Alien Tango

five months, I’d learned to tap into this little essence of Terry. It was difficult, because it wasn’t an active part of her consciousness, but it was helpful when I could achieve a connection, because she was an A-C and therefore knew things intrinsically that I couldn’t. It was a melding of my mind and the sum total of her experiences, and the two didn’t meet all that often. But I really wanted them to meet now.
    I leaned against Martini. Terry had been an empath, and sometimes I thought her essence drew some power from my proximity to the most powerful empath on Earth. He wrapped his arms around me, and I relaxed against him.
    “Nap time?” Christopher asked.
    “Maybe. Why can’t we tell what the entities are?”
    “Why are you asking questions that have no relation to each other?” Martini countered. “And, no idea.”
    “Why don’t the entities understand what they’re supposed to do?”
    “This is fun, Kitty, but not helping.” Gower sounded impatient.
    “Why do the entities think they have something to do? And why are they and the ‘ghosts’ more interested in me than in the rest of you?”
    “Maybe they think you’re cuter,” Michael said with a laugh.
    My eyes opened. “Maybe they think I’m the only woman available.” I looked up at Martini. “The Supreme Fugly wanted me because I was a woman. And you said these things feel similar but not the same.”
    He nodded. “But I don’t see where you’re going with this.”
    I dug my phone out and dialed. “James, everyone okay?”
    “Bored to tears, girlfriend. Alfred turned the sound off, so we’ve been watching the silent movie that’s your so-called interrogation of the astronauts.”
    “Why did Alfred turn off the sound?”
    “Security issue, in case the feeds have been tampered with.”
    “Wise choice, all things considered.”
    “Yeah. What’s taking so long?”
    “Long story, catch you up later. What’s the most significant thing about the Valiant , other than the fact that her astronauts are in quarantine?”
    Reader was quiet for a moment. “I’d have to say it’s that she’s the first viable manned long-range spaceship. I mean, there are other things, but that would be most significant to me.”
    “I love you.”
    “Yeah, I know, but Jeff’s feeling highly possessive this trip, and I think he can take me, so let’s just keep on pretending I’m gay and uninterested.”
    “If we must.” I hung up.“I know what’s in the astronauts.”
    “We’re all breathless,” Christopher snarked.
    “I mean, I think. Michael, how far out were you when you got hit?”
    He shrugged. “Pretty far. Past the moon.”
    “Farther than any manned craft have gone before?”
    “Check with Daniel, but yeah, I think so.”
    We went to Daniel’s cell and asked. “Yes. We’d just gone three hundred thousand miles from Earth. I was just about to mention to the guys that we’d officially gone where no man had gone before when we got hit.”
    “That’s it.” I spun around. “We keep on thinking that the only risks to Earth from outer space are the parasites. But that’s not true. For all we know, your home planet, or one of the others from your system, has decided Earth’s likely to be a pain somewhere along the line. I’m betting on your planet—which knows we’re all here—as the brains behind this operation.”
    “Why? And what operation?” Gower sounded confused.
    “The Valiant passed some outer space fence that was booby-trapped. Daniel just confirmed it—they were farther out, past anything we’ve done before. Whatever was there, the entities, entered the ship and took it back. I think the confusion is they don’t know if it’s Miller Time or not, and they also don’t know if they can or should phone home.”
    “More explanation, less Kittyisms,” Christopher said.
    “I wasn’t ‘isming’! I’ll talk slower. I think it’s safe to assume there is at least one planet, maybe more, that doesn’t want Earthlings to show up saying, ‘Howdy! Can we move in here?’ One of those is your home planet. You remember them, the lovely folks who exiled your entire race here because you have different religious views and so you’d lure the parasites to Earth?”
    “Rings a bell,” Martini said.
    “So, let’s use them as our working hypothesis.”
    “Ooooh, she brings out the big words,” Christopher said with a laugh.
    I rolled my eyes but kept going. “Alpha Centauri doesn’t want us to visit