Selected Assistant

by Robin Roseau

  We nodded. Jasmine said, “We begin in 30 seconds. Run.”

  We all took off, my team following after me. We hid behind an obstacle, then I looked at Makiko. “You’re the combat specialist.”

  “Not for something like this,” she replied.

  “So, hold this position and hope people expose themselves to fire?”

  “Sure.”

  So that’s what we did. Makiko and I would end up firing over the top. Chervil and Verity took positions at either side. Jasmine’s voice said, “Begin,” and I popped up, looking for someone to shoot.

  I earned some points, and someone else from my team earned a few as well. Then I came under fire and ducked back, but not before my arm took several direct hits. I waited, popped up, popped back down, then popped up and began shooting at Amanda, then dropped back.

  The next time I popped up, I got hit almost immediately, and I didn’t even see it coming. I fell back again, but I was now stiff across both shoulders and my right arm.

  But then from somewhere on our left, we heard a massive yell. I caught a glimpse of movement, and then we were overrun by Forever, Prudence, and Audra. They shot the shit out of us, then I was patted several times, and I thought the rest of my team was, as well.

  “Well done,” Audra said. “Forever, can you pick Taisha up and set her atop the barrier without getting shot?”

  “Of course.”

  “Do it, then move the other three out into the open, too, but don’t get shot.”

  “You have got to be kidding me,” I said. But I was utterly helpless as she picked me up, kneeling down and lifting me above her head. I began taking fire, but she gently set me on top of the barrier, facing away.

  She set Makiko out on the ground to the right and Verity to the left. Then she said, “Chervil, I do not wish to upset you.”

  “Put me with the human,” Chervil said. “I am a good team member.”

  And so, I got a little cuddle time with Chervil, but it hardly counted.

  “You guys!” I complained. “You know we’re distractions!”

  “You’re fun to shoot!” Felicia called back. “Does it hurt?”

  “No, but while you’re busy shooting us, they’re back here, planning, and your team might be next!”

  But they weren’t the ones to do the next overrun; that was Amanda’s team with Cape, Carolina, and Posey. They took out Skye’s team of three. After that Amanda’s team was able to overrun one more position. Audra’s team got two more, then took Amanda’s team down when they tried to storm Danette.

  Then Audra got distracted, setting Felicia’s team out like mine had been arranged, and that was when Danette’s team silently tried to storm their position. I missed most of the action, but in the end, it was Audra crawling from body to body who finished the first game.

  * * * *

  We played for 90 minutes, scrambling teams between games. I didn’t remotely win cuddle time. Instead, when it was her turn to pick, Verity stepped over and took my hand. “Well done today,” I told her.

  “I got lucky with my teams.”

  They let us go home, shower, and change. I eyed my clothes and decided I would be visiting the boutique again tomorrow. But then Felicia was at the door. “I want a new dress, and so does Amanda.” I turned, and she had pulled on a sun dress and sandals.

  “Yeah, me too. Help me pick.”

  We had fun at the boutique. They had very good choices, including a great selection for anyone shopping for Catseye friendly. I picked up three more, and when Felicia and Amanda saw that, they did as well. I wore one right out of the shop, but I kept my sandals.

  * * * *

  I smiled at Verity. I thought she was hauntingly beautiful, and I was looking forward to getting to know her.

  “I bet you know all about me.”

  “Perhaps not all, but more than you know about me.”

  “You came with your sister. Do you have a mate back on the station?”

  “I did, for a while,” she replied. “We produced a child during the journey here. We remained together until Serenity was 12 of your years old. After that, she has lived with her father.”

  “Do you ever see her?”

  “The station is small, and the Tutor section even smaller. We see everyone. But yes. She spends time with me, as well. She prefers her father. He is a medical doctor, and she hopes to follow in his footsteps.”

  “Do you have a photo?”

  “Of course.” After a moment, my visor told me I had a small photo album from her. I asked it to display the images.

  There were some from when the girl would have been much younger, and then newer images. “She is an adult now?”

  “Yes. She is 24. That is young for a Tutor. We mature emotionally in a very different fashion than humans do. She’ll live with one of us, or with someone else who takes authority for her, for several decades.”

  “I’m confused. You said she is an adult.”

  “By human standards, she has the intellectual maturity of someone your age, or so, but the emotional maturity of a young human teenager.”

  “Oh, no.”

  “It is the way we are. We mature either slowly, over time, or rapidly in the face of personal adversity. We let her make her decisions, but with our oversight and approval. But she is a good girl, so she doesn’t cause trouble.”

  “I don’t think I really understand. Do you treat her like an adult, or like a child?”

  “We treat her like a young Tutor adult, which is not the same as your parents would treat you, either at 13 or 30. If she misbehaves, she faces personal adversity, which helps her age while also serving as incentive for more mature behavior. But in the way of things, it is only mild adversity, and it will take a long time for her to be a mature adult by Tutor standards. But she may ask for more significant adversity. We could not provide that to her; it is very difficult to do for someone you love.”

  “What happens then?”

  “She asks someone else to help her mature.”

  “And what does that person do?”

  “Be cruel.”

  I stared then turned away. She leaned forward and took my hand. I didn’t fight her for it. “It is our biology,” she said gently.

  “I guess.” I sat for a minute, then turned back to face her. “The galaxy is a varied place.”

  “It is certainly that.”

  “What do you do, if you are not a doctor, nor, I presume, a linguist?”

  “I am reinventing myself,” she said. “I was our version of a psychologist. I have become an ethicist. It is an exercise in torment.”

  I laughed. “Why?”

  “Because ethics are value judgments. The most obvious example is theft. Is it wrong to steal bread to feed a child? That, of course, has no meaning for us, but it has fairly profound meaning for humans.”

  “What else?”

  “Do the ends justify the means?”

  “I… don’t think I’d be good at your new job.”

  “I’m not sure I will be, either, but it is important for someone to think about these things. If nothing else, when value decisions are being made, someone like me helps everyone consider all sides before reaching a final decision.”

  “That sounds important.”

  “You couldn’t put me in control of the decisions, because I could never make them, but you can ask me to help work your way around the ethics. Given the number of species now living in human space, someone like me is very important.”

  “I think I agree.”

  “I’ll give you another example, a real example we’re still working around. Given that Earth remains overpopulated, is it ethical for the extraterrestrials to breed?”

  “Yes,” I said immediately.

  “Defend your position,” she challenged.

  “This planet doesn’t need more humans, but I think we would do just fine with more Catseye, more Tutors, more Kitsune.”

  “That is a poor justification.”

&nb
sp; “Perhaps.”

  “Was it ethical to kidnap human women for mating purposes?”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “You just said it was ethical to breed, and some of the species require kidnappings for their biology to engage.”

  “But you were kidnapping everyone, including people who became married to members of species that didn’t require it.”

  “So, it was ethical in some cases, but not in others, even though it didn’t feel any different for the women involved?”

  I thought about it and started laughing. “I don’t think I want to argue ethics with you.”

  She offered her own laugh. “That wasn’t an argument. That was an example of me doing my job. I’m still learning. In a lot of cases, the value judgments are near universal, and it only takes me to point out something everyone is overlooking, or perhaps to point out that I have nothing to point out, and the issues are obvious. But in other cases, disparate species demand very different answers to the same questions.”

  “I bet it’s fascinating, but I tend to prefer concrete answers.”

  “Spoken like a true engineer,” she said.

  “Was that an insult?”

  “Absolutely not. We would all still be throwing rocks at each other without engineers.”

  “Let’s do another one.”

  “Sure. Did Audra do a good job determining how we should select teams today?”

  “Seriously?” I asked her.

  “Why not? Value judgments were made. Can you see them?”

  “She kept the humans on different teams. She let us pick one team member, but then the others picked. And the teams weren’t the same size.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Not that I see.”

  “She made no effort to balance teams base on predictable or past performance, other than acknowledging three of the humans had significant experience. But that didn’t mean their partners did.”

  “Larger teams provided more opportunity to be shot.”

  “The three of them scored in the bottom half by the end, so it didn’t work out for them.”

  “I think they were just there for fun.”

  “We all were, so the fact that there were few lasting implications means it doesn’t matter?”

  “Sure.”

  “I am getting this chance to get to know you, which is something I value a great deal.”

  “Yes, but they didn't need the same opportunity.”

  “My point is that there are lasting implications. I could make life decisions based on getting to know you. I could make them for both of us.” She offered a gesture, a finger twirled in the air. I wasn’t sure what it meant, but she continued. “That’s a fresh ethics question. By what right do I decide to declare you a mating candidate?”

  “I offered that right by coming to Beginnings.”

  “You came for your job.”

  “I had a choice of where to stay, and only one of those choices gave that right away.”

  “So, you feel there is no ethical dilemma?”

  I thought about it, wondering if I was missing something. Finally, I admitted, “I don’t see one.”

  “What if you don’t like me, but I decide to claim you, anyway, even knowing how you feel about me?”

  “I don’t think you would.”

  “You’re right, but an Octal wouldn’t care. You’d like her soon enough. An Implac wouldn’t care, and you would never like him.”

  “I haven’t met any Implacs.”

  “Jasmine banned them, several years ago. She’ll have to relent eventually. That could be tomorrow.”

  I thought about it. “I would consider it an ethics violation to give me to a male, because while I agreed to come, the agreement included questions about how open I was to a male or female partnership, and I selected female only.”

  “So, you sacrifice Felicia to the Implac?”

  “I’m not sacrificing anyone.” I paused. “I wouldn’t want to be the one making these decisions, Verity.”

  “I wouldn’t, either. But they’re fun to work around, aren’t they?”

  “For a while, but it makes my head swim.”

  “Decisions are easy when the ethics are not confused, but hard decisions are typically hard due to competing ethical issues.”

  “Do the ends justify the means?”

  “Exactly. Catseye believe they do. Tutor do, as well; we have to, given our biology, although we’re less likely to take ethical liberties for someone else, without invitation.” She paused. “I suppose the Catseye consider your world leaders as having done so on your behalf. We are here, after all, on invitation, and we didn’t hide our intentions from the top leaders.”

  “I’m glad you arrived during a period of relatively sane leadership.”

  We had a lovely dinner. Then we climbed back into the jumper, and she took me back to Beginnings, but then invited a walk on the beach. We did, holding hands, and we weren’t the only couples there.

  Eventually, we made it to my bungalow door. “Please invite me inside for a minute.”

  “Only a minute?”

  “A few minutes, but only a few.”

  “Please come in, Verity.”

  I gave her a little tour. We ended on the balcony, looking out over the bay for a minute. Then she turned to me. “I want to ask a favor.”

  “Of course.”

  “I want to kiss you, but I want to say something first.”

  I smiled. “All right.”

  “I want to kiss you because I’m curious. But I’m not going to start dating you; you’re getting attention from too many people, and frankly, I don’t want competition.”

  “You want to know what it’s like to kiss a human?”

  “I’d ask for more, but that’s…”

  “Right,” I said. “How do Tutor kiss?”

  “We lick, actually.”

  “So do Kitsune.”

  “How was that?”

  “Really good. We did something that worked for both.”

  “Will you show me? Am I out of line asking?”

  “No, Verity.” I moved closer and cupped her cheek. “I think you should start this, but I’ll add my thing, too. Do this however you want.”

  “You’re sure? I may take my time?”

  “Yes. Anything you want. We can make this a proper, scientific test.”

  She gave a little laugh, then we came together, but she began at my ear. And she took me on face value, licking and nipping the ear. That was actually nice, and I shifted to give her slightly better access. “Do you like this?”

  “Yes. More would be nice.”

  She gave me more, more of the ear, then licking down my chin before finding my mouth. She flicked at it a little, and when I parted, she entered.

  From there, she licked, and I lick-kissed.

  We came together more, arms around each other, and then she found my other ear. I used my fingers on hers, and then when I could, I played with her ear like she did mine.

  That turned into a tight hug on her part. “I want to touch them,” she whispered.

  “Come with me.” I took her hand and led her back into the bungalow. She followed me to my bedroom. I closed the door and turned on the lights to low then turned to her. “You may do anything you like, and I’ll do anything you ask.”

  “Taisha.”

  “If you just want another kiss and to go, we can do that, but when will you get another chance without expectations?”

  She came to me, and then she walked around. I held still as she touched, and I held still as she released the dress. I let it fall to the floor, and then I took her hand and set it on my breast, guiding her fingers. She gave a gasp, and I leaned backwards, into her, and said, “Please keep kissing, too.”

  She did, my ear and neck, and then she turned me to her and began teasing the nipple with her tongue. I moved my hands to her head, holding her there. “Oh, that’s nice, Verity.”

  From one knee in front of
me, she looked up at me, lips still wrapped around the nipple, before releasing. She was panting lightly, and I was panting, not quite as lightly. Then she released me, but she didn’t move. “Tell me the truth, Taisha,” she whispered. “Would a human woman want me?”

  “Yes,” I said. “Any woman here, open to a female pairing, would want you.”

  “I have to go.” She got up and turned to run, but I grabbed her.

  “Uh, huh,” I said. “You’re not leaving like this. Come here.” She let me pull her to me, but she was stiff as I wrapped my arms around her. “I just want a hug, Verity, and one more kiss before you go. It’s our last one, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “I want one more, sweet kiss. For me, now.”

  We came together, and it was absolutely lovely. Then she pushed away, staring at me. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “I seem to have woken something in you.”

  “I think I need to talk to my sister.”

  I laughed. “Promise me we’re friends. Please, Verity.”

  “Definitely friends,” she said. “Thank you, Taisha.”

  And then she turned and fled.

  Dance

  The room was full, all of us dressed nicely. Of the humans, I thought it was nearly half men. I saw a few teenagers and even one boy of perhaps ten years. When I first saw him, he was staring at Verity, which I thought was a worthwhile sight and couldn’t blame him at all. I thought she was oblivious.

  Of the aliens, I saw everyone from the Linguistics group as well as the three Catseye I knew and two Wookies I didn’t. There were also several Ardents, both male and female plus Sudden Quiver and Silent Seas, the octal pair.

  I didn’t see Bay, but I hadn’t expected to.

  Felicia asked if I wanted something to drink, so we both stepped over and collected iced tea.

  That was when Violet called for attention. “Hello, everyone.” She wasn’t using any amplification, but it didn’t take long to gather the attention of everyone in the room. “Welcome. Thank you all for coming. My name is Violet Beamer. I am the administrator of this facility. You can tell me apart from the other Catseye here today by the color of my eyes. The other two are Posey, my sister, and Jasmine Brighteyes, who is the head of the entire mating candidate program.” She looked about for a moment. “I’m not going to introduce everyone. I am going to say that this idea began because one human… Where is Taisha.”