“I’ve heard that human females bleed each month, but that seems excessive,” Tulma commented when Han caught back up with them.
Han snorted. “That’s not menstrual blood. Hoomak got me in the leg. I’ll deal with it after I get him turned over to the broker.”
“I think Gilmo is the broker of record today,” Yama commented. “He should be quick. You should have enough time to see the med tech before meeting us at the tavern.”
That was good news; Gilmo was Han’s favorite Ugarian working in this station's broker office. “I don’t need a med tech. Some skin patch and it’ll be fine.”
Tulma made a grumbly sound that indicated she didn’t approve of Han waiting, but she tended to be overprotective of her friends. It was one of the many things Han liked about her.
They got to the broker office without any further incident, although they got plenty of looks because Hoomak was wailing the entire way. Gilmo was quick to shove him into one of the cells he had in the back of the shop. It was soundproof, so the moment the door slid shut, it cut off Hoomak’s crying and complaining. They all breathed a sigh of relief.
“You can bill me for the transport instead of Han,” Gilmo told Tulma. “It’s probably less than the station fine for disturbing the peace I’d receive if Han had to walk him here!”
Han chuckled and the Ugarians made the snorting sound that was their laugh. Tulma’s bill wouldn’t have been that bad, but Han was still thankful for Gilmo’s generosity. Every bit of wealth she saved was a step closer to her dream career.
“We’ll see you later,” Tulma said as she and the others left.
“Later,” Han agreed, then turned to Gilmo.
He was quick to go over the details of the bounty and present his information square to press her hand against to get a biosignature.
“The funds will transfer later today,” he declared.
“Any new assignments?" she asked. There were always new bounties. Gilmo’s office was the busiest of all the stations in the sector. It was the reason Han picked this station as her homebase.
“I have several,” he answered and tapped on his information square before handing it over to Han so she could look at the list.
There were small images of the bounties with their crime and vital statistics. Most weren’t worth much because they were government bounties, but one stood out.
“This guy is worth a lot,” she said, tapping on one of the bounties to fill the screen with his data. “Is he a mass murderer or something? The crime listed is treason.”
Gilmo took the information square back. “I don’t think he killed anyone, although he was in his empire’s military. Honestly, I wouldn’t take this assignment if I were you.”
Han frowned. “Why not? I know he’s big, but I’ve brought in bigger.”
“It’s not his size; it’s his empire,” Gilmo said, his ears flattening out in worry. “They’ve recently started acquiring slaves, but only humans.”
“That makes no sense at all,” Han objected.
Humans were rare in the universe. Most of them had died on Old Earth when it became uninhabitable. The estimate was that there were less than 200,000 humans left alive in the universe, all of them living in small communities scattered among other species.
Han was one of the lucky ones. Her grandmother had decided Earth wasn’t doing well and started a human community on the Ugarian planet Inneeko, deep within the Ilgorian Federation. Although it was unusual for humans to be treated well, Han’s grandmother was quick to make friends among the Ugarians. Unlike some other groups of humans, Han’s ancestors thrived to the point that there was a village of 300 humans now!
Their story was unique, and most species saw humans as worthless and untrustworthy. After all, what kind of species destroys their own homeworld?
To specifically seek out humans as slaves was pointless. As a rare species, they were scattered around and hard to find.
“I’ll make sure to tell my community,” Han said.
“The Talin Empire doesn’t trade much or have many dealings with the Ilgorian Federation,” Gilmo said. “Your family is safe on Inneeko, but I’d warn anyone who travels outside the federation to be careful.”
“I will,” she agreed. “I still think I’ll take that bounty though. That’s a lot of wealth for one capture. If he’s on the run, he’ll be avoiding his empire. There, problem solved!”
Gilmo’s ears didn’t move from their flat position. He wasn’t happy with Han’s choice.
“Other Talins will probably be looking for him, and that means they might try to capture you. Han, this is seriously dangerous."
She waved off his concern. “I’ll be careful.”
