their mouths and force-fed them a grayish paste manufactured to satisfy the needs of all known vegetarian and omnivorous sentients.
That didn't mean it was appetizing. The stench of the paste reminded Alec and his friends of something that had died and lain in the sun for several days. More of the paste was hurled up rather than swallowed, but the android didn't care; whenever that happened, it would just force more down the victim's throats until a satisfactory amount had entered the biological system.
After Gor's visit, Sal, Tech and Mat were taken away for a few days to be healed by the ship's doctor. Soon enough, they were returned to their places in the slave block. Alec's eye was a mess. The physician had just frowned at his injury when she saw it, then slapped the skin back and spat on it as she rubbed on a dollop of white lotion that had burned like hell. By the time Sal and the boys returned, Alec could no longer see out of that eye, and the wound was terribly infected, oozing pus and a clear serum. His brow burned with fever, his head a solid mass of pain. From time to time he lost control and began to scream, and his friends tried to calm him with soothing words. Most of the time, though, they treated him with contempt.
Once a day they were showered clean by the sprinklers and, sometimes, water hoses wielded like weapons by bored pirates. The water was recycled, tasteless stuff and didn't include anything like soap or disinfectant, so though it sluiced their bodies clean, it didn't really do anything about the smell. It was cold, too, and when it dried it left them tormented by an itching sensation all over their bodies.
During one of these cleanings, a high pressure stream hit Alec's wound, opening it up. He woke up from a dull sleep with blood and pus pouring down the side of his face. He didn't scream this time, even though it was agonizing, and he had stopped making any noise at all long since; he was simply too beaten and exhausted. All he could do was carefully turn his head away, ever so slightly, and try to protect the injury from the water jet.
He noticed a faint scent of flowers, as of perfume, and looked up. For the third time he saw the young and very attractive pirate, Alexa, standing before him.
She wore a pale gray coverall decorated with dark stains, matched by smears of grime on her face. No matter; she still looked astonishing. She had braided her long black dreads and fastened them in a messy curl on the back of her head. Distantly, Alec noticed that she was shifting from one foot to the other, looking very nervous.
Alexa looked up towards the second level, where Myra was sitting behind a large tented window inside a small guard tower, observing the VIP cargo room. They nodded at each other. Myra looked down at her left hand, upon a beautiful necklace made of bright, shining stones, and smiled as she thought, Young fool in love. Ha!
Alexa approached Alec with something shiny in her hand, and he wondered, dully, if this was the end. But she passed the thing over the side of his head and it started beeping; some kind of med scanner? She cupped his chin in a firm hand, and he tried to pull away, only to be shocked by the collar; and she started as if it had been she who was shocked. She dropped the medical instrument, but was able to snatch it out of the air before it hit the ground; Alec was impressed. Then she brushed her hair out of her face, and gave Alec a puzzled look, mixed with a bit of disappointment.
"Please relax," she said softly. "I'm not going to hurt you, really." When Alexa took hold of his chin this time, gently but firmly, he made no resistance. She began to fold up Alec's eyebrow back to where it should have been, causing him to pant and shudder in pain. She hesitated for a long second before continuing. "No painkiller. Sorry," she murmured as she lifted the skin flap back to its original position. She clicked a switch on the medical instrument and aimed a warm, bright
That didn't mean it was appetizing. The stench of the paste reminded Alec and his friends of something that had died and lain in the sun for several days. More of the paste was hurled up rather than swallowed, but the android didn't care; whenever that happened, it would just force more down the victim's throats until a satisfactory amount had entered the biological system.
After Gor's visit, Sal, Tech and Mat were taken away for a few days to be healed by the ship's doctor. Soon enough, they were returned to their places in the slave block. Alec's eye was a mess. The physician had just frowned at his injury when she saw it, then slapped the skin back and spat on it as she rubbed on a dollop of white lotion that had burned like hell. By the time Sal and the boys returned, Alec could no longer see out of that eye, and the wound was terribly infected, oozing pus and a clear serum. His brow burned with fever, his head a solid mass of pain. From time to time he lost control and began to scream, and his friends tried to calm him with soothing words. Most of the time, though, they treated him with contempt.
Once a day they were showered clean by the sprinklers and, sometimes, water hoses wielded like weapons by bored pirates. The water was recycled, tasteless stuff and didn't include anything like soap or disinfectant, so though it sluiced their bodies clean, it didn't really do anything about the smell. It was cold, too, and when it dried it left them tormented by an itching sensation all over their bodies.
During one of these cleanings, a high pressure stream hit Alec's wound, opening it up. He woke up from a dull sleep with blood and pus pouring down the side of his face. He didn't scream this time, even though it was agonizing, and he had stopped making any noise at all long since; he was simply too beaten and exhausted. All he could do was carefully turn his head away, ever so slightly, and try to protect the injury from the water jet.
He noticed a faint scent of flowers, as of perfume, and looked up. For the third time he saw the young and very attractive pirate, Alexa, standing before him.
She wore a pale gray coverall decorated with dark stains, matched by smears of grime on her face. No matter; she still looked astonishing. She had braided her long black dreads and fastened them in a messy curl on the back of her head. Distantly, Alec noticed that she was shifting from one foot to the other, looking very nervous.
Alexa looked up towards the second level, where Myra was sitting behind a large tented window inside a small guard tower, observing the VIP cargo room. They nodded at each other. Myra looked down at her left hand, upon a beautiful necklace made of bright, shining stones, and smiled as she thought, Young fool in love. Ha!
Alexa approached Alec with something shiny in her hand, and he wondered, dully, if this was the end. But she passed the thing over the side of his head and it started beeping; some kind of med scanner? She cupped his chin in a firm hand, and he tried to pull away, only to be shocked by the collar; and she started as if it had been she who was shocked. She dropped the medical instrument, but was able to snatch it out of the air before it hit the ground; Alec was impressed. Then she brushed her hair out of her face, and gave Alec a puzzled look, mixed with a bit of disappointment.
"Please relax," she said softly. "I'm not going to hurt you, really." When Alexa took hold of his chin this time, gently but firmly, he made no resistance. She began to fold up Alec's eyebrow back to where it should have been, causing him to pant and shudder in pain. She hesitated for a long second before continuing. "No painkiller. Sorry," she murmured as she lifted the skin flap back to its original position. She clicked a switch on the medical instrument and aimed a warm, bright
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