Its location was unfortunate, in that it was in a convenient spaceway for invaders from neighboring systems. The area contained a cluster of stars with similar M class planets. They were tempting targets for those from less well favoured planets. The Deraias system was on one edge of the cluster, easily accessible when speed and anonymity were desirable.

Plunderers came for minerals (including elements from the second order periodic table), slaves, food, water , air, whatever. No society on Deraias had evolved past the first stages of industrialisation, despite the abundant fuel and metals. They were too busy surviving the frequent raids. Strangely enough, no serious efforts had ever been made by any invaders to colonise the planet. This may have been explained by the fact that none of the bigger powers in that part of the galaxy had ever bothered with the cluster. They were too busy fighting amongst themselves.

Sporadic raiders did settle on Deraias, generally in small groups. Those who could interbreed with the locals did. The others formed their own settlements. When the time came, their populations too were decimated by slavers, and the futile efforts at self-defence. Those left behind began the slow painful task of starting again.

Siiret's earliest reliable memories centered on the ship that had removed her, along with most of the children and young adults of her village, from Deraias. It stank, and was hot, dim, and noisy. She was always hungry and thirsty. Too many people were crowded into little space.

Their captors drugged them. It made the victims docile, but able to walk to the captors' ship. That had taken two days, without food, water, or much rest. They were herded into a cargo hold. The chemical "restraints" had been used indiscriminately. Some of the youngest children were overdosed and were no longer capable of any thing but reflex action. Many of the adults were confused and disoriented for days. Some were angry, some fearful. Most were exhausted into numbness. Water and food-packs appeared at intervals through slots in the bulkheads. They were distributed as equitably as possible, but no one had enough.

The captors never reappeared. Minds that had been drug fogged couldn't recall exactly what the raiders looked like. Their shape seemed to be roughly humanoid. However the galaxy is large, and the "humanoid" form widespread. None of the Deraisi knew who their jailers were.

Siiret was the only one taken from her household. She'd stood outside, fascinated with the alien craft overhead. It had been only a matter of seconds between inhaling the bittersweet smelling spray, noticing the fine mist on her skin, and loss of all conscious volition. When her head cleared, she found herself packed in with so many others. She hadn't seen anyone she knew, but she did recognise some of the dialects she heard. She'd been frightened at first, but with the extraordinary resilience of the very young, fear turned into curiosity. Of course she'd heard the stories about whole villages disappearing. With all the cynicism that many children possess, she'd never actually believed them. The adults often told equally silly tales of a time when life was peaceful and prosperous.

She ate and drank when it was available. She helped feed and clean the ones who lay motionless and looked at nothing. She relieved herself in the alcove set aside for that purpose. Eventually she found others from her village. Many villages were represented, from quite a wide area. They didn't know that the ship they were in had several similar holds, equally packed. Mostly she sat, listening and waiting.

She'd gone to use the alcove, which was partially hidden from view of the main hold. The "facilities" were just a hole in the deck, with a sliding cover. The young man, a stranger to her, followed her to the alcove, but contrary to established etiquette, did not wait outside. Silently he pushed her down onto the deck, one hand easily covering mouth and throat. She was too astonished to scream, and too small to struggle effectively under his greater weight. After he'd finished raping her he left silently. She'd remained lying on the deck. When her breath and wits returned, she'd sat up and slowly replaced her coveralls. She'd had nothing to wipe off the blood.

Her initial shock and fear turned to anger in a very short time. How could one of her own kind hurt her in this way? Why had no one said anything when she tried to explain? Her child's mind wondered if she'd done something wrong. The rest of the trip was spent in silent contemplation. Who could she trust, when her own people attacked her?

Eventually there came a "day" when the captives smelled and felt the remembered effects of the "restraint" spray. The ship had evidently reached its destination and the cargo was unloaded. Siiret remembered nothing of the transfer to her new home.

When she'd become fully conscious again, she was lying on a narrow, hard bed.The air was warm and very dry, but smelled clean. She'd sat up, and noticed that she was clean, and dressed in a loose shift. Her arm was sore. She saw that there were some marks on it, which didn't rub off. She was puzzled briefly, but as before curiousity took over. She had a good look around. There were many other beds in the large room, some occupied.None of the others seemed to be of her own people. There were skin and hair colours she'd never seen before, but the bodies were roughly similar to her own.

A door slid open, and two males entered. Siiret froze, but they simply shouted something she didn't understand. Everyone was herded out to another chamber and left there. Siiret was pleased to see water and made quick use of it although she was already much cleaner than was possible on the transport. Despite the fact that she was quite willing to get dirty, as any normal child would, she was unwilling to stay dirty if she could help it. After a short time, another door opened, leading to a large room with long tables and chairs. Others were already seated, male and female as far as she could tell. There were trays with small bowls and plates in front of each. Siiret's group was led along one wall, where they received their own trays. She found the adult sized tray a little difficult to manage, but dared not drop it. She started to walk over to where she could see others of her own kind, but the way was barred by one of the guards. She had to sit with her own group. The food was unfamiliar, but tasted of little. She ate and drank everything. Food had never been plentiful at home, much less in the stinking cargo hold. There was very little noise in the dining area, except that of food consumption. No one seemed to speak anyone else's language. The attendants were silent and watchful.

She'd finished eating and stood up. A look from a guard sat her down again. Eventually she heard a peculiar wailing noise, and saw the others rise. She rose with her group and followed them out.

Initially her new life wasn't drastically different than her previous one. The work was agricultural, and there was plenty of it. Food and rest were barely adequate. When the weather did not permit outdoor work (which was mostly gleaning whatever the automated harvesters missed), there were indoor tasks. The slaves were kept busy with no days off. If the day's work finished early, they were given an hour or two extra rest. Siiret had no real playtime (which she missed a little) and no schooling of any sort (which she missed not at all). She cried herself to sleep for the first few days. Occasionally she wondered if she was being punished for something she couldn't remember doing.

In time, with a child's natural facility for languages, she came to understand and be able to communicate with some of the others in her group. They were neither kind nor especially unkind to her. When she asked some of them how they came here, their stories were similar to hers. Their respective planets of course were completely unfamiliar to her. When she asked what they had done to be punished so, most gave similiar answers: they'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometimes Siiret wondered despairingly why had her family allowed this to happen to her. She had no way of knowng that they had been drugged when she had, and could have done nothing. Eventually there came a time when she hardly thought of them at all, except with a vague resentment.

Because she was quick to learn, she mostly avoided the all too frequent punishments meted out to the others. For whatever reason, it never occurred to her to try to escape so she also avoided being maimed or executed. Mostly she watched and listened intently. Siiret soon realised that life would be much easier for her if she seemed passive. On occasion, she caught glimpses of what life was like outside of the slave compound. From time to time she was moved to another area, to do different work.

She noticed the intent glances some of the guards gave her. None of them had done anything except keep a hand lingering on her shoulder or arm longer than was strictly necessary. She never resisted or pulled away, too young to realise the significance of such actions. Once she got a little older, she became aware of many things. She found she could secure extra rations, or rest by encouraging such physical contact. On those occasions, she compartmentalised her emotions, and allowed herself to feel nothing. At one point she was sent to be a house slave in a very wealthy household. Her duties were not onerous, and included sharing the beds of various individuals. She appreciated the small luxuries that she earned. Naturally, those luxuries were otherwise out of her reach, in her subservient position. She found several facts very interesting. One of them was the idea that a very few people could be supported in such wealth only through the use of large amounts of slave labour. Another was the fact that she could partake of a tiny fraction of that wealth simply by the manipulation of others through the shrewd and selective use of her body.

As she reached adolescence, one of the major dilemmas that plague children and young people throughout the galaxy was resolved for her. The problem of what to be when she grew up.