Since her own apartment wasn’t far, she decided to walk instead of taking a shuttle. Soon, her head felt clearer and her shoulders less sore. Today was good, she decided; a lot of work, a little unexpected, but just the right amount of both of those. When she turned onto her home street, she was not surprised to see her neighbors out and about visiting and enjoying their night sky. The apartments here were side by side. Glowing magnets decorated the front of buildings and the streets in alien symbols and jokes that no matter how much they tried to explain to her, she just couldn’t quite get. The Arkinee were nocturnal by nature, which was why Elaine had been assigned her more human-size apartment right on the edge of the sector. No one was going to actually pay for it, not with such noisy neighbors on the other side of the wall. Government officials decided that if no one was going to take the too-close human apartment, they might as well make an employee live there.

Due to their biochemistry, the Arkinee were vulnerable to oxygen, carbon dioxide, and high moisture. So, when they were away from their home planets, as they were now, they zoomed around places in egg-shaped pods, tightly sealed to keep them safe. She repaired several every year and did regular chinjk maintenance to keep them properly powered. Each pod made an odd whining sound when it was powered on, similar to that of a crying child. Once she had gotten used to the peculiar noises though, Elaine found she didn’t mind them. In fact, she’d found that, instead of irritating, her neighbors where some of the kindest, most empathetic people she’d ever met.

One of them, named Zultra, zoomed up to her now, hovering her pod what was considered a polite distance away until Elaine stopped, accepting the greeting.

“Good evening, Zultra.”

“Good morning, Elaine,” the alien replied. She was small, only about five and a half inches tall, with a willowy body, and, like the rest of her species, waking now for their own, much daker version of ‘daytime’. Her voice emitted clearly and loudly from the external speakers on her pod. “Also, I want to be called ‘Ultra Zultra’ now. Do you approve it? I have been thinking of the word, and I like it very much.”

“I like it.” Elaine said, which was really the only appropriate answer, so it was a good thing she really did like it. The Arkinee had weird naming conventions that Elaine had trouble grasping, but it had something to do with everyone else in the community agreeing to it or something. Elaine was both nervous and honored by Zultra—Ultra Zultra—wanting to include her in the decision. The tiny alien pulsed a neon glow briefly, a neon yellow glow in happiness, Ultra Zultra shook it away and asked Elaine how her day had gone.

“Did an entire overhaul on a system,” Elaine replied. “It was fun.”

“I’m glad you had fun! I got a message from my uncle today. You will never guess what he did.”

“What did he do?”

“Discover a planet.”

That sure made Mr. Josefp’s system fiasco seem rather wimpy by comparison. “Really?”

“Really! They don’t know if there’s life on it yet, but they’re going to find out.”

“That’s… really cool.”

Ultra Zultra nodded happily. “Are you tired?”

 “Uh?” Elaine shook her head, trying to rewire the sudden change in conversation that her friends were so prone to. “A little.”

“I won’t keep you long then. I just wanted you to hear my new name! I was a bit worried you were so late. I’m glad it was for a good reason and a fun thing. If you can’t sleep and get lonely, you can visit. But I do hope you sleep well.”

“Thank you, Ultra Zultra.”

The alien grinned happily. “Oh, it does sound like a good name, doesn’t it? I love it so much. Goodnight, Elaine!” She zoomed away; the squeal of her pod was loud until she slowed upon finding someone else to talk to and it fell to a lower whining squeak.

Elaine smiled, shaking her head to herself. They were a bit on the nosy neighbor side, but they were just so honest about it! She walked to her own apartment and swiped her wrist across the door lock. The door opened and the dim lights flickered on. Similar to Mr. Josefp’s apartment, the kitchen and living room were side by side, small, with a few fake windows to give it the sense of space, even though there was none. Her bedroom and bathroom were in the back, and really, that was all there was to it. She’d found ways to make some personal touches though, starting with the glowing chinjk light covering the room in delicate circuitry shapes. She’d pulled the exacta-foam off when she’d first moved in. It was prettier this way. It pulsed pleasantly in a rainbow glow around the room, connecting to the consoles on the desk, kitchen counter, television arrangement, and running like a streamlet of gems down the short hall to the bedroom and bath. The design was unique to the apartment and the individual agents who had worked on it when the apartment had been built. Elaine set her work box and cookies on the kitchen counter. The countertop read the cookies and added them to her pantry list, though she didn’t see much of a point. She’d probably eat the rest tonight anyways.

After a warm shower, and the rest of the cookies, Elaine lay down in her bed and brought up a movie to watch. It was a Kreet romantic comedy, so some of the smut was a little weird, but the plot and characters were fun enough. After four episodes she began to feel both relaxed and tried enough to sleep. The hum of her apartment and the night-life noises outside began to have a white noise she could synch her thoughts too.

Then suddenly, it all just stopped.

Silence.

The holographic screen went off, and even the glow of her chinjk faded into blackness. She sat up with a start, disoriented and dizzy. It was so dark she couldn’t tell for certain which direction she was facing, or what was up, down, or sideways. “What the…?” She tapped her wrist for light, but her Sp-ACE wasn’t working either. No coms, no light, no anything. She stumbled to her feet, tripping over the pile of laundry she still hadn’t washed. She felt her way to the front door, but it wouldn’t open. “Come on, open…” Nothing was responding.

Elaine turned slowly, watching as colored windows pulsed gently to life among the sputtering glow-art. The streetlights came back on one by one and that’s when she saw all the crashed pods. “Zultra?” She ran toward them. The Arkinee changed the color of their pods as often as they changed their names, so she wasn’t sure whose was whose; she just started calling names. “Arisa? Avirii Friend? Dark Danikim?” She turned over a toppled pod. The tiny body, bloated and discolored, rolled lifelessly inside the glass shell. Elaine choked and stumbled back, putting a hand to her mouth. Shaking, she turned over the next one. They were all dead.Elaine turned slowly, watching as colored windows pulsed gently to life among the sputtering glow-art. The streetlights came back on one by one and that’s when she saw all the crashed pods. “Zultra?” She ran toward them. The Arkinee changed the color of their pods as often as they changed their names, so she wasn’t sure whose was whose; she just started calling names. “Arisa? Avirii Friend? Dark Danikim?” She turned over a toppled pod. The tiny body, bloated and discolored, rolled lifelessly inside the glass shell. Elaine choked and stumbled back, putting a hand to her mouth. Shaking, she turned over the next one. They were all dead.