16

"What do you know of the Watchers?"

"What watchers?"

"Intergalactic."

She stared at him. "Intergalactic?"

"Yes, people who make sure criminals don't leave other planets and get away with it."

"Hold on, excuse me. I'm kinda stuck on this whole thing. Intergalactic? You mean like, space aliens?"

"Correct."

"Are you still high?"

"No." He realized this wasn't going to be as simple as he thought. He reached into his bag and pulled out his map. "This is where I am from," he said, scrolling the screen around. Just for show, as he had his home planet saved. "The planet is Klammet." He zoomed out till the screen showed the entire galaxy. "This is the spiral galaxy."

Her mouth was open. "OK, I'm not saying I believe you, but that is fancy. If you're an alien how come you look human?"

He decided not to tell her that he wasn't exactly human. "These Watchers took humans all over the galaxy a few thousand years ago. Spread them out all over." At least, that's what he had been told. "There have been only two species to develop true sentience, and when ours came along, the first took responsibility for them. I think the forced immigration was halted over two thousand years ago or so, but they still feel a need to interfere at times."

"So, all that stuff you told me - you really are a diplomat, but to the stars?"

He laughed. "No, no, just local. Our world is quite rural, although a few highly placed people do know of these Watchers."

"And when you ran off, they called them in?"

"Precisely."

She chewed on her lip. "This doesn't make sense. I mean, if all that's true, if we had a common ancestor thousands of years ago - why can you speak my language?"

He removed his translator and showed it to her. "I can't. See? I need this." He replaced it. "It translates things."

"Wait, it translates your speech as you speak it? And my speech as you hear it?"

"Do you want to try it?"

"Ummm, let me clean it first." She walked off and came back with a small brown bottle and some loose gauze. Deeter handed it over and she cleaned it. It was still a bit orange, but now it gleamed.

"Just a reminder, I'm speaking now in my native language," he said before she inserted it. "Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now?"

"Wow, that really works. I can't believe it. Didn't you say you were from a low-tech society?"

He cracked a smile. "I've noticed that most higher-technological societies don't believe magic exists."

She groaned. "Oh great, space aliens, space cops, and now magic too? What the hell?"

"I suppose it's a great deal of new information to cope with. I think I should wait before telling you the rest."

"There's more?"

He nodded and put his arm around her. "I'll wait till you feel ready."

"I think I feel hungry." She squeezed his hand then moved it off her. "We've burned a lot of calories since lunch. I'll order in."