Page 15 of The Alien I Fell in Love with on Walpurgis Night

“And what Known-Jewelry have you given her? I noticed she’s not wearing a marriage bracelet and neither are you.” Fox has a friendly tone but he’s doing his job grilling me.

“Secrecy has always been more important than jewelry. In our hearts, we have always known that we belong to one another.”

“That’s very romantic, but it’s difficult to believe that you were coming all this way and didn’t bring any bracelets with you? I don’t pretend to know much about human women, but I would’ve thought marriage bracelets making your marriage officially legal would’ve been something you both would have wanted, especially your wife. Most men who return to Earth come only with their marriage bracelets.”

“You’re right. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to stop by Juio’s before coming to Earth.”

“How did you get to Earth if you don’t mind me asking? You know we’re trying to keep track of all the illegal ships coming in and out.”

“I’m sorry, old friend, but that’s classified information.”

“Classified, eh?”

“Classified,” I repeat, then take another sip of zota. Fox is still staring at me, so I add, “Would a donation to Alliance Force make a difference?”

“Perhaps. It depends on what the donation is. We always need UCs, but it would also be helpful to not be in the High Priestess’s pocket. I don’t mind sharing this information with you, the Alliance Force wants direct representation in the High Council.”

“But you’re all men. Only women are allowed to represent organizations in the High Council.”

“Exactly, that’s the problem and we’re all contracted to marry human women who are barred from becoming Alliance citizens,” Fox explains. “I heard your sister, Lia, represents House Zu in the High Council now.”

“Ah, my sister,” I say, following his train of thought.

“She could petition for us to have our own representation,” Fox says brazenly. “And with such a strong imperial House behind us, it would have to be put to a vote and I believe many Houses would support us.”

“The High Priestess would never agree. It goes against the goddesses.”

“Everything out here goes against the goddesses. But if the Alliance Force was able to represent itself, it would be a win-win for everyone. Your sister wants to make a name for herself by modernizing the Contracts, she wants to make men more equal, and I want representation in the High Council. Alliance Force is more than just a military outpost.”

“Yes. You’re a religious outpost, protecting the Lost People, which is why you fall under the jurisdiction of the High Priestess.”

“Yes, but as a generational mission. We need our own representation for our own needs which the High Priestess cannot meet for us and our unique families.”

“I will ask my sister, but I cannot guarantee anything.”

“Fine. And I'd like a donation made to the Alliance Force for five thousand UCs.”

“You drive a hard bargain,” I say. “Three thousand.”

“Four.”

“Three and a quarter.”

“Three and a half and you buy some of the marriage bracelets that we are selling on the base.”

“Done.”

“I’ll draw up the contract,” Fox says and gets out his IC. I watch him as he creates it and then hands his IC over to me. I quickly read through it and put my finger to the device indicating my agreement. Then I get out my own IC and transfer him the funds through my personal GC account.

“Now, let me show you which bracelets we have available. I know I sound like I work for Juio’s but you would be shocked at how many marriage ceremonies we see at the station every month and how many marriage bracelets we sell. We can have them genetically coded here as well.”

“We don’t need to…”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course, we can do that. And the binding tattoos…”

“No,” I say, and hope I didn’t sound too alarmed at the idea of binding tattoos.

“The Hio won’t be departing until tomorrow. There’s more than enough time. If Madame Georgiana is truly your wife, I’d think you’d want to celebrate with genetically coded bracelets and an official ceremony. And to make everything official we’ll log it at the Alliance Force so you won’t have any more red tape to go through when you reach the Empire.”

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