The slave girl chose this moment to close the final gap between them and he steeled himself to reprimand her or prevent her stealing his items.
“Can I help with those, sir?” She turned her bright green eyes on him and they flitted across his face like a nervous cat's. Her words startled him to silence and for a moment he could only stare back at her. Before long she broke the eye-contact and lowered her head, allowing him to think about the question she asked.
“How do I know you won't run off with anything I hand you?” he asked.
She pulled back the organza sleeves that covered her wrists and most of her hands and showed him the black rose tattoo on the soft inside. He frowned. Such a tattoo in so delicate a place must have hurt.
“My master and owner trades under this mark. If I displease anyone they can find him easily in the nearby district.” She pointed to the buildings rising up in the west. Several tall wooden houses rose up, each with a different symbol on the side of it. The matching black flower covered one of the constructions, although, like many of the others, it looked as if it had seen better days.
When he looked back at her, she was shivering and her head was bowed. He couldn't tell if it was respect or fear, but he decided to take pity on her.
“How much will such a service cost me?” he asked. Her head lifted and showed him her widened eyes.
“Nothing, sir. I... If I help to your satisfaction...”
“All right. Carry these for me and keep up.”
She nodded and flicked her brown hair back behind her shoulders so it wouldn't become entangled before taking the few parcels he sent her way and cradling them against her body.
“You've been following me for quite a while,” he added as he made his way to the next stall of interest to him. She had the good grace to blush at this challenge but didn't respond at first, giving him time to purchase some food for the fish he kept. The wrapped up item was added to the stack already burdening her.
“I saw you earlier, sir, with your crew. I liked the way you talked to them. I can tell you are a good man,” she said as he moved on again.
“Being a slave cannot be easy.”
“It is not always bad, but I am for sale and that worries me sometimes. I want to be bought by someone who won't hurt me... or... What is space like? I've always wanted to see it.”
“It's large, and empty. Some say it is beautiful but its charm soon wears off,” he replied, starting to get a sense of where this conversation was going. Despite her sweetness she wasn't very subtle.
“Do you need any more crew? I'm not very expensive and I work hard.”
He stopped walking and gave her his full attention. For a moment she met his gaze again but she soon lowered her eyes to focus on his booted feet.
“I'm sorry, but I cannot buy you,” he replied. “You're very sweet, but...”
“I understand.” She turned her face back to him and he could see the tears threatening to fall from her green eyes. Such a reaction was unexpected.
“What do you do for your owner when you're not helping Captains with their shopping?” He carried on with his browsing and tried not to dwell on her emotions.
“Mostly I help him with his stall here at the market, selling, wrapping the valuables and sometimes with selling other slaves. I'm good at haggling.”
He stopped their conversation to purchase his final item, a bottle of strong single malt whiskey. A special crew member who'd never had a present appreciated a good drink. Once it was wrapped and in the slave's arms she resumed her list of skills.
“I also run messages and other errands a lot, as well as some management tasks. On top of that, I've been trained to look after a household and keep its books in order.”
She stopped talking and followed on so he figured the list was finally complete. It wasn't what he'd expected. Most of the slaves here were for companionship or other relational services but she seemed to have genuine intelligence and skills. It occurred to him that as a free person she'd have made a good addition to his crew.
“I'm surprised you're still for sale with a resume like that.”
“There have been a few offers, but my owner rejected them when I asked him to.”
He raised his eyebrows and she noticed.
“I didn't want to be bought by the men who offered money. I persuaded my owner that I could fetch a higher price elsewhere for the other things I can do. In the mean time I've orders to earn as much as possible.”
As she finished speaking they reached the edge of the market and the transport from his ship. She helped him load the packages in the cargo space and smiled at him.
“I'm really sorry I can't buy you. As a Unified Federations Captain it's just not something I can do. Slaves aren't allowed on our ships, but I'm sure someone will come along who can.” As he spoke he placed a small credit note into her hand, then kissed the back of it. She smiled and thanked him but he could see the disappointment in her eyes.
He had to push it from his mind as he glanced at the time and saw he only had five minutes to present himself to the Federations building, and the admiral residing there, for his next mission.
His ship had docked earlier than expected so he'd had time to use up, but now he was forced to hurry the small hovering transport along to the only building in the area that looked well kept. It was also the only one made of materials other than wood, and the brick and stone stood out for him to travel towards.
This planet had been colonised for over fifty years, but other than the working class farmers, slave owners and various officials stationed here, the rainy climate hadn't attracted many people and the indoor market was one of few tourist attractions for off-world visitors.