Slave World 2 - The Ties That Bind Read Online Free PDF

quite grasp what I was talking about. Her smile returned when Nathan appeared at my side, not as joyful as before, and seemingly forced.
    “Don’t worry, sis, everything will be fine,” Nathan said cheerfully, slipping his arm around my waist. “Once we get Margo’s ship, we’ll be back. I have every intention of being around when my nephew is born.”
    Nathan’s light-hearted mood did nothing to comfort Donna, she started to cry. Now why did that annoy the hell out of me? I know she has problems because of her accident, not to mention all that neural inhibitor crap Michael had been feeding her over the years; she couldn’t help her condition or what happened to her any more than I could, but you don’t see me crying, do you? Well, maybe you do, but I’d been a slave for Christ’s sake! And so what if Nathan had been her nurse maid for years and this would be the first time he’s away for an extended period of time. She had Cirus now and there was still Tiff, right? Donna would be fine. Now if I could just convince Nathan of that.
    I frowned, turning shamefully away, wondering why I was being such an insensitive bitch all of a sudden. Great, now I feel guilty; the sooner our departure authorization comes through, the better.
    Either way I’ve always hated good-byes and this one was one was turning out to be sad and painfully long, not to mention increasingly uncomfortable for me. Donna wouldn’t stop crying, while Cirus did his best to comfort her, and Nathan looked like he was starting to have second thoughts about leaving, again. As for me, I waited on the sideline with my proverbial thumb up my butt, growing more guilt-ridden, irritated, and anxious.
    Finally! No sooner did the controller’s voice from Port Central cut into my internal ear mic; I was jogging towards the shuttle with a tight-lipped smile and a hasty ‘bye’ in my wake. I did pause at the shuttle hatch ramp for a moment, looking up at the twin suns one last time before turning my back on home. It would be nothing but starlight and tasteless, purified air for the next week until reaching Morgan’s Star. Not that things would be any better after that.
    Morgan’s Star was nothing more than a giant, hollowed out rock; a planetary scale mining operation that had run its course, abandoned long ago to become a neutral trading port for the Cartels. It was hard not to laugh at that one – neutrality between the Cartels – what a joke. It was a fragile thing at best, and being confined underground in close proximity was the perfect catalyst for a bloodbath. If things went according to Nathan’s plan, all we would have to do is sit back and watch the shooting match run its course before moving in to clean up the mess.
    I passed through the double airlock doors and shivered, nipples growing instantly hard in the chilly, 70º low humidity air.
    “Burrr… it’s cold in here! Settle down girls, or you’re going to poke out an eye doing that,” I chuckled softly, playfully swatting at one of my breasts, making it jiggle. Mmmm… I like that. I really wish Nathan enjoyed slapping; I missed it. Oh well, enough pouting over lost loves, there’s work to be done.
    This was only the second time I’d been inside Nathan’s shuttle and it still came as a bit of a pleasant shock, as I made my way down the surprisingly wide corridor that split the shuttle down the centerline. It’s hard not to admire the elegance of a ship like this I thought, while running my fingers across the mahogany paneled bulkhead, and I couldn’t wait to try the bed for the first time.
    Nathan had recently replaced his old one with a spare from the main house, a king-sized Imperial Comfort memory gel deluxe. Now that was luxury. Imagine the sensation of floating, of sleeping on a cloud, similar to a sensory deprivation chamber – zero stress on the body, while continually evaluating the occupant’s comfort level. It also had a noise and light dampening system that created a