The search results come up. The alliance is spearheaded by representatives from the New World government and the Xyma themselves. Formed soon after first contact, they’ve done a lot of work over the past two years as Earth shifted on the fact that we truly weren’t alone.

Sliding my phone back into my bag, I shift closer to the window as Jacqui leans my way, giving space to the other people boarding the bus. I catch a few faces. A stream of women. There’s one with a cane that comes in and sits in the accessibility bay. One with her hair hiding a birthmark that covers half her face. Another strawberry blonde who catches my eyes and grins. I smile back, some of the tension leaving my shoulders.

It’s just regular people. Like me. Like Jaqs.

“Hey, you seeing this?” Jacqui whispers, her hand tightening on mine as her head tilts toward the stream of people filling the bus. “It’s all women…”

“Yeah,” I murmur. Her observation makes my spine tingle with unease. “I mean, I knew they wanted women, but…”

“Yeah? Only women? Don’t you think that’s weird?”

I squeeze her hand, but can’t quite muster the reassurance I want to give. “The job post said something about biological differences in adaptation.”

“Right…Of course.” She shifts uncomfortably in her seat before adjusting her handbag with a defeated sigh. I place mine in my lap, clutching it a little too tightly. It’s not long till the bus is full, every seat taken.

Slight nervousness makes me look over my shoulder from where we’re seated and I catch the eyes of some of the passengers. Some of them are talking to each other, some are just looking out the windows. It seems like a varied bunch, but I guess that’s what you’d get sourcing people from the city. There’s nothing strange in that. Just a regular bunch of people looking for a quick paycheck like us.

None of them look overly worried or freaked out.

Ten grand if we get in. A grand a day after. If they keep us for the month, that’s like forty a pop. With me and Jaqs that’s like eighty. That’s a good salary for a year. We wouldn’t have to worry so much for a while.

Forcing the anxiety down, I settle into my seat, my gaze shifting to the rearview mirror so I can watch the driver.

When his gaze suddenly flicks up like some hawk, I get that strange feeling again before I look away. Beautiful people are intimidating, but I never thought of myself as someone who was ever so easily frayed. I learned the hard way that life won’t hesitate to pull you down if you let your nerves get in the way. It’s why I’m taking this job. Why I have to try. But this dude…it’s like his eyes are looking under my skin.

This close, I can see the shadow of silver-blue hair cropped close to his skull. So he is Xyma. How did he get his face to look so human? Probably another tech thing or maybe some other research they’ve been conducting. It’s…creepy.

Gaze shifting to Jacqui, I elbow her in the side when I find her blatantly eating up the man candy, only her shades giving her any semblance of discretion.

“Stop!” I hiss.

She grins, running her tongue over her lips for effect. “What? He’s hot.”

“He’s also obviously not human.”

She grins wider, all her apparent worry from before seeming to disappear in the presence of alien dick. “I’ve seen some stuff on the internet…”

“God, you’re gross.”

“Says the girl who hasn’t had a boyfriend in four years.”

I elbow her again, a laugh choking in my throat. “Low blow.”

Jacqui shrugs.

As the bus doors swoosh closed, my chest rises and falls in a sigh.

“WELCOME TO THE EARTH-XYMA ALLIANCE ENVIRONMENTAL ADAPTATION RESEARCH PROGRAM.” The automated voice makes me jump. Jacqui lets out a surprised chuckle, head tilting as she looks around. Gaze shifting to the roof, I can’t even see the speaker where the voice should be coming from. “PLEASE TAKE YOUR TRANSLATION DEVICE AND THE PROVIDED LITERATURE. YOUR CONSENT IS REQUIRED FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS PROGRAM.”

My gaze flies to Jacqui’s. So…we’re in? We got into the program already? That’s…fast and not how I’m used to things being done at all.

Sister telepathy buzzing, Jacqui shrugs. “Which translation device?” She whispers.

My eyes are wide as I shrug in an ‘I don’t know what the hell they mean either,’ sort of way. “Maybe we’ll be dealing with Xyma researchers who don’t speak any Earth languages?”

Jacqui’s brows lift higher. “Doubt it. They learned Mandarin and English even before they revealed themselves to us.”

I tilt my head. She does have a point.

I glance around the seats and then in front of me, but I can’t see anything that looks like a translation device or the supposed literature. This isn’t like being on a plane and the seat before you has the safety information card in the pocket.

My mouth damn near falls open when a slot opens at my side, directly in the wall of the bus. Out slips two colorful flyers and a tray with two small circular discs.

“The fuck?” Jacqui breathes. It’s like her murmur echoes through the bus, other people expressing the same wonder. “Those can’t be the translators, can they? They look like earphones.”

Reaching for the two little white things, I pass one to Jaqs as I turn the other over in my fingers.

“How do you turn it on?” Jaqs whispers before she puts it into her ear. I follow her lead and do the same, glancing over my shoulder to see some of the other women following suit, while others seem more hesitant.

“Maybe they’ll tell us how it works when we get there,” I mutter.

Grabbing the two flyers, my gaze shifts to the driver, who still has his gaze on me. Is there something on my face? I find myself self-consciously wiping my hand across my jaw as I give Jacqui her flyer, too.

Finally, he looks away, our bodies jostling as the bus pulls out and continues down the city street. Air conditioning suddenly kicks in and I almost release a groan.

Jacqui huffs a laugh through her nose and shifts her body so she’s comfortable. “God, that feels good. I take it back, Jus. They don’t even have to pay us. Just let us sit on this bus. Fuck the heat.”

Someone chuckles behind us and I look over my shoulder to see a woman with long braided hair nodding in agreement. “She’s right,” the woman says, “it’s like hell out there. At least we’ll travel in comfort.”

A little shiver of excitement goes through me. “You have any idea what we’re in for?”

The woman shakes her head before shrugging. “Can’t say I trust these Xyma, but at this point, everyone and their third cousin twice removed is looking for work. Been at it for months myself.” She lets out a dry laugh. “This pays well and honestly sounds interesting. I mean, getting to work with Xyma tech has to be better than filing for unemployment again.”

I smile at her and nod. It’s a relief to know we’re not the only ones here for the money. I’m about to turn back around when some sort of commotion occurs farther down in the bus. A young woman is speaking rapidly in what sounds like German to someone on her phone, and the woman beside her with strawberry blonde hair is all but beaming, even slightly jumping in her seat.

“I can understand her!” The giddy woman proclaims, and my gaze shifts to Jacqui. My first thought is to roll my eyes. What’s the big deal? But then it hits me. I punch Jacqui in the arm and she winces.

“What the fuck, Jus⁠—”

“Talk to me.”

“I am talking to you.”

I shake her shoulder. “No, I mean in Japanese. You took classes. You must remember something.”

Jacqui rolls her eyes. “It wasn’t ‘classes’. It was my minor.”

“Jaaaqs…”

“Fine! Hello.”

“No, I mean, talk to me in Japanese!”

“I am talking to you in Japanese! Right now, everything I’m saying.”

“What?”

“Are you okay?”—I take the earbud out as she’s speaking—“Kikoeru?”