by Serena Vale
Everywhere she looked there were couches and high backed reclining chairs and ottomans to rest her feet on. There was a bar, stocked with bottles of alcohol in labels that she could read and some that she couldn’t. There was a table laden with food, a steaming turkey in the middle of it, surrounded by steaming bowls of vegetables, a frothing pitcher of some kind of drink, goblets and bottles of wine, and trays of fruit. All of it just waiting for her dig right in.
At the far end she saw that there was a large bathtub… no, not a bathtub… it was a Jacuzzi. The water in it was already swirling and bubbling from heat. The fragrance of jasmine flowers wafted from out of it and she could smell it across the room. And even from a distance the water was plenty inviting.
She saw shelves loaded with books or video chips that were the size of her pinky nail. Thousands upon thousands of films or books rested on those shelves, more than she could watch if she viewed them one after the other for the rest of her life. There was a holographic projector at the far end overlooking the Jacuzzi, allowing her to watch or read those books and films from the comfort of the tub.
And hanging on a nearby rack adjacent to the bar, was a rack of clothing. Pants, shirts, dresses and gowns, all made from fabrics that she couldn’t name but imagined were plenty expensive. All of it was just waiting for her to slip into it.
“My god,” she said amazed.
“My master wished you to be comfortable on your journey,” Urala said.
“Your master could be from Earth…” she said, stepping deeper into the cabin and looking over everything there.
“My master is well versed in the culture of the wealthy on Earth,” Urala explained. “He has an affinity for your world and its culture. He thought that this would put you more at ease for the journey to your new home.”
She set her duffle down on a nearby chair. “You mean… my intended isn’t on board?”
“He’s not,” Urala said. “He had some matters to attend to before we arrive. Additionally, there is much you must learn before we make planetfall. The journey will give you time to acclimate to your new role.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Will it take a long time to get there?”
“The shuttle is fitted for FTL travel, but even so the journey will take nearly two weeks to complete.”
“Two weeks?” she asked, astonished. “Even for faster-than-light travel?”
Urala nodded. “Our destination is at the edge of the outer spiral… my master prefers seclusion to anything else. He will explain his reasons, of course. In the meantime, this shuttle will be your home for the time being. And this is merely one of the chambers where you can reside. There are four decks; the top two are reserved strictly for your private use. On them you will find your personal sleeping quarters, a private gym, spa, and other recreational areas that you might find amusing during the long journey.”
She felt a flutter of excitement at these words. “And the bottom two decks?”
“For the crew,” Urala explained. “And… I might add, mistress, that the crew very much requires their privacy. They are here to serve you but they do value their own space.”
She sensed that there was a profound honesty in the request. She found it easy enough to accept and nod at the wish. She liked having her own privacy. It wasn’t much to allow other people to have theirs as well. “No problem.”
Urala bowed her thanks. “Very good, mistress. If you would like to make yourself comfortable, perhaps have something to eat and drink – I understand that the disembarkation process for leaving your world leaves one feeling somewhat drained. I will inform the pilot that we are ready to depart.” She pointed to a control panel on the wall that Shayla could not read, though it was marked with blue lights. “That is a summons panel. If you require anything at all, just press the panel. Someone will answer and anything that you require will be brought to you.”
Shayla nodded. “Thank you.”
Urala gave a final bow and quickly scurried away and disappeared behind a second door, leaving her alone in the exquisite cabin.
There was so much to learn that Shayla found she had little or no time to spend enjoying her surroundings. But Urala had said that once they reached Paradiso, she could expect to have considerably more time... all day if she wished. Even though there would be days where she would be consumed by her impending duties, there would also be days where she would be able to spend time at her leisure. She assured her that Paradiso had no shortage of diversions and temptations.
Sounds like something worth working for, she decided.
She planted herself in front of a holo-projector and began coming through the chips that Urala had pointed out as “Mandatory Viewing” before they reached the end of their journey. The first was the longest and most important. By the end of the first day of the voyage she had only managed to gain a small scope of the role she would have to fulfill. From the chip, she had learned a lot. Some of it shocking, some of it impressive, some of it left her feeling a tad worried.
Her soon-to-be husband was from a race called the Exsul. From all of her time spent reading the histories of Earth she knew the word. Like Paradiso, it was Latin in origin and it meant “Outcast”. She had never thought in depth on the subject but she knew that every society everywhere – or ever – had good reasons to throw someone out. Usually, such an act was done and for reasons that were not very good at all. And this is a man that I’m about to marry? The realization had sent a chill down her spine.
That was part of the agreement, shew knew. Bridalship meant renouncing her old way of life and embracing a new one. Whether she liked it or not Paradiso and the man who ran it, was about to become her new life; no help for that now. Getting off of Earth and getting married to a male of another race was no guarantee of happiness.
Bridalship laws weren’t always tilted in the human favor, she knew. Brides or grooms could be chosen for whatever reason that their off-world spouse desired. Maybe their hair was the right length. Maybe they were just the right height, weight, eye color… maybe they had a birthmark in just the right place… who knew? That was reason enough for any one person’s application for Bridalship to be accepted, but again, that didn’t mean that he or she that was chosen would like their new spouse when they got to wherever it was that they were going.
Fretful as this was, she kept reading and watching, taking in as much as she could.
The history of the moon she was traveling to was short and fairly simple. Her intended was a man who had registered himself with the Terran Bridalship Laws because of his interest in all things human. His interests weren’t limited to the things that other xenos had found interesting: music, art, architecture, alcohol or like that. Her fiancé’s interests extended to the actual people.
His species title – Exsul – was self-imposed and by him, she had learned. He was the only one of his kind… to a point. She learned that he’d become so enthralled by learning of humans and absorbing all that he could about them that he’d neglected the studies of his own race and dismissed the needs of his own people and as a result he’d been thrown out for it. As far as reasons to be exiled goes, it’s not a terrible one. Her betrothed was a man of means, she’d learned quickly enough. He was very wealthy when he was exiled and he’d found a way to make more money still. And rather than be degraded for his exile, he chose to embrace his newfound freedom and chose to live a life apart. There’s something admirable in that. And because he was so wealthy, he had purchased his own planet to live on.
Well, not a planet exactly… it was more like a moon. But it was larger than the Earth itself and that was enough to astonish her. He’s filthy rich! There was some appeal in that as well.
Not only that, he welcomed others from distant worlds to his new estate, which he had christened as Paradiso. Any who applied for citizenship on his world he also claimed were Exsul, a race of outcasts. That’s interesting too. From what Shayla could discern there was an army of people who lived on the planet to serve
him. Some of them, she found, were the descendants of those that had left Earth years before. But by ratio, less than 1% of all souls on the planet were human… and some of them were not fully human at that.
She thought of Urala and why she had said she wasn’t exactly human. That left a curiosity in her that demanded to be satisfied, but that would have to come later. For the moment, she had other things to learn.
The planet – moon – was run by her intended, like a private fiefdom. That was also a sign that he had studied Earth’s history, but why he’d settled on such a means of government she wasn’t sure. Not unless he had a flare for the romantic. Chivalry and all that. The layout of the government was fairly simple. He’d designated a few others – also outcasts from their home worlds – as vassals, but he sat at the top of it all like a king. The moon was divided up into parcels and each parcel was given over to one person or another to lord over as their own. They all paid taxes to him and the people lived together in relative harmony.
That’ll be a relief.
As far as crime, war, poverty, and other ills of society went, the numbers were fairly low. At worst, there was an occasional border dispute that resulted in the occasional clash or two, but nothing that really resulted in all-out-war. Most disputes were usually settled within a day or so after concessions were made. It was nothing too serious.
She studied the composition of the moon. It was a moon in orbit of the second planet in the system, the body it orbited an inhospitable gas giant. It had all of the life-friendly features that were common for human and xeno races alike. It had liquid water and oxygen to breathe, which were the biggest winners of the day and therefore making the place prime real estate. It also had a day and night cycle; though the days were a little shorter than on Earth and the nights were a little longer. The moon had a tilt in its axis so it experienced a changing of the seasons. It was a little heavier in gravity than Earth was, but she didn’t think that that would take much getting used to. Overall the moon didn’t have anything of intrinsic value. But as it so happened it had one thing that seemed to draw adventurers from across the galaxy.
Pleasure.
She almost laughed as she read the details on that. It was said that in the sixty years – since her intended first established the moon as his own property – that peoples from a variety of worlds would come to experience what he and his vassals had to offer.
They were rich in the arts mostly. There were places dedicated to one form of expression or another strewn across the planet like spilt jewels. There were some venues dedicated strictly to music, or dance, the theater, like that. But they were also reputed to have the best casinos, the wildest betting games, the most interesting of sports, the most beautiful beaches, serene forests, tall mountains, religious shrines, and oceans that even a few of the more advanced alien races didn’t have the technology to explore down to the last detail. Additionally, there were no dangerous animals, insects, or plants on the moon, so that would be a relief as well.
She found that in the last sixty years pilgrims seeking religious enlightenment, solitude for mediation, or people just looking to get away from their troubles on their own worlds had come here seeking the more secluded spots. Just like I do, she thought with a grin. And as a result, the income that her future husband generated was substantial. She didn’t understand business so well but Shayla knew that for a place like this, peoples of many cultures would turn up in droves demanding that their money be taken for what was being offered.
The last thing that she noted was, of course, the pleasure dens that the moon offered. If there was any race in the galaxy that enjoyed sex simply for the sensation and enjoyment of it, that too could be found on Paradiso. Right off she saw that there were over sixty thousand different sporting houses registered on the planet that offered a wide range of physical pleasures in a variety of forms.
Some places offered the kind of delights where some had to be satisfied with only watching. Others offered the chance to look, but touching could happen for a little extra. Some offered the chance to have no less than two women – or even men – at one time. Others catered specifically to the ultra-rich where, if one had the money, a legion of serfs could make a person’s dreams come true, whatever shape, form, or species one could desire and for as long as their money held out.
An interesting venture, certainly, she thought. And my fiancé controls it all…
That thought sent a strange feeling through her.
On Earth, everything had been simple: she wanted to leave and that was reason enough to get off world. She hadn’t given much thought as to what would happen after that. She supposed, like so many others, that once she was off world she would find that her husband-to-be was handsome, even if he was alien. And that her life thereafter would be nothing short of a dream come true. Why? Because she would be off of Earth and that was all that mattered.
Of course she wanted to leave the killing behind… not to mention the monotony of day to day living. Routines had their place but when she could perform her function in her sleep, something else and something more was needed. She wanted to be free of everything that had made her life dull and not worth experiencing any further. But now that she was here, she felt a new kind of reality being heaped upon her shoulders.
She was going to be wed… to an alien… and she was going to inherit the responsibility for helping to run a moon dedicated to pleasure. Simply thinking of it that way made the very air in the room seem heavier to her somehow… like she was submerged and trying to both swim and breathe through concrete.
“Wow…” she said, thinking on that and leaning back in the chair of the study nook that her private cabin had come with.
“Is everything alright, mistress?” asked Urala, suddenly appearing at her side.
Shayla had gotten used to her new friend appearing as if from nowhere. It was the sixth day of their voyage and they hadn’t dropped out of FTL once. She was beginning to feel a slight strain on her nerves which she had considered calling cabin fever, but she managed to endure with the help of hot food and a little wine.
She looked at Urala. The young girl was fitted in a dress made of the same shimmering material that she had seen the day that they had met. The only difference was that this dress was blue and the hairpiece she wore was of a matching color, almost as if the girl was in uniform and that uniform changed colors every day.
“Yes, everything is fine,” she said to the young girl.
“Would you like me to bring you anything?” Urala offered. “That beverage you’re so fond of, for instance… I believe it’s called vodka?”
She chuckled. It did sound tempting, but she shook her head. “No, that’s fine…” she paused as a thought streaked across her mind. “Although, there is one thing that I think you can do for me.”
“Yes, mistress?”
She smirked and sat forward on her chair, gesturing for Urala to sit in the chair opposite her. “Tell me about my intended.”
“Mistress?” the young girl asked as she slid into the chair opposite her.
“Tell me about him… as much as I’ve been studying about Paradiso, I’m not learning anything about the man that I’m supposed to marry.”
Urala looked contemplative for a moment before a pleased smile settled on her face. “What would you like to know, mistress?”
“Well… for starters, what’s his name? Everything I’ve seen and read so far, I don’t see his name on anything.”
“He is called Ugil,” Urala reported with a nod.
“What’s he like? By that I mean… what does his species look like?”
Urala’s face seemed to darken somewhat. “Are you curious to know if he’s handsome or not, milady? I have heard that some humans base their companionships on how their mates appear at first. Is that why you desire to know?”
The directness of the statement took her by surprise, but she shook her head. “No, no, no,” she said assuredly. “That’s not it at all. What I real
ly want to know is; what does he look like? Does he have scales? Does he have wings? Is he bipedal? Does he live under water? Anything like that?”
Urala looked uncertain how to answer, but she rolled her lips together nervously before replying, “I could not say, mistress.”
“No? Why not?” she asked curiously.
“I’ve never seen him.”
Shayla was shocked to hear that. “You haven’t?”
The girl shook her head. “Not many have. And those that have never discuss what manner of species he is. All that they care for is that they are satisfied with the business that they conduct. But I have not heard that he is a terrifying man in any regard. And the few women that are in his inner circle all say, at the very least, that he is not terrible to look upon.”
She rolled that around in her head for a moment before she nodded approvingly. That’s comforting at least… but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That was true enough. A human eye didn’t see things the same way that a xeno’s eye saw anything.
“Alright… so, Ugil is his name?”
“Yes, mistress.”
“Where’s he from? I mean, originally.”
“None can say,” the girl said with a shrug. “He purchased Paradiso before my time. If he came to live there with any of his own race no one speaks of it. All that I can say for certain is that he chooses to call it home now. The world of his birth is long forgotten to him.”
A new thought occurred to her. “Wait… you said that he purchased Paradiso sixty years ago, right?”
“Sixty years by your calendar, mistress. In the calendars of others, it varies… for some, he’s owned it for centuries. Others, he’s not yet owned it for a year. It’s all relative.”
“So… how old is he then?”
“Mistress?”