Table Of ContentKatherine Allred
Close Encounters
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,…
Chapter 2
“Anything yet, Max?” I glanced at Crigo, distracted by his…
Chapter 3
My first night on Orpheus Two turned out to be…
Chapter 4
To my undying relief, the Buri seemed more curious over…
Chapter 5
I only managed six hours of sleep, but when Max…
Chapter 6
Mating rituals vary wildly from race to race, but kissing…
Chapter 7
“What do you mean, there are three new Buri? That’s…
Chapter 8
Ghost stood at the bottom of the ramp, a perplexed…
Chapter 9
The next morning I awoke with a feeling of well-being…
Chapter 10
To my disappointment, the fun and games didn’t start that…
Chapter 11
I came to as I was being lowered onto a…
Chapter 12
I braided my hair at high speed, and then ran…
Chapter 13
I hesitated at the bottom of Max’s steps, wondering what…
Chapter 14
The room we entered was huge, with arched windows and…
Chapter 15
This just kept getting worse and worse. By nature, I’m…
Chapter 16
We took our time walking back to the village so…
Chapter 17
I came awake with a jolt when a huge paw…
Chapter 18
While Auntie Em took two other Buri to collect the…
Chapter 19
“Were you ever going to tell me, or where you…
Chapter 20
I woke to a strange sensation the next morning, and…
Epilogue
Thor and I sat on the terrace of the stone…
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Other Books by Katherine Allred
Copyright
About the Publisher
CHAPTER 1
Arms 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 Genetically 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. Theoretically, all that changed when the Galactic
Federation Council 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, 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 opposable thumbs would
severely hinder his chances of gripping 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. Besides, he’s gorgeous, a fact of which he’s well aware. His
coat is russet colored with black stripes zigzagging down his sides like dark
lightning bolts. His eyes are a pale shade of amber that reflects an intelligence
unusual in rock cats. Most of them are dumb as posts.
I snagged a towel and headed for the lav, wondering if he’d adopted me because
his own species bored him stiff. It was a distinct possibility. Plus, he knows I
understand him like no one else can. I’m an empath, an enhancement the boss
keeps out of my personnel records, along with a few other things no one needs to
know. It’s a talent that comes in handy when one of the big trade companies tries
to pull a fast one on the sentient species of a planet they’re interested in
exploiting. That’s my official job. After a new species is located and studied by a
team of scientific experts, I go in and make sure they know their rights according
to the Equality Edict. I also help them negotiate deals for marketing their
resources with the independent trade companies. If the culture is too primitive to
understand their rights, I have two options. Taking the scientific reports into
consideration and weighing them against my own observations, I can either ask
the bureau to set up a protectorate, or I can close the planet to all further
commerce until such time as the bureau deems the race capable of handling its
own affairs.
It’s also my job to root out breaches of the edict and bring the trade companies
involved to justice. So, because of me, more than a few have lost their privilege
licenses and had their ships impounded, and some owners have even ended up
on Inferno, the prison planet.
Or worse.
Needless to say, I’m not the independent companies’ favorite person.
Occasionally, one of them will get ambitious and put a hit out on me. Not the
way to get on my good side, as I really hate disposing of bodies. Too messy for
my tastes, not to mention time consuming.
On the bright side, I promised Crigo he could have the next assassin who comes
along. He does love new toys.
Thanks to the boss, Max was currently parked dirt side on a small tropical planet
with a low population density and lots of sunshine. Dr. Daniels had insisted I
take a vacation after my last job, in spite of my protest. So we had a tiny island
all to ourselves, with gentle surf, white sand, and lots of weird ocean life for
Crigo to pile at Max’s entry hatch. We also had tons of fresh water in the form of
a mist-shrouded waterfall spilling into a pool near where we were parked.
After two weeks of enforced idleness, I had a great tan, gorgeous white streaks
in my light blonde hair, and sand in places I didn’t like to think about. Good
thing all that fresh water was handy. Showering three times a day can drain a
ship’s tank real fast, even with recycling. I was going stir-crazy, and even Crigo
was looking a little desperate as each new ocean wave swept in a fresh batch of
crawly things. A rock cat can only do so much hunting and pouncing, and he’d
reached his limit a week ago. As a result, I spent four hours a day exercising in
Max’s gym instead of my usual two. It kept Crigo and me from killing each
other.
The hot water felt good, so I stayed in the shower longer than usual after my
workout on the uneven bars. I was almost asleep on my feet when the water
suddenly turned icy cold.
“Max!” With an indignant yelp, I scrambled to exit the shower. “What in the
thirteen hells did you do that for?”
“To wake you up.” The computer voice was male, smooth and mellow. “Dr.
Daniels wants to speak with you.”
“Why didn’t you say so?” I grabbed my emergency robe and shoved my arms
into the sleeves. Having been raised in the crèche, nudity didn’t bother me, but I
knew Naturals were funny about things like that, and I didn’t want to embarrass
the boss.
“Transfer the call in here, will you, Max?” I stepped into the exercise room and
belted my robe while the boss materialized in front of me. Even Crigo sat up and
paid attention. He knew authority when he saw it.
“Kiera, my dear, I didn’t intend to interrupt your shower. Max should have
waited.”
“Max knows I would have dismantled him chip by chip if he had.” Hope for a
reprieve from my boring vacation bubbled inside me as I pushed a lock of wet
hair away from my face. “What’s up?”
“As much as it grieves me to cut your vacation short, I have an assignment only
my best agent can handle.”
Boss was a nice-looking man, even at his advanced age, tall and well built, with
silver hair that gave him a distinguished appearance. If he weren’t happily
married with a dozen or so grandkids, I’d be tempted to jump him. But being an
old-fashioned gentleman, he’d no doubt be horrified at my lascivious thoughts,
so I respectfully kept them to myself. I tried to let my expression mirror his, a
trick GEPs learn early in life. We may not completely understand the taboos and
cultural norms of Naturals, but we’re damn good actors. Most of the time.
“Cool.” I couldn’t hide my grin.
“Cool?” His brow furrowed in puzzlement. “If you’re chilly this can wait until
you’re dressed.”
“No, no, I’m fine. Cool is slang for ‘excellent.’ It’s an Old Earth term.”
He stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned against the edge of his desk with a
sigh. “Sometimes I think you watch entirely too many old vids. It’s as if you’re
speaking another language entirely. As I was saying, a company is invoking
Chapter Twenty of the edict.”
My eyebrow arched in surprise. I’d been working for Alien Affairs since I was
thirteen cycles, and I’d never heard of a company invoking that particular clause
before. In short, it allowed a company to stake a claim to full ownership of a
planet if the sentient, indigenous species would die out in a period of no more
than one hundred cycles.
A shiver ran over me from the air brushing my wet skin. “Which company?”
“Dynatec.”
Woo boy. Dynatec was the largest of the independent trade companies, with
fingers in everything from mining to power supply. Rumor had it that they were
even into drug smuggling, but no one had proved it yet. I’d been frothing at the
mouth to get something on them for cycles. I parked my butt on the weight
bench, ignoring Crigo’s growl of warning when I pushed him to one side.
Naturals usually can’t tell what I’m thinking, but the boss could read me well
enough to make me uncomfortable.
His lips curved slightly. “My sentiments, exactly. But I’ve got a bad feeling
about this one, Kiera. They’re being too damned cooperative. They’ve even
requested an agent be sent as soon as possible to
‘expedite’ the matter.” He paused. “Their word, not mine.”
“Oh, yeah. There’s something going on all right.” I nodded agreement.
“Companies usually turn themselves wrong side out to keep us away from a new
species as long as possible. Do we have any details on the aliens?”
“Sketchy ones, at best. I’ve already downloaded what we know to Max’s files.
According to Dynatec’s report, the native population includes less than seventy
members, with an extremely low birthrate. If their reports are correct, there’s
only been one live birth since the original exploration team discovered the planet
ten cycles ago.”
“That’s bad.”
“Yes, it is. I know you aren’t usually the one to make first contact, but we have
no choice. Thanks to an unforeseen loophole left by lawmakers, under the
provisions of Chapter Twenty, you only have two months to render a decision.
There isn’t time for a full scientific team to investigate. So part of your job will
