Chapter 1 #2
Just because I let my dad crash at my place because of some deep rooted need for him to suddenly turn around and be the father I remembered from my childhood, didn’t mean I had forgotten the time he got ahold of my pin number and took as much out of my bank account as the ATM would allow.
He got to live at my place as I had already secured everything valuable in it.
The Norratars didn't have individually corporate-run banks.
They had a single government bank, tightly monitored by a rotating council of civilians and government officials.
The contract was clear that the signing bonus and the subsequent payment I would receive after the mating were for my physiological data from the mating itself.
The money I was receiving wasn't coming from my mate, though he had paid to be put into the mate-matching system.
There was a multi-species alien research facility on the moon, and they wanted to track how I responded biologically when I met my mate.
One that Earth was clearly not aware of, as I didn't know about it before coming up here.
There were many positive and negative aspects of the Norratar invasion.
There was free, high-quality health care that gave Norratar researchers unfettered access to human physical data but dramatically expanded human lifespans.
There was a universal basic income that allowed for easier transition to using alien technology, but also meant that drug addicts like my dad risked dying faster.
.. except the drugs were no longer laced with random things as they were all legal but now regulated by alien labs that made users sign detailed addiction consent forms before buying them.
They also produced substances that helped users stop taking the drugs as well.
Illegal production of the drugs was... eliminated.
There was an alien-based police force which was significantly more compassionate and community-serving, to the point where I felt safe walking down the street at night, but also was allowed to straight up murder people who attacked them due to their society's challenge culture.
There was also a significant reduction in the aggressive population on the planet, because it was an invasion by a superior force that found guns laughable, and the Norratar didn't mess around when men attacked them.
Overall, it was a positive change if you were non-violent and a fan of consent culture.
Out new Empress being human helped. It made things feel more normal, even if half the planet couldn’t decide whether to adore or despise her.
Her social media feeds were full of wild, unfiltered energy, dancing wildly.
. As far as I could tell, she didn't actually care what anyone thought; she just wanted humanity to do well as a whole and have fun in the process.
In terms of a dictator, Earth could do a lot worse than a hot lady who occasionally posted pole dancing instruction videos on her socials.
The kinds of people who got mad about those sorts of things were the kinds of people who died trying to attack Norratar soldiers with assault rifles.
It was a little unsettling knowing that they had build a mating research facility on our moon near the film studio, but it said everything about how the Norratars saw us. The moon, the planet, all of it was theirs now. They didn’t ask permission. They didn’t need to.
"I'm also going to need access to Earth's internet wherever we go," I said. If I were going to agree to be carried off and ravished by some unknown alien male, I needed to be able to stream shows, download books, and chill in the manner I preferred.
The Chyrrith added that to the contract. "Your mate will need to review the additions as well, as he will have to provide things such as the inter-" She paused and tilted her head to the side. "He has agreed to outfit his ship with the required equipment."
"Already? You just added it." I asked. I looked around the room, looking for the cameras I knew I wouldn't see. "Is he watching us?"
"He is monitoring the contract additions, not the room," the Chyrrith said.
"He has agreed to all of them so far, and has requested a change to the cuddle and care section, specifically that you verbally communicate when you wish him to stop tending to you, as he will not end his care of you naturally. "
She was saying that he wouldn't want to stop taking care of me after our initial rough bonding and would need me to state that explicitly. "I'm fine with that change," I said.
"Is there anything else you wish to add?" the Chyrrith said.
"My cat needs to be brought up from Earth and fully provided for as well," I said.
"Cat?" the Chyrrith asked.
"It's a small domesticated feline," I said.
The Chyrrith made a clicking sound that didn't translate. "Why didn't you bring it up with you?"
"I didn't know where I was going," I said.
The Chyrrith made several more clicking sounds. "It was all detailed in your introduction packet," she said. "Did you not read it?"
"I didn't get it," I said.
"You would have had to read it to arrive for the shuttle pickup," the Chyrrith said. "You would have known to pack all your belongings you wished to bring with you."
"My dad arranged all that," I said. "I didn't know what was going on until I got here. I didn't pack anything at all."
"Is this related to you not wanting your bonus to go to an Earth-based account despite providing financial details as stated in the introduction packet?
" she asked. She flicked her fingers on the table in front of her and tilted her head as if she was reading something.
“Or the fact that the previous financial transfer information is listed as going to Harrison Armand?”
My heart sank. I had already guessed, but there was a big difference in guessing and knowing for certain. I’d signed up for the mate matching service, but he had intercepted my packet, agreed to whatever this special program was, and signed himself to receive the money.
"My dad," I said. “He must have signed me up for this to collect the money.”
The Chyrrith shifted one of her hands to the side of the table and began tapping on it.
"Upon signing the contract, if you decide to sign it, we will have the contents of your domicile, along with your domesticated animal, delivered to your mate's ship.
The Earth governance force is now alerted to your father's crime, and he will be taken in for questioning and sentencing.
If he sent us his own bank account details, he will likely be found guilty of attempted trafficking. "
“Attempted trafficking?” I gasped.
“Even if our program is run with a rigorous focus on protecting consent, the types of mates we match are considered by Earth history to be… as you humans would put it… red flag material,” the Chyrrith said.
“The introduction packet is an essential part of ensuring you don’t agree to sign the contract because of the implication of being in space. ”
The last part she said sounded like she was reciting from memory.
“What do you mean implication?” I asked.
“The comparison I’ve been instructed to provide is that there is a predatory strategy of human males to attempt to coerce females into mating by getting them on a boat and taking them away from land, implying that if they don’t agree the males will kill them and dump their bodies in the ocean,” the Chyrrith said.
“The introduction packet was an essential step to avoid even the slightest hint of that implication.”
“I’m not feeling coerced at all,” I said. I felt like I needed to reassure her. “I understand that I can go back to Earth at any time. That being said, does my father really need to go to jail for this? He was just trying to steal from me again.”
He was a jerk, that was for sure, but that didn't mean I wanted him to rot away.
The thought of him sitting in some gray cell made my stomach twist. I knew it wasn't fair of me to feel that way.
Locking him up would keep him from hurting anyone else, from taking what wasn't his, but fairness and kindness didn't always overlap.
I'd made peace with that. I wasn't the kind of person who could turn off my softness just because it was better for people I didn't know.
I’d let him crash on my couch, eat my food, leave his dishes stacked and souring in the sink, because some stubborn part of me still believed generosity could spark change.
Maybe, if I kept being kind, he’d find a reason to be better.
Maybe he’d love me enough to try. I knew what he’d done was awful, but that quiet, hopeful piece of me never stopped wanting proof that he wasn’t beyond saving.
People said kindness like mine was weakness.
I stopped believing that a long time ago.
It took strength to keep giving when you’d already been stripped bare.
Maybe that made me foolish. Maybe naive.
But I could live with that. All I wanted was to give him one last chance, even if he never earned it.
A new floating screen appeared in front of me, showing what looked like a rather nice, spacious, hotel room.
"If he is sentenced, your father will be sent to a community service center where he will work for the public good for the duration of his stay.
Attempted trafficking is a serious crime.
This is the standard for accommodations there, which I am to understand is better than Earth's previous incarceration standards.
He will be added to the banned list for recreational substance intake, and after release, he will be barred from holding jobs that are susceptible to abuse of power," she said.
"That is, unless you wish to retract your statement about what happened? "
Basically, she was saying that if I stuck to my story and went through with this all, my dad would be better off than before. I could keep my kindness and serve justice at the same time.
My relief was palpable, like a weight of obligation had been lifted off my chest.
"No, I will stand by my statement," I said. "What I said was absolutely true. He should definitely be investigated for this crime."
Then I realized something. My dad had signed the non-disclosure agreement, not me.
If I wanted to, I could go back to Earth, spill all the beans, and rake in the dough on exclusive interviews.
There was still a significant anti-alien faction on the planet; even if they couldn't be openly violent anymore, they could still express their views freely, as long as they weren't aggressively hateful.
Our alien overlords supported free speech, up to a certain point. They didn't tolerate intolerance.
But that didn't sit right with me either.
I wanted to be here.
I already knew I was going ahead with this.
I’d decided when they said I could bring my cat.
If I could still access Earth's internet, I could message my friends back and forth.
I didn't have family other than my dad that I would miss, and judging by the contract, my new mate would be pretty focused on my needs after he took care of his more.
.. intense... one. I wanted to agree to this before I lost my nerve and didn't want to go through a whole process of whatever would be required by the lack of a non-disclosure agreement.
"I'm ready to sign, except for one thing," I said. "I want to see a picture of my mate."
The image of the hotel room vanished, replaced by another.
"This is his smaller form," the Chyrrith said. "But as you know from the contract, he will be unable to maintain it for the initial meeting."
An image of a humanoid male appeared in front of me.
Two eyes, a nose, a mouth, pointy ears - all the standard things I'd seen on the bipedal humanoids that had come to Earth.
He was handsome, in an unearthly manner, with skin a copper hue.
His eyes were a brilliant yellow, like a sun swirling with fire, and in the picture, he was dressed in a gorgeous white outfit that was cut to his body with a vest and trousers, displaying his arms and the strong form of his body.
The outfit had red accents around the edges, but I didn't take in most of the details as I was focused on his chiseled jawline and powerful gaze.
His hair was spikey and strange, shades of green and turquoise.
A shiver ran through me.
He was so hot.
My mind caught up with what the Chyrrith had said, that he wouldn't be in this form when we met. He would be in his larger form, the one which was the reason for all the preparation I would have to go through before meeting him.
"What is his other form?" I asked.
Another picture appeared beside the first.
I sucked in a sudden gasp as my eyes widened and shock radiated through me.
Now I understood why he couldn't come down to Earth to meet me.
Now I understood all the sections in the contract, including the one about the pre-application of medical salve that would go up inside of me as well as the health tracker I would wear on my wrist to monitor my physical state during our first bonding.
Now I understand the layered safe words, both the vocalizations and the physical gestures I can make on the health tracker, and that if I use those safe words, it would likely be even more traumatic.
Now I understood the section that detailed that three squads of Norratar soldiers would be required to extract me if I used my safe word, and there was no guarantee that they actually would be able to get me out.
I reached out, scrolled to the bottom of the contract, and signed it.
The Chyrrith made a chittering sound again.
"What?" I asked.
"Excuse my surprise," she said. "I wasn't expecting such a reaction to the second image. If you don't mind my asking, what about his form caused you to finalize your decision? It was assumed that the second image would cause humans to reject the mating."
I stared at the second picture, biting my lower lip as I took in the image of my fantasies brought to life. The clause in the contract about what I would need to do to prepare for the mating clicked into understanding in my mind. Now the contract made complete and utter sense.
"I've always wanted to be ravished by an Eldryx," I said.