Unnatural Selection

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Seleyn was in the back room of the bar, going over inventories when Shanin arrived.

Shanin smiled. "We'll be going in the opposite direction from our Clan's fleet. Besides, you'll be disguised and my crew knows I'd kill anyone who betrays me. --It's well worth it, too."

"I ought to hold out until you tell me what it is that's so important on this nowhere-planet of yours."

He's only been away from this place for such a long time maybe three times before...there was that time when the compartment caught on fire and had to be sealed off...another time he was just down the hallway with Katya...and the third time, when he hunted down that little vaja that was trying to kill him... It's time he got a little less serious about work! It's not like there's a price on his head or anything. Hell, Benaria Kessel drinks here and she's left him alone!

"No, I mean that one of my bartenders is cheating me and I intend to have him spaced. Immediately."

Both Athmari winced a little as Diamond Shard fell into orbit around the nameless world. "That was pretty bad."

Shanin nodded. "And why I'm certain there's no more of us down here. It took Liet and Dal both not to get us pasted to the bulkheads on that transition in, and most ships just don't have that kind of skill." She snapped off the restraint fields around their chairs.

Walking across the surface of the planet, another reason for its lack of inhabitants became obvious. To say that it was damp was an understatement, and Seleyn speculated that its year would be best broken up into two parts: the rainy season and the flood season. Not likely that there was much difference even between those, if that particular autumn day was an indicator, but it was nice to have something to think about while wading through the calf-high bracken that seemed omnipresent here.

Soon they came to a cave. Its mouth provided shelter from the rain, at least, and was high enough to not be flooded with water. The cave was huge-looking, humid, and full of mud besides, but still a more pleasant environment by the surface.

Shanin laughed as she rushed down the muddy slope and into the cave. "Wait'll you see this, Seleyn!"

Her father, not too far behind, decided to take a faster route. Leaping in mid-stride, he landed rather ungently on the slick surface and slid the rest of the way down, passing Shanin easily.

At the bottom of the slope, he rolled, streaking his hair with mud, and drew his daggers as he saw what was at the bottom of the slope. Shanin, arriving seconds later, managed to whip off a single shot with her pulser before one of the bloblike, grey-green creatures snuck up from behind and landed a blow to her neck.

The wrinkled, bloated being stared down at Shanin longingly. Then he nodded to the medic standing beside him, who lifted his hypospray and injected Shanin with a stimulant.

She sat up as soon as it had taken effect, reaching for her dagger but finding only jewel-bedecked flesh. "What have you done with my clothing?"

The creature leered. "I would think, my dear, that you ought to enjoy being freed of such a loathsomely restrictive thing as that...don't you like the booty we've given you?"

Seleyn gazed at the draped pendants and chains just barely covering her body. "Nice booty," he commented dryly.

Shanin glared at him but resolved to save punishment for later. First, she had to reclaim her weapons and skinsuit, and of course escape was now more important than their games or the treasure she'd brought him here to show.

She looked at her captor again. He had huge, crater-like ears...a bulbous nose...a receded hairline and thick ridges of bone beneath his brows. "Who are you?"