Table Of ContentKAATTHHEERRIINNEE AALLLLRREEDD
C
LOSE
E
NCOUNTERS
AN ALIEN AFFAIRS NOVEL
First, for my daughter, Amy, who encouraged me
to finish this novel by shoveling on the guilt.
Second, for Gina Ardito, who told me so.
Also, for Jeannette and Martin Ward, who made
up the loudest section in my cheering squad.
And, of course, for Shelby Reed, critique partner
extraordinaire, who always listens when I need
to whine about the rough spots or life in general.
Last, but not least, this is for Larry,
because he waited five years to pour our front
sidewalk and then chose to do it on a day
when the temperature was below freezing.
Contents
Chapter 1
Arms locked into position, grip tight on the
flexisteel rod,… 1
Chapter 2
“Anything yet, Max?” I glanced at Crigo,
distracted by his… 18
Chapter 3
My first night on Orpheus Two turned out
to be… 37
Chapter 4
To my undying relief, the Buri seemed more
curious over… 58
Chapter 5
I only managed six hours of sleep,
but when Max… 76
Chapter 6
Mating rituals vary wildly from race to race,
but kissing… 93
Chapter 7
“What do you mean, there are three new
Buri? That’s… 109
Chapter 8
Ghost stood at the bottom of the ramp,
a perplexed… 126
Chapter 9
The next morning I awoke with a feeling
of well-being… 145
Chapter 10
To my disappointment, the fun and games
didn’t start that… 161
Chapter 11
I came to as I was being lowered onto a… 181
Chapter 12
I braided my hair at high speed, and then ran… 201
Chapter 13
I hesitated at the bottom of Max’s steps,
wondering what… 220
Chapter 14
The room we entered was huge, with arched
windows and… 236
Chapter 15
This just kept getting worse and worse.
By nature, I’m… 251
Chapter 16
We took our time walking back to the village so… 267
Chapter 17
I came awake with a jolt when a huge paw… 283
Chapter 18
While Auntie Em took two other Buri to
collect the… 299
Chapter 19
“Were you ever going to tell me, or where you… 315
Chapter 20
I woke to a strange sensation the next
morning, and… 331
Epilogue
Thor and I sat on the terrace of the stone… 347
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Other Books by Katherine Allred
Cover
Copyright
About the Publisher
CHAPTER 1
A
rms locked into position, grip tight on the flexisteel
rod, I swung into a perfect handstand and poised for
a split second, my body a curve in the air. Before
gravity could kick in, I jackknifed, reversed my grip on the
fly, and let the force of my body hitting the lower bar carry
me into a tuck-and-roll somersault, my hands grasping the
upper bar on the way down.
I’d watched holovids of the old Olympics, and it always
amazed me how well natural humans did on the uneven bars.
Too bad the games had died out with the advent of Geneti-
cally Engineered Persons. But anything a Natural could do,
a GEP could do better and faster. I guess it made the games
seem rather pointless.
It had also caused a lot of hard feelings and no small
amount of prejudice toward GEPs in the beginning. Theoret-
ically, all that changed when the Galactic Federation Coun-
cil passed the Equality Edict, but in reality, no law can do
away with bigotry. It just goes into hiding.
I know because I’ve been on the receiving end of some
Naturals’ intolerance. Not only am I a blonde bombshell,
2 K ATHERI NE AL LRED
I’m also one of the luckiest GEPs ever made. My creation
was commissioned by the Bureau of Alien Affairs, and my
boss, Dr. Jordan Daniels, is a real sweetheart of a Natural.
Not only is he an expert at untying the knots of red tape that
governments create, he always treats me like a lady.
It’s at his insistence that I record the following events in
my own words, for posterity, and so historians will have the
facts straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, above and
beyond what the official records show. Unfortunately for
him, I’m more of a doer than a writer.
The upper bar twanged as I released it and made a two-point
landing on the floor mat, arms extended. “How was that?”
From his position on the weight table, Crigo sneered, and
then went back to licking his paws.
“Yeah? I’d like to see you try it.”
He ignored me, of course. We both knew his lack of op-
posable thumbs would severely hinder his chances of grip-
ping the bar.
Crigo’s a rock cat, so called because his kind inhabits the
rocky hills of his home planet. He’s been with me since my
assignment in the Alpha sector several cycles ago. I’ve never
understood why he decided to come along when I left his
world, since our relationship is, at best, an uneasy one. It
goes something like this: if I promise not to compromise his
dignity by petting him, he promises not to rip my arm off at
the elbow. No mild threat, that, since he weighs more than I
do and reaches the middle of my thigh in height.
In return for the food he consumes while we’re on board
Max, my ship, he keeps me humble by following me around,
making derogatory feline comments about everything I do,
and turning his back when I talk to him. But he’s living,
breathing company, so I put up with him.
