Pond Party Week 2

"Alien soulmates," Percival spat out in derision, "Can you believe him?"

"Why would he lie?" Andrea asked, "I mean I don't believe it either, but why would he do it?"

"Cause," Percival said like it was obvious, "Now that Grandfather is gone he thinks he has to make things up for attention because he doesn't know how to function normally."

"Makes sense."

"Besides, being soulmates with another species? That's impossible, that'd be like being soulmates with your dog or a fish. It just doesn't happen."

Andrea nodded. It made sense. Why on earth would you have a soulmate who was so different than you? You would never be able to understand each other.

# # #

Andrea could barely comprehend how cold it was, it was like a shock of electricity that shorted out her whole brain. Her only thought was that she couldn't possibly survive this.

Sure she had four hours of air, but that was more a curse than a blessing at this point. She'd be breathing fine as she froze solid, what a relief.

Her rescue transponder was still going, but she wasn't supposed to be out there, no one was looking for her.

She curled inwards on herself, trying to preserve what little heat she could, as useless as it was.

Likely they'd never find her. Space was so vast. The *infinite* Ione had said the Valtalvi called it. And as Andrea hung there, suspended in the void, emptiness stretching out forever in every direction "infinite" felt much more appropriate.

She shut her eyes against the mockery of the starlight, visible but so, so distant. She didn't even want to see it.

And then she felt a tug on her arm.

She ignored it, it had to be some kind of hallucination. She wasn't close to anyone or anywhere.

But it came again, harder.

She opened her eyes again, if only to reassure her confused brain that there was nothing there.

She was just in time to see herself dissolving into red transporter light.

There was a moment where all was nothing, then she remateralized inside a starcraft and the warmth flooded over her numb limbs. She still stumbled and would've fallen if someone hadn't steadied her.

She looked up to find a large gray hand on her shoulder. And she could see the blue string wrapped around it.

Confused she raised her arm to check and of course. They were connected.

But-

Andrea looked up and found bright yellow eyes set in narrow face with delicate features peering down at her, framed by unruly hair and long pointed ears.

That wasn't a human.