Calla’s hopes fell a little–most of the Saurellians had stayed at Jenner’s hostel, so it was a pretty good bet they would know about a slave on the loose. Contracting with one of them didn’t seem like a very good idea, and she said as much.
“Don’t be silly,” Dani said, giving one of her tinkling, trademark laughs. “They’re not going to recognize a runaway slave who’s turned into a glamorous pleasure worker. You’ve got a rock solid identity now.
Besides, why should they care? Jenner hasn’t exactly gone out of her way to make their stay pleasant.
Even if one of them did recognize you, I hardly think they’d send you back to her. They can’t stand her, and they can’t wait to get off-station. Returning escaped slaves isn’t their priority.”
Dani was probably right, Calla thought. The Saurellians had interfered as little as possible with the day to day operations of the station. They didn’t even pay much attention to the countless smugglers and black marketeers who roamed the station’s ports and corridors freely. One escaped slave probably wouldn’t matter to them.
“Okay, so this is my chance,” Calla said, warming to the idea. “How do we go about arranging the contract? From what you tell me, they usually aren’t into exclusive relationships.”
“Well for one thing, any contract you make wouldn’t be exclusive for your client,” Dani said, a slight frown on her face. “You do realize that, don’t you?”
“Oh, yes, of course,” Calla said, blushing slightly at her naiveté. That’s exactly what she’d thought, but she didn’t want to admit her ignorance. “But don’t they usually just visit a pleasure house wherever they’re stationed? What makes you think one would want to take me with him?”
“Ha, that’s the brilliance of my plan,” Dani said smugly. “Usually they don’t, but this is a special situation.
Their squad is disbanding for now. They’re going their separate ways. I guess peace negotiations with the Empire are going pretty well, and the commander is going to take some time to explore the asteroid belt or something. I guess he has an interest in mining.
“But this is the best part,” she continued. “You see, he has a thing for women who look like you; he’s been requesting small brunettes with freckles every night for weeks. It’s actually kind of insulting,” Dani added, pouting slightly. “He hasn’t ‘visited’ me for quite a while.
“But it’s the perfect set-up for you to look for Jess, and it’s perfect for him, too. They can’t go too long without sex, you know. Men really are weaker than us,” she added with a laugh. “Especially Saurellian men. They think with their dicks.”
Calla was no longer listening. As soon as Dani mentioned the commander, she got a tight feeling in the pit of her stomach. Was she talking about Seth? If so, Dani’s plan couldn’t possibly work.
“There may be a problem,” Calla said quietly. Dani’s smile dimmed a bit. “I’ve met their commander before.”
“Tell me what happened,” Dani said, seemingly unconcerned. “I’ll tell you whether it’s a problem or not.”
By the time Calla had finished her story, Dani’s jaw had dropped in disbelief. Calla stopped talking, and looked anxiously at Dani to gage her reaction.
“This isn’t a problem, this is perfect!” Dani said. For once she wasn’t smiling with innocent charm or seductive smoothness. The accomplished pleasure worker was grinning from ear to ear. “You already know he wants you, he’s asked for girls who look like you ever since then.”
“But he’ll know I’m an escaped slave!”
“No, he won’t even recognize you by the time I’m done with you,” Dani said confidently. “He only saw you once, right? And not even your face, really.”
Calla blushed again, but Dani didn’t even notice.
“From now on you’re an experienced woman who’s worked her way across a hundred star systems. I’ll provide you with a resume and references he won’t be able to crack–another little Guild trick–and even if he suspects, he’ll never be able to prove anything. All you have to do is get off-station and you’ll be home free!”
“I’m not so sure, Dani,” Calla said. “I think this may be a bad idea.”
“We’ve come too far for you to get cold feet now, girl,” Dani said sternly. “Besides, what are your options here? This may be your best shot at freedom and finding Jess. For love of the Goddess, the man’s already headed in the right direction. All you have to do it convince him to take you with him.”
“All right, all right,” Calla said. “You’re right. It’s my best shot. So, how do we go about it? Will you just arrange everything, or what? It’s not like I’ve done this before,” she added with a nervous laugh.
“Well, since he isn’t openly shopping for a contract, we’ll have to convince him,” Dani said. “He’ll be at the House of Lilies tonight, so I’ll arrange for you to meet him. You’ll have to do the convincing. Don’t worry about anything. I’ll get you ready, and if you’re too nervous I’ll give you a little something to help things along.”
“I’m not sure I like how that sounds,” Calla said cautiously.
“Oh, you’ll like it,” Dani said enigmatically. “Just wait ‘till you give it a try.”
* * * * *
Later that evening Calla discovered Dani what meant. She definitely liked “it.” There was something in the wine Dani gave her as they were preparing for her “interview”, and Calla was feeling more than a little friendly by the time they were done. Dani had started her out with a relaxing massage with the specialist they kept on staff at the pleasure house. Calla had been hesitant at first, but Dani just gave her a knowing smile.
“Trust me,” she’d said. “You’ll like the massage. Kail has the most talented fingers...”
Dani was right about Kail’s fingers, Calla thought lazily after an hour under his ministrations. She’d followed Dani into the dimly lit massage room unsure of what to expect. What she found was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen wearing only a brief cloth around his waist. He’d walked over to greet them, then gently led Calla to his waiting massage couch. Dani, smiling with satisfaction, reclined lazily in one of several chairs against the wall to watch.