Terra Stone: Mistaken Identity Chapter 1

 

Chapter 1

 

            The layout of the Port Brig on Romata III resembled the jails, brigs, and holding facilities on just about every other remote world throughout the known star systems. The walls were lined with cabinets holding an array of restraints for securing prisoners. While other cabinets had been converted into racks for weapons storage. To one side of the room were three holding cells with workstations that were placed so the staff could keep a visual on those locked inside.

 

          At the moment, two of the cells were being used to hold female slaves pending being transported to a contracted slave house to await their turn on the auction block. At one of workstations sat the shift supervisor for the current watch. He was rubbing his temples as he was about to explain for the third or fourth time to the two men standing on the other side of the desk that one of the female slaves who was listed on their shipping manifest was not available to be turned over to them.

          “As you can clearly read in these transfer orders, Constable. This order says that I am to pick up ten slaves for transport by freighter to the slave market on Sutters’s world.” Pointing to the nine naked females in the first cell, all had already been restrained with their wrists locked in steel cuffs behind their backs and shipping slave collars locked about their throats. “I have nine of the slaves on my shipping list. I need slave 9876309 to complete my list. And I can not leave without her or my boss will have a fit!”

          “And as I told you before.” Glared the Constable at the slaver. “The female who was assigned number 9876309 has had her case placed under review. She has had a shipping hold placed on her and so you only get the other nine slaves. And that is it!”

          Before the slaver could protest further the hatch to the outside opened and a slender well built female Union agent pushed a prisoner through. Before the hatch had closed her crystal eyes had scanned the room taking note of everything of importance. Shoving the scruffy and dirty small man she had in custody before the desk of the Constable as she shot the slaver and his partner an icy glare. Her name was Terra Stone, and she was an agent for the Unions Sector 5 branch which dealt with intelligence and investigation. Her prisoner was a hacker that had broken into the navigation and approach system for the space port. His plan had been to sell approach clearance codes to smugglers so they could land without questions. Sector 5 had learned of the plan and Terra had been assigned to bring him in. She had caught one of the weaselly-looking slavers looking at her with an appraising eye and shot him with an deadly glare.

          “What can I do for you, Agent?” asked the Constable who was happy to have an excuse to ignore the slavers.

          “I need to lock up this hacker. He’s the one that broke into the Nav and Approach system.” She said stated as a matter of fact. “Your people will be here in a couple hours to pick him up for interrogation.”

          “They have been wanting to get a hold of him for a while. Come with me, Agent Stone.” Smiling as he was finally going to be rid of dealing with the persistent slavers whining. Turning to them, “Be gone with I get back as the matter is closed. If you are still here, I will keep all the slaves and lock you up as well for annoying me, clear.”

          The slavers both nodded as the Constable and the Agent departed with their prisoner through the hatch that led down to the cages and pens of the brig. The lead slaver called Cyrus could not help but watch and marvel at the sway of the woman’s ass in the form fitting uniform trousers she wore as she escorted her prisoner from the area.

          “Get your mind back on the job, Cy!” his partner snarled hitting him in the chest. “We are behind schedule with this shipment and already in trouble. Stop making it worse by provoking the locals.”

          “You need to learn how to relax, Tabor.” Cyrus laughed as he walked over to a weapons rack, taking out a stun stick. “I always wonder how effective one of these are”

          “Put that thing away before one of them comes back. Now get over here and help me so we can get down to the hanger with these slaves. Nine is better than none and that Constable will not think twice about taking them away from us after you annoyed him.”

          “What do you think…” Terra demanded as she walked back through the hatch alone but never finished Cyrus spun around started and fired a stun blast from the weapon into her abdomen causing her to crumple to the floor unconscious.

          “Oh Great! Now we are really screwed Cyrus. Were a slave short and you just stunned a Union agent!” pointing to the unconscious agent on the floor.

          “See there you go again, Tabor.” Placing the weapon back in the rack where it had been then walking over to squat down by the woman on the floor, rolling her on her back and examining her face. “You see problems. I see solutions. Two problems solved. This beauty fits the descript of the slave we aren’t getting and she can take her place as number 10.”

          “Are you crazy. We can’t add her to the shipping chain.” But Cyrus was already in the process of removing the sleeping Terra’s uniform from her. Soon as she was completely naked, she was rolled to her belly and her hands locked in steel cuffs like the slaves in the cell. “I can’t believe that we are doing this.” Joining Cyrus beside Terra as she moaned and begun to stir. Taking the last of the ten shipping collars they had brought with them, he locked it about Terra’s throat. Now any that saw her and didn’t know better would only see her as another slave.

          Tabor snatched up her uniform and pistol belt. The weapon and belt were added to the weapons locker as if they belonged there. Her clothing was dumped down a garbage chute hopefully not to be discovered until they were light years away from here. As if reading each other’s minds Cyrus took out an isolation hood slipping it over the top of Terra’s head, inserting the wadding of the gag into her mouth. At the same time Tabor had entered the cell with the other slaves, placing them in isolation hoods as well.

          Moaning into the gag in her mouth, a still groggy Terra was lifted to her feet and placed at the end of the neck coffle of slaves. She almost fell when the chain connecting her collar to the girl in front of her went tight pulling her forward with them. The effects of the blast were wearing off more quickly now as she found herself naked and chained in a slave hood. How did this happen still foggy. The slaver froze with their line of lovely slaves when the hatch opened before them as a tall Marine entered the receiving area. His uniform boor the rank insignia of a Master Gunner. His name was Raphael “Rafe” McNally. The Master Gunner slowly appraised the two slavers and their chain of slave girls. He did note that the slave at the end of the chain seemed to be very agitated. But whatever she was trying to say was lost in the gag and hood fastened over her head.

          “Where are you going with these slaves?” McNally demanded of the two men, Holding out his hand for their papers.

          “These are slaves to be transported to the markets on Sutter’s World to be sold.” Cyrus turned over the slave papers to the Marine. He had considered lying about where they were taking the slaves, being that one of them was a Union Agent. But the papers clearly stated where they were to go for sale. There was a chance that he didn’t know the last girl and was here for some other reason.

          McNally took the papers, reading them over then moving to the first slave in line. He checked her collar number against the number on the invoice. Moving down the line checking the number of each slave till he got to the last in line. When he got to the last slave, Rafe noticed that she seemed to know his voice and was trying to tell him something. But her number matched invoice so he returned the papers to the slaver and motioned him out the door.

When the hatch had closed, he moved to one of the workstations and scanned over the paperwork. Looking up and glancing about, Terra Stone should have been here by now. So there was nothing to do but wait.