Free Future Escort by Carl East Page A

went
through with it all. By the time I left that day, I'd signed on the dotted line
and I was excited about what awaited me out there. I had to wait for a few days
in order for them to arrange my transport, which turned out to be a Skort Liner
of immense proportions.
    I witnessed many women getting on board
the shuttle that would take us to the liner, which was orbiting the Earth. As
we took off, I wondered if I'd made a mistake. On approaching the liner, I was
awe struck. We had big ships ourselves because of the agreement, but nothing
that compared to this. It made the shuttle I was in look like a paper plane.
    Once on board, we were taken to our
arranged capsules where we were made comfortable and then told that we would
sleep during the entire journey. Apparently, the flight would take two weeks. I
lay back half wishing that I knew what was going to happen. The next thing I
know, I'm waking up and being told that we had arrived. My first sight of the Planet
Skort was one that astounded me. It had four moons and the planet itself was
twice as big as Earth.
    We were directed into a shuttle once
we'd reached a safe orbit and then taken down to the planet's surface. When we
disembarked from the shuttle, we could see various aliens holding up placards
with names written on them. When I spotted my name, I came forward. I was then shown
to another shuttle, only this one floated above the ground. I was told to sit
in the back and when we pulled away, I watched the scenery as the driver merged
into a well-organized traffic pattern. It struck me as unusual that all the
vehicles on this road were all the same distance apart and that they all
travelled at the same speed.
    Back home, we had highways in the sky
and had no need for roads anymore. I couldn't help but notice that Skorts
didn't live in one family dwellings, all I saw during my trip were huge tower
blocks. When we arrived at our destination, I was greeted by a very tall alien.
The first thing he did was to hand me a headset, which consisted of a band that
fit over the head. He insisted, by showing me how to wear it, that I place it
onto my head, which I did. Once I put it on, he started to talk.
    "Colleen Bowers?" he asked as I grabbed
my case.
    "Yes, I'm Colleen, who am I addressing
sir?" I replied.
    "You can call me Ted, as my real name
would probably be too hard to pronounce."
    "Ok Ted, I usually allow my friends to
call me Colly. Are you my new boss?"
    "No, I work for your boss and you will
see him tomorrow. In the meantime, I've been told to make you comfortable and
to give you anything you wish during your stay with us. The headband you are
wearing allows us to talk and understand one another," replied Ted.
    "I see. I did worry about the
communication side of things. I was told only that human females are a rare
commodity on Alliance planets and are well paid for their services, but I
wasn't told what those services were," I said looking up at Ted. He was a
strange character. He was blue for a start, around six and half feet tall, and
had the oddest shape. He reminded me of an upside down ice cream cone. His head
was small in comparison to the rest of his body and the cloak like outfit that
covered it, began at the neck and tapered outward, all the way to the ground. I
could only see his face and hands. He only had four fingers on each hand and he
had tiny holes in place of a nose.
    "Whenever a new civilization is
discovered, the rich and the famous of this world, wish to be seen with them. You
are a curiosity to my people and as such have a strong influence on the public
whenever you are seen with a dignitary or a political figure. You will be an
escort and go to all the various functions in order for your boss to parade you
in front of the vid screens."
    "Thank you for your honesty Ted, I
appreciate it," I replied.
    "There is also a possibility that he
will try to seduce you. You should know that if you refuse, he would not force
you. You might not work for him