Shoshone Station: The Galactic Consortium season 2

Episode Two: To Be or Not To Be #15

The day had been a rest day for Sophia. Zeera had invited her for a spa day. Unsure what a spa day with a chapatie meant, she'd agreed out of curiosity. She'd arrived to find they would be accompanied by another friend of Zeera's, a hanuman woman named Malika.

Sophia hadn't yet adjusted to the Consortium's rather cavalier attitudes about nudity and was glad to discover the spa was mostly empty. It was easier to adjust to soaking in a large mud bath naked when the only people with her were aliens and also females.

The only big shocker of the day was when Zeera casually commented about the counter girl, a fellow Chapatie. "She's rather cute and sweet. Make a good second wife for Khan."

Sophia startled and stared. "A second wife?"

"We do own a hotel, and a good apartment. There's plenty of room. And it's time he thought about a family. Some little ones under foot. I'm far too busy, of course."

"Of course," Malika agreed. "But she'd make cute babies. Do you know her? Is she a second?" Malika paused and laughed at Sophia's expression. "I don't think she's following our conversation," she said to Zeera.

"Forgive us," Zeera said. "You seem so comfortable among us, I forget how new you are."

"What questions do you have?" Malika asked.

Sophia wasn't even sure where to start. "Do men have multiple wives up here?" She had thought that was limited to her own religion, and the Consortium was as far from that as possible.

"Oh no," Malika said. "I wouldn't let my Jovina, never. It's not our custom. Chapaties, on the other hand, it's natural for them, isn't it?"

"It is?"

"Yes," Zeera said. "We are naturally polygamous. Our birth rate reflects this, nearly three quarters of chapatie cubs are female."

"And their society and culture reflect this as well," Malika explained. "Zeera here is a classic first." She reached over and patted Zeera's cheek affectionately.

"I am," Zeera snapped playfully. "I went to school with Khan, saw his potential. Said, this boy will grow to be a good man, he just needs a little push." She pushed the water to demonstrate.

"So you made sure he knew who you were," Malika said, a glint in her eye. "Got him to fall for you."

"I can be quite persuasive, when I want."

Sophia chuckled at the back and forth.

"And got him into a good job with your uncle. Helped him save his credits, buy this hotel."

"We are a great team," Zeera insisted. "We will make quite a living here. Just watch."

"And now you and he will find someone a little less ambitious and a little more maternal."

"A second, yes," Zeera said.

"Who will be happy to stay home, keep house and bear children."

"Indeed."

"And in time, if Khan does right by both his wives, and the family's fortune grows, they will conspire to find a flighty little thing, some young cute girl as a third."

"Third wives are toys," Zeera said dismissively. "A reward to a man who does well in life. I can't for the life of me see what any woman wants with being one."

"Is it always like that?" Sophia asked.

"Of course not," Malika said.

"Is too," Zeera insisted.