Chapter 3

6.2 Earth years — 3.7 Ellan years before the year N

E'eliana and three of the counselors: A'allana responsible for health and reproduction center; S'samara responsible for the education and O'olmana, responsible for the Economy, were waiting in front of the City Hall. On E'eliana's insistence Ella population was working normally as if nothing was happening. She also dispensed with her guards on the reasoning that if the aliens would want her dead they could do it with or without the guards.

The four women were startled by the sudden appearance of the alien transport. It opened a door noiselessly and they walked in. Nobody was aboard at least nobody they could see. There were twenty seats along a corridor, two at each side the outer seats on each side near transparent ports.

A voice made them jump. It was in Ellan. "Counselors, take a seat. We were expecting more of you. Are we to wait the others?"

"N-not." E'eliana's voice wasn't very firm. "They had problems and can not attend the meeting at that time."

"Very well. Counselors, choose your seats and fasten your seatbelts."

The trip took them a very short time. After a few minutes gaping at their receding planet — after all none of the counselors have been in space before — the transport was entering the docking area of the huge alien ship. Looking through the windows the counselors could see several ships like the one they were transported in and a score of others of different shapes and sizes probably dedicated to usage that they couldn't even think of.

The door opened and a couple of armed Marines clad in hazardous environment gear brought the four women to a decontamination chamber.

"Strip." Come the order. "Completely. Deposit your clothes in the basket and go through this door."

E'eliana straightened her six foot frame and used her most authoritative voice. "Not on your life, alien. You're talking with the High Counselor of Ella. I won't be treated in such bestial manner. Call your commander immediately, or return us to Ella. We won't negotiate naked. It's not decent!"

A new voice come through a wall loudspeaker. E'eliana looked up and saw a man in uniform behind a glass wall above the docking area.

"Madam E'eliana and counselors, you have to strip and be decontaminated. You'll also get shots that are essential for you to be immune to Earth microorganisms. You'll do it on your own will and after that you will be allowed to dress in clothes provided to you, as an alternative I'll order you to be stripped forcibly and after that you will be meeting with me as you were born and with very hot bottoms as well. Your choice, and be quick about it."

"You can't speak with me in that way!" bellowed outraged High Counselor. "Do you realize who I'm?"

"Oh, I know who you're. You are the dame who condemned my whole race to death. It backfired, but even so, my race will have to wander through the space for generations to find a place suitable to live. Are you this person? Do I owe you respect? Now strip with no further delay!"

E'eliana backpedaled. "You must understand that stripping our clothes in public is a profoundly shameful thing to do, and it is one of ours main taboos."

"My name is General Pulaw, you will address me as "General, or Sir, and I do understand your taboos. I had a long time to learn them and I had twenty four teachers." His harsh tone changed to a shade less unfriendly. "You must understand Madam E'eliana that we analyzed your microbiological environment and although we are pretty sure that no native bug from Ella will be harmful to a human we can't take any chance. You'll be decontaminated twice. First to be absolutely sure that you aren't bringing any nasty bug abroad. You will be sprayed and bathed and your digestive track will be cleaned twice."

He stopped talking letting the Ellan delegation to absorb the meaning of his words. "After our scanners pass you a bill of health you will get the second part of welcome treatment. Sadly we have a very common virus living in our air that is innocuous to humans but deadly to an Ellan. We devised a vaccine and before you can meet us you have to be inoculated. And before you return to Ella as a vector to bring the death of your whole race, you will be asked to strip again, this time to clean any possibility of you bringing our virus to your society. Differently from you we don't want to be accused of condemning a race to death. While you are here your clothes will be held for you in the decontamination chamber. You can use Earth clothes in the mean time. As you're taller than our average female we suggest men's clothes, but it's up to you."

"How do you propose to clean our digestive tracks, General?"

"By inserting a syringe in your anus and injecting warm water with special medicine designed to kill all bug s with the exception of your intestinal flora. This will be done twice."

E'eliana looked in horror at her interlocutor. He won the battle of eyes and she silently gave the example by disrobing. In a few moments the four willowy tall Ellans were completely nude and ready to enter the decontamination chamber. There found labeled boxes waiting for their clothes. Four men entered with them in the chamber. Each was clad in a sealed uniform and carried a tube of decontaminant on his back.

What followed would be imprinted in the minds of the High Counselors for long time as the most humiliating day in their lives. Each of the technicians covered the body of his designated Ellan with a thick layer of foam. They waited in silence standing up, four tall nude women completely covered by foam which fortunately was easy on their eyes and four men clothed in astronaut gear, for five minutes. After that they were rinsed by water hoses with tepid water. Then the process was repeated. After second rinsing each man produced a sponge and applying the foam to it rubbed vigorously into a squirming Ellan's hair, pubis and armpits. Differently from human females, the Ellans didn't trim their pubis and armpits, so it took a while and several short distance examinations before the hair was declared clean.

After that the Ellan's had to squat while medium size nozzles were introduced inside their back passages. They had to release the enemas on toilet bowls, a concept strange to their society which used facilities similar to Turkish squat toilets. The process was repeated.

As a final humiliation each Ellan had to bend slightly to receive the inoculation shot in the ultra-sensible buttock flesh.

They got human men's shirts, underwear, socks and military overalls to dress and soft slippers for the feet. As a concession for their believes they received also plain scarves to hide their tresses. At that moment the four delegates were beyond shame and beyond caring. They wanted to do whatever they came to do and run as soon as possible from that inferno.

They were taken out of the decontamination room and delivered to the care of two humans in uniforms, a man and a woman. They looked startled at the woman who used a skirt, modest by human standards but scandalous to the Ellans. She was tall for a human female, almost 5'9", slender and looked very close to an Ellan. Which made her exposed hair and knee-length skirt even more indecent in Ellan's view.

"Follow me," she told to the Ellans. They formed a line with the human female leading, the human man behind them and the four Ellans in the middle. They crossed several corridors of the large ship before arriving at a large room where a group of humans, mostly men, but also a few women waited standing at the sides of a long rectangular table. Both ends were vacant. The human female took the Ellan Counselors to one of the empty table ends. Although there were quite a lot of empty chairs along the walls, nobody made a movement to bring the chairs for them, so they stood side by side waiting.

'This is a waiting game, ' guessed correctly E'eliana not averse to similar games herself, of course she always played the other side.