Aakle struggled to stay on his feet as he was pushed through the busy Galacticport. He was the first of a long line of slaves that were all chained together. They were surrounded on all sides by huge spaceships. Slaves loading on cargo and checking for any malfunctions filled the halls with the smell of sweat.

   Aakle felt himself being pulled back by the chain around his ankle. It rubbed his already raw ankles, drawing blood. He grimaced in pain and looked back to see what was wrong. An old man had fallen and was now being whipped as he tried to get back up. The angry shouts of the slave drivers and the heart wrenching screams of the man brought tears to Aakles eyes. he turned away, unable to watch.

   The man was unchained and thrown into a small metal cage. Two muscular men picked it up and carried him off. Aakle found himself wishing he could go too, anything was better than where he was going now. It was like Hell on a star.

   "Move along." came the sharp command from the slave master. He cracked his whip menacingly, nudging the line forwards. They kept walking until they reached a huge spaceship called Xerxes. A big, burly man was walking down the gangplank, obviously waiting for someone.

   He looked up when he heard the sound of chains rattling. "Hamph," he called "let me see what you've brought for me today." he pulled out a long metal rod and began inspecting them. Tapping their backs, opening their mouths and squeezing their arms. "that's some healthy stock you've brought today." he smiled, pleased. "I'll pay you sixty pounds."

   "Ninety." Hamph said.

   "Seventy five."

   "Eighty five, that's my lowest price."

   "Eighty." he said, still trying to haggle lower.

   "I guess I'll sell them to someone else." Hamph turned to leave.

   "Eighty five." the man said, throwing over a small pouch of money.

   "Then here you go." Hamph sent them up the gangplank and walked away, disappearing into the huge crowds walking past. The other man walked back into the spaceship and stood in front of them.

   "My name is Fenton, but you'll address me as sir. Is that clear?" he asked.

   "Yes sir!" They all shouted.

   "Good," he began pacing "We'll be going to Oriox, the star in the center of Orions Belt. I will not accept any delays and am willing to throw people off of my ship, where you'll suffocate, if you don't obey, is that clear?"

   "Yes sir!" they shouted again.

   "We'll take off in three spins. You'll be resting for this trip since you'll never get to rest again once we reach Oriox." he turned to go "Any valuables you have managed to smuggle will be given to me for...safekeeping." he then disappeared up a ladder that lead into the crews quarters.

   Two guards stepped forwards and ushered us into a huge room. Bunks lined the walls, thin blankets covered the torn mattresses. A couple spots of blood were visible on the walls where there'd clearly been a struggle. Aakle gagged from the overwhelming stench that hung in the air. It smelled like sickness, waste and death.

   "This is were you'll spend most of your time." the guard said "There are bathrooms through that door." Aakle looked over at where he'd pointed and realized that most of the smell was coming from that direction. "Your food will be served through that chute there and anything you want to complain about can be written on a note and placed into the tube there." he pointed to the wall where there was a big handle.

   Aakle pulled on it and realized that it opened up to a big tunnel that slanted up. Beside it was a plastic tube with a small flag beside it. When you put up the flag the tube acted like a suction cup and pulled up the note.

   "We'll leave you to get settled and will check up on you in six spins.' the two guards left the room, locking the door after them. Aakle sat down on a bed, dreading the future. They were leaving in three spins, that meant after the Galacticport spun around three times. Adding up the minutes was about five hours, that meant in ten hours the guards would return to check on them.

   "I don't want to leave on this slavery spaceship." one man exclaimed, kicking the door. "I have a wife and kids who love me." he buried his face in his hands and began to cry softly. The other men stood around awekwardly, not knowing what to do.

   Finally another man walked over and placed his arm on the sobbing mans shoulder. "None of us want to leave." he murmered.

   "And we're not going to." Aakle said, standing up.

   "What?" the man asked. "We're locked in."

   "That's why I'm using my brain." Aakle replied, sitting down.