by Alma Nilsson
“I think I should stay in another room,” Jane explained to the slave, a middle-aged woman who wore a tight green dress over her athletic body.
“I don’t think so. We’ve never had a woman here. His wife was never here if that is what is troubling you. He’d want you to sleep here. Especially if he comes back, am I right?”
“I don’t know,” Jane said because it was all just too overwhelming. Was she really doing this with Jei now, his lover, mother to his hybrid child and then probably his wife. Could she really find it in herself to do this?
The slave looked at her incredulously, “What do you mean, ‘You don’t know’?”
“Forget it . You’re right. I’ll stay here.”
“I know I’m right,” replied the slave, “I’m not the fool in maximum class.”
“Thank you for your instruction,” Jane said sarcastically. And thought to herself, something humans always said to one another, ‘And slave definitely doesn’t mean “slave” in the Alliance.’
“Anytime,” the woman said, began walking out of the room, but at the last minute, stopped and turned back, “Lieutenant, many written messages have come for you about House Human, apparently your charges have been very naughty. So naughty in fact that even the High Priestess wants to see you.”
“You shouldn’t read other people’s personal messages,” Jane said annoyed.
“You shouldn’t be staying in other men’s beds that are not your husband’s or a slave artist’s, but here we both are. The lovers’ bracelets go against the gods you know. I’ve left the messages in the library downstairs. The High Priestess expects you tomorrow. Bless the gods for their wisdom,” the slave said as she walked out.
“Let the gods be blessed,” she said casually and investigated the master bedroom. It was all stone with huge floor to ceiling windows overlooking the rest of the compound. She wondered if Jei was a self-made man of if he had inherited this.
Jane went into the large stone bathroom and took off her uniform. She wanted to have a shower and just go to bed. When she was naked, she looked at herself in the large mirror. Her body showed no outward signs of being with child and she had to admit, she had kind of known, but this pregnancy was so different. She almost wondered if James hadn’t have said anything if she would have been six months gone before realizing it.
Jane stepped into the shower and the water turned on but then she jumped out again, saying “Cold, cold, cold,” under her breath. “Shower, temperature to 40 C.”
“Unable to complete request due to health restrictions.”
“Override.”
“Only Admiral Jei of House Rega may override.”
“What’s the maximum temperature?”
“The maximum temperature is 30C.”
“Okay, 30C,” Jane said as she stepped in again preparing herself for the lukewarm water, at best. She showered quickly and then brushed her teeth with the laser toothbrush she found in the bathroom and put on her Earth pajamas. Then she got into bed. She was shivering. The room was kept at 15C for Jei. She addressed the computer, “Please raise room temperature to 20C.”
“Maximum temperature 20C,” the computer said.
Jane leaned back and thought, Well, at least something is close to the correct temperature. As she lay in the bed looking up at the stone ceiling, she realized she had not prayed yet today, so she grabbed her IC, and quickly went through the large house looking for the shrine she had seen before. She had forgotten her extra prayer candles for her pajamas, but she would pick some more up tomorrow. Onboard ship, the rules were much more relaxed about praying every day and the fleet had conveniently set up statues around different areas of the ship, so it counted if you just passed one and were supposedly thinking of a prayer at the time you walked by. On planet though, your IC monitored your prayers, and everyone had to pray at least once a day.
She heard the slaves curiously coming to follow her as they spotted her in her human pajamas. All Alliance people slept naked and they would have thought nothing of it if she ran down naked to the shrine, but pajamas were odd to Alliance eyes. It went against the gods and health to wear clothing at night according to Alliance doctors. As Jane entered the large shrine, a slave followed her and then nudged her in the back with some candles. Jane turned.
“Here,” said the slave as she handed Jane some specific prayer candles for the pajamas. “The Admiral has provided you with all a human would need.”
“Thank you,” she said and thought, Just like a good pet owner. And Jane knew now, this was what Kara found so irritating about Alliance men, they were always thinking way too much instead of just doing their own thing and allowing women to get on with what they needed to do themselves. However, in this instance, she was grateful for his foresight as she didn’t want another fine for something so ridiculously small.
Jane entered the shrine and found the black and green statue of the goddess of home. She was young and beautiful and had hair about the same length as Jane’s now. After reciting the standard prayer, she couldn’t help but add, “I’m sorry I’ve not been here for a while. I’ve been off planet. I hope you can forgive me that too.” Then she lit the candles in front of the statue and went back to bed. She was so cold, tired and emotionally exhausted, she just wanted to jump under the warm covers and sleep.
As Jane lay there in bed, she wondered what it would be like to be married to Jei. What marriage would be like in general. After a few minutes she got up again and went to her bag to retrieve the purple ring he gave to her. She put it on her hand and looked at it as she lay in his bed in his house thinking, How does this feel? Do I feel like I am cheating on Jim? Do I feel like I am using Jei only to see Jim and my human family again? After many minutes contemplating this all, she took off the ring and set it on the bedside table, all the time looking at it as she drifted off to sleep.
A Change of Plan
The next morning Jane woke up and it took her a few seconds to remember where she was. At first, she thought she was in a fancy hotel on Earth. And Jei’s bed had been so comfortable after being on Beta ship Ilo she had slept through the morning meal. She had missed two meals now and was starving, but unfortunately now it would be three hours until the next meal.
She checked her IC and saw she had a message from Jei.
Why aren’t you eating? There should be some food from Earth there.
Jane smiled imagining him, one-minute concentrating on important issues in the Alliance fleet that would affect trillions of people in the galaxy and then the next worrying about her missing two meals.
I’m tired. I went to bed early and slept late.
She was shocked to get a message back immediately.
I understand. I hope things are getting resolved with Babette. Please don’t miss another meal.
Jane smiled.
If your bed hadn’t been so comfortable and house so welcoming, I wouldn’t have.
Jei replied,
I prefer my home on the Second Alliance Planet, it’s more luxurious. Maybe you will too?
Jane smiled at that but didn’t reply right away. She wondered for a minute if James would give her the forget-me-not forever. She was sure James could do it, but would it be right? Jane got up and got dressed thinking about all of these things. She replied back,
Maybe. We will see.
She knew that James’s medical report would have reached him by now as he was the father of their unborn child. They were officially lovers. But she knew Jei well enough that he was waiting for her to mention it. She had to give him that, he was patient.
When Jane made her way downstairs her two guards were waiting for her. Gio nodded to her and then they escorted Jane to the Grand City Temple. They stood outside the High Priestess’s compound near the back of the temple with the other guards. Jane entered and was escorted by nuns to the High Priestess herself in her private meeting rooms. The walls were lined with the black statues of the gods and goddesses. Jane bowed, “I have come to seek yo
ur guidance High Priestess. May the gods speak through you today.”
“You will know the gods’ will by the end of our meeting,” the High Priestess responded in the set reply and motioned for Jane to sit before her in a black wooden chair. “Jane, I’ve been as patient as I can be with some of these human women, but they are not praying every day and they flaunt the courting ritual as if it were a joke. You must get some control, or I’ll have no choice but to begin inflicting real punishments as if they were Alliance women.”
“Your punishments don’t work,” Jane said thinking about Babette. “So, I don’t see how increasing them would make these women follow the law more by making the punishments worse. Humans are secular. We don’t believe in religion. I think exceptions must be made. You cannot beat people into believing in a religion.”
“You mean to say, you used to not believe in religion until you were enlightened and realized that you were the Lost people of the Alliance Empire, right?”
“Of course,” Jane said and bowed her head respectfully.
“What are you going to do about it as Head of House Human?”
“I’ve had a vision from the goddess of home,” she lied. But she did think a human goddess would be helpful.
“Oh,” said the High Priestess sitting on the edge of her chair now, clearly interested.
“Yes, she revealed to me a new goddess. A human goddess who would represent the Lost People. This will inspire the human women to become more religious and to pray. “Jane was fabricating this as she went along. She hadn’t even considered it until now.
“What does this goddess look like and what is her symbol?”
“I don’t know what she looks like, but her symbol is an Earth and Alliance fruit, the peach,” Jane was proud of herself that she said that without even cracking a smile.
“Will you testify to this?”
Jane held her finger over her heart, “Yes.”
“No doubt this truly is a vision Jane. Gods be blessed. I have been praying for the Lost People.”
“Gods be blessed,” Jane replied hoping this would satisfy her.
The High Priestess considered this for a minute. “I will add this new goddess after I pray on it. From you, I hope to see a great improvement in your wards praying and adherence to the laws. And this includes you too Jane. If the human women’s behavior improves, I will install the Lost People’s goddess into our patheon.”
“Praise the gods.”
“Go and may your path be blessed.”
Jane walked out and nodded to the gods’ statues as she left and thought to herself, It cannot be this easy.
After her visit to the Grand City Temple, Jane met Frank and his niece Jade in the Immigrant Ring to discuss plans for her restaurant that she planned on calling, ‘Human Food.’ When Jane had asked her why she had chosen such a ridiculous name she had explained, ‘Alliance people wouldn’t understand any subtilties and it’s what they will call it anyway, so why not?’ Jane couldn’t fault her logic, but still, for every other human, it was a slap in the face, like calling the restaurant ‘dog food’ or something else degrading. But Jade countered her again, ‘Are you telling me you are not going to eat at the only human run restaurant in the Capital City because of a name?’ And again, she was correct. Jane would eat there and frequently.
After lunch and promises from Jane of messages to be sent to gain favor for her new restaurant, Jei’s guards arranged for Jane to get back on her way to the Kzi. Gio and Sra escorted her as far as her transport from the Kzi and then said their goodbyes.
Jane got into the transport and waiting out on one of the main routes to pick up with a fleet ship heading in the direction of the Kzi. She had had to travel for a day in the transport to come to this place and wait. When she arrived at the rendezvous point that evening, there was a human pirate ship there, it was one of the other many ships waiting for someone or something.
Jane checked their information. Of course, they called themselves ‘traders’ but everyone knew what they really were. And they said that they were waiting on some passengers and then would be traveling to the Solar System. She rubbed her eyes and had to look at it twice. They were going to Earth. Her heart leapt. They were heading to Earth, she thought. But you can’t go, she reminded herself and tried to settle back into her life and what she was supposed to do. But she kept looking at the human ship every time she checked to see who had gone and who had come to the rendezvous point.
Jane was waiting for an Alliance fleet ship. But every hour she waited she wondered if this were a sign from the gods to return home. She knew these ‘traders’ would take her. She had some UCs and if necessary, she could trade the ring Jei had given her. Two hours, three hours after ten hours passed, she couldn’t help herself, she contacted the ship headed to Earth.
“Hello, I couldn’t help but notice that you are going all the way to the Solar System,” she said into a blank RVM to the other ship.
“Hello Lieutenant Jane,” a voice said and then a human man’s face appeared on the RVM. Jane was surprised. She hadn’t seen another human man except for Frank who ran the Earth Store in some time. “We are indeed headed to Earth. Frank wants more supplies and there are some straggler women who want to come and join House Human.”
“Oh really?” She doubted these extra women were legally sanctioned by the Alliance as she hadn’t heard anything about it.
“You don’t know?” the man asked innocently.
“I’ve not heard anything about it. Do you mind sending over the list of names so that I can cross check them?”
“I’ve no objection to showing you. We are both humans after all, and we know this game.” He hit some buttons and said, “I’ve sent the names to you. They’ve all paid a hefty price and no doubt you will see some of that too when they ‘apply’ to House Human.”
Jane didn’t look at the list yet but asked, “What do you think the Alliance will do if they aren’t allowed in?”
“You know better than I do, but I suspect they will be set adrift.”
“Have you brought over human women before?”
“Yes, I thought you would have known?”
“What?”
“Look this isn’t a secure channel,” the pirate said then. “Why don’t you come over here and we can talk?”
Jane looked at the time and she still had a couple hours before her rendezvous. So, she agreed.
Onboard the traders’ ship she was surprised to see a group of human and Alliance crew and a few were clearly hybrid teenagers around. The man she recognized from the RVM approached her. He was middle aged with dark hair and a hard face.
“Please come into our conference room so that we can talk.”
Jane nodded and followed him into the room. An Alliance hybrid young woman tried to follow them until the man told her to stay out. She was clearly dismayed and so was Jane she wanted to look at this young woman more closely. To think about how the growing hybrid inside of her might look. To possibly find some sympathy for her and keep her from what life altering decisions she might make in the next few minutes.
Inside the small conference room, they sat down, and the trader introduced himself, “I’m Captain Hester, this is my crew. We often do runs for Frank. We were told by the Ambassador to Earth that these new human women were sanctioned. However, if you have no record…” he trailed off.
“I don’t think so. Is this the new Ambassador to Earth?”
“Yes, but this isn’t’ the first time we’ve been lied to.”
“Judging by your crew I would say that you just kept the other women then?”
“Ouch,” he said. “Don’t jump to so many conclusions. No, we didn’t but they didn’t want to return to Earth so all the women went elsewhere in this area of the galaxy.”
“Doing what?”
The Captain shrugged his shoulders, “I’m not their father, I don’t know.”
“Don’t you feel any remorse about that?”
“N
o, they pay the money and I transport them here. I have documents stating that they are sanctioned by the Empire. I don’t need much else.”
“But you just said you know they are lying.”
“You, of all people, know how it is with the Alliance, sometimes they are lying sometimes they are not. Either way I get paid.”
“How honorable.”
“I don’t care what you think, that is not even why I brought you over. I am trying to do you a favor.”
“What favor?”
“Did you even look at the list I sent you?”
“Not yet.”
Hester brought up the 3D projection between them and flicked through a number of different pictures and then stopped on one, “This is why I am doing you a favor.”
Jane almost fell out of her chair, “Ellie?” On the screen was her eldest daughter Ellie’s standard picture. “Oh no.”
“She paid and is already headed to the rendezvous. I thought you would have known about this. That you would have organized it. I thought you were here to talk to me about it when I saw your transport.”
Jane shook her head. “I didn’t know. Have her sent back to Earth. Don’t take her onboard. What do you want? UCs? I can give those to you.”
Hester replied, “I can’t do that. I’m not even going to see her. We are headed to Earth not away from it. She’s with some colleagues. This isn’t a commercial travel line. And she’s left without expatriate papers. She’ll be jailed by the human government if she returns and is discovered. You know that the government would love to make an example of her given that you are her mother.”
“What do you mean by that?”