The Meeting: Never Too Late

    "So," said Drachir. "The media are calling the thing that's supposed to hit the Earth tonight a 'giant dust bunny.'"
    Rex winced.
    "Dust bunnies in space!" Jerry intoned theatrically.
    "It's a lot less dense than anything you'd find under Jerry's bed," said Rex. Or on it, added Rex mentally.
    "Or on it," said Benny out loud.
    "Basically," Rex continued, "some of the zodiacal dust has risen above and below the disk, possibly propelled by electrostatic forces, and it's headed our way. I predict it will consist of the special kind of dust." He waved the little sample of museum dust.
    "They say if you're someplace really dark you might be able to see a faint glow in the sky," said Drachir.
    "If it's a natural phenomenon, that's probably all we'll see," said Rex. "However, if it's not, if it's Them, well, it's pretty big. It'd be the biggest thing we've ever seen Them do."
    "By far," said Drachir.
    "The Aerospace Force will have stratosphere drones collecting samples," said Rex. "But I think it'd be good to have a few of us positioned where we can observe. Just in case something happens. I was thinking of camping out in that big meadow on the south face of Mt. Shaovar."
    "Where the university observatory is?" said Drachir.
    "Yeah. Down the slope from there. The cloud is too diffuse to really see much with a telescope. If it's the sort of thing we've been...," anticipating/dreading/hoping for all these years, thought Rex, "considering might happen," he continued out loud, "it'll probably be an eyeball event."
    "Okay," said Drachir. "You and who else?"
    "I'd like Ronnie to be there with me," said Rex
    "Oo, how romantic," said Ronnie.
    "Ronnie? What do you need Ronnie for?" said Drachir.
    Rex paused, a little flustered by Ronnie's comment. He hadn't realized he was being that obvious. Then he decided he didn't like the tone of Drachir's question. Of them all, Ronnie had the least actual data to work with in her specialty. Ronnie was a xenologist, basically a sociologist/anthropologist specializing in Their society. Unfortunately, they had next to no information on how the They behaved among themselves. Even Harmony, a xenolinguist, had recorded samples of the Their writing to work with. Ronnie's work was almost entirely speculative.
    "Um, in case, if there's some kind of interaction, Ronnie could help me. Us," Rex stammered.
    "Okay, you, Ronnie, who else?" said Drachir.
    Rex hadn't been intending that anyone else be assigned to Mt. Shaovar. He'd been going to suggest that other members of Mal's team be posted at strategic locations elsewhere. Now, he didn't want it to look too much like he was trying to get alone with Ronnie. However, he didn't really want the others there, either. He hesitated.
    "We might want some Intelligence on hand, especially if there might be some kind of interaction," said Mal the Intel Op, grinning maliciously. He looked at Ronnie, and she returned his grin.
    "Okay, Rex, Ronnie, Mal, anyone else?" said Drachir.
    "How about Harmony, since she's not going to Washington? If there's going to be some kind of interaction, we might need somebody to translate," said Mal. He exchanged another smile with Harmony, his more tender this time, hers shy but pleased.
    "How about Justin?" said Ronnie, watching Rex.
    "Er...whu...Ju...," said Rex. Ronnie looked amused.
    "Sure," said Justin. "I didn't have anything planned for midnight."
    "It's never too late for Company work," said Drachir.
    "I know," said Justin resignedly.
    "What do we need Justin for?" said Rex, more to Ronnie than anyone else.
    "You said the circuitry was organic. He could be more use to you than I am," said Ronnie.
    "No he isn't!" said Rex. Ronnie, Mal, Jerry and Benny laughed out loud. Rex felt his face getting hot.
    "So, we've got Rex, Ronnie, Mal, Harm, and Justin on Mt. Shaovar at midnight, unless Rex has any objections," said Drachir. More laughter.
    "No. Fine," Rex gasped.
    "Jerry's group are going to Washington. Harmony's staying here to research those break-ins. Ronnie, you mind helping her with that?"
    "Not at all. It's actually the biggest clue to Their behavior I've gotten in a while," said Ronnie.
    "Thanks. Mal and Rex are at the university with me this morning. Rex is at Long Ley this afternoon. Mal, you mind going back out to the construction site this afternoon, see if you get any follow-ups on those rumors?" said Drachir, referring to Mal's "day job," working for the construction company that served as a cover for one of the Company's pet street gangs -- a cover for the cover's cover.
    "I suppose. I hope there aren't going to be any accidents today," said Mal.
    "Not in twenty years. We'll discuss insurance policies later," said Drachir. Mal perked up. "Justin..." Drachir began. He glanced back at the museum dust sample Rex still held. "That dust is older than two days, isn't it?" Drachir asked.
    "I said in the report a couple weeks ago...," Rex began.
    "Yeah, I remember now," said Drachir. Nearly all the samples of Their technology the Company had recovered to date had broken down into their component atoms after about two days. That was one reason the Company had never gone public with their findings. "Justin, want to see what you can find out about it? It might help with your observations tonight."
    "Sure," said Justin.
    "Okay, I think we've all got enough to keep us busy until tomorrow. Let's go," said Drachir.
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