“I’m sorry commander ClanClan, but I promised Trisha that I’d eat lunch with her today,” Paige said shyly. She had made that promise, but the real reason that she didn’t want to have lunch with the commander was that she didn’t think she could bare to watch Jim be treated like a slave. He was so bright and king, so unlike the other Terrans she saw in the kitchen, all they did was scream and beg. It hurt knowing how miserable Jim must be under the thumb of the tyrannical commander of Orta Hone-Hone, Paige didn’t think she could handle watching him be treated like dirt right in front of her.

“You’ve never mentioned this Trisha before,” Jim said, surprised to know his only other friend on the ship besides Aisha had someone to talk to besides him. He’d always thought Paige was a loner and didn’t hang out with anyone else on the ship.

“We’re only acquaintances. You’ve met her actually, she was the officer that showed you around when you first arrived on the Orta Hone-Hone.” Jim thought about it and vaguely remembered a female Ctarl-Ctarl showing him around and warning him about Aisha. It had been a busy day, what with him being labeled property by Aisha.

“I’d better leave, Trisha doesn’t like waiting.” Paige turned to leave, but looked back quickly to catch one more glance of Jim. She prayed every night that he’d be safe from Aisha. She knew that it would be any day now that Aisha would grow bored with Jim and gobble him down like he was nothing at all. She had to rescue him before that happened, no matter what.

As soon as Paige was gone, Aisha let out a sigh. “Glad she’s gone. I don’t know what I was thinking when I invited her to join us.”

“Aisha! That’s rude!” Jim admonished his master for her disrespectful behavior.

“What!? If she had stayed her I would have had to continue pretending that I was the big bad master and you were the wimpy slave. Besides, it’s not like she’s my sister or something. Now where were we? Oh yah, I was wrestling you to the ground.” Jim eepped as three hundred pounds of Ctarl-Ctarl might came crashing down on him, pinning him to the floor and tickling his undefended sides. Laughter filled the huge office as Aisha joined in.




In the cafeteria, Paige was sitting across from Trisha, who was having a staring contest with her meal. Trisha was trying to prove that you could hypnotize your meal with your eyes if you concentrated enough of your willpower. So far, the Terran had tried to escape five times, and each time Trisha had slugged him in the face.

“I think I got it, I think I’ve got him hypnotized!” Trisha squealed in delight, as the Terran remained frozen where he was standing.

“I think you just got him terrified that you’re going to hit him again if he moves,” Paige sighed into her salad. Since meeting Jim she hadn’t been feeling the same way about eating Terrans. What if there were more out there like Jim? The thought of that made her think twice about ordering a Terran. Paige’s dismal mood didn’t go unnoticed by Trisha.

“Your worried about slave boy and commander bitch, aren’t you?”

“Don’t call him slave boy, his name is Jim,” Paige said, not correcting Trisha’s nickname for their beloved commander. Paige hadn’t said anything about Jim to Trisha, but she’d caught onto the subtle hints. Like the way Paige sighed dreamily whenever Jim passed by or that she looked away when he was with the commander. Trisha may not of been on the same level of brainpower as Paige, but she wasn’t blind to the major crush her friend had on the young Terran.

“I suppose now isn’t a good time to ask if you want in on the pool to when the commanders going to eat Jim?”

“Trisha!” Paige shouted, outraged that her friend would even ask such a question. She already knew about the pool on when Jim was going to be eaten, as well as, the pool on whether Aisha will season her slave or eat him as he is and the one on whether Aisha will let them all watch. No one on the ship thought Jim would last very long, especially in the hands of Aisha the Terran Consumer.

“I’m sorry Paige, but you really shouldn’t get attached to Jim. I know he’s cute, for a Terran anyway, but he was as good as dead the day commander bitch sunk her claws into him. You’ve got a crush on a dead man walking,” Trisha told her friendly sadly. She hated seeing the youngster so sad. Since coming to the Orta Hone-Hone, Trisha had formed a bond with the young prodigy. She liked Paige for her shyness and kindness, which was very rare to see in their species. She wished she could help Paige, but against the high-ranking Aisha, she was completely helpless.

“Burp! Excuse me.”

“Huh?” Trisha said, hearing someone belch beside her. She turned to where her Terran had been standing to see instead a big-bellied Ctarl-Ctarl, picking her teeth.

“Hey, that was my meal!” Trisha growled staring into the uncaring eyes of the only woman she hated worse then commander bitch, Molly Silverpaw. The rich spoiled brat had been annoying her since the moment they met and she commented on her clothes. How dare she call her poor just because she didn’t ware designer clothes. Molly considered anyone that didn’t have parents that were rich or high in the military to be the same as scum, which to a Ctarl-Ctarl is still better then being a Terran.

“You snooze you lose, Trasha,” Molly sneered, and then turned her attention to Paige. There was another thing Trisha hated about Molly, her spitefulness towards Paige.

“Freak,” Molly muttered and left, leaving Paige to wallow in self-pity. Trisha gritted her teeth and watched Molly leave. One day, she told herself, one day.