Trafficked! — John Peace

I'm Rashad Stevens. I wasn't looking for trouble. I was in Cairo to work my way out of poverty and save my mother from the fungus disease that the aliens brought when they trashed Europe. But I and Hany Girgis found a chance to travel the stars in the employ of our space-gecko-scum overlords. So what's wrong with that? Apart from being illegal, probably exploitative and possibly lethal, I mean?

This is the cautionary tale of Rashad Stevens. He finds himself in a troubled Cairo during the infamous protests aimed at rallying what was left of the European and Mediterranean nations against their alien conquerors. Turbulent times. Despair is catching; poverty is killing.

Rashad and his Egyptian friend Hany are undecided: should they invest what little they have in a huge alien-run scheme to green the Sahara? Or trust their lives and their savings into the hands of the people smugglers and escape off-world to get work? So many others seem to be leaving. Perhaps this is Rashad's only chance to save the life of his mother. Perhaps Hany will finally be able to provide for his family. Or maybe their journey into the stinking underbelly of the overpowering, overlapping alien civilizations among the stars will turn out to be a greased slide into nightmare.

If you're desperate, you might hand over the keys of your life to a stranger and he might help you out, or he might take up residence, dumping you in the cold, many miles from home. But what if the strangers are not at all human? Is there any chance that they can comprehend your humanity and treat you with even a shred of dignity? When you realise that you've been trafficked, sold as a wage slave, lost, 913 light-years from home, what would you be willing to go through in order to get home again?

From a review posted on Smashwords:

Trafficked is a Sci/Fi Novella of galaxy spanning proportions. Once you set foot on the first page you're sucked through the proverbial wormhole...
... The entirety of the novella addresses a familiar theme, man searching for God in a troubled world, and paints a loosely veiled picture of the hideousness of human trafficking in our world today.
 Mr. Peace has an excellent narrative vision and the storyline flows like the best classic adventure novels. He is also to be commended on his imagination, not only of the aliens and their technology, but the advanced human technology that is spookily adjacent to what we have today. The story could benefit from some additional editting (sic)[Thanks! Edits all done - JP]. Another minor issue was that some things were not clear, especially the technology that Rashad has access to in the beginning but seems to lose as the story continues. I figured it out, but if I hadn't read Mindware Issues by the same author, I would have had a tough time of it. Overall though, Mr. Peace is to be congratulated for creating a readable, classic story that addresses real world issues in a sci/fi setting.
... I'm looking forward to see what he does next.