Leylanna woke with a start. At first she couldn't pinpoint what had woken her. The silence in her cabin was broken only by the soft wheeze of the ventilation system.<br/><br/>She listened for a moment then realized what it was - the<em>absence</em>of sound was what had woken her. For weeks she'd been surrounded by the sounds of a ship underway, the subtle harmonics of the engine pulsing through the structure of the ship, the slight groans of the metal when it was stressed in one direction or the other.<br/><br/>She sat up, alarmed and palmed the light switch near the bed. Nothing looked different. She threw on a red silken wrap and slipped out of her cabin, headed for the bridge.<br/><br/>She ran into the first mate on her way there. "If you please, Ms. Efram," the small Asian man bowed slightly, "There is a problem with the ship's engine. The captain has asked me to to advise you to stay in the 'public' areas of the ship and allow the crew room to work."<br/><br/>"How bad is it?" she enquired. Something about his demeanor set off alarm bells, a tightness around the eyes, a tenseness in his stance. He sighed. "I am not at liberty to say, ma'am. The captain said to tell you he would come explain the situation once he has determined what is the problem. Now please," he said, gesturing the way back to her room.<br/><br/>*****<br/><br/>She'd begun pacing. This was bad. It was very bad. When Len-Su had escorted her back to her room, she'd heard the subtle sound of the door locking. She supposed it was for her own protection, but she was angry about it nonetheless.<br/><br/>Five hours later she heard the gentle thud of the bolt being removed from the door, then a soft tapping. She took a deep breath to compose herself. She'd hear the captain out before reaming him a new asshole.<br/><br/>"Enter!" she called after seating herself in the room's one chair.<br/><br/>Captain Decan entered the room and eyed her. "Here's the situation," he stated baldly. "The mechanic apparently got space sickness. He suicided by throwing himself into the engine." His eyes flickered at her sharp intake of breath. "We've been trying to repair it for the last few hours, but we can't. None of us are mechanics."<br/><br/>He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "We've sent out a distress signal, so we should be getting help soon, but here's the thing," he ogled her for a moment. "Many of the ships  out here are honest captains trying to make a good living. Some are scavengers. We can handle those pretty easy. Then there are those... well let's say that it's better for you to stay here in your cabin when we're approached by a ship. Some of these captains would love to have a licensed Companion for use... or for sale. Do you understand what I'm saying?"<br/><br/>Her lips were white around the edges, the only sign of her distress. "Slavers," she whispered, a hand going to her throat.<br/><br/>He nodded. "Now don't go getting distressed so quickly, ma'am. The probability of running into slavers out here isn't really that great. We'll probably be rescued by a cargo ship. I just wanted you to be aware of the danger."<br/><br/>She composed herself quickly. "Of course, captain." She rose to take his hand. "And may I extend my condolences of the death of your mechanic?"<br/><br/>He swallowed hard. "Thank you ma'am." His eyes misted over for a minute. "My brother was the best damned mechanic in the 'Verse," he choked out as he turned to leave. "We'd bought the Artemis together when we mustered out. I'll miss him."<br/><br/>"Of course you will," she whispered as the door slid shut behind him.<br/><br/>She turned and started making preparations to leave the ship, packing up what few belongings she'd not relegated to the cargo hold. She hoped whatever ship picked her up would have rooms for her few crates.