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And it wasn’t a brief little hug, either, but instead the alien adjusted her hold, again and again, until finally and somewhat slowly releasing Amanda.

  I stared the entire time.

  The alien didn’t hug Finley. Instead, that was a handshake, although tentacles wrapped around his hand. They didn’t proceed up his arm, however. Felicia received her own greeting. I got a view of Felicia’s back, and a much closer view of the tentacles, only three feet away. I found myself fascinated by them. It was so otherworldly, and I was struck by that. They moved and rippled across Felicia’s sides and back, and I couldn’t stop staring. The two hugged for a long time, and I think they spoke quietly to each other, and then I watched as it all happened in reverse. I found myself staring at Felicia’s bare skin for a minute before I shook myself and rejoined the conversation.

  “Well,” Audra said. “Amanda, it appears you and I aren’t alone in dressing with a bare back.” She did a little pirouette; she was wearing her own wrap dress, her back as bare as mine, although it was tied slightly differently. I decided I liked it, and would have to try it myself that way. “Is that a request?” she asked me.

  “I believe it might be.”

  “Then before we perform proper introductions, I should explain something.” She made an expansive gesture. “People are people. That means not everyone likes the same things. For the sake of this conversation, we’re speaking specifically of greetings, and what your dresses imply.”

  “I saw that video,” I said. “Where that Catseye worked out a protocol.”

  Audra smiled. “That Catseye is my mother-in-law, and I think everyone has seen that video. But good. You have a base of knowledge. Catseye greetings with strangers are typically quite similar to human greetings. And when greeting other Catseye friends, they do not tend to hug.” At those words, I felt an unexpected sense of loss, although I didn’t show it, or at least I don’t think so. “But with humans, it can be different.”

  “Oh?” I prompted.

  “First, of course, some humans are intimidated by the extra appendages. We already know neither of you are.”

  “How do you know that?” I asked.

  She smiled again. “Xenophobia is something we investigate during your Testing. It has a reverse scale you could consider xenocuriosity. You score highly, Ms. Saint-heart. Were you wondering something like, ‘why me’?”

  “How did you know?”

  “Your high score in xenocuriosity was one reason. We can discuss the other reasons during the flight, if you like. So. Greetings. The Catseye who have hugged humans have learned that hugging humans is very pleasant, but of course, only when the hugs are welcomed, and they have a strong preference for bare skin. I imagine you both know that.”

  I nodded. “Is that why Finley didn’t get a hug?”

  “Well, and he’s a man.” Audra made it sound like a dirty word. The Catseye gave a little snuffling bark, and Finley complained. Audra turned. “Have you ever hugged a male?”

  “No,” Posey said. “If Finley wanted a hug, I would have, but only if he offered bare skin, and I was sure that Amanda didn’t mind.”

  “We probably didn’t need to talk about all this, if you both were going to follow the protocol Bluebell worked out. But it was perhaps necessary to point out that not every Catseye is going to want to hug, and with the other aliens you meet, it is best to ask.”

  “We warned her about Bay,” Felicia said.

  “Okay, good,” Audra said. “Bay particularly doesn’t care for touching unless he controls it. He’s quite happy to touch, but under his terms.”

  “I think I understand.”

  “Very good.” And she turned to Amanda.

  I was about to be surprised, as Amanda offered a very formal introduction, even though Audra and I had already introduced ourselves, and they seemed to know who I was. “Audra Andrews Beamer,” Amanda said. “This is Dr. Taisha Saint-heart. Taisha is fairly new to Hunt Robotics, but she is a promising, trusted employee. We’re proud to have her help represent us.”

  Audra and I clasped hands. I offered a ragged smile. Hers was warmer and far more assured. Then she stepped aside and introduced me to the Catseye.

  I offered my hand. Posey took it and offered tentacles. I added my other hand. She offered hers and more tentacles, and they wrapped halfway up both arms. I stared at them for several seconds, not moving. No one said anything. They weren’t still, and I stared.

  “It’s okay if that’s all the greeting you want,” Audra said gently.

  “No way,” I replied. I looked into the Catseye’s eyes. “God.”

  “No,” she said. “But thank you for the compliment.” There were a few barks of laughter. Then Posey used a hand to caress my cheek. “Is this enough?”

  “I’d like the full experience,” I said. “It’s just…”

  “A little overwhelming?”

  “Oh, yeah.” But I moved a little closer, and the tentacles moved further up my arms, the tips resting on my shoulders. I looked down at one. “Am I offending you?”

  “No,” she said gently. “More?” I nodded. And so, she stepped closer, wrapping around me far more completely. I stood a little stiffly, but as she released my hands, I wrapped my arms around her. Her back was as bare as mine, and I found a path for my arms. One hand rested on her bare back. The other ended up at the base of one of the tentacles.

  And I was fully enveloped. She was pressed to my sides, and wrapped around my back. At least one, and I thought it might be two, of the tentacles were wrapped partway around my neck. Yes, it was two, as the tip of one was caressing one ear, and the other was caressing my face. “Is this all right?” she whispered into the other ear.

  “Yes,” I whispered back. “Oh, God.”

  “This isn’t quite the full experience,” she said. “You may ask for the rest in a few days, if you like. It can be startling. Perhaps talk to Audra or her sister, Skye.”

  “I will,” I said.

  “Your heart is pounding out of your chest. Are you sure you’re all right?”

  “I’m a noob,” I repeated. “You don’t have to let me go any sooner than you want.”

  She offered her barking laugh again. After that, she held me a little longer before releasing me. I was disappointed; I’d have let her hold me a lot longer. But I knew we had business, and a long trip, and then a lot of work, or what was probably a lot, unless the problem was obvious when we saw their equipment.

  “All right,” Audra said. “I presume the crates and suitcases are going with us.”

  “They are,” Amanda confirmed.

  “Do we need to use our equipment to move them?” Finley asked.

  “Only if you really wish,” Posey replied. “But I’d rather handle it, if you don’t mind.”

  “We don’t mind,” Finley said.

  “You wanted to show off,” Audra accused.

  “How many human companies have been asked to provide tech?” Finley asked, making a point. “It was a simple offer.”

  Posey made a gesture and then stepped away, heading back into the aircraft. Finley moved all of us to the side, and then we watched as a, well, a hover sled saw to our gear.

  Hey. I don’t know what they called it, but I was sure I couldn’t pronounce it. It hovered. It was some sort of sled. And it appeared to be fully autonomous, although I imagine Posey was directing it in some fashion or other. It slid itself into the slots of the pallets for the big crates and lifted them, one at a time, bringing them into the craft.

  For the suitcases, Posey actually picked each up and set it on the hover sled, and then everything disappeared into the spacecraft. Then she stepped into view and said, “It’s stowed. Shall we?”

  Amanda turned to Finley. They offered a warm parting, whispering to each other. I stood beside Felicia, not saying anything, and completely overcome by about a half million questions I wanted to ask.

  Like what did they call the hover sled thing?

  How did it work?

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bsp; Was it an artificial intelligence? Was it sentient?

  Oh, and that simply spawned more questions, and more.

  I didn’t ask a single one. But Audra stepped to my side. “I grew up with this, but I imagine your brain is spinning in circles.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “Totally.”

  “I don’t know how it works. It manipulates gravity somehow. I have an MBA and took as little science as I could, so even if someone tried to explain it to me, I wouldn’t understand.” Then she nodded towards the ship. “I think it’s based on the same physics as the spacecraft, but they don’t really answer questions about things like that. I think some of the humans living on the space station have access to everything, but if you spend most of your time on Earth, we don’t know a whole lot more than everyone else.”

  I nodded. That much I understood. “They’re not ahead of us in everything.”

  “No,” she said. “They say humans are some of the best artists in the Federation, and our engineers are as good as anyone, given the level of our scientific knowledge. They seem to enjoy many of our forms of artistic expression, especially music and movies.”

  Then Amanda said, “Shall we, ladies?”

  “I believe we shall,” Audra declared.

  * * * *

  “I’d like a window,” Amanda declared. “I suspect they each do as well, but I wouldn’t mind if someone sat next to me.”

  “I can,” Posey offered. “Windows?”

  “Absolutely,” Felicia said. She and Amanda headed to seats on opposite sides of the aircraft, the front row behind the pilot’s seats. If Posey was going to sit with Amanda, I wondered who was going to fly. I didn’t see a pilot.

  Audra turned to me. “It’s up to you. Pick a seat.”

  “Who is flying if Posey is sitting with Amanda?”

  “I’ll get us started.” She grinned. “I’m going to sit up front, but I can actually fly from anywhere.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yep.”

  “You’re our pilot.”

  “Yep,” she said again. “It’s pretty awesome, too. Anywhere in particular you want to see?”

  “You’re serious.”

  “Of course. We can go east or west. I’d rather not do an entire orbit, though.”

  “This is an orbital craft? We’re going into space?” I think my voice squeaked.

  “Yes to the second. Technically no on the first. We won’t achieve orbital velocity, and it’s really hard to maintain an orbit at the altitudes we’ll fly. I suppose I should ask.” She raised her voice. “Amanda, is there anything in particular you want to see?”

  “Other than the Golden Gate?”

  Audra snorted. “Everyone wants to see that,” she said. “Yes, in addition.”

  “Could we take a southern route, right over Antarctica?”

  “Ooh,” Audra said. “Right down the coast of South America? Posey, would that be okay?”

  “If we stay above 100 kilometers,” Posey replied.

  “Perfect,” Audra said.

  “Perfect,” Amanda agreed.

  “I think I’d like a window on the left side,” I said. Audra offered a gesture.

  Felicia looked my way and said, “Shit. All I’m going to see is ocean. May I move, or do you need me here for balance.”

  “Move if you want,” Audra said. And so, Felicia got back up and headed for the seat behind me.

  “I can move back one,” I offered.

  “Naw, this is fine,” Felicia said.

  We got settled. Audra took the front left seat. A moment later, my chair partially wrapped around me, which was a little startling, but I relaxed into it, remembering the chairs they used during testing. It didn’t fully enclose me, but it held me securely.

  “All right,” Audra declared. “Here we go.” There was a brief electronic whine, and then quiet, but then we lifted straight up about a few feet before coming to a hover. We moved forward a few yards, and then Audra turned us 90 degrees to the left. I could see right into the loading dock. Finley was still there, and he waved to us.

  And then, slowly at first, we began moving forward, forward and up.

  And it was eerily quiet and absolutely smooth.

  We turned east, towards the rising sun. And then we were out over San Francisco Bay.

  “They wouldn’t normally let people fly this route,” Audra said. “Somehow, we get special dispensation.”

  “Imagine that,” Amanda said.

  We flew up the center of the bay, over Treasure Island, did a half circle of Alcatraz, and then flew right over the top of The Golden Gate Bridge.

  It was stunning in the new morning light, absolutely stunning. Both headlands were shrouded in fog, and only portions of the bridge were visible.

  “Wow,” Felicia said. “Thank you, Audra!”

  “You’re welcome,” Audra called back.

  “That is such a beautiful bridge,” Posey declared. “Many of your bridges are just bridges, but some of them are truly works of art.”

  “Do you have a favorite, Posey?” Amanda asked.

  “I’m fond of all the suspension bridges. I find them all quite elegant. I believe the Golden Gate may be the most iconic, but there are several in Asia that are also stunning, and a fabulous bridge in Denmark.”

  “There’s a striking bridge in southern France,” Felicia pointed out.

  “That one is beautiful, too,” Posey said. “Although frankly, the height intimidates me.”

  I couldn’t help it. I laughed, then sobered. “Afraid the humans screwed up the engineering?”

  She gave her own snort. “Maybe a little. It looks spindly. Compare that to The Golden Gate. No one looks at that and worries it’s going to tip over in a stiff breeze.”

  “Just a stiff earthquake,” Audra added.

  “It hasn’t happened yet,” Amanda pointed out.

  During the course of the conversation, we had turned south, the coast off our left side, the Pacific Ocean below us, and begun to climb rather dramatically. Unlike an airliner, we didn’t climb with the nose pointed upwards but instead remained level, and so it was far subtler. But we were decidedly higher already, and then a few clouds flashed below us.

  And the sun was bright. I squinted against it and wished I had grabbed my sunglasses.

  But then Posey was out of her seat. She moved forward and then came back, handing something to Amanda. She then reached my row, and in her hands was one of the visors like I had worn during testing. “This is the best pair of sunglasses you have ever worn. Will you allow me?”

  “Sure.” She didn’t move closer. Instead, I discovered her tentacles were very clever and longer than her arms. She casually took it and reached forward with them. I held still, and she settled the visor into place. It made itself at home, activating, and then I could see better than ever. I grinned. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” And then she moved back one row to see to Felicia.

  * * * *

  It was an amazing flight. Audra kept the coast off our left side the entire way, moving further over the ocean as we climbed higher so it was easier to watch. I spent much of the time with my nose glued to the window, and I didn’t think I was the only one.

  We were perhaps twenty minutes south of Santa Cruz when Audra announced, “Congratulations. We’re officially in space.”

  The sky had grown quite dark, and the stars were vivid, in spite of the bright sun.

  I had no words.

  A few minutes later, Audra got up from her seat and moved back to slide into the seat beside Felicia. I craned my head to see if Posey had taken over, but there was no one in the pilot’s seat. Then I heard Audra laugh. “We can fly it from anywhere,” she said. “But I laid in a course. Posey and I are both monitoring it.”

  “How?” Felicia asked.

  There was a pause, and then overlaid in my vision were several computer screens. They looked like flight controls. “My eyes are bionic,” Audra said.

&
nbsp; “Oh,” Felicia said. “How do I get a pair?”

  “Marry an alien,” Audra replied.

  I said nothing. A moment later, the computer screens disappeared. I turned and looked out the window.

  We passed Los Angeles, 70 miles below us, and a short while later, San Diego.

  “We’re outside twelve miles,” Audra pointed out. “So technically we’re not in Mexico.”

  “Could you fly over the top?”

  “Yes. International treaty allows space flights over the entire planet. They were written before the aliens came along, but they still apply.”

  “Some regimes get testy,” Posey added. “There’s no reason to antagonize them, so we don’t. They aren’t hard to avoid.”

  It wasn’t much longer before we left Mexico behind. Central America looked tiny, and then we turned right to veer around Ecuador. I continued to stare. I’d been to Mexico, but I’d never been anywhere else. Now I was getting a view of a good chunk of the Americas.

  It added to the overwhelming sense I’d felt since I was invited to that meeting four days ago.

  We flew past Peru and then down the long coast of Chile. We made it to open water, and ahead of us the white of Antarctica.

  “Who wants to see some penguins?” Audra asked.

  “From a hundred kilometers?” Amanda asked.

  “We can do better than that,” Audra said. “But I don’t actually know how to guarantee we’ll see anything except ice and snow.”

  It wasn’t immediately evident and took a minute or three, but we had begun to descend. The sky went from black to blue, and then we circled a point of land, coming lower and lower.

  And lower.

  We could see the waves of the ocean, finally coming to level flight far lower than I think I’ve ever flown, discounting takeoffs and landings. And then we followed the coast of Antarctica, circling some of the islands before Posey said, “Ten kilometers ahead, Audra.”

  “I see it,” she said. She got up from her seat and returned to the pilot seats. A minute later we were flying slower and slower, and then a nesting colony of penguins came into view on one of the islands. Audra brought us to a hover, not two hundred yards away.

  If the penguins noticed us, I couldn’t tell.