by Robin Roseau
"I believe Jasmine very clearly said I was allowed at least as much intimacy with you as she had, and you let her do a lot more than one tiny lick."
I squirmed at the memory.
"Fine. But no biting. I didn't let her bite."
"No biting. For now. But Temier bite, my delectable little mate, and there is biting in our future."
"Do they bite? Or do they chomp?"
"They chomp, but they have very thick skin with very thick fur besides. I would limit myself to very delicate chomps." Then she licked me again.
"Stop that!" I said, trying to push her away.
"Oh, no," she said. "You must allow my affection. If you do not, I am allowed to punish you. Do you want me to punish you?"
"We barely have time to catch the shuttle. If you start tasting, you're going to get distracted, and we'll miss the shuttle."
"There is always time for tasting." And she demonstrated with another lick. "But you are correct as to the urgency."
"Did you wake me with enough time to shower? I normally shower to help me wake."
"Yes, if you are quick. I will lay your clothes out. Hurry."
* * * *
Jasmine met us in the lander bay. I looked at Bronze, and she nodded, and so I hurried to Jasmine and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around me, and then I felt her cheat. One of her tentacles slipped from inside her blouse and pressed against my neck.
"Is Bronze going to get mad about that?"
"No. Are you?"
"No. I like it."
"I want to tell you one more alien secret."
"Oh, I like alien secrets."
"Does Bronze smell good?"
"Um. Yeah. Really good."
"Has she begun to taste you?"
"How did you know? Is that a Temier thing?"
"Sort of. It's pheromones."
"Excuse me?" I tried to pull away, but she tightened.
"Once we separate, Bronze is going to take you away from me, so if you want to hear this, relax and be quiet."
And so I did.
"Pheromones. Your empathy wasn't the only adjustment you received. You're pumping out pheromones specific to Bronze. And she's pumping out even more."
"Oh god. That's cheating!"
"Enjoy it, Sapphire."
I thought about it. "That's cheating."
"It sure is. And there's not a thing you can do about it. You're going to feel so good, Sapphire."
"Oh, god. Does she know?"
"Of course she does. But frankly, she's just as helpless to it as you are, and she's going to love it as much as you are. So, are you going to get mad and throw a fit?"
I thought about it. "No. I'm going to let her taste me all she wants."
Jasmine chuckled. "That's the spirit."
"So, they don't work on you?"
"I am immune."
"Then why is your tentacle sort of snuffling?"
She withdrew it quickly, and I began laughing.
She pushed me away, and she looked a little glazed for a moment, then she focused her eyes on me. "She's going to take very good care of you. Do you have any doubts?"
"No. I'm only worried she'll smother me."
"Tell her your needs. She will be deeply driven to fulfill them."
"And that worries me, too."
"Why?"
"I shouldn't be allowed that much power over her."
"It balances her power and makes your bond that might closer. This is a good thing, Sapphire. It is not your nature to abuse someone."
"What if it becomes my nature? I'd hate the person I could become."
"Well, you are warned, and you are quite self aware."
"Will I ever see you again?"
"Yes. We three are friends, after all."
"Is she glaring at us yet?"
"Not yet."
"Give me that tentacle once more, and I want to ask you about something."
She smiled, and the tentacle slipped out of her shirt and wrapped around my neck.
"Now you're letting her see."
"She's smirking. What did you want to ask?"
"If -- and I say if -- I agree to be mated-"
"You won't be able to help it, Sapphire."
"Is it customary to celebrate anniversaries?"
"I do not know Temier customs. They do not tend to sentimentality. However, Bronze may have more expansive ideas, and she will want to adopt human customs that make you feel more at home."
"Would we celebrate a year from when we met, a year from yesterday, or a year from the day I agree to be her mate? Or is there another celebration?"
"She would consider the moment you entered the cage yesterday as the moment you are fully mated."
"What year system would we use?"
"Ah, that is far more complicated, but if she is celebrating human anniversaries, then a human year. You have about another fifteen seconds before she's going to step over here."
"Do you think as an anniversary gift she would like a fresh set of challenges? Or would I offer her something else?"
"Oh, you are going to suit her exceedingly well, Sapphire."
"Will you help? Is that even allowed? All this must be expensive. I couldn't afford to pay you."
"Of course I would help. There is no expense to worry about. I don't have time to explain."
I felt Bronze's hands on my shoulder. Jasmine withdrew her tentacle from my neck, but I reached out, and she set it in my hand. I clasped it gently with both.
"I didn't mind the hug or even the taste, but you two were talking far too earnestly, and that made me nervous."
I laughed. "I was asking advice about how to treat you."
"In the future, you will ask me how I wish to be treated."
"Fine. I was arranging a surprise for you, but maybe I'll change my mind." I stuck my tongue out at her.
She only laughed. "Step away. It's my turn to talk about surprises for you."
"If you want to know how to treat me, you will ask me." But I stepped away, although I watched them carefully.
If Jasmine tasted Bronze, I didn't see it. But I thought perhaps she did. It was several minutes before the two of them turned and approached me.
"I am very glad we have met, Sapphire Fletcher," Jasmine said. "I am sure we will see each other often in the years ahead."
"I would like that, Jasmine Brighteyes. Thank you for everything." I wasn't quite sure I was pleased with the turn of events. But I thought she did actually care what happened to me.
We hugged once more, and then Bronze took my arm, and we turned to the lander.
It was the first time I had seen one. I'd ridden in one several times, but I'd always been blindfolded.
I wasn't actually surprised by it's appearance. It was somewhat larger than a big SUV but much smaller than a bus or RV. It was too wide to fit on a human highway, but of course, it didn't have to.
In some ways, it was a boxy device, but at the same time, it was very smooth and sleek.
There were no wings, but there was a sort of out runner along the lower sides, like a long cigar tube or maybe a pontoon on a boat.
"Are those the engines?" I asked, pointing.
"Yes," Bronze said. "We enter in back." She led the way, and I found a ramp extended to the ground. There was no one waiting to help us.
"Where are our things?"
"Already aboard."
We climbed in, and I saw the seating arrangement. The seats were of similar technology as the chair, and if necessary they could even envelop a person. They could also conform to different body proportions. There were two seats on a side. Bronze settled me into one and she took the other.
I didn't have to do any buckles. The chair wrapped around me, holding me in place about my waist, chest, and legs.
"It didn't do this before," I complained. But when I looked over, Bronze's seat was doing the same to her.
"You weren't traveling into space before."
There were two pilot seats a
t the front, currently unoccupied. "When does the pilot arrive?"
"Our flight path today is a hop. The shuttle leaves from the New Mexico Space Center later this morning. It was so convenient for the humans to build a space center for us."
"We are great planners," I said. "Was there a welcome mat?"
"Your military forces were not pleased."
"That's why you stopped out at Saturn."
"It was a good distance to say 'hello' without risking precipitous actions. It would have been a shame if they launched nuclear weapons at us. We would have been quite offended."
"Is that a euphemism for 'bomb humanity into the stone age'?"
"Oh, no. But we would have been forced to take their toys away from the foolish generals. I imagine they would grow quite testy. Toothless, but testy."
I laughed. "You realize most of us would have applauded you. You still haven't told me when the pilot gets here."
"The craft will fly on automatic. If necessary, I will assume control." She looked away for a moment, and the door at the rear began to close.
Five minutes later, we were in the air, flying west. The ride was amazingly smooth and quiet, and the ground continued to drop below us. It began growing darker, and I looked at Bronze in alarm.
She said nothing but took my hand and smiled reassuringly.
I looked out the window, and I could see stars, although the sun was clearly out.
"Bronze..."
"Congratulations, Sapphire."
"Huh?"
"You are now a member of a fairly exclusive club."
"What club?" She managed to distract me, and I was going to point out we had not yet joined that club, and we weren't about to, either.
"The club of humans who have ventured into space."
"Oh. That club. We're not really in space."
"Humans consider space as beginning at 100 kilometers above sea level. If you were trained as a crewmember of this craft, you would be an astronaut."
"But I'm just a passenger."
She smiled. "Sorry. What club did you think I meant?"
"I wasn't sure."
"What club, Sapphire?"
"I was going to point out we weren't joining the mile high club today. Or the 100 mile high club."
"100 kilometers. Well, 117 now. But I don't know this mile high club."
"Then I'm not going to explain it."
She on took a faraway expression.
"Oh, that is so not fair," I said. "You did not just look it up." I may have begun to blush.
She smiled at me. "We will not join that club until you acknowledge you are my mate."
If I hadn't been blushing before, I was now.
"Do you believe you must be exactly one mile above the planetary surface to be considered a member of that club? Or could you be significantly higher?"
"I do not believe we need to worry about the specifics."
"Must one be in an atmospheric aircraft, or could one join this club while, for instance, in orbit about Earth?"
"Bronze!"
"When we join this club, we must do it properly. I can tell it is important to you, my mate."
"Stop calling me that."
Her playful expression faded. "It really bothers you?"
"It is extremely arrogant to assume I'm going to melt at your feet. I like your strength and confidence, but you take it well into arrogance. That is not an attractive feature."
We both looked away for a while. I stared out the window. A minute later, I asked, "Are we in orbit?"
"No. This is a suborbital flight. Do you know the difference?"
"No."
"We are not going fast enough to remain in orbit. If the engines were to stop producing thrust, we would return to Earth. And our altitude is well below the altitude at which orbit is readily maintained. The atmosphere extends well above us, although it is exceedingly thin at this point. But still, it produces friction, and so maintaining orbit would require periodic thrusting from the engine. Your International Space Station is three times this height, and it requires periodic adjustments as well."
"Thank you for explaining. Should I have known that somehow?"
"Some percentage of humans do." She paused. "I do not mean to be arrogant."
I set a hand on her wrist, the nearest body part I could reach. She glanced over at it but said nothing.
"To me, we are mated. I cannot help how I feel. I retained that portion of my original biology. My body is being flooded with the hormones we Temier produce after we have won our mate. I do not take you or your feelings for granted, Sapphire. I only express my own."
"Then I am sorry I misunderstood. I will not take offense if you call me that from time to time, but I hope you will use my name, too. I enjoy it in your accent."
She rolled her hand over, and I let her capture mine. We would hold hands through much of the remaining flight. "I do not have an accent."
"Of course you do. Everyone has an accent. I have a Minnesotan accent. More specifically, I have a metropolitan Minnesotan accent. It is more cultured and refined than a rural Minnesotan accent."
"I am sure you're right. I also have a Minnesotan accent."
"You do not. I'm not sure what your accent is."
"I worked very hard to develop the proper accent. I think I speak English very well for only learning to speak over the last two months."
"Excuse me?"
"I understood and could read and write English even before traveling here, but I could not speak it with my Temier body. We have no vocal chords."
"Wait. You learned to speak in two months?"
"Temier speak."
"Fine. You learned to modulate your vocal chords this expertly in two months?"
"Yes. I worked twelve hours a day at it, making noises the entire time I was also learning to use this body. It was quite intensive."
"I suppose there was a rush to collect me, and so you had to be ready."
"Yes. We explain to other humans that you are offered a job. You know this. And we explain you are identified during your testing."
"Which is true, and you make other job offers after testing people."
"We do. It is a good way to find humans suitable for the positions we must fill, but more importantly, it gives cover for collecting mates."
"This is a bad topic."
She paused briefly. "You do not know what accent I have?"
"I would call it an American accent, but we have regional accents. It can be exceedingly subtle, and unless you grow up as an American, you cannot tell the difference."
"I know what a southern accent sounds like. I considered that accent. Would people ask where I am from if I had a southern accent?"
"I believe if we walk around a city on Earth, the first question anyone will have, if they are brave enough to speak at all, is where are you from."
She growl-chuckled. "Is my appearance shocking to you?"
"Not to me. But you know I would have responded poorly if you used to be an insect. I may have low xenophobia, but it is not zero."
"Very, very few people have no xenophobia. I am a xenobiologist, and I am fascinated by many of the creatures we encounter, but some I find disturbing as well."
I looked out the window for a moment. "The sun looks lower."
"It is. We're outrunning it. It will be predawn when we land in New Mexico. Flight time is a little more than four hours, but we'll gain six hours."
"I thought space travel involved huge rockets and high gee forces that slam you into your seat."
"Human space travel does. It has to do with the physics of your available methods. By burning the available fuel as quickly as possible, you aren't carrying it as high, so less total energy is required. And a rocket engine also must support itself against the pull of gravity. This craft works on other principles, so we are able to achieve a gentler ride."
"Principles I might understand?"
"The engines manipulate gravity. The physics are well beyond humanit
y's understanding."
"You once said we weren't stupid."
"You're not. But knowledge and understanding build. People like your Einstein advance collective understanding in great leaps, but minds like his are rare, and so progress is progressive. You have reached a period of great feats of engineering, but breakthroughs in understanding of theoretical physics become increasingly difficult. Compared to other species, humans are amazing engineers but only average scientists. You do not value theoretical research remotely as much as you do engineering."
"What's the difference?"
"Theoretical research is learning for the sake of learning. Engineering is learning so you can build something new. Humans love to build new toys. The first thing anyone asks of every scientific discovery is how soon can you build something with it. There is only isolated joy in discovery for the sake of discovery."
"And you're not going to help us."
"No. Frankly, you're not ready. And you deserve to experience this process, not have it handed to you." She shook her head. "Your leaders see some of our marvels and ask your engineers how soon they can build something similar. They do not ask your scientists about the underlying principles."
I would have loved to argue with her, but I thought she was probably right. And I realized I probably wasn't any better. That made me sigh.
"I understand that sound, Sapphire, and so now you will explain."
"I'm no different. I would ask how soon we could build one, and then I would begin doing cost analysis estimates to determine how long before we would make a profit."
Bronze growl-laughed. "There is nothing wrong with that. You are perhaps average for a human in your appreciation for the sciences, but you are mature in your viewpoints in other ways. You should not feel ashamed."
"Where are we now?"
"120 kilometers from the Atlantic ocean."
"120 kilometers straight up?"
"Exactly."
* * * *
As promised, it was pre-dawn when we landed at the spaceport in New Mexico. There had been little to see outside the window until I asked the visor to enhance my vision. But even then, there had been little to see.
New Mexico was pretty barren, especially the land immediately around the spaceport.
Waiting for us was a craft that closely resembled the big sister to the lander we'd taken from Africa.
"In the science fiction stories, there's always a space station."