by Alma Nilsson
“Why should I believe you?”
“Has the Alliance ever done you wrong?”
“How about a forced marriage and sending half my crew off for their forced marriages?”
“Has any of your crew been forced into a marriage?”
“As far as I am aware, no.”
“Was your marriage really ‘forced’? I've got a record here from Doctor Siu as the witness who described you both as very willing on your wedding night. Are you going to dispute that? You know we have witnesses just for these purposes, so no one is forced.”
Kara said nothing.
“I also have receipts to show that the slave artist Sera visited you and you alone, often. Overall, I’d say that you fell into Alliance life well aboard the Refa. Alliance clothing was bought for you, jewelry given to you, human food brought especially onboard. It does not look like there was too much ‘force’ involved in your marriage, Captain Kara.”
“You don’t understand. Sera was like a friend,” Kara said, feeling foolish. “And I was forced to wear those clothes as the ship was so cold and they were warm.”
The old ambassador wasn’t having it, “No Captain Kara, slave artists are never your friends. I suspect she is the most probable person who sent those details to the Galaxy Court to announce your marriage. The unhappier you were are, the more money she made, she probably thought it was a pity it took so long for them to publish it. But I am glad you told me that, now I understand a bit better. As for the clothing, I would say that Admiral Tir was thinking a lot about your comfort, and again, it does not come across as a forced marriage at all.”
“You are twisting the facts.”
“I am telling you how the rest of the galaxy sees this. Now, let me tell you how this is going to play out. Tomorrow your quick trial is going to begin. No matter what you say, you will be found guilty and convicted as a spy. Then the human government has the right to keep you here incarcerated until we can seek an injunction from the Galaxy Court, which would take months. But don’t worry, your government doesn’t want you to be incarcerated, they want to sell you. Your government recognizes that you are leaving with us, one way or another and they want to make as much money as possible from the deal. Desperate people do desperate things, and you know humans are desperate right now.”
“I don’t want to return with Admiral Tir. I want to live my life here, in the Terran Solar System, where I am supposed to be. I am human.”
“The moment you married, living here was never going to be an option. Even if Admiral Tir dies, you are still a member of his family and are expected to live on the Alliance capital planet in his house.”
“What?”
“Didn’t he tell you about the Obligations and Rights of Marriage?” The ambassador answered his own question, “Of course, he didn’t. I would leave you with a copy now, but I am not allowed to give you anything, unfortunately. I will make sure you have a copy in English as well as our laws and everything else, so you do not have to count on your husband for information. You know Admiral Tir is a very good leader and a good man, but details do allude him occasionally.” The ambassador could see this information had made her very unhappy, so he tried to cheer her up. “Everyone in the Empire is talking about his great romance with you, did you know that?”
Kara didn’t speak. She didn’t care. She was so angry at everything this man was telling her.
“It is said that Admiral Tir loved you from the moment he saw you, and that is why he strongly insisted you marry so quickly. Now he feels completely responsible for your abduction and incarceration. Not only is he coming here to get you personally, which is something people in his position would never do, but he has also signed himself upon the Temple wall. The whole Empire is in rapture over his love for you.”
“What does that mean, ‘signed himself upon the Temple wall’?” She was sure this was going to be another barbaric ritual.
“He will take whatever public punishment the gods assign to him in this life for how he has mistreated you. He blames himself and his behavior for your lack of faith in your destiny together. It is a way to try and appease the gods before they give up on you both.”
“Who decides this punishment?”
“The priestess will pray to the goddess for guidance, and then she will tell Tir what the punishment will be.”
“And this is public?”
“Yes.”
“When will he do this?”
“As soon as he returns with you. He will stand before you in front of the Grand Temple and receive the punishment.” The ambassador took in her slightly horrified expression. “It is his way of asking forgiveness from you and the gods. He blames himself for you ending up in this situation.”
“He is right about that. It is his fault. I don’t want to be his wife. I want to stay here.”
“You want a lot of things you cannot have. Captain Kara, you have been given a gift, a destiny. The gods ignore most of us, but you and Tir are special. Why are you so afraid of taking the extraordinary path that has been laid before you?”
“I am not afraid. I don’t believe in this.”
“What difference does belief make? The path is still there before you. You are still married to Admiral Tir, one of the most powerful men in the galaxy and he adores you. The Alliance still needs human women. I know you do not hate Admiral Tir. The whole empire had heard the rumors and reports about your romantic encounters aboard the Refa. And in your accounts, you never mentioned rape yourself, I noticed, and I do not think this is Stockholm syndrome either.”
“I didn’t mention the forced marriage either. Don’t try to convince me I was wrong about being forced to marry of being kept as a prisoner.”
“A very well looked after prisoner. Do you think I spent the last ten years on Earth and that I don’t know what humans find taboo? I know that you could never marry willingly; it is too distasteful for humans. But I also know that you would have never agreed to consummate the marriage if you did not want to either. Would you like me to read Doctor Sui’s report out loud to you now?”
“No.”
“I didn’t think so. The gods have chosen a new life for you. It is a good life. Stop following this dream that you will always be on Earth. That future died in the war. Your new future is a good one. You like Admiral Tir, you may even grow to love him, I don’t know. I know that he will not stop until he has you again.” Ambassador Tui took in her unreadable face and continued, “You can become a full participant in your new life and live it to the fullest or be dragged along making each day torturous for you and Admiral Tir.”
“I can’t be married. I want to keep my job and my life.”
“You will have a new job and a better life in the Alliance. Didn’t Admiral Tir tell you that? It is in his records that he offered you a ship when you had proved yourself loyal.”
“He did say that, but I thought he was lying.”
“Alliance citizens rarely lie. Here is my first cultural tip for you; we will avoid the truth but not lie.”
“How can I unmarry? I want to stay here.”
“It is called divorce, not unmarry, even though that sounds very cute when you say ‘unmarry.’ And unfortunately, as I said before you are going whether you like it or not. You will see it tomorrow when your trial starts. It doesn’t matter all the good that you have done for your people. They are going to find you guilty as a spy and only grant you clemency on the terms you return to the Alliance with Admiral Tir. Don’t feel sorry for yourself, most people in this galaxy have no choice about their lives, but at least your no choice is to be with a man you like and who adores you.” The ambassador purposely left off saying, ‘And who will be Emperor,’ because he knew that kind of power and organization just scared humans. They were very free and natural people.
“So, there are no divorces in the Alliance?”
“When you are released from this cell, I will give you a copy of the Obligations and Rights of Marriage, and it will answ
er all of your questions. I will leave you now and remember, say nothing for the next few days. It will be easier that way. Nice to meet you Kara Zu of the Alliance. May the gods grant you wisdom.”
Tir was only a day away. He had received a report from the Alliance Ambassador on Earth who had seen Kara. She had been told to remain quiet about everything. Tir looked through all he could find about human laws regarding marriage, and because the practice did not exist anymore, they had no laws regarding it, which was both a good and a bad thing for his position as the Alliance still saw marriage as legally binding. However, the bad part was that he was going to have to prove that she was an Alliance citizen before she became his wife, and that was something that the humans were not going to like. The High Council had granted human women status as Alliance citizens three months ago, but this was for the sole purpose of solving their demographics issue and was done quietly so that firstly, there would not be a mad rush of eligible young men just going to steal a wife and secondly, so that the Galaxy Court did not immediately deem the law against the Agreement of Respect for Galactic Species. What the Alliance hoped would happen was that human women would trickle in, and it would be a natural process of integration between individuals who cared for one another.
Tir sighed and said out loud to no one, “And I am sorry, Kara.”
When Tir had read the ambassador’s report, he was looking for anything that would signal that she was abducted and that she did not want to leave him, but he couldn’t find anything. However, the ambassador noted that she still was wearing her marriage bracelet.
Just then, his computer indicated that he had a message from his mother. He got up and went to his computer. It was a video message sent from her office. “Tir, I know you said that you were not going to leave your human with us, but I think that is foolish and I have prepared your house for her.” Tir looked at the screen and thought, Of course, you have mother, let’s hear it. “I have enabled the water to go to very warm temperatures, and in the bedrooms, the temperature will also be able to exceed what we would find comfortable. I have also had the viewer programmed with all the entertainment from Earth which the Alliance has bought over the years. I think that you should bring her home to us and let her settle. May the gods light your journey.” Tir closed his computer and went back to bed thinking about how much Kara would probably hate living on the capital planet, but he had to consider his mother’s words, Maybe she was right? Maybe Kara would have been happier there with women around her? But that did not feel right to him, so he dismissed it again. All he wanted was for her to be back with him forever, and nothing scared him more than the notion that she did not feel the same way.
Kara’s councilor came back the next morning. She was wearing the same hot pink suit and lipstick. Kara wondered if it was rented and that she was purposely wearing it consecutively to get the most use out of it. Most people only owned about five complete outfits and rented the rest. Kara even owned less because most days she was wearing her uniform.
“You look tired,” her counselor said disapprovingly.
“I had nightmares,” Kara said, getting up and standing in front of her cell waiting for the guard to release the forcefield.
Once she was out, her councilor began walking, and Kara walked by her side. She noticed the councilor smelled a little bit like cigars, and it pleasantly reminded her of her father, “I heard the Alliance ambassador came to see you yesterday.”
“Yes.”
“He even left his guards outside so that no one would be able to get to you during the night.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“He’s not stupid,” she said as they walked quickly up some stairs. “Now we are going in, and all you need to say is ‘not guilty’…” Kara interrupted her.
“I was told by the Alliance ambassador not to say anything, and I think I am going to take his advice.”
Her counselor stopped walking, “Don’t you want to prove your innocence?”
“I am not a spy, but since everyone already thinks that I am. I will have no chance for a fair trial anyway. You know that.”
“Absolutely, but then why didn’t you speak to the man behind me yesterday? Well, you are here now, we are going in. I am still making a plea for not guilty for you. If you refuse to speak, that is your right, but then I will give up representing you.”
“Then what will happen?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. This is the most exciting thing that has happened on Earth in a long time. People are fascinated that you are married to an Alliance Admiral, and half the population is convinced you are a spy and the other think you just fell madly in love with an alien and are a bit stupid.” She sighed, “Listen, you have the public’s ear that the government did not count on, thanks to that Galaxy Court piece on you and your husband. You know some people even say he is not bad-looking for an alien. This means, despite the outcome of your case, you will still be able to say something about what is happening, and people will be listening. These rumors about the Alliance needing women, you will have one chance during your televised trial to speak to the people.”
Kara was taking all of this information in and trying to decide what she should do.
“Of course, the Alliance wants you to say as little as possible. They do not want to be incriminated for just taking human women, and they want more. They are going to come here and try to negotiate that. If you say nothing, they can spin whatever story they want, and it will be too late for you to say they are lying if you try to speak after them. This is your only chance Kara to spin this the way you want people to see this.”
Kara nodded, “Promise me you will wear that same hot pink suit all the days of the trial. It gives me confidence.”
“Really? This color is supposed to relax you and give you peace of mind. I promise. Now let’s go in, we are already late, but it is okay because I know the judge and we were out late drinking whiskey last night at his favorite cigar bar, so he doesn’t care.”
Tir was getting closer to Earth. The Alliance Ambassador on Earth had just sent him a message letting him know that Kara had not taken his advice and was pleading her case. There was nothing more that he could do but make sure Alliance guards were stationed outside her holding cell to make sure she was not harmed, but even that was no guarantee.
Tir left the bridge and went to sickbay to talk to Siu. He went into his office and waited for him to finish seeing a patient. When he joined Tir, he asked, “What’s happened now?”
“Kara is defending herself, saying she is not a spy instead of staying quiet.”
“Do you think she will say that she had an abortion?”
“I don’t know,” Tir and Siu looked at each other seriously. In the Alliance, an abortion of a healthy fetus was forbidden, and people responsible for abortions were given severe punishments that often resulted in death. “I can’t tell the ambassador to tell her not to say anything, and there is no way to get word to her, not that she would listen or take me seriously. I think she must be the only person I have ever met that does not take the Alliance or me seriously.”
Siu smiled, “I think she takes you seriously 50 percent of the time.”
Tir wanted to smile but couldn’t. “I have to ask you something that has been on my mind lately.”
Siu knew already what he was going to ask because he could read Tir’s thoughts but allowed him to continue, as even though people knew Alliance doctors were telepathic, they didn’t always like to be reminded of it.
“Do you think Kara really cares for me, or was this all in my head?”
“She cares for you. There is no doubt about that. But for her marriage was so taboo, I think that was the thing that made her want to reject you. That and you probably talked about religion too much and again, for humans who abandoned religion centuries ago, it must have felt strange, almost frightening, for her.”
“But it wasn’t rape?”
“No.”
“The ambassador has se
nt me a list of the crimes they are citing the Alliance for and ‘the rape and impregnation’ of Kara is on it. I can’t help but wonder if she said that I raped her and it makes me question myself even though, logically, I know she would have said it to keep from looking like a spy, possibly…” he trailed off.
“You did not rape her Tir, and if she said those things, it was only to keep herself safe, which didn’t work anyway. The humans want a better deal, and if Kara starts talking about forced marriages and rape, they are going to get a fantastic deal. Hopefully, there will be no mention of an abortion.”
“We all do,” replied Tir solemnly. If it came out that Kara had willingly sought out an abortion not only would she most likely be put to death for it, the Alliance’s plans of integrating with human women would be abandoned, and it would be more likely that human women would just be harvested and used for their fertility like animals. The Alliance only sought to integrate human women because there was a belief that they could be civilized if it were shown that they could not be then they would be treated as animals. He did not see any scenario where the Alliance would leave the humans alone.
The next morning Kara found herself in court next to her counselor who was wearing the same hot pink suit and was called to the stand. Kara was asked her name and rank and how she came to find herself on the Refa in the first place. Then she was asked, “Did any of your crew witness this forced marriage?”
“No.”
“Did any of your crew witness you agreeing to marry him?”
“Yes, through coercion. The Admiral threatened to execute my male crew if I did not marry and send my female crew to the Alliance capital planet,” she was trying to stay as calm as possible.
“But did the Admiral kill anyone or just threaten to before you agreed to marry him and send your female crew away to his home planet in enemy territory?”
“No,” she admitted. “However, I didn’t know if he would or would not. I was not willing to risk any crew member’s life to check the validity of his threat.”