Astronomical Odds

+ You're right, sorry. What else do you need? +

> OK, down a line. Now what is the next step? <

+ Then you check if the number is right with this letter +

> Do we have to do that? It might take time <

+ They said to always use it when I was in training, in case you enter the number wrong +

> We'd better do it then. I hope it doesn't take too long <

+ Then when it says you're successful, you can put this letter in +

> OK, down a line- there. Now what is the next step? <

+ Then you hold me close and kiss me and hope the transport can take two people +

> So your people do kiss! <

+ Maybe I just want to learn something new before I die! +

> At least I know you're healing nicely if you've got enough energy to sass me like that <

+ I'm lucky you don't have a multi-track mind or you would already know +

> Maybe you want to practice a little bit before it counts for real? <

+ I can't let you get distracted +

> Well if there's a wait on one step, then maybe we can fill the time that way <

+ Do you think that's a good idea? What if we miss the end of the waiting period? +

> If it's good enough to make us miss a life-or-death notification, then we're doing it right and I could die happy <

+ I would rather wait until we are safe. I could not enjoy it as much as you could right now +

> I was mostly teasing to help you relax, anyway. You're very nervous <

+ I'm sorry. I don't want to die +

> I know. I'm terrified! Even if everything works I may never see home again <

Her mood shifted.

+ Do you want to stay? They might take you home +

> No. Even if they did, I know I would never see you again, and that would haunt me the rest of my life <

+ How can I be that special to you already? +

> You know my people don't have this way of speaking to each other. Sometimes they think they do, but it's nothing like what you and I have <

+ Are you sure? Once we pull the icon over, there's no turning back +

> I'm sure. Let's do it <

+ I'll let you do it, you know what you're looking for +

He pulled the icon for the commands we just entered into the message program. It opened immediately to a form with multiple text fields, and started entering the commands. However, they all went into the first field, with a space in between them.

> That didn't work <

+ Oh no! Do we have to do it the hard way? +

> Maybe. Let me try something <

I fussed with it, pressing buttons and looking for anything resembling a menu. I didn't see any, but there was a symbol that showed up on the next field than what I was on.

> THIS symbol. What does it mean? <

+ It's a compound character. You have to press these two buttons to get it +

I presed them, and the highlight jumped to the next field.

> It works! We just need to put this between the ten sets of characters I think <

+ I think you're right! You're so smart +

> No, I just know how to talk to machines. OK, I'm removing the command to exit training mode. Let's try the transport program <

I made two quick changes and dragged the commands to the appropriate icon. Screens flashed up, briefly appearing as Riöna had shown me in her mind, and finally got to the number entry screen. The numbers entered perfectly, and then the screen began to darken in growing wedge pattern of a pie chart.

> Is this normal? <

+ It's checking the number. When the gap is closed, it will be done +

> Good. If it verifies properly, we can remove the check when we exit training mode. We know the number will be correct <

+ I trust you. If you think so, we can do it +

> I'm as sure as I can be. The numbers won't change, because we already entered them <

+ I wish I was better with these things. I was good with math in youth studies, but this is not the same +

> It's a good thing you've got me around, then <

+ I know! I couldn't have done this without you +

> I bet you a kiss it works <

+ How does a bet work? +

> It's like a pact. Two or more people predict the outcome of a situation, and if everyone agrees then when the situation is resolved everyone who predicted correctly gets either the award they proposed, or their part of the combined award from the people who predicted incorrectly <

+ Then I bet you a kiss it works! +

> That's- that's not how it usually works, but I'll agree to those terms anyway <

+ Usually there is someone that loses something? +

> Yes, it makes betting an interesting game when someone wins and someone loses <

+ If we win, then the zookeepers lose, and a kiss will be an appropriate celebration +

> I like the way you think. Normally the loser has to know of the wager in advance, though <

+ Are you willing to make an exception this time? +

> Very much so. The wedge is almost done! <

+ I see it! If the wedge goes away it means the number is good. If it shows a message instead, it means there was a problem +

> You're sure the number is right? <

+ I know it better than my own birth date +

> Then prepare to deliver my kiss <

+ I'm ready! Are you? +

> I'm always ready for success <

+ It worked! We did it! +

The pie chart disappeared on the screen, and the long series of numbers was now outlined in blue. He hardly had time to process that information before Riöna's hand pressed the base of his skull and pulled him in for a kiss. Repressed emotions erupted from both in a simultaneous moan, drowning the inside of the drone in sound. Torrents of intense feelings and sensation passed between them as their lips pressed together. Her head swiveled 45 degrees left while his tilted the other way and her jaw opened to give their mouths a whole new shape to fit together, with her teeth pushing his cheeks back and his doing the same to hers. Their tongues tentatively brushed against each other, then filled each others' mouths as they extended. Gentle motions pushed them in and out of their shared space, and for the briefest moment they forgot where they were.

A loud hammering on the roof of the drone jolted them back to the external situation. The roof felt warm with the hot needles sticking into it from the outside.

> The weapon drones are back <

+ I think you're right. We'd better hurry +

DO NOT FORGOT THAT IT IS YOUR ENEMY. ITS CONDUCT WOULD LEAD YOU TO BELIEVE OTHERWISE. IT HAS KILLED MANY OF YOUR FRIENDS PERSONALLY. END ITS LIFE AND RECLAIM THE HONOR OF YOUR PEOPLE. ITS LIFE IS AN INSULT TO YOUR COMRADES. YOUR DUTY DEMANDS ITS IMMEDIATE DEATH.

> You haven't killed anyone, have you? <

+ Not a single person, I've never even seen any of your "comrades" +

> Let's get out of this ridiculous place <

+ Please, yes! +

Barry hit the button to exit training mode in the transport program. It went back to the first screen.

+ Tragedy! We have to start over! +

> Don't worry, we'll just enter the key to exit training mode in the messenger screen. We have to turn off the number verification, but that will make it faster anyway <

+ I hope it works +

> It will, trust me <

+ I trust you with my life +

> Here we go... <

He made the two changes, and dragged it over to the transport program. Screens flashed by briefly, finally stopping where the long numbers were entered, and a message covered the screen. At the same time, the alien voice boomed out ominously.

UNAUTHORIZED EQUIPMENT ACTIVATED. COUNTERMEASURES DEPLOYED. YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE. NOW YOU WILL BOTH DIE.

> What does this message mean? Oh no! <

+ It says the number is not verified, confirm to continue +

A great roaring sound filled the air, a mighty wind that battered the drone and tore away the food box that had been propped over the opening.

> We're being dumped into space! <

+ I know! Hurry, press the button! +

> Which one? <

+ I know what to do. Give me the device and hold us both in place. When I indicate, let go and let us both out +

Barry handed Riöna the device and braced them both inside the drone as it was pelted even harder by hot needles and air rushed out. His head was no longer touching hers, and he closed his eyes against the sting. His ears popped, and Riöna started pounding his chest with one hand, holding the device with the other. I could only squint for a moment, but he was sure she was telling him to let go. He pulled his arms back in and clutched to her desperately as they tumbled free. An especially hard impact shook the drone and his head crashed into the wall, knocking him unconscious.

Riöna clutched the device desperately, alternately panicking about losing it and pressing the final button before the oxygen in her lungs was exhausted and she, too, lost consciousness. She gripped Barry's still form with her legs, and pressed the device to his chest with one hand to steady it while she stabbed down with the last of her strength at the button. Her last thought was the fervent hope that the transport could still operate in a hard vacuum. Then, everything went black.

Barry didn't want to open his eyes. They hurt, and everything throbbed, especially his head. It didn't feel like death, though he wasn't sure what being dead felt like; he kind of expected not to feel it at all. Eventually, he cracked an eye open. There was daylight. He rolled over, slipping out from underneath Riöna's silent body, and slowly examined himself.

There weren't any parts missing, as far as he could tell. He put a hand to his face, and it came back bloody. His eyes, nose, and ears had all bled, but it was stopped now, and starting to dry.

To his side, the woman he'd spent the last week with was starting to stir. She had landed on top of him in some forest completely unfamiliar. There wasn't another soul in sight.

He got up to stretch his legs and see if everything was working. Only a minute or two later, he was feeling like maybe everything was still attached where it was supposed to be, and his headache was little more than a temporary nuisance. Riöna was awake, and immediately began uncovering a familiar but alien design- a storage locker of some kind.

She pulled a series of knobs in a particular order, and the lid unlatched.

"Riona?"

She didn't look up.

"Riona, what are we doing?"

He knew she didn't understand, but he didn't expect her to start pulling items out and throwing them carelessly. Then he put his hand on her shoulder and noticed that she was trembling.

"Riona, what's wrong?"

No, she wasn't being careless- she was frantic. Something important lay inside. It wasn't clothes, or food, as she had already discarded each. It wasn't a gun either, although she did not throw that away. There it was- a small box with the outline of a person on it. She pulled it open and set it down, pulling free a scalpel in a transparent envelope. She turned and finally remembered he was there, and came to him, pulling their heads together almost painfully.

+ Help me +

> How? <

+ Get this thing out of my arm! +

Riöna sucked her lips in and bit down as I unwrapped the scalpel.

+ Please hurry +

> Are you sure? I'm not a medic <

+ I can't stand this thing in me anymore! I don't care what you have to do, just get it out +

> Hold still <

She rolled up her sleeve close to the elbow. An ugly bruise surrounded a relatively small, clean cut where the tracking device had been planted under her skin. He grabbed her arm and squeezed in where the small bulge was that must be the implant, then put the scalpel to her skin right on top of it. Squeezing it up as high as he could get it, he cut down and pulled the blade the whole length of the bulge. Riöna whimpered and shook, but didn't stop him or say a word. With the flat side of the blade he pulled back the skin and tried to see through the welling pool of blood which ran down her arm and over his thumb. The edge struck something hard under the surface as he prodded, and he pried at the edge of it. The end popped up, and Riöna grabbed a set of rubber-tipped tweezers with her free hand and caught the capsule between the prongs. He dug at the other end with the scalpel as she pulled, and the capsule finally came free with a wet noise and a spurt of blood. Riöna dropped the tweezers with the capsule on the ground nearby and quickly snatched up the gun she had retrieved earlier. Her shoulder roughly pushed him aside as she unholstered it. Thunder pounded through the forest and he scrambled to keep his balance; the gun erupted with a dual-tone explosion, propelling a small projectile at high speed which broke apart before impact to sending a wide circle of dirt flying in quick bursts.

Silence returned after a short time, aside from a clicking noise. As the dust settled, it took Barry a few second to realize that the clicking was the trigger that Riöna was still pulling as she aimed at the ground where the capsule had fallen. Now there was only a hole in the ground; the capsule was nowhere to be seen. Shaking and weeping, Riöna finally let the gun slip from her hand to the forest floor. It wasn't until she had treated the cut on her arm and the older wound on her side that she finally let herself sob into his chest. He tried to hold her gently, but the fingers twisting his shirt seemed to beg him to pull her in tighter.

"Kiitos Bårre, olin kauhuissani, en voi ilmaista-"

Riöna stopped, sniffling, remembering that he didn't know her language. She looked up bashfully, blue-green eyes shining with fresh tears. She rose on the balls of her feet so their temples could press together if he dropped his head forward, which he did.

+ Thank you, I was so scared! I did not want the enemy to find us here, and it was inside me- and... +

> I was glad to help. Where are we? <

+ This is my safe zone. All of us in the defense corp were given the coordinate numbers for our transport screen, everyone has their own safe zone in the case of escape. It is far enough away from inhabited zones that it poses little threat if an enemy should use the transport number, but close enough we can be reached by vehicle +

> This is your planet? <

+ Yes. We were lucky to still be in range. The battery power needed is the same, but the calculations at that distance... +

> I'm so glad we made it! <

+ We must help my people. The Council has to be warned about the invaders kidnapping and training prisoners to violence +

> How can we do that? <

+ Opening the supply locker activated an alert. Someone will come get us +

> Will I be safe with them? You said some of your people... <

+ We are a peace-loving society, the council will not risk war with yours by mistreating you +

> How can you be sure? <

+ I will protect you. With my life, if need be, though I doubt it will come to that +

> You will have to speak for me <

+ Yes, unless others can be found that speak to your mind as I do +

> How likely is that? <

+ I do not know. Others with the gift between us are rare, but if I am not one of them and I can do it, I can not say. It is historical tradition amongst us, however, to allow the ambassador from another society to choose his counterpart, and once they know what we have is genuine they will accept me as your translator +

> How long do we have? <

+ How do you measure time? +

> Uh... I don't know how to describe it with precision. I can give you an approximation <

+ Go ahead +

> A second is about this long <

I snapped my fingers twice.

+ I understand +

> 60 of those in a minute. 60 minutes in an hour. 24 hours is a full day and night <

+ We use similar measures. 100 seconds in a minute, 50 minutes in an hour, 25 hours in a day cycle, which is probably very close to yours +

> And your weeks are 12 days? <

+ Close. It gets complicated there based on seasons and yearly cycles +

> I see. You'll have to show me your calendar sometime <

+ Of course! But to answer your question, my communication channels will be expecting a report from me now that the signal is going. Once I send it we probably have a few hours before they send priority pick-up for an emergency Council meeting, but I'm going to wait to send that. If they don't get a report, they will probably send half the army to check on this location between a few days and a week from now +

> Why are you going to wait? <

+ Because I want to spend some time with you alone, now that we're no longer in danger of our lives- if that is acceptable to you +

> If there's enough food, I'll be happy to. What will we be doing? <

+ For one thing, I'm going to collect on my bet, and you're going to collect on yours +

> Oh! You mean- <

+ I will give you a few minutes to decide if you have any concerns about being intimate with me +

> You're not worried about how it will affect relations between our species? <

+ Intimacy is the highest form of regard among us, and we already know we are interested in each other. If being naked with you causes some problems, then our species were doomed anyway +

> You may be right. Wait, naked? Is that how you- <

+ Oh! You have a different concept of nudity in your culture? I do not mean to alarm you, I just meant being free with my emotion and affection, although we do express ourselves through bare skin. What would have happened if they forced us to bathe together? +

> Nakedness is considered too intimate for polite company, especially strangers. I would have been very conflicted <

+ I need to wash, but I don't want to offend you. Do you want to stay here while I go to the river? +

> If we have decided to be intimate, I will not be offended <

+ Are you sure? I don't want to upset you +

> You won't upset me. Quite the opposite, in fact <

+ I had hoped- well, that is good! I wanted to learn of you through non-verbal communication, since we do not share our languages yet. You will see the custom of nudity as an informal sign of comfort and friendship when you walk among us, it may be helpful to get used to it so that it will not be so much of a shock +

> Males of my species have a strong reaction to attractive, naked females which tends to distract from polite conversation. I apologize in advance if I lose the track of discussion <

+ Perhaps if I do more than just be naked, it will no longer seem so significant. It is something to do with the mating instinct? +

> That's right <

+ Then if we are to be intimate, we should explore that form of expression. I believe our friendship can survive a mishap after what we've been through together; others of both our species may not be as forgiving, particularly if they cannot speak as we do +

> You make a good point. You should know, though, that we derive great pleasure from it and we males can be very... enthusiastic in our pursuit of it <

+ Is... that... so...? +

She pulled back, tongue running over the tops of her teeth, grinning with some secret joke as her thoughts faded with the distance.

Barry tilted his head forward to kiss her, but Riöna put two fingers over his lips, preventing their heads from touching directly. Their minds buzzed with thoughts barely out of reach. She crouched to slip out of his arms and darted away, turning around just long enough to make a kissing face at him, which jarred his brain loose from the surprise and confusion that had gripped him. He sprang after her as she started off again, dodging around trees and bushes. Several times he came within a handsbreadth of catching her, but her smaller form more easily changed directions than his, even if his longer legs gave him a speed advantage. They reached the nearby river laughing with exhilaration.