The retrofit of the engine she’d just finished had gone perfectly. She scrambled to think of how she’d messed up. It never boded well when the alien who held her life in his tentacles wanted a face-to-face meeting.Īll six of his eyes stared at her while his two mouths had curved upward in what passed for smiles. He was the current head of household and ran the station for his family. That’s why dread filled her when K’pa called her into his office after her shift ended. That got slaves killed or punished faster than refusing to do what they were told. The Teki protected Mari with lethal force when necessary.įreedom wasn’t a word she’d dared even whisper. They were painfully discouraged by her owners.
Some of their customers didn’t agree, and they frequently tried to touch her. The Teki race viewed humans as disgusting to look upon because they only had two arms and no tentacles. That meant safety from harm, since she was valued. Her small size and quick ability to learn had been assets, earning her respect. They’d taught her to fix darn near anything that could fly in space. She’d been bought by a Teki family that ran a ship repair station. Mari had been one of the luckier kids sold as far as slavery went. Her own family had sold her at the age of ten for money. She didn’t blame most races for their mistrust. Many had become thieves or slave traders. No one from Earth had made a good impression after they’d taken to space. The fact that Mari was human made it ten times rougher.
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