Nikki liked to think of herself as a problem solver. As a gamer she was skilled at reading her opponents, analyzing for weak spots and developing tactics for maximum victory. Be it a staged fight against a pattern-following NPC or a meta-game joust against a rival human, she always found the solution.

Break it down, Nik. She had to get inside the crashed ship. She had to get past the inevitable emergency crew blockades, on to the crash site and inside the ship. Stealth gameplay. And for that, she'd have to call in a favor. No biggie.

"For the love of god, answer already!" Her fingers alternated between banging on the back service door to the university dormitories and clacking off rapid-fire texts. Im dwnstairs! Huri up! "Sure, take your time, it's not like you're gonna doom everyone on the planet!"

"Nikki?" A dark-skinned arm pushed open the door and ushered her into the service corridor. Though it was three in the morning, Anton DuBois was still smartly dressed in his collared shirt and jeans, with dreadlocks tucked into a neat ponytail. Anyone else would have been rubbing sleep from their eyes but Nikki's ex-'sorta boyfriend' was awake and alert. After all, his internal clock operated on gamer time and the dead of night was a prime stretch for level grinding and achievement hunting.

"Nik, what happened to your clothes? Are you hur-?" Anton's hands shot up as Nikki glomped his midsection.

"I took three buses to get here and you're the first person who actually asked if I was okay." God, how could someone be this nice? Besides Tiffany's mom, Anton was the only other person who knew she was gay and didn't treat her like a disease or an adorable sideshow animal. Her first and only boyfriend had every right to shun her (vomiting into their first kiss had kinda killed the magic) but once the dust had settled and she'd explained her feelings, somehow Anton still liked her enough to offer her the firm handshake of friendship.

So even if it was coming from the friend zone, she appreciated his arms wrapping around her shoulders and stroking her hair. She really needed a hug now.

"Nikki, what the hell happened to you?"

"Out jogging," she panted. All the way back into Glenberry from the nature preserve, then across town to campus. Her legs were on fire and her sneakers were chewed up rubber shreds, but that wasn't important now. "I'm so glad I found you. Anton, you're still doing that student co-op program with the city forensics lab, right?"

"Yeah, all thanks to your physics tutori … Nikki, is this mucus on your sweater?"

"Intestinal organs, actually. Anyway, you still have that little ID lanyard that lets you get into the secure labs and crime scenes, right?"

"Well yeah. Nikki, do you need a doc-" Anton stopped himself. "Oh sweet baby Jesus, you want to borrow my ID so you can sneak into that crash site that's been on the news."

Nikki put on her best puppy dog eyes. "Pretty please?"

The older boy massaged his temples. "Nikki, it's really adorable how much you believe in aliens, but this is really, really tasteless. I mean, have you been following Twitter? It's some sort of plane crash; there's probably dead bodies everywhere!"

"Oh wake up! It's an alien spaceship and the media's already covering it up!"

"Nikki, I've worked in public service so believe me when I say there are no conspiracies! The government is just a bunch of regular people collecting their nine to five."

"Anton, it really is a spaceship! I was there! Look, I'll even show you the videos!"

"Enough." Anton pushed her away. "Let's go over what you're asking me to do. Whatever happened on Turtle Bay Beach, it's now the scene of an accident. You want me to lend you police property so that you can forge a government document and enter a restricted crime scene. You want me to be an accessory to identity fraud, evidence tampering –"

"I'm not gonna touch anything. I only wanna look. Pleeease?"

Anton gave a withering sigh. She could sense the arcade brawl going down in his mind: a three-round knockout between his nice guy tendencies and his better judgment. This internship meant everything to him. Back when they'd started 'kinda-dating', Anton's eyes had lit up whenever he'd told her about his dreams of working in a police lab, analyzing crime data, and bringing down the bad guys with the power of science. Thanks to her tutoring he'd passed his first term exam for physics and made the grade for acceptance into the winter program. Since then he'd been keeping the lanyard around his neck like a badge of honour.

And now that precious necklace was being fished out from under his shirt and lowered into her hands. Nikki's fingers itched to grab the tag. "So that's a yes?"

"It's a yes –" then he yanked it out of reach. "If you were my girlfriend. If this is a favour between friends, what's in it for me?"

Nikki cursed. "Aww, c'mon!"

Anton's hands slammed against the wall, pinning her between his well-toned arms. "You want my help, Nik? You want me to risk my career, risk doing jail time for you?" His eyes traced over her slimed clothes, her bare legs and the handbag she'd collected from home. "We both know what I want. I just wanna hear you say it."

So it's come to this. Truthfully, she'd prepared for this request, but it still mortified her to the point she had to stare at her shoes as she whispered, "I'm … I'm gonna give it up to you."

Anton growled his approval. "Follow me. We'll do this in my room."

Obediently, she fell into step behind the older boy, into the elevator and down the hall to his dorm. Anton took her wrist and marched her quickly. Residences were not co-ed and it was long past visiting hours.

Nikki had been in his single-room dorm a few times before and she tried distracting herself by taking in the smartly arranged furniture and gaming posters. The thunk of Anton shutting - and then locking - his bedroom door broke her reverie. "Sit on the bed," he ordered.

The springs groaned under her weight. Anton stood in front of her, tall and imposing. "Let me see it," he commanded.

Nikki sighed but she couldn't back down now. As she pulled down her zipper, her mind took refuge in thoughts of a smiling, blue face. This is for you, Celeste. "Just be gentle with it," she pleaded.

"Do it," Anton commanded.

Nikki shut her eyes, plunged past the open zipper and gave him the goods. "There! My original Japanese Super NES cartridge for Mother 3. First print. Are you happy?"

Anton squealed as he snatched the video game from her handbag and held it to the light. "With the original casing and instruction manual!"

Nikki massaged her temples. I never should've told him about my imported game collection. "That cost me like five hundred bucks on EBay," she warned him. "Be careful, okay?"

"Oh, I'll be gentle." He was already kneeling at his Nintendo console. "Let me just … slide it in."

This is what I get for hanging out with another gamer. "Do you really have to take my cartridge?" Nikki pleaded. "I mean, couldn't we just, like, have sex or something?"

But Anton was far too transfixed by the 16-bit glow from his television to reconsider. "Sorry, I don't do lesbians. Here's the tag." The lanyard fumbled through her fingers just like every football and baseball tossed her way in gym class. Smooth catch, Nikster…

Still, now it was all hers! Such a tiny thing, but it would open so many doors for her.

Such a tiny thing, and losing it would unleash a storm of trouble over Anton's head.

"Th-thanks," she muttered. "I-I'll bring over the rest of my collection if you want."

Anton waved her off. "Can't talk. Gaming."

Nikki couldn't help but smile. He's got a full day of work tomorrow and he's still button mashing. Now there was dedication! A splash of water on the face, a slick of deodorant under the arms, then a breakfast of pop tarts and energy drinks to force the body to endure the daylight hours. Her Anton truly was a full-fledged gamer!

So it was with a tinge of regret that she paused at the doorway to admire her friend. Anton was good looking, well-spoken and excelled in a variety of hobbies, not just video games. He was a kind-hearted boy who never looked down on anyone because of who they were or what they liked. Not even those dirty weaboos. He was a package of perfection, topped with a rugged but cool bow of dreadlocks and we could have been happy together.

All she had to do was endure a lifetime of being grossed out by her lover's body.

Nikki sighed. If she ever needed evidence that the universe hated her and wanted her to suffer, she had only to look at Anton's chromosome count and that dreaded pair marked XY.

Anton noticed her lingering. "You'd better get going, Nik. And heads up: I'm gonna need that tag back this afternoon. My supervisor's taking me out on a field case."

"Right! Thanks so much, Anton. I gotta go!"

The watch around her wrist warned she had only seven hours to finish her mission.


Eight o'clock in the morning, and Turtle Bay Beach was the site of an unusual rush hour crowd. The whole city was lining up to see what exactly had face-planted into their beloved beachfront but the police had been granted an entire night to prepare.

Nikki took note of the various barriers. An ugly blue canvas had been staked over the space cruiser to hide it from photo flashes and camera recordings. Blue uniformed officers patrolled the sands from all angles. Staircases from the boardwalk to the beach were planted every block or so, but the police had cordoned off the nearest three with metal fencing and yellow warning tape. A third, chest-high perimeter fence had been planted halfway across the boardwalk to keep the crowds back, but every so often an idiot cameraman or dude on a dare hopped the fence for a closer look and was promptly dragged back by the patrolling boys in blue.

From her space in the crowd, Nikki stole a final glance at the tampered ID hanging across her breasts. A new name, a new face and a boatload of scotch tape declared her a crime scene investigator, and the white lab coat from last year's 'mad scientist' Halloween costume surely added to her air of professionalism, right? Celeste's alien scanner brushed against her hip from its hiding place in her travel bag, piled alongside the notepads and old textbooks she'd shoved in to make her look more like a student.

I'm an intern, so I don't need to be sneaky or try to make a break for it. All she had to do was walk up to one of the three staircase guards, flash her credentials and she was golden.

The officer manning the nearest entry point was a woman about her age. She posed like a hard-ass: arms crossed, glaring aviator shades and smacking her gum – but she was also short and slender; more like a ballerina than a police thug. Probably a rookie cadet putting on a front, she decided. This noob was her best shot at sneaking through. Just gotta match her swagger.

She had to put on her acting chops. She had to be bold, confident. This was a real life RPG and she was going to unleash her maxed-out charisma on this hapless town guard! You will let me into this restricted area! Nikki uncoiled her slouching spine, swung her arms like she was a fashion model and marched herself in front of the officer to show her who was boss!

"Yeah, um … hi. I'm with um, CSI. The um … the lab, I mean the crime lab, well they asked me to come down and collect some more uh … samples?"

The officer continued smacking her gum. The eyes behind her aviator shades were clearly unimpressed. "Uh huh?"

Wow, Nik. Just wow. EPIC FAIL! And now her hands were shaking. This was such a stupid idea. "Um, I should come back later…"

But when she turned to flee, the cop grabbed her shoulder and spun her back for interrogation.

"Hold it, bluebell. I know you, don't I?" Without asking she snapped up the tampered ID badge and pulled down her sunglasses for a closer look. Nikki's knees trembled like jelly. This was it! Game over, man! She'd notice the scotch tape holding down her old high school photo and she'd be face-planted into the ground and handcuffed and dragged into a black government van and –

"Well fuck me with a candy cane and call me a Christmas elf. You're Cheerleader's friend! The super dork! Dayum, how you doin' girl? I mean, besides rockin' the sexy scientist look? Seriously, that lab coat is noice!"

Wh-wh-what? Were cops allowed to talk that way? And how did you jump from badass to bubbly in the snap of a finger? "D-d-do I know you, officer …" she scanned her badge "Officer Jones?"

"Hells yeah! I used to room with your buddy Tiffany! Oh, and none of that 'Officer Jones' crap." She whipped off her hat and glasses, revealing a brown pixie cut and set of mischievous green eyes. "Call me Kyu!"

"Wait … Kyu Jones? The Kyu Jones?" The roommate Tiffany kept running off from café nights to meet? "I thought you were made up!"

Kyu laughed (or rather, snorted like a pig). "That's rich! Yeah, I'm just a figment of your imagination, like aliens or fairies, eh?" and she ribbed Nikki's side like they were bestest buddies. Nikki forced a weak laugh.

"So you're a cop?" Didn't Tiffany say her ex-roommate was a therapist?

"And you're a crime lab intern! Funny how we all wear so many different hats. Well, enough girl talk, you're here on business. Collecting samples, huh?" Kyu leaned forward to get a closer look at Nikki's handbag; she quickly adjusted the alien scanner so it wouldn't poke out, flashing a smile and trying to act natural.

Tiffany's ex-roommate cocked an eyebrow and thoughtfully rubbed her chin. "Hmm..." Had she seen the scanner? She hoped she hadn't seen the scanner.

"Y'know what? I think I can help you out, champ." She whistled at an officer on the beach. "Oi, Dinglebells! Take over, will ya? Got a civie to escort here!" Then she lifted a latch on the fencepost barricade and gestured for Nikki to proceed. "After you, Doctor."

Holy shit, it worked? It actually worked! As she scooted through the fencing, Nikki resolved to sneak Tiffany a big 'thank you' box of coffee shop gift cards for never mentioning her real work to this roommate. She was in!

Kyu escorted her down the steps, prancing like a little school girl and peppering her with questions: How was Tiffany? How was she getting along with her mom? Were they hanging out lots together? The sparkly-eyed brunette wanted every scrap of gossip about her old roommate. "She's such a sweetheart, isn't she?"

"She's, um, something," Nikki nodded, wobbling as her flats hit the hot sand. Almost there.

"But enough about her," Kyu grinned, walking backwards so they could chat face to face. "How about you, champ? Finally figure out which team you're batting for? Me, I just love handling a nice hunk of wood, but there's something to be said about sliding your fingers into a tight little glove, am I right? Eh?"

Nikki's head was spinning. "I um, don't follow baseball. Sorry."

Kyu exhaled. "Ah, that's right. Not much for two-player games. Still playing with yourself, huh?"

"Don't you mean 'by myself'?"

"Nnnnope!"

This Kyu character was a regular chatterbox. Maybe it was time to do some digging of her own. "So, um, have you figured out what crashed here?"

"Me? Hey, I'm just a beat cop. You CSI nerds are supposed to figure that out, ain't cha? Buuut, between you 'n me, word among the girls is that we might be dealing with a visitor … from ouuuter spaaaace!"

Girls. Scanning the blue uniforms, Nikki noted that all the patrolling officers seemed to be young and attractive twenty-somethings like Kyu. Weird, why would they leave this to rookies?

"Course, that's just dumb rumors," Kyu continued. "Official report is it's the fuel rocket from one of NASA's old shuttles. Fell out of orbit and smacked down on our beach. Probably best that way. Humans have enough trouble getting along with each other; can you imagine how people would freak if they found an actual alien?"

Typical self-righteous gatekeeper. "People have a right to know the truth," Nikki countered.

"I dunno, champ. Much as I like to rock the boat – wink-wink, nudge-nudge – that's one shitstorm I wouldn't wanna disturb. Some of us are better off sticking to the shadows."

With that, they arrived at the canvased ship. Kyu lifted up a corner of the blue tarp and ushered Nikki under. She knew where to go from there, marching towards the huge gouges in the hull and carefully squeezing through the sharpened metal edges. It was dark inside, but her smartphone flashlight kept her from tripping over debris. Stepping to what she judged to be the center point, Nikki planted the scanner, hit the button and let the alien lava lamp trace the walls and contours of the smuggling ship. One pass, two pass, three and done! Nikki shoved the device to the bottom of her bag and tiptoed her way to the sunlight.

Outside, Kyu Jones leaned against the blue tarp, hands behind head and enjoying the sun. "Hey, pop quiz: let's say you actually met an alien. What would you do?"

Nikki didn't have to think twice about that. "I'd talk to her. Because compared to all the crappy, judgmental douche-nozzles on this planet, it'd be refreshing to talk to someone who didn't automatically treat me like garbage."

Kyu chewed her gum and nodded along. "Hey, wanna hear something funny?" She pointed to the crater left by Celeste's ship. "Some of the girls are saying there might've been a second space junk crash. But that's just silly talk, right? I mean, something that big smacking down from the sky? No way it could just pick itself up and fly off, right?"

Nikki's throat went dry. "M-maybe a whale beached itself but then got unstuck? Whales can make big dents like that, right?"

For a while, Kyu just went on chomping at her gum. Then, "Yeah, you might be on to something there, champ! A whale! Still, I bet there's a whole ton of people who'd like to know what made that second hole. Bet they'd be aaaawful appreciative of anyone who could give them a clue."

She managed a weak chuckle. "Well, uh, good luck finding a witness. I'd better get going. Analysis stuff to do, 'n all that. Hope you find the clue you're looking for." Not!

Kyu gave a particularly toothy grin as she reached over and patted Nikki on the shoulder. "Oh, I think we'll find what we need, champ. I think we will."

Kyu's palm was oddly warm; odder still, that friendly pat was lingering awkwardly long. Is she coming on to me? God I hope she's not coming on to me; way too much energy. "Yeah well, gotta go. Bye!"

As she trotted away, mentally pumping her fists and singing the Final Fantasy victory theme, Nikki wondered if she owed Anton an apology. She glanced back at Kyu and the beach full of ditzy-looking girl cops who'd let her blunder into the greatest wonder humanity would never know. Maybe there really were no government conspiracies or secret societies, just well-meaning nine-to-fivers who were a little too dim for their own good. Maybe the only ones acting behind the scenes were people like Kyu.

Aliens were real, though, she reminded herself, and she had a rendezvous to keep.