DARKHAIRED

by Mr. David R. Dorrycott

Terency Owens Characters used with permission

A tiny mouse-fem sat quietly, apparently absorbed by the Gothic romance novel in her hands. A few yards away Terry Hatcher was haggling with one of the local Spice Barons. They were settling on the price of transporting several mega-tonns of Darkspice, this worlds prime export. Although the destination, a colony planet was only some thirty lightyears away their route would take them through pirate infested space. Space with good terrain for an ambush. Occasionally Terry would snap his fingers and she would lay aside her book, carefully delivering a fresh cup of drink, replacing the sweetcakes as needed. Acting for all intents and purpose as a slave should act, she had become a fixture in the room. As much noticed as an empty chair might be.

It wasn't like she hadn't any practice at this over her lifetime.

Unknown to the Spice Baron the mousefem had spent the first hour of the meeting, the time of pleasantries, slipping past his rather formable mental screens, traps, and false information memories. Once where she wanted to be it had been a simple matter to link into Terrys mind, presenting him with real-time translations of every word, movement and thought the Baron made. It would have been just as simple to have given Terry the prices that were acceptable, but the dark skinned male liked haggling, he seemed to derive great pleasure from it.

"Marked it is then" the Baron suddenly announced, standing. Holding out his hands, palms up, he smiled. As Terry laid his hands, palm down over the others, the Baron let a deep gale of laughter. "Many are the dealings done have I. Yours, one of the most enjoyable. Morning your cargo will arrive." He glanced at the small woman folded up with her book in the corner. "Ah, tis sorrow I haven't enough to barter for her. But, perhaps next trip."

Terry smiled, bowing to the heavyset Baron. "I too delight have" he said. Glancing towards Kena, "Never for sale she is, She is my.... Pleasure."

He slapped Terry so hard on the back the taller man staggered. "Ah, well it is. Outshine my others she would. It would problems cause." With another laugh he tossed a much smaller pouch into Kena's lap as he stepped through the heavy curtains. "For delight being such" he called as the curtains closed behind him.

Terry helped Kena up, pocketing her book as she staggered to her feet. Seven hours of playing switchboard had left her, not so much physically as mentally exhausted. "I'll help you to the ship, where you can get some sleep."

Looking up into the humans face Kena smiled lightly. "Help not socially acceptable not is" she said, gently pulling her arm away. "Rights none have slave laws local say. Punish would they see help you me walk."

Terry winched, quietly opening the curtains to show the room was again available. It had taken him weeks to grasp the mouses strange style of speech, but now he could follow her easily. As long as she didn't rush. Walking to the counter he paid the rooms rent then headed for their ship. Kena, as all local slaves should, fell in behind him, eyes downcast.

Hours later they arrived at their destination, the mouse now as physically exhausted as she was mentally. While Terry had ridden the miles in a rickshaw-like carriage, she had been forced to trot along beside the vehicle. Out of shape, Terry had been forced to call a stop several times, allowing her rest. She could feel the runners concern for her, believing that she would be badly treated for her physical failure. Once inside the ship, free of prying eyes she collapsed to the deck unable to move. Terry gently picked her up, carrying her to the bed she shared with Krystal.

"I'll send Krys down to take care of you" he promised as he gently arranged her cramping legs. Setting her book on the nightstand he left in search for Krystal. Kena blinked, drifting off before he even left the room. For all his bravado, bad jokes, and strange ideas about profit she knew him for a gentle man.

She woke to the smell of incense and food. The strange twisting thoughts told her who was there. "Krystal long how sleep I love have?" she asked, slowly lifting her aching head into the drifts of sweet smoke.

Looking up from her terminal Krystal blinked and glanced at her screen before answering. "About seven hours" she said as she stood. "Since you normally only sleep five I was beginning to get worried."

“Tired was, heal sleep good was me for" the mouse said, sitting up as the fragrant smoke cleaned away her headache. "Drifts smoke for the thank you I" she finished.

The other nodded, picking up a bowl of thick, rich soup. "I remembered you saying that it helped with pain. I can't see why, it's nice, but doesn't do anything for me." She sat a chair next to her partner, setting down gently so as not to spill the soup.

"Scrubbers air ship for help doesn't either" Kena replied. "Me for does help lots, aspirin like use you." She opened her mouth, letting the cat feed her. She could have fed herself, but since she knew her friend, and lover enjoyed feeding her she complied whenever possible. Anyway, her hands were shaking from exhaustion, a spoonful of hot soup in her naked lap wasn't something to look forward too.

Krystal smiled, lights of laughter dancing in her eyes. "Yeah, Mimi was complaining about it last time she had to exchange the filters. It seems the particles are fine enough to hit the third stage filters, she's been threatening to throw every stick out the airlock. But Terry and Casey outvoted her, after all.... We all have our own little pleasures, and yours isn't the worst."

Kena nodded, swallowing. "Fight not..."

     Something touched her, something dark, oily, and deeply evil. It was there, and gone in an instant, leaving behind nothing but horror. Kena screamed... Screamed and passed out screaming.

Kena's scream hadn't caused as much concern, nor her passing out as had the convulsions she had gone through. Hours and hours so bad Mimi had been forced to use a paralyzing drug, lest the tinymouse shatter her own bones. For a while she had simply repeated the same words over and over, "Dark Evil The Touch". Over and over for hours. Terry and Casey had completed the rest of their planetside transaction while Krystal and Mimi played rotating nurses. Finally the mouseling had fallen into a deep sleep, almost a coma. With the nearest medical aid months away, for the local Empire considered slaves as expendable and there was no way to hide that collar, they had been forced to hope for the best.

Kena awoke again, to find herself in what passed as sickbay. From the sounds it was evident the ship was in space and accelerating. She knew she was alone, attempts to move proved she was bound to the bed. 'Protection mine for' she told herself, pushing back memories that had first rushed to mind. Gently she extended her thoughts, touching her friends, each in their own turn. Her gentle touch told her all was well, other than their worry for her. A day had passed, and half of another since that oily touch. Looking within herself she examined that, even now unable to more than brush the memories surface. Evil. An evil so dark she had in all her long years met but a shadow of it. All that could be gained was an image, blue-green, set in gold.. a necklace? She shivered, then touched Mimi's mind.

'Awake I am. Release?'

Mimi jumped, she was just leaving the head when Kena's thought touched her and wasn't quite ready for such a communication. Stopping at a shipwide intercom she reported then headed for Kena. Reaching sickbay she found herself behind Krystal who, Mimi decided, had to have been moving at mach speed to have reached the mouse before her. Slipping past the other woman she started her medical tests.

Krystal was staring into those huge eyes, as if by force of will she could find, and destroy the fear that still burned brightly on their surfaces. "What happened" she asked. "What did this to you?"

"Know I don't” Kena whispered, her voice rasping over bruised vocal cords. "Touch dark was, dark dark dark.... Cold burned so it."

Terry arrived at the doorway, glanced in, and quickly deciding not to cramp the small room further. "How is she? Casey's got a shadow and we need her to check it."

"Elevated adrenaline, not as high as it was a couple of hours ago" Mimi answered as she changed the readout. "She's still reacting from whatever it was, her muscles are sore, as are her vocal cords. Otherwise in good health."

Kena looked up at Terry, nodding. "Can work do I, is tired all I am." Sitting up she closed her eyes, leaning against Krystal's shoulder, feeling the larger woman's arms wrap her in their warm embrace. Letting her mind drift she started searching.

Aboard the ship once known as DARKHAIRED, Marga Tong, Captain and owner studied her/his navigators report. "So, Hours three we attack. So suggest YOU! s/he barked at the man. "Good, do it."

Greatful to be on his Captains good side for once, the underling skittered from the cabin, eight legs carrying him quickly back to his station. Life had been good, profits healthy until the Captain had taken that... thing... from the idol they had unearthed. Since then life had been unsure, profits? What profits it thought. They were pirates now and no captives did they take. Not unless it was a pretty young male or female. He shuddered a moment, remembering what happened to them when Tong had tired of them. 'Oh well' it sighed, relishing the memory of the fate of all Tong's castoffs, 'At least meals are more interesting.' Resting at his station he input the Captains orders.

Kena's mind drifted, slowly approaching the ship behind them. Unease began to fill her, slowly building to dread. Forcing herself Kena entered the darkness, searching for that bright fire that signaled an intelligent mind. Strangely those pinpricks she normally encountered, vermin all ships (other than hers) carried were missing. Forcing thick dark clouds aside she located a single mind. In a matter of seconds the crew of SHREVEPORT were listening to Kena's report. She would remember everything of course, but at the moment she was nothing more than a channel from them to the navigator behind them. Long minutes passed, at one point Mimi covered her mouth with both hands, rushing to the refresher. Terry groaned, closing his eyes as the words and images filtered through his mind.

Finally she could stand the dark no longer. Disengaging she returned to her own body. Opening her eyes she looked around a moment, then threw up onto Krystals dress what little her stomach contained..

Shreveport quickly reached the pirates selected ambush, a lightyear wide field of dust and rock that was navagatable, but barely. "Their making their move" Casey reported, still thanking her Gods she hadn't been there listening while Kena waded through the filth that had passed for an intelligent mind. "Too bad he'd already locked in the course" she half-whispered. "Kena could'ave turned them towards a rock or something."

"Stand-by for acceleration" Mimi warned. "Right now I just don't want to be someone's afternoon snack. We'll worry about what to do with them later, when we're safe." She moved a lever forward ordering the ships overpowered engines to life. Even with the acceleration damping fields they were pressed back into their seats as those engines opened their voices full. Shreveport dove into the semi-charted field, her pilot making almost impossible course changes as deadly stones suddenly appeared. Her screens howled from the friction of hydrogen gas and micro-particles of dust.

Behind them, DARKHAIRED followed their lead, increasing thrust to its maximum. Still Tong's prey pulled away, accelerating at speeds unheard of for its type of hull. DARKHAIRED suddenly shook as a small stone slammed through a screen, digging a gorge the length of the main hull. Staggering, the ship lost speed, falling further behind the escaping craft. Cursing the Captain pulled a cutlass from her/his belt, slashing at an underling. Blood splashed as the crewman died in silence, to stunned to realize he was dead. "Impossible" s/he roared as the ship broached, slowing even more. "Helmsman, catch them."

"Beg pardon my Captain" a woman asked, "But you just killed the Helmsman, should I take his place?"

Tong looked at the body draped over a blood coated consul, then at the woman kneeling before him. "See you better than he do, or you feed too this crew" s/he ordered. "Navigator," s/he bellowed, "We this day loose, find us new prey."

Casey watched as the sensor ghost turned, quickly falling away. For minutes she selected longer and longer scan ranges until the ghost had departed from even her most sensitive scans. Looking up she leaned over, reaching out to tap Mimi's arm. "You can let her rest now, they've gone" she reported.

Turning Mimi nodded, slowly bringing SHREVEPORT'S engines back to their normal, soft growl. "So how do we log this one?" she asked.

"Terrys already readying a drone. Once the information is encoded he'll send it to the nearest Patrol station." Shuddering she turned back to her own station. "If it hadn't been for that mind reading rat" she whispered.

Something touched her mind, just enough to let her know it was there. 'Watch rat call you whom intercom open on' came Kena's gentle mindvoice,

Slowly, with exaggerated care, she turned off the intercom. Closing her eyes Casey brought up the mouse woman's image. "Cruds" she thought-cursed. "Now your mad at me."

Gentle bell-like laughter filled her mind, bringing a fresh meadow-like breeze. Casey's mind seemed to clear. The darkness tattered, falling away like smoke. 'Never friends at mad, never' came the reply.

With a gentle push Kena was gone from the tall woman's mind, leaving her amazed. After a lifetime of slavery and what she had just been through. Still the mouse was filled with love. Opening her eyes Casey turned back to her work. Unnoticed, a tiny tear drifted unheeded down one cheek.