They had managed to turn their hobby into quite the lucrative business. Setting up in one of the busiest Alliance stations, their business, a confectionery shop specializing in homemade candies using recipes from Earth before the Shattering, was especially popular with families. And now, of course, was their favorite past time with all the extra Time they had after paying their bills, though they always made sure to set some aside in savings, shopping! It seemed like every day a new package was arriving. Knives, swords, gifts for friends, decorations for the confectionery shop, etc. And then the special day came, and they were super excited. They'd managed to rescue their entire family from the Deregger world that they, themselves, had escaped from so long ago, so they were getting to decorate the quarters they were going to surprise their family with, who was scheduled to arrive tomorrow afternoon. -- Anon Guest
[AN: This is a Microfiction Prompt, in which the prompt is a story on its own. These give me the LEAST flexibility, because my only options are (a) re-tell the story you gave me, but longer, or (b) go straight to the epilogue of your story. Not great for me. Please do not send me Microfiction Prompts]
As far as transportation went, this one was nicer than anything they'd known. The Corporate Police had lead them into the cargo bay in chains. Five seconds after the ship broke orbit, someone came down and released them from their shackles. Then that same someone encouraged them into the rest of the ship.
It was splendid. Seemingly custom made for them to travel in comfort and style. So clean and so pretty. With so many real plants.
It was terrifying. This was a trap. Their new owner was setting them up for a great debt that they would never pay in generations. Even more frightening, there were no cameras, no guards, and no recording devices that they could see.
So they took the rations on offer and accepted anything else once they were sure it was 'gratis'. They stayed out of the rooms, for fear of dirtying them up. They didn't touch any of the plants, no matter how tempting the fruiting bodies on them were. It was the ship crew who harvested those and offered them, 'gratis', to them all.
There were other ship crew, dressed in black and red, who tried to talk to each of them about their former lives. About their fears. About their health. They weren't fooled for a second. That was a Corporate Narc.
They never expected what greeted them on the other side of their journey. One they thought had died long ago.
"Welcome to Sunflower Station," said their Mari. But... their Mari had been thinner and sicker and... now she was looking like a CEO somehow. But without the expensive suit. "You're not dead, this is not heaven. We're all still alive and I just bought you all to get you away from the old place. I have tickets of freedom for everyone. Even some blanks in case someone got born on the way here."
They couldn't believe it. It seemed too... easy.
There had to be a catch. What was the catch? This was the bait? Where was the switch?
There were guards, but they didn't seem interested in supervising any of them. Those guards didn't even seem to have ready weapons. There were cams, but they weren't tracking them at all. There were listening devices, but the usual buzzwords didn't gain any kind of attention.
Some of the bolder ones turned up at their Mari's workplace to offer their servitude. They earned wages. More than enough to pay for luxuries. And they all had real plants in their habitats.
It was understandable that they went to the next extreme. Finding out what they wanted to do and then doing it so hard that they almost passed out. Then they discovered the Alliance's free medical care system and really passed out from the shock.
They formed a union. Then they formed an Alliance-approved corporation dedicated to buying fellow Dereggers out of their indentures and setting them free. Because their primary source of funds came from the candies that they and their Mari made, they called it Sweet Releases.
It was very good candy.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / dulsita]
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