Laika & Arlaud Book One - the Lady Sahshin
Copyright© 2026 by Clee Hill
Chapter 2
What is that wonderful smell? Laika asked herself as she rolled over in her bed, glancing up at the clock over the door, and saw that it was 5:57am. Arlaud? Of course. She had told her last night she was free to get up whenever she wanted, that she wouldn’t be up until six and, it seemed, someone had waited long enough before deciding she needed her breakfast. But what was it? Glorious, certainly.
Swinging out from her bed, and knowing they would be arriving at Malabis Minor and the bazaar in the capital city of Malbi, she knew she had to dress a little more imperiously than yesterday’s more utilitarian affair. Green. That would be her colour for today, she decided, beginning with silk panties and bra, adding a long silk blend skirt, matching it to a front buttoning vest, also in the same silk blend, with a matching jacket waiting for when they arrived, and finished with knee high boots in dark green leather, highly polished, and only slightly heeled. With a quick brush through her shoulder length black hair for now and a promise of a braid and some makeup later, she hurried around to the mess.
“Been busy?” she asked as she stepped inside, smiling, as she saw Arlaud cooking and ... dancing.
“Oh! It’s you. I mean sure, of course it’s you, and ... wow do I feel under-dressed,” she smiled, skittering to a halt. S2 had been busy yesterday and during the night, and Arlaud was wearing one of its creations, some repurposed ivory cotton trousers cut short to just below the knee and a black blouse made over into a loose dress, short, belted with a thin black leather belt, and matched to a pair of ballet pumps, in ivory, which S2 had to have reduced in size somehow but Laika had not known they were capable of that because she had never thought to ask.
“Don’t worry about it. You dress how you want though I was expecting a scarf.”
“Later. Maybe. Still don’t really know where we’re going today so don’t know if it’s anything from a loincloth to full environmental,” she smirked. “Guess you smelled this then?” she said, gently tapping a pot on a hot ring with a wooden spoon.
“Yes! It smells delightful.”
“Dancer’s Porridge. Or something like it. Your meal thingie gave me the oats, I slow cooked them, then I got some meat but it’s fake, some herbs, some spices, cooked the meat separately,” she said, pausing to point to the little frying pan, covered, on the next door hot ring. “And just bring to an almost-boil then simmer for about half an hour. The meat is for the protein and the oats gives you energy through the day. We eat a lot ... I mean I used to, haha, but I thought after yesterday, energy food is good either way.”
“I know you said you can cook...”
‘Yep. Not just ‘dancer’ stuff, too, but, yeah, it’s mostly the good for you stuff. Still tastes good though. Want a bowl?”
“I would. Thank you,” Laika said, sitting at the little table as Arlaud served and sat down with her.
“Try it,” she whispered.
Laika took a spoonful, blew it to help the steam still coming off it was so hot, and took a mouthful, unable to stop herself from smiling even as she finished. “This is wonderful! It’s ... meaty and spicy but not hot spicy—”
“—I can do that, if you want.”
“I don’t have any.”
“I can make it.”
Laika nodded as she swallowed before putting her spoon down a moment. “Arlaud, this is really good, but did they teach you cooking as well as dance?”
“Sort of. Some of it we all had to learn, in case we got sold to someone who made us the corps lead or something like that so we would have to supervise the kitchen, and some of it I just learned because I liked how it tasted. They didn’t mind as long as it was healthy. We got lots of energy drinks with oats or things in like that in them but never anything sweet.”
“You’ve never had chocolates, things like those?”
“Nope.”
“Well then, I think we can add those to the list of things to look for today.”
“So where is this that?” Arlaud asked as they began eating again.
“Malabi Bazaar. It’s the capital city of a planet called Malabis Minor. It’s a five planet system, this one is the closest to the sun, so that’s why they called it ‘Minor’. Malabi is one of the northern cities, the capital of both the region it was built in and also the planet itself. and yes, that means you can go as you are, no need for more.”
“Or less,” Arlaud chuckled.
“You keep saying that?”
“Yeah. It’s ... it’s always a part of it, but as you get older, as you start to grow, you know, that’s when they like you to wear less. I was already doing nude shows at night. Sometimes in the day, too, if it was a festival season. Never understood that. The local region was having some kind of a celebration, so that meant we danced nude more often,” she shrugged. “But yeah, between the time on the stage, the time getting ready, and the time in the spas, I’m just more used to being naked than dressed. This this feels like I’m dressing up. It’s ... I like it, and thank you for letting me have them and getting them fitted to me but ... I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s me. I don’t know what is me.”
“Well, we can see what takes your eye, and you can find your style that way. Aside from scarfs,” Laika smiled.
“Oh those I’ve always loved. You can wear them all kinds of ways, use them dance with, and that’s as well as the other stuff.”
“The other stuff?”
“You know, getting tied...?”
“They did that to dancers?”
“Yep. I’ve been tied up as a sacrifice or something whilst everyone else dances around me, and I’ve been tied in an X as they dance around with one of them threatening to rape me—”
“—Chuba!”
Arlaud giggled. “I was too young so, you know, just nude, haha. You get older it ... gets more real until it is real. But not for me. Not now,” she smiled proudly. “And I ‘borrowed’ scarfs when I could,” she added in a not-guilty whisper, prouder of that, it seemed, than having escaped slavery.
Laika nodded thoughtfully. “So you are uncomfortable, even dressed in your own choice?”
“Mmm,” Arlaud said, hastily finishing her mouthful. “If they were my choice, maybe I’d be more comfortable, but even then ... It’s just so easy, not having to wear anything. I know back there I didn’t have the choice but maybe someday when I can choose...”
Laika looked at her for a moment, smiled, and unbuttoned her vest, removing her bra as well. “You’re right. It is more comfortable.”
“Wow! Cute,” Arlaud grinned as she took off her blouse.
“Wow yourself!” Laika said, it now being certain that none of her bras would have fitted Arlaud anyway, her breasts larger and rounder than her own, not too much, but enough that she had a moment or two wondering how she would look dancing naked...
Arlaud shrugged. “Yeah. I know. I got told that a lot too.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“—I know, just ... I’m not used to that, either, someone saying nice things about me who doesn’t own me or want to rent me.”
“Rent? You mean as a prostitute?”
“As well.”
“As well? What other meaning is there?”
“First time was early in the year, when the station was quiet and there were fewer shows. Someone was having a big party, you know, aristos, corpos, whatever. They were having some big party for something and wanted to hire dancers to walk around with a plate of drinks. Nude. They took six of us, including me. All we wore were some low heels - our owner threatened them they had to pay a big bond so we didn’t get injured or anything - and body chains. Easy couple of days even if we did all get felt up. All the time. And what could we do? We had a tray of drinks and we couldn’t spill those. Actually I kind of liked it...”
“You want to serve me nude?” Laika teased, or at least she hoped she was teasing. She still wasn’t very confident when Arlaud was teasing her or telling her something outrageously true.
“Sure if you want. We talking just the tiddies or full fanny too?”
“I ... Let’s make a deal. If you want to be dressed aboard the ship, you can. If you want to be topless, you can. And if you want to be naked, you can. You don’t need to cook or earn or serve or any of those things. Just let me know if you need the ship running a little warmer.”
“So that’s a no to chilly hard nips?” Arlaud grinned.
“Not where we’re going next,” Laika laughed.
“Hmm. I’ll think about it. I want to say nude now please ... but I don’t know if that’s your culture, not mine?”
“My culture is a little complicated, but both sides involved a lot of very ornamental clothing.”
“Like this morning?”
Laika chuckled. “Trust me, this is nothing even approaching how some of my relatives go about their daily lives.”
“So that’s a yes or a no...?”
“That’s an ‘up to you’. Genuinely.”
Arlaud nodded. “I’ll think about it. And this bazaar? Does it sell jewellery?”
“Trust me when I tell you, it sells everything. It began as the market square for the capital city, so they claim in their tourist leaflets, and grew from there. It helped there were easy trade routes making it a good place for merchants to meet and customers to meet them. Over the generations it grew, and now there are specialised areas, for foods, for drinks, for pets, for clothes, and yes, for jewellery. Is there something you want?”
“I’m not sure...”
“You’re worrying over the cost of things?”
Arlaud nodded. “Caf?” she offered, both women having finished eating now.
“Changing the subject?” Laika asked
“I make good caf, promise.”
“I don’t doubt it, and yes, if you are making some I would like a cup. Salted.”
“Ooh! The hard stuff,” Arlaud grinned, tidying away their bowls as she found a kettle, some ground beans, and a plungére.
“You don’t drink it that way?”
“Milk and sugar. Just a little. We weren’t allowed neat until we were eighteen.”
“How old are you?” Laika asked, trying to sound casual but actually now deeply interested.
“Galactic Standard? Fourteen.”
Laika blinked in surprise. “You’ve gone through a lot in such a short space of time.”
Arlaud shrugged. “Like I had a choice. Ever.”
“And now you do.”
“Nope. Not yet. No money. No home. No work. No choices, not yet.”
“I won’t abandon you without means.”
“And I won’t steal from you.”
“It’s not stealing if it’s given.”
“It’s not mine if I haven’t earned it.”
Laika sat back in her chair. “You want a salary?”
Arlaud laughed. “Sure. How much am I worth, walking around, looking hawt, trying to teach you how I hide in the rengan?”
“Per day or total?”
Another shrug. “Sure. Total.”
“100,000 credits.”
“What?” Arlaud gasped.
“Now or in advance? Regardless of results.”
Arlaud carefully turned off the hot plate, her hands shaking as she turned to Laika. “You can’t mean that. Nobody could mean that.”
“I do. S1. Bring me 100,000 credits from the vault.”
“Acknowledged, Captain.”
“I...” Arlaud began to say but the words stopped. Before she could gather her thoughts S1 arrived, carrying a suitably sized plascrete box which it placed on the table before leaving.
“Better?” Laika asked softly.
“Why? Why are you doing this? For me? I’m nobody, I’m just—”
“—Just the hottest young blonde this ship has seen in a long time. Just someone who can move with a grace I never dreamed of and which I want to try to learn. Just someone who can hide herself using the Force in ways I didn’t even know were possible and which I want to learn, if I can. Just someone who deserves better than she’s had and was lucky enough to stowaway onboard the ship of someone who can help? Just because ... just because you might have been me and I’m doing this for me as well as for you. Pick one. Pick them all. Pick your own. It doesn’t matter. You’ve a nice chunk of credits there.”
“I can’t—”
“—Try refusing or I will put you over my knee and spank you until you say thank you?”
“You wouldn’t?” Arlaud asked, lifting her head, smirking a little.
Laika raised her left eyebrow, even further than normal.
“Can I at least get my caf?”
“No. You can come here,” Laika said, standing and going over to where Arlaud had been sitting and was now standing too. “Don’t ever let me catch you thinking you’re unworthy. Ever. Or I will spank you. You understand?”
“No, but yes...”
“Good. Now, come here,” she said, her arms open, Arlaud snuggling into them, her head to her side on Laika’s chest, Laika smiling and holding her and kissing the top of the head and finding herself hoping this curious young woman was not going to be in any kind of a hurry to leave.
“You’re sure you want me sitting here?” Arlaud asked. It was just after 1pm, ship’s time, and they were about to come out of hyperspace and begin their approach to Malabis Minor. Laika was at the helm, and Arlaud was sat beside her in the co-pilot’s seat and looking afraid to breathe, let alone touch anything. They we’re also both dressed again
“Very. The first rule of space travel is that no matter what you expect and how well you might have planned for it, you never can be certain what will happen when you drop out of hyperspace. I would hate for us to be in the situation where something happened to the ship and you couldn’t do anything because I didn’t think it was a good idea to teach you. Or I had forgotten. So, just watch the controls I use, and don’t worry about memorising things today. We can do this again, in offline mode, all the times you need.”
“Okay, but it looks kind of complicated,” Arlaud said, unconsciously biting her bottom lip as she looked at the console, even Laika admitting how it could seem like a very large ollection of switches, buttons, and levers as well as a myriad of small readouts.
“It does, but most of it is giving me information I don’t need, like fuel levels, that kind of thing, and most of the systems are highly automated. Even I wouldn’t want to take us out on full manual.”
Arlaud nodded. “What about the droids? Can they fly your ship?”
“They do. S1 does most of the flying though S2 is pilot rated too. They can land it if necessary, but I’d rather trust someone over something. They make decisions another person wouldn’t.”
“Oh. So ... So I outrank your droids?” she asked, grinning again.
“Maybe when you can fly this, sure.”
“Oh.”
“Okay. So? Ready? Dropping out of hyperspace in 3... 2... 1 ... and press that button please?”
“This one?”
Laika nodded.
“What does it do?”
“Orders the ship to decelerate to sub-light speed.”
“Oh. Now?”
“Now please.”
“Okay... eek!” Arlaud screamed as she pressed the button, the omnipresent sound from the hyperspace engines faded, and the streaks of blue light she had been watching through the front window of the cockpit seemed to blur to a halt as they were back in normal space again. “Did I do it right?” she whispered.
“We’re alive—”
“—Eek!”
Laika laughed. “Which is what normally happens. The times it doesn’t ... you don’t need to worry about.”
“Oh. You mean—”
“—Your atoms smeared have been instantaneously across a light day’s worth of space? Something like that.”
“Where is your main computer?”
“Most of it is discrete around the ship and there are a lot of backups but there is a main terminal back and down a level, why?”
“I want to go kiss my new best friend.”
Laika smiled. “I’m sure she appreciates your thoughts. No need to get her soggy.”
“Her?”
“Of course. My droids are female, my main computer system is female, and my ship is female. And you.”
“No men?”
Laika shook her head. “Only once. He wasn’t bad but he wasn’t a patch on my cousin.”
“Oh. Oh wow. Your cousin?”
“Remember I told you half of my family were from a very rich background? They were happier if I went to bed with my cousin than some person from the ‘lower’ orders.”
“Ouch.”
Laika laughed softly. “I didn’t mean you and I never agreed with them. They were more than happy to turn to them when they needed an army, but didn’t want to invite them to dinner.”
“That why you left?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Tell me?”
“Not right now, we really don’t have the time it needs for me to make it make sense. Look. See that planet, over to the left and up about halfway? That’s our destination,” Laika said, hesitating as she checked their heading and flight path. “We should be there in just about ten minutes.”
“So quick?”
“My ship has some nice engines.”
“Ah. The ‘I’m not a pirate’ engines, huh?” Arlaud grinned.
“Who said anything about my being a pirate?”
“Going after treasure? Got treasure? Got a fancy weapon, I think? Sounds a bit piratey to me,” Arlaud said, Laika quietly confident the young woman was teasing her. When you’ve been through as much seriousness as she had, teasing and humour had to be about the only way you make it through sane, and Arlaud seemed more level-headed than a lot Laika had known.
“So if I’m a pirate, what does that make you?”
“Loyal,” Arlaud smirked, Laika laughing at her unexpected answer.
“Good. I like a loyal crew.”
“And nekkid?”
“Still want to be?”
Arlaud sighed. “Still not sure. Part of me does, part of me doesn’t want to be because back there I was made to be, but part of me just misses it.”
“S1? New order. Please bring the ambient ship’s temperature up to 24° Standard and maintain it at that temperature until I order otherwise.”
“Acknowledged, Captain,” came the familiar voice, from the cockpit’s speakers, this time.
“Thank you,” Arlaud said. “I don’t know if I will...”
“But if you want to, the option is there. Or you can decide not.”
“I... Oh! I can afford things now, can’t I?!”
“Yes you can, why, do you have something in mind?”
“Yes! Remember I told you about the body chains? I loved those so much. They made me feel ... They made me look high class, even when I was nude. If you’re just nude, you can be anything or anyone and nobody can tell by looking at you. They can tell when you talk, mostly, but otherwise, just a guess. I liked it. People looking at me, wondering if I really was there to serve or if I might be, you know, someone’s daughter playing a prank.”
“So where did you learn to speak so well?” Laika asked, realising, as Arlaud explained it, that her accent was both impossible to pin down but also hinted at a sophistication she would not have expected from a farmer’s daughter sold into slavery.