My Voyage of Submission Ch. 07

"I do too," he said softly. "Miranda's committee thinks there is someone above Mahmoud pulling the strings. They have operations on each continent and Mahmoud is only the African operator, maybe only the North African operator, with someone above him. How would Mahmoud know he had a market for his slaves in South America and where they could be sold? We've found six slaves here and all but one came from somewhere other than South America. Does it strike you as logical for some Berber warlord in the Atlas Mountains in North Africa to arrange all of this? And why was Rodrigo trying to draw in Hannah at his club or us at Pinho de Praia. Seems like a lot of hard work when they're so successful plucking the unprotected. Rodrigo didn't seem to be running any operation in South America because he was trying to create his own slaves, but that meant he was pulling his schemes on behalf of someone else. What do they know about us and how and why?"

"Did Edgar or anyone else learn something useful about Edward in St. Barths?" I asked.

"No. He seems relatively clean. Doesn't own any slaves or even have submissives himself, although his personal assistant, Joy, is sleeping with the boss, but that's not terribly uncommon. He just passed on some info after he felt he got taken for a little more money than he expected when we made our deal. Seems like Rodrigo or Tadeo made contact with him after hearing about our deal in financial news and asked if he knew anything which would help them in negotiations."

"Nothing more from the people on the nude beach?" Francesca asked.

"They get orders, obey them and get paid. They don't have a clue who's in charge. You'd think with all the people looking for these slavers, someone would slip up and they'd get caught. Some other scum bag would eventually take over, but perhaps they wouldn't be as effective in hiding or enslaving young women."

"It's not just the ones we know. It's all the others who've been taken and the ones yet to be taken. In a year, a thousand other women could be like our little group of five, wondering what they ever did to earn the existence they're living."

"Is the problem really that huge?" Belle asked.

"Worse," I said. "Thousands of people every year are enslaved involuntarily. The international market for slaves runs into the hundreds of billions of dollars. Florida, where we're from, has several hundred women every year who thought they were being brought into the country legitimately, finding themselves in brothels working as prostitutes serving migrant workers or other poorly paid workers. Some of them are young, barely adults. It seems as if every other week they bust another human trafficking ring, and it doesn't even slow it down. As Master said, some other scum bag fills any holes as soon as someone is taken off the street. I mean, I used to mourn over the statistics but it was so far removed from my personal experience, it had no immediate impact. Not like having five of the victims living on our own ship has."

"I know," Master said. "It's all very well I've got four willing women to wait on me hand and foot and do almost anything I ask and it's always felt good because it's all voluntary and you can each walk away anytime you want and I'd never think of keeping any of you against your will, but having those four freed women dining at my table makes me feel dirty and unclean by having four slaves of my own, even if they are voluntary. I wonder what each of those women thinks about me? I know Fatima can accept it now, but what of the other four? We've limited what they've seen, but if they saw me leading one of you on a leash, or whipping you, or fucked publicly; what would they think? I'd be as much of an ogre as those who enslaved them."

"Sahar thinks we're crazy," I said. "She can't understand why anyone would do what we do? There's a disconnect between what she experienced and what we have and she can't see it. It's as foreign to her as much through her religion as anything else. She doesn't understand how we can be so loose and immoral, having sex with people willy nilly. Even though she sees it might be a permanent part of her life now that she can no longer be 'good', she doesn't understand why we want to fuck other people. The others don't either, but Sahar was enslaved the longest and I think suffered the worst emotionally. Even the ones who are pregnant weren't violated as deeply as she was, or at least not until their offspring were born and taken from them, slaves themselves.

"Master, that might be part of the problem. I think these women think they might have to become prostitutes to support themselves and their children. They don't know you don't intend to turn them out without any support to help them. They're wondering how they will be able to support themselves and their children, especially if their families reject them. I think we should tell them they won't be tossed in the streets."

"You're right. I never considered what they were wondering about their future. How would they know? We'll tell them after morning muster. Regardless of what happens with their families, I'll ensure they can live comfortably without struggling or being forced into prostitution. It might mean the world to know they aren't on their own."

"We didn't think of it because we knew it, sir. It wasn't even a question. Fatima asked about her brand today. Manuel told her it couldn't be removed, only made to look less bad than it does now. She asked how much it would cost. Manuel said nothing and she wondered why. Manuel knew if the doctors wouldn't do the work pro bono, you'd pay for it as a gift. Fatima didn't know. It's like everything these young women are faced with has a cost and they don't know how they'll pay for it. Their fears are so much worse because they see a lifetime of more struggle alone. They have to be told."

It was a fairly quiet group of four who went to bed that night. Each of us was thinking about what these women had gone through and still had to go through.

******

I couldn't wait for the morning muster to start. I was so hoping what we had to tell the ducklings would make a huge difference in their lives and relieve some of the stress they were all feeling. Master's morning swats to my ass were a cake walk, our showers quick, our breakfast rushed through. The daily drawing was anticlimactic. I got Jìngyi for my name. That would be fun. I hadn't spent much time with her lately and it would be good to do so. I'd even missed the last night she'd spent with Master.

Master informed the crew that Fatima had met certain requirements to his and Professor Kline's satisfaction and she could ask for sex from crew members, and they could now accept. They were still not allowed to ask Fatima or pressure her for sex, so be cautious about that. At the end of muster, Master told Fatima to bring the freed slaves to his cabin. I could see this made them all nervous, even though Fatima assured them it would be all right. They'd been accustomed to the attentions of men having negative consequences and a bit more than week aboard our ship hadn't completely canceled their fears.

Looking at the huge bed in his room with the cage under it did nothing to allay their fears. He didn't bring them to the bed, however, but instead the largest seating area of his cabin. They all sat down; Francesca, Belle and I remained standing.

"Fatima, please translate as carefully as you can. This is very important."

"Yes, sir."

"It has been brought to my attention you ladies may believe you face an uncertain future and are concerned for your future welfare and the welfare of your children." He waited for the translations to take place, continuing when they were over. "It is, and always has been my intent to give each of you sufficient money to live comfortably and to care for your children when they are born. Regardless of whether your families would accept you back with open arms, you will be able to live and care for yourself and child without fear of inability to feed yourself and them, find a place to live, and having to seek money in ways which would be demeaning or degrading." Translations again. "If you are careful with it, you might not have to work at all, though I have business interests all over the world and would offer employment to anyone who wishes it as close as they can be to their home countries."

"I have offices in Karachi, Pakistan for Ateefah, and in Rabat, Morocco for Maahnoor. I have no offices in Oman, but have business in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for Sahar. In the case of Hibbah, the closest I can get her to South Sudan is Mombasa or Nairobi in Kenya or Cairo in Egypt. I have nothing closer, so I apologize to her."

With each sentence, you could see the despair begin to wash away and hope replace it.

"If you wish to live elsewhere, it may be possible. Speak to me about what you want and I'll try to accommodate your wishes."

"Why?" Sahar asked.

"I have more money than I can spend in a hundred lifetimes. I would like to do some good with it and this is something good I can do without harm to anyone else. I would have spoken of it earlier, but I know how some people feel about accepting charity from strangers. I also know that money brought into the family may fall under the control of males in the household. I wished to speak to your families if they were found and let them know this money is for your safety and security and no other purpose. I have no objection to your families upgrading their living quarters and circumstances with the money I provide for you, but not to the exclusion of your security and the safety of any child you might carry. It is meant for you, and no one else and I wished to make that clear to them, but I realize now that not telling you this earlier has made your futures feel uncertain and risky. Your futures are not uncertain, and I apologize for not telling you earlier."

"Do you want something in return for this money?" Maahnoor asked.

"For this money, I want nothing in return. It is a gift which you need never repay. If you choose to work for my companies, I would ask you work hard and to the best of your ability for the wages you earn."

"What kind of work would you expect us to do?" Sahar asked.

"If you learn English well, I can always use translators. Essentially, any work which you want to do that you'd be good at. I'm willing to train you to do something you wish to do. If you wish to become a teacher, or nurse, or doctor, I will help you achieve your goals. If you wish to fight against the type of slavery perpetrated against you, I would help you do that. You have suffered enough abuse in your lives, it does not need to be added to. I wish to make the rest of your life easier, not harder, than it has been."

"You are Jewish, aren't you? Why would you do this for Muslim women?" Sahar asked.

"No matter what faith you follow, what was done to you is an abomination. There is enough misery in the world perpetrated in the name of religion. I do not wish to add to it. Hatred towards anyone in the name of religion, color, nationality, or race has no part of my life. I save my hatred for those who've earned it, like the people who enslaved you."

"Did you give money to Beatriz as well?" Ateefah asked.

"I did. Her father was reluctant to accept it as he is a proud man, but he took it for his child and grandchild."

"And this is all you wished to tell us?" Sahar said, glancing furtively at the bed.

Master noticed and smiled.

"Not quite all." Sahar grew nervous again until Master began pulling boxes from a bag beside his chair. "I promised you something which would help you learn English. Professor and Mrs. Kline went shopping last night and got each of you one of these iPads. It has a translation app on it which will help you learn English directly and speak to anyone you want on this ship. You will set it up in your own language to make it easier to use. You can speak in your own language and it will translate your words to English, and anything spoken to you in English will be translated to Arabic or Urdu or Portuguese. Hibbah, I don't believe it can speak your native tribal dialect, so you may be required to speak Portuguese to it. This will give Fatima more time to spend on herself without her having to translate everything for you. Fatima and Beth will help you set up your iPads and show you how to work with the translation app.

"Fatima wants to learn to be the Captain of her own ship and her studies have suffered due to the time she's spent with you. From now on, you may use these, plus Beth, Francesca and Belle to teach you English as they have more spare time than Fatima does. I wish you the very best for your future lives. That is all I have to say."

Sahar looked down at the box in her hands. "Thank you, senhor," she whispered, tears falling down her face.

"You're welcome, Sahar. You're all free to go now. Fatima and Beth will help you with your new equipment on the sundeck. I have a business meeting to prepare for."

After the translations were done, the rest of them thanked Master and he waved it off, saying it was the least he could do. The rest of us went back to the sundeck and unboxed their new tools. We showed them how to turn them off and on, set the volume, set them up in their native languages and connect to the ships wifi. Master was right, Hibbah had to set hers up for Portuguese as her language wasn't in the system. Opening up the Microsoft Translator app, we showed them how to use it. Press on the microphone in one language and hear it spoken in English and written down. Press on the other microphone symbol to respond and it was spoken and written in their language.

One of the very first things Sahar said in Arabic to me for translation was, "you have a very worthy master."

I responded, "I know. Is it any wonder I love him so?"

She heard the words spoken in Arabic and looked at me, smiling. She spoke again. Out came, "Not at all."

I smiled back and we hugged.

From then on, they carried their iPads everywhere, although I recommended they use the app to learn the English words and try to speak the English as much as possible when they spoke to someone to learn the language themselves. Soon much of the crew found themselves besieged with foreign speaking women seeking to learn English as quickly as they could. Sahar was the most persistent. If anyone had to work or otherwise had enough, she sought out me, primarily, or Belle or Francesca until they left, because other than sex, we had very few duties.

******

After a pleasant half hour with Jìngyi, the rest of the day was mine. After we'd departed Montevideo, it was a short cruise of about six hours up the Rio De La Plata to Buenos Aires, about a hundred miles. I was in the gym in the afternoon working out when Sahar came down with her iPad.

She said something and the iPad spit out, "Why do you work out so much? Does your master like strong, thin women?"

Sahar hit the reply mike and waited for my reply.

"Everyone is encouraged to work out thirty minutes a day. I exercise more for myself. I like to compete in an extreme race. I hope to compete again when this voyage is over." I told her about the Ironman.

"And you kick and hit the big bag. Why do you do that?"

I told her about learning self defense to protect myself from people who might want to harm me or take me as she had been, and to repel pirates or others who might try to come aboard.

"The men would not protect you?"

"They would do all they can to protect me, or you, but I should also know how to protect myself. There may not always be men around to protect me."

"Can I learn?"

"Yes. Edgar is the primary teacher and he will teach you as much or as little as you want to know."

"Including the use of guns?"

"Even that."

"They are not afraid I will try to kill them?"

"Only if they would do something to warrant such behavior. No one would have that intent. They are all good people as far as I can tell."

"They look at me in a certain way."

"This may be true. You are a beautiful woman and they have primarily been raised to believe you may look but may not touch without permission. So they may look, but they mean no harm by it. They are curious, but intend no hurt nor disrespect to you. It is only the differences in what we've been taught to believe."

Sahar nodded thoughtfully. "They look at all the women this way. I see it, the sex hunger in their eyes."

"Yes, they often have the sex hunger, but they will never act on their hunger without your permission. My Master would be very upset. They would be fired, perhaps even hurt by the other crew members. Particularly you and the others. No one agrees with how you were treated by your owners and they would be angry if anyone else tried to hurt you. There was one particular person who was aboard the ship before. He didn't hurt me, but he said unkind things to me. Two others, a man and a woman, stood up for me, and Master fired him and sent him away. There is one in particular who is attracted to different women and he has more sex hunger than the others, but even he will never hurt anyone to satisfy his hunger. He would attempt to use persuasion to get you into his bed, but never force or violence. At the moment, he can't even ask or persuade you because Master is so protective or you, but at some point, those restrictions might be eased and he might ask. You always have the right to say NO. He will not violate that right."

"Can you show me some of the things you know?"

"I can show you, but I'm not the best teacher as I'm just learning myself. If you would prefer a woman to teach you, our hairdresser/massage therapist, Roberta, would be a better choice than I am. She was in the Marine Corps and is a very good fighter and an excellent shot. You should ask her if you want help."

Sahar nodded. "Thank you," she said without use of the app. She didn't ask further questions, but watched as I continued my workout, including work on the heavy bag, then the shooting range, once again attempting to shoot while exhausted. I didn't do badly. I went through the Hogan's Alley scenario without being killed or shooting anyone innocent.

When I finished, she said, "I would learn this self defense," in English.

She touched the microphone. I said, "Someone will teach you."

Sahar nodded.

******

The Captain and Fatima were absent from dinner. We were still underway and the Rio De La Plata was heavily traveled. Francesca, Manuel and Roberta were serving tonight. All the women had their iPads out listening to the various English conversations, all being translated into something they could understand. Ateefah and Hibbah had theirs speaking out the conversation in Urdu and Portuguese, which was somewhat discombobulating. I said to them that they could turn down the sound and just read what was being said.

Ateefah looked down and said, "I never learned to read or write."

Hibbah said, after translation to English, "I don't know how to read or write Portuguese either."

Master said, "I will give AirPod Pros to anyone who can provide them with headphones."

Belle said, "I've got it." She jumped up and ran for Master's room, coming back with two sets of ear buds. She plugged them into the headphone jack, put the buds in Ateefah's ears and patted her head. "All set." She did the same for Hibbah.

She sat down saying, "I've been dying for AirPod Pro's." Master smiled.

"Where did you get the second set of buds?" Francesca asked.

"You're getting AirPod Pros too, Mistress. Sorry."

Francesca shook her head. "I think that deserves a stiff spanking."

When both women heard the translation in their ears they started to give the ear buds back to Francesca, which caused her to say "I'm kidding. It's just a joke. Please keep them."