Page 17 of Master
"Clara? Clara, is that you?"
The white square of light flickered, an image barely coming into focus, but the voice issued from it was clear and one that made my heart jump in recognition.
“Emmy?”
“Clara!” Another voice that I recognized, and the small white screen shifted to hold 3-D images of two people I wondered if I would ever see again.
At least, I think it was them. These two women looked forty years younger than they should have. The one on the right had an abundance of red curls flowing over her shoulders, framing her smooth, pale face. The second was equally lovely, with thick brown hair styled into a loose braid and shimmering hazel eyes.
"Daisy? Emmy? Oh, my God! Are ya'll okay?"
I shoved the blaster at Tarook and settled in the co-pilot's chair closer to the hologram.
"Never better." Emmy laughed, her gaze flickering to the man at my side. "Hey Tarook. Thanks for rescuing Clara.”
Tarook's eyes darted to me, a wide grin growing on his face. "It was my complete pleasure."
Asshole pervert.
The disembodied screen cleared, and I saw my friends clearly. They sat at what looked like a gray metal table with a backdrop of dark sky and flickering stars. The image was small, like the screen of a laptop, but I could see well enough to know there wasn’t a single wrinkle on either of their faces.
"Wow. So, you both got...." I faltered with what to call the process that had taken forty years of age from our bodies.
“Youthinized," Daisy giggled as a deep male voice off-camera grumbled. He didn't like that term.
"Yep," Emmy grinned. "Isn't Daisy gorgeous?"
"So are the both of you," Daisy replied, her face split into a wide smile. I hadn't seen her smile like this in years.
Emmy wore a tempered grin. "Are you okay, Clara? We know they sent you to one of those hedonism ships. Was Tarook able to get to you before.... before...."
I shot a glance at Tarook, daring him to speak.
"He rescued me before anybody could buy me." It was basically the truth. Tarook got a freebie, the turd.
"Thank God," Daisy said, pressing a hand over her heart. "We were so worried about what might happen to you."
"Where are you guys?" I changed the subject, worried Tarook might interject. He sat in the pilot's chair, fiddling with buttons and watching the screens. I could tell from the infinitesimal twitch of his slightly pointed ears he paid attention to every syllable uttered.
"We're on the Bardaga." Emmy raised a hand and gestured about, but the screen stayed focused on my friends. "It's the Vaktaire warship that patrols the Milky Way. Well, itused to. Khaion took furlough so his crew could help us find you."
"Tarook said everyone was being rescued." Not that I hadn't believed him. Okay, well, maybe part of me didn't.
"True," Emmy agreed, and Tarook flashed me an arrogant smirk. "We have a location on Agnes, Pearl, and Willa. It's just a matter of the Vaktaire getting to the girls and getting them out safely."
"They're okay, though?" I worried.
“As near as we can tell,” Daisy added. “We were worried about you the most.”
Because I was the one in a brothel. One of these days, I might confess to them why, out of all of us, I was the one more suited to handling a brothel. Just not today.
"I'm okay," I reiterated. "What happened to you guys? How did you get rescued?"
Daisy and Emmy shared a look, grinning.
Emmy took the lead, explaining how she got left on the ship after the Vaktaire intervened, attempting to reach an escape pod before the Trogvyk ship exploded. Thankfully, Khaion got to her at the last minute, saving them both. After that, Emmy used her exceptional persuasion skills as a former prosecutor to wrangle the Vaktaire into helping her find and rescue the rest of us.
Daisy's story was darker. They took her to an underground mine to act as caretaker for the alien children enslaved as miners. Rescuing her would have been relatively simple. Rescuing her plus twenty alien children proved moreproblematic. It was a dangerous operation, resulting in near death.
