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grinned. "I'm a whore. You know what I can do."
    He shook his head. "That's not what I mean, and you know it. But we'll play it your way. You're a whore. Are you good at it?"
    She looked startled. "I haven't had any complaints, if that's what you mean."
    He shook his head again. "Johns rarely complain to a prostitute, no matter how much they complain about her. The few that do complain usually do it by beating her up. All I really care about is whether you're planning to continue in that line of work aboard ship. If you are, it could make it awkward for others in your bunk group and dorm. The better you are at it and the more you like it, the more likely you are to want to keep doing it."
    She looked surprised. "You think I like having sex with every fat, smelly john with a few credits?"
    He shrugged. "I don't think anything. I was asking. You gave me smart-aleck."
    Her face darkened with anger. "Why, you…" Suddenly the red faded, and her face relaxed into a rueful smile. "I guess I did, at that." She replied. She shrugged. "I hope I don't damage your ego by telling you I hope I never see another penis. But if that's what it takes to survive, or to keep me from being hurt, well…"
    Ron nodded soberly. "I understand. We all do what we have to. So, aside from sex, what can you contribute to a new world?
    She looked unhappy. "Nothing, I guess. I was still in high school when I fell in teen love with the bastard that pimped me out." She paused. "Okay, you probably won't believe this, but before he came along, I wanted to be a cook." She threw him a sharp glance. "Not just a burger-flipper in a greasy spoon, but a real cook, in a real restaurant, with tablecloths and everything."
    Ron shrugged. "Why wouldn't I believe it? Can you cook?"
    She frowned. "A little. Sometimes I could sneak in a little shopping, and I used to try dishes on a hotplate in that damned hole I was kept in."
    "Well," he said, "You won't get any practice on the ship; all the meals are prepared by mechs – robots. But the ship does carry one of the most advanced computers in the world. If you want to learn how to cook, I understand it has a virtual reality method to teach you. You might check it out."
    She waved a hand in irritation, and then had to grab a bunk frame to stop the resulting spin. "Come on, damn it. How much?" her tone turned desperate. "I'll give you every credit I've got, and if you want freebies, you can have those too." Her eyes widened, showed panic. "But I've got to get out of here before those three creeps decide to have a little rape party! They made me a whore, but I won't be a sex slave!"
    Ron recoiled from her obvious desperation. He'd never realized how vulnerable female colonists were. But he could readily see Tundell and those street gang kids, freed of the restraint of EarthGov, treating the dorm's women as their own. Not to mention Rafael and Paco, who would be arriving soon. And they weren't the only thugs in the dorm. No one, prostitute or not, deserved to spend years being gang-raped. He exchanged glances with Vlad, who nodded.
    He sighed. "All right, Tara, you can come with us. I'm sure you'll be able to buy a swap for one of their creeps." She hurried off to gather her possessions.
    Cesar seemed unsurprised when they returned with a woman. He merely took them to a section of the dorm that seemed to contain a number of women, where Ron and Tara were able to negotiate a swap with a rather mean-looking man for only twenty credits. Tara shuddered as the small man with the scarred knuckles pulled himself out of the section and headed to the next deck.
    The other women crowded around, crying and thanking Ron and Tara profusely for saving them. The man had already made it quite clear that once they were out of EarthGov jurisdiction, he planned to make them his harem.
    Cesar was furious. None of the women had reported the man's threats to him.
    Vlad shook his head. "You represent the old authority. What could you have done? Report