The Spider Queen

Chapter 175: Selfishness And Guilt

(Planet Xicoras)

(Peacekeeping Station No.093)

The noble family placed in an administrative position for planet Xicoras decided to keep control of the law and order firmly in their grasp.

This was done by utilising private forces on the trading colony paid for by their own wealth.

Several peacekeeping stations were built throughout the main cities to deal with any unexpected emergencies or criminal behaviours.

These buildings were outfitted with the latest security devices that included facial recognition, biological and chemical weaponry, barrier devices and runes carved out of null magic to deal with mages.

Sophie and Cleo were currently standing in front of the reception desk while the former slave girls sat quietly in the waiting room.

“So…. how can I help you?” came the bored voice of the woman sitting behind a counter fiddling around with her communicator.

She wore the standard white uniform of the law enforcement agency on planet Xicoras with two black plasma rifles attached to her hip.

It was clear that her parents were not fully human as evidenced by the small red horns that were growing out of her forehead.

“Yes, I would like to report the retrieval of several girls who may have gone missing months or years ago,” Cleo replied.

“They were sold by a slave trading company on planet Calypso and my partner and I have evidence that more slaves are being held captive on that planet.”

The princess handed over a data chip with pictures and videos of the slaves being held captive that were taken when the pair had been given a tour of the marketplace.

“Well we can run their identities through the database and try to connect them with their families,” the policewoman yawned sleepily as she spoke.

Sophie was secretly pissed at her nonchalant attitude and stepped forward with small flecks of red appearing in her golden eyes.

“What about our report about the slave trade happening on that planet? Don’t you all have the ability to connect to the Imperial Army and report important matters like this,” she hissed.

“We are a private force and can only operate on planet Xicoras so taking action on planet Calypso is out of our jurisdiction,” the policewoman was unfazed by the intimidating hybrid girl and continued to talk calmly.

“Look I can forward this information to the local authorities in charge of that sector but personally…. I wouldn’t hold my breath on anything meaningful happening.”

“Now can you bring the girls over so I can run their ID’s?”

Sophie’s expression contorted as the words of the receptionist made sense, but it still left her feeling bitter.

Hopefully when this information was sent to the right people then something would be done but Sophie was not naive enough to think that would actually happen.

Maybe it was time she took matters into her own hands…. 

She sighed heavily and walked back to the waiting room to fetch the girls who wanted to be reunited with their families.

The waiting room was a bit small so only the younger girls were currently sitting on the memory foam chairs while the older women were standing by their sides protectively.

All eyes looked up when Sophie entered the room, and it did not take long for the hybrid girl to open her mouth and deliver the news.

“Alright it seems that the lady at the desk will run your facial pattern against the missing person registry list so you can contact your families,” she addressed the nervous looking girls.

“And as I said before, anyone who does not want to will receive a sum of Enas credits and be free to travel wherever you want.”

“I will also give some money to the girls who want to return to their families.” 

Silva was the first girl to step forward and walk confidently towards the receptionist desk with a few other girls exchanging looks and then following closely behind.

The policewoman held out a tiny mechanical device that emitted a beam of blue light and scanned the faces of the girls present.

From there it was a fairly straightforward procedure for the missing person registry to be scanned and then the corresponding match found.

Sophie and Cleo had kindly lent the girls their communicators so they could contact their families and the happy laughter and cries of joy brought a small tear to Sophie’s eyes.

Most of the parents and loved ones of these girls had simply assumed the worse after months of no news or complete silence from the authorities.

Sophie could hear the anguish and relief present in the raw emotions expressed from the voices of the concerned families.

“Those girls are lucky,” came a soft whisper from behind Sophie.

Violet had quietly snuck up and was watching the girls with an odd mix of longing and pain in her gaze.

“Aren’t you going to contact your family as well?” Sophie asked hesitantly.

“It would be safer if I simply remained missing,” Violet smiled bitterly and just continued to watch silently.

“Is there a reason? I could try to help you,” Sophie frowned and turned to face the young girl.

“No… you have helped enough already, and this is something I need to deal with on my own,” came the firm reply.

Violet soon left and returned to the waiting room while Sophie stared at her departing back with a thoughtful expression.

Sophie would have readily helped out the former slave girl if she had asked but was not going to force the matter if her assistance was not wanted.

Perhaps the pleasant atmosphere had even affected the indifferent policewoman as she now talked to the former slave girls with a gentler tone as she looked up their profiles.

It did not take long for the calls to finish and the excited girls were then escorted out of the buildings by Sophie and Cleo.

The next destination was a bank run by the Hubert company that Sophie was going to use to create temporary accounts for the girls.

It was an easy procedure that could be done using the ATM machines outside of the bank, so Sophie loaded each card with enough money to last for one year and handed them to the girls.

“Well this is where we depart,” Sophie spoke as the last girl received her card.

“I wish you all the best on your new lives and I sincerely hope that you find happiness and can put these awful experiences behind you.”

“I added the serial number for my communicator to the additional information page on your banking account so if you ever get in trouble with those slavers please don’t hesitate to contact me.”

“The spaceport is just a short ten minutes walk north of the bank so you can return to your families or travel to any other colony by boarding a transport vessel.”

There was a brief moment of silence as Sophie finished talking but then one by one the girls expressed their gratitude in different ways,

“Thank you,” one girl hugged Sophie and then Cleo tightly before walking away.

“We can never repay you for this favour,” Silva bowed solemnly and placed an open palm against her heart in a strange gesture.

“You have saved us from a life of hell,” Violet teared up and clutched her banking card with an expression of thankfulness. 

A few other voices rang out from the crowd,

“Words can’t describe how I feel but I hope you know that I owe you my life.”

“I never thought that I would ever see my sister again after being trapped in that hellhole for weeks.”

“I will never forget what you have done for us.” 

Cleo smiled and waved cheerfully at the girls as they departed but Sophie’s eyes seemed to flash with a brief emotion of guilt.

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(Several hours later)

(Casablanca Royal Hotel- Presidential Suite)

“We did a good thing,” Cleo gently held her girlfriend’s palm and stroked Sophie’s face with a loving touch.

The princess had just stepped out of the shower and Sophie could smell the fresh scent of flowers coming from her body.

The pair were currently staying at the best room in a five-star hotel having already bid farewell to the girls they had rescued.

Midterms would be held in just a few days so it meant that they would have to leave for Zrudread University first thing in the morning.

“I just…. I just feel so helpless,” Sophie confessed in a low tone as she lay on the soft bed.

Something had just been bothering her for the last few hours and she could not help but want to get it off her chest. 

“Despite being the daughter of a duke and the heir to House Peterlor, it seems that I can’t do anything without my father’s help.”

“What do you mean?” Cleo was confused at this sudden shift in mood.

“I messaged my father when you were in the shower and told him to annihilate that pirate den using his personal forces.”

“He agreed and it should only take a few days before those grey organizations and that wretched scum Edward are destroyed.”

“You know that I took this mission to prove that I could be independent, and I’ll be honest Cleo….”

“It was selfish of me, but I wanted to return after training and reaching the qi tide stage to deal with Edward myself.”

Sophie’s shoulders shook lightly as the emotions flowing through her body threatened to overwhelm her.

“Aren’t I just fucking awful?”

“For the sake of my pride I was prepared to wait months or even years until I gained enough strength to do the job myself.”

“No isn’t that just the healthy attitude of a young noble cultivator?” Cleo couldn’t figure out what was the reason behind Sophie’s guilt.

“Cleo….” Sophie clenched her fists in rage.

“My first thoughts after we escaped planet Calypso wasn’t towards the slaves that we left behind but rather how could I get stronger.”

“How many slave girls would have been sold off during my time in training?”

“How many would be killed, beaten, tortured or forced to spend the rest of their lives in sexual servitude to some vile master?”

“All because of my arrogance.”

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