Hybrid Saga 01 - Hybrid by S M Briscoe Read Free Book Online Page B

annoying law for anyone trying to make an honest profit. But, with the influx of convict laborers growing thin these days, not to mention the negative drawbacks of having such a workforce, laws were something his employers literally couldn’t afford to obey. Not if they wanted to maximize their profits. Even prison inmates had rights, and the terms and conditions of their labor were regulated and monitored closely by troublesome bureaucratic observers. Slaves were more reliable, less volatile, and most importantly, less expensive. They, of course, couldn’t be trusted with the important roles of machinists, engineers or trade workers, but were more suited for the menial, hard labor tasks others would never freely volunteer for, even with pay.
    The Syntax Corporation employed millions in its many installations; from mines and refineries to assembly plants and orbital construction yards; spread over numerous planets, moons and space stations system wide, many of them residing within the large and sometimes remote facilities. To keep such employees motivated and productive it was prudent to ensure that their personal needs were being satisfied. Apart from their direct labor uses, a good influx of diverse slave labor enabled Traug’s employers to see to it that their legitimate workforce was adequately indulged and entertained as well, and at a much lower cost than importing it from the preexisting talent pools. Though the slave trade, and by extension, the use of slave labor, was viewed quite negatively by the public, its industrial applications were almost limitless.
    In the end, what the slaves were used for was really none of his concern. They were a commodity, like any other, for which there was market demand. The first rule of Trillian Profit Mechanics stated: If it can be sold, sell it. Traug didn’t trouble himself with the moral implications. This new batch of slaves would be a welcome addition to his employers’ already busy workforce, and at minimal cost to them, but for the time and place that Durak should be if he wished to capture his little insurgent. An odd trade, but one he was easily ready to broker, though he didn’t know all of the reasons behind the Sect’s interest in her. That was something he would have to change. Though he might find the reasons absurd, he was sure that having more insight on the subject could only be advantageous to him.
    After all, information was one of his most profitable assets.
     
    *     *     *
     
    Jarred pulled Mac behind him, pushing his way through the mass of refugees that were crowding around one of the small entry ramps to the docking ring.
    Once the Sect troop carriers landed inside, he had lost sight of them, but the patrol craft were still hovering overhead, guarding the compound’s perimeter. They didn’t want anyone sneaking away. All the more reason why he should be sneaking away.
    He wasn’t entirely sure though, if his sudden compulsion to leave as soon as possible was a result of the Sect security raid, or the persistent woman and boy that were now following his every move. They had been right on his heels ever since the young woman had proposed that he give them a ride out of here, a request he’d flatly rejected, and a rejection she didn’t seem quite prepared to accept.
    “My name is Elora,” the woman continued, having been prattling on about her plight for the last several minutes, “and this is my brother, Ethan. We’ve been refugees for three years now, since our father died.” She was taking the personal approach now, he knew, trying to appeal to what she probably hoped was his good nature.
    “My brother is my responsibility,” Elora went on. “I’m just trying to make a better life for us than this, and all I’m asking from you is a little help in getting there. You said yourself we should get out of here if we have the means. If you help us, then we have those means.”
    “She has a point,” Mac added in from behind