Given what the contract said I was agreeing to, I didn't blame them.
"First, afterwards, I'm going to need cuddling," I said. "Prolonged physical contact that is soothing and pleasant by human standards. I'll want my mate to take care of me physically, making sure I'm clean and comfortable. He can't just leave or go do something else until I'm ready for him to do so."
"Your mate has been studying human culture for some time now as there is a test required to even be considered for access to this solar system," the Chyrrith said. The Chyrrith's hands moved along the table, tapping an alien control panel that wasn't visible to me, and a new section appeared on the contract, with my words reformatted into legalese.
I read what she wrote down before continuing. "I like everything listed in section twenty-two, but I'm also going to need access to Earth's Internet, no matter where his ship takes me. I also want a representative with the Norratar Empire,whom I approve of, to check in on me every twenty Earth days for the first year, and then every six Earth months after that to ensure that the contract is being honored."
The Chyrrith looked at me with all of her eyes glittering in the artificial light. "I assure you, the Eldryx people have a deeply rooted sense of honor. You will be safe with them."
Despite her saying that, she added my requirements to the contract.
There was another important addition, one to deal with my suspicion about why my dad hustled me onto the shuttle in the first place.
"Next, I don't want the signing bonus going to an Earth-based bank account," I said. "I want that transfer to be canceled and have it set up in an account just for me with the Norratar system that no one but me has access to."
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 sortsof 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."
