Chapter 1
Miran
Miran and his two companions watched an audience of Fielden from the nearby planet file into the large room, taking seats and chatting among themselves. There was a stage at the far end of the room, with a large box draped in fabric. The show was supposed to start soon, and Miran assumed that whatever was in the large box would be part of the show.
The three of them stayed in the back, standing against a black-painted wall. Most of the lights were centered on the stage so it wasn't hard for them to remain out of sight, despite their large size. As with most Hissa males, the three of them were between seven and seven and a half feet tall. Unlike most other Hissa, Miran and his team were far from home and were covered in armor and carrying weapons.
They’d arrived at the entertainment ship in a gunship and had to do extensive bargaining before being allowed to dock and search theDelight. If they found what they were looking for, it would all be worth it.
“Do you really think one of the human females could be here?” Lazil whispered. “The information we got was degraded.”
Miran gave Lazil a reassuring look. “It’s doubtful, but it’s better to check and be wrong than to ignore it.”
The two males nodded in agreement. Decades ago, the Hissa had lost all their females and half their male population to a disease they referred to as the Great Death.
At first, the Hissa thought it wouldn’t be long before their scientists figured out a way to continue their population using Decanting technology, but the Hissa couldn't be grown in vats. Decanting was first developed by humans. In only six months, they could grow a child to the biological age of six years old.
Slavery wasn’t legal on Earth, but the owners of the company simply moved their facility to Mars and started producing babies in rows and rows of vats. They sold designer humans off-world to whoever could pay while pretending they were providing babies to desperate couples. They were eventually found out and shut down, but not before shipping off tens of thousands of children.
The Hissa didn’t know anything about this technology until several of their warriors discovered that Hissa males were breeding compatible with Decanted human women.
With hope renewed, the Hissa government requested access to the decanting tech and the sales records. It was with great disappointment that they found out that the tech and most of the records had been destroyed during the raid on the Mars facilities.
Still, they used what little information they had and set out to recover as many Decanted humans as possible.
That led Miran and his team to theDelight. They'd scoured every inch of the ship looking for a human female sold twenty years ago. The ship offered gambling, relaxation suites, dramaticor comedic plays, sports, music, and a circus. The circus was the last place for them to look.
Miran only hoped that if she was here, she wasn’t too broken by her time as a slave. He hated it when he found the women were shells of themselves. They’d bring her back to Hissa and care for her, no matter the state of her mind or body. Miran hated how many women they’d found who had been so badly abused that they couldn’t stand to be touched by anyone, not even another human.
His heart went out to those women, but he was proud that his people continued to care and protect them no matter what.
“We should’ve asked the people who run the ship if there’s a human here,” Lazil said, repeating what he’d said earlier. This was only the second mission he’d done with Miran and wasn’t as experienced.
Miran let out a sigh. “As I told you before, it’s better for us to find her first or we risk an inhospitable bargaining situation. Once we have eyes on her, it’ll be easier.”
“We can also simply take her with us and pay later,” Nerin added. “If someone is willing to buy a slave, you can’t trust them to honor any agreement we make with them.”
Their conversation halted as the overhead lights lowered. The show was about to begin.
The buzz of conversation quieted. They had already explored most of the circus area and had seen almost all the acts. This was the last one. If she wasn’t here, they’d have to start talking and bribing the staff to see if she was working somewhere behind the scenes.
There was always the chance she was dead, but he refused to acknowledge that until all other avenues were exhausted.
A small, furry Fozin wearing a bright, elaborate outfit hurried out onto the stage.
“Welcome to our humble circus,” the Fozin said, holding up his little paw-like hands over his head. The Fielden audience responded well to the motion so it must be something species-specific. “My name is Riff, and I run theDelight’scircus.”
The lights switched completely off until only the stage was illuminated.
“I'm pleased to be able to show you a rare creature,” he told them in a voice surprisingly loud for such a small body. “I'm sure you’ve all heard of humans. You might have even seen one, but this one is special. She was captured in the wild. Most likely abandoned by her pack at a young age. Humans need the civilizing force of a pack to guide them. Without that,” he paused dramatically, “they go feral! ”
Miran watched the audience eagerly eat up every word. The crowd’s excitement was palpable. Miran had to tamp down his feelings of disgust.
“How do you know when a Fozin is lying?” Nerin whispered, then he waited until both Miran and Lazil were looking at him before giving the answer. “He's speaking.”
Miran grimaced at the old joke but nodded his head at the truth of it. None of his research on humans mentioned humans going feral. He’d been worried about a traumatized human, but now he feared the human’s mind was so damaged that she’d become violent.
He really didn't want to risk hurting her if she had to be subdued.
