Page 3 of Under His Heel

The memory of the mouth-inspection kept Alex distracted through the next few steps. He signed and fingerprinted the contract and allowed them to place the bond collar on him. It was fastened with an electronic lock at the back, one that was connected to both Tracht’s subdermal chip and an external transmitter shaped like a ring, which Tracht casually placed on his right middle finger.

“The collar contains all the information about your contract,” Stiegler explained. “Security can scan the collar and easily verify any details. So if your contract is being breached, you run to them and explain the details, and they’ll sort it out. But don’t lie.”

The collars were for everybody’s protection. It even had a built-in emergency call function—if Alex’s distress levels rose too high, a signal would be sent to the brokerage firm who would ensure everybody was following the contract.

Then he was following Tracht into a cab that drove them across half the station towards the port. The cab window was tinted so dark that it was hard to see past a few feet, but Alex thought he recognized some of the alleys they were driving past. At least that meant he wouldn’t be too disoriented. If Tracht had dragged him out to the hoity-toity residential areas of the station, it would have put a damper on some of Alex’s plans.

The cab came to a stop near the entrance to the docks. Alex followed Tracht out, shivering. This close to the outer hull, the station was a lot colder. Alex’s thin slacks and tank top weren’t much protection against the chill.

“You’ll have to endure for only a little bit. I keep my chambers on the ship well-warmed, and we’ll find you some practical clothing for the time we spend in other areas of the ship, or on station,” Tracht commented.

So, mouth-fingering aside, Tracht was a conscientious guy. Alex shook off his unease and reminded himself that this was the plan; he’d agreed to be this guy’s bondservant.

The docking station looked like any docking station. Signs marked the way to individual docking gates, where loading chutes connected the spaceships to the station. With them entering the PM hours of the station, the outer hull was dimmed, allowing a clear view of the many ships docked just outside. Most of the ships had two chutes attached to them: one leading to the passenger entrance, the other one much wider and connecting to the lower half of the ship. Those chutes led to a level lower than the docks they were on.

As they were walking through the loading chute to the spaceship, Tracht glanced at him. “This has no bearing on anything, but are you attracted to men?”

“Do you think I would have accepted the contract if I wasn’t?” Alex shot back. He was okay with dudes. Didn’t mind fucking them or letting them suck him off, although he’d rather have women.

Tracht stopped to swipe his wrist over the ship’s lock. Once the door slid open, he motioned for Alex to walk ahead of him into the ship.

A guard waited on the other side, sitting up straight on his stool. “Welcome back, Captain.”

“Thank you, Mr. Ackerman. This is my new bondservant.”

That was apparently enough explanation for the guard, who went back to staring at his tablet. Tracht frowned lightly, but he smoothed his expression quickly and led Alex further.

“Going back to what you said earlier, there are plenty of debtors who believe they’ll receive a better offer from men than women. But it will be easier for you if you are attracted to men.”

“Well, I am.” Alex wasn’t sure he was attracted to Tracht, but in the end, Tracht was right that it didn’t matter. He focused on watching where he was going, his eyes not quite adjusted to the much dimmer lighting inside the ship.

Alex had been on his fair share of spaceships, hopping from station to station and solar system to solar system with his brother. All of those ships had been passenger ships though, with bright lights and wide corridors. There was just enough space in these halls for him and Tracht to walk side by side without bumping into each other. The floor and walls were all a simple gray steel, with the floor textured enough to prevent people from slipping.

Tracht placed his hand on the small of Alex’s back and pushed him towards the right. The familiarity in that touch made Alex’s hackles rise, but once again he swallowed his protest. This was what Tracht was paying for.

“Captain?”

A woman in the same uniform as Tracht approached them. She wore a severe expression, and if Alex’s brother were there, they’d be sharing a snicker about her unfortunate hairstyle.

“Ah, Ms. Espinosa. Good timing. Let me introduce my new bondservant. This is Alex.” Tracht kept his hand on Alex’s back during the introduction.

If Tracht thought this exchange would freak Alex out, he’d have to think again. He knew how to keep cool under pressure, and one slightly disapproving woman with a shitty hairstyle wasn’t going to come close to ruffling his feathers.

And she definitely disapproved. It wasn’t clear yet whether she disapproved of Alex specifically or bondservants in general, but Alex smiled at her and waved. Didn’t even try to shake her hand, because he got the feeling that wouldn’t be welcomed. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Espinosa.”

“Ms. Espinosa is my First Officer, in charge of day to day operations on the ship,” Tracht explained. “She is invaluable to keeping things running smoothly around here.”

Espinosa’s cheeks mottled red, and she bit her lip briefly. Then she cleared her throat and turned her attention back to Tracht. “Thank you, Captain. I wanted to let you know that I’ve spoken with Kipling and they’ve agreed to our terms.”

“Wonderful. Work with Larson to finish that off. If we can get everything loaded by the end of the week, we can make our way to Atalanta and meet with Spanos ahead of schedule.”

She saluted and left, but not without a final suspicious glance in Alex’s direction.

Whatever. Alex made sure to memorize the path they were walking so he’d be able to find his way around the ship.

He didn’t like the sound of what he’d heard. He wasn’t ready to leave Cadmus Station just yet, not with things so unfinished here. His brother didn’t even know where he was.

Tracht led him to an elevator, which they rode to the top deck that was accessible by a key signal from Tracht’s subdermal chip in his wrist. Tracht assured him the key would be added to his collar. “There isn’t really anything up here that’s top secret, but I value my privacy and I don’t want anybody to encroach on my personal space unless it’s an absolute emergency,” Tracht explained. “With the exception of you, of course. You’ll be expected to attend to all of my needs.”

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