by Robin Roseau
“And you are Aurora.”
“You greet with an offering of hands,” and she held hers out. I offered mine, and we clasped. It felt… odd. Good.
I looked into her eyes. They were beautiful; she was beautiful.
“I am not an ambassador,” I said.
“Neither am I,” she replied. “Now, we both are.”
“I am to introduce you to the admiral.”
“The leader of humans here.”
“Yes.”
“Then introduce us, and then she and I will provide more introductions.”
“We have greeted in the human style. Is there a khalenzi style?”
“Many. My preferred is simple. May I touch?”
“Yes.”
“We brush,” she said. And then she leaned forward and brushed her cheek against mine. “And lick. Here.” And then her tongue flicked against my ear. It surprised me. “I have startled you,” she said into my ear.
“I should do the same?”
“If you are not overly-startled.”
And so I gave her ear a flick. Then she withdrew. “That is the greeting of strangers. Friends may linger.”
“I understand,” I say. “We also have other greetings. This way.”
I led her to the admiral. “I should be formal at first,” I said. I lifted my voice. “Aurora, Ambassador of the Khalenzi People, this is Admiral Calypso Madden.”
“Calypso,” said Aurora. She stepped forward and offered first a human greeting, and then khalenzi.
“Welcome to Artemis, Aurora,” Calypso replied.
* * * *
We met. There were, in all, twelve of the aliens aboard their shuttle. They were similar in stature, although not identical. The color of both their hair and their delicate scales varied dramatically, but they were all deeply beautiful. We exchanged greetings and names. Our full names confused them, so we shifted to first names, omitting titles, and that seemed to help.
All tried to offer human-style of greetings, and all spoke accented English. Some of them also offered khalenzi-style greetings, and so my ear was well-tasted before we were done.
And my heart didn’t stop pounding.
We moved everything to one of the ship’s restaurants, the tables arranged in a circle with sufficient seating for twenty-four. And we sat, two humans and two khalenzi at each table. Joy, the admiral’s daughter, sat opposite me, and kitty corner to either side were Annalise and Liberty. They said their names in their language, but I didn’t even try to repeat them.
They had brought food and drinks they could consume, and we had ours. Then the admiral stood and said, “There is a human custom to offer what we call a toast. I do not know why it carries this name, and the word can also mean several other things.”
“Your language is confusing to us,” the ambassador said.
“Our language is frequently confusing to us, too.” And then we learned that the khalenzi had a sense of humor, expressed in a fashion similar to humans. “In a toast, we all lift our glass, like this.” And the humans did so. It took a moment, but then the aliens did the same with their glasses. “And then the toast maker says something, perhaps something simple. Perhaps something profound. Or perhaps simply something silly, if she is capable of nothing else. I wish to offer this toast quite simply: to peaceful beginnings.”
“To peaceful beginnings,” echoed the humans.
“And then we drink a token,” Calypso said, demonstrating.
“To peaceful beginnings,” agreed Aurora, and the aliens also drank their token. “I like this custom.”
Calypso sat, and then she said something quietly to Aurora. It was another moment before the khalenzi ambassador stood. “I will offer my own toast. Friendship.”
“Friendship,” we all echoed.
She sat, and then the head table began to converse together. Liberty set her hand on my arm, and I turned to her. “Do you understand my words?”
“I should ask you that. Yes, I do.”
“We do not speak your words. We speak our own.” She tapped her throat. “You hear this.”
“A translation device.”
“It is not perfect,” she continued. “It only knows the words we have learned from your device, and in our communications since.”
“It does quite well,” I replied.
“Were you frightened?”
“Yes,” I said.
“There was much surprise and fear for us as well. We were expecting no people. We were about to settle into orbit, when your ship appeared from behind the planet. We thought we were alone.”
“We thought we were alone here,” I said. “We found it likely there were other people, somewhere. We weren’t expecting any to arrive here.”
I looked down. Her fingers rested on my arm. “Does my touch disturb you?”
“No. We are so similar but so different.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “Aurora says we must be friends. Space is hostile, and it is a long way to the next source of life.”
“We also wish to be friends,” I replied.
“May I see your hand?”
“Of course.”
I let her take it. She examined my hand, touching, pressing. Her touch was warm and felt good, and we both watched what she was doing. “So similar. We didn’t know what to expect.”
“Neither did we.”
“The book we sent you was only to say ‘hello’. The book you sent us was much more complete.”
“I believe ‘hello’ was the important part, Liberty.”
“Perhaps you are right.” She kept my hand. “This is also ‘hello’. Will you accept my greeting?”
“Yes,” I said.
* * * *
Around us, I saw similar actions. The khalenzi seemed friendly. More importantly, they were non-threatening. But at the same time, I heard attempts to learn about us, some simple, some not, and I heard us doing the same.
“What are your duties?” I asked Liberty.
“My duties?”
“Aboard your ship.”
“Ah. I learn, and everyone helps to run the ship. Do you have duties?”
“I do. I am in charge of the landing bay, where your ship sits. I oversee the activities there. During our voyage, I had other duties as assigned by the admiral.”
“She is the leader of your expedition.”
“Yes.”
And so, she learned a little. I thought I had learned less. A while later, Annalise asked Joy, “Is your original world very far?”
“All space travel is far,” Joy answered, a non-answer. Liberty asked me, “Have your people settled many planets?”
“We are only beginning here,” I replied, another non-answer. “And yours?”
“We expected an empty planet, and we have come to settle. I do not know what we will do now.” That was also a non-answer.
We ate. We talked. And then the ambassador said, “It is the khalenzi way to share entertainment.” She gave a whistle, and one of the others stood. “This is Mary,” Aurora said. “She is mine.”
“Yours?”
“Yes,” Aurora said. “The device does not seem to know the word. She sees to my needs.” And in the back of my mind, a half thought: Mary is already owned, and so early.
I didn’t understand what that meant.
“Mary,” Aurora continued. “As discussed.”
“Of course, Aurora.” She looked about then stepped to my table. “You are Selena.”
“I am.”
“It was you who ventured forth to investigate what we sent.”
“Yes,” I said. “How did you know?”
“You were very brave,” she said, yet another non-answer. “Are you also brave in a social setting?”
“No.”
Around me, people chuckled.
“Perhaps you could try,” she said. “For me. For friendship.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“I wish to teach you something. Please stand, Selena.”<
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Liberty released my hand, and so I stood and moved around to face the alien. “What would you teach me?
“Movement,” she said. “First, we must greet afresh.” She stepped closer, her hands on my arms, and she brushed our cheeks, flicking at my ear. “I can feel your heart. Am I so frightening?”
“You are so lovely,” I replied.
She offered a trill.
“This is friendship,” she said. “May I be daring? I will not hurt you.”
“How daring?”
“I wish to touch. I do not wish to offend. You should place your hands upon me as I do upon you.” And then she wrapped her right arm around me, her hand finding the center of my back. Her left hand she set on my upper arm. “Please do the same.”
And so my left hand held her upper right arm, and my right hand found the small of her back.
“We stay close,” she said. “Just slightly offset, like we are, with my foot between yours.” I felt a tap on my left and then my right foot. “And then we move. I will show you, and then the others will offer sound for us.”
“Music,” I said. “Pleasing sound?”
“Pleasing sound,” she agreed.
And then she moved me, slowly at first. I found myself responding to her, following her lead. “Very good,” she said. She flicked my ear again. Then she spoke, but I didn’t understand the words.
And around us, the aliens began to sing.
It was lovely. Mary waited a moment, and then we were moving again, dancing to the music.
I didn’t fight her lead. Instead, I found myself deeply responsive to it, becoming more and more attuned to her body.
“Good,” she whispered. “Listen to my body.”
We danced, and it felt so very good.
Eventually, she brought me back to my seat at the table, but then she brushed cheeks again, lingering with my ear. “I would dance further with you.”
“I’d like that.”
“Then later.” She gave me one final lick before withdrawing. I found my seat, and then Liberty took my hand again.
It took a minute or two before I could focus on her, but in the back of my head, I felt the words, “Selena is becoming owned.”
I didn’t understand, but I shook my head and smiled at Liberty.
* * * *
We talked. And then there was some sort of negotiation, as the admiral announced, “We’re going to hold a dance. Let’s move the tables aside.”
Everyone stepped in, making room for a dance floor. It wasn’t the first time this space had been used for that purpose, and it was well-designed for it. And then human music began to play. A moment after that, Calypso and Aurora stepped onto the dance floor, Aurora holding Calypso the way Mary had held me. Liberty stepped to my side and asked, “Will you dance with me, Selena?”
“I’d like that.”
“You have a word for this, but could we dance in our style?”
“Yes,” I agreed.
And so she brushed cheeks, and we fitted ourselves together, and then we began to dance. And while we danced, she whispered to me, simple words of friendship.
I danced with Liberty, and then she and Annalise switched partners, and I danced with her. Then Aurora was there, asking me to dance as well.
And mostly it was just dancing, but from time to time they asked me questions, and I did my best to give non-answers, and I asked them questions, and most of the time they gave non-answers.
It was Mary who asked, “Would the humans share this world with your new friends?”
At that, I offered a real answer. “I think that would be something special. And would the khalenzi wish to share this world with your new friends?”
And she said, “That would be special.” And then she licked my ear, and I became more lost to her touch, and her lovely scent.
And in the back of my mind, I felt the words, “Selena will be owned.”
And I was entirely okay with that.
* * * *
We offered them a portion of the ship. I served as a guide, offering a small tour. Mary offered a touch, a lick, and suggested I should stay the night.
“I have duties,” I managed to say.
I retreated from her only to find myself caught by Liberty and Annalise together, and together they whispered in my ear, and I barely pulled away to retreat to our section of the ship.
And then I found the admiral.
We gathered. “What have we learned?”
It went around. We had learned a little, but little of true substance. They were here for the same reason we were. “I was asked if we would share the planet.”
“So was I.”
“So was I,” Calypso said. “Was anyone not asked? All right. Were there any hints on their capabilities.”
“They’re very good dancers,” I said. That was met with strained laughter. “I think they’ve settled other planets, but I couldn’t get an idea how many, or how far they’ve come.”
“They’re very good at not answering,” Joy offered.
“Did anyone give them anything?” Calypso asked.
“I said it would be special to share, and that we hadn’t been here long, but the last part should be incredibly obvious.”
“They asked about the force shield,” Nola said. “I told them I didn’t know how it worked but to ask one of the science types.”
“I was asked, too,” Paityn said. Half of us were asked. No one had given a useful answer.
“They asked about our home world,” I said. “I gave a non-answer.”
“I hope we all gave non-answers,” Calypso said.
We talked for another hour, and then she sent us to our beds.
But as I lay in bed, I thought about dancing until finally I slept.
* * * *
In the morning, ship’s time, I was awake, preparing for the day, when my door alarm alerted me. “Enter,” I called.
The door open, and Corporal Johns said, “Two of the aliens wished to see you, Lieutenant-Commander.”
“Of course. I’ll be right out.”
I gave myself one final check then exited my quarters. Annalise and Liberty were waiting. They both offered greetings and then took my arms. “Selena, there is a custom. Will you let us show you?”
“You don’t have duties, do you?”
“I do. My duties are to be at your disposal.”
“Quite excellent,” Liberty said. “Nola, show us back to our portion of the ship, please.”
“I’ve got this, Corporal,” I said.
“I’m going that way, anyway.”
And so the four of us traced our route until finally we were in the alien portion. Nola stopped, and the three of us proceeded forward until they brought me to one of the lounge rooms. The two led me to one of the sofas, pulling me down.
“There is a game we wish to play,” Liberty said. “You have never played, so you will lose, but may we teach you this game?”
“Humans have a custom I do not care for. We make what we call a wager, usually for money. Do you understand money?”
“Yes.”
I explained wagers, then said, “Does this game involve such things?”
“No. It is only played for enjoyment,” Annalise offered. “We wish to play with you. You will lose. It may be that others will come to join us. It is difficult to explain, but we teach by playing. Will you play?”
“It is only for enjoyment.”
“Only for enjoyment,” she said. “Will you play?”
“I’d like that,” I agreed.
“We take turns,” Liberty said. “I will take my first turn, and to show you, I will take it with Annalise. There are very few rules. There is a good rule and a bad rule. I will show you the bad rule.” She stood then moved and straddled Annalise’s lap. “I am allowed a unit of time to do whatever I wish to her, one type of activity. I may do anything. I am going to do something she won’t like. If she lasts the entire unit of time without stopping me, then I must answer a q
uestion.”
“I can’t play this game,” I said immediately.
“These are easy questions,” she said. “We will not ask anything we would not answer ourselves. We are playing as three people, learning about us as people, You can play, but if we ask a question you cannot answer, then we get to ask two different questions.”
I thought about it. “All right.”
“If Annalise stops me, then you must judge whether what I do is too harsh for a friendly game. I am not going to do anything harsh. If I was too harsh, then I must answer two questions. But otherwise she must answer my question. Do you see?”
“I see.”
“We have a device. It is there.” She gestured to a side table, and I saw a simple sand dial. “You must turn it over and tell me to begin, and then tell me when I must stop. I am ready.”
I turned over the sand dial. “Begin.”
Liberty turned to Annalise and began tapping her lips with her fingers, an uneven rhythm. Annalise made a face, but she tolerated it until half the sand was gone before she said, “Stop.”
“Was I too harsh?” Liberty asked.
“No.”
“Normally we don’t ask, but you don’t know the rules,” Annalise said. “I stopped her, so I owe an answer.”
“Who is the last person who did what I just did to you?” Liberty asked.
“Evie and you, together,” Annalise answered.
Liberty turned to look at me. “Do you see? An easy game.”
“An easy game.”
“Now I return to my place,” she said, climbing from Annalise and sitting down beside me. “Because I picked Annalise, it is her turn. She may pick either of us, but you are learning, so she is going to pick me.”
Annalise stood and moved around to stand behind Liberty. “If I do something pleasant, and she expresses pleasure, she owes an answer. This is not… We have a word. It means you try to not answer. If what I do is pleasant, she will express her pleasure to encourage me. Nearly always, she would owe an answer. But you may not as deeply enjoy the same things we do.”
“I understand. A friendly game.”
“A friendly game,” she agreed.
“You are not angry because of what she did?”
“No. Well, yes, because now I cannot do that to either of you. We must not repeat.”