Special agent Lee waited near the door while I kept looking outside the rge window, hoping it might help inspire me to find a way out of this mess. It quickly became obvious that this was just an ordinary room and we would have to find our answers somewhere else.

  "So....why do we have to stay here? Isn't a meeting room better suited?" I said, while still staring outside.

  "Perhaps, but we won't be staying here for long. Now please tell me what happened st night. Can you do that?"

  I turned around, but leaned against the window. "Em...okay, I can do that. So....it all started when I first noticed an explosion and called 9-1-1 to call in a pne crash. The operator told me to head for the fire department, but I never made it there.

  Close to the park, one terminator look-alike robot grabbed my ankle and made me tumble. Another one of those things from hell approached me, saying some messed up words like danger...peace...danger..or something. Forgive me, but I thought that I was about to die, so I didn't really pay much attention."

  "Understandable. Go on."

  "Right.... It made me remember some funky words and then I felt a pinprick sensation in my neck, after which the machine told me to make a run for it, and then it started to count down in a weird nguage. A few moments ter...boom....they blew up! It was a huge fireball."

  "Ah...that expins a few things....please, continue."

  "Okay...I then walked onto someone's driveway and used the path behind their backyard to the next street. A police officer spotted me there and told me not to go near the crash site, because military people were there."

  "Then what happened?" He made a few notes, using pen and paper instead of his phone, which surprised me.

  "Em....ah, right.....a news crew asked me what had happened, but I basically only told them about the crash and that we weren't supposed to go there. After that, when I finally thought I was almost home...another robot appeared.

  It approached me and told me that I had to follow it, in order to get medical care. That's when your two colleagues appeared. I talked to them and at some point made a run for it, but then the robot zapped them. After that..the lights went out."

  "Yes...your story matches our report. What words did you speak when you tried to run away?"

  "Words? Ah...you mean the weird foreign nguage?"

  "Yes, repeat those words please."

  "Em...haluuuh varuuhl..or something like that."

  "Yes, correct. You said those words."

  "So....you believe me? That I'm really Christie...and not.....whatever this body is supposed to be?"

  "Yes, for now let's say that your credibility is high. Besides, your parents did report you as missing in that area."

  "Oh my god, that's right! My parents..did you tell them that I'm okay?"

  "Not yet. First we need to speak to the medical people here and get to the bottom of things. It's a lot for you to take in right now, and you seem to be coping pretty well, considering what you went through."

  "Yeah....no way. I'm not coping.....only surviving. Please, for the love of god, help me. Keep those aliens away from me!"

  "I promise to keep you safe. Just know that the aliens are good people too. Whatever happened to you will be properly investigated. I give you my word. I report directly to the Committee, so rest assured that I will leave no stone unturned."

  "Okay...thank you for that. I heard someone mention the word BETA, so.......that means you're not really an FBI agent, are you?"

  "How perceptive. Can you give me a moment? It's a formality, but I need to have permission to show you my ID. I also want to talk to the medical staff for a few minutes."

  "Em....sure."

  He only returned after about twenty minutes, bringing my thoughts back to reality. Staring at the falling snowfkes proved quite...rexing..in a strange way. My empty stomach kept growling, no matter how much I tried to ignore it though.

  "Miss Woods, you have now officially been pced under BETA's protective custody." Agent Lee said.

  "For god's sake, it's about time someone gave me some good news around here. But what's with the weird abbreviation? You know, like BETA?"

  "It means Bureau of Extraterrestrial Threat Assessment. Our credo is: leave it to us, we're BETA."

  "Seriously? You're better? Sounds a bit arrogant if you ask me."

  He smiled for a moment. "You understand Earth humor...you're human...no doubt about it."

  Great...finally he realizes what I have been trying to tell him from the beginning. Sheesh. "Okay.....so...what happens next?"

  "I was informed only moments ago that a Lantosian medical officer will join us here and..."

  "No! Keep them away from me!" I'm gesturing wildly, emphasizing that I will never agree to that.

  "Rex, miss Woods."

  "Stop that! It's Christie, and no....I don't want them near me!"

  He took a deep breath before he continued. "Alright, Christie,.....then call me Ben. We'll be working together on this for a while."

  "Alright, Ben. So....I'm begging you, please keep the aliens away from me, you hear me?" I folded my hands, emphasizing my plea for help.

  "That's not possible, because you and I both need to learn what exactly happened to you. Or do you think that you can return home looking like that?" He pointed at my furry ears.

  "Yeah...I forgot about those. Okay....but keep your gun ready...I really don't trust them."

  "That much is obvious. Please trust me on this, okay, Christie? I know what I'm doing." He put his hand on my shoulder for a moment, and for some reason he briefly reminded me of my dad.

  "Alright...Ben. I'll trust you."

  "Good. Ah, and before I forget, Earth Force gave you basic security clearance. You have the right to know what's going on. Things which the general public is not privy to...yet. Besides, you can only answer my questions properly when you see them in the proper context, hence the clearance."

  "No idea what Earth Force is, but..I have to admit....it sounds cool."

  "Not cool, it's a necessity. Earth Force is a covert military organization established to keep Earth and its inhabitants safe from alien intervention. Some people refer to us as Homeworld Security, but I think that's a bit much. BETA is a specialized branch of Earth Force, and our job is to assess potential alien threats at a moment's notice...everywhere on Earth...anytime. We also have the delegated authority to deploy our country's defenses should Earth be in any immediate danger.

  This brings me to you. You are basically one of them now, whether you like it or not. And you need to know about them...us....and this pce. While they are definitely friendly, keeping you safe is one of BETA's top priorities. Any st minute questions before I let her in?"

  "Her? Oh...okay. Em....yeah, actually? What does a girl have to do around here to get her caffeine fix and some nice warm breakfast?"

  A grin appeared on his lips again. "I'll make your breakfast my next priority."

  "Thank you, much appreciated. Okay...let her in...but keep the door open. Just in case."

  He nodded and opened the door. For a brief moment I thought that he was pulling my leg, because there wasn't anyone outside!

  But then I saw a woman walking inside, heading straight for me! She looks human, except for her furry ears...just like me. Her tight uniform is mostly dark blue, except for her sleeves which are surprisingly white.

  Unlike the alien guy in the elevator earlier, who basically ignored me, this one heads straight for me, startling me in the process. "AAH!!!!" I couldn't suppress a scream and I must have startled Ben who instinctively drew his sidearm, making the alien stop her approach.

  I rushed into the corridor, trying to keep safe from the alien. From my perspective, those aliens might as well have invaded this pce by now! And can I even rule out the possibility that Ben is secretly one of them in disguise?

  And sure enough, moments ter, a human in a bck suit and an alien woman are staring at me....hiding like a toddler from the boogeyman behind a rather rge potted pnt.

  "Em.....there is no danger, Christie. I assure you, I will keep you safe at all costs." Ben said, sounding confident.

  "Are you sure about that? She's.....I mean....she's a real alien, right?" I pointed at the fluffy one.

  The alien woman, with her brown furry ears, otherwise acted.....surprisingly normal.

  She nodded to answer my question and waited for me to approach her, albeit while keeping a safe distance from her. "Em....my names....are....Nalea, daughter of Nami. Me...em...I are....no...I am...medical person. Helping you." The alien introduced herself, but her way of speech seemed more than a bit off.

  "Miss Nalea here is a high ranking medical officer in the Lantosian military. If there's any Lantosian you can trust, it's her. Ah, and she's learning English the old fashioned way, unlike her colleagues and us agents who all use a transtor device. So give her some sck, okay?" Ben said, and he really seems to trust her.

  "Em....okay?" What else could I possibly reply to such a humble request?

  When I carefully extend my hand to the alien doctor, expecting to shake hands, she doesn't seem to appreciate or understand the gesture, so I take a step back.

  "Are you emotions comfortable?" She asked politely with a careful smile.

  "Em...no this sucks....but I'm okay for now....I think. So..what happened?" I guess she wants to talk business already?

  "You and me Lantosian people.... first greeting proper way." She said while approaching me...making me step back once more. "Awww...not fear, dear. Trusting me."

  "Eh....it's kinda hard to trust you...you people changed me! No offense..."

  "About that....we will soon converse. And we will sorry. Greet me first, is polite."She smiled and pulled me into a firm hug. "Sorry..is how we all feel. You human....we mistake. We converse ter." She then surprised me by putting her cheek against mine and rubbed it three times.

  Man, she almost hugged me to death!

  She releases the hug and smiles while taking a good look at my ears or perhaps the white color. Now that I think about it, am I the only one with white ears and hair? So strange.

  "This Lantosia greets. You accept?"

  "Em.....I don't know what to say? Yes, I accept your greeting? It felt...honest?"

  "Yes! Honest feelings we share!" She said while smiling.

  Ben raised his voice to draw our attention. "Christie, how about you get properly dressed and then the three of us can get some breakfast? I think it's best when we talk in a more rexed setting. I brought a device against eavesdropping with me, so you can speak freely ter, okay?" He smiled, probably to help me rex.

  "Sure....okay," I said. But that's not what I was thinking at all. Just a little longer and you'll find me missing....smile all you want. I'm human and I will find a way out of this weird situation. I don't care what happens next, but it's my freakin' duty to tell everyone about this weird pce!

  "Are you alright?" Ben said, no longer smiling.

  "Em...sure." Oops...my true intentions were probably showing.

  "Great, I'll be waiting in the restaurant so you can get out of your PJs."

  "Wait...what? So these are actual PJs?" I pointed at what I believed to be a training suit.

  "Yup, sure are. See you ter, sport." His grin confirmed that teasing people might be one of his favorite pastimes. And calling me 'sport' didn't sound alien to me at all.

  "Eh.....okay....then go already....shoo shoo!!" I said while blushing from embarrassment and waited until the doors closed again.

  And that alien woman...she doesn't seem dangerous, unless she'll hug me to death. Maybe I can do this? And before I knew it, I was all alone with a real alien woman.

  The alien doctor opened a cabinet door by tapping twice on the symbols, something that hadn't occurred to me to try.

  "This uniform, good to put on your body. Size good." She handed me a neatly folded uniform.

  "Em...okay. But don't you have casual clothes for me instead?"

  "Casual? Em....these uniform?" She gave me one heck of a weird confused look. She tilted her head and blinked, then kept staring.

  "Em, no I meant, I'm not in the military. Why wear that? I'm a civilian. A person not in the military."

  "Ah, no. Uniform must have in Valley City."

  "So this pce is called Valley City?" I pointed at the window.

  "Yes?" She again looked genuinely confused.

  "Well, don't look at me like that! How am I supposed to know? I only look like one of your people!"

  "We sorry." She bowed to me and truly seemed apologetic. To be honest, seeing that made me feel more comfortable around her.

  I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "Yeah, I know, it's okay. So...how do I wear this thing?"

  Nalea helped me get dressed in my 'uniform' and expined that it was fine for civilians to wear. Unlike hers, my uniform was mostly white with some gray lines, apparently signaling something like 'civilian' or 'other' to the other residents.

  For now I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. But she better don't try anything funny....I'll be watching her!

  Their uniforms are definitely alien in design. When she pushed a button near my shoulder, the suit automatically adjusted to my body and became a bit tighter, causing me instant worry that my chest might be a bit too pronounced. Those are definitely a bit more developed than they used to be, but thankfully the uniform is quite comfortable in that regard.

  Repcing my green socks with fresh ones, confronted me with my new anatomy once more, but I still managed without freaking out.

  The alien shoes resemble sneakers, nothing too alien about those except for the compact form. The requirement to wear shoes must be a truly "universal" concept.

  "So....one thing still doesn't make sense to me, Miss Nalea."

  "Not Miss....only Nalea." She gave me one of those typical motherly smiles, one my mom tends to give me.

  "Okay, Nalea. Then call me Christie. No need to say Christie Woods either...I mean....if you were pnning to."

  "Kiwi Woo?" She sounded surprised as hell.

  "Huh? No, not Kiwi Woo, Christie Woods!"

  "Apologies...bad name at home."

  "Huh? You mean my name is...like an insult in your nguage?"

  "In...sult? Em....waiting...." She tapped her watch and then said "can you understand me now?"

  "Yes! Perfectly!"

  "Good. I'm sorry for that. I'm learning English, but this is hardly the time for that so I decided to activate my transtor."

  "Well, I think your English was pretty good. I mean...considering you're an alien and all."I couldn't help myself and a blush formed on my cheeks, probably out of embarrassment. Maybe it's not so bad here after all? No! No, I'm definitely getting out of here!

  "That's very nice of you to say." Once more she approached me and rubbed my cheeks.

  "Em...not that I mind, but why did you do that?"

  "Ah....sorry, of course this is new to you. Whenever we women feel grateful, sad, or have any strong emotion, we do the Akina greeting. It's very common, so you will see this a lot. Men however prefer to bow."

  "Oh..okay. But how does that work? Am I supposed to do the same? Or only the person who...I dunno....does that Aki....greeting?"

  "You can rub the same cheek if you acknowledge those feelings, or wish to emphasize them. Otherwise only accept them. Only lovers reciprocate by rubbing the other cheek, so you may want to avoid that."

  "Ah...good to know." I can't believe it, they expect me to act like them already?

  Nalea almost magically pulled a small device out of her uniform and extended it in a way simir to how some car antennas can be extended. "May I scan you for a moment? I promise it won't hurt."

  "Yeah....go ahead." But I still made sure to check her every move.

  After pointing it at me for a few seconds, she said "there, all done. The results will be avaible in a few minutes. Now what was it that you wanted to ask me?"

  "Oh...em....I really need to pee...?"

  "Pee? What...ah...I understand. We only have human toilets here but.....no, that can wait. It's outside in the corridor, immediately to your right."

  She pushed a concealed button on the wall to open the door for me, and I made sure to remember the location. Of course the door could also be opened by voice control, but this method might be better suited for a nightly escape.

  She smiled again. "Let's hurry up, Lee is waiting for us. I have lots of expining to do, and of course lots of apologizing as well. So at the end of the day, I hope that you can forgive us?"

  "Yeah......maybe? Sorry...gotta pee first." I wasn't pnning on forgiving them that soon.

  Once more the corridor is devoid of people, but unlike st time, I'm not trying to escape. The toilet is exactly where she said it would be and thankfully it was just a regur toilet, no surprises there. Nice and clean, no compints.

  After closing the door behind me, I needed a few moments to figure out how to remove my tight pants, but it was pretty easy once I had figured that out. I guess that was another of those 'universal' concepts: when you urgently need to go to the toilet, you don't have the time to fiddle around with your clothes.

  Thankfully there were no surprises waiting for me in the anatomy department, at least as far as I could tell.

  Curious to the st, I checked before flushing and I wish I hadn't. Seeing a very bright green pee didn't exactly fill me with confidence. Perhaps too much has happened to me for a single day, or I simply gave up....I couldn't care any less.

  I washed my hands and joined the waiting alien doctor in the corridor.

  "No problems, I assume? You can tell me, I'm a Healer. Or doctor as you humans call us."

  "Em....actually........is your pee supposed to be green?" I scratched my head, feeling a bit embarrassed about asking such a thing, but found my furry ear in that spot.

  "No, your bodily fluids should be yellowish, but the green color is caused by the....process...you underwent. I'll talk about that in a moment, I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable. But it's perfectly normal to see that color now."

  "Now why does that answer make me feel uncomfortable?"

  "I don't know? Why?" She looked surprised.

  "Ah, no...that was a rhetorical question, nevermind. Let's get this freak show on the road."

  "You humans are a mystery to me sometimes. What show would that be?"

  Now it's my turn to grin and relieve some of my stress. "I think we're going to have lots of fun today. We speak the same nguage, and yet...we don't."

  "Yes, that's my concern as well. Follow me to the restaurant, please."She gave me a kind smile and motioned me to follow her.