Salvation by Aeon Igni

contemptuous look on his face. I screamed again, although barely any sound came out because my voice was hoarse and my throat was parched.
    " Worthlesss," he hissed in disgust. He came closer to me - too close - and looked me straight in the eye. "If Morsse doessn't come and give me what'ss mine, I will tosss you out the air lock."
    Then h e hung the whip on a hook by the door and left.
     
    Once he was gone, my first thoughts were that I should consider myself lucky he was from a race that didn't find humans attractive. At least if I were worthless, nothing worse than beating and a (hopefully) quick death would happen to me.
    But then my body started to relax and the pain was even more noticeable. Because of the chains, I was forced to remain standing with my arms above my head. Looking down, I saw beads of blood and bloody streaks where he had lashed me across my stomach. After a few moments I felt pain in my wrists and looked up. They were also bleeding, and I realized it must have been due to my writhing from the whip. My shoulders ached and I could feel drops of blood sliding slowly down my back.
    I wanted to pass out to escape the pain, but each time I started to slump the pain my wrists would shoot through me and I would be pulled awake again. So I hovered there, halfway between wakefulness and unconsciousness, the silence making each moment seem like eternity. The captain's face hovered before me and I knew I was hallucinating. I could almost feel the way his arm slung around my shoulders and the comfort of his strength. I should have told him the truth.
    I imagined him receiving the news that I was a woman. Maybe he would be convinced that they had the wrong person and wouldn't come. Or maybe he won't come because you've lied to him for the past year, I thought miserably.
    But then a part of my mind that was still lucid thought that he shouldn't come. I didn't want him to sacrifice himself for Angorak's pleasure, and he was sure to be killed if he came for me. Too many people depended on him. He should just let me die here, which probably wouldn't take too long at the rate it was going.
     
    I must have finally blacked out, because the next thing I knew the door was sliding open and Angorak glided in, grabbing the whip from its post. He was followed by his two reptilian henchmen and, finally, by the captain.
    My heart lurched to see him, and though everything in my being was bursting with joy despite my pain, I started screaming, "No, Captain! Get out of here!" I struggled at my chains despondently and tears started slipping down my face. "Get out of here, dammit."
    He ignored me and kept his eyes fixed on Angorak. He watched the reptilian's every move, his whole being still, giving it his complete focus. I stilled, too, despite myself, watching that singleness of purpose. I realized at that moment that the captain was probably just as deadly as Jeremiah, and maybe even deadlier.
    Angorak walked over to me with the whip in his hand. I prayed that he wasn't going to whip me again, because I thought I might tip over the edge into insanity.
    "I have your price, Angorak." The captain's words seemed to echo in the silence. I saw that he was holding out a tiny black bag. "Let him go."
    "Let him go, Captain?" Angorak hissed the laughter that I knew would haunt my nightmares from this day forward. He gestured at my body. "Nice try. Ssurely you don't think that by now, we wouldn't know your ssecret..."
    The captain's eyebrows knitted together and then he turned to look at me for the first time. I saw his eyes rove down my body and then back to my chest. I'd thought I could be in any more pain than I was already in, but I had been wrong. I could see the shock and horror in his eyes, and knew that I had never felt more suffering than at that moment.
    His eyes blazed at me and I cowered there, feeling as weak and worthless as Angorak had said. Then the captain looked back at Angorak and the only obvious outward signs he made were