Jim paled at the news that Aisha had brought him. He knew Aisha would control herself by not eating him, but he very much doubted that the crew could control thier craving for Terran meat. The thought gave Jim the chills. In the next few days..if they haven't ran into a Terran ship...the hunt would begin for the remaining Terrans on the ship, regardless if they were slaves or not. In that case, Jim would prefer being eaten by Aisha then by a stranger. Jim prayed to all the Gods he knew that they would run into a Terran ship in the next few days. Aisha had offered to barricade him in her office...but how long would it take for someone to break into the office and gobble him up? Aisha was sitting at her desk, hands covering her head.
"If we don't run into any Terran ship...you can eat me if you want" said Jim. "I would rather be eaten by you than by a stranger"
Aisha looked at her Terran pal with sad eyes. Jim was one of her few Terran friends, and she would never eat him..she would rather starve. But Jim had offered himself to her....maybe it would be better if Aisha ate him instead of another crew member. Aisha shook her head..what was she thinking? She wouldn't eat Jim, even if he was the last Terran on the Horta Hone-Hone. When Aisha first met Jim, she had looked at him with hunger in her eyes, and Jim was afraid of her. Now, Jim looked up to Aisha as a sister. No. Aisha couldn't and wouldn't eat Jim even if she was starving to death.
"Jim, I won't eat you ever" said Aisha. "we're bound to run into a Terran ship sooner or later"
"What if we don't?" asked Jim. "how long will I survive, even if I'm barricaded in here? Someone might be able to break down the barricade and..." Jim's voice trailed off.
"Have faith" said Aisha. "if we don't run into a Terran ship, I'll do my best to keep you out of a stomach"
Just then, the door to the office opened and in walked in a tall ctarl-ctarl with red and white hair in stripes. The ctarl-ctarl was male and was wearing the ship's uniform.
"What is it, Cinna?" asked Aisha.
Cinna glanced at Jim before answering.
"I've just been infromed that we have a Terran shortage" said Cinna. "As the supplies officer, I request that your slave be put on the menu before the crisis begins"
"Suggestion denied" said Aisha in a voice that left no room for argument.
"But, Lady Aisha..." started Cinna.
"I'm in charge here, Mr. Cinna" said Aisha. "and my word is law on this ship. Now, if you pester me about this again, I'll personally throw you out of an airlock"
Cinna stiffened at once, saluted and exited the office.


Later that day, Aisha was on the bridge, along with Jim. Jim was next to Aisha's chair and trying not to be noticed. Aisha had brought him to the bridge because slaves usually followed thier masters everywhere. Right now, Jim was massaging Aisha's bare feet. Aisha purred in content, and was about to order Jim to fetch her a drink when it happened.
"Two ships coming into sensor range" said one of the navigation officers. "Sensors say that they're Terran ships"
Jim sighed a breath of relief and forgot to keep massaging Aisha's feet.
"Did I tell you to stop?" snapped Aisha to Jim, and Jim went back to massaging Aisha's feet.
As it turned out, one of the Terran ships was a pirate ship that was attacking the other. The Orta Hone-Hone soon put a stop to the attacking pirate ship and sent over a boarding party to bring back the pirates...which would be put on the menu. The attacked ship was badly damaged and had almost no living Terrans on it. The Orta Hone-Hone had enough Terrans to last two months now. Aisha ordered that the pirates be eaten first, then the Terrans from the attacked ship. Jim was happy to see that they found enough Terrans.


Jim was worried about what happened to Gene, but Aisha was probably right. Gene would most likely be on the vacation planet of Tenrei, trying to get into a girl's pants...since he never had a chance the last time he was there. Whereever Gene was, Jim wished all the luck for Gene...even though Gene was a pervert and a boozer. Jim had first met Gene in a bar on Sentiel III three years ago. Jim was living on the streets, and having no memory of a mother or a father. Jim was trying to steal money from Gene's pocket, and Gene had grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. Shortly after that, the two became fast friends and started "Starwind and Hawking Enterprises". At first, "Starwind and Hawking Enterprises" was making money hand over fist, and they weren't below the red line at all. But all that had changed when the Outlaw Star came into Gene's possesion. Starwind and Hawking Enterprises was way below the red line, and they owe Fred Luo about 2 million wong. Gene kept spending the money he made on beer and women.....Jim was getting tired of being the only adult. Jim was more adult than Gene ever was. In fact, Jim is more adult than anyone he now knew. Aisha was older than him, but she still acted like a kid sometimes. Suzuka was very adult, and Melfina was like his mother to Jim. Why did Jim think of Melfina as his mother was unknown, even to Jim. Maybe Melfina look like Jim's biological mother?
And now, he was Aisha's slave, the only way he would survive on the Horta Hone-Hone.