Chapter Two
I was twenty years old when I was informed that I would be going to X29 to be a servant to a Goseb Commander. I had no possessions; I owned nothing. I didn’t even really have any friends, just the fellow human prisoners. Some of them I got along with, some I didn’t. I don’t remember if I was happy or sad. I can barely remember my life before Detro. I didn’t have any dreams or hope. Back then I assumed that my life would be short, unpleasant and defined by work.
It seemed the prisoners that were to go to X29 were chosen at random. I stood, chained to the women in front of and behind me, and shuffled slowly through the Goseb garrison. Even though I was a prisoner, I had considered this place home.
Did I feel sad when I left? It’s hard to say. I remember realizing that I would never again see the little corner where I slept at night, the one place in the world I considered mine. I would never again get to see the dull red sun rise over the Goseb home world as I washed the cobblestone steps of the garrison.
My journey to X29 was my first trip into space. Single file, we were led into the cargo bay where rows of hard metal chairs waited. We were ordered to sit. Once I was down, a cold metal bar was strapped across my chest, trapping me in the seat. I remember looking around, hoping to see stars or the Goseb home world from space. But there were no windows in the cargo bay. I could only see the sad faces of the other humans. It was always hard to look at them, hard eyes, permanent frowns, a defeated air. I knew that I must look just the same.
I gasped as the acceleration of the ship pushed me back against the cold metal chair. My neck strained as the ship fought the planet’s gravity. For a moment I could neither breathe nor move and panic flooded through me. I had no idea if this was normal or if I was about to die. But then the pressure relented and I realized we had made it into space.
I could smell the gas first. We all could. We weren’t permitted to speak to each other, but murmurs echoed around the cargo bay. Some struggled against the bars of their chairs, but I knew it was futile. I let my head fall back and took a deep breath. I could taste the gas. My eyes grew heavy, warmth spread through my body and the next thing I knew I was waking up. My head pounded and my throat was dry. I would later learn that I had spent forty-nine hours unconscious on the ship. I heard voices around me as my fellow humans moaned and cried out. It was harder on the older ones. An elderly woman two seats down didn’t wake up at all.
The transport ship shuddered then reverberated and an announcement came over the speaker. We had docked with the garrison ship orbiting the mining planet of X29.
About twenty Goseb guards entered the rooms as the bars along our chair released us.
“Kneel,” said the commanding guard. There was no question, no argument from any of the humans. We were beyond expendable to the Gosebs. It was easier for them to kill us than negotiate and we were reminded of that every day.
I knelt on the ground as Goseb guards moved up and down the lines of waiting humans. A tingle went up and down my spine as the guard stood behind me. I closed my eyes and there was a loud buzzing noise followed by a painful burning sensation on the back of my neck. I bit down a gasp, but it was over quickly. A quick sting. It was a tracking device linked to the ship. Anywhere I went, they would know. Anything I did, they would know.
“Mereen Silver.” My name was called out in a list with about fifteen others. Rising to my feet, I kept my head down and fell in line where I was told.
A Goseb soldier led us down the hallway, giving out instructions as we hurried along. His voice wasn’t muffled by his black mask, it came out clear and commanding. “Grand Commander Detro Mirol has been given the great honor of overseeing mining efforts on X29. You will work as part of his personal retinue and see that all of his needs and desires are met.”
Detro had his own private living quarters on the ship. A large kitchen, sitting rooms, bedrooms and his own personal human staff to go along with it. We arrived in the brand new kitchen and changed into gray jumpsuits. We knelt on the floor waiting for our new orders to be given.
Detro Mirol was a grand commander, and his steward was a Goseb soldier on the rise named Troslo. He stomped into the kitchen and looked over the humans kneeling before him. He took his time walking up and down our ranks. Sometimes he would touch our hair or shoulders. I knew other Gosebs like this, and humans as well. He had tasted power and liked it. He wanted more.
He stopped before me and tilted my chin up to meet his.
“Mereen Silver,” he said, reading off a display. “No marks or charges against you. That’s impressive. Stand.”
I did as I was told, aware that every eye in the room was on me.
“Grand Commander Detro Mirol is a well-disciplined leader. You will meet his schedule or you will be reassigned.” I nodded. “He likes his basda the moment he wakes, which is after exactly seven hours of sleep, no more, no less. Half an hour after delivering the basda you will deliver his breakfast. He eats lunch six hours after breakfast and dinner six hours after that. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir,” I replied.
“You will deliver his meals to him and help him dress for the day. You,” he pointed to an older human woman next to me, “Sierra, you will be the head cook for the Grand Commander. If he is displeased with his food, or it does not arrive when he wishes it, you two will be the ones to suffer the consequences.”
Sierra and I glanced at each other and nodded at the guard. We were thrown right into the work. According to the very exact schedule, Detro was expecting his coffee within the half hour. Still tired from the drugs, with a headache that refused to relent, I was given instructions on how to reach Detro’s quarters and the precise way I was to knock on his door.
There was an elaborate cart and I carefully loaded a set of ornate Goseb drinking glasses and a large pitcher of basda, which is a warm, caffeinated drink favored by the Gosebs. I made sure to wipe my fingerprints off the perfectly blown glass cups, and carefully lined each cup up in a neat row.
The door opened automatically for me. The sensor in my neck would allow me access to certain places on the ship. I took a tentative step into the gunmetal-gray hallway and then took another. The long hallway was empty, and even though I was doing what I had been ordered to I still felt like I was about to get in trouble at any minute. It was always dangerous to be a lone human on a Goseb ship. I kept glancing behind me and around me, looking for a place to hide should trouble come.
The gravity on the ship was lighter than the Goseb home world and it felt a little like I was floating when I walked. I stopped short when I came across a window and looked out into inky blackness spotted with stars. Space. I was in space at that exact moment. I stepped away from the car to get a better look out of the window and I saw the world of X29 below me. It was like an orange, spinning ball, massive and breathtaking.
As instructed, I pushed the communication panel once. Almost immediately the door opened and, taking a deep breath, I entered the softly lit chamber. It was decorated like a traditional Goseb home. There were plush carpets on the floor and elaborately decorated tapestries hanging from the wall. There was even a fireplace along one wall, though it was non-working. Fire on a ship made little sense. Instead, it projected heat and the image and sound of a crackling fire.
It was lit now, casting a soft orange light and a warm heat through the room. There was a large bed against one wall and a massive desk against the other. I glanced at the desk and saw the black, featureless mask worn by Gosebs and the matching dark armor. Detro wasn’t dressed yet.
I kept my eyes down. I didn’t want him to be embarrassed or think me impudent. I didn’t see him in the room, so I left the cart near the desk and then turned to leave.
“Stop,” I heard a stern voice say, and a shiver ran up and down my back as I stopped an arm's reach from the door.