Chapter 49
"You did not," I laughed as Silva blushed. "Girl, you went full denial on that one! Thinking it was a dream?"
We were sitting in what felt like a very fancy conference room.
A massive window looked out onto a mind-boggling amount of spaceships separated into two distinct groups by a large boundary of empty space between them. The architectural designs for the two different species were distinct but, at the same time, strangely similar.
Perhaps it was like everyone having bipedal humanoid bodies - the sense of architecture had to end up similar because it suited a similar need for the physical bodies of our species.
Streamline was streamline.
The conference room itself was sleek, with gorgeous attention to detail, like the gold leaf like inlay on the edge of the table or the beautiful china-like coffee pot and cup set that Silva had brought over from her ship.
The coffee that she brought with it was divine.
Prince Rambo and the Emperor had left to give us privacy after the terms of the treaty were worked out.
I'd avoided putting in any set date for the transfer of Earth as a territory, and had a list of conditions to go with it.
The treaty had turned into something a bit bigger than just an information trade.
Instead, it had morphed into a pact of nonaggression plus an agreement for free movement for any humans between the two territories.
That was pretty cool, in my opinion, especially because the Shek'invitali had a colony of human women in their home world who could now come hang out if they wanted to. It also meant that any women who were uncomfortable there or here could ditch and go to an entirely different location.
I'd sent Neen a quick message about it during a break and it sounded like she was going to make an entire human-friendly zone for any visitors to start off on if they wanted to visit the moon, but weren't ready to have to navigate an entire strange society on their own yet.
"It worked out well," she giggled. "The best kind of dream is a wet dream."
"Oh girl, you dirty." I grinned. "It's kind of crazy, though, that us ladies from Earth are compatible with more than one species."
Her smile faltered.
"I have a guess about that," she said.
"Tell me." I leaned forward.
"Well, the species that is in control of Earth we had in pop culture when I was there, you know those grey guys with the big eyes?" she started. “Big heads, grey bodies, big black eyes - they were all over popular culture.”
"Yeah." I nodded. "And?"
"Well, there was this guy who was in the media back on Earth before I was nabbed.
He said he had been abducted for years, and claimed they were running genetic experiments to try to produce the type of hybrids they wanted,," she said.
"Messing with our genetics over the years and such.
He was labeled as crazy and all that. I never thought much of it, but now… "
"Oh shit." I leaned back in my chair and took a sip of my drink.
Her face twisted.
"It makes me feel uneasy just thinking about it," she admitted.
"That's because that kind of shit isn't consensual," I replied.
"You can’t just steal people and use their bodies or reproductive cells for your experiments.
It feels bad because it is super rapey. They aren't just abusing one person.
They're having their way with our entire species. They don’t care that an enthusiastic yes is the only kind of yes that is truly acceptable.
If the human race doesn't know that it is happening, or the local governments are trading people for technology, then this is totally an extreme sex trafficking kind of situation. It is f'd up."
She sighed, her shoulders slumping.
"I wish I didn't have to check in with everyone back home and take the time to figure out a plan for this," she replied. "Sometimes, when you have to work with a group, it takes forever to agree on the way forward."
"That's why you decided to go ahead and give us the info," I concluded. "Cause I'm a bad bitch, and you know I'm going to do something about it."
"Yes," she nodded, her eyes gleaming. "And though I can't unilaterally make the decision to try to reclaim an entire planet, I can certainly offer intel."
"We can also offer military support," Prince Rambo added from the doorway. "Especially if it means we gain unlimited access to the humans on Earth - those who wish to interact with us, that is."
“We can?” Silva perked up.
"If you wish, we will go with them." Prince Rambo nodded.
"Bitch, let's go conquer a planet," I said, grinning at Silva.
"I'm not a bitch," she replied. "I'm technically a Princess."
The smile on her face let me know that she found this just as fun as I did.
"Alright, warrior Princess, let's go conquer a planet," I laughed.