The Cat's Bargain - Printable Version

Ronald Howard, a mercenary, unburdened by moral considerations, and a notorious coward, he used to work for those who payed most, taking contracts for both lawful and unlawful parties, hunting down weaker ships piloted by less experienced pilots, and quickly developed himself recognition of a hired gun of ill repute. Unsurprisingly it didn't take long before he was not wanted anymore by too many and wanted by even more. Even less surprising, Ronald decided to leave Liberty, in which he operated, and continue making his fortune in a safer place. Having learned the lesson of alienating his employers, he changed his contract taking policy, however not his methods. Now refraining from working on behalf of organizations considered criminals by the local law, he began sweeping Kusari space and its surroundings for anything worth claiming and less so in resisting.

No, by no means Ronald was unskilled or lacked resourcefulness, yet he never accepted a fair fight and was a master of showing tail at any prospect of real danger. Considered honourless both by the Dragons and Chrysanthemums, his tactics had a certain measure of success, and Sisters of Light wrote out a ticket for him. Thanks to Gumi's skills, the Sisters were able to gather some intel on him. Women, booze - Ronald had usual habits for a man with little behind his soul but much in his wallet. And most importantly, he rented an apartment on Freeport 6, where apparently he felt quite safe, something one of the Sisters, Tanaka Miki, was going to change. Naturally, Mistress of Light Rinoa objected, intending to send experienced Meiko to mete out justice, yet Miki was firm in her resolve to have the job done in her own way, and eventually 'Mommy', as Rinoa was affectionately called by her Sisters, relented.

It didn't take long before Miki arrived at Freeport 6, not in her usual Blossom, too conspicuous for her task, but in an ordinary Eagle, one of thousands easily found everywhere across Sirius. She tried to remain discreet, keeping an eye on every local place she would expect Ronald to show up. The next day, as she entered a bar, Miki saw someone standing out against the background of the usual motley crowd of patrons. A girl, a beautiful young woman in a kitty headgear, she could be just about anyone, yet a place in the corner she took seemed to be brighter than those around, and Miki could almost feel a fresh breeze in the stuffy atmosphere of the bar. The girl turned her head and Miki caught her eyes, a whole universe hidden behind them, alluring and dangerous. The girl moved her eyes away in a suddenly shy move, and Miki kept standing on the threshold for a moment, not knowing what to do. Miki ordered a drink, gathering herself, and approached the table the girl was sitting at.

"Can I ... may I have a seat?" Miki asked, slightly waving with her drink. The girl nodded, somewhat indifferently, though Miki caught a glimpse of surprise in her eyes.

Word by word, they started to talk, sometimes too open considering how little they knew about each other. Time passed quickly and Kitty, as the girl called herself, bade farewell and left for her business, with Miki having to accomplish her own task. Miki heard about the phenomenon of candour among the strangers ... but she didn't want to beleive she wouldn't see the girl again.

Several days passed and finally the man she was after arrived. Handsome and galant, he certainly made an impression, and Miki felt a touch of regret at what had to be done. A few hours, and they were going toward the Roland's apartment, Miki's going to be the last woman for him to see. To Miki surprise, however, they took an elevator to a deck she didn't know, and a minute later, as they stepped into an apartment, the classical "I have a bad feeling about this" culminated in an oversized barrel of an old but not less dangerous slug thrower looking into her face. Item by item, Miki was relieved of every her secret weapon, together with pieces of clothing and accessories. The man grinned, admiring the look.

"Bingo, a truly golden girl! Do you know, my little sweety, your body is worth ten times more than your head?" But when Miki looked at his eyes, naked as she was in front of the armed and lewd man, she didn't see lust but greed and ... fear. Ronald threw several pieces of revealing clothing to Miki.

"Dress up quickly, sweetie, lest we shall be too late."

Miki did accordingly, frantically thinking what she could do in her predicament. With loud clicks Ronald closed a heavy slave collar and bracelets over Miki's neck, arms and ankles, connected together with as heavy chains. He took the free end of the central attached to the collar chain into his hand and waved with his gun.

"Go, my sweetie, we don't want the esteemed public to wait for too long, don't we?"

After a little walk Miki found herself entering a middle sized room, a small crowd surrounding a platform to her left. And she wasn't alone naked in chains, a few other unlucky men and women were on the platform in different poses, awaiting their fate. Miki caught lustful gazes of her potential buyers, as she understood, and her heart sank.

One by one Miki saw the chained people sold to the highest bidder, prices differing depending on their health, gender and attractiveness. And then it was her turn. Million, two, three... she was definitely an expensive piece of property now...

"Ten millions," Miki heard a loud voice from the farther end of the room.

Miki peered into the relative darkness in the direction of the voice and saw a young woman in a kitty headgear making her way to the platform. Miki's heart rate increased twice, she fixed her eyes on Kitty with a mix of gratitude, hope, amusement, joy and curiosity. Everything was happening like in a haze: she was sold and bought, Kitty ushered her out of the room and undid the locks.

Miki moved her hand to the now unlocked collar.

"I ... now I belong to you," she said in a slightly stuttering voice. Kitty shook her head.

"You belong only to yourself, Miki."

"But how ... how did you happen to be there? Why did you do that? I'm not worth that much money..."

"Silly, and reckless, you were bound to end up in trouble here."

"Still ... how did you know?"

Kitty rolled her eyes in the direction of her headgear ear.

"I have ears everywhere, Miki."

"Kitty ... dear ... I can never thank you enough for what you have done for me! I'll give you all money back and more when I be back on Ainu..."

"I don't need..." Kitty answered, shaking her head again slowly.

"But ... but I want to do something for you, something, anything, everything!" Miki exclaimed.

"Fine ... I could use a Blossom."

Miki nodded happily.

"I'll give you mine, my dear. It's on Ainu, we can fly there together."

Quickly they undocked from the station and took the course to Ainu.

"I failed the job..." Miki kept worrying during the flight. "Somehow he expected me." And Miki told Kitty the whole story.

"Nope," Kitty reassured Miki. "He will not be a bother anymore."

And Kitty was right, she was always right. Roland Howard, a mercenary and a notorious coward, wasn't seen in Kusari and its surroundings anymore.

Several days later Miki stood in the hangar on Ainu, watching Kitty checking and rechecking systems of her new Blossom before takeoff. Miki approached her and brushed her fingers over the metal of her new collar, one of several artfully made adornments she decided to never part with as a replacement and reminder of those accessories she was given but a few ago at Freeport.

"I still belong to you ... I will miss you!"

Kitty made a weak, barely noticeable smile, and lifted off her new beauty.