Slave to the Stars excerpt
She let her mind stretch out into the crowd as much as she dared. There were more emotions than she d ever felt before, and she didn t want to be overwhelmed. Plus the non-human minds were very odd to her, and she found that she couldn t sense emotions very well from some of them, although a few were almost as easy to pick up on as a human s mind.
She stopped in mid-thought. She felt immense confidence, almost arrogance coming from her left. It was like nothing she d ever felt before. Not even the slave masters were as confident as this man seemed to be, but was it a man? Something felt slightly different.
She quickly made up her mind and started walking in the direction of the man. As the crowd cleared, she didn t see a man. Instead she saw a Venzi. He was tall, almost seven feet like Lt. Eckerson, and he was vaguely humanoid, but he had four muscular arms.
The feeling of wanting to approach him was strong, but he wasn t human, and she knew that it was entirely possible that she was misreading his emotions. It had happened a few times before. In fact, it had even happened with a Venzi slave she had known, a man whose name she couldn t remember now.
A sudden laugh brought her out of her reverie.
That s a good one, the Venzi was saying, But I m still not paying ten thousand credits, no matter how funny you might be.
He was talking to a human, a rather short man, especially next to the towering Venzi. The human was wearing a uniform that Tilmath now recognized as the spaceport staff. She couldn t tell if the Venzi was wearing any kind of uniform. His clothes were like nothing she d seen before, dark brown pants, a burgundy jacket, and a large hat with a feather of some kind. Even though the clothes were dark in color, they were flamboyant in every other way.
It s a deal on any planet, the human was saying, But it s a really good deal on Ventho Minor.
The Venzi laughed again. I don t think there s such a thing as a good deal on Ventho Minor.
What about our slaves?
The Venzi tsk tsked and shook his finger at the human. You know I love profit, but I don t deal in slavery.
Tilmath could feel the disgust from the Venzi, and she decided she liked him even more, and the fact that his words seemed to be corresponding with the emotions she was sensing from him, made her hope even more that she was reading him right.
To each his own, the human said, as he walked away.
Disgusting man, the Venzi mumbled under his breath before he turned and almost ran into Tilmath.
Well, hello young creature, he said, taking a step back. She could feel the same disgust coming from him, and she feared it wasn t still about the slavery.
Hello, sir, Tilmath said. Are you a freighter captain?
Um, yes, he said, trying to walk around her. But I really must get back to my ship. Nice talking to you. He reached out a hand like he was going to pat her on the head, and then pulled it back quickly.
Can I get a tour of your ship? she asked.
He looked alarmed. Um, no, little creature. That wouldn t do. I have a lot of work to do.
She thought as quickly as she could. It was obvious that he didn t like kids, but she had to do something to get into his good graces. There was just something about him.
I m doing a research project for my class, and it would really help.
The Venzi frowned. Like I said, I m too busy. Now, run along.
But, sir, she said. I could really use your help.
He was backing away quicker than she thought anyone should be able to. No, can t help. Sorry.
He ran into another human. This one was much shorter than him, but what he lacked in height, he made up for in muscle, and ugliness.
Hey, what the hell? the ugly man said.
Sorry, the Venzi said. I wasn t paying attention. Won t happen again.
Damn right it won t, the man said. I don t like you alien types. I think I ll teach you a lesson.
The Venzi was looking everywhere, and she could sense his panic, but she could also sense panic in the ugly man. Why would he be worried, she thought, and then she realized that the man might not really want to fight, and he was actually scared of the Venzi. She stepped up next to the freighter captain. Don t be afraid of him, Captain, she said.
Who me? Afraid, the Venzi said. No, never.
She looked calmly at the Captain and said, He s more afraid of you than you are of him.
I don t see fear, the Venzi said.
Tilmath turned her eyes towards the human and stared at him. Trust me, I can tell, she said.
She felt the Venzi staring at her, and she turned to face him, a look of confidence on her face, and a slight smile appeared on his face as he turned towards the short man.
I am carrying a pistol, he told the man with sudden seriousness. He pulled his long coat aside to show the man his gun, and the man s eyes widened.
Sorry, the man suddenly said, backing away quickly and almost tripping over his own feet. Big misunderstanding. As soon as he was ten feet away from them, he turned and ran.
The Venzi turned to face Tilmath, a slight smile on his face.
Espari? he asked quietly. Something she didn t think he was capable of doing.
She smiled slightly and nodded.
His smile grew even bigger. Maybe I do have time to give you a tour of my ship. He reached out a hand like he might pat her head, but again he stopped himself.