Future Escort by Carl East

Future Escort
    The
Year is 2116. It's been fifty years now, since first contact.
    When the Cordis arrived, many believed
that it would be the end of the world. How wrong can one race be? We soon
discovered that they were simply one race amongst thousands, who had a policy
of non-interference. What this meant, was that any given civilization had to
have reached a certain level of technology, before they were allowed into the
planetary alliance. The Alliance was made up of Type One, Two and Three
civilizations.
    We were Type One, in that we were now
able to visit other solar systems. Type Two civilizations were thousands of
years ahead of Type One, but were still tied to simple interplanetary voyages.
Type Three civilizations were masters of the universe. There was nowhere that
they couldn't go and nothing they couldn't do. We very rarely saw the Type Three
aliens as we held little interest for them.
    I'd learned all of this at school
alongside other aliens, so for me at the age of eighteen seeing aliens walking around
on the street was simply the norm. I was fascinated by history and wondered how
we managed to get along all those years ago. When I read about things like cars
that were stuck to the roads and airplanes that took eight hours to arrive at
their destinations, I wondered how we even survived.
    The Earth was now a protected planet and
as such, pollutants were illegal. Weapons were banned worldwide and there was
no need for armies. The Alliance guaranteed a violent free society, thanks to
their non-lethal robotic police force, which was one of the many advances given
to us by the agreement. The agreement was made during first contact, and was
something we had to sign otherwise we wouldn't have been able to join the Alliance.
It took all the countries in the world to come around a table and agree for
that to happen.
    Anyway, my name is Colleen, Colly to my
friends. I was now in the process of choosing a college and I couldn't decide
which one I wanted to be a part-of. It was during that indecision when I first
saw the advert pop-up on my slate. It was an invitation for all human females
to be a part of something that was extraordinary. The further I read the more
intrigued I became. It spoke of being able to visit any planet in the Milky Way
Galaxy and of becoming so wealthy that you could afford your own interstellar
spacecraft.
    I kept reading as I wondered where the
catch would be, and it wasn't until near the end of the long list of benefits
that I discovered what that catch was. Every participant had to become an
escort of the many dignitaries and heads of state of the various planets that
made up the Alliance. It was no more than an escort agency. However, the
rewards were very impressive. I still had six months before I had to commit to
college so the idea of signing up for this, in order to earn the money that I
could use to pay back my parents, was a strong one.
    In the end, I decided to look into it
further and in order to do that I had to visit the agency that sent out the
advert. They were located in the center of town and were run by a well-known
travel agency. When I arrived, I couldn't believe how many women were waiting
in line to make enquiries about the exact same thing. I decided, long before I
reached the front of the queue to go home and try again the following day.
    The next day, I found I was sixth in
line, so I decided to wait this time. When it was my turn, they were all over
me, trying to sell the package as if it was the best thing since sliced bread.
I learned that I'd be going to the Stigma Solar System if I signed up and that
the rewards for those chosen to become escorts were mind blowing. I left armed
with a lot of information about where I'd be going and with what race I'd be
going with.
    The Skorts were a race known for their
culture and diplomatic skills. They were also one of the original alliance
members. It all sounded fine and I didn't feel as if I was in any danger if I