Chapter 21

Fox

"Therein lies the problem. I borrowed UCs to buy you from Gala, and we're in a precarious situation. I don't want to bother you with this information unless you're really interested in marrying me and what I have to offer as it's a complicated situation." I sound pathetic even to my own ears, but I must give her the option to walk away now. "And I don't want you to feel that you owe me anything. I want you to choose this, to choose me, freely."

Helga brings my face down to hers and kisses me. Then she says, her face millimeters away from mine, "I'm listening."

Her warm lips on mine were comforting, and I begin to tell her what's going on. "The High Priestess, who is my superior and who is very powerful in the Empire, is unsure whether you have the skills necessary to serve as the Consort, or wife, of the Commander. Even so, she gave me five thousand UCs to buy your freedom."

"How much did you pay?"

"Nine thousand and fifty."

"Where did you get the extra?"

"I haven't got it yet. I asked my former House, which my mother is Head of, for the extra money. She also is concerned about your suitability, but don't take this personally. There's racism against humans in the Empire. My mother thinks all humans are less."

"Charming."

"You'll never have to meet my mother. And she doesn't speak for me or anyone on Alliance Force."

"Okay, fine." I can tell Helga is annoyed. I can't blame her. No one likes to hear they're discriminated against for something they have no control over. "Does this have something to do with the test the doctor mentioned?"

"Unfortunately it does. My mother stipulated I can only withdraw the UCs if you passed an IQ test."

"Oh Gott! I know she's your mother, but …"

"You don't have to take this IQ test." I lift up the tablet. "I told the doctor you needed the translator to take it, but that's not true. I just wanted to be able to talk to you like this, not in the sterile interview room or with a handheld device. I wanted to speak to you as we would be able to speak to each other for the rest of our lives."

"If I take this IQ test, you'll get the money and then can I see the base?"

"That's the second half of the issue. We have laws about which humans have access to our base. Because we aren't married, if I bring you back to the base, you'll have your memory erased and be sent back down to Earth. The last thing you'll remember is working at Oktoberfest on the day you were abducted."

"I won't remember any of this? Not the abduction? Not you rescuing me? None of this?"

"No."

"Is that what you did to Ella?"

"Yes. Except she thinks we're on vacation together to explain your absence."

Helga crosses her arms defensively. "You're not giving me many options."

"It's a tough situation."

"Had I not been abducted, what was your plan?"

"To get to know you even better and then ask you to marry me. You still would have had to trust me about the base."

"Marriage was always on your mind?"

"With you, yes."

"You met other human women?"

"No. I just… that came out wrong. I knew you were the one from the moment I saw you. You can even ask Axl, he was there. He thought I'd lost my mind. But I think you felt the same way."

"I did," she admits. "Why not marry someone from your own planet?"

"Our mission is a generational one, and we can serve humanity better if we have a stake in your future. There's no better way to ensure that than by requiring officers marry humans."

"In a few generations, you'll all be mostly human," she says in astonishment.

"Yes, that's the idea. Humans with an Alliance understanding for the mission."

"But your people are racist against humans. The woman on the other ship mentioned being kept as a pet."

"That's illegal," I say forcefully. "Just as some people on Earth commit terrible crimes, so do people in the galaxy. And yes, some Alliance people are xenophobic, but not me or any of my officers. Not the High Priestess."

"But you said she didn't approve."

"Because of your chosen occupation."

Helga smiles then and repeats my sentence, "Oh yes, my chosen occupation ." She extends her small hand, reaching for the tablet. "Give me this stupid IQ test."

"You don't have to do this."

"Oh but I do."

I reluctantly turn on the tablet and set up the test. I then put it on the desk and pull out the chair for Helga. She sits down and begins. I can tell she's very angry, so I don't say anything more and just go sit in another area of the room, as far away from her as I can get.

"How long will it take for your mother to get the results and release the money?"

"No more than an hour."

"Good. I like to pay for myself as much as possible, and I wanted to prove to her and the High Priestess that humans, no matter what we choose as our occupations, are not stupid."

I adore this woman , I think. "And this is why you and I will make the perfect team."

"I didn't say I was agreeing to marry you… yet ."

My hopes are momentarily dashed. "You want to have your memory erased?"

"No, of course not. I don't want to forget what you did for me. But I can't agree to a life I haven't experienced. I hardly know you … the real you. I don't know what our day-to-day life would be like. I feel like I'd be giving up everything for you and you'd be giving up nothing for me. If that's the case, I would begin to resent you. It would be inevitable."

"What could I give you to make this feel more balanced?"

"Allow me to live for one week on your base so that I can make an informed decision."

"I can't do that, Helga. I have to set an example for my officers. In the past, I have made an officer erase his future wife's memories and send her back to Earth in a very similar situation to this."

"I see. It's commendable that you hold yourself to the same standards," she says. "What about allowing me to keep my memories of this and still return to Earth with the promise to marry you?"

"No for the same reasons."

"What about…" she pauses.

When she can't think of anything more, I suggest, "How about I give you your own transport to come and go from Earth as you please? That would be more freedom than anyone other than me has on the base. This is the most I could give you."

"I could come and go whenever I wanted?"

"Yes, but your residence would still be permanently on the base. You could not live on Earth—only visit."

"I couldn't work on Earth, could I?"

"I don't mean to be rude, but I think I'm offering you a more fulfilling role than being a server."

"That's not my real job. Now is a good time to tell you I hid things from you too."

"What's your real job that you are so dedicated to?" I ask, not knowing what to expect.

"I'm a human rights lawyer."

I'm at a loss for words. She's not a simple server. I think about all our conversations and things are falling into place now. No wonder she understood so much…

"It's a …"

I interrupt her. "I know what a human rights lawyer is, Helga."

"So you see, like you, I'm trying to save people. When we met, I was on a break because I was so burned out. I'd lost some cases. I'd just gotten out of a terrible relationship and needed to do something else. Ella suggested I work Oktoberfest, so I did. So you see, I may not know your laws governing humans, but I understand concepts and frameworks about such things."

"Then we are truly meant to be," I say. "You were sent to me by the goddesses. It was all a test to see if I would accept their will no matter what."

Helga doesn't say anything. I allow her silence. After seven sacred minutes, I ask, "Will you agree to marry me? Be my wife, Consort to the Commander on Alliance Force?"

"Have you not heard me? I don't think I want to leave my job. It's just as important as yours."

"You can do more for humanity helping me," I explain. "If you want to help humanity, save them from alien abductions. Help us negotiate better policies with the GC. All these things I cannot do. I'm only a military man. My knowledge is limited to defensive tactics. Everything I know about laws I've learned by living them, not by understanding the greater structure or having the ability to better them."

"I can't believe that more people are abducted than displaced by wars on Earth."

Now I have real negotiation power with her. She doesn't want a transport. She wants to make humanity better. "I can give you money to support people who do good work on Earth. We can also take away or hinder those who you think are disruptive to our cause. Ultimately, a more peaceful Earth means fewer humans can easily disappear because more people would notice."

"How can you offer me that? I just had to take an IQ test to borrow money."

I shake my head. "Only because I personally didn't have the UCs. But for Alliance Force causes, we are well funded. It wouldn't be easy, but I could give you everything I just mentioned, Helga."

"My heart says yes, but I need to think about it. And I want to discuss it with Anna."

"You don't believe me?"

"No, it's not that. I just want to figure out what life is really like for a human on your Alliance base before I commit myself for life. If I asked you to leave everything and move to Germany on my word you'd have a good life, would you just do it?"

"Are you asking?"

Helga smiles and I'm relieved to see it. "No. I'm not. I'll be honest, I like you as the Commander and there's a reason I was fed up with my job. I felt like I was on the losing side of a war that would never be won. But I wonder if you, with all of this, might be able to give me the edge I need to make some progress. I just don't want to jump too soon."

"I'm confident you could do more for humanity on Alliance Force than on Earth," I say, rising.

"Before we go, there's one more thing," she says. "I'm not marrying you unless we've had sex first. We may be completely incompatible. I have to be sure."

"That's against…"

She puts her fingers over my lips, and I stop talking.

"I don't want to resent you, Fox. Find a way around it. Pay penance or whatever your religion requires, but if you want to marry me before we reach your base, we are having sex at least three times to make sure it's not a complete disaster."

I pull her against my body and kiss her passionately. Her mouth is so sweet and inviting. I hadn't planned on having sex with her so soon, but now that it's in my mind, it's the right time and I'll figure out how to do it without angering the High Priestess or incurring too many fines.

I'm surprised when she breaks off our kiss. Her words are breathless. "Not now. I want to talk to Anna first. Then, when I'm content that life on the base would be as you say, we'll move onto solving the physical questions."

I reluctantly remove my hands from her hips. "I'll pray for forgiveness for our future sins while you discuss with Anna."

"You're quite self-assured."

"I'm proud of my base, my officers, and the life I have to offer you," I say, leading her out the door.

After dropping Helga with Anna at her quarters for a private chat, I go by the bridge. Everything is as it should be, and we're still on schedule. I check the time. I have a day and a half. It's still enough time to marry Helga.

I go into the room off the command center and check my messages. There's a VM from my mother. I don't hesitate in pressing it. No matter what Helga scored on the IQ test, I still want her as my wife.

"The goddesses certainly do light your path, Fox. Amazingly, your human woman scored very high, even for an Alliance woman. It just goes to show how backward Earth is that someone so clever would be doomed to have an occupation where her mind isn't utilized. You may have the UCs. Let me know when you are married so I may give you a gift to ensure many daughters. Walk in the goddesses' light, Son."

Astonished, I check Helga's score. It's very high. I always thought she was clever. But my mother is right about humanity not always utilizing their greatest minds. I let that thought slip away as I transfer the UCs to pay the rest of the bill from Gala. I was lucky the trader deemed us worthy of partial credit.

As part of my plan, next I go to the Des's very small shrine and ask for forgiveness for future sex acts with Helga before we marry. When I enter, Axl is already there. I don't say anything, just take off my shirt and kneel next to him. I can't help but listen to his prayers. He's repenting about wanting to have a threesome with his wife and another holo character.

"You can't be serious. That's not a sin."

"Georgiana didn't like it."

"Choose a different holo character she likes."

"She chose the character."

"Sometimes I don't know why I even ask about your relationship. I don't understand your wife at all," I say.

"What are you here for?" he asks, changing the subject.

"Helga says she won't marry me until we have sex at least three times."

Axl checks the time. "Are you sure you have the stamina? With the marriage ceremony, that puts you in at four times in the next forty hours."

"I know. But as long as I imagine her in her dirndl, I think I can do it," I say, remembering the way she walked around, her half-exposed breasts swaying with her steps.

"My advice is not to wear yourself out in the shrine with a blood oath. I'd ask the goddesses for forgiveness after."

I don't answer Axl, but after a minute of reflection in front of the god of war, I realize he's probably right.

I leave Axl in the shrine and return to my quarters. If we are going to have sex, I at least want to have some wine on hand to help. I organize everything and leave to find Helga.