Kozlowski was missing. My team and I were sent down to the planet's surface to find him, but instead we found a harem hiding in the middle of the desert. - - - We followed the trail along a dry creekbed for most of the morning, then Chi stopped. I strained to see anything in the rocks ahead, but couldn't. Evers and I joined her to see what her sensors had picked up. "Life forms in the rocks ahead. Could be three, could be more, hiding." "Ditto," confirmed Evers. "Metal, too. Could be swords, guns, something like that." Bahkti said, "The tribes have single-shot percussion weapons. Some may be rifles." "Stun five," I ordered. "We don't know that they're dangerous, or even that they're the enemy." "Copy," said three voices simultaneously. We adjusted our blasters, lowered our visors, and started slowly forward. - - - Bargain Princess is a "space operetta," a futuristic science fiction novella. 15 chapters, approximately 21000 words. Advisory: Due to coarse language and some adult subject matter, this book is recommended for ages 16 and older.