Chapter Four: The Auction

_{© Lady Owl}




"How did it go...?" Veeno asked, nervously. He had been waiting for the last couple hours in anticipation to hear from Neelix. "Were you able to find a buyer?"

Neelix nodded and tried to smile. It wasn't exactly easy turning over something so important to him. He didn't regret his choice, though, but that didn't alter the unsettling feeling lurking in his stomach. He tried to focus on why he had made this choice, thinking it would bring him comfort, but at that moment, it didn't. She wasn't his yet. His chances of having her were not guaranteed. It only made the knot in his stomach tighten.

"Because I haven't finished it, it will stay in my private hanger for now. I was lucky the buyer was willing to pay in advance. I guess he was worried I'd just take my business elsewhere... which I would have. He knew I was desperate, but... I think I have enough, If I'm lucky..." Neelix replied and Veeno nodded, "I wouldn't be too worried about that, honestly. It's gonna be alright. I was even able to convince my boss to save her for last. He wanted the girl to be first but I talked him out of it with promise that he'll get what she's worth... or at least more than any of the visitors today would have on them."
Neelix sighed with relief, "That's good to hear... but how did you accomplish that?"
"Well, he fought with me about it until I told him the bidder would be you. He was pretty cranky that you even knew about the girl in the first place. He wasn't pleased to know I had brought you down there last night... I of course, excluded the part about her escaping..." he rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortably.
"He wasn't convinced you'd have that kind of money... until I explained that you were selling your ship. You should have seen the look on his face.. after he choked on his morning meal!" Veeno laughed. Neelix tried to smile to humor him but the truth was, he was in no condition to feel so carefree about all of this.

"He was really shocked," Veeno continued. "Though that's a given. He knew very well the kind of money you'd have after selling your ship, so he wasn't concerned that keeping her until the end would lose him valuable profits. Keeping her for last pretty much guarantees your success." Veeno smiled.
"How can you be so sure?" Neelix asked.
"Well, people usually aren't coming around to look for exclusives. They just want functional slaves and they buy them as they're auctioned. Most people who were interested in buying anything would have cleared out their funds well before the last slave is up, knowing it usually isn't something they would want anyway. The best slaves go up first so we, the slavers, can get the most profit for them before everyone runs out of funds by the end. My boss, of course, still wants her to be placed in the auction. You know how he is, If he can milk it for more money, he will. He doesn't want to lose that chance someone in the audience might very well have more money than you... or just trying to get you to spend as much as possible."
"And that's what I'm worried about..." Neelix sighed. "How is she?"
"She's doing alright, refused to eat, though."
"Can I see her?" he asked anxiously, "Just in case..."
"Well, she's not in her cell. We already have her, along with the other slaves, inside their individual crates downstairs. But it shouldn't be a problem if we're quick about it. Follow me."

Veeno led Neelix to the back room which led them to a flight of stairs. They went down, entering the basement of the complex. It was very dim and Neelix was unable to see much of anything until his eyes adjusted themselves to the darkness. They walked down a narrow hall that was mostly used to store equipment and food for the slaves. As they came to the end of the hall and to a metal door, Neelix could hear faint noises coming from behind it. Veeno reached out and pressed the button to open the door and they stepped inside a large open room. Several cage like crates were scattered about. Above, light peaked through a square shaped crack in the ceiling.

Veeno noticed Neelix looking up. "That's an opening for the slaves to come up through," He explained. "People are already gathering above so we better hurry." Neelix nodded and watched as Veeno approached one of the crates. He followed close behind his friend, anxious to see her. Veeno pressed a quick combination of buttons on the side of the crate and the force field faded, however this one was different. Instead of removing one opening, with the rest of the sides of the crate remaining, its removal revealed the "cage" part of this container. Vertical bars were all that visually remained to contain the frightened little creature inside.

Neelix felt warmth inside as he saw her. She looked around quickly, trying to make sense of her surroundings. Spotting the two of them caused her to stiffen. She watched them through the cage as Veeno stepped aside for Neelix who moved down on his knees.

"You should be able to talk to her, Neelix," Veeno whispered to him. "I managed to get a translator chip from my boss and insert it before she woke this morning. It's not a very good one and kinda temporary, but better than nothing." Neelix nodded and leaned forward, moving closer to her. "It's alright.. I wont hurt you," he said softly. She leaned back away, not trusting him.

"Are you sure she can understand me?" Neelix asked, worried. "Pretty sure. She reacted to my voice when I tried to feed her." Neelix looked at her, and she lowered her gaze, feeling uncomfortable. Her eyes were welling up with tears and she closed them. Neelix, feeling desperate, reached carefully through the bars and gently placed his hand over hers. She trembled at his touch, tears now rolling down her face, but she didn't move away, knowing there was barely any room to do so.

"It's going to be ok.." he whispered to her, softly rubbing her hand. She opened her eyes, staring down at his hand and then looked back up at him. A small smile crossed his lips as he was hopeful she was understanding and wouldn't be so afraid. "I'm going to get you out of here, I promise. Take you home with me where you'll be safe." She shut her eyes tight at his words, lowering her head. He moved his hand up from her's and to her face where he gently cupped her cheek, carefully caressing her with his thumb, "Please trust me... it'll be ok.."

"We better go.." Veeno whispered and Neelix nodded slowly. He carefully moved his hand away, letting his finger tips softly brush along her cheek. She opened her eyes again to watch him, moving her hand up to wipe her eyes as he moved his arm out from the cage and stood. He watched her inside the cage. He couldn't stop staring at her as Veeno grasped his wrist and tugged at him to move. He gave Neelix a small push towards the door and moved back to the cage. Heather huddled more into the corner as he approached. He pressed the button that activated the force field, blocking her from site and quickly returned to Neelix, "She'll be ok and hopefully, this will all be over soon." He said, trying to comfort his friend.


A crowd of aliens of all different races sat in a wide horseshoe shaped bleacher inside a large room. The room was dark. The only light came from a spotlight mounted on the ceiling. Neelix saw the square shaped trap door in the floor. Knowing she was beneath it, he felt himself tense up.

He had never been to an auction before. He had never had a need to. The very idea of being here disgusted him. He eyed all the people sitting in the bleachers. Any one of them could have been the owner of the girl had Veeno never mentioned her to him. It made him sick to his stomach.

Neelix and Veeno were standing in the back, hidden by the darkness. Neelix was extremely uncomfortable and nervous while Veeno, calm and collected, stood straight with his arms behind his back, in a professional stance. Neelix noticed this, thinking it very unlike his friend. Probably told to by his boss... who he saw next. Veeno's boss slipped out from a door and passed by them. He moved out to the center of the room and stood in the center of the trap door. The light above illuminating every roll on his body.

He began to speak, welcoming the many guests to the auction. After a simple and quick speech, he moved from the trap door and the auction began. The trap door opened and the first crate was revealed.

Over the course of the hour, Neelix and Veeno watched as slave by slave was sold to the highest bidder. A couple were very strange creatures Neelix had never seen before. They seemed more like animals than sentient beings, not understanding how they could serve as functional slaves.

Veeno leaned his head over to Neelix, "You doing ok?" He asked him. Neelix rolled his eyes, "Like hell I am...", he replied, knowing his friend was simply concerned about him, he apologized. "Sorry.. this is just torture..."
"Don't worry. It's almost over and luckily, most of the wealthy scum balls have already spent a lot... look, here she comes."

Neelix looked over as the crate containing her slowly rose from the pit. Four separate chains were attached to each upper corner of the cage so that she'd be suspended several feet above the floor. Neelix's heart sank as he saw her. She was panicked. Trapped. Touching every side of the cage to find a way out. Tears running down her face. She looked so frightened. Neelix gulped, "Can she see us? Them?"  He asked.
"No. It is currently only one way," Veeno replied. "We don't want to scare the slaves too much... but she can hear, and understand if that translator chip is actually working... It's ok Neelix, she'll be ok." He finished, trying to comfort him.

All the aliens in the audience had their eyes locked on her. Some of the more wealthy ones coughed, not believing they had just spent most of their money on several crappy slaves. One of them even yelled out at Veeno's boss about how unfair it was to bring out such a beautiful creature, last, after all his money had been spent!

Hearing the comments from the audience angered Neelix. Knowing she was nothing more than a piece of meat to them. He watched her dangling there high above the crowd as the auction continued.


Every movement jerked the hovering cage. Frightened, Heather curled herself into one of the corners, trying to stop it from swaying. She could see several shadows below through the force field and though she hated not being able to see what was going on, it brought comfort. She knew she probably didn't want to see what was down there, especially since all the voices and shouting down below terrified her.

What was happening? And why her? What did those two creatures want? And why was the one so kind to her? ... Unless it was all a facade... She thought to herself and shut her eyes tight. She just wanted to go home. To snuggle into her warm bed and wake to find this all to be just a horrible nightmare.

She found it odd that through the confusion of noise, an occasional understandable word would slip through. Or at least what sounded like words. Angry words. She thought she heard fair and last. Maybe money.. but what could that have meant? All she could do was wait. Wait for whatever it was that would come...


Veeno urged Neelix to be patient. This whole experience was stressful enough without getting him involved in a bid war. Wait until the end, he had told him. See how much each bid increased by. How much they were willing to spend. How much they really wanted her. She wouldn't be just any slave. Most slaves were sold for their labor. A girl like this was obviously a luxury item. A trophy and for pleasure. She wasn't needed, but desired.

Neelix clenched at the rod like device in his hand that had a small, transparent hologram on the end; A data display rod. Every attendee participating in the auction had one as well. Veeno had handed them out before the auction began since all personal devices were forbidden in case they were tampered with. The amount Neelix was willing to bid was already programed inside his own. Veeno had made it so that when Neelix hit the button near the bottom, it would calculate ten thousand credits higher than the previous bid and the number would show on the display. This would end the auction instantly. Each new bid was only going up by five hundred credits at most and If they had the funds and wanted her that badly, they'd have gone higher, faster. Not let this ride out. But Veeno had to be sure. Even if someone here had the money to outbid Neelix, would the girl really be worth that much to them? Then again, if Neelix went too high too fast, they might think she really was worth it.

Thankfully, however, most of the people here were not from this station to know Neelix or the kind of money he did or didn't have. Or to know about his ship. This station thrived by the services they could provide outside the station, not on it.

But Veeno didn't seem worried. The smaller increments between bids proved that they didn't have much left to spare. He had his hand placed gently against Neelix's wrist, just in case his friend became impatient and hit the button prematurely, or worse, hesitated, not even getting the chance to bid at all, losing her completely... but the time had come. Veeno counted the seconds from the last bid. No one was countering. He instantly yanked Neelix's arm up, causing his friend to flinch in surprise. His thumb pushed down on Neelix's to make sure the button was pressed.

An alien in the audience threw his rod to the floor and cursed loudly, "This is outrage. I never again buy from you!"

Veeno winced at his words, looking at his boss but, surprisingly, his boss didn't seem to care. Veeno hadn't bothered to tell him how much Neelix had or would be bidding, so to stay on his boss' good side, he put the bid a few thousand credits over what was expected for her to sell. Seems like it worked and his boss was pleased with the outcome.

"Did I win? Is it over?" Neelix asked nervously. Veeno nodded, looking up at his friend, "It's all over, Neelix. She's yours." He whispered and Neelix exhaled deeply, tightening his eyes.

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