Nesert

3.21

The repairs to Nes' al'kesh didn't take long so she was on her way quickly, making her way to Alliance territory again. She spent her time in bars, listening to gossip from bartenders and traders as they all discussed the latest happenings amongst the leadership in the area.

The general consensus was that Tenat had been the traitor, working with Anateo to lure Netan to where the Odyssey was, hoping that the combination of that Tau'ri vessel as well as Tenat's ha'tak would be the end of Netan. With Anateo's failure, however, Tenat was left alone and foolishly still tried to destroy the ship anyway.

That may not have been quite the story that was told at first, but Nes encouraged that version at every location she stopped at. Before long, that was the only way it could have happened - Tenat was too perfect of a scapegoat. She had high hopes that this story would get back to Netan himself eventually, and perhaps she would still be able to infiltrate his inner circle again.

Of course, Anateo had been confident that Kefflin was the one trading with Ba'al, but accessing him was a completely different set of risks. She still didn't even know what he looked like, nor how to access his ship, and she certainly didn't want to attempt a direct approach of simply asking for an audience. She'd be walking in blind.

Eventually, Nes took a job at Kefflin's main Kassa plantation, hoping to get close to the man in charge. Jerlan went up to the command ship quite frequently to report on production. He had always been known for his demanding leadership, but his brutality had increased tenfold with all of the problems affecting the crops. Kefflin's planets were yet untouched by the Ori, but the weather had been uncooperative in many areas, including Jerlan's.

He regularly toured the fields and barns, wanting his own eyes to see every step of the process and make sure it was up to his standards. Nes had seen him once so far, from a distance. He looked to be in his mid thirties and was rumored to be a cousin of Kefflin's, which explained his rise to such a position of power at such a young age. He wasn't particularly handsome, his face far too stern and calculating, but it didn't stop the women of the elite families from seeking him as a husband.

Jerlan seemed to have little interest in settling down, though, his eyes leering over every woman he saw, including Nes, and she saw it as a prime opportunity to persuade him into helping her access Kefflin. When he ordered her to be brought up to the main house for him to return to at the end of the day, Nes played the part of the terrified peasant. If men of power were in better control of their appetites, they would hold their power so much better and longer, but so many of them had the same weakness of taking all they could simply because there was no one to stop them. Or so they thought in their arrogance.

Nes was locked into a bedroom and told to clean herself up, which she did, and then she simply waited in agitation as their sun set. Jerlan entered looking tired and dusty, locking the door again behind him. He smiled when he saw her and it altered his appearance enough that she thought he probably could have been more attractive if he had lived a different life.

"You're new to this work."

Nes nodded.

He came closer and took one of her hands. "Did you run off from a wealthy family? Your hands are still soft and unscarred."

"My father died and we lost everything."

"Well, perhaps there is a different way for you to earn the money your family requires without the hard labor of the fields." He took her chin in his hand and turned her face side to side to look at her. "Yes, I could add you to the other girls. You'd earn me quite a nice price."

He was going to try prostituting her out! An Alliance pimp.

"Of course, I always prefer sampling the goods first." He gave her the kind of smile that made her skin crawl. "Any objections?"