Free City Of Tears by Cyndi Friberg

have reason to be.”
    She opened the hovercase next to her bed and gathered her belongings. “I understand men like Pern Keire. Once he accepts that I’m indispensable, he’ll see to my protection.”
    “How much abuse are you willing to endure before he accepts your indispensability?”
    “None.” She paused and met his gaze. “The design you gave him this morning is flawed. I have worked out the solution, but I have no intention of revealing the nature of the flaw until he personally ensures my safety. If I’m under the Stirate’s protection, no one will dare harm me.”
    “Did you anticipate this or arrange it?”
    “Oh, yes, I wanted to be at the mercy of barbarians. Rape me, abuse me, please.” With a disgusted snort, she turned back to her case and continued packing. “Ongoing communication is too easily intercepted. The only way to minimize this risk is by going to their compound. I anticipated the situation and arranged it to our advantage.”
    “I hope you’re right. He could just as easily strap you to a table and let his crew take turns on you until you’re ready to be obedient.”
    She paused, hands on her hips. “What is your obsession with rape? If he is truly as barbaric as you claim, why wouldn’t he beat me or starve me or threaten those I love? Rape isn’t the only form of abuse.”
    His eyes took on a cold and distant sheen. “You don’t know the Rodytes as I do.”
    After gathering her personal items from the bathroom, she offered Cyrus her full attention. “So educate me. Where is my strategy flawed?”
    “I sent three ambassadors to Rodymia shortly after this travesty began.”
    “By this travesty, I presume you mean the destruction of Operation Hydra.”
    “We don’t have time for petty distinctions. If you keep him waiting he is more likely to be cruel.”
    Petty distinctions? Who the hell did he think he was? It was convenient for Cyrus to forget she was one of the “unnatural abominations” the rescue team had brought back from Earth. Well, her association with Cyrus was nearly at an end. She slammed the case shut and waited for him to continue.
    “I sent two men and a woman. The woman was necessary because the others didn’t speak Rodyte, and Pern Keire refuses to speak anything else. He listened to their proposal, casually informed them the offer was not adequately beneficial to Rodymia, and spent the next two days raping the woman while the men were forced to watch. When this no longer amused him, he summoned his guards and watched while all three were raped, repeatedly . I am not the one obsessed with rape. It is a common pastime on Rodymia.”
    Her research had recorded vague instances and rumors, but nothing like this. Was his story a clever ploy to keep her from going? Despite his arrogance, Cyrus was nobody’s fool and manipulation was his specialty. Stay or go? Start over without Cyrus or finish what they’d begun?
    She’d come too far to start over. The Rodytes already had the design. The Stirate couldn’t develop the technology without her, and she would refuse to continue without his protection. It was a good plan.
    “If they really are the animals you say, why are you negotiating with them?” she asked in a calm, cool voice.
    He gaped at her. “You don’t believe me?”
    “I didn’t say that.”
    He shook his head, his gaze filled with pity and regret. “As soon as you are taken before him, kneel. Keep your eyes downcast and don’t speak until he speaks to you.” The central com chimed announcing the shuttle’s arrival on the roof of the building. “Don’t give him ultimatums. He won’t kill you, but he will make you wish you were dead. The best advice I can give you is … to please him.”
    She arched her brow. That was the best he could do? “I can be his whore or his victim? That’s not much of a choice.” After steering her hovercase across her flat, she paused and shot Cyrus a scathing glance. “I will be no man’s victim, so I