Free The Worker Prince by Bryan Thomas Schmidt Page A

so narrow it was restricted to pedestrian traffic, he set about exploring. The corridor and buildings curved, making it impossible to see one end from the other. He walked past doors and windows of one dwelling after another. Separate units shared outside walls like one long building. The area appeared deserted. Everyone must be at the market or already inside.
    A woman screamed around the bend ahead.
    He quickened his pace, rounding the corner to see an Alliance Captain the size of an air taxi with a worker girl backed into a corner. His gray uniform was dirty and wrinkled, his hair graying around the edges. The girl looked to be upper teens, almost a woman, her stance determined even as she trembled. The Captain struck her across the face with the back of his hand and was preparing to do it again.
    “Please,” the girl pleaded, almost a whimper, “let me go.”
    “You’ll go, when I say you can go,” the Captain responded, his voice like poison.
    Neither had noticed Davi creeping toward them along a wall behind them. As he drew near, his nose crinkled at the overpowering smell of the Captain. He reeked of sweat and alcohol. Not even the sweet pollen drifting off nearby flowerbeds could overcome it.
    “What do you want from me?” The girl’s eyes darted around, looking for an escape as he breathing increased with her panic.
    “I want you to show me the proper respect.” The Captain swung his arm, but instead of hitting her face, which she turned away, he grabbed the collar of her blouse and ripped it open.
    She slid along the wall, trying to get away. “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful.”
    “Workers like you are always disrespectful,” the Captain said. “Stop moving and come closer.” She shook her head as he grabbed her and pulled her to him, trying to press his lips against hers. She kept wiggling and pushing.
    “I’m gonna teach you what it means to obey now, slut,” he said. Buttons popped as he ripped her blouse again and threw her to the ground, climbing on top of her and trying to force her legs apart. She cried out, struggling to free herself.
    Davi rushed up behind him, grabbing the Captain by the shoulders and pulling him off. “Enough, Captain,” Davi said.
    The Captain swung to his feet and whirled around, pulling free with a power that sent Davi stepping back. The sobbing girl picked herself up and cowered against the wall behind him. “Who do you think you are?” the Captain sneered.
    “A fellow officer concerned with a peer’s professional conduct,” Davi said.
    “I’m off duty,” the Captain said.
    “You’re in uniform,” Davi said.
    “I guess this worker slut’s not the only one who needs a lesson in respect,” the Captain said, looking Davi over. He towered over Davi, muscles bulging from his jacket.
    Davi stepped back, hoping the man had slow reflexes like everyone else when he was drunk.
    The Captain swung at him and Davi ducked, throwing a fist into the man’s gut. His fist throbbed like it had hit an iron wall. He groaned, gritting his teeth against the sudden pain.
    The Captain laughed. “Is that the best you can do?”
    “Run,” Davi said as his eyes met the worker girl’s. “Get away now!”
    The Captain swung at him again as the girl backed away. “Where you going?” The soldier asked, missing Davi as he whirled and reached for her. Her blouse pulled loose into his hands.
    Davi glimpsed a necklace around her neck with a blue-green crest at its center. The Captain knocked him to his knees with a blow he hadn’t seen coming. The man remained calm, relaxed, as if it required no effort, while Davi gasped for breath and struggled back to his feet.
    Where are my friends when I need them?
    The Captain swung again, and Davi dodged to one side. “You need to learn to mind your own business!” Keeping ahold of the girl with one hand, he swung again at Davi’s midsection.
    Davi ducked to one side as the girl tried to pull free. His adversary