The selection was a mix of men and women of different ages. All were exquisite beauties and dressed only in essentials.
The situation was extremely uncomfortable for Jacke. If it were up to him, he would have bought them all and given them their freedom. Unfortunately, this would have destroyed the reputation of his alter ego and would not have done much good. Without contacts and money, it was impossible for these people to escape their fate.
He saw the secretary coming towards him and steeled himself inwardly for what was to come. The woman bowed again and then began to read from her clipboard.
"Sir, these are."
Jack stood up and interrupted her by grabbing her face and pushing her aside.
"Shut it, I will just take a look at them."
He let go of the woman and walked over to the slaves. Full black eyes were very easy to spot, yet he took his time and looked at each of the men and women carefully. He did this for two reasons, firstly to keep his own emotions under control and secondly to give Lyna time for her work.
As soon as Jack had let go of the secretary, Lyna hurried over to her, knelt down and quietly asked about her condition. Afterwards, she helped her up and gave back the electronic terminal board, not without attaching a small data chip to the back.
As soon as the woman was back on her feet, Jack turned around again.
"Are you on a break or something? Come over here!"
Somehow he managed to actually sound like an annoying and bratty noble son, although he would have preferred to sink into the ground in shame.
"Yes sir, I am sorry sir."
He could hear the uncertainty and a hint of fear in her voice and his guts tightened, but he had to push through it.
"What can you tell me about this one. Where did this one come from and what makes it so special?"
The woman immediately began to explain the slave's characteristics in more detail. Jack didn't really have much interest in any of them, so he just nodded and asked more questions about one or the other while he kept squinting at Lyna in the corner of his eye.
After what felt like an eternity, it was time and she gave him the cue to stop.
At once he halted. The secretary reacted promptly and instantly fell silent. Jack held out his hand and she gave him the terminal board without hesitation. He turned around and threw it to Lyna.
"You just pick one. I can't decide."
While Jack blocked the secretary's view with his body, Lyna removed the small electronic device from the back of the terminal board.
"Yes, Master. I shall choose one that is most fitted for your esteemed collection."
After she had chosen one of the slaves, Jack paid in cash and the three of them left the shop.
He would have preferred to go straight back to the ship, but he could not afford the luxury. Determined, he got back on his hoverboard and looked for the next shop. As he still couldn't get to grips with the controls, everyone else had to race again.
It took them about ten minutes to arrive at the next location. By now the clerks were panting heavily as none of them were accustomed to physical exercise. Lyna on the other hand still looked as fresh as morning tau.
Jack stepped down from the hoverboard and was immediately greeted by an opulent man in expensive-looking clothes.
"Welcome to my arena, dear customer. I have already heard from the organisers that you are looking for something very special?"
Jack had remembered the prizes from the game when he paid his bribe to the black market organisers. Since he had no real experience in the situation, he had played it safe and paid the maximum rate. With a fraction of the sum, he could still have visited the market without any problems and received much less attention, but unfortunately, he did not know that.
"I am looking for exotic specimens for my collection. Unfortunately, nothing has really been able to excite me so far."
"Then you've come to exactly the right place. I have everything the Collectors heart desires. Mutants, hybrids, some failed experiments, I have it all here."
The man led them inside the arena to one of the VIP areas. It was a well-shaded area with an excellent view of the interior.
"Now what exactly are the criteria you are looking for?"
"Eyes, they should have interesting eyes. I've been doing a lot of research lately on myths about the evil eye and the like. Now I'm looking for something that can stimulate my creativity on the subject."
"An extremely interesting field of research. I can see why you need practical objects of study for it."
Jack forced himself to laugh at the extremely shallow pun and the dealer promptly joined in.
"Well show them in."
Again they both laughed. A little later, a line of slaves began to file into the arena.
Jack narrowed his eyes, then remembered his role.
"How the heck am I supposed to see your eyes like that?"
he asked as he leaned further back in his chair. Lyna reacted immediately and approached the trader.
"Is there a device or screen that you can bring to the Master?"
Her voice sounded shy and she did not look directly at the man. Her body language, on the other hand, was anything but shy. Jack's ears were getting red just watching her. The trader, on the other hand, seemed to have expected nothing else from the woman. He signalled to one of his helpers to get the device and then stared unabashedly at Lyna.
The latter, in turn, pretended to squirm under his gaze, displaying her assets at the same time.
Jack watched the whole thing and didn't quite know how or if he should react. When the man finally reached out a hand to touch Lyna, Jack cleared his throat energetically.
Lyna immediately backed away and looked shyly at the trader before looking away again.
"I'm sorry, my lord but the Master seems to object."
The man stood with his hand out for a moment, then cleared his throat and straightened up.
"Understandable. You have trained them very well."
He nodded in acknowledgement to Jack. Barely managing to find a suitable answer, Jack replied.
"Isn't she? One of the best."
Shortly afterwards, the aide returned with a tablet. Lyna took it from him and stood in front of Jack so that he could see it clearly. Conveniently, neither the trader nor his assistant could see the tablet now. Lyna compensated them both by striking some provocative poses.
Unfortunately, they did not find anything in the arena either. At least Jack didn't have to spend any money this time.
When they stepped outside the arena again, he was amused to see that the market workers had been replaced by more physically fit ones.
When they stepped outside the arena again, he was amused to see that the market workers had been replaced by more physically fit ones.
This time, no one had any problems following the too-fast hoverboard. Still, Jack was beginning to feel stupid. He braked and motioned Lyna to approach him.
The hoverboard was designed for one person, yet she climbed up in front of him without hesitation.
"So that was your plan, let me run until I sweat and then get me up here so you can smell?"
Lyna whispered to him as she leaned back and looked up at him. Jack froze instantly. He could hear his heart beating unnaturally loud and felt himself turning red. Lyna knew she had gone too far. She quickly took off her veil and put it around Jack's shoulders so that no one would notice the blush.
"Ok, why did you ask me here?"
She knew from experience that changing the subject was the easiest way to reboot her captain's brain. Jack took a moment, then his eyes focused on the Hoverborard's console behind her.
"Have you figured out anything yet with the data we cloned?"
Lyna rolled her eyes slightly.
"I'm good, but even I have to get the stuff on a computer and analyse it first. Or do you think I'd have room for more electronics in this outfit?"
Jack cleared his throat sheepishly.
"No, of course, you don't. You wouldn't happen to know where I set the speed on this thing, would you?"
She looked at him incredulously for a moment.
"One of the best pilots I've ever seen can't operate a hoverboard?"
"Hey, I can control this thing no problem, ok?"
She just smiled without saying anything more. Then she showed him how to control his vehicle and explained the other functions it had.
At the end of the day, they didn't find the person Jack was looking for and had to return to the ship empty-handed. Actually with more empty hands than they had left.