Shoot, kill, burn, drive. Dawnwood Park, the third avenue supermarket; now the frantic Twitter updates had brought them to the final garduk.

MadameButterfly /at/Q-T-3.14
Not again! Crazy, killer monster dog at the botanical gardens! #MonsterDog #Alert #GTGMeetingAClient

Police had set up a perimeter but, as usual, there was a dumb rookie girl who left a blind spot in the fence that she and Celeste could just waltz through. The incompetence made Nikki seethe. What if a kid or some dumb teen snuck through? Good God, when this was settled she was writing up these police girls in the nastiest blog rant ever!

She shadowed Celeste into the greenery of a tropical hothouse, watching her step, listen and sweep her trembling rifle over the foliage. It wasn't caution that made the Norai move slowly; she kept pausing to mop the sweat trickling down her forehead. There'd been no time to reapply makeup so she'd simply tied a scarf around her blue face, and now her breathing came in heavy gasps. When the monster lunged from the bushes, it found her an easy target to tackle.

A sharp kick from Celeste's tiny foot sent it flying. It's huge! Nikki exclaimed. The other monsters had been the size of greyhounds but this one was approaching tiger size, its back covered with dark ridges like hardened lava. The garduk charged a second time but then skidded to a halt in mid-dash, limbs spasming and head cocked as though catching an invisible whistle. It turned about-face and bolted, never changing course from its straight-line path, not even when it was forced to smash through the greenhouse glass.

"Have to … pursue," Celeste panted. She tried to stand but wobbled to her knees. "It'll lead us –"

She buckled over and vomited.

"Celeste!" Nikki knelt and cupped the hunter's forehead. Her hand jerked back like she'd touched a hot stove. "You're burning up!" This was bad. She hadn't packed any water or ice – no time – and they'd been running for hours in the scorching afternoon sun. How stupid can you get, muffin top? With Celeste smothered in a turtleneck, jeans and now a facial scarf, she might as well have been wrapped in a layer of tinfoil to cook.

Gotta find water. Nikki dragged the hunter out of the hothouse to a water fountain, soaked up the alien's cap like a sponge and squeezed the cool liquid over her face. Celeste coughed and opened her mouth to catch the drizzle on her tongue. Nikki repeated the process until the alien was lucid enough to sit up on her own.

"You should've told me you were overheating."

"No time. Next target. Had to … eliminate the target."

"Celeste, this last garduk was different. Bigger; it had like a shell on its back."

"Hardened carapace. It's pupating. Preparing for adult metamorphosis."

Metamorphosis. That's right, these creatures changed form and, fully grown, they would lay eggs and multiply. "How much time does that leave us?"

"Twenty four hours," Celeste calculated. She tried pushing off the ground again but only collapsed into the gravel. Nikki flew to her side, fighting the ache in her chest. It hurt to see the hunter so weak and wasted.

"You need to rest," she protested. "You try and fight that thing now, you'll get yourself killed. Then who's gonna defend us?"

Dizziness, muscle weakness, nausea and vomiting. This was obviously heatstroke. Nikki rifled through her file-like memories for treatments, pulling up the night she'd helped Tiffany study for a first aid course. Fan the victim with air, apply ice to their neck and armpits; immerse them in water. Great, like I've got a huge tub of water just waiting around the corner.

Wait a sec. Nikki flipped out her smart phone and checked the garden's location against Google maps. Her neighbourhood's not even five minutes away. With everything to lose, Nikki toggled over to her sparse contacts list and brought up a more recent entry. I hope she's not 'working', she winced as the tone dialed, or this could get awkward fast.

The voice that answered was low, seductive and never failed to send a hungry shiver up Nikki's spine. "You've got my attention, darling."

"Miss Jessie? Hi, it's Nikki."

A delighted chuckle. "Oh, hon, I have been dying to hear from you. My Tiffy told me all about your new lady-friend. Really, hon, you should have told me you had a thing for mature women. You've got me dripping with jealousy."

If this were a video chat, Nikki might've properly conveyed her horrified, "do not want" face. Over a phone, stunned silence would have to do the trick. Seriously, you're my best friend's mom! I know you're a porn star, but come on!

"Sorry, force of habit. What's your pleasure, hon?"

Nikki was pretty sure that was also innuendo, but she soldiered on. "Are you busy tonight? Do you think I could bring my, um, 'friend' over to your place?"

"Mm, this is getting interesting."

"Ugh, it's not like that. I just want to use your pool, that's it."

"Whatever you say, hon. Though, and this is just me, if you've got a thing for water, you should really try it in the bathtub first. The chlorinated stuff really kills the lubrication."

"Jess-ie!"

"All right, all right. I've had my fun. Give me ten minutes, darling. I'll pack myself an overnight bag and visit a friend. You and your lady can have the run of the house, sound good?"

"Thank you."

"Just make sure you put the sheets in the laundry, oka-?"

Click.

It was slow going carrying Celeste to the vespa and then driving to Miss Jessie's bungalow. Celeste slurred and muttered to herself, but offered no resistance. Nikki poured on the speed. There was nothing cute or drunkenly adorable about how Celeste's head wobbled onto her shoulder. This was her body shutting down from overheating.

Nikki scooped the key from underneath Miss Jessie's door mat and led them inside. First stop was the kitchen, where she forced Celeste to guzzle down their host's supply of bottled water and pressed ice packs to her head and chest. Celeste's breathing seemed to stabilize but her eyes kept wandering vacantly. She didn't stir until Nikki guided her to the back yard and the scent of water wafted to her nostrils.

"Wa… ter?" Her eyes launched open. "A water reservoir?"

"It's a pool. We use it for swimming. Swimming is when you –"

"I understand the term," Celeste interrupted, stepping to the pool as though magnetized. "You have personal water basins for recreational use? I can use this?"

"Yeah, we can stay as long as we want. I just have to check on the dog next door."

Celeste herself trembled like a dog before an offered treat: tunnel-visioned and fighting to control her impulses. She looked down at her clothes. "My garments. Is it acceptable among humans to bathe in the nude?"

Nikki's brain broke trying to process that question. "Um, um, um…"

Celeste seemed strangely pleased with her stuttering reaction. "Perhaps I should borrow some alternate attire from our host?"

"Y-yeah. Bedroom's down the hall to the left. I'll go look after the dog."

Miss Jessie's neighbours lived one trailer short of a trash heap and kept a scrawny little terrier tied up in their yard all day and night. "They're always out," Miss Jessie had pouted, "and I try to sneak over and make sure the poor thing has water in his dish. Lord knows those people won't check."

The grass next door was tall enough to hide wild Pokémon and served as a scrap pile for junked appliances, including an old laundry machine and several rusted bikes. The poor pup was all bones under its matted fur, and did nothing but whimper and cower as Nikki filled its dish from a hose. She didn't want to think about what its owners did to make it so terrified. Next door, the sharp clack of Celeste's heels on the walk accelerated towards the pool, punctuated by a cannonball splash into the water. Peeking over the fence, she saw Celeste surface with a marvelous gasp, and Nikki was sure that some of the droplets running down her face were tears of joy.

"Nicole, this is stellar. You must join in!"

Swimming in the pool with Celeste? She wouldn't be able to withstand that torment. "I don't have a swimsuit," she called back.

As if on cue, her phone chimed with a text message from Miss Jessie.

=Like the package? More importantly, is your friend enjoying it? ;D XOXO=

Package? Nikki remembered passing a brown paper parcel in the middle of the hallway, but she'd had more important concerns. Returning, she noticed her name stenciled over it in black marker. Ripping through the packaging and the paper underneath, Nikki froze up.

Three triangles of yellow fabric attached by a length of string. No, she did not just buy me a – Nikki looked for a dark hole to stuff the scandalous swimwear into when a follow-up text chimed through:

=Try it. I wanna see pictures or I'm coming home with a bottle of wine.=

Nikki imagined sitting down for drinks with a sloshed Miss Jessie, of Celeste politely nodding to her tales from the porn industry while whispering for clarifications. "Nicole, what is a vih-bray-tore?" She very quickly found herself taking bathroom selfies in her new yellow string bikini. This is so embarrassing, and she knew Miss Jessie would hold this over her head forever. Oh god, what if she shares them with Tiffany?

She had a swimsuit, yes, but there was no way she could go out in this swimsuit! The cellulite on her thighs jiggled like jello moulds, and stray hairs peeked out from between her legs. No way, no how. Desperate to cover up, she rifled through Miss Jessie's closet and added a red Hawaiian shirt and an ankle-length sarong to her ensemble. There, nothing embarrassing to see. Modest once more, she tiptoed outside, hanging around the screen door. Celeste beckoned her to the pool's edge.

While she walked forward, Celeste waded out to meet her at the shallow end, and the sight of the older woman rising from the water like an alien Venus de Milo made Nikki shiver with longing. Celeste's wet hair fell down her shoulders, exposing the curved horns above her ears. And her clothes! The Norai had borrowed a familiar white Hooters T-shirt from Miss Jessie's closet but one dive into the water had dyed it skin blue and shrink-wrapped the fabric against her wet body. Nikki jealously followed the droplets drizzling down the curves of her chest, beading and lingering over her breasts like crystal kisses. Wait, is that all she's wearing?

A rakish grin split Celeste from ear to ear, as though she could read every desirous thought in Nikki's dropped jaw. Then, abruptly, she stopped as well, eyes goggle-wide. "What are those?" she demanded.

What's what? Nikki scanned her body, finally realizing where Celeste pointed. "My feet?"

"Your lower appendages, yes!" Nikki now stood at the edge of the pool, and Celeste ran over for an up-close inspection. "I've never observed digits so small, so adorable!" Her hands reached out for those feet like they were little infants to be cooed at and stroked, but she caught herself. "Could I … examine them?"

"Huh? I mean, I guess." Nikki sat down, flinching as water clung to her sarong. She tried not to stare at Celeste's chest but the dark tips pressing against her cotton shirt were hypnotic. The alien immediately scooped up her right foot and started poking and wiggling her toes, prompting Nikki to squeak. "W-watch it, they're kinda ticklish."

Celeste flushed and dropped the foot. "Forgive me," she blurted. "I hadn't realized feet were a human erogenous zone."

"Eroge…?" She thought that – Nikki took her turn to blush furiously. "No! I mean, it's not like you were … it – it's not that. I just get ticklish. You know, when you laugh?"

Celeste took her foot again, testing a slow and deliberate stroke across the soles of her feet. "Is this acceptable?"

A lavish foot rub from a sexy alien bounty hunter? "Oh yeah, that's good."

Nikki tipped her head back and tried to remind her unsteady heart that this was purely scientific observation. Celeste just wants to check out some alien anatomy, that's all. She's not interested in you; she's doesn't mean to make you feel so good. Celeste seemed especially fascinated by her toes and slid her fingers in between them to test their reflexes and grip. "Like an infant's fingers," she gushed.

"I don't get it, do humans have smaller toes compared to the rest of the galaxy?"

"Not precisely." A playful grin danced over Celeste's face and she pulled herself onto the poolside. She raised a bare leg from the pool with a playful flick of water, turning it sideways planting it by Nikki's thigh for display.

What the -? At first, Nikki thought Celeste was an amputee and that her leg ended in a blackened stump. Then she saw the dark tips wiggle and she looked closer: a bony segment ringed by fur and split into two oversized nails. "Wait, you've got hooves?" No way, so that explains it. The heaviness of her bones, the tiny flats of her feet; not to mention running combat missions in high heels. Her feet were naturally raised to walk on cloven toes. Anticipating her urge to examine closer, Celeste stretched her leg across Nikki's lap and let her go to town in analysis.

"This is so cool," Nikki cheered, holding and appraising the foot like it was a priceless antiquity. "Cloven, split into two nails. Tendricide must have a lot of rough, mountain terrain if you evolved these feet."

"They do assist in navigating the heights."

Nikki's fingers wandered up past the raised ankle. "The snowbanks must get pretty deep too. You've got hair growing back in, but it's all concentrated below the knee." Nikki imagined the day-old stubble at its shaggy full length. Like fuzzy boots, she smiled.

"Our hair does maintain warmth in deep snowdrifts," Celeste nodded, "but I have always preferred to keep my legs bare." Moving to the back of Celeste's legs, Nikki's fingers brushed across a strip of clipped fur. Celeste had left a thin band of hair running from her ankle to the back of her knee.

"I like it," Nikki nodded. It was like a strip of white lace, or the seam on the back of a sexy blue stocking. Racing lines drawing in your eyes; daring your fingertips to trace the path up those smooth, delicious -

Bad thoughts! Had to keep things scientific. She wasn't stroking Celeste's calf, she was recording its texture and touch as notes on alien biology. Celeste wasn't looking at her with smoldering eyes, those golden orbs were just tired and half-lidded. The rumble from Celeste's throat was harder to contextualize. All her brain could interpret was a deep, feline purr of approval, the growl of a well-pleased cat urging human fingers to continue.

Nikki let go of the leg and scooted aside. "So, that last garduk…"

Celeste startled as from a dream and slid her leg back into the pool, looking away as she spoke. "It was recalled. You saw how it stopped in mid-attack; defying its instinctive hunger even though I was vulnerable?" Nikki nodded along. The thing had flinched like it had stepped onto hot coals. "The slave bracer embedded in its back received new coordinates, and electric shocks compelled it to leave."

"I thought Rondarr wanted them to kill you."

Celeste shook her head negative. "The garduk were merely diversions. You observed how they all appeared at opposite extremes of your settlement? They were being triangulated to keep us from Rondarr's location. Perhaps he had to complete repair work on his ship, but whatever the purpose, he's likely gathered up the remaining garduk and left the planet." The hunter lay back on her palms, visibly deflating. Nikki scrambled her brains to think of some solution.

"You're sure the garduk is gone? Hey, your collar! It translates languages, right? So if we hooked it up to the bracer from the one we picked up –"

"It won't translate computer signals," Celeste butted in. "Even if Rondarr remains, his ship will be cloaked and untraceable. He'll release the garduk only to cover his escape."

"So we blew it." Well, the planet was safe, right? "So now what? Do you have to go chase after him?"

"Where would I begin? Even if I kept the search to criminal systems, the terrain would be too vast to investigate blindly. Besides," she added, "I have more pressing concerns here."

Um, something more important than hunting down a galactic poacher and slave trader? "Like what?"

Celeste slid over, closing the gap between them. "To begin with, you never answered my question from the previous night. How am I attractive?" She smiled and continued in a whisper. "I've observed you examining my body, Nicole. Surely you admire more than just my eyes."

Nikki suddenly found her throat super dry, and she had to force herself to swallow. "I thought you couldn't remember last night." She scooted away, but Celeste matched her movement.

"You are difficult to forget," she purred. "As to my question, I'll understand if you are poorly versed in anatomy. If you wish, you could indicate my desirable qualities with your hands."

Celeste's fingers were tracing circles up her leg but Nikki pushed them away. How is this happening? "Why do you keep making fun of me like this? You said … you said last night was a mistake!"

Celeste drew back as well. "I assaulted you," she stated in all seriousness. "I became intimate without your permission. My actions were inexcusable."

So it wasn't -? "But you like Audrey!"

"Audrey?" Celeste made a stink face. "I admire her; I wish I had had her same fierceness when I was younger, but I don't desire her. Her figure is thinner than a kloi tree and she smells like engine exhaust."

"Doesn't she?" Nikki sniggered. Deep down, she was breathing relief. "She's like, Audrey the human chimney stack!" Together they giggled themselves into stitches, and when they settled, Celeste's fingers rested over her palm.

"I realize we have known each other briefly," she prefaced, "but I admire you deeply, Nicole. Your intelligence, your resourcefulness; your body. You are remarkable." The words tickled her ear with a hungry whisper, scrambling Nikki's ability to reply.

"I ... I mean… You're neat." Her brain shrieked. Neat? Is that all you've got? "I mean, same here. You're really, really neat."

Celeste didn't seem to mind the sudden brain-death of her communication skills. She kept drawing closer. "May I touch you, Nicole?"

You want to -? Nikki covered her mouth and squeezed her legs together, fighting the butterfly warble spreading from her stomach. "If y-you want," she mumbled.

Free to move, Celeste's fingers glided through her blue hair, eliciting a shared shudder. "Wonderful," Celeste murmured, inhaling the soapy scent of her shampoo. Wonderful, her thoughts exactly.

"Will you let me hold you, Nicole?" Celeste slipped back into the water, bringing them face to face. A tiny nod sent two warm and callused hands around her back, and the cool touch of Celeste's horn resting against her cheek. Trembling, Nikki placed her fingers on Celeste's shoulders. She would have been happy to stay in that embrace forever but Celeste wanted more. Her breath accelerated as Celeste's nose traced across her cheek and she tasted the warm caress of a tongue across her lips.

"Oh wow." Butterflies fluttered to the very tip of her toes. "Wow..."

Celeste leaned in again, and this time Nikki opened her lips to meet Celeste's tongue with her own. They touched, gingerly at first, jumping back from the explosive current racing down their nerves, but then coming together again: a touch, a lick, and then Celeste reached out boldly to claim her tongue in loving circles.

Nikki wanted to cry with joy. I'm kissing a girl. Not just any girl, but Celeste, and it was wonderful. She broke away to catch her breath.

"You're really good at this scent marking."

"When my people embrace, it is a message: To others, possession. To the receiver, desire."

"I think I got the message. Loud and clear," Nikki grinned, surrendering her lips to another loving tongue-lapping. Through the fog of pleasure she was vaguely aware that callused hands were sliding up her thighs to unknot the sarong around her legs.

Hungry for more, Celeste's tongue trailed from her gasping lips to her chin, while her fingertips dug ridges through that beloved blue hair. She growled like a predator. Every taste of salty skin spurred on the Norai till she was lapping at her neck like she was a fast-melting ice cream cone. Nikki couldn't help but giggle. It's like she's a big, blue happy –

"– Puppy!" Nikki broke off their embrace, hit with a revelation. "Puppy dog! I mean, the dog next door! Celeste, the slave bracers don't just work on garduk, do they?"

Still fogged up in arousal, Celeste was slower to join in. "They will configure themselves to any organism with a central nervous sys-" Then she understood. "The signal."

Together they dashed for the fence, peering at the miserable mutt still lashed in the neighbour's yard. "Substitute an Earth animal and follow its path back to Rondarr. Nicole, this is brilliant!"

A nagging doubt interrupted Nikki's high. "It won't hurt it much, right?"

Celeste appraised the starved pup. "No more cruelty then what the poor beast has already endured. I will retrieve the animal. The bracer is with my bag in the refresher room."

"Bathroom, got it." Nikki turned to leave but felt her body jerk to a stop. Celeste was holding on to the hem of her Hawaiian shirt, a wicked smile over her face. Nikki tugged again but the Norai's grip and teasing look only intensified. There was only one way she was getting free.

A mix of sheepishness and excitement filled Nikki's cheeks as she undid her buttons and let Celeste strip away her shirt. In her rush to the fence her sarong had also peeled off, leaving her embarrassing bikini fully exposed. Oh god, she can see everything. Her tummy fat, the soggy cellulite on her butt and thighs. Nikki turned away, hugging her chest.

Celeste, oblivious to her imperfections, made another feline purr of approval. Then she bent down and licked Nikki between the shoulder blades. "We will finish this later," she promised.

When Nikki shut the bathroom door behind her, the goofiest grin had spread over her face. Celeste … Celeste liked her. Really, really liked her! She wanted to spend time with her, wanted to be with her, to hold her! The gamer girl's head grew dizzy thinking of the possibilities that would branch out from this moment.

What if she- ? Nikki's hand trailed down past her navel. I mean, would she even want to -?

Concentrate, her science brain scolded. The slave bracer. Celeste has scattered her human clothes over the floor, along with her rifle and camouflage duffle bag. Where was it? First-aid boxes, ammunition pouches… Holding the bag upside-down and dumping the contents was a little hasty but it succeeded in flinging the metal scorpion from its hiding place. The torture device clattered to the floor, and along with it fell a silver, apple-sized sphere, bouncing and rolling to a stop at her feet.

Celeste's projector sphere. Nikki held it to the light, admiring the cool, metallic texture against her palm. It looked like a fancy paperweight but this unassuming marvel held a record of every planet Celeste had visited. A gateway to the galaxy, a visual encyclopaedia of incredible alien wonders!

A little peek couldn't hurt, right?

"You imbecile, come here!" The shout was followed by Celeste's clomping hooves and the yip of a fleeing dog. Yeah, she had time.

The device was touch activated, but that was hardly a problem. Nikki rewound through the weekend to yesterday afternoon on the rocks. The school counselor had told her that she had a photographic memory; that she could look at anything once and imprint it into her brain like a heated brand. Once she focused on the moment it was simple enough to mimic the pattern Celeste's thumb had traced over the sphere. An inner light from the projector warmed her hands. Victory!

"Tendricide," Nikki whispered and the snow-covered vistas flew into the air, transitioning as she swiped her fingers through the cone of light like a wizard casting a spell. Celeste must have tagged the pictures by location, or sorted them into albums to be called up using voice commands. Well she knew a few key words of the galactic language.

"Celeste." A slideshow of selfies against alien landscapes flashed through the air. Off the job Celeste looked relaxed, at peace.

"Night Wraith." Nothing. No, wait - "Koru-Shikai." The light formed into alien newsprints and criminal mug shots. A list of bounties she'd captured? Awesome! What else could she conjure? Had Celeste let slip any further incantations that would summon the spirits from this prism?

"Cel-" She stopped herself. Was this going too far? No, Celeste had shared the childhood crush story; what harm would it to search up a picture? "Celara."

The screen swapped and Nikki's giddy smile fell to a cold line. A full-body hologram had been conjured from the databanks, looking down on her like a restless ghost. Nikki lay the view-sphere on the floor so that she could face the life-sized model directly.

A Norai girl, taller only by the virtue that her hologram was hovering off the ground. Like Celeste, she was blue skinned with horns and white hair, only hers was short, plain and cut into a no-frills bob. Like my hair. Her brown jumpsuit had been designed for a taller, fuller figure and hung from her limbs like loose skin. My sweaters, she gulped, reflexively touching her glasses as the scan took her to Celara's face. Protective goggles were strapped over her artificial eyes, an unnatural metallic silver with tiny glass pupils. The hologram played in a short loop – Celara would blink and her pupils would unfold like aperture lenses. They made Nikki think of a fish's twitching gills and she immediately despised them.

Nikki could have rattled the rest of Celara's features off by heart: a short, button-like nose primed for bullies to flick; shoulders that slouched timidly, huddling against a cruel world, and slender fingers that played nervously in her lap. Unimpressive breasts and a lower body that was far too chunky around the stomach and thighs.

They were the features she saw every day in the mirror.

"Nicole, have you retrieved the –"

Light flooded the bathroom, but not enough to disperse Celara's ghostly projection. Celeste froze at the door with the horrified look of a woman who'd been stabbed in the back.

Nikki turned around, and result was a pair of twins facing the Norai hunter. One ghostly with blue skin and white, horned hair; the other solid flesh that gone deathly pale.

"Why's she – Celeste, why does she –?"

"What are you doing?" The hunter barged in and scooped up the view-sphere, clutching it like a newborn. "You don't know how this operates; you could have deleted everything!"

Nikki barely heard the stinging words. "Why does she look like me?"

"You had no right …" Celeste was absorbed in her own shock, and Nikki had to press on to be heard.

"Why am I the same as her?"

For a second, Celeste paused. The shot had pierced through.

"You think I'm her, don't you? You were never looking at me, it was always her!"

"Nicole, you weren't supposed to -"

"Celara. That's what you said to me on the beach. The first word out of your mouth. You said her name again after we landed and you got upset. And my hair. You kept asking about my hair or saying you liked it. It's her hair!" The tears streaming down her cheeks burned like rivers of fire. "Am I just some clone you can have a second chance with?"

"Nicole, no!" She tried moving closer, tried hugging her. Nikki slapped away her repulsive hands, whipping the view-sphere to the ground with a thud. Uttering a horrified cry, Celeste dove after her precious treasure. After her precious Celara.

"How dare you?" A dent had lodged in the outer shell. "These are my memories. They're all I have left of my home!"

"I hope it's broken," Nikki choked. Memories of pink hair flashed through Nikki's mind. "You're just as bad as her. As everyone else on this shitty planet."

Celeste snatched her wrist and marched her out of the bathroom, slamming it in her face. A sob was working up her throat but Nikki balled her fist and bit down on her knuckles. She wouldn't cry, wouldn't give her the satisfaction of crying.

She was not alone outside the bathroom. The neighbour's dog watched her with hesitant eyes, as did a further pet: a silver hummingbird with a security camera head.

"Cogni?"

"Kosoko kangai, Nikkeeee-da. It was difficult pinpointing your location."

"What's going on, you're supposed to be searching –" Nikki stopped herself. "You found it. You found the garduk nest."

"Affirmative. They were gathered at an abandoned lot set for demolition. A Shi-bessen transport cockpit is also stationed there."

"You mean Rondarr's ship?"

Cogni's camera flew open in a Eureka moment. "Ohhhh, the vessel we attacked in orbit. Ki-Celeste, I may have discovered –"

The bathroom door flew open, and the AI shut up. From the darkness, the Night Wraith strode forth.

Dressed for battle, Celeste was transformed. A skin-tight purple combat suit with metal body armor. The shimmering fabric stretched down her arms but left her scarred legs bare and limber for movement. Metal gauntlets around her forearms held wrist-mounted lasers; grenades encircled her belt. Her front zipper was still opened down to her navel and, catching Nikki's stare, she yanked it up to her chin with a scowl.

There was no face to be seen. With the uniform's attached hood flipped over her head, Celeste had disappeared into shadow. All that escaped the cowl were yellow eyes, curved horns and stray silver hairs like billowing cobwebs. This was the monster of galactic myths; this was the Koru-Shikai.

The bounty hunter pitched a wadded-up ball of human clothes at Nikki. "I am done with these garments." Nikki let them fall to the floor.

"Then I'll just burn them."

"I am leaving to hunt Rondarr. I am taking your vespa transport." Her outstretched hand gave no room for argument. Nikki surrendered the key, and when their fingers brushed in passing the hunter jerked away like she'd touched a slimy toad.

"After I apprehend Rondarr, I will depart this planet."

"Good, you go do that. I don't ever want to see you again."

Celeste slung her duffel bag and her rifle over her shoulder and marched off with Cogni in pursuit. At the door, she hesitated.

"I live aboard my ship," she began. "I keep moving, never remaining in one system. Whenever my work takes me to a new world I remind myself that those I encounter will fear and loathe me, the monstrous Koru-Shikai. I remind myself that there is no one there for me."

"I convinced myself you could be different, Nicole Ann-Marie. I was mistaken."

The door slammed, the vespa roared away, the house fell into utter stillness. Alone. Free to march back to her apartment, to play her games, to surf the web, to blog and rant to her heart's content.

Nikki fell to the floor. Free to cry.

It took five rings before her mother answered the phone. "Sweet bean?"

"Mama?" she sniffled, "You were right. You were so damn right it hurts."

When she'd let out the worst of her sobbing, Nikki croaked out an edited version of her falling out with Celeste. "This girl in her pictures, Mama, she looked just like me. She thinks I'm her!"

Her mother offered no sympathy. "Nikki, how could you do that? Looking through her private photos?"

"She lied to me, Mama!"

A long exhale. "Nikki, what is it you want?"

"I…" That dreaded question again. What did she want? What did she plan to do with her life? Only this time, she had a glimmer of an answer.

"I wanna be with her, Mama. I want her to like me."

"I think we both know that you can't make anyone love you, sweet bean." A sad chuckle crackled over the phone. "You can only be there for them and hope they'll let you in."

"Nikki, do you know why I came to this country?"

Um, duh. "You came here for work."

"I came to get away from your grandparents. We always fought about my future; how they wanted me to take over the family business and I wouldn't have any of it. So I saved up, I stormed off and I told them how much I hated them as I marched out the door. That was the last I saw of your gran and grandad before –"

Her mother's voice faded, leaving Nikki's imagination to supply the squeal of tires, the crunch of metal frames; the futile ambulance sirens.

"Sweet bean, go and find her. Apologize to her. Just don't let her leave angry. Don't let your last moment leave you bitter and wondering 'what if'."

Nikki wiped the snot from her face. "I've been a super jerk to you. I'm sorry."

"Well, you can apologize properly when you have me over for coffee."

"But I didn't – Ohh, you want me to invite you over. Right." Social interactions. "I gotta go, Mama. I love you." Cogni had the exact coordinates of the garduk nest but she could still follow.

The slave bracer. It had fallen from Celeste's duffel bag and the Norai had forgotten it in her haste to leave. Time to activate this back-up plan. The scrawny next-door dog had retreated to Miss Jessie's kitchen and it cowered as Nikki approached with the claw-like machine in hand.

"Sorry, guy," she offered. "I gotta do this." The abused puppy backed itself into a corner, whimpering at her with watery eyes.

Nikki raised the bracer, then flung it to the ground. "Dammit, why've you gotta make me the bad guy here?"

Grunting like a cavewoman, Nikki led the mutt back to its yard. Then she pulled up her sleeve, sucked in a deep breath and placed the bracer overtop her outstretched arm.

"Ow!" Silver claws clamped around her skin like a flytrap, pinching tighter than any blood pressure cuff. It wasn't a spinal cord, but it seemed to accept her arm all the same. Nothing pierced her skin, but it sucked tight with a vacuum seal.

Needlepoints pricked her arm, forcing her to flap the limb and spin in search of relief. When her arm pointed north, towards downtown, the needle-prick torture ceased.

That way, huh?

Nikki scooped up a rusty old bike from the neighbour's grass and started pedaling, turning street corners as the jabbing needles dictated. Her lungs burned, her thighs screamed; her eyes watered from the constant mechanical stabbings but she soldiered on with a determination no video game had ever coaxed from her.

Celeste … Please don't be gone. Please, just give me one last chance.