Chapter One - The Queen Charlotte

 

On the rowing deck, the combined smells of human sweat and fear were strong, as for once the galley slaves were pulling at their oars, not for their daily bread, or to avoid the lash, but for their very lives. Chained to their benches in the claustrophobic space between the main cargo and passenger decks, they could see nothing but their immediate neighbours, and above them the catwalk and, occasionally, one of the overseers with whips at the ready. They were not much in evidence, for balancing on the narrow walkway, without enough headroom to stand upright, was difficult when the ship was tossing and rolling in an irregular corkscrew motion, sometimes stopping short and shuddering violently. The passage through Johnson's Strait was always demanding, though most captains were well used to the complex currents and abruptly changing breezes that swirled round the mountain ranges on each side. The great galley had, however, arrived at the worst possible moment, running from a severe storm that would have overwhelmed it on the open sea, a once-in-a decade event on a planet with a generally benign climate. Even in the strait the wind was howling, the swell dwarfed the vessel, and the currents made it almost impossible to keep a consistent heading. There was a constant danger of being dashed against one shore or the other, and with the sails all furled, the oars were the only salvation for the many souls on board. For the slaves, rowing was difficult when the waves, unseen through the membranes that protected the ports, made it impossible to predict when the blades would hit the water. They had to adopt an exaggerated stroke, lifting them high on the forward sweeps, and even then there were a few clashes, with rowers falling backwards as they missed the water.

One of the slaves in question was Leila, who shared an oar with a deaf-mute male brute who showed almost no interest in anything but his food. Although they were always naked, she'd never seen him with an erection. He was nearing the end of his useful life in the galleys, and would soon, probably, be sold to a quarry or mine, spending a few years as a stone-breaker. He probably saw his galley-service as a pleasant interlude, for his back was ridged from old floggings. Leila was very different. She was, like all galley slaves, quite big and muscular, with great stamina, but unlike the brutes- male or female- who pulled most of the oars, she was also a beauty, with a broad, friendly face and a pale, clear complexion, full and well-defined lips and big blue eyes. Despite the muscles her curves were soft and smooth, and the only obvious signs of hard labour were the callouses on the palms of her hands and the pads of her fingers. Her greatest asset was undoubtedly her breasts. A hundred percent natural, they were nevertheless very large and shapely, with enough bulk to prevent them drooping and sagging onto her stomach. At the moment they were causing a problem. In normal times she was able to sit quite low on her bench, and pull the oar over them. Now the angle of every stroke was different, and sometimes it hit her square on, crushing them painfully. All she could was to try to sit up straighter and further back, to minimise the impacts. To add to her problems, on occasion the ship listed sharply and suddenly, tipping and sliding her from side to side. All the rowers were struggling in one way or another, some close to exhaustion, but they knew what was at stake. If the ship foundered, there was an emergency mechanism for releasing them from their benches, but among the jagged rocks and sheer cliffs that lined Johnson's Strait, it was highly unlikely that any of the complement would survive. Nevertheless, the galley crept forward. The captain and crew were among the most experienced in the fleet, and few doubted that they'd reach the safety of the northern ocean. How many fit rowers would be left by then; that remained to be seen.

The ship- Queen Charlotte- was the largest of the New Dakota Line's fleet, which was not necessarily an advantage in those narrow waters. Built of wood with printed parts and only a few metal fittings, she conformed to the standard three-layered design for mixed-traffic sailing galleys. The entire hull below and just above the waterline was for cargo, which also served as ballast. On the south-north journey, much of it was marble, slate and partially refined ores, with some lighter goods as space permitted. The 'layer' above was the rowing deck, only six feet deep in total. The ship carried sixty oars, thirty on each beam. The full complement was a hundred and twenty slaves, two on each, but for manoeuvres in quiet harbours one was sufficient. For that reason, only the outboard rowers- all male- lived at their stations, with space to sleep under the bench, supplies of water and food pellets, and a drain to carry away wastes. They could be hosed clean from the gangway, which was raised slightly. Overseers patrolled regularly, checking on security and using their whips on slackers. Persons of small stature were chosen for that role- virtually all women- for even they had to stoop, the headroom being no more than five feet. It was possible to work from lightweight wheelchairs; wooden tracks were installed to keep them running straight.

The inner slaves were mostly female, and were unchained from their benches when no immediate demand for full power was anticipated. In the fore and aft compartments were rows of stacked cages, where they were housed, fed, watered and cleaned. There was enough space for a couple of exercise machines, to which they could be chained for short periods, and from those who were not much in demand, requests to share a handful of slightly larger cages were often accepted. The more attractive ones- particularly Leila- rarely saw the inside of a cage, being in constant use by the officers, crew and passengers.

Above the rowing gallery were three decks for lighter cargo and personnel. The space was adaptable, but there were always some passenger cabins, and between two and six luxury staterooms. The captain and his or her fellow officers had comfortable quarters, and the crew had small but private cabins, the seamen and women's being better appointed than the slaves'. There was a dining room for the passengers, a galley and canteen, and a communal lounge. Up on deck, much of the area was occupied by boats, winches, hatches and all the usual clutter required by sailing ships, but there was plenty of space for exercise, enjoying the fresh air, and displaying and punishing slaves. In suitable weather, with a full spread of canvas, the ship was a magnificent sight, and when approaching port an especially curvaceous slavegirl was often bound under the bowsprit, or even at the top of the mainmast.

The galley was a self-contained society in miniature, for her voyages usually took at least forty days, and sometimes up to sixty. If extreme weather was rare, the downside was long periods of flat calm, when the galley slaves could keep up two miles per hour for about twelve hours a day. Large stocks of food and water had to be carried, though the crew fished from the boats, collected rainwater, and could distil seawater in extremis. The passengers expected to eat and drink well, and to use their baths and showers freely. Some slaves were always toiling on treadmills, working the generators to keep the batteries charged. When at full stretch they and the rowers got double rations; slave gruel in addition to their pony pellets and fresh fruit. On some ships, the captains thought it an unnecessary expense, and carried much smaller numbers of galley slaves, preferring to wait out the calm periods. The owners of the New Dakota Line had not succumbed to that temptation. There was a slight east-to-west current in the southern ocean that could, if left to its own devices, carry a becalmed ship dangerously far from its course.

Leila's days were very varied, but during the long weeks on the open sea a pattern tended to develop. She spent about eight hours a day working for the ship. That might mean rowing, chained to her bench, with very short breaks for eating and drinking. When the galley was under sail she might be scrubbing decks, polishing brass or woodwork, or sewing up tears in sails. The captain was a fair but hard man, and kept an immaculate ship. Then, while her less attractive shipmates toiled on, she became available for use as a sex-slave, joining the varying number- usually ten to twelve- who were kept specially for that purpose. She never knew what to expect then, for although she was sometimes booked in advance, she wasn't told whether that had happened. The passengers, who often came down to the rowing gallery to watch and try their hand with the whip, had first refusal. They were an unknown quantity. Typically, she'd be bound to the four-poster in one of the staterooms or the double bed in a cabin, and used in all her apertures almost continuously, for seven or eight hours, by a male who'd taken one of a number of drugs to keep himself hard for the whole time. Sometimes his wife would be there, watching or taking part, and sometimes his own pleasure slave would be bound to one of the bedposts. When passengers were travelling in groups, they'd pass her from one to the other, but usually taking her one at a time. She was used by more men than women, probably because her massive breasts appealed more to them. A few wanted something different. They'd spend part of the shift testing their ideas on strict and creative bondage, making her drink their piss, or even drinking hers. Occasionally she'd be whipped, once by a wife while she fellated the husband. There was, however, a strict rule against rendering her unfit for work, and by and large the passengers were quite kind, if demanding. She often got chocolates or forkfuls of free persons' food, or the odd glass of wine. A quick learner, she soon learnt how to please almost any stranger, and only once in her career as a galley slave had she been strung up on deck the next day, to be flogged in front of the crew.

The half-dozen officers were very similar in their tastes to the passengers, except that she knew them and their tastes well. Two were well into middle-age and one had a very scratchy beard, One of the two women was very severe and not at all attractive, Leila never had any real trouble with her. The most handsome of the males was a disappointment, with a very a strong preference for anal sex. Leila was regularly injected with a capsule that greatly increased her sexual appetite and responsiveness, but it had a disproportionate effect on her vagina and nipples. While she quite enjoyed anal and oral penetration, it wasn't enough to fully satisfy her. She also liked bondage, and there her enthusiasm and trustworthiness worked against her, for most of the officers kept her very loosely chained.

The thirty crew members were very different. Equally divided by sex, they were generally rough and ready, but not malicious. They washed before they used her, and bound her tightly and skilfully with rope, which she much preferred. Because they didn't get her, or the other sex-slaves, very often, they made the most of their time by forming syndicates of six, each including three men and three women. Since they always took the drugs that were dispensed freely and without charge, the session would always be an eight-hour gang-bang, with three members with her and three waiting their turns. The women, of course, generally used her mouth, sitting or kneeling astride her face while the men entered her bottom from underneath and her vagina from above, but there were many variations. Some of the women liked to eat her pussy or fist her, and the men would always have at least one go at intermammary intercourse. That was something she welcomed, for the size and firmness of her breasts set her apart from the other sex-slaves, and somehow made her special. Almost all her users sucked at her nipples, and that had an inevitable effect. Three months into her service, they started secreting a clear liquid when stimulated. By two weeks after that, she was producing rich, creamy milk. That was another attraction, but could be inconvenient. Often passengers, knowing of it, would stop her while she was working to demand a sip, and one or two even climbed down to her rowing bench, interrupting her and her partner's rhythm. The crew discouraged that practice.

With an hour for washing and other personal tasks, that left about seven hours a day for rest. It was usually enough, and she was often allowed to spend it with one of the other pleasure slaves whose shifts matched hers. They had to be careful to allow one another enough time to sleep, but she formed a few quite close relationships. It was a hard life, but it included a great deal of physical pleasure. Some of her users were happy to chat to her about their experiences and business interests, and she amassed a great deal of information that she would probably never use. There were also some periods of very hard work indeed. This passage of Johnson's Strait was, however, the first time she'd feared for her life. It was all because of the world's rather unusual geography and pattern of settlement, of which, from her childhood lessons, she remembered a surprising amount.