calm and gentle and patient and now I can't imagine a day without him.
"It's been six long years and three masters for me," Sophie says in a flat voice. Her eyes are defeated, her shoulders slumped. "Some mornings I don't know how I keep going. I just want to go home."
"There's no way to go home. The only ones that fly to that end of the galaxy are slavers and you know they aren't interested in a mission of mercy."
Sophie just sighs, her head hanging. "I know. It's a stupid hope, but I've got to have something to hold onto on days when it's really bad."
I've been there. How many times did I wish death on my old master? How many times did I want to run away, except I couldn't, because I knew that whatever was out there was worse for a human alone? I want to reach over and touch her hand, but I'm not sure if Sophie appreciates a gentle touch—or any touch—at this point. I lean in, my heart breaking for her.
I can't save all the kidnapped humans thrust into slavery, but surely I can do something for this one. "I can help you get out of here," I whisper. "Do you want to try?"
"And go where?"
"I live out on a farm planet—"
A man clears his throat. I look up at Kaspar and notice he's listening in on the conversation, and he shakes his head quietly at me. Right. I just met her. Probably not good to babble my address.
I try again, deciding to keep things in more general terms. "There's a group out there helping humans. They find homes for them. Give them jobs and a place to live. It's not Earth…but it's not slavery, either." She hesitates, and I continue. "It's your choice, truly. If I'm being too pushy, just tell me to be quiet. But if you want to escape," I gesture at Kaspar. "Just tell him 'hamburger' and he'll put you in contact with his human sister."
Sophie watches me with intense, hungry eyes. She glances up at Kaspar, and when he nods, I can see her tremble all over. "This place." She licks her lips, nervous. "This place that shelters humans…is it a praxii world?"
What an odd thing to ask…odd and coincidental. "No. I can't say more than that just now, but praxiians are rare."
"Good," she says viciously. "I never want to see one again. I hate them all." Her hands fist in her lap. "Horrible, unfeeling monsters, all of them."
I clear my throat delicately, because this is taking a weird turn. "My mate is praxiian, and he's a good man."
"Yeah, well, my owner is a praxiian jerk and I've had to live on an entire planet of them for the last few years, so you can't convince me they're decent people. They're monsters. They don't care about anyone or anything except other praxiians." She's utterly vehement as she speaks, and I can't disagree with her that most aliens are jerks. "They think humans are worse than parasites and they dragged me out here because my 'owner' can't go without his human toy for one night. Never mind that he's traveling with his wife and they're visiting family. He still needs to get his dick sucked—"
"Wait," I interrupt, horrified. "Did you say your owner's traveling to visit family?"
Sophie pauses. "Yes…wait. Is your mate Nassakth?" Before I can even answer, she lets out a hoot of amusement. "Oh man, they are going to shit themselves when they find he's married a human! I almost want to stick around for that."
I swallow hard, trying to focus. Just when I think I've got a handle on everything, life throws another sucker punch at me. This human slave belongs to my father-in-law. He's going to be utterly livid if I help her escape…but how can I not? How can I turn my back on a fellow human?
And Nassakth? What will he think?
I close my eyes and think of my mate. His cat mouth curling into a smile. He'd tell me that I'm a person too and he'd stand by me, because I trust him. He knows what it's like to be a slave. So I stop Sophie's hard laughter with a quick gesture. "Do you want to get out of here or not?"
She goes silent. Her fingers press to her mouth, and then she leans in. "Please, please help me escape." Her eyes fill with tears. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend. I—"
"It's okay," I