Chapter 35: Chains and Shackles
We walked up to the Chains and Shackles store and entered. The clean-up from the prior turf was already complete, and it never happened in the first place. Stepping into the Chains and Shackles store was interesting as it wasn't what I expected. I actually didn't know what I was expecting as we entered a typical waiting room. Couches were there, and Ura and I walked over to sit down to relax.
Not even a full minute later, a woman came out to greet us. The woman had long, flowing golden hair with two floppy golden ears. She smiled as she had just met her best friend, and the Monocle in her left eye made her look more business oriented. Her breasts were small at no more than a B cup, but she wore a red dress with designs on it that made her look good.
The woman smiled and came over, "Hello! I am Linsey, Your trader today! Would you like to take a look at our wares? Our gathering captain recently returned with a great cargo hauler, and the new products look promising. Is there anything specific you are looking for in your Product today?" She asked, then pressed her head with the back of her head, "Excuse me, It seems that I forgot to introduce myself. I am Linsey!" She finished, and I looked at Ura.
"You actually had introduced yourself, Lindsey," I said with a soft smile as I thought this girl was trying to make herself look clumsy. "We are interested in some wares today. We are looking for an engineer of high quality and a Doctor of high quality that still has the ability to learn." I told her with a smile.
"Dear me, I had," Lindsey seemed to turn and shake her head, "Sorry, I have just been so busy with things that I seemed to have forgotten. Would you come back to the private rooms so that we can show you our wares?" Lindsey asked, and Ura nodded.
I put my hand on my gun but nodded, and the woman eyed my weaponry for a second before showing us to the back. The hallways were clean, unlike the rest of the floor, and a moment later, we were inside a much nicer room. It had a glass wall with a door separating us, but you could clearly see inside. Two couches and an armchair were set up, and I sat with Ura on one of the large brown couches available while Lindsey took the armchair looking toward us.
"Now, we tend to separate you from the product to keep communications from rebellious slaves from those who might potentially not want to pay from them." Lindsey said, "Other than that, we do not tell you that you cannot interact with them before purchase. We want productive products that do what they are supposed to do. Not useless toys that are good for nothing and waste our materials. So we will work with you on that." Lindsey continued and pulled out a tablet, and the glass turned into a TV screen showing nothing at this point.
To be honest, I was a little blown back by this woman. She didn't even look at the sentient beings she trafficked as people. They were products to be bargained on and sold to the person willing to purchase them at the highest price. It was a clear disregard for people's freedom which a Western girl like myself took a little hard. Still, I knew what I was getting into coming here.
"Now, For Engineers, what type of specialist are you looking for?" Lindsey asked.
"Slipstream," Ura replied to business.
"That is a more difficult one. The thing is that a while ago, we actually picked up a specialist from a cargo fleet that was on the wrong ship when the fleet got attacked. With a successful pincer, we picked up a tonne of product. Including this little product." Lindsey said, and a picture of a woman appeared on the screen.
—
Name: Emily
Age: 22
Specialization: Slipstream Engineer.
Schooling: Heliox University
Personality: Argumentative
Race: Half Succubus, Half-Elf
Starting price: 300,000 Credits
—
Looking at the girl on the screen, you could see two little horns peaking out from her temples. She looked extremely annoyed and like she wanted to kill the person taking the picture. On her neck was a glowing necklace that was the slave collar. Her face would be cute if it wasn't for that expression, although I couldn't blame her for that.
"Although the product is still argumentative, it usually is toward the best way to follow orders. We were unable to find out more about this product has not been very forthcoming with information to us. The product's price has been lowered for that in particular." Lindsey gave us both a wry smile and a shrug, "Unfortunately for the both of you, this product is our only current Slipstream Engineer we have in store." She took a moment to let that sink in, "Are you interested in looking at Generalists that may be able to handle your ship?" Lindsey followed up.
Ura was frowning, and I let her think since I didn't know what the ship needed in the engineering bay. Finally, Ura turned to look at Lindsey after looking at the profile for a while, "Bring Emily up for a conversation since she is the only Slipstream Engineer you have. For now, show us the potential doctors you have." Ura said, and I nodded at Lindsey in agreement.
"Okay," Lindsey said, looking down at the tablet, and Emily's profile minimized and went up into the corner of the screen for now. "For Doctors, is there any specialty you are looking for?" Lindsey asked, looking at us for inquiry.
"Someone who can deal with battle damage on Both of us," I replied, and Lindsey looked us both over and nodded.
"General surgeon with multispecies orientation. Someone who can learn and probably can deal with stress. Our company has been thriving lately with the number of pick-ups, so we got a couple of options." Lindsey said, and quickly seven profiles showed up. The first one to show up had me extremely surprised. "Ah, Our own Arachne Doctor," Lindsey said, pulling up the profile.
—
Name: Doctor Teria Hairless
Age: 34
Specialization: Multi-Species general surgeon
Schooling: Arachne Capitol University
Personality: Cooperative when it comes to patients. Argumentative outside of it
Race: Arachne
Starting price: 1,200,000 Credits
—
Her picture was taken from farther back, and her face was pure white but had a human shape. She had two long-looking arms that looked longer than they should have before and a black and white body that seemed to be covered in chitin-like armor. Her breasts were covered in a long white jacket that slipped around a large lump on the back with eight long legs out. She looked like something straight from a nightmare with furry undertones. Her face looked scary but had its charm, in my opinion.
"Extremely competent product. Product credentials are amazing, and honestly," Lindsey looked at both of us, "Very, Very good at learning. We use this product, and the product continues to do well when fixing issues with our other products. We would hate to lose her hence the price tag." Lindsey smiled, "That is the best product we have available."
I was frowning, but I kind of wanted to use the voucher on her. The problem was that this Doctor was too large. Our ship was small, and although she was probably the best fit overall. I don't think she could actually fit inside our spaceship crew quarters. "Unfortunately, I do not believe with the size of our spaceship Doctor Teria Hairless would be a good fit for us. She is simply too large for our spaceship." Ura said, and Lindsey looked at us surprised but smiled.
"Then let me bring up the next product," Lindsey said with a smile. A new profile showed up quickly, and I looked over the information about the male-looking alien I saw.
—
Name: Tristan Delorock
Age: 42
Specialization: Multi-Species general surgeon
Schooling: Fairrim Capitol University
Personality: Cooperative when it comes to patients. Very Sexual Specimen
Race: Rockaine
Starting price: 900,000 Credits
—
Looking at the picture, it was a close-up of a masculine-looking rock face. The skin on this species was utterly rock-like in a shocking look. There was a lack of eyebrows, and the face with the jewel-like eyes was a hard thing to comprehend.
"This is a unique Rockaine general surgeon. This product is competent, enjoys learning about new species, and, as it says on the profile, is being with them sexually. The product is male with working genitalia that I will allow you to discover if you purchase this product, but the product is another competent product that will suit your needs as you have stated." Lindsey finished, and I shook my head.
"Can we see the next one, please," I requested. "I am not exactly wanting a rock inside of me," I informed Lindsey, and she chuckled.
"Fair enough, Would it help if I reduce the price by a thousand Credits? Would that make you more interested?" Lindsey asked.
"Same issue," I replied, and Ura nodded. The sexual specimen remark made me uninterested, and the same with Ura.
"Very well, Moving on," Lindsey said, and that one disappeared off the monitor.
—
Name: Yellow Greenhorn
Age: 31
Specialization: Multi-Species general surgeon
Schooling: Leno Capitol University
Personality: Cooperative. Uncooperative when there is little work.
Race: Tellon
Starting price: 900,000 Credits
—
This was a more hawk-looking person with a masculine demeanor, and Lindsey looked at us with a smile. "Now, This is a product that just likes to do its job. If you are looking for someone who can do an entire Cargo ship, then this is your Tellon. The Product is a very hard-working product that falls into their job, but their skill is missing a little. They are eager to learn, but it takes time. They are not a genius but an excellent product that hates sitting on their hands." Lindsey said, and I leaned back in thought.
I looked at the profile, and the sharp face with feathers instead of hair was interesting and attractive in its own way. It wasn't something I would like to wake up to, but I could see the beauty on his face. I couldn't help but wonder if they were also a potion maker. If he were, then he would be a perfect purchase. Someone constantly working for us and was happy to do so. The only issue would be keeping the materials for him to continue making things.
"Would he happen to have another job other than the multi-species general surgeon that he is trained in? Nine hundred thousand credits are steep for him." I asked, and Lindsey looked at me and shook her head.
"If you want a Multispecies general surgeon and another sub job, we do have a product like that, but not this product," Lindsey replied.
"I am now interested in this other person you mentioned," I replied with a smile, and Lindsey smiled a more business-like smile.
"Certainly, I will put this product on the maybe area for now and show you this product," Lindsey said, and a moment later, a new profile came up to my surprise.
—
Name: Nyava Litterborn
Age: 26
Specialization: Multi-Species general surgeon, Potioneer
Schooling: Grantville Intergalactic University
Personality: Uncooperative. Suspected Medical issues. Genius minded.
Race: Cat-kin
Starting price: 700,000 Credits
—
"I was worried showing this to a Rish, but you don't seem angry, at least. This product would normally be worth more, but the product has issues. The product was taken in a raid from another supplier other than our own. Not exactly sure how the product was picked up, but the product graduated from a very well-known university. The product, unfortunately, has issues with keeping on track and doesn't listen to orders well. You will have to find your way of making this product productive. We only found that they will be productive when you give the product something interesting." Lindsey said, "Still, her worth is still high, and we are selling this product for seven hundred thousand Federation Credits."
I looked at Ura, and I nodded. I looked at the picture of a woman with a very angry face, Like a cat that you just gave a bath to and then forced to sit with something it hates for a photo op. She was clearly pissed off and ready to kill the person taking the picture. The collar around her neck was like the others with a blue glow.
"Bring her up for a conversation," I said, and Ura nodded. "We will think about purchasing the products after a conversation with them," I told Lindsey, who was now smiling brightly.
"Perfect!" Lindsey exclaimed and hit something on the tablet, "Is there anything I can get you while you wait for the products to be brought up?" She asked.
"No, thank you," I replied, "Maybe some privacy?' I asked a moment later.
"No problem; please discuss with each other on your own while we gather the product for you," Lindsey said before departing.
I looked at Ura, who nodded, and I pulled out my tablet, and she pulled out one of her own. If we were to discuss, it would not be in person, where a listening device could overhear us.