We'd talk sometimes when she came back into camp. She was so entirely different than she had been prior. Gone was the demure girl who had no opinions of her own. Fuji used the resources available to her and became an individual in her own right. She had become proud, stubborn, and opinionated. It was a miraculous change.

I saw her one day dragging the bloody carcass of a rack through a ground level entrance into the transport storage area. The men surrounded her as she entered and eyed her catch with appreciation. Every piece of a rack was valuable in the camp, none of it would be wasted, but catching and killing one was a feat. The men were honored when she gave her prize over and instructed them to make good use of it.

“How did you do that?" I asked as the men carried the body away with hoots and calls, alerting everyone to the bounty.

“Racks aren't hard," Fuji informed me, shaking her hair out. "I could catch more, but the Administrators only want me bringing the population down, not decimating it."

Up close I could see several healed lines on her flesh. My friend had no use for clothing and continued refused all offers to furnish her some. Fuji had scars that crisscrossed her torso and arms. Knowing what it took to penetrate her skin, I imagined Learning to kill a rack had not been an easy chore. She was too proud of her ability to be worried about that. Her worth was not based on her perfect physical self anymore.

“You've changed, my friend," I told her.

“I never thought you would be like this."

Fuji looked at me and then at the world outside the cave.

“My home planet was like this," she said. "I was not able to explore it. Women on my planet are only valuable for sale. My male breeder secluded my sisters and me underground. We were trained to serve and then sold, so he could continue his habit..."

I felt foolish, but I didn't know much about Fuji's home world. I wasn't sure what habit she referred to. My confusion was evident.

“I've learned about my home planet, Batra," Fuji explained.

“The worms that are so nutritious for you are from there, but we hunted them to near extinction,once we discovered them. They are very difficult to afford, now. Before the worms, my people were proud fighters. We did not sell our children to be slaves on other worlds. The worms took away our sense.”

I nodded sympathetically, knowing that drugs had ruined many proud humans on Earth.

“The hold of those things can be hard to break," I said sadly.

"I have broken their hold over me," Fuji stated with obvious pride. "I do not need the worms to feel good. Hassar has brought them here and I was able to sit and look at them. It made me feel strong to ask her to take them away from me."

In the distant past I'd seen Fuji react to the worms. If she no Longer felt the pull for them, that was really saying something. It was a testament to her new strength she didn't need them to feel good.

Several men approached and wanted Fuji to hunt for them. They wanted to work at a place they knew to be infested with racks. My friend could help them keep the creatures away and under control while they worked.

We bid each other goodbye as she walked casually off with the men. I watched her leave with some awe. She Looked like a radiant goddess and carried herself the same way. Freedom had done amazing things for her.

Rose was changing, too. Once upon a time, she'd been a bright energetic girl with strong opinions and midwestern work ethic. Her husband had started to crush her spirit and then slavery had taken away what she had left. Free and encouraged, she found herself again.

I watched with admiration as my friend took on the task of being a free woman. She was unstoppable when a job needed to be completed. When the men around us were tired and frustrated Rose became their cheerleader. Everyone appreciated having her around.

Time came and went and I timed it by my menses. They seemed to follow the cycle of the main moon, which I found odd. It took three cycles before things started to change in the way the camp's men felt about the “slavers".

During the day Rose and I talked nonstop to the men around us. We made every argument we could in favor of our families and it started to work. Actually the argument Rose chanced upon started to work. She had asked me innocently if all men on the planet were part of the Great Harmonious Spirit or just ones like the people in the camp.