Frozen Soul, and other works: Chapter 152

(Former Slave Market, Madrigal Base, Madrigal System)

Walking into what had been the slave market for Madrigal Base back when it was run by pirates, I nodded approvingly as I saw that the area had been worked over to provide better housing for the slaves who were being kept on the station. After all, they were Black Star property, now, and I wanted to let them know that life was better with me than against me. The fact that there had been more than a few pirates and station staff helping with the work alongside their fellow slaves only helped improve the morale of those who had been captured by the pirates.

I was here because, frankly, while the Administrator may have kept good notes on the activity of the station, the people in charge of the slave market did not. There was a database, of course, but it only listed species, gender, and age, all by lot number instead of name. If you were lucky, there was a note or two about some special talent they had. Trying to work through that to find people who could be useful was annoying, at best.

In the month since I’d taken the base, I’d had people taking inventory of the slaves, expanding that database to include names, skills, and work experience, building it out so that I had actual data I could use to place these people where they would be the most help for the company. The interview process took a while, since there were almost a thousand slaves from all different species, and some of them needed time in the infirmary to make sure they were healthy before they could be interviewed. It was not a process that could be done both quickly and well, but it was finally over.

Which brought me to why I was coming down to the former slave market today. There were several slaves that stood out amongst the rest, and I decided I’d handle their interviews personally. Some of the positions I could see them filling would depend on their attitude, naturally. Looking down at my tablet, I checked to see the order of my interviews.

Name	Description
Ara Virstina	Knelfi Female, age 67. Former Confederate Navy captain. Martial training, space combat, small fleet tactics, companion training. Captured off CNS Kyathaela Daven.
Drah Sross	Ihm Female, age 20. Starship pilot (specialization in experimental craft), bodyguard training, companion training. Captured from merchant ship.
Ozmen Redmantle	Gauz Male, age 35. Mechanic, Consortium navy training, bodyguard training. Captured on merchant ship while on leave.
Suga Hibari	Human Female, age 18. Computer hacker, captured recently, fugitive from Imperial forces, companion training. Hid skills from pirates to attempt escape.
Konia Whitehand	Felisan Female, age 24. Assassin, chef, spy, companion training. Double-crossed by former employer.
Alea Pakas	Knelfi Female, age 43. Former Confederate Marine. Martial training, space combat, small unit tactics, companion training, bodyguard training. Captured off CNS Kyathaela Daven.

Yes, most of my personal interviews were female. Honestly, that had more to do with the pirates than me. Females who got captured by the pirates were more likely to be kept alive, and the few men who weren’t killed outright often got pressed into pirate crews. The ones who were in the slave market were mostly unsuited to anything but manual labor, and many were aggressive enough that they required Stepford protocols to keep them compliant. No one wanted people like that around them, so I’d see about getting them sold off someplace where someone else could figure out what to do with them. That did, however, leave me a lot of females to deal with.

Stepping into the room with the first of my interviewees, I nodded to myself as I looked the woman over as she sat at a table. She was older, of course, but that didn’t mean as much for knelfi. They routinely lived to be over two hundred Terran years old, after all, so 67 would still be considered pretty young for them. Indeed, despite the conditions she had no doubt been in, the woman I was looking at appeared to be no older than someone in their 30s.

I sat down at the table, and looked at the knelfi woman for a moment, before saying, “Hello, Ara. I am Mirikon Mollen, Owner of the Black Star Company. My forces are the ones who took this station from the pirates a month ago. As the person who conducted your initial interview likely stated, there were substantial gaps in the information the pirates left for us, especially about the slaves they were keeping here. Your name came up, once we were able to build a proper database, as someone that should be brought to my attention.”

The former captain nodded her head, and said, “Then, that makes you my new Master, yes?” When I nodded, she sighed, and stood up, so she could start stripping off the jumpsuit she’d been wearing. It was quickly obvious that she didn’t have anything on underneath.

“Hmm. Not that I mind the show, but may I ask why you’re naked?”

Ara looked at me like she was bored, and said, “I’ve been trained as a companion. New Master means you’re going to want to evaluate the goods. Would you like for me to start on my knees, or bent over the table, Master?”

I smiled, and said, “You may get on your knees, if you like, but I’m not here to see about your companion qualifications. You are the former Captain of the heavy cruiser CNS Kyathaela Daven, are you not?”

Ara blinked, and then said, “Yes, but that is old news. I haven’t been on the Daven since I was enslaved. The bastard that took her was too smart to leave any of the surviving crew on board. Last I heard, she was renamed the Vile Lust, and had been through three other hands as pirates killed their captains to advance. That was twenty standard years ago.”

I nodded. “My forces helped capture the Daven, along with a Confederate Navy ship that was liaising with us in our pirate hunting mission. The Daven has been returned to the Confederate Navy, either for decommissioning, or for refit and recommissioning, depending on the state of the ship. Unfortunately, because the pirates only used numbers to identify their slaves, it took us a while to identify you. As you may guess, you and your entire crew was declared missing, presumed dead in the wake of your disappearance. After several years, you were all moved to the ‘legally dead’ category. The Navy never knew that the ship had fallen into pirate hands until we caught her.”

I paused, and then said, “Unfortunately, there are several issues with your current status and what to do moving forward. We could return you to the Confederate Navy, of course, but your status as a slave, and as someone who is legally dead, would only complicate matters if you attempted to return to naval life. At the very least, you’d be looking at months, if not years, of legal wrangling and psychological counseling before you were ever allowed near the bridge of a Confederate Navy vessel. I can arrange for your return to the Confederacy, if you like, but there are other options, if you wish to take them. Those options depend on your attitude, of course.”

Ara nodded, and said, “I understand.” She went down to her knees, and said, “Would you like me to show you my ‘attitude’ now, or after the options are given, Master?”

Clearly, there was some work to do ‘deprogramming’ her from the life of someone who had been a slave to pirates for so long. Well, it was hard to come by skilled commanders, so I considered this an investment. “There are three options available to you, if you don’t want to go back to the Confederation and face the media circus your ‘resurrection’ would cause. First, you may join the Black Star Navy, where you would be put in command of a warship, one of my warships, as we go out into Unknown Space. We have a list of Gateways that is far more expansive than the sixteen that were originally known.”

I saw her eyes widen at that, both at the prospect of being in command again, and at going into Unknown Space. “Yes, I can see that appeals to you. On the other hand, if you feel that your life as a slave has left you unfit for command of a warship, the Black Star Company is growing our fleet of merchant ships and logistics vessels, and experienced spacers are always welcome.”

That option clearly didn’t sit as well with her, so I continued, “Finally, you could join the civilian side of Black Star in some way. We have a wide array of businesses that need staff, so I’m sure we could find something that suits your talents. So, which of your options do you want to take?”

“Y-you would put me in command of a ship again? Even after all this time? I haven’t been on a ship as anything but cargo or a servant in twenty years.”

I smiled, and nodded to her. “Yes, but the majority of my forces have very little experience in fleet tactics. And certainly no experience with larger vessels. I see from your public records that you were stationed on a dreadnought before you became the Daven’s captain. You would be one of the few members of my company that have ever set foot on a ship larger than a heavy cruiser, not counting the single carrier in my service right now.”

The knelfi woman took a breath, gathering her courage, and then said, “I want to be a Captain again. And I’ll show you just how much I want to be Captain of any warship you’ll give me, Master.” And then she moved forward her hands reaching to unzip my pants.

She blinked at what she saw when she pulled my still flaccid penis from my pants. “Th-that! I haven’t seen anything like that except in some of the pirates who had genetic modifications!” Gently she rubbed her hands along my ‘mini-me’, with skill that quickly had me ‘waking up’.

“Mmm. Well, I can tell already that you have some skill. So, if you are staying with the Black Star Fleet, then would you like a message to be sent to any friends or family that might still be alive? We’d also have you returned to the land of the ‘living’, as far as the courts go.”

“Yes, Master. I had a husband, and a daughter. I would like to see that they know what happened to me. Though without the details, please.” And with that, she stopped talking, as she attempted to show me just how eager she was to get my approval for her command.

Later, once she had swallowed my cum, and dressed herself, I allowed her to record a message to her daughter, Rina. She was sad to learn that her husband had died years before, due to illness, but the look on her face when I told her that her daughter was one of Dimiya’s Senators in the Confederation Senate? That was PRICELESS.

When she was finished, I said, “Now, allow me to tell you about the job I have planned for you. You see, the Black Star Fleet is expanding, after our recent encounter with a X’thari Variant Hunt. Before, we used a mix of lighter craft with high offensive capability, but this left us vulnerable when we were unable to maneuver because we were defending a fixed position, like a planet. I want you to be the captain of my first Battleship, the BSN Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi.”

“That is a strange name for a ship. What does it represent?”

I smiled, and said, “It is a weapon that was once wielded by a god in the myths of Terra. All the battleships of the Black Star Navy will have the name of weapons worthy of gods, for they are capable of great and terrible destruction should any stand in their way. And make no mistake, Captain Virstina, you will be called upon to unleash that destruction upon the enemies of Black Star, such as the X’thari.”