Page 27 of Victoria's Embrace

Pausing just outside the door once they’d all exited, she took a moment to gaze out at the crowd. She caught the expressions of worry, fear, and suspicion on those with faces she could read. The overall feeling emanating from them told her they were a beat away from making a run for it and taking their chances outside.

Victoria wanted to speak to them, to reassure them they really were the good guys, but there were so many. Even talking to small groups instead of individuals would take too much time, time they didn’t have.

Her gaze slid to the nearest platform thoughtfully. Recalling that the auctioneers’ voices had been amplified so as to be heard over the din, she headed toward the platform, climbed the stairs, then searched the floor until she spotted a pen-like thing laying near the edge.

Picking it up, she hesitated before speaking, gazing out at the murmuring crowd of slaves as a sense of almost deja vu washed over her.

She vividly remembered being in the center of a crowd very much like this one, confused and scared, having just been rescued from the crashed slave ship that brought her to this planet with no idea if her rescuers were actually good people or if she’d just traded one form of slavery for another. And then Aria had stepped up on that weird-looking couch and addressed them, putting them at ease and allaying their fears.

Victoria was nervous as she gazed out over the hundreds of people, her heart pounding and her hands shaking ever so slightly, but that nervousness was tempered with confidence borne of purpose and understanding, because she’d been in a position very similar to theirs not that long ago and knew what they needed to hear.

“Hello. If y’all could gather up, please?” She waited a moment for people to move closer. “First off, I’m Victoria, or Vee, if that’s easier.” She paused after that. There was so much to cover, so many things to work out and fears to address that she didn’t know where to start, at first.

Broad strokes. Cover the big stuff now, address individual concerns later.

“I’m with a group of people who’ve decided we’ve had enough of all this slavery crap. So, we’ve decided to take over the planet.” She let that sink in, then continued, “Now, we’ve successfully taken over this slave market. That means all of y’all are free. Free to stay or leave. If you’d like to steal a spaceship and go back to your homeworlds, you’re welcome to do so. I just ask that you take as many people as possible with you and return them to their homes as well. If you believe you have loved ones somewhere on this planet, you’re welcome to go out and find them. I would suggest going in teams, for safety. However, I’m hoping some of y’all will choose to stay and join us in taking over the world.”

“That is impossible! You cannot think to seize an entire planet,” came an angry voice from the sea of faces looking up at her.

Not entirely sure who’d said that, Victoria gazed in the general direction of the voice and calmly asked, “Why? Why is that impossible? From what I’ve seen, slaves outnumber their masters hundreds, maybe even thousands to one. We successfully took over this market with less than fifty people, and most of those had just been freed only minutes beforehand.”

Raising her gaze to sweep the crowd, she addressed them all. “We’re not staging an open attack. We work in the shadows, taking over one market, arena, and pleasure lounge at a time, just like we did here. I understand it sounds impossible, but it isn’t. I promise you. This isn’t the only place we’ve seized, and with your help, it won’t be the last. Wecando this. Wewilldo it, because the alternative is to live under the boot of the masters, to resign ourselves to a life of slavery and pain and horror. I’m not willing to do that. And I don’t think y’all are, either. We can stand up and fight.”

At that, the murmurs began shifting in tone from doubt and derision to something more considering, and the faces she could read started to lose some of the disbelief twisting their features. Feeling hopeful, she kept going.

“I’m hoping at least some of y’all will join us. Our most immediate goal is to find volunteers to run this market, to pretend as though it’s still operational. It’ll become a trap. When new slavers arrive, they’ll be tranqed, caged, and their slaves freed. That way, this coup stays secret, we get a new supply of spaceships to return people to their homes, and no one who comes here has to endure the horrors you know all too well would’ve awaited them.”

Feeling as though she’d given them plenty to think about for the moment, she drew in a breath and finished, “I understand this is a big decision, so I’ll give y’all some time to think about it. You’re welcome to whatever food, water, and clothing you can find, but, please, if you see someone in need of assistance, help them. If you see anyone with injuries, we’ve got a couple of RegenBands to heal them. I understand y’all have been in survival mode for a long time, but you’re not the animals the masters tried to turn you into. Help each other, care for each other, lean on each other. Those that came here with me, if you could raise your hands?”

A dozen arms rose.

Gesturing to them, she added, “If you need anything or have further questions, which I’m sure most of you will, find me, or one of these people, and we’ll do our best to help.”

Chapter 18

They had volunteers. More than they needed, in fact. But it didn’t stop there. A group of grim-faced people approached her, headed by Braxton. He was leading them on a mission to take over a nearby pleasure lounge, one in which one of the males in the group believed his mate was being held.

“If y’all could give me just a moment? I’d like to speak with Braxton.” When the group moved a few paces away, she gazed up at him searchingly. “Are you sure?”

She didn’t specify what she was asking, not wanting to broadcast his… condition for anyone listening, but she’d overheard his earlier conversation with Vi’kail and his concern that if he and Ti’vek weren’t separated soon the merge might be permanent.

Braxton smiled down at her almost resignedly. “I’m sure they need someone to lead ‘em, and I’m sure I’m not willin’ to go off and fix myself when me stayin’ might be the difference between their success and death.”

She opened her mouth, not to argue against the mission, only to suggest they find someone else to lead them, but he cut her off with a shake of his head.

“I see your concern, darlin’, and I appreciate it, but I gotta do this. They need to be led by someone with ties to the complex, someone who understands what’s at stake. Them goin’ off by themselves… ” He shook his head again, his brows raised pointedly. “They could blow Aria’s whole operation. Besides, they’re good men, and there’s some military experience among them, but they’re grunts. They need someone who understands tactics, strategy, and Aria needs more people out here gettin’ shit done or her world domination idea isn’t gonna work.”

Frowning, she searched his face a moment longer but sighed and nodded when she couldn’t think of anything to dispute what he’d said. He was right.

“Okay. It’s your choice. But when you’re done, come to the complex. It might not be too late.”

There was a look in his eyes that told her he thought otherwise, but he didn’t say anything, just dipped his chin and turned away.

Victoria watched his back for a long moment as he and his group headed toward the door that led to the armory, feeling, oddly, like a mom watching her kids go off to school for the first time.

Blowing out a breath, she tried to let go of the worry and anxiety and focused on making sure the market was set up so she and her group could head to the complex.

Exhaustion was trying to sink its claws into her, but she did her best to fight it off. They still had so much to do before they could stop.

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