Alien Nightmare

"We really should see your yard, Eric. I know that I can really help you out."

"To be honest, Abe you could not possibly have come at a better time." replied Eric "I took on a refurbishing project that is, frankly, a bit beyond the capabilities of me and my small crew. I was just about to call in an outside contractor and eat all the profits when you turned up on my doorstep! I'm putting you in charge of my yard and I'll pay you the going rate for a yard supervisor. After we get you squared away I'm going to gift you a month's salary so you can get settled. There is a small cabin in the yard, you could stay there until you find your own place. I'm happy to have you, Abe."

"That's more than fair, Eric."

"I have no doubt you were making a lot more back on earth, but it is the best I can do. Most of my assets are tied up in Manify planetary bonds, they won't mature for two decades and I can't even touch them until ten years have passed. When they mature, however, I'll be floating in cash... but, I am sure you don't want to hear about my financial speculating. If you're done eating, let's get going to my shipyard now,"

Abram found Eric's shipyard well equipped and sensibly laid out. Eric's small crew viewed him with suspicion when Eric introduced him as their new boss but after giving an explanation of his current situation and listing his achievements and experience, he had the crew won over. Abram took a look at the reconditioning job his friend had accepted that might have been too big to chew. Abram brought a smile to Eric's face when he informed him that he had performed jobs very similar to this one in the past and could handle this one. "If your crew is as talented as you claim, Eric. I should be able to knock this job out in a month and a half. When is your deadline?'

"Three months from now."

"Piece of cake."

A short time later, Abram threw himself into the new work. It gave his mind something to focus on rather than endlessly and powerlessly worrying about the fate of his wife and daughter.

A piercing siren woke the slumbering female slaves early the next morning. After breakfast in their cells, they were marched to a gymnasium where their obese overseer lived up to her title of "slave driver" in spades. Whenever a woman did not apply herself fully to a particular exercise regime, the woman zapped them with a transitory, intense pain. Even though Ruby and Trisha were in tip top shape, they were soon drenched in sweat and panting, to their considerable relief, both avoided being zapped. Their large taskmaster smiled broadly at her charges discomfort and exhaustion. After a very long work out she ordered every woman away from the equipment.

"OK whores, showers, photographs, and then each of you has an appointment with an assessor. We have to decide what point price is fair to begin auctioning off your skanky asses. Why anyone would want to buy any of you worthless cunts is a mystery I can not fathom In any event, line up!"

After the too short showers, Ruby fell in behind her mother and joined the line of exhausted women marching towards doors marked "Final Processing."

After a long day of vigorous toil, Abram felt a bit like his old self. The technical challenges of the current refurbishing job had his mind working on all cylinders. Eric's crew really appreciate that their new boss got his knuckles just as dirty as their own and didn't beg off on even the most taxing jobs. By the end of the day, all of those who had looked at him skeptically in the morning where his biggest supporters when quitting time arrived. Abram accepted Eric's offer to share dinner at the Roma house.

If Maja had been beautiful that morning, by evening she was positively stunning. Abram was sure his chin was on the floor as he entered Eric's dining room. Maja's long black hair was in ringlets, there were gold earrings in her lobes and rouge on her carmine lips. Her dress, what little there was of it, clung to every one of her alluring curves. The short skirt revealed almost the entirety of her long and shapely legs. Her tail helped her balance on formidable heels. Abram understood exactly what his friend saw in this alien creature.

"Darling!" she said in her breathy voice as she embraced Eric and graced him with a kiss that Abram envied. "How was your day? IS your friend the solution to your problem?"

"My day was very good, Sweetness and Abe is just what the doctor ordered. Now instead of losing money I'll be making a lot of it."

"Splendid!" replied Maja before she turned to face Abram. "You have restored my husband's smile. For that, I am extremely grateful. I would offer you a kiss of gratitude but I am a married being, Instead, I will ask that you take the seat of honor at our table and not lift a finger the entire meal. Do you like Alpha Centari cuisine?"

As it turned out, Cenarian food was among Abram's favorite. Maja cooked it perfectly. During dinner, she was quick to fill Abram's glass and to bring him seconds. At various points, her skin made contact with his. It was fleeting, but in those short seconds, Abram could not recall ever encountering skin as soft or as fragrant. Abram made a mental note to move into the shed in Eric's yard as quickly as possible. The skin to skin contact also reminded him of Trisha and the horrible things she must be going through. For a few moments, Abram was angry with himself for lusting after Maja. "What kind of husband am I?" he thought bitterly. Any further thinking along those lines was interrupted by Eric's voice.

"I have a privacy mask you can wear tonight when we go to the slave auction. The sale is at midnight, the "reprobate hour," as the locals like to call it. Unless you seriously lost track of time after escaping from the pirates, your wife and daughter will be in tonight's consignment. Don't do anything stupid like trying to bid on either or both of them IF you see them. There is a possibility that the pirates have put out a reward for you. If that unlikely scenario is the correct one, you have to avoid drawing attention to yourself. This planet is full of cutthroats, they'd sell out their own family for a pittance, off-worlders for less. If we DO witness their sales I may be able to recognize the purchaser. Once we have that information, we will know what we are up against and can plan accordingly."

"I am going with you, husband, friend Abe." averred Maja.

"I'm not sure that is a good idea, Sweetness." began Eric.

"Your friend needs to not be recognized, correct? Dressed like this, I will attract many eyes and your friend will be less visible, no?"

Eric laughed and replied, "You little minx! OK but the dress stays ON this time. Is that clear?"

"Yes, husband." after a perplexed moment she asked, "What is this minx?"

"An earth creature not half as alluring as you." replied Eric.

"You can say that again!" gushed Abram and the three of them shared a laugh.

Ruby felt like a prize hog or other animal at an ancient state fare. She had been poked and prodded, weighed, photographed head to toe. Her irises were scanned and DNA analyzed. She was compelled to orgasm several times by her collar and asked a series of questions that she was at last able to deduce was some sort of personality and IQ test. The assessors were rude and insistent. For Ruby, it was by far the worst day of her young life. Worse, the process took much of the day. There was the old "hurry up and wait" from home without a promise of relief at the end. After an agonizing number of hours, Ruby was returned to her cell to find her mother, in the adjoining enclosure, in the same mixture of irritation and sadness. Wordlessly the women gazed at each other. Neither could force conversation.

Dinner was delivered to their cells. It was warm and tasty and dining on it gave all of the women the only pleasure they had had for the entire day. The obese overseer appeared in the cell block. She wore a smug expression that Trisha wanted to punch off her fat face.

"This is goodbye, bitches. To prove that I am not an entirely heartless babe, I'm going to give you all a very nice and refreshing sleep so you will all look your best on the auction block tonight. Now lie down on your cots and enjoy one last sweet dream on me."

As Trisha adjusted herself in her narrow cot she told Ruby, "No matter what happens, honey, carry my love and your father's love with you always. Rely on it when things get bad."

"Oh, Mom," replied Ruby, "I love yo.." In that moment every prisoner in the cell block fell into deep, slumber filled with only the best sort of dreams.

Abram rode with Eric and Maja In their electric vehicle. Abram wore a suit he had borrowed from Eric and padding under his clothing to make him appear heftier. The privacy mask hid his features from view while allowing Abram full vision.

"The masks are not uncommon at events such as this. They are a way for the rich or the infamous or both to participate anonymously."

This caused Abram to ask, "But what if the person who buys Trisha or Ruby is wearing one of these masks as well?"

"That is a risk we will have to take. There are other clues besides their appearance. I wouldn't worry about it. The really rich like to show off their purchases. Usually, the folks wearing masks like yours are politicians or activists who, while publicly against the slave market actually accept, under the table, bribes that allow the slavery to flourish. Our government is a bunch of wink and nod types."

Just as Maja expected when their trio entered the arena-like slave market, almost no male eye focused upon Eric or Abram's shielded form. Maja was in her element, her winsome smile charming all. Eric held her tight and tried to present the proper front, just another local taking in the sale of alluring flesh while pretending to be scandalized. They found seats around mid-level and waited for the "festivities" to begin.

Abram at first thought is surprising that there was an opening act. In this case, a stand-up comedian who also juggled. After giving it some thought, however, Abram realized that the powers behind an event like selling human beings wanted its audience in a genial mood rather than full of contemplation of the horror the folks being sold were experiencing. Abram had to admit that the comedian was rather skilled, even f he had sold his soul to the vilest of enterprises. After about a half hour routine, the comic exited the stage to genuine applause and a well-dressed man in a suit and holding a gavel approached a podium stage right. He began to speak,

"Ladies and gentlemen, alien friends, it is now time for our main event. The event all of you came to experience. First up is this young man fresh out the penal colony of Ursa Minor Beta. As you can see he is strong and fit, his vitals are projected upon the screen, bidding starts on this fine item at 5,000 Manify Credits. Do I have any bids?

Abram stared at the tableau before him. There on the stage being led by two masked handlers was a man in his early twenties. He was finely muscled and hairless from the nose down. His skin had been oiled so that it reflected in the spotlight and highlighted every muscle. The man wore a smile which was clearly forced and turned around in a slow circle on the stage. He attracted wolf whistles and cat calls. Abram's heart fell when he realized that the two people he loved must in the world would be degraded in this same way. He must have been breathing heavily or making unpleasant sounds because Eric clasped his forearm and warned him to get a hold of himself.

After a moment, Abram did and tried to remain disinterested as a bidding war for the young man broke out between a rather debauched-looking older man and a woman just entering middle age. After an intense battle, the older man won the "ownership" of the young man. Both the middle aged woman and the male slave appeared equally disappointed.

Next up was a young woman. Abram noted that she was one of the models Sevridge had proffered to Lin the Noble. That meant that he had not arrived too late. It made sense that the model and Ruby and Trisha would be kept together until sold. She had long red hair, green eyes, alabaster skin and a divine figure. Her collar complimented her skin tone rather well. Abram took in the projected information sheet. It was huge and readable from every corner of the arena. It gave her age, her genetic heritage, weight height and distinguishing marks or tattoos. Then Abram read the lines "Sexual response level," "Ease of orgasm threshold' and "Ease of Training Probability" and "Sexual Malleability" and nearly threw up. There in large type would the future of his wife and daughter, sexual playthings for rich parasites like Severidge! It was all Abram could do to prevent himself from screaming.

Somehow Abram held himself together. He tried all the tricks he knew to ward off panic. As bad as seeing his family sold off to strangers, the fear that he might cause a scene and be exiled from the arena before they hit the stage, was worse. He had to give Eric a chance to identify the beasts who would use his family as sex toys. Through sheer force of will, Abram remained passive as the sales progressed. Finally being led to the stage was his Trisha!

Like the previous slaves auctioned off, Trisha wore a smile. But Abram knew her well enough to see that the smile had been forced upon her. As if observing a stranger, Abram drank in the naked form before him. Even though he knew every oiled and glistening curve, he had to force his mind to realize this was the woman he had sworn to love and protect forever. Abram gazed at her lovely naked body and for the first time in longer than he wanted to admit, he realized just how lucky and blessed he had been. He searched in vain for her wedding ring. He stared at her hairless crotch and could remember its taste and aroma. Behind the mask, tears ran down his cheeks as the auctioneer struck his gavel to begin the sale. "It can't end like this," thought Abram, "I could have been killed a hundred times at work. Trisha could have had an accident of her own or perhaps a rare disease, those made sense. The two of us should have lived a long time and been so devoted to each other that we passed away together the same week."

The bidding for Trisha was rather intense. In the end, it was between a stout man in a charcoal suit and a thin woman with a shock of long white hair. She wore fine jewels and an expensive dress.

"I KNOW her!" stated Eric.

"Who is she?"

"Lydia Reynolds, a descendant of one of the twenty founding families. Connected by blood or marriage to virtually every Manify politician. Shes ricner than Midas. She will win the bidding."

"Is that good news or bad news, Eric?"

"Best I tell you later, Abe."

Abram did not like the sound of that . He kept his eyes on Trisha until she was led backstage and out of view. Abram did not believe in things like prayer but he tried projecting his love to Trisha anyway. Only after Trisha had vanished from view did Abram note that Maja was holding his hand very tightly.

It was nearly two hours later before Ruby hit the stage. Abram was almost played out from tension. As he gazed upon his daughter on the stage he tried very hard to not view her breasts or shorn privates, even so, he was stunned by the resemblance of her body to that of her mother's. If anything his grief was even more profound as he watched his daughter walk in a tight circle about the stage. "At least Trisha has had a chance to live a full life. To marry, and be loved. Ruby will experience none of that." Abram resolved at that moment with an assurance that was concrete that he would never leave this world again until he could take Ruby and Trisha with him.

Abram focused on those bidding on his daughter. There was an ascetic-looking man about Ruby's age. An older man who had to be pushing fifty and a tall man in a black coat and a privacy mask. To Abrams considerable displeasure, the veiled man seemed to have an unlimited supply of funds. The complete cipher won the right to "own" Abram's daughter.

"Do you have any idea who that is?" asked Abram as he pointed towards the black coated man.

"No, I don't. I'll make some subtle inquiries tomorrow. I'm sure that under that mask, you look like hell. Let's get you home."

Abram barely waited until he was concealed in Eric's car before he removed his mask and felt the cooler air of the late night or rather, the early morning. As the car completed its navigation algorithm and found the quickest path out of the parking lot and to Eric's home, Abram said, "You told me, Eric that you would tell me later who is this Lydia Reynolds who has my wife?"

"On this planet," replied Eric, "she has more power than god! She lives in the very ritzy society hill section of Manify Prime and she has at least a dozen other residences scattered over the planet. She has guards, butlers, maids, and goes through slaves like water. Your wife is right now effectively beyond the reach of any sort of rescue we could hope to mount, however, most of her other homes are far less guarded. Lydia and her husband are known to take their slaves on vacation when they go themselves. There is an outside chance that we can get in and get out again with Trisha before they are aware of it. Everything will have to fall in place. We also have to try and track down Ruby. You will have to grab them almost together so you can escape before the heat zeroes in on you. You should also know, there is limited help I can give you. For better or worse, I am tied to this planet. I can't be caught interfering with the politics of this world or I'll be exiled and my property ceased. Maja and I can't start over again. I do deal with some unsavory folks from time to time, perhaps some of them can help us."

Abram buried his face in his hands while Maja gently stroked his arm. "I feel your pain, friend, Abe." she said soothingly.

"You said they take their slaves on vacation, when is the next holiday?" inquired Abram.

"Not for another two and a half months, Lydia's husband, Robert owns the stock exchange and Lydia is the sharpest lawyer on this rock but during Settlement Week, EVERYTHING shuts down and the Reynolds' get out of Dodge."

"A lawyer enslaves people?" asked an incredulous Abram.

"Don't play so high and mighty, Abe." replied Eric. "Earth does not have the most enlightened of histories. Didn't Washington and Jefferson own slaves in ancient America and weren't earth gangsters behind the enslavement of the population of the inhabitants of Wonga, not that long ago? When you are as rich and powerful as Lydia and her husband, it is easy to decide which rules you will obey, which you will pay lip service to, and which you will ignore entirely."

Abram remaind silent the rest of the drive back to the Roma home.

Lydia Reynolds made sure once again that everything would be perfect for her upcoming presentation. Surprising her husband was one of her great joys. She adored everything about Robert, from the gray-flecked beard and salt and pepper hair to the wide shoulders and impressive athletic build. But what she loved most about her husband was that he was every bit as kinky as herself. She gazed at her huge living room, antiques from all of the civilized worlds, a wall of authentic leather bound books that had cost a fortune to import, and in select cabinets delightful toys of an adult nature. Lydia just knew that this gift would put her husband in orbit. "Watching is nearly as much fun as participating." she confided to herself. She gazed impatiently at the clock, "A full hour to kill!" stated Lydia as her hand snaked its way inside her thong ...

Abram could find no solace to his grief other than to throw himself into work. The technical and physical problems forced his mind to function usefully rather than simply worry. Even under the best of circumstances, it would have taken some time to plan and execute a rescue plan for his loved ones. He knew that his Trisha was a resourceful and strong woman, she would do what she had to do to survive. Wherever Ruby was, Abram hoped that she too would find some hope to cling to in the weeks and months ahead. Abram used the anger to muscle a part out of a manifold. The agony of lifting the object brought a clarity to his mind that drugs or prayer could never hope to match.