Rahs' life had taken him to many missions in space as of late. Not that he complained at all; after all, even though he enjoyed the hunting of young girls in Shokushu Campus, he couldn't deny fighting was one of his passions. Money was coming quite nicely, allowing him to take many slaves in his quarters in Vanejin VI besides the occasional ADD agents that tried to stop him from doing his missions. They never learn, he used to think as he left them stranded on different planets and bases where he met them, nude and raped. Surely the Directorate wouldn't stop just from those clear messages, but they surely stained their pride little by little.

The last mission was relatively easy, though it got complicated with the 15 feet tall monsters they had released on him. Though only very territorial herbivores, they were well fitted with spikes and armor in addition to their rock-hard hide and strong skulls. But he enjoyed taking them down, it brought him back the memories of his hunts back in Syrictova. Once again, another slave trader was taken down to make business easier for his client. The slaves had new owner, and some were handed to Rahs as part of his reward.

As usual, after a good reward came a good amount of fun in Vanejin VI. He traveled alone in his ship, and that usually set the mood quite well for him once he started buying the poor human girls or other alien females that had become slaves. He wasn't one to keep a slave for long, however, after the first slave he had been given. It also proved to be a bit more expensive to feed and care for another being besides himself, in addition that most were pretty weak to hold out in his trips and missions.

A downtown of lust and pleasures of the flesh towered over him as he walked in the streets of a famous business center in Vanejin VI. It wasn't the most luxurious part of the planet, but it had a lot of variety in goods. The syrictae was clad in most of his new, darker armor, hidden beneath a brown cloak, and looked among the place for supplies, the slaves would probably come later. Tall buildings of steel had large advertisements of their products, and the voices of the shop owners muffled most of the population's trivial talk. His eyes kept looking for a business that could help him from behind the mask he wore. But the large crowd was slowing him down.

Various species were hitting the road that day, amidst them a dark skinned female alien in full armour that was lost in the chaos, walking around aimlessly. Ania cursed herself for trying to explore this place, Vanejin, all by herself. There was no comparison between this and other cities she had seen before, rough and generally unpleasant beings were the only ones she seemed to meet. Some were suspicious, none of her kind has ever left her home planet before so it might as well just be their ignorance, but she could tell it wasn't. Profit was all they were after and what little money she had wasn't going to be wasted.

Ania managed to slip out of the crowd that threatened to drag her along into what appeared to be one of the many shops, she had seen the advertisements outside and could tell this wasn't an advertiser seeing that only a few customers were around. Whatever they were selling, it wasn't to her liking. The things she needed couldn't be that hard to find, she thought, but it didn't look like she would find any help around here. Watching the crowd pass by in an awfully slow pace, she started taking her helmet off and as soon as it slipped free her braid was unfolding, reaching all the way down to her lower waist.

Crossing her arms in front of her chest she decided to stay for a moment, perhaps the dense wall of aliens would disperse. Her tail began to sway back and forth like a metronome as she was thinking about her progress this far. A trader had pointed out where to go but nothing beyond that, it took her about an hour to end up here after she left the docks, not only was it annyoing but it also turned out to be waste of time.

Pushing others was not new in Vanejin VI. With crowds like the one where the mercenary was, the aliens could only push their own way through if the traffic was that difficult. Of course, not all aliens take that very nicely, and there has been many disputes and brawls for just wanting to reach a store. Rahs found the shop he wanted at the other side of the street, and little by little he walked towards it. On the way, however, he bumped against a stationary alien of dark skin. His masked face looked down on her, and within a couple of seconds he took in her armor, her face and her long braid behind her. He watched the tentacles of her arms entangled just in front of her chest as if waiting for something.

A slave waiting for her master, he thought, but discarded that quickly. No slave from here would wear armor like that. An obvious fact, considering all the aliens and their mostly or completely nude slave girls following them, alien or human females, around them. Rahs only bowed his head a little, offering no excuse but not meaning the bump either. He continued his path, but that female alien remained on his mind for all the while. He browsed the supplies for his ship and other products while considering it peculiar to just stand there, as if admiring the crowd. He pushed the thoughts away shaking his head as he told the shop owner to send the supplies to the docks where his ship was. Outside, the crowd was slowly dying down, and from the corner of the street went on Rahs, unintentionally glancing to his side to see if that alien was still there.

Surprising or not, the alien was still there, the tentacles that were part of her arms still crossed in front of her shapely bust intertwined with one another, although one of them held on to her helmet, and she was staring right back at him. The crowd had appeared dense, too dense to expect anything else than the disorientation she experienced before. Ania figured there was no reason to keep going if the situation remained the same and by the time it became better, her eyes focused on this certain alien. She had almost forgotten about the incident, but she recalled him bumping into her earlier and gave a half-hearted apology by bowing his head. However, at this point it aroused a certain interest and it might be the best chance she was going to get.

Hoping he would help her out Ania lowered her arms, each tentacle wrapping about the ones belonging to an arm in such a manner that they'd look like drills. She peeked left and right, then started making her way towards him with a slight yet natural sway of her hips as a constant companion.

Curiously enough, Rahs found the female alien looking back at him. That was when he realized he was indeed checking if she was still there, and she had noticed him as well. This type of situations are no unusual matter when one is in a crowd and maybe recognizes a stranger one has passed by before, but to the mercenary it bothered him a little. That coincidence of the two looking at each other was not something he planned, and those kind of things usually bother him, but pique his interests. Rahs then saw her finally starting walking, the tentacles she had as arms wrapping among themselves. Seeing that, he thought she was finally leaving, and so he kept walking his way.

But curious as he was, the syrictae couldn't help look back. To his surprise, the female alien was walking straight at him. With a very seductive sway of hips, though too subtle to be intentional. He would have kept walking, but it was clear to him that she wished to catch up to him. Turning around to look at her directly, he waited. "Yes?"

Having to talk to someone behind a mask wasn't a welcome thought, but then again there were aliens she had talked to during the day, with visages worse enough they might disturb her for days. Ania did her best to ignore his decision to conceal his face, not to mention the coat which didn't tell her who exactly she was dealing with. "Excuse me, sir, but I saw you from across the street, we bumped into each other earlier. I got to admit, until you 'apologized' I thought there weren't any sociable species around .. and I got to admit that I'm quite the newcomer to this place. Long story short, you seem to find your way around quite easily and I need someone to show me around a little bit." Ania paused, considering her wealth in this situation. "I'm slightly desperate, but I don't have much money to spare if that answers everything."

The word 'sir' always gave him a feeling of nostalgia from back from his old days as a soldier, even though it was clearly not used in that sense in this case at all. He knew it and shook that feeling off quickly, but it sure made him pay more attention to her words. And they interested him even more instead; the female alien seemed to be more well-mannered than the average alien spending his or her time in Vanejin VI. Even though Rahs looked at her in the eye as she talked, he couldn't avoid looking at her body very slightly, just as he did before when he bumped into her. He did so to remember her appearance, to know who he was talking to, as most strangers do with each other, but as he did, he noticed the large adjustment her armor had, covering behind it what seemed to be an impressive large bust.

He remained looking at her face, however. She was not the first alien to be voluptuous around there, and her conversation required a response from him. "You must be quite desperate to trust a simple bow like mine back there. But you're correct nonetheless; there aren't many sociable beings around here. This place isn't centered around manners, after all." The mercenary paused as well, as if considering his decision, taking a light glance to the crowd. Someone that just got to Vanejin was very vulnerable and could quickly fall for false promises and walk into the wrong places. But he had to learn on his own, why did he have to help her? Though her mention of money caught his attention... He had done favors before, and sometimes he got something in exchange. Besides, his good long streak of missions set him in a good mood. "Well, I'm not in a hurry, and you'll certainly need help to hang around here. And even if it could help me, don't worry much about money, we can think of other ways you can pay for a favor. Most important is you don't get caught with the wrong people."

"The wrong people .. You're going to point them out once we pass them by, aren't you? Don't get me wrong, I can take care of myself, but I don't want any trouble either. Besides .. perhaps you're part of these so called wrong people?" Ania smiled briefly, but then made sure to make things clear in case there were any misunderstandings, she straightened up in the process which made the flexible armor emphasize the adjustment he laid his eyes on earlier even more. "I'm kidding, after all you're helping me out, thank you very much. By the way, let's not talk about .. compensation just yet, I've been stuck here for quite a while and would like to see more of what this place really has to offer. Maybe there's a few more things I can learn from you along the way." A pair of tentacles brushed against her braid, uncertain what to do with this foreign species. She was wondering if she should try and shake his hand, the alien was about to raise her tentacles but dropped the thought midway since it appeared to be awkward. "The name is Ania."

"I'd be leading you into a room right now if I were one of them. Glad you trust me, but you shouldn't do so around here, no one has clear intentions. Maybe not even me." Rahs let out a small laugh, playing his little part in her joke, before noticing the enlargement in her armor as she barely straightened up. Wasn't it tight for her?

"Don't thank me. At least not yet if you wish. If that's how you want it, okay, we'll skip that detail for later, and go straight for the little tour." He noticed her doubt about what to do with her group of tentacles, noticing the awkwardness that would follow if she offered to shake his hand. At least she had some manners, the intention is what counts, after all.

"I'm Rahs. It's a pleasure. Let's get going, shall we?" The mercenary's hands remained at his sides beneath the cloak, and only his head motioned her to follow him, preferably by his side. He started to lead the way slowly through the street they were in, covering a few blocks while mentioning minor details about the stores in that district. It was surely one of the most 'normal' places in Vanejin, dedicated to supplies for the inhabitants and slaves.
"You'd do well to avoid that store. Their products often cause more damage than good. That's why they are close to that drugstore there, they're associated." That was his last piece of advice as they started to leave the district. It was clear they were heading somewhere else, as a large wall made of orange crystal seemed to block the entire place, and only a number of tunnels connected the wall with buildings and streets, allowing passage to the aliens.

"This tunnel leads to what Vanejin VI is about. That district was mainly supplies and miscellaneous things. Any questions?"

His female companion was looking around in awe and amazement, but at the same time made mental notes on places Rahs was pointing out to her. She might have thought of this as a giant playground, but beyond the facade it proved to be dangerous if you didn't watch your step. Walking by his side she listened carefully, and agreed with a nod as they passed a certain establishment. "Avoid that store, got it."

Slowly the environment was changing, a somewhat orange wall came into view and while there seemed to be no way to pass it by any chance, there were a few tunnels leading further into the unknown. Ania was so distracted she almost jumped as he started talking again, her tentacles sliding against one another nervously for a second. "Well, um .. Most aliens we've walked past, at least I think that's what they're called, aren't exactly what I pictured when I thought of regular businessmen, so I was wondering how they make a living, but I probably don't want to know."

She turned towards him, a curious look on her face. "Come to think of it, what's your profession? .. If you don't want to tell me that's fine because we don't really know each other, so instead we could move right on .." With a smile she awaited a response, truly not caring if he'd turn her down or not. Everyone had their reasons. Ania then recalled what else he said. "Although I don't know what Vanejin is famous for, I'm certain it'll go beyond my expectations. You lead the way."

He had made quick glances to her when he pointed out important things as they walked, noticing her attention focusing on what he said. Like a kid in a toy store, she watched everything with awe, but also seemed to remember what he talked about. To Rahs, it was obvious she was enjoying to a point knowing more about a new place, but took his advice about taking care in Vanejin quite seriously too.

"I won't have to answer what they do for a living once you find out what this place is famous for. You probably will lose some respect for them once you know, but that's how things work here, and almost anywhere else too..." He was starting to walk towards the wall until he heard Ania ask about his job. The syrictae turned and looked at her smiling face. It seemed honest unlike the other kinds of smiles you see in Vanejin. A naive smile? Maybe, but it certainly belonged to someone that didn't have much experience. "I'm a mercenary. I do all kinds of jobs as long as I get paid. I'm usually hired by many from this place. They are all competition to each other and I'm the tool they use to ruin others' business sometimes." She had placed her trust in him, and now he had made it sound like he was one of them. "Of course, I don't work only for them. I have done some clean jobs if you worry about that," he quickly added.

"I'd ask what is your profession... But considering you said you have little money and are quite inexperienced around here, I guess you don't have one and yet managed to get here somehow. I wonder just how banged up is your ship. At least, with the care I mentioned, you'll be able to survive and take what you need. Shall we then?" His voice wasn't harsh, but it'd be difficult for her to guess his real feelings with the plain words and the mask he wore. However, Rahs still did his part, and best, to show her around. Once she'd agreed, they moved towards a nearby tunnel, orange glass surrounding them. It was slightly transparent as well, and as they walked she would be able to see outer space around her. The scenery didn't change at all for a while until more noise came from up ahead. The colors turned dark as the tunnel ended and before them was the biggest sector in Vanejin VI: slave trade. Ania probably wouldn't even have to ask Rahs what this place was famous for; aliens walked by, and in their hands were leashes tied to the collars of naked girls, human or not.

Ania blinked a few times seeing aliens pass by with their naked female companions, bound to their male counterparts with leashes and collars. She let her eyes drift through the crowd, taking a short glance at Rahs who remained by her side before going back to the other aliens, mainly the women. Even to her it was seductive, some of the females were very well above average. "Those are .. slaves, correct?" She mumbled, surely surprised but not showing if she was either shocked at the sight of the events or not, yet it was obvious that it wasn't exactly what she expected to see.
"Slaves that are .. um .. used for .. sexual purposes."

The female tensed up for a moment, not knowing which reaction would be suitable for him in order to sustain a positive image. "Back in Vena, my hometown, we've never seen or heard of any, except in the stories we were told by other races who were willing enough to share some of their knowledge with us. You're right though, I've lost some respect for each and everyone here, but I can't say I wouldn't be tempted to spend some time here myself .. if I could. Everyone loves sex, so I can understand how prosperous this economy is and what it is based on. Perhaps that turns out to be a well chosen profession .. trading with slaves .." The last sentence obviously wasn't meant to be more than a whisper, her personal thought on the matter, but she didn't realize that she said it.

"I take it you didn't bring me here to sell me, personally I think this would be a horrible fate. Yet I can say it is impressive and I bet there's more to it than the mere sight of nudity, am I right?
Can we .. go on?"

As she stood there amazed by the change of scenery and the tempting look of the slaves, too used to care much, Rahs remained watching her, studying her reaction. "Yes, Ania. Those are sexual slaves. Probably the most profitable and famous business there is in the universe." He heard her explain briefly what she thought and knew about these slaves, that kept walking before them, each step they took making their breasts, of all sizes, bounce and their legs show off that seductive, thin layer of sweat.

The mercenary listened her mentioning her hometown, and made a quick mental note. He had never heard that name before, which explains why her form was unusual for him. And apparently, they had been a secluded community to not know about the slaves, he thought. "Is that so? I wonder what kind of planet is Vena. I don't blame you for losing respect, but as you say, it'd be impossible to resist this kind of trade." Rahs thought it was surprising for a female alien and unused to this like Ania to admit openly she would love to spend time with the slaves, and that she loved sex. It was obviously not rare at all in Vanejin, but coming from someone that hadn't stepped on Vanejin VI before, it was a bit strange. Probably because she had already gone into this kind of world and was surrounded by this atmosphere she had felt it was only normal to admit it. And she would be correct, but it wasn't strictly necessary. One comes to Vanejin for a reason.

"It's a well chosen profession, but one still frowned upon by the Directorate. You must learn to play the game before trying to get your hands in it, though. I'd say it can be a horrible fate too, but I'm sure that the slaves don't complain much once they are being... they satisfy their owners and get something in return and they like it. The smart ones learn to accept it more quickly.

I'm surprised, and a bit glad, you find this impressive. That at least means you will tolerate to be around here, unlike some unfortunate souls that have come on visit and are quick prey when they show their discomfort. Of course there's more than nudity, and we'll look into that if you wish. Let's go then." The syrictae's tone was a bit more fluid, like he had related to Ania's approval, to some extent, of the place's true nature. Not enthusiastic or indifferent, but just more comfortable, if one can say so, his mask hid most of his emotions. He gestured his companion to follow, and he moved between the crowd of owners and slaves. He then got closer to Ania, not only to remind her in whispers she should stay close to him but also that, if she was careful enough, she could 'get a taste' of passing slaves, remarking that some owners didn't mind but she still should be careful not to be noticed just in case some were against touching their property. After all, if one takes out their slaves like that, it means they are showing her off.

A few minutes later, they stopped in front of a slave trading post which entrance lead further down into underground, warm lights and torches decorated the place. "Window shopping is more than welcome of course. Fancy one?" said Rahs with the slight lighter tone of a joke as they descended through the stairs and the cages with the women inside became visible.

Following the mercanery further into the unknown they were soon forced to descend a staircase which seemed suspicious to the dark skinned alien. Of course there was nothing to worry about, she thought, but it felt like it was a little off. She didn't hesitate to follow Rahs though, avoiding to close gaps more than necessary between her and the torches. Fire wasn't something she was particularly fond of. Once they ventured deeper into the building she discovered the cages, all kinds of women inside of them.

Ania smirked at his comment. "I don't think one of them would be enough for my kind." The female alien stopped near one of the cages, her eyes roaming across the woman inside, taking her in. Most of her scales a beautiful, shiny black in the light you could tell it was some sort of reptilian, although a second color would come through. Light grey, the scales covering the back of her head, backside and smooth tail which wrapped about one of her legs as she noticed someone caught her attention, teasing herself erotically. Ania turned to Rahs for a second, checking if he had stopped. "I forgot to mention that Vena is about the only city my homeworld has, the planet itself is called Lympha if that's of any use for you."

The tail appeared longer than expected as it ascended her entire leg, sliding past her crotch and eventually brushing against her own breasts, which obviously drew Ania back to the woman in the cage. Her bust was quite sizeable, too, though not as large as the pair Ania had to offer, semi-erect nipples displayed proudly by the slave as red eyes stare back at Ania. "Window shopping seems most seductive to me .. perhaps you're right about their fates not being all that bad although I can't shake this feel off that it's wrong." She then turns away from the alien and does a few steps in Rahs' direction before ending up by his side, this certainly wasn't the end of their little tour.

"I don't quite accuse myself of being as helpless as you might think. If I ran into any troublemakers, let's call them that, they'd probably not think I was capable of anything either, which is funny since I've been fighting for my majesty, keeping the capital safe as good as I could. I think it would come closest to .. the army, or police in this world, the foreign species supplied us with weapons, for a price, and me and others did the rest. Maybe it's these times that make me seek justice instead of .. anything Vanejin stands for, but I don't really want to go back."

Ania lowers her head, lost in memories for a brief moment. Shaking her head she snaps out of it and instead focused on the matters at hand. "Thanks for worrying though." Smiling she went ahead, swaying her hips with her tail shifting from side to side perfectly in the unknown rhythm of her body, and stopped at another cage, regarding the female inside as a thought struck her. "By the way, what is the .. I think it's called .. Di-rec-to-rate .. Directorate? I never heard of it before."

Rahs barely noticed Ania's careful steps around the torches as he lead them down, stopping just when her voice seemed to stay in one place, smirking at his comment, making him smirk in return. He looked back at her staring at a reptilian slave inside one of the first cages. The syrictae started watching the slave too, but possibly not as intently as Ania. In fact, he was observing the two of them, comparing them. Comparing their tails, their forms, their full and large breasts, noticing too that his partner had the biggest pair of them. When she turned to explain briefly about her planet, Rahs remained as he was, just tilting slightly his view towards Ania. It possibly looked as if he was just looking at them and not trying to undress them with his eyes.

"Interesting," he replied. The mercenary kept listening to the blue alien as she walked towards him and said more about her. The new topic intrigued Rahs as soon as she mentioned the word 'fighting.' "Oh, so you know how to fight? It'd be difficult to think you know how to defend yourself and more; that's an advantage. Sounds like you were somewhat important back in your home, at least when it came to keep the order. It must've been quite a business for the weapon traders."

As she went off again, Rahs watched her go to another cage, following the sway of her hips and her tail that as naturally as it was seductive. He didn't think in anything to say until she mentioned the Directorate. If the other aliens deeper in the store near the trader had heard her, they would've stared at her like one that stares at a person that says something unfitting for the occasion. The syrictae moved to Ania's side in front of the cage as he answered her.

"Don't mention them so casually here, they're the sworn enemies of Vanejin VI. The Alien Defense Directorate, or ADD, is a large organization that protects all the thousands of planets inside their area, which is large enough to cover most inhabited planets. They are completely against slave trade and their agents are always fighting against the slavers, and the ones that help them, including me from time to time. Both sides win and lose, but I guess you can imagine what happens to their agents, which happen to be all female, if they lose... They get abused of; raped to oblivion and usually caught and turned into slaves themselves. Sure, the ADD gets their hands back on the caught ones sometimes. I'm sure a couple of slaves here were once agents."

He had made a little pause as he got closer to Ania as if to whisper the last part of his explanation. The slave in the cage was avian in nature as wings protruded form her back and feathers covered most of her backside, and very tiny ones, almost fur, covered her exposed frontside, leaving the tender skin of her legs, abdomen and breasts exposed to Ania and Rahs. She kept watching them, passing her fingers over her erect nipples and her toned legs. When the mercenary finished speaking, she got closer to the cage bars and pressed herself against them, making her mounds, slightly smaller than the ones of the reptilian slave from before, leave the cage completely, jiggling in the air as she made a soft moan and licked the bar. It was her method of putting up a show for the customers, and Rahs reassured Ania to try. "Touching them is permitted here, including their sex, but not masturbating them. It makes them put more effort in being bought."