by Alma Nilsson
Transferred to the Flagship
Suppressing the Leta uprising was even more easily achieved than first imagined. Once the ground forces set down, the colonists immediately surrendered. Then the diplomats were sent in, and after a week, a suitable compromise was struck. Jane had not left the Zuin during that time nor seen Admiral Jei again. He had only sent her a short message to collect his UCs for winning the puzzle jug competition. However, on the day they were supposed to depart, Kara called her to her ready room off the main bridge.
When Jane entered, Kara looked angry, “What is it?”
Kara opened a document so they both could read it across her desk,
3rd day of the 1st week of the year 18906
Lieutenant Commander and Chief Engineer Jane Johnson of House Human is to be transferred from the Zuin to the Kzi by direct order of the Admiral of the Fleet, Jei of House Rega, effective immediately.
“What?” Jane didn’t want to leave the Zuin. This was her home with her human sisters. She would be the only human on board the Kzi and the only woman. “I’m not going to the Kzi,” Jane stated.
“First, I believe it’s pronounced, ‘key’ and unfortunately, you have to. I tried to tell Tir that I wasn’t letting you go, but he said that Admiral Jei demanded it. Apparently, it’s not good to have all of us humans together on one ship according to Admiral Jei. I’m sorry, Jane. I did everything I could, but with the arrangements for my son and everything, I cannot push Tir any more right now.”
Jane nodded and said sarcastically, “I guess I’ll find out now what it is really like to be on an Alliance ship with real Alliance men.”
Kara put her arm around Jane, “I’m sure the slave artists will be just as nice as the ones on the Zuin. And sooner rather than later, you’ll have your very own puzzle jug and think it’s such great fun to not spill on yourself,” and then both women laughed at the thought.
“I guarantee you, I will never own a puzzle jug,” Jane said defiantly.
“Oh, you just wait and see. You’ve managed to stay in your human bubble here as Tir has kept us all at a distance, and you’ve only had the best interactions with Alliance people as Head of House Human. You just wait until you are in the thick of it, and you see how they really are. Then you’ll really know what integration means.” Kara left off saying, ‘And then you might be a more empathetic Head of House as well.’ As much as Kara was going to miss Jane, she couldn’t deny that this move made sense. Jane needed to be more integrated. And of course, Admiral Jei wanted her on his ship, to keep her close. Neither Kara nor Tir missed the connection between the two, but when Kara had asked Tir if he thought anything would come of it, Tir had only replied, ‘I wouldn’t think so, Jei is quite content with his slave artist, she even shares his quarters. He might only have a curiosity for Jane that will soon fade once they have each other once or twice.’
Kara walked Jane to her quarters as she packed up her few belongings and then walked her to the transport. They chatted about inconsequential matters the entire time, avoiding this goodbye, “Permission to leave, Captain?” Jane didn’t want to make this emotional. She just wanted to go. She knew that was the best, like ripping off a band-aid. If she spent too long talking about this with Kara, she might just break down. Of course, Jane didn’t want to be the only human out in the galaxy on a warship full of Alliance men and the only other women, Alliance slave artists, but for the moment she knew she had to do this so it was better to just do it and get it over with. She knew Kara would make the most of an any opportunity to get her back on the Zuin.
“Gods, you know you don’t have my permission to go. This is worse for me than for you. Now, I’ll have to deal with an Alliance engineer. Message me, Johnson, especially if they treat you horribly, and then I’ll push Tir to get you back somehow.” Kara gave Jane a tight hug and said quietly, “I don’t know what I’ll do without you. Now go.”
Jane tapped Kara’s shoulder, “Same, my dear friend. I’ll miss you.” Then she turned and boarded the transport. When she arrived on the Kzi, Admiral Jei’s first officer was there to meet her.
“Lieutenant Commander Jane of House Human may the gods be blessed, welcome on board the Kzi. I’ll escort you to your quarters, and then the Admiral wants to see you directly,” Captain Ota said.
Jane greeted him in the set reply but said nothing more, so they walked through the ship’s corridors quietly. She was not happy about this, and she could feel that neither was he. When they reached her quarters, Captain Ota showed her in. They were much sweeter than what she had had on board the Zuin, and she was surprised as she was taking a lower position, as the Kzi was the Alliance Empire’s flagship. But then it was that fact that made her wonder for just a minute if that was why her quarters were nicer, Maybe all the quarters are nicer as this is the flagship? But then she reconsidered that thought when she thought about Admiral Jei’s somewhat questionable behavior when she last saw him, and he had walked her to the transport.
Captain Ota watched the human named Jane intently. He could not decide if she had some part to play in this. If she had seen an opportunity to use witchcraft on their Admiral for some kind of powerplay. He didn’t trust humans, and he definitely didn’t trust this one. She was Captain Kara’s confidant, and everyone knew Captain Kara must be a witch. Although, Captain Ota didn’t think Jane looked like a witch as opposed to Kara, whose beauty could have only been achieved through witchcraft. Jane looked plain to him except for her different colors, which he didn’t find necessarily attractive.
“Captain Ota, this must be a mistake, I’ve been demoted in rank, these quarters are well above my station. I don’t want any special treatment here.” Her new quarters consisted of a large bathroom with an artificial light that mimicked natural light, as if one was on a planet with natural light shining through, a small sitting room with a desk and a large bedroom that had a beautifully set window to the galaxy outside. These were definitely quarters for someone with a much higher rank than she held.
Ota looked her in the eyes for the first time and realized that she probably had no part in this. That this tryst was all the Admiral’s doing. He had seen the way they had been looking at each other the other week and had just assumed that Lieutenant Commander Jane had maneuvered her way on board the Kzi, but now he felt by her demeanor and that question that she probably hadn’t been looking to move off the Zuin. “No, the Admiral himself assigned these quarters to you. He said that you needed the extra space as you had more duties than just engineering, as you were the Head of House Human, and that human women like to do something called ‘yoga’ exercises.” Ota left off, ‘And the Admiral would not want the woman he desires to be seen practicing swords with the men.’
Jane looked at Captain Ota disbelievingly, “Yes, we do like yoga, and this is more than enough space. But this is too much. I don’t want to be given anything special because I’m human.”
“You don’t have a choice. You are human, and these are orders. And you must be treated differently as well because you’re the first woman ever to serve on the Kzi.”
Jane was annoyed, “I’ll speak to Admiral Jei about it myself. Now, if you could take me to him?”
“Yes,” Ota said, gesturing they leave.
Jane left her bags in her assigned quarters and walked silently with Captain Ota through the massive ship to Admiral Jei’s ready room off the main bridge. His ready room was at least twice the size of Captain Kara’s on the Zuin and much more impressive. Jane felt for the first time now what an honor it was to be on the Alliance Empire’s flagship and thought that maybe she should just close her mouth and be grateful for what had been given to her.
“You may leave Captain Ota,” Jei said immediately upon their arrival.
Captain Ota nodded and left.
Jane looked at Admiral Jei, behind his desk, and said, “Gods have granted me this gift, Lieutenant Commander Jane of House Human reporting for duty as requested.”
Jei looked up at her f
ace and after a few too many seconds of taking in her appearance said, “ Thank the gods. Your probationary period begins now. We have never had a human or a woman onboard as crew, I hope your quarters are satisfactory?” He couldn’t help but add the last sentence. It was so wrong, but so was she. She was Head of a House and a woman, he needed to show her that respect even though they were not on the planet. It was an awkward situation. Jei put those thoughts of rank aside for a second as he looked at her and relished the way she looked in her uniform. He could just see the hint of some human curves underneath the black fabric.
“Everything is more than satisfactory. Too satisfactory, in fact. I think I have been given the wrong quarters as they do not match my rank.”
“They are yours. You are a human woman, and I want you to have space to do your human exercises.”
“That is very thoughtful, but…”
He cut her off with his hand through the air impatiently. “I won’t hear any more about your quarters. I set them, and they will remain. Now report to engineering at once. This isn’t a human ship, and I won’t have anyone lazing about.”
Jane gave the Admiral an Alliance bow and then left. As she found her way to engineering through the massive ship, she wondered if everything that had transpired before between them, all the romantic looks, had only been in her head. But she couldn’t mistake the way he had just taken in her figure as if she was the first woman he had seen in a century. However, in typically Alliance fashion, his manner and words conveyed the exact opposite. Jane smiled to herself, thinking, These people are so strange. They love to be contradictory.
In engineering, she found the Chief engineer and was given some simple tasks to complete. Jane was introduced to everyone and given a schedule. It was all very typical except that it wasn’t long before she realized that this would be the first time, she was actually working with Alliance men. Not the men that were so intimidated by Tir, they hardly spoke to her. No, these men were respectful, almost too much so, but also real. They laughed with each other and were annoyed with one another. They were like brothers, and she questioned for the first time as well, Who really does run the Empire? The men out in the galaxy or the women at the Alliance Empire’s core?
The weeks went by without incident on the Kzi. Not surprisingly, Admiral Jei ran a very tight ship. She had seen him only a few times on his rounds through engineering, and he had not acknowledged her at any time. But Jane knew he had read the report her superior had sent about her progress of integration and skill as he had marked it as such, so her probationary period aboard the Kzi had ended. She was truly a part of the crew now, and she couldn’t help but wonder why he brought her onboard, Was it really for integration only?
Report: Jane Johnson of House Human
3rd day of the 20th week of the year 18906
Lieutenant Commander Jane: Engineering
Performed her new duties well and has adhered to all Alliance Fleet rules and regulations. She has been particularly creative when problem-solving and, overall, an excellent addition to the team.
Socially, Jane was slowly getting to know her fellow crewmates, and she had even shared a meal a couple of times with Captain Ota and her commanding officer Chief Hsu. The few officers that were married told her about their wives and even a couple about their sons. For the first time, Jane actually felt the sorrow in the Empire about the demographics issue. She was meeting real men, most of whom, would never have an opportunity for a wife or children, and had not only resigned themselves to their lonely fate but were surprisingly not bitter, and even more surprisingly, these men still had it in them to be happy for those who were lucky enough to marry and have children. Jane supposed it was their deep religious beliefs that allowed them to justify their solitary fates in this way.
However, of course, there were a couple men that she kept her distance from. She didn’t need to be telepathic to know that they were trouble. One, in particular, worked in engineering, his name was Lieutenant Nun, and he constantly was asking her inappropriate questions about her relationship with Jim on Earth and her children. Jane was always civil to him, but she never wanted to meet him alone or give the impression that their relationship could be anything other than professional.
Most evenings, Jane was busy messaging or VMing with the unmarried women from House Human, whether it be official documentation or just being moral support, they took up a lot of her time when she was off duty. And when she had time, she would VM her children or Kara. And that was it. Her life was continuing, and as the weeks passed, she really did start to believe that what she saw in Admiral Jei, the flirting in orbit around Leta, all those weeks before, had been just fun and meant nothing romantic, as, beyond her quarters, he had shown her no preferential treatment.
The Chief Medical Officer on the Kzi was a different story entirely, though. His name was Doctor Rea of House Edda. He, like the Admiral, was originally from the Second Alliance Planet and was very keen to talk about the their home planet to her, their variations in culture and clothing, all of which Jane found very interesting as she thought the entire Alliance Empire was the same, well at least as far as the original Alliance planets went. And it was through Rea that Jane got to casually meet more officers of her rank and get to know typical Alliance men. And after a few months, she decided that maybe the Admiral was right in transferring her to the Kzi to mix up humans in the fleet to see how well it would all go.
One night Jane was invited to play a gambling game with some of the officers, and she decided to go. She felt that she was really beginning to make friends. And Jane knew the game so she was confident that she wouldn’t make a complete fool of herself. It was a kind of card game, which was mainly just luck anyway, but there would be lots of drinking of zota and banter, so she wanted to go and be social. Especially since Rea was hosting it in his quarters, and they had become fast friends.
Jane showed up and handed Rea a bottle of Italian red wine when he answered the door. She often kept small Earth things such as wine or fruit preserves to give as little gifts for special occasions such as these.
“Is this any good?” Rea asked jokingly. All Alliance people had heard that human-made food and drink was superior in taste to their own.
“Why don’t we open it and find out?” Jane joked. She was happy about this comradery. She missed Kara in a way, but she felt she had a more honest friendship with Rea, which was surprising as he was an alien.
Rea opened the wine and poured two black ceramic cups full.
“What about the rest of us?” Ota complained, and Rea filled three more cups, they were five in total.
“To our human officer and the delicious wine, she brings,” Ota made a toast, and they all followed suit to Jane.
Jane just nodded and then took a seat at the table where the cards were already out. There was no food as it was not during a designated mealtime, so it went against the gods to eat now.
Rea sat down at the table and began to deal.
And everyone began to talk.
After a multiple rounds of cards and Jane almost losing all of her UCS that she had set aside for gambling beforehand, she announced, “Well, that is it for me, I’m out.”
“Why don’t you bet with something other than UCs?” Ota suggested.
“I’m not taking off my clothes,” she said, almost offended.
“Gods, no, please don’t, “ replied Ota offended she thought he meant that. “I meant how about you bet with what you know about the women in House Human.”
“What do you mean?” Jane was confused.
“Well, you know them. We only can see their pictures and read their dull biographies. And you know us. I want to know about some of them in particular, and you can tell me, then I can make a judgment whether or not I should take a holiday to attend an Assembly to meet one,” Ota explained.
Jane actually didn’t know if she was forbidden to talk about the unmarried women in her care. Madame Bai had never mentioned it. However, from what
she knew about Alliance culture and the way they wanted to gamble for information, she suspected that this was at best a grey area and, at worst, forbidden on one level or another. As of course, in the Alliance, there were levels of forbidden. But she knew these men to be respectful, so far, and thought of some women who would be happy to be talked up to these men, so she was going to agree, in five more minutes, that is. “I don’t know, it doesn’t seem right to share what I know of these women. I’m their guardian.”
Rea looked at her and smiled devilishly. He could read her mind easily and knew her game.
“Look, Jane, I’ll give you 10 UC if you just tell me about Jade,” Ota threw out the offer quickly.