by Alma Nilsson
Jane closed her eyes, feeling secure in Jei’s embrace. She shooed away all the negative thoughts her mind was trying to throw at her as she drifted off to sleep. Just listen to my instincts, she told her herself thinking about what John had told her and her body was telling her this was perfect. Except she still held on to her small disappointment that he didn’t want to marry her, and she couldn’t shake it.
A New Status
In the middle of the night Jane woke up pleasantly to Jei rubbing her breasts from behind and gently kissing her neck. She responded by turning towards him and kissing him.
“I can’t keep my hands from you. It feels so good to touch you,” he said between kisses.
Jane loved his touch in the darkness and his words. She felt really close to someone and this feeling was filling a space in her heart which she had convinced herself she could do without. Even with her memories dimmed from the forget-me-not, she recognized this. Now she realized that doing without this intimacy was only living a half-life and she had been missing out on all the sensual pleasures of life. And for what? Because she was afraid of using an alien? There was no way she was going to get pregnant now. Her periods were completely erratic, and she assumed she was too old, and her body had shut down that part of her life. If she would have been on Earth, of course, she would never truly be too old. However, Alliance scientists refused to use any medical technology in reproduction as their religion told them that reproduction was governed by the gods alone. All she was forfeiting was the pleasure of someone close who wanted to be there. Someone she wasn’t paying. And she could feel this difference.
Jei’s hands ran up and down her body, reveling in her warm and soft flesh. He wanted to take her from behind. He gently flipped her back to the way she was and put a hand on her clitoris, expertly learning her body.
“Your hands feel so good,” she commented.
“I must still be doing something wrong if you’re able to speak,” Jei said and then began kissing behind her ear and trying a slighting different tactic with his fingers on her clitoris. A different rhythm of rubbing and tapping. He could sense her body responding more and asked, “And now?” When he didn’t respond he said, “Exactly.” It wasn’t long before she climaxed and then he entered hot and wet vagina from behind.
Jane had never experienced such lovemaking her life, she didn’t think so anyway. It was hard to know with the forget-me-not, but she didn’t think so. Jei was not entering her from behind, but so gently and softly, it was keeping her body on this nice edge of heightened arousal but still away from completely orgasming again, although the promise was definitely there.
Jei enjoyed the feel of Jane’s body and was pleased with her reactions to him. Of course, he was a competent lover. He was over 200 years old. Alliance men studied how to be good in bed as it was a means to an end for them. It was considered rape to have sex with a woman who had not climaxed first. So, the longer it took to bring a woman pleasure, the longer they would have to wait for their own pleasure. Jei had never questioned this logic. Women’s anatomy was purposely designed this way that is why their clitoris was not close enough to their vagina to orgasm from the act of sex alone. He loved the feeling of knowing a woman’s body so well he could bring her to orgasm in minutes.
Jei had met some human men before when he was young. He had just become an officer and it was the first time he had been near the Solar System, where Earth was. He was shocked that they believed that women didn’t need to orgasm before sex and that sometimes that was not always possible. Even at that time, Jei was unsure whether or not humans were the Lost People, but it was a fact that they were genetically the same, so Jei and the other men were disgusted that these men would take women in such a way. Disgusted that they took very little pleasure in pleasuring a woman and as such had no skills to pass on. One of Jei’s commanding officers had made the comment that without women, there would be no humanity and therefore women were to be treasured. This was the idea on which the Alliance Empire was built. But the human men laughed and talked about equality. Jei and the other officers were disgusted and from that moment on they knew why the Alliance kept their distance from the heathens on Earth. And why if they destroyed themselves it would be better for the galaxy. They had lost sight of the natural order of things and were perverse.
Jei himself had been opposed to taking human women into the Alliance based on this one encounter. He had been annoyed with Tir for pushing it when he captured the Dakota. However, when he heard the rumors about Tir’s wife not being able to keep her hands from him. Something occurred to him, that maybe human women need and want to be liberated from beastly human men. And when he met Jane that thought became a fact for him. And everything that Tir had been whispering in his ear about maybe men having a turn at ruling the Empire became true.
A small voice instead of him said that this was going against the gods, but he pushed that thought away. He already loved Jane. He wanted to be with her, and he would have her. This broken but strong woman who finally had her chance to find true happiness with an Alliance man. To experience life how it was meant to be. Not with some terrible human man in the squalor and backwardness of Earth.
Throughout the night, they had had sex a few more times. When it was time to get up in the morning, Jane said, “Let’s not have breakfast.”
Jei kissed her head and then got out of bed, “I wish that we could.” He picked her up in his strong arms suddenly and carried her with him to the shower. “Computer change temperature for Jei,” he commanded the bathroom computer.
“Temperature changed to 18C,” the male computer voice said.
Jane began to squirm, “I’m not getting in. It’s too cold.”
He held her tighter, “It’ll be only cold in the beginning, and then you’ll get used to it. Cold showers are good for your health.”
“But this won’t be cold for you?” she protested.
“No, but if it’s warm for you, it will burn me. The cold is good for you. You will feel refreshed and I want to spend as much time next to your naked body as possible. Come on, cold shower time human.” Jei took her in the shower with him, and she screamed, and he laughed. After he was sure she was reasonably settled, he put her down to wash her hair. “Let me take care of you now since you are taking a cold shower for me.”
Jane didn’t run out of the shower like she thought she would. She just stood there frozen, letting the cold-water rush over them. She liked him touching her though and concentrated on that and not the cold water. Soon she was numb to it and was just reveling in his touch. She didn’t know if she imagined it or not, but it felt like the cold water was making her more sensitive to every area he caressed with soap hands or soft kisses.
When they were both clean, they got out of the shower and were dried by cool air. When they walked out the bathroom, Jane saw clothing laid out for them on the bed.
“What’s this? Who’s been here?”
“My squire,” Jei said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “He knows what I need and does it.”
“Why did he bring this dress? Whose is it?”
“Don’t be silly. It’s yours. I bought it for you. You will need it.” He touched her hair, “I bought many things for you that I will give to you as you need them.”
Jane was in shock. She didn’t think that anyone had ever given her so many presents. But she knew this was a core element of Alliance culture, the gift-giving, especially between men and women. She held up the formal Alliance dress. It had dark blue clouds that moved subtly over it. She was no expert on Alliance fabric or fashions, but she could still feel that this dress was definitely of better quality than her other formal dress given to her by Madame Bai. “But where will I wear it onboard? Now, who is being silly?”
He smiled at her, “You’ll wear it now. There is a morning meal reception with the Ambassador and the other diplomats.”
“I can’t attend that. What would people say? I’m just an engineer?”
; “No, you are my lover. This is somewhere between wife and courting. You’ll attend in this capacity. There’s nothing strange about it. It’s just a morning meal. And besides, the Ambassador has already expressed an interest in meeting you.”
“Why would he want to meet me?”
Jei gave her a look, “Because you’re human, and she’s curious.”
Jane stood there and looked at the dress, “When did you have time to buy this? And how did you know my measurements?”
“I bought it and many other things for you after we had the midday meal at Leld. I knew your measurements because they are in your file, Lieutenant.” He was already dressed now but came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “Will you wear it and come with me?”
Jane leaned back into his uniform and ranking jewelry gently piercing her back. She put her hands on his, “Yes, but I’ll feel strange about it.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know the term ‘lovers’ makes me feel like we are doing something wrong.”
“Nonsense. And people have suspected it for a while now, these bracelets,” he held up his wrist, “just legitimizes our relationship.”
“Legitimizes us to have sex. Ridiculous,” Jane said.
Jei picked her up, began kissing her. He moved so that her back was against the wall. He held her with one arm while his other hand found her clitoris. “Tell me,” he breathed into her ear, “don’t you want this to be legitimate?”
His fingers felt so good she could hardly answer, “I don’t know. I guess, yes.”
He began rubbing faster, “Yes?”
“Yes, don’t stop.”
He increased his speed, and she was so close to coming. It was all so intense, her being naked and vulnerable, held up against the cold wall while he was dressed in his formal uniform, making her come.
“Human,” he said.
His breath on her ear gave her shivers. She couldn’t answer she was so close.
He kissed her ear and neck, “This is how it should be Jane. I touch you and you can’t speak from the pleasure.” She came, but he didn’t stop until she had ridden out all of her pleasure, every last tremor. Then he held her in his arms and said, “I think we both want this legitimized. Now put on your dress and don’t clean yourself. I want you to remember why your thighs are wet and sticky.”
“Aren’t we going to finish?” She really wanted his penis inside of her again, it was so big, and the feeling of the ridges were addictive. It brought a numbness to her opening that was so sensual she craved it.
“No, it took too long to make you climax. It’s my own fault for not knowing your body well enough. Tonight, I promise I will study it more.” He set her down and picked up the dress and handed it to her.
Jane ignored him and went to her wardrobe. She took out some Alliance stockings, underwear, and a bra. She held eye contact with Jei as she put these things on.
“Remember what I said about the underwear?” he asked seriously.
She did remember. She was aroused again, just thinking about him licking her thighs clean, so she took the underwear off and put it back in her wardrobe. Then she put on the formal dress, her jewelry, and then they left for breakfast.
As they walked through the corridors, everyone stopped and bowed to Jei. Jane was surprised that none of them seemed surprised to see her in such a fashion. Standing next to him in a formal dress and not in her uniform. Even when they passed her friend Doctor Rea, he simply bowed to Jei as he always would.
Jane said to Jei when they were alone in a corridor, “Does no one find our new relationship status odd? I find it odd.”
“Odd that no one finds it odd or odd that we are together?”
“Don’t play with me, you know what I mean.”
“I do. As I said, everyone on this ship has been suspecting this for weeks, my crew isn’t stupid, and neither am I. I know their minds. So why should they be surprised that something they thought was going to happen happened? When you know, it is going to snow, and it snows, are you surprised?” he asked rhetorically.
“I guess humans are just a bit more dramatic about things,” she smiled a little, thinking about the snow reference. She wasn’t going to mention that humans did even remark about the weather or something of interest even if they knew it was going to happen, just like snow.
Soon they reached the formal reception room. It was grand for a starship, and only the flagship Kzi had one. It was a room located at the top of the ship that a protection shielding could be removed to reveal only naked space above them. Jane, of course, had never been in this room. She had only heard rumors about it, and when she walked in, she was in awe of it and the technology that enabled it. Naked space above them was gorgeous. It felt the same as the first time she went swimming in the ocean and looked out on the vastness of it. She felt so small and insignificant but curious to go explore at the same time.
Jei looked at Jane, “It’s impressive, isn’t it? To think we can do this and still travel as fast as we do is both a technological and I hesitate to say, artistic accomplishment.”
Jane didn’t stop looking up, “I would say, after living in the Alliance now, you aren’t completely devoid of artistic accomplishments as you like to proclaim to the galaxy, you just don’t always value or identify art as art. However, there is, of course, room for improvement.”
Jei took her hand, “Another time I’ll bring you back here, just the two of us, so we can look up and be amazed at this Alliance art. Unfortunately, we must socialize now. Let me introduce you to the ambassador who has been asking to meet you.”
Jei led Jane over to a group of men and introduced her. The last man she was introduced to was surprisingly young.
“Jane, this is Ambassador Wol. He has been so looking forward to meeting you.”
Everyone around them dispersed then, and Jane was left alone with the Ambassador. She looked at him and was surprised when she felt sure that he was actually a she.
Wol gave Jane a minute to collect herself. She was used to this when people first met her. It didn’t bother her at all. After a suitable amount of time, she said, “Jane, how do you find your new life in the Alliance?”
“I find it exhilarating,” and that was no lie.
“I must apologize, as I am sure you have heard before. I’m sorry for Admiral Tir’s rough handling of you all. Sometimes, Tir especially, can be impulsive and mistakes are made.”
Jane had heard this before, of course, she had. This was their way of saying, ‘I’m sorry you were taken, we didn’t want any women who already were mothers with families being brought here.’ “Only the gods know our destinies,” Jane replied. This was the Alliance way of saying, ‘It’s fine, and I don’t want to talk about it.’
“Indeed, they do,” Wol replied. She had heard so much about Jane. She was excited to meet her now. Wol felt it was right that Jane and the Admiral had formed a genuine and public bond as lovers. This would make Jane even more respected throughout the Empire. “And how are the new 1,000 settling into life in the Capital City?”
“Well enough,” Jane said, more comfortable talking about women other than herself. “They’re young, and with that comes a bit of rambunctiousness, but otherwise, everything is falling into place.”
“I’ve heard of a woman named Babette who is randomly kissing men she’s not even courting.”
Jane had to resist rolling her eyes at the young ambassador. “As I said, these women are young. Babette will fall into line or be sent to the High Priestess’s punishment rooms. It’s difficult for her to imagine finding her other half without physical contact first.”
“I’m surprised she hasn’t been sent there yet, as it’s no secret House Human has very little UCs. And after your geriatric kiss, you must be without any for any of the other women’s fines.”
Jane actually blushed because of the word ‘geriatric’ not for the mention of House Human being poor or for the kiss itself, “Yes, strange that.”
> “Where does House Human find the money to pay all these fines? It is a mystery.”
“As you might have guessed, there are those who feel sympathy for House Human and are generous enough to cover some of these growing pain costs.”
“House Zu? House Vo?”
“Oh, you can guess well enough Ambassador,” Jane replied as a young squire came and brought them tea. Jane thought this was an excellent time to change the subject, and she wondered if the Ambassador was going to be offended, but she had to ask. “Ambassador, excuse me, but are you a woman dressed as a man?”
“I am a woman dressed as an Ambassador just as you are a woman dressed as an Alliance engineer when you are working.”
“Sorry, I just…” Jane stumbled, realizing how ridiculous her question had been and something she would have never asked on Earth just because of clothing. “I’ve become so accustomed to the rigidness of Alliance society and the clothing as identification, I didn’t think about it that way. I also thought that women couldn’t leave the planets they were born on, so you see I was confused.”
“Oh, that galactic myth,” Wol said, smiling. “Of course, there’s something in the Contract about women not leaving the planets they were born on, but that’s not for the reasons that most people in the galaxy assume it is. And if you look closely, there are further compromises afterward, and it’s something of a grey area now. However, most women don’t want to break convention as they are happy with the opportunities on the planets they were born. And in my personal opinion, too content and this has become a bit of an issue. That is why I’m so keen to meet you.”
Jane ignored her praise but was suspicious of why she thought this was an issue, “Why don’t more women leave, so do you think?”
“Why would we risk our lives when the men are more than willing? True women are stronger. All the endurance tests show that, and in the beginning, as you probably know, it was only women sent out on space exploration as it was thought men were not mentally or physically strong enough. However, after enough time men were added to the crews and if you look carefully at history, especially around the 500 years, or so the Lost People became lost on Earth, you will see that men and women were the most equal that they had ever been in Alliance history.”
