Page 40 of Savage Union (Brutal Universe #2)

39

JESSINA

T urk hadn’t been lying when he said that Gallion Five was home to some scary looking animals. The minute we disembarked from The Illyrian, we came face to face with a creature that would have given even the bravest soul nightmares.

It was about twice the size of a tiger from Old Earth and it was covered in short, bristling spikes that looked sharp enough to impale yourself on. The spikes were gray, as were the creature’s eyes when it looked at me.

“Here now, here now!” a man standing beside the menacing beast called to us. “I’ve a rare chance for you, Captain—come get a picture with the spiker! You and your lady will treasure it forever as a keepsake.”

“This is my navigator, not my lady,” Turk growled. “And we don’t want to get close to a creature that could take your head off in one fucking bite.”

“Ah, but you have no need to worry! All my spikers are kept sedated. See?” The man waved two of his four arms at a collar fixed around the massive beast’s neck. “See? A sedation collar. Why, he’s half asleep—too content to be bothered with biting anyone’s head off.”

His skin was deep purple and he was completely bald, I noticed. Apparently he was a Salashion—he looked just like Turk had described them, right down to his extra long, rather blobby nose.

“Still not interested,” Turk said, turning away.

“Well maybe you’d be interested in a can of spiker repellent, then?” the man asked in a wheedling tone. “It doesn’t do to get caught out in the city without it. There are plenty of wild spikers that aren’t wearing sedation collars, you know! You get too near and they’re like this!”

He pounded suddenly on the spiker’s shoulder with a close fist, which seemed to bring the creature to life. It stretched its neck and growled—a deep, frightening sound I could feel in my bones. At the same time, it rattled its spikes in a way that almost sounded like a thousand rattlesnakes from Old Earth. The spikes went reddish-orange and the beast’s eyes were suddenly like flames.

The display stopped me cold. Were there really more of these beasts wandering loose around the city? Should we be concerned?

But Turk shook his head again and patted his hip, where his blaster was clipped.

“Thanks, but I’m armed.”

The man seemed to be trying to sell us something else, but Turk took me by the elbow and steered me pointedly away. He kept his hand on me, guiding me through the spaceport and I let him. There were plenty of strange faces and vendors selling their wares packed into the small space—I didn’t want to get lost from him.

At last we made it through the noisy, crowded spaceport and out onto the street. Turk hailed a hovercab at once—at least their vehicles seemed to work the same as ours—and we got inside.

“That was pretty scary—the spiker, I mean,” I ventured, as he dug through his pockets for some of the odd, square coins the Salashions used as currency and inserted them into the slot right behind the windshield.

“Nah—as long as you take transport wherever you’re going, you’re fine,” he said casually. “You just don’t want to be caught out wandering the side streets and alleys. The Salashions have crews that go catch most of the spikers, but they always miss a few and that’s where they tend to hide.”

“Oh,” I said faintly. “All right.”

“Hey, don’t worry.” He put an arm around me and looked at me seriously. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Cass. I’m bringing you with me so I can protect you, all right?”

“All right.”

I nibbled my lower lip as I looked up at him. Goddess of the Four Faces, I wished I could tell him who I really was! But I was afraid he would never understand. I would just have to wait until we got back home to Rigelis Nine and get the Synth implant removed.

But that wouldn’t be safe until the impending marriage had blown over. I hoped that perhaps Grr. Malofice would get tired of waiting for me and decide to wed some other hapless woman. Maybe then I could reveal myself to Turk and admit how I felt about him…

My thoughts were cut short when the hovercab arrived outside a grand looking mansion with four black marble pillars out front. There was an equally grand door, also black, and a four-armed servant wearing a golden loincloth and holding a golden spear standing guard.

“Well, this is it.” Turk got out of the cab and then held the door for me. It occurred to me that he was already treating me like a woman—putting his arm around me and holding the door and offering me his hand to help me down from the cab. Was that simply a reflex or did he know on some level what I was?

I had no time to question his behavior further because we stepped up past the pillars and the servant in the golden loincloth came to stand in front of us. The color really set off his dark purple skin, I thought.

“Halt. Who are you and what business do you have with my master?” he demanded, frowning at us.

“My name is Turk, Captain of The Illyrian—a vessel from the Imperium Galaxy,” Turk said shortly. “And this is my navigator, Cass. Your boss is expecting us.”

The guard frowned at us and then narrowed his eyes at me, his long nose twitching.

“This is a males-only house,” he announced. “It’s ill luck to bring a woman into man’s business.”

I felt my stomach lurch—could he see past the field the Synth implant was projecting? Could he tell I was female? Was it some gift the Salashions had? The man with the spiker at the spaceport had thought I was Turk’s “lady” as well. What was going on?

But Turk didn’t seem to question it.

“We are male,” he growled impatiently. “I guarantee it. Now let us the fuck in.”

The guard stared at me for a moment more, his nose wiggling, then shrugged.

“Well, it’s your foreshortening if you’re lying. Very well, come in. I’ll announce your presence.”

He opened the tall black door and ushered us into a small, circular foyer that was done in black and white marble tiles. There was a small table with a vase on it in the middle of the round room. The flowers were tall and exotic looking with blue and orange blossoms that smelled very sweet and strong and slightly spicy—like cinnamon, I thought, or some other spice I couldn’t name.

The guard left us there and exited into the main part of the house through a tall door that was painted red.

“Now while we’re here, just let me do the talking,” Turk said in a low voice. “The Salashions are touchy about several subjects so it’s better for you to be silent. All right?”

“Fine with me.” I shrugged. I hadn’t come there to join in the negotiations—I was just along for the ride, so to speak.

“Good.” He nodded just as the guard came back and ushered us through the red door.

“Go to the end of the hall and through the green and gold archway,” he instructed. “The boss is waiting for you.”

Turk nodded curtly and then we made our way down a long, dark hallway that seemed to be lined with living portraits. Or if not living, they certainly gave the appearance of life. All of them were of bald Salashion men dressed in rich robes. They started moving and talking as we walked by, apparently trying to tell us their life’s story.

“I was born into humble circumstances—just a poor biscuit boy hobbled by the lack of family wealth,” one began as we walked past.

“My life was filled with controversy! None could understand my vision!” proclaimed another as we passed it.

“My best friend ate my third thumb!” a third cried as we stepped up to the portrait. That one I would have liked to stay and hear, but Turk tugged at my elbow and we passed by without finding out exactly what had happened.

At last we came to an archway that was painted dark green with golden flowers. We stepped inside and found a large room with a round table in the center. Seated at the table were four Salashions. One of them was extremely old—or at least I thought he must be, considering the wrinkles around his eyes and the long silver beard that was growing from his chin.

“Master Gobosh, it’s very good to see you again.” Turk bowed, so I bowed too. When we rose, the older male nodded back at us.

“We have a long and happy trading relationship with your Clan, Captain Turk, and are pleased to welcome you once more to the House of Business,” he murmured. “But tell me, who is this person you have with you?” His nose wiggled as he looked at me, frowning.

I began to feel nervous, but Turk didn’t look worried.

“This is Cass, my navigator. He’s young so I brought him along to keep him safe,” he said.

One of the men—the closest to us—frowned. His nose, which was longer than all the others—almost a kind of trunk—began to wiggle.

“That’s no he—that’s a she!” he proclaimed, pointing at me. “I can smell her!”

I took a step back instinctively, but Turk shook his head.

“No, you’re mistaken. I’ve taken showers with Cass before—I can vouch for the fact that he’s a male. He’s from Cata Prime and has Catamite blood— that’s what you’re smelling.”

“No! Lies!” the one with the extra long nose insisted. He jumped out of his chair and came to stand in front of me. Without warning, he bent over and began snuffling me all over, his long, mobile nose running over my body like some kind of bizarre detector.

“Hey!” I gasped and tried to jump away. But to my discomfort, Turk shook his head.

“Just let him smell you. He’ll satisfy himself in a minute.”

But the Salashion with the long nose was taking more than a minute. He sniffed and snuffed all up and down my body while my heart beat hard enough to make me dizzy. To my horror he spent quite a long time sniffing at my upper arm where the Synth Implant was lodged. I was sure he was going to say something about it, but he finally moved on. At last, much to my discomfort, he shoved his nose directly in my crotch and inhaled deeply.

“Here!” he exclaimed, raising his head at last. “I smell a cunny!”

“Impossible!” Turk growled, glaring at him. “I told you, Cass is a Catamite. But he has a shaft, the same as you and me!”

“You wouldn’t be bringing a female to our negotiations, now would you, Captain Turk?” the elder Salashion inquired, frowning at us. “Pingly here is almost never wrong—he has a most talented nose.”

“No, Master Gobosh, I wouldn’t disrespect you or our relationship in that way,” Turk protested.

“If he’s a male, have him show his shaft!” the one with the long nose who was apparently named “Pingly” demanded.

“What?” I exclaimed, taking a step back.

Turk sighed.

“Do it, Cass.”

“What?” I asked again, turning to him. “Surely you don’t want me to?—”

He frowned.

“We need to get on with business. Just show them your shaft to satisfy them.”

“But…but what if I don’t want to?” I asked, feeling sick.

Turk frowned at me.

“Why is this a problem? Don’t you pull it out when you use a public urinal? We’re all males here.”

I could tell there was no getting out of this sticky situation without showing them the fake shaft the Synth implant was projecting for me. Blood rushed to my cheeks as I unfastened my uniform trousers and pushed them down just enough to show it, curled against my thigh like a little brown shrimp.

“Well—it’s not very big but it’s definitely there,” Master Gobosh remarked, causing laughter from the two other Salashions still sitting at the table.

But Pingly wasn’t laughing. He was staring at my fake shaft with a frown on his face and his nose was still twitching.

“No,” he said. “This is wrong! It might look like a shaft but it smells like a cunny! He’s a woman, I tell you—an ill-luck, female. I can smell it!”

“Enough of this!” Turk growled, glaring at him. “The boy showed you his shaft—what more do you want from him? Let’s sit down and get these negotiations started. Cass, do up your trousers,” he added, looking at me.

But I didn’t get a chance because at that moment Pingly reached one of his four hands between my legs.

“Hey!” I shouted, trying to jump back. But my uniform trousers—which were a little too big—slipped further down my thighs. My legs got tangled and I fell backwards.

“Nothing! There’s nothing there!” Pingly shouted. “A female—it’s an ill-luck female and she’s got a Synth!”

And before I could scramble up off the floor and pull up my pants, he was kneeling beside me with a long, curving silver blade in one hand.

“No!” I gasped and tried to wiggle away, but it was too late. The huge Salashion had me by the arm. One of his four hands was gripping my shoulder and the other had me by the elbow. The third, which was holding the knife, sliced right through my uniform shirt and then into my flesh.

“Fuck you! Get off of him!” I heard Turk shouting but Pingly’s fourth arm had drawn a blaster and was holding it on him, so he could only watch as my arm was sliced open. A moment later the Salashion was pulling out the small silver Synth implant—now streaked in my blood.

“Ow!” I gasped. That had really hurt! My arm was throbbing .

Pingly held the bloody implant high to show to the others at the table.

“There! I told you! My nose never lies!” he exclaimed. “And look—the shaft is gone!”

My heart was pounding miserably as they all looked between my legs. The little shrimp of a shaft was indeed gone and there was nothing there but my pussy—completely on display.

Turk, who had been shouting angrily a moment before, stared in silent surprise. Then he looked at my face and back between my legs again. At last he said in a low, hoarse voice,

“Jessina?”

The huge Salashion had loosened his grip on me now and I twisted away from him. Arm still bleeding, I reached down and grabbed for my uniform trousers. Dragging them up, I fastened them as quickly as I could.

“She is a female! And ill-luck female! ” Master Gobosh exclaimed, rather belatedly. “How dare you bring a female amongst us?” he demanded of Turk. “This House of Business has stood for centuries and not once has a female come through its doors. Now may your life be foreshortened by this blasphemy! You have defiled our dealings here for now and ever afterwards!”

I didn’t need to hear any more to know I was in big trouble. Scrambling to my feet, I rushed through the gold and green archway and down the hallway. The voices of the portraits followed me in a rising cacophony, all trying to tell their stories, as I ran as fast as I could through the darkened space towards the foyer.

But then I remembered the guard—would he try to stab me with his spear for “defiling their House of Business?”

Taking a risk, I took a turn at the end of the hallway and found myself heading to what I hoped was the back of the house. Behind me I heard a lot of commotion but I couldn’t tell if it was Turk and the Salashions or still just the portraits shouting.

At last, after another series of turns, I found myself in front of a plain blue door. I opened it and was relieved to see that it led out of the house and into a dim back street.

My relief was short-lived, however, because I heard Turk calling my name.

“Jessina? Jessina! Where are you?”

I knew I couldn’t let him catch me—he would be so mad! I had ruined his Clan’s business deal!

Turning, I ran down the narrow side street, clutching my bleeding arm with one hand as I raced as fast as my legs would allow. I had to get away. I would go to the spaceport and apologize later, I told myself. But for now, I just couldn’t face him. I couldn’t .

The side street seemed to be some kind of alleyway that led between a lot of grand houses. I could see the backs of them flitting by as I raced down the narrow road. There were several twists and turns and I took every one I could, trying to get away from both Turk and the Salashions, who were also presumably chasing me.

At last I couldn’t run anymore. I stopped, bending over to hold the stitch in my side and catch my breath as I panted as quietly as I could.

After I straightened up, I took stock of the situation. I couldn’t hear anyone coming for me anymore, so I guessed I had lost them all. Which meant I was safe, right?

Well…

I looked around, finally taking better stock of my surroundings. The grand houses that had flashed by on either side were long gone. Now all I saw were ragged, dusty dwellings that didn’t look very prosperous at all. Most of them were set far back from the road, which was bordered by a long fence missing slats on one side and a brick wall on the other.

The other thing that worried me was the fact that I was still bleeding. The Salashion’s knife had cut deep and then he’d gone digging around to get out the implant. I needed to disinfect the wound but for now all I could do was rip up the sleeve of my uniform shirt and tie it around the cut.

Then I had to admit to myself that I had no idea where I was or how to get back to the spaceport. I had run too far and too fast and I hadn’t been paying attention to anything but getting away.

I was alone and bleeding on a strange planet in what looked like the bad part of town with no way to get back to the ship.

What was I going to do?