by Alma Nilsson
Babette dutifully filled out the form as it wasn’t difficult for her to complete her list. She had not brought nearly as much as some of the other women for three reasons; first she did not own very much and second what she did own, besides her clothing, was all second-hand or a hundredth-hand, as she liked to joke, and so there was no reason to take anything of that with her. And lastly, something she hardly even admitted to herself, part of her wanted to start anew. To not be known as the poor girl who had worked her way up to sales assistant, who was known to be, ‘not like her mother,’ Of course, Babette could have always just left Natchez to do that, but it just didn’t seem worth it to save the UCs to start over with complete strangers. She knew the evils of Natchez. But what the Alliance was offering her was not only a mostly clean start but also had the added bonus of extra UCs and for sure different people. More than just different people, they were aliens. And with her new life, would come new belongings, and she welcomed them, whatever they would be.
Name: Madame Babette of House Human
Declaration of Items to be brought to the Alliance Empire, 8th day of the 37th week of the year 18904
Human Clothing:
Five dresses
Three pairs of jeans
Ten shirts
Ten pairs of underwear
Seven Bras
Five pairs of stockings
Ten pairs of socks
Five pairs of shoes
One winter jacket
Human Jewelry:
One box of jewelry
Miscellaneous Human Items:
One bag of makeup
Five bars of Savon de Marseille with crushed flowers soap, rose
Three bottles of Argan Oil Shampoo
Two bottles of Shalimar-Guerlain
One bottle of aloe vera gel
A large box of À la pointe de la Fleur de Sel Noir Chocolaté
Two bottles of Heaven Hill, Green Label Bourbon
Babette was one of the first to finish her list of belongings. She held the tablet on her lap and looked around at the other women as they filled out theirs. Babette had a moment then when it felt like time stood still as she watched all these young women from all over Earth, busily writing down their belongs, and for some reason, out of nowhere, she began to doubt this choice. She didn’t know why her stomach dropped and hoped that she and the rest of them hadn’t just made the biggest mistakes of their lives. Have we all been tricked into going to the Alliance? What if they have lied to us? What if they are going to use us as sex slaves or keep us as pets?
Jade looked over at her Babette, whose face suddenly took on a pale complexion and asked, “Are you okay?”
Babette turned to look at Jade and whispered, “What if this is all just a ruse?”
Jade gave her a comforting smile and said casually, “Why would they go through all the trouble to do that?” After a few seconds of holding eye contact, Jade went back to her list, which was incredibly long given everything she had brought for herself and her uncle Frank who owned the Earth Store. “The Alliance could take human women anytime if they wanted. No, this is for real. The Alliance has a small demographics issue, their female population has decreased by 7%, and their strong religious beliefs keep them from using medical technology to solve it. So, instead of letting the problem become any worse while they look for a cure, they are inviting some human women over as a stopgap. The Alliance wants to bring as little disruption as possible to their culture. That’s why they’re not just taking us by force. They wouldn’t even be doing this unless it was a serious problem.” She refrained from adding, ‘And according to my uncle, they are the most racist culture he’s ever come across,’ and added instead, “I don’t think they want to depopulate Earth either.” But then she bit back her tongue again and resisted saying, ‘I think we will always be their back up plan, like clones to be harvested.’ Jade knew a lot about the Alliance Empire through her uncle and her cousin Mary who was a pirate out on that side of the galaxy. Mary, of course, would never own up to being a pirate to family members, but that is exactly what she was. Jade was looking forward to being closer to her uncle and Mary and leading a much more exciting life than just working for her parents at their restaurant in New York. ‘What fun is it to already begin at the top?’ she had questioned them when she told them she was leaving for the Alliance. Of course, they understood, and agreed that maybe for some working at your parents Michelin star restaurant would be enough, but not for Jade, she wanted to make something for herself.
Everything that Jade said made sense to Babette, but she still had the feeling that she had done something wrong. “I just can’t shake this feeling of doubt.”
Jade stopped writing her list of foodstuffs again and looked at Babette, “Have you ever left Earth before?”
Babette shook her head, “I’ve always wanted to, but no.”
“That’s it then. There is something surreal about leaving your planet for the first time. It’s as if your body knows. As if we are connected to the planet in some way, and it doesn’t want to let us go.”
“You’re going to make me cry,” Babette admitted. Jade was suddenly making her feel like she was abandoning Earth.
“Oh, don’t do that,” Jade patted Babette’s arm affectionately. “I’m so inarticulate sometimes. What I meant was that it feels strange when you go into space for the first time. It’s like going into the ocean for the first time and staring into the vastness of the water. Staring into the dark, infinite distances that make us feel so small. And all with the knowledge that dangerous things are lurking somewhere in those depths.”
“Again, Jade, you were making me feel better until you mentioned ‘the dangerous things lurking’ part,” Babette smiled at her exciting new friend as the transport shook a little. “I think you’re right; I’ve never left Earth before, and as much as I want this adventure, I also really feel the gravity of what I’m doing now. Like a weight pulling on my stomach. Don’t look at me like that, I didn’t mean the pun.”
“Lack of gravity,” Jade replied with a little laugh. “I get it. I think you are brave doing this and I think you’ve made the right decision. What were you ever going to be on Earth? In the Alliance, who knows where your destiny lies? It’s such a cosmopolitan place. We will be a part of the galaxy there. Meeting aliens from all over. It will be so exciting. And besides, marrying one of these handsome Alliance men can't be wrong. You won’t regret it. Just try to think about that and not this little transport or leaving Earth behind. Concentrate only on what lies ahead.”
Babette took a deep breath and tried to do just that, focus on what was in front of her. After a minute or two, she looked down at Jade’s long list. It seemed she had even brought the kitchen sink. “Really?” Babette asked when she saw ‘kitchen sink.’
“You’ve no idea what I’ve heard about the modern monstrosities the Alliance have in their kitchens. It’s no wonder they have lost the skill, if they ever had it, to make delicious meals. So yes, I have brought a kitchen sink.”
Babette laughed at her friend, but she did feel better. Maybe this was all just her fear of leaving Earth for the first time. Perhaps it was only her physical body asking her mind, ‘Are you sure you really want to do this?’ She couldn’t compare it to her first experiences in the ocean as she had spent her summers going to the beach in Biloxi for as long as she could remember. She was always used to seeing the vastness of the ocean, so perhaps being in space and traveling between planets was merely just a new feeling she needed to get used to. She watched Jade again vigorously write in everything she was bringing with her and thought, Yes, why would they go through all this when it really didn’t matter. The Alliance could do whatever they wanted in the galaxy, and none could really tell them ‘no.’
It wasn’t long before the transport came up alongside the large Alliance ship. Babette exclaimed, looking out the window, more loudly than she anticipated, “What a large starship!”
A sophisticated woman on t
he other side of her said haughtily, “It’s an Alliance Alpha warship, what did you expect?”
Babette frowned, feeling like a country mouse. She looked over at Jade, who rolled her eyes at the woman who’d made the comment.
“I don’t think any human besides Captain Kara Rainer and her crew have seen an Alliance Alpha warship and lived to tell about it,” another woman said loudly.
Then one of the Alliance officers said, “Excuse me, you will please address her as Captain Kara. She no longer carries her human name, and none of us on this ship are citizens of Earth any longer. We are all Alliance. This ship is your ship to take you home.”
All the women went quiet then, as they felt reprimanded and maybe momentarily hesitant about everything they had agreed to in their contracts with the Alliance. Silently, they all watched as the transport docked on the massive ship. Suddenly the transport went from dark and silent to being engulfed by machinery, lights, sounds, illegible written language, and grey-skinned aliens all in black uniforms with short swords all around them as the transport doors opened.
Babette and the other women were guided out of the transport and made to stand in two rows. Babette and Jade stood next to each other in the first row. They were both excitedly nervous about what was going to happen now.
And then what they least expected happened, a young man, who could not have been more than a teenager, scurried out to meet them. He stopped running when he stood in front of them, composed his face, and then ritualistically bowed to them all, his dangling silver necklaces and long braided hair swinging with him. “Congratulations on your new statuses, women of the Alliance. Thank the gods you have been found. We welcome you on board the Alliance Alpha Warship Fira. I’m Squire Ter,” he said almost embarrassedly and pointed to one of his silver necklaces they could not read. My master, Commander Daz, will serve as your cultural leader on the journey back to the Alliance Capital Planet. If you need anything or have any questions, you will ask Commander Daz or me. Please refrain from speaking to the other members of the crew. You’re the first women of maximum class to board this ship, and as you might guess, it makes us all a bit nervous. But let me assure you, we will do our best. Understood?”
Babette and the other women were a bit confused by his welcome. Had they not signed up to marry Alliance men? Wasn’t this a starship full of eligible bachelors? She wondered then if these men were out of bounds for one reason or another. She didn’t want to ask, though, as she had been given a lengthy document about courting in the Alliance Empire, which she flicked through but in the end, had decided to read on the trip across the galaxy.
However, another young woman had no such shame and asked, “Are we not allowed to marry any of the men onboard?”
Ter would have blushed if Alliance people could blush. He was not prepared to answer this question, so he stumbled through it, “It’s complicated. We have no protocol here for such interactions. Alliance women never leave the planets they are born on except in extreme circumstances.” When he saw the human women didn’t understand, he continued, “Unmarried men and women, only meet each other formally under conditions that have been pre-arranged. There is no protocol for this here.”
Babette and the other women still didn’t understand but said nothing as it was clear the young man could not explain it and was deeply embarrassed.
Ter did not know why they weren’t answering. He asked them again, “Do you understand? Are your translators working?” All the women nodded, and he was satisfied. “Good,” he said, not too confidently. “Now, I’m going to take you to your assigned quarters for the duration of our trip.”
Babette, Jade, and the rest of the women from their transport fell in line behind Squire Ter.
One of the women asked the young man in a derogatory way, “Do we have to share rooms?”
Ter stopped, clearly shocked by the question, “Gods be blessed, no Madams. We have all rearranged ourselves for you. For you to all have privacy.”
The woman who asked breathed a sigh of relief, “Good, I’ve never had to share a room before, and I don’t think that I could share now, especially with some of these women who look like they are accustomed to sharing rooms. I don’t think I could ever share.”
“I’m sure that’s not the case,” Ter replied, completely misunderstanding the woman’s sentiments. “You will be learning many new customs to live by in the Alliance as you are Alliance now. You will change the way you do everything to become civilized.” Ter did not consider his last comment to be an insult. Everyone in the galaxy knew humans were like adorable animals but left to their own devices, their civilization was chaos.
“Civilized?” the arrogant woman questioned Ter.
“Yes,” he replied, confused as to why she was cross with him.
“I don’t know about the rest of these women, but I am civilized.”
Ter stopped walking and addressed the woman who had long brown hair and brown eyes. She was taller than most of the other women, but she barely came up to his shoulder. “I don’t mean to offend you. However, I think once you learn about Alliance ways, you will see why humans are considered too creative for their own good.” He didn’t want to be offensive as these were women, but he couldn’t lie either. The women just looked at him blankly. “May the gods light all of your paths on your new cultural journey in the Alliance,” he said to end the conversation and then continued leading them to their quarters. He began naming the women and then pointing to the little rooms. All the while saying, as the women walked in, “You’ll find the information you need for now in your room. Take this little time to rest as we make our way out of the solar system.”
Babette entered her small room. It had a bed, desk, and an ensuite bathroom. Everything was decorated in grey, and a muted yellow color, overall it was all very bland. There was a tablet on the desk with a note in English on it for her.
Madame Babette, welcome onboard the Fira Please adhere to your daily schedule. And questions, please ask Commander Daz or his squire Ter; both can be contacted through internal communications (the purple button on your desk panel).
6:00 Wake from sleep (in your assigned quarters)
7:00 Morning meal (Mess Hall, Deck Three)
9:00 Cultural Class (Conference Room One)
13:00 Midday meal (Mess Hall, Deck Three)
14:00 Swordplay (Side Gymnasium, Deck Five)
16:00 Prayers (Main Shrine, Deck Three)
17:00 Cultural Class(Conference Room One)
19:00 Evening meal (Mess Hall, Deck Three)
21:00 Go to Sleep (in your assigned quarters)
Babette thought it was funny that someone thought it was necessary to write ‘in your assigned quarters’ on the information sheet. She wondered if they thought there would be a big problem with women sneaking off to men’s quarters. But then she remembered what Squire Ter had said and thought, Maybe there would be a big problem. I mean, if they find us attractive, we find them attractive, and they are used to having rules around meeting women. She wondered then if officers were going to start flirting with them or just asking them to marry them. Babette smiled to herself then and thought, I need to read the information they gave me as I know nothing about how marriages happen.
Babette put her new Alliance tablet to the side and then began arranging the few things that she would have with her for the short voyage. Her luggage was somewhere else in the ship, and she would see it again when they reached the Alliance Capital Planet. For now, she had three outfits and one pair of pajamas, plus a bit of makeup and her toiletries. They had been told that their clothing would be cleaned for them while they were on board. She put her few belongings from home away in the small grey wardrobe and then lay down on the bed, which was surprisingly comfortable. She stared at the silver ceiling and wondered about the man who usually slept there and whether or not he was angry about giving up his room to her. She turned over and smelled the pillow, wondering if it still smelled like a man, the former occupant of the
room, but it smelled of nothing.
With that thought still in her mind, she jumped up and began searching the room for any personal item that might belong to the owner of this room. She couldn’t help it; she was curious. There were drawers on the desk, so she began activating them with her palm to open them. The first three were empty, but in the last one, in the back of the drawer was a small silver ring. She pulled it out. It was very simple with some Alliance hieroglyphics on it she couldn’t read. She took the ring and got back into bed and looked at it, turning it around in her fingers, wondering about its owner and the Alliance culture in general and how much she didn’t know. How mysterious it all was.
Babette had fallen asleep because sometime later, she was awoken by an Alliance male voice over the internal communications. She couldn’t understand what was said at first. So, she rubbed her ears with force, suddenly worried her translator had stopped working. Human technology was not all that reliable, and her translator was not the best for human technology either, but then suddenly, the voice was understandable again, and so Babette assumed it was her translator malfunctioning.