“Yes, Liha, I think you’re right,” Feri’Andi said in calm response as the Valkyries looked out the viewport at the black smoke pouring out of the building beneath them into the bright, blue sky above them. “Should we move out and put the ship elsewhere?”

Lihandii narrowed her eyes in thought for a few moments before standing and saying, “No. If we fly out now, the Valkyr will push the smoke out, and someone might notice us. I have a better idea.” She smiled at Feri’Andi in a way that said Feri’Andi wouldn’t like the plan but would have fun executing it, earning an exasperated face from her copilot.

“I swear, this planet has a bad influence on you,” Feri’Andi said. “Let me guess, you want us to go in there just so we’ll get pulled out by the firefighting robots. In case you haven’t noticed, the robotics here aren’t exactly that advanced.”

Lihandii rose her eyebrows at the suggestion. “Honestly, when did I say anything about robots? I saw a short while ago on one of the transmissions I was going through that they have people fight the infernos here.” Lihandii was very interested in the apparent physical similarity between creatures here and Thorlinthians, as well. In the same transmission to which she was now referring, she had noticed that the people on this planet, or at least some of them, looked almost identical to Thorlinthians, if more primitive. She wanted to find out why.

“Well, if we’re going out there, we can’t wear our uniforms. From what I can tell, the people are pretty paranoid about military uniforms they don’t recognize. We’d stand out a bit.” She stood and started moving aft to change into something that might be less conspicuous. Stopping just short of moving into the next compartment, she stopped. “And what do you plan on doing with Valkyr, Liha? We can’t exactly just leave it here.”

Lihandii smiled as she finished what she was doing at the controls, shutting down her screens and standing up just before Feri’Andi had had a chance to see what she was doing. “You just leave that to me. I’ve already taken care of it.” She pushed Feri’Andi lightly to get her to move, and they both went back to change.



“So, do you two ladies plan on telling us what you were doing in that building? It’s not exactly a favorite hangout for girls your age. It’s been condemned for years, and you two don’t look to be druggies or prostitutes. You’re too healthy and wholesomely dressed.” Jake Kendrick couldn’t get a word out of the girls, whose outlandish appearance and apparent inability to speak English were their only suspicious traits.

Based on where they were in the building when he and his partner had found them, he was pretty sure they hadn’t started the fire. Still, he couldn’t let them go without some sort of information, and the police were licking their lips to get their hands on the two. “Can you at least tell me your names? I need something here.”

At that, he noticed one of the girls perk up slightly. She nudged the other, who started to say something aloud before catching herself and signing something with her hands instead. This time, Jake thought he might catch something. His mother was deaf, and if that was the problem, he had it covered. He paid close attention to what they were signing between each other. It must not have been American Sign Language, though, because he barely recognized any of the signs. Still, he thought he saw them say something about fires and names.

Attempting to help out, he signed very carefully, “I need you to tell me your names, so I can let you go.” Smiling, the girl who had almost spoken earlier looked at him and signed something else. It seemed like they couldn’t quite understand where he wanted them to go. “Don’t you have somewhere to go?” He signed this out even more slowly, trying to be very obvious about what he meant. If they were homeless, it might explain what they were doing here.

The girl talking to him closed her eyes momentarily and swiped her hands in front of herself, crossing her centerline. That was a no, then. At least it seemed like they were communicating. He signed again, “Well, can you tell me your names? My name is Jake.” He said his name aloud as he signed it.

The silent girl began to say something when a police officer walked over. “Have you managed to get anything out of these two, Jake? No one else from the building recognizes them, but we’ve already got our arson. He just got caught trying to start another fire a few buildings down the same way. As soon as we get their contact information, they’re free to go.”

The officer began to walk away, but Jake said, “I think they’re homeless, Miles. And on top of that, they don’t seem to know English. I tried Spanish earlier, but they seemed even more confused, so I’m pretty sure they’re not border hoppers. They might be deaf, though. They both seemed to respond a bit to sign language.”

Miles patted Jake on the shoulder. “Well, try and get what you can. Homelessness isn’t a crime, and the building didn’t have a trespassing policy, so I don’t need ’em. I’ve got to get back on the beat.” He starte
d walking away again before calling over his shoulder, “You’re buying tonight, right?”

“Not tonight, Miles,” Jake called back. “It’s Paul’s turn. I buy next Tuesday.” He waved it off and faced the girls again. They seemed a bit tense. He signed at them, “They’re leaving. You’re not in trouble.”

“Nom edt Feri’Andi,” the silent one said, pointing at herself. She pointed at the one who had been signing with Jake earlier and said, “Nom edta Lihandii.”

Jake grinned, happy to see that he had gotten through to them. He did his best to write their names, but he was pretty sure they were both spelled wrong. “Thank you,” he signed and said aloud. “I don’t suppose you have any way for me to get a hold of you if I need to.”

Lihandii placed her hands over his ears gently and closed her eyes. For a brief moment, he thought he had heard something in his head, but it must have been his imagination. She stepped back, placing a small, metal box in his hand. It looked a bit like a communicator from Jake’s favorite science fiction show, and upon further inspection, he found it opened out just like the ones from the show. He looked up from the device to find out more, but the girls were simply gone.

Jake’s partner came walking over to let him know that it was time to go back to the firehouse. “They gone already?” Jake nodded, placing the box in his pocket. “Too bad. They were cute. I’ve got to admit, the hair was a little weird, but that shorter one’s going to be the future Mrs. Ayling. What was her name?”

“Tell you what, man. You can have the taller one. I’ve got dibs on the other one.” Jake smiled, holding his hand over his pocket.

“That’s perfectly fine by me. They were both smokin’,” Ayling said, nudging Jake as they got into the truck. “What was her name, then?” Jake handed him the paper he had written on and pointed as he leaned his head back while the truck started on its way back. “Fairy Andy? You’re screwing with me, right?”

Jake smiled again, more broadly this time. “Well, that’s what it sounded like. I didn’t exactly check the spelling. Let’s just finish up our shift. We’ve only got half an hour left, anyway. Paul’s buying tonight.” Protests were made by the driver as he heard he had to buy pizza for ten people. It was a tradition at this point, though, and the friends all had to take turns. Jake barely heard the mock argument as he tapped his fingers over his pocket, remembering the feel of those soft hands on his face. Smiling, he whispered, “Lihandii.”