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Makiko Katoya.
Not the most clever or original of fake names, but who was scoring her? Besides, she wasn’t particularly trying to hide who she was, or from anyone. She just wanted another fresh start. It was comforting to her, freeing, knowing that Kiko Katoyama was still a missing person, that the person she was before that may as well be dead, and that she could always change again.
Not that she had ever wanted to stop being Kiko Katoyama, but when she’d lost her chance to sneak back on board the Grand Star… Well, when it came to being on Earth, she’d rather be someone else.
And things were alright, on Earth. She had casual friendships with some of her coworkers, and enough money to live in a nice place. The days that passed by weren’t bad, and typically not even too boring.
Still, still. Still she looked up at the stars. Still she tried college classes on physics, and engineering, only to every time be disappointed that nothing they tried to teach her was even half as complex as the so-called "basics" she had started picking up on Keron.
Unfortunately, in the end, she had never really been more than a glorified concept artist for the Keron Army, so the bits and pieces of alien science she had almost begun to understand could never be enough to get her back into space.
She didn’t care much what happened to Earth one way or the other, but she often found herself hoping the invasion would be at least partially successful, so maybe she’d have some slim chance of going back, or seeing Nobibi again. Even a personal spaceship left open by the owner for just one minute would be enough, but no amount of following shooting stars into the woods had brought her luck.
There were UFO contact methods, but they all seemed like kids’ games. There were sightings, but in the end they were always just a plane or flying animal.
She remembered, during her stay on Keron, catching shows on TV that she recognized from Earth. She never stuck around to watch them - what was the point, when she had millions of alien channels to choose from? - but she was glad she knew they were making it out there, because that was her most solid lifeline - the hope that if she fit enough references into her designs, maybe someday Nobibi would see it, and realize what had happened, and come get her.
She just wanted to go back. She missed alien TV, and Keronian food, and watching kids play games she truly didn’t understand. It was worth it to hunch her knees and neck in cramped buildings made for people much smaller than her just to have something new.
Wake up, see the same people, have the same conversations, do the same work, watch the same shows before bed -
Of course, she’d started a half-decent DVD collection of shows and movies only a few people other than her had ever heard of - it was worth the cost, and she was working on overcoming the language barriers. Whenever she had time off work, she traveled - though hotels and tour guides weren’t quite what she was looking for, at least they broke up her routine.
She knew what was out of her control, but she knew what was under her control, too. If you’re not satisfied with your life, grab it and wrench it into a shape that makes you happier - that was the kind of person she was, Kiko or Makiko.
Still, she felt like it wouldn’t be long before she resorted to tightrope walking over Niagara Falls just to feel sane. Still, still…
On her way home from work, Makiko Katoya saw a light flash in the evening sky.
Attempt number 2417, or something like that, and not once had she found even a trace of alien activity, but she would never give up. She couldn’t possibly. There was always a chance that this would be the one to bring her back, and she didn’t dare miss that chance.
Someday her ship would come.