Head In The Stars

The four of us searched everywhere but in the end, we had to admit that the little child had successfully given us adults the slip.

It was late afternoon when I saw Aron and Claire to their patrol car.

"I'm so sorry about this," I said

Claire smiled. "Don't take it to heart. It's really not your fault."

I'd beg to differ.

"She snuck away yesterday too, so it's not really that surprising," offered Aron. That… didn't make me feel any better.

"...Sorry," I apologised again.

Aron looked distraught again and was about to say something when Claire cut him off.

"If she shows up again," she began.

"I'll call you," I immediately replied.

"Please do," she said, then went on, "But more importantly, try not to scare her off. I know you have good intentions, so I'd much rather know that she's safe here with you than lost somewhere out there. Ultimately, her safety is the highest priority."

"Yes, ma'am."

Claire laughed. "Oh dear, am I really acting that mature to deserve a 'ma'am'?"

"Uh…" Should I apologise? Again?

"I'm kidding," Claire said. "Now, Aron, did you and Melanie find out yesterday where Millie is from?"

"No," replied Aron. "We started a search, but it's not turned up anything so far."

Claire nodded. "Alright. I'll take care of that side of things then." She planted her hands on her hips and looked between Aron and me. "Well, that's me finished. Aron?"

"I still have a few things…" murmured Aron.

"Alright, well I'm off then. It was nice to meet you, Lachlan," said Claire.

"Likewise."

And with that, Claire got into the patrol car and drove off down the twisting mountain road. A thought occurred to me as she disappeared. How was Aron going to get back?

"Aron…" I began.

"Can I look at your security footage?"

--

"She's pretty skillful," said Aron. He was sitting at the computer scrubbing through the footage. I was next to him. We were, naturally, in the main office area of the station. There wasn't space for a room dedicated to just security.

"Or lucky," I countered.

"Incredibly lucky," agreed Aron. "It's like she knows where all the cameras are." The footage, while showing me and Kai walking around, didn't turn up a single frame of the white head girl on her escape today.

I think about Aron's comment and the fact that Kai had given Millie a tour of the station just that morning. Could he have… Yes, he would definitely point out all the cameras to her, that's just the kind of person he was. Studious to a fault.

I sighed. I wasn't going to volunteer that information.

"Your coverage is pretty good though," said Aron. I wasn't sure if he was just trying to comfort me, but his tone seemed genuine. "Who's in charge of security here?"

"I am."

"Oh? I thought you just did administration, things like that?" He'd turned to look at me.

"The place isn't all that important, so it doesn't get a lot of funding. Everyone here has to wear a lot of hats," I explained, trying to sound more professional. For what reason, I have no idea.

"Everyone being…?" asked Aron.

"...Mostly just me," I admitted. Okay, it was just me.

"You do a good job." That had to be flattery.

Fortunately, Aron turned back to the computer monitor so I didn't have to school my expression.

"Just seems a pity…" he murmured. "Hold on."

"Mm?" What was a pity?

But Aron seemed to have moved on from that. He pointed at the screen and paused the footage. I leaned over to see what he had found in the mess of fuzzy pixels.

What?

On the screen were the indisputable shapes of two figures walking along the outside of the building.

"Who are they?" asked Aron.

"I have no idea…"

"They're armed," Aron said quietly.

"What? Like, with guns?" I took the mouse from Aron and checked the properties of the video file. It was timestamped for last night, long after Millie and I had already gone to bed.

"I'm sure I locked up everything last night…" I mumbled.

"You did," said Aron. He took the mouse back from me and continued playing the footage. "Look."

The two figures walked up to the backdoor of the station then lingered there for a while.

"They couldn't get in," said Aron.

A chill went down my spine. I hadn't heard anything, seen anything, and, thankfully, nothing had happened, but at the very moment, they'd just been a few metres away on the other side of a single wall.

"I need to tell my supervisor," I said.

"Do that," agree Aron. "I'll look through the rest of these to see what I can find then report it."

I reported to my supervisor, Aron collected for information and made his report, then, together, we continued the comb over the footage, trying to glean their motive and method. Or rather Aron did. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that people had come up here at night willingly.

We hit the end of one of the video files and Aron sat back.

"Actually, I've been wanting to ask you…" he began.

"Oh. You're still here."

Both me and Aron turn to find Kai standing behind us. He has a clipboard and tablet in hand, looking like he'd just come from checking some data upstairs.

"I'm still here," replied Aron with a broad smile though there was something not quite so jovial about it, something… threatening?

"Did your colleague abandon you?"

Whoa, Kai. What's all this?

"No," replied Aron. "I'm here doing my job. What are you doing here?"

I look at Kai then back at Aron again. What was with this sudden tension?

"I'm making lunch," said Kai. "Are you staying?"

Shoot! Lunch was supposed to be my job today. I made to get up. "Sorry, I forgot, I'll…" I started.

"I'll help out," interjected Aron.

Oh, please no. Whatever this is, I don't need any more of it.

"It's my turn today," I quickly said, jumping up. I made a beeline for the kitchen, hoping that neither of the two followed me then stopped in my tracks as I looked through the entrance.

Inside the kitchen, sitting high up on the counter was a certain little, white head girl, arm around an open biscuit tin and mouth busy munching away.

"... You'll ruin your appetite like that."

--

"Got anything I can add? Anything spicy?" asked Aron.

"Here." I handed him the chili sauce I usually lather over my meals.

"Thanks."

The four of us were sitting around the dining table. If this kept on, I'd have to put finding an additional table to eat on at the top of my maintenance to-do list. Aron and Kai were sitting opposite each other while Millie and I sat in the last two spaces. That weird atmosphere between Aron and Kai had thankfully disappeared once Millie had shown her little face.

Speaking of the little face, Millie poked Aron's arm.

"Why are you here?" she asked, suspicion written clearly on her face.

"To visit a friend and eat lunch," he replied easily.

"You don't need to worry about Aron," I said. "He's not going to grab you." I think.

"I know," said Millie. "It's the other woman I need to watch out for."

"Other woman?" I asked. "You mean Claire, or…?"

Millie nods at her name. "I have qualms about her."

Qualms? Really? Does this kid read dictionaries in her spare time?

"What kinds of qualms?" I asked.

"She… Mm… I just have my doubts," Millie concluded. What did that mean? Was it some kind of alien sixth-sense?

I glanced at Aron, expecting him to say something, but he did not so instead we ate on in silence.

"Paili Kai," said Aron, breaking that silence. "I noticed on the security footage you leading Millie around. What was that all about?"

"It's just what it looks like," replied Kai. "I was giving a tour."

"Why?"

Kai looked to me."

"Uh, because…" I started, trying to think of what I was going to say.

"I wanted to look around," Millie said suddenly with her mouth full. She swallowed. "It's important to know how everything works before I use it."

Aron turned his attention to the little girl. "Oh? What are you going to use?"

"The radar, of course. I need to send a message back home."

Here we go again… I hope Aron doesn't get too weirded out. I glanced at him, but he seemed normal so far and even took a dumpling and put it in Millie's bowl.

"Why do you have to use the radar? If you tell me where they are, I can help you call them," he said.

Millie rolled her eyes.

"They're in outer space," she said. "You can't just call them."

"Oh? Are your parents astronauts?" asked Aron. He didn't even miss a beat.

"No, they're aliens."

"Oh."

"And I'm an alien too," Millie added.

"I see," Aron said. He looked at me. "She says she's an alien," he said in a rather matter of fact tone.

"She told us that earlier too," I said. It was the only thing I could think to say.

Aron turned back to our alien friend. "What planet do you come from?"

"I…" For the first time, since she'd become a chatterbox, Millie seemed truly lost for words.

"Ah, if you're worried about privacy, just the general direction or star system is enough," amended Aron.

Millie looked down and clasped her hands in her lap.

"...I don't know the name," she said in a small voice. "I mean, I don't know the name you call it here," she quickly added. "I only know what we call it…"

That change in direction… did she really believe what she was saying or was this some big roleplay?

"Oh, that makes sense," said Aron. "Could you tell it to us? Maybe it'll sound similar."

"It's…" The little girl opened her mouth but no sound came. She looked confused and put a hand over her mouth. "I can't say it."

Her eyes darted around the room, and she seemed to shrink in her chair. She was terrified. This didn't look like she was pretending.