by Alma Nilsson
Babette was looking into Tem’s grey eyes, one was slightly larger than the other, and listening to him tell her an exciting story about strange colonists wanting to barter children for technology, and she just kissed him in mid-sentence right there in the middle of the garden.
Tem was shocked that Babette kissed him. Her mouth was so warm and sweet. He put his hand on the back of her head and pulled her gently towards him. He took over her advance, trying to quiet his mind that was saying, ‘This is going to be a hefty fine. Stop kissing her. Stop touching her.’
Babette was a bit surprised at Tem’s cool lips and tongue. She knew Alliance people had a slightly lower body temperature but knowing and actually feeling it were two things altogether. And she didn’t know if it was because of this she felt almost nothing when she kissed him or if it was because they had no connection. She ended the kiss and looked up at him.
Tem looked down at this adorable human. He wanted her.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“I’m not. It will be expensive.”
“What?”
“Kissing, touching. You know the fines.”
“Fines?” Babette questioned and then answered herself, “Oh, snap a doodle. The fines,” she remembered Madame Bai warning them. She looked around the garden for some kind of camera or something. It seemed quite dark, she hoped they might have gotten away with that little kiss.
Tem moved to kiss her again.
Babette back away, “Sorry,” she said.
Tem took a step back, “No, don’t be.”
“You can go if you want,” Babette knew the rules of the Assembly, men couldn’t leave women unless they were dismissed formally. Now that she knew Tem was not going to be a match for her, she didn’t want to waste his time or hers.
“No, I don’t want to leave you.”
Babette felt guilty then. She didn’t want to have to tell this sweet man with two different sized eyes that he wasn’t the one, but she had to, “I’m sorry Tem. You’re a nice man with a great pair of lips, but I just didn’t feel a connection.”
“Really? You kissed me. You must have felt something to want to do that?”
“I was enjoying your story so much that I just wanted to see if we had a romantic connection too.”
“Oh,” Tem said dejectedly.
“I’m sorry.”
“Will you pay both of our fines then?”
“No, you happily kissed me back,” Babette replied, a bit offended.
“You kissed me first and led me astray.”
“Seriously?” Babette asked.
“No, I just feel disappointed,” Tem admitted.
“Me too. I did really enjoy your conversation. If I wasn’t here to find a husband, I would want to talk to you more.”
Tem didn’t want this to be a complete loss, “What do human women want from husbands?”
Babette laughed, “I don’t know. We don’t get married anymore.”
“I noticed that you didn’t want to hear about some of our best men’s structured days or detailed plans for their futures. You wanted to have casual talk.”
“Yes, that’s how we get to know someone to decide if we like them. How do Alliance women get to know men?”
“I don’t have too much experience, but usually we impress them with our well-laid-out plans for the future and the kind of family and House they will be connected to after marriage. Most of this is already known to them in advance, but I guess it is about meeting us in person and the pheromones. Maybe that is what you were testing in your human way with your kiss?” He wondered then if humans had a terrible sense of smell, and that is why they liked to kiss for check for potential mates.
“But how do you get to know each other?”
“We get to know each other while we are courting,” Tem said.
“But courting is almost marriage. How do you go from one meeting to courting without knowing someone’s personality?”
Tem thought about this for a minute.
Babette wondered if anyone had ever asked him this question before. And if the kiss hadn’t been an indicator, he wasn’t right for her, his thoughtfulness was. She hated it when men took a long time to answer questions instead of just talking.
“Women do a lot of research before they come to an Assembly. They know a lot about us before we meet them. And they can guess a lot of our personalities based on the careers we’ve chosen,”
“But you’re all in the space fleet,” Babette commented.
“Yes, but there are very different positions you can have within it,” he pointed out and then continued. “And they know by rumor how many duels we’ve been in.”
“You’ve been in duels? To the death?”
Tem nodded, “Once.”
“What happened?”
“It’s forbidden for me to speak about it to a woman.”
“Really?”
“You must know this from your cultural classes. It is one of our first laws. As a woman, there are many things you are forbidden to speak about to men too.”
“I know, I just didn’t know if this was one of those Alliance things that you have the law for, but in practice, you do something completely different?”
“Do we do that?”
Babette gave him a sidelong look, “Yes.”
“This is one of those things we do take very seriously. Never ask a man.”
“That’s good to know. Now tell me more, how do women know you? I mean, really?”
“I guess through our known jewelry as well. You can tell a lot about a man and his expectations for a wife through what he buys.”
Babette was very confused then, “Really?”
“Yes, have you seen any man’s known jewelry?”
“A few,” Babette admitted. Just like the nude images of the men, the known jewelry was almost as embarrassing to admit drooling over.
“Who’s?”
“Admiral Tir,” she and the other women had checked out his collection as he was married to Captain Kara.
“Ah, of course. He’s an excellent example. His known jewelry clearly shows that he anticipated a strong woman, a powerful woman, actually.”
Babette tried to remember the jewelry, and if there was anything that would mean that to her when she was looking at the pieces, “How do you know that? It was just jewelry.”
“The boldness of the patterns, the size, and some of the symbols on them signifying strength. Admiral Tir is the successor to the Emperor. His wife will be Empress.”
“Do you really think a human will be Empress?”
“I don’t know,” Tem admitted. “These days, the Empire is out of sorts, anything could happen.” Tem saw her concerned look and wanted to change the subject, Babette may be ignorant about some things. Still, obviously, even she had heard the rumors of a human Empress being murdered before she could finish her first day in the palace. “Tell me more about what human women want.”
Babette and Tem talked for the rest of the Assembly in the garden. She enjoyed his company, and even though it wasn’t a love match for either of them, she had made a friend. When she left the Assembly, she promised to follow Tem’s ship, the Bip.
Weeks passed, and Babette went to two more Assemblies. All with boring men. She was concerned she was going to be bored to death. Any men who seemed slightly interested, she kissed. She couldn’t help it. With Tem, her thinking was that there would be a romantic connection between them, but with these other men, she kissed them because they were gorgeous but so annoying, she wanted to breathe some life into them.
Every time she saw Tem’s ship show up on her messages about ships in the fleet, she wondered if she should just settle for him. Sometimes he sent her interesting images from where they were in the galaxy or VMed her an interesting story. She decided that if she didn’t meet anyone else by this time next year and Tem was still available, she would settle for him if he would have her. She knew that while he initially found her very attractive, that he was
less attracted to her lack of work ethic at the library and her disinterest in exercise. However, of course, he wanted a wife, and she would do for him as he for her.
Babette thought her life in the Alliance would have been more exciting than this. Of course, she had a much better standard of living than she would have ever had on Earth and had met a lot of different people she would have never come in contact with before, but some days she missed Natchez and her old job. And she told herself she could have just as comfortably settled for a human man there.
Jane returned to House Human and was immediately bombarded by a row of human women who all wanted advice about one thing or another. She patiently sat down with a glass of wine and listened to them all in the dining room.
After she finished with the women who had sought her out, she had to seek out Babette. She asked one of the surly slaves to find Babette and tell her to come to the dining room. After a lot of back and forth, the slave finally went to fetch Babette.
Jane watched as she entered the dining room, “You could at least look a little ashamed,” she said.
Babette replied as she sat down, “But I’m not ashamed. I can’t pretend to be interested in spending the rest of my life with a man if I don’t know if we are suitable for each other.”
“Yes, you can, and you will. You agreed to come to the Alliance and follow their rules. You can’t go around kissing men, especially men, you are not even courting.”
“Why would I court someone before kissing them? There’s no better way to know if you would ever love a man than to kiss him. You know you can have a crush on someone, and then you kiss them and poof,” she made a gesture with her hand, “the kiss proves that it was just a crush and it’s over.”
“Babette, your logic is sound, and this method is good for human men, but it’s not appropriate in the Alliance, and House Human cannot continue to pay these fines. You must find another method. Try asking questions.”
Babette laughed, “What is more innocent or telling than a kiss?”
“I don’t know, but in the Alliance, kissing is not innocent.”
“It should be.”
“But it’s not. I don’t make the rules, and I certainly cannot change them. You must stop kissing random men. It’s not only the fines, you will get a reputation, and that is not good for you or for House Human.”
Babette had a pout.
Jane felt like such a House Mother then, “I’m sorry, but these are the rules. If you do it again, I’ll not pay the fine.”
“Then what’ll happen?”
“You’ll be sent to the High Priestess for physical punishment at the Capital City Temple.”
“You wouldn’t do that to me. We are both human.”
Jane shook her head, “We are both human, but we are Alliance too. You must see that this is our culture now. You signed a contract saying that you would live by their rules, and you must do it or suffer their consequences. House Human is poor, we cannot afford these fines, especially if other women began to follow suit. Am I making myself clear? No more kissing, Babette.”
“Yes, very clear,” said Babette, but in her heart, she knew she wouldn’t stop kissing men. It was the only way to know, and she wasn’t going to risk her future happiness without knowing.
Punishments
Babette woke up. Today was a day of rest. She purposely missed the morning meal. It was one of the only days that she was allowed to sleep in. Last night she had attended another Assembly, a lesser one, not even all the human women went, but she was on a mission to find a man to marry, and she didn’t want to miss any opportunity as the most eligible of men were in and out all the time depending on their schedules so it was no guarantee who you would meet where. Babette also felt a bit of a push as some of the women were already courting men and moving forward with their lives, and others had bans already put on them by men who couldn’t for whatever reason meet them yet to begin courting. And then there was Babette, she had met a lot of men, but none took her fancy in a way she wanted. She didn’t know what she was really looking for, but none of them really had it. They were overly handsome, tall, and strong, if you found grey skin attractive, which Babette had to admit after a few weeks, she did. She no longer looked at Alliance people as aliens. They were to her now just as other humans were, just a different color. Unfortunately for her appearances were where the similarities stopped. Alliance people were rigid in their beliefs and planning so much, so she found it difficult to just talk to any of these men if it wasn’t about future expectations of a career and marriage. Many men were put off when Babette asked the question, “But what do you like to do when you have free time?” And the men who actually answered the question, which were few, she tried kissing to see if there was any physical attraction. Unfortunately, none of her kisses had set off any fireworks for her, only little candles that felt almost smothered by rain by the touch of their cool lips to hers.
It was no surprise when her IC chimed with the arrival of yet another fine for kissing men she was not courting.
Babette Thomas, House Human, Fines for 2nd day of the 1st week of the year 18906
Second Term Assembly, kissing with Rif, House Lore at 20:31
Second Term Assembly, kissing with Wen, House Ren at 21:46
Fine: 50 UC per citation.
Total: 100 UC
And then as if it were written in a play, Jane, Head of House Human, was calling her.
Babette reluctantly answered.
“Babette, what are you doing?”
Jane’s blue eyes were fierce as she held up her IC with what she assumed were the fines on them. Jane, as their Head, would get a copy of all penalties and would be responsible for them. As House Human was the poorest of all, they often had to rely on some of the wealthier human women who were no longer in House Human to cover these costs. “I just need to know. I don’t want to start courting a man if I don’t know how his mouth feels on mine. You know what I’m talking about.” Babette had heard rumors that Jane was now lovers with the Admiral of the Fleet. Apparently, this was a real status a widower could have in the Alliance.
Jane took a deep breath, “I know what you are talking about, but we cannot keep covering these costs.” She couldn’t blame Babette for wanting to get close to men before committing to something more serious. Unfortunately, they were in the Alliance, and House Human could not continue to cover these bills, especially if other women followed in Babette’s footsteps. Jane felt she had no choice but to make an example out of Babette.
Babette interrupted her, “I’ll ask Dru myself.” She and Dru had shared a few lunches together, and Babette knew that Dru supported her wish to know a man better before simply jumping into a serious courting contract.
“No,” Jane said, shaking her head. “There’s no need. She won’t be covering these costs. I have another idea.”
“Oh?”
“Your fines can be earned back with blood.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about punishment with the High Priestess at the Grand City Temple.”
“No, I’ll…”
Jane interrupted her, “No, this is what is going to happen. Look, right now, as we speak,” she held up the IC and touched some buttons. “ You will learn the Alliance way. Now according to this, you should receive an appointment. I hope this will teach you not to flaunt the Alliance’s rules about kissing before courting.”
“I can’t believe you just did that to me?” Babette said dispiritedly.
“I can’t believe after eight fines for kissing different men you haven’t taken me seriously when I told you to stop, or I would do this.”
“When did you become so Alliance, Jane? Traitor,” she said ‘traitor’ almost under her breath.
“What did you say?”
“How can you judge me when you are sleeping with the Admiral of the Fleet unmarried?”
Jane was momentarily shocked, but then reminded herself that of course, Babette and t
he other women would know. Gossip was rampant in the Empire. “The arrangement that Admiral Jei and I have is completely legal. What you are doing is not?”
Babette threw up her hands, frustrated, “How is that legal?”
Jane did feel some sympathy for the young woman, “Babbs, listen to me. Neither you nor I made these rules, and as illogical as they may seem, they are the rules which we both agreed to live by or pay the consequences. You have to stop comparing everything to how it would be on Earth.”
“So, it’s fine for you to sleep with your lover unmarried, and everyone knows, but I can’t innocently kiss men in public?”
“Yes,” Jane said. “That is correct. Don’t look for logic here. Just do it. Find a way to decide if you like men without touching them. Alliance people seem to do it.”
“Are you insinuating that I’m uncivilized?” It was common for Madame Bai and some of the other women who were instructing them to deem human practices animalistic and barbaric.
“No, I’m just trying to get you to think outside the box to get what you want without racking up any more fines.”
“Did you kiss Admiral Jei before you became lovers?”
“That is personal,” Jane answered.
“So, the answer is ‘yes’ you did. And were you fined?”
“My personal life is none of your concern Babette.”
“I just want to know because you are telling me one thing even though you are acting in the same way. What it really sounds like you are telling me is to not get caught.”
“Babette, I’m not saying anything of the sort,” Jane said and put her finger over her heart, “You should follow the Alliance customs completely.”
Babette looked at her, “Oh stop,” she put her own finger over her heart, “I can’t wait for my punishment.”
Jane actually laughed out loud and then said, “Exactly, Babette. Now, I’m sorry about this, but it needs to be done. I hope it won’t be too painful or embarrassing.”
