indisposed.”

I can tell he’s dying to ask me exactly what I’ll be doing and exactly why I bought the rope, but he’ll see it when I do it.

“So we can use the paper currency to get the ship fixed?” I want to make certain all problems are addressed before they even pop up.

“No. The mechanics at the docking station will want approved federation credits. There’s a twenty percent conversion charge.”

“You’re kidding me.” Crap, can I catch one stinking break today?

“No.”

“So I have to make 6,000 credits to pay you back the 5,000 I owe you.”

“Yes.”

How am I ever going to make enough money? I have no idea what the average tip is. If it’s one credit I’ll need 6,000 tips.

“If I don’t make the 6,000 you’re just going to... leave me in the strip club?”

“I don’t know why they put me in charge of this, Petra. I’m a dick. Lucky for you I don’t make the decisions. When you’re done doing whatever it is you’re going to do, I’ll comm the ship and see what they say.”

“Great, glad to have you on my side.”

By the disgruntled look on his face, it's clear he knows sarcasm when he hears it.