She didn’t know how it had happened, that she was the only one to be allowed to clean the delicate electronics while the others around her were scrubbing the walls and floors. She might have been the only one indifferent enough to endure the old slave’s teachings, but surely he wasn’t the only one that knew how right? The lessons weren’t even that bad once she had stopped making mistakes. She could be thankful in the future, when she wouldn’t have to hurt her knees on the hard floor in her old age. It only meant cold eyes and whispered envy now though.


    If they were allowed to talk at all.


    She preferred it when they couldn’t. She had never known anything else and conversation was difficult for her. She could handle orders or give a short report, if she had to, but she preferred to keep her mouth shut. It meant fewer painful nights, even if she caught stray punishments from others nearby for opening theirs. A quick lash or beating could be ignored if it happened nearby.  The collar though, it never cared if she had been the one to open her mouth, it only mattered if she was in range of the button when it got pressed and it was the easiest way to punish a group for talking. It was always pressed when she was in the middle of cleaning as well, since she did her best not to get involved when others got caught or reprimanded.


    That always led to more punishment for everyone as she inevitably hit a switch or other sensitive part on the electronics she was cleaning. She didn’t know why they all blamed her for it though, she hadn’t been the one to get in trouble in the first place. If only most things could be like the bridge, where she could quickly and quietly undo whatever she had hit. So long as nothing needed cleaning when everyone was awake, it was the only place she rarely got a second punishment.


    She was glad no crew were around this time. When the ship had moved beneath her as she was cleaning, she had hit something. It had to be something sensitive as well, since the alarms started blaring soon after. Quickly undoing it hadn’t changed the alarms much and the worried whispers from the others around her were sure to lead to a punishment. She may even be called out by the others in a vain attempt to avoid something worse.


    She moved a little bit away from where she had hit whatever it was and got back to cleaning. Maybe the people in charge would think it wasn’t her fault if she kept working. A vain hope, but she had never caused an alarm before. The ship rocked a second time, also something that had never happened before, but she wasn’t near anything she could hit accidentally this time. She kept her head down and kept cleaning. If they found out it was her fault, she was sure they would never turn the collar off again.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    She wasn’t sure how she would keep cleaning if it was always shocking her.


    Thoughts of endless punishment kept her head down when she heard the crew walking toward her.


    “You, come with us.”


    It took a rough hand on her shoulder to realize they had meant her. A quick look found out why. She was alone now, the others had disappeared. At least she hadn’t been shocked yet. She started to listen again, just in case. There was no reason they wouldn’t if she ignored them again.


    “…but why the air lock? Those monsters could take out anything.”


    “Why not an air lock? Protocol says they can’t be locked. If both sides are equalized the outer door must open. Why waste time on an armored clamp door when they could just hit a button. Just our bad luck they picked one that had a broken inner door.”


    “I guess that and we’re helpless. Could just move and suck those things into space otherwise.”


    “Maybe? Rumors say space can’t kill them either.”


    She didn’t know what was going on, but she didn’t want to be near an air lock. They were the worst places to clean. Most of them were broken in some way and she had heard that another slave had been sucked out when they bumped into the control panel. She always made sure not to linger near them, doing her work quickly and leaving as soon as it was done.


    When she got to the air lock and saw the mess on the floor, she cursed the others in her head. It was just body waste, they didn’t need her to do the cleaning. If the others hadn’t run away, she could still be working elsewhere.


    At least that was what she had thought, until she got her order.


    “Go, do what it says.”


    She looked up and saw with horror that it was the captain that was looking at her and pointing towards the air lock. The man frightened her to no end. So much so that she was shaking by the time she got to the opening.


    And saw the monster.


    She froze. The captain might haunt her mind, but this… all her instincts screamed to run from this.


    She would take any punishment, but she wouldn’t get closer.


    She hated the push she felt from behind. But the man that did it was big enough to force her to move. Right into the air lock and within reach of the monster. Which started a low growl that sent terror down her spine. Her ears folded back and she felt her tail curl between her legs. She could feel it as it grew wet and a strange thought about the mess flitted through her mind.


    When the deepest growl she had ever heard outside an engine room fell from above her she looked up. And up. As her head craned back as far as it could go, she felt a strange sensation. Like she was falling. The world was also being covered in shadows. It took her a moment to recognize the feeling of the floor.


    ‘Why can I feel the floor.’


    Her mind really wasn’t working right. Maybe she wasn’t awake.


    Best to just close her eyes then.