Nodding he headed back towards the halls that would take him to the next group of people. There were still seven more groups of Uz'En to find.
The crowds followed him from a distance, and he was just fine with that. The aliens that guarded the doors would not fight him with the witnesses. They tried to bluff him into leaving, but it was clear he wasn't interested in their shit.
The next group was made up of young men, still teenagers really. As he entered the room where they were being held, he couldn't help but want to kill someone. These boys were covered in bruises and marks from where they were fighting. The side of the room that didn't have bunkbeds for them to sleep in was taken up with training dummies and obstacle courses. Their muscles were huge from the constant exercises they were forced to endure.
"If you have any belongings, gather them up, you're being moved." His words were stern, and they jumped into grabbing a few clothes each. He could only hope that they didn't question his motives. If they had been trained to act like soldiers, then maybe he could get them to the ship by treating them like soldiers.
As they stood in lines, waiting for him to give them their next orders, a little piece inside of him died. He couldn't do this. They were raised for war, and to die. Nothing more. They deserved to know the truth.
"I am King Dustin." The words felt strange in his mouth, but they were true back on the planet where he was taking them. "You are all Uz'En, a race of aliens that I rule over. These humans have raised you here with the intention of selling you like objects, to the highest bidder. Those who bought you were intending to send you out to kill and fight for them. They would not have seen you as anything but an item. Something that could be thrown away if broken.
"I am going to take you to my home, a planet called Haven. There you will be free to protect others of your kind, to help them build a home. What you do is entirely up to you. I will not force you to fight any longer. But if you cause trouble, I will kill you."
They looked at each other in confusion, but none of them said anything. Dustin wondered what lies they had been told, and decided it didn't matter. Giving them the order to march, they made their way through the amazed crowds of humans and to the ship very quickly. Dustin knew they would need some serious mental help, but it would have to wait until later. Making sure the door to their room in the ship was secure, he turned back to the station.
The next group was probably going to be teenage girls, and he really didn't want to see what they were being trained for. If Olivia was here, he wouldn't have thought twice about sending her instead. But she wasn't and there was no way in hell he was going to leave them here.
Just as he feared, the next room was teenage girls. And just as he had suspected, they were not being taught to fight and kill. His stomach churned at their skimpy clothing. They seemed unhappy to see him.
"Line up girls. It's time to move to a different room." Maybe he could do the same to them that he had done to the boys?
"Why? Is someone here to buy us?"
"That's the only reason anyone ever leaves this room."
"No, if we age up, we move somewhere else."
"But none of us are that old yet."
"That's true."
The girls talked openly with each other as they formed a line. Dustin shook his head as he moved to the front of the line.
"I am taking you to a ship, where you will stay until we reach our destination. I am taking you to a planet called Haven, where you will be freed from any expectations. As Uz'En, you will be able to decide what you want to do, and where on the planet you would like to live."
"Is this Haven place nice?"
"Are there cities?"
"How many people live there?"
"Who are you? Did you buy us?"
Dustin held up his hands, to get them to quiet down. "Haven is a world that our people have recently claimed. I hope to have many cities at some point, but right now, it is little more than a place to live freely. I did not buy you; I am freeing you."
The girls looked back and forth between themselves, giving each other knowing looks and Dustin wanted to slap them. Olivia probably would. As he turned to open the door, a thought occurred to him, and he turned back. Nanobots swarmed around each of the girls, forming long flowing gowns that shimmered in the light, and also covered most of their skin.
"There are no whores on my planet."
If only Olivia was there. She would have been proud of him. There was a day when he would have greatly enjoyed himself with these women. Teaching them the joys of sex, but those days were long gone, now that he had Olivia. In fact, the idea of Olivia reading his mind caused shivers to travel down his spine.
Gasping in pleasure, the girls exclaimed over their new clothes. He had no problems getting them to the ship where Granny was waiting.
As he shut their door, he turned to her.
"This ship can't hold many more people. How many more do you have?"
"There are still five more groups I need to get, and then a lot of the people on the station want to be changed."
"You've opened a box," she said, shaking her head.
"Even if I take every human on this entire station, the planet can handle it."
"Yes, but can you? That planet doesn't have anything built for these people to live in. There're no factories building clothing, or shoes, or food. There's no running water. Where shall they live, under trees? Dustin, these people have never felt wind on their faces, or seen a real sunset. How are you going to handle them all?"
"The best I can, I suppose."