Page 13 of Stolen Slave

Her request to return her to her home world after the sys-unit rewrapped her eyes had gutted me. But her fearful, broken plea when I’d set her on my bed had been worse.

Without a translator, I could do little to reassure her. However, there was another way to help her feel less fearful around me until I could explain things.

My ambal swelled at the mere thought of scent-marking her. It would help her become more comfortable around me and ease the level of her stress until I could prove myself worthy of her trust.

It could also serve as a layer of protection if we ran into any Conservators. The same flekers who were supposed to be guarding her home planet to prevent the involuntary extraction of females like the one before me. They were probably too busy corralling the willing females for themselves to worry about the unwilling ones.

Unfortunately, even with my marking, they could still seduce her and keep her for their own. Which was something I wasn’t willing to risk. Not after all she’d already suffered.

That meant avoiding Helix stations, the base stations for Conservators, since they scanned docking ships for lifeforms. As soon as they detected a human female, they would forcibly board my ship, and my scent-marking wouldn’t be worth anything then.

A chime sounded, a low warning for the first of seven jumps. I stayed where I was, with her, and waited for the pull in my gut to signal cell acceleration. Traveling at jump speed wasn’t comfortable, but it was necessary if I wanted to reach the nearest Helix station…not that I had any intention of docking.

She made a sound of discomfort, and I pulled her closer. The subtle, sweet scent of her long, yellow hair filled my nose. I inhaled deeply, and she shifted closer in her sleep, the cleft of her softly rounded flank hugging my ambal perfectly.

I never wanted to let her go.

Carefully, I rubbed myself against her softness. She made a troubled sound.

“All is well, my pretty little female,” I assured her, trailing my fingers along her skin.

Knowing that I would only disturb her if I remained, I forced myself from her delicious backside.

The shirt she’d wrapped herself in when I’d left for the pain lubrication rested by her feet. I covered her again and grabbed clean clothes from my supply bins to dress myself as I considered our current destination.

Turning in the bounties would give me the chit I needed for recharging the jump cells and the additional supplies needed for the ship to support two crew members. Yet, I knew docking at the Helix station wasn’t an option. Not with only a single scent-marking to protect her.

I had more than one means to earn chit, though.

Giving her one last look, I left her in my room and headed toward the nav center.

She needed gentle care, correct nourishment, and time to heal. And a translator. Eventually. Once I knew the scent-marking was working.

The ship chimed again to indicate the second jump. I felt the pull in my gut before I reached the controls to adjust course. That was fine with me. One more jump took us farther from Narlin Four.

I checked our location at the edge of Prime Twelve and adjusted our route for Divos One in the Tertian Seven system. After verifying the jump cell fuel levels and sending a message to the nearest Helix station to report that I’d lost a bounty, I left the nav center.

The hall smelled like cleanser, an indication that cleaning bots had already removed the evidence of my female’s purge.

Unable to resist, I checked on her again. She still slept on her side, wrapped in my shirt. The curves of her flank and waist drew me in. As if she sensed my presence, she made a soft sound in her sleep. My ambal immediately swelled.

My gaze slid to the slim arm resting on her waist. The colored markings on her exposed skin weren’t as vibrantly dark purple as they had been, proof that the regeneration stims were already working.

I left without touching her and continued to the galley. The food processor was fully equipped with the standard nutrient packs and ingredients. It could serve up seasoned grains with protein cubes that were almost as good as homeworld cooking. However, all the dishes were for my species. I checked the settings and found recipes for the systems’ most common species but nothing for humans.

Frustrated, I returned to the med bay to research what humans ate. The sys-unit’s diet recommendations listed vitamin and mineral requirements and amounts, but it didn’t know what foods would meet those requirements. I spent another arc reading the food processor's manual to see if I could adjust the nutritional requirements of the dishes I knew how to prepare.

The resulting mess of grey-green paste didn’t look appetizing. I tried a spoonful and immediately spat it back into the bowl. It was completely inedible. After scraping the remains into the recycler, I debated what to do.

I’d verified my food wouldn’t hurt her, but it wouldn’t correct her deficiencies. The sys-unit could supplement what she needed with another vitality stim, but I hated the idea of hurting her again, even if it was for her health. That left contacting someone who would have information about how to feed a human.

Cursing under my breath, I tossed the empty bowl into the sanitation unit and left the galley. There had to be another way.

Back in the nav center, I checked the closest systems and found four Primes all within cell jump distance. That meant there had to be a void station somewhere nearby. I scanned the comms for several arcs before I found what I was looking for.

With a smile, I entered the coordinates and then went to sit with my female through the jumps. She stirred on the third one but quieted quickly. I touched her briefly before I left her again and locked the door behind me.

There would be no docking inspection at the void station. Smugglers and dark-system traders preferred to keep their businesses their own. Anyone forcing their way onto my ship would be after more than handing out fines for a few chits to cushion their marker. They’d be after my ship and everything on it.

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