Part One

         With a quiet thunk Brown let the small box drop onto his desk.
         “Now, this,” he said, waving his hands around the package like a magician preparing for his next trick, “is something really special.”  He flicked the lid open and dipped his hand inside, bringing out what looked like a compact rock, the edges of it shaved off and rough, the stone a deep blue color flecked with gold.
         “It’s a Kelper’s Stone,” Brown explained, shifting the box aside so that the rock sat by itself.  “On its own world it’s just a rock but when exposed to certain types of radiation on the ultraviolet scale, it causes the molecular structure to vibrate ever so slightly . . .”  Underneath his voice a subtle humming was beginning to fill the room, gently rising and falling in pitch.  Brown grinned widely.  “Causing it to sing.”  He lifted it up and balanced the rock in his palm.  The timbre of the song changed every so slightly, warping and warbling.  “I saw a performance once, the Concordance Orchestra arranged them in this grid and used focused radiation beams to control the sound.  It was pretty neat, actually.”  He frowned, murmuring, “Although they did turn down my request for ‘Rocks Off’ . . . I think they could have pulled it off.  But that’s just me.”  He put the rock back down on the desk, turning it around and around with both hands.  “Thing is, you don’t see many of these too often, so the fact that I’m willing to part with it should say something about how much I value our friendship . . .”  He slid it away from himself.  “Pal.”
         Tristian, sitting across from him and turned slightly to the side with only an elbow resting on the desk, just raised an eyebrow.  “I am not giving a singing rock to Lena for Christmas.”
         Brown sighed and ducked his head.  “Come on, Tristian, the damn thing won’t stop, it’s starting to drive me crazy.  The Sharn’l Council gave it to me after I organized their evacuation, so I had to take it.”  He picked it up again, holding it up to his face as if he was engaged in a staring contest with it.  “Look, it’s pretty and it sings, women love that kind of gift.  And you’re assured that nobody else will get it for her.”
         Tristian shook his head with a quiet laugh.  “Then you give it to her.”
         Brown’s eyes widened.  “Are you kidding?  Jina finds out I’m the reason their apartment now sports a singing alien mineral with no off switch and she’ll find some way to cross dimensions to kill me.”  He nudged the still melodious rock.  “Nah, I figured it was better for you, Lena’s more likely to forgive you.”
         Tristian glanced away.  “You think?”
         Brown leaned back, crossing his hands behind his head and grinning broadly.  “Ah, look at you getting all coy about this.  It’s almost adorable.”  He gave his friend a severe stare.  “Don’t go overthinking this, Tristian.”
         Tristian straightened in the chair, picked at the desk with one fingernail without meeting Brown’s gaze.  “What makes you think I am?”
         “I know you,” was the reply.  He stood up, hands at his back as he bent backwards in a stretch.  “In your dense little knot of a brain you are working every synapse overtime trying to think of the perfect gift for the lady.”  He pointed, narrowing his eyes.  “You are lying awake at night pouring over every possibility, then when you’ve exhausted those you think of new ones and when those don’t lead anywhere you start all over again in case you missed something.”  He let the arm drop, stepped back to lean against his back wall with his arms folded over his chest.  “Am I close?”
         “Not at all.”  Tristian glanced over at Brown before looking down at the desk again, his face unreadable.  “It’s only half the night, really.”
         Brown laughed, bowing his head.  “What are we going to do with you?”  He paced around behind his desk, swinging his arms freely.  “You must be at a loss if you’re here asking me for advice.  It’s not like I’ve had to buy presents for anyone in the last few years.”  There was a sobering glimmer in his eye behind the light tone.  “What did she hint at?  Girls always tend to drop little clues, they know how bad we are at this type of thing.”
         “That’s just it, she hasn’t.”  Tristian stood up, adjusting his coat almost self-consciously.  He walked around behind the chair, one hand clutching the back.  “I’ve been in and out lately, which may be part of it.  If she thinks I’m busy she may not want to give me anything else to worry about.”
         “Yet here you are, worrying about it,” Brown noted with a smile.  “Listen, don’t.  You know the kind of stuff she likes, right?  Just get something simple, don’t go nuts.  If you make her think you’ve been wasting all your energy on this instead of saving planets she’s going to feel bad.”  Brown leaned forward, putting both hands on the desk.  “A gift’s just an object, you know, what really matters is that she knows you care about her.  As long as you put some thought into it, and I know you will, she’ll be happy with whatever it is.”  After he finished he stared into space, chewing on his lip.
         Tristian watched him for a second.  “That was kind of profound,” he said slowly.
         “Oh God, I hope not.”  Brown blinked and snapped himself back upright.  Rubbing at his face, he added, “I’m too young to start getting wise.”  He let his arm drop, glancing up at the ceiling.  “But ‘tis the season and all that.  I must have been . . .” he trailed off, squinting a bit at a distant object that wasn’t there.  He clapped his hands together suddenly, the noise a tiny explosion.  “Right, so . . . what’s with you and Lena these days.  You two kids an item yet?”
         Tristian’s answering stare was stern enough to make Brown back off, hands up as if to ward off an attack.  “Okay, okay, I’ll withdraw the question.  Geez.”
         Tristian gave an aborted laugh.  “No, you can ask, it’s just . . . I don’t know to answer.  I mean, we’re fine, I think but . . .” he scratched at the back of his head.  “I just want to get her something nice, I guess.  Let her know I’m still thinking of her even when I’m not around.”
         Brown slid the rock forward without a word, one eyebrow raised.
         This time Tristian did laugh.  “I think you need to put that away.  You’re having too much fun with it.”
         “I’m just saying,” as he plucked the rock up and dropped it back into its box, “don’t underestimate the gift of song.  You could do worse.”
         “I’d prefer to see what my other options are, first.”
         Brown shrugged.  “Hey, suit yourself, Santa.  But if you ask me-“
         Before he could finish, his office door slid open and a blocky white ediface glided in.  A flattened eyestalk on the front of the surface pivoted to regard both of them in turn.
         Brown inclined his head formally toward the new arrival.  “General, sir.”
         “Tristian.  Commander,” the robot said, its voice sounding both processed and oddly human.  “I trust I’m not interrupting anything.”
         “Just catching up on current events,” Brown responded.  With a sly grin, he added, “Although for once Tristian’s got the more interesting news.”
         “Joe . . .” Tristian warned.
         “Oh?”  A note of curiousity crept into the General’s voice.  “I was going to ask what brought you here, Tristian.  There’s not a crisis going on that I don’t know about, is there?”
         “For once, no,” Brown answered, not giving Tristian the chance to speak.  The mischevious gleam was still in his eye.  “Although one could be coming up if Tristian doesn’t solve his dilemma.”
         The General rotated until he was facing Tristian completely.  “Really, now?  And would be the cause of that?”
         Brown came from behind his desk, walking up to Tristian and putting one arm around his shoulders.  “Our friend here is involved in the unenviable task of having to get a present for a dear friend of his.”
         “Ah.”  The General was quiet for a moment.  “Would this be the young lady he’s interested in?”
         “Exactly!” Brown almost shouted, leaning over hard enough that Tristian had to stumble and shift to keep his balance.  Meanwhile, Tristian was giving Brown a deadly how the hell does he know that look.  “I’m trying to tell him not to stress about it, but you know how he is.”  He pushed himself past Tristian while still clinging to the other man with both hands, forcing him to rock back uncomfortably.  “Between you and me,” Brown said in a stage whisper, “I think he’s going to drive himself crazy for no good reason.”
         “Mm.”  The General’s gaze toward the center of the room, as if pondering.  “This sounds like it could be serious.  It’s not uncommon for a host to be that way, however.  A good discussion tends to straighten them out.”  He began to glide back toward the door.  “Come with me, Tristian, we’ll take a walk and sort this.”
         Tristian looked from robot to man and back again.  “Um, honestly, I had to start getting back before-“
         ”You heard the fellow, Tristian,” Brown said, giving him a shove toward the door.  “The two of you should be able to figure it out together.”
         Tristian almost fell into the doorway, bracing himself up against the frame, turning around to mouth something at Brown that probably wasn’t pleasant.  Brown only stood back, leaning back on his heels, hands in his pockets.  He gave Tristian both a smile and a mock salute before the other man disappeared out the door with a flutter of his coat.
         The door was almost shut when the General’s voice prodded through.  “Oh, and Commander, have the engineers design a mount for the Kelper’s Stone so we can place it somewhere prominent.  Its singing is quite soothing and I think it would be beneficial to morale.”
         Brown’s face fell at the order.  “Sir, of course,” he said, muttering a curse under his breath.  He turned to stare at the box, as if daring the stone to come out.  “I’ll take care of it right away.”

*  *  *  *  *

         “Remember how last year we said we were going to start doing this earlier?” Lena said, trying to manuever a shopping bag past a rack of clothing with two chatty old ladies on either side.  It popped free of the crowd with enough surprising force to send her staggering back a step or two, nearly forcing her to crash into the short, dark-haired girl a few paces ahead.  “Whatever happened to that?”
         “This is earlier,” Jina replied, taking a blue striped shirt off a hanger and holding it up to her neck level.  “You think my mom would like this?”
         “Two days earlier,” Lena shot back.  “And your mom is going to think the stripes make her look fat.”  She sidestepped as a woman pushed past her chasing a small yelling child, then had to backstep even further when the husband came by, looking tired and pushing an empty stroller.
         Jina looked down at the shirt again and made a face.  “That is what she said last year, wasn’t it?”  With a sigh she put the article of clothing back where she had found it.  “Hey, we’re getting better.  Time just keeps getting in the way.”
         “Why can’t we just start this in October?” Lena muttered, dropping her bags and massaging her wrist.  “It’s not like your mother is going to have a new favorite color between then and now.”
         “It’s the thrill of the hunt,” Jina noted offhandedly, her gaze drifting away from Lena even as she spoke.  Above them holiday music formed an unwieldly cushion underneath their conversation.  A worker dressed as an elf and looking as if he were trying desperately to convince himself that this was a good career choice shuffled by, doing his best to avoid eye contact.  “Besides, don’t you . . .” in mid-sentence she practically dove across the path, snagging a turquoise blouse off another rack.  A few feet away another shopper gave her a dirty look and stalked off.
         “Aha, this . . . this is it,” Jina said happily, holding it out with the sleeves extended.
         Lena cocked her head to the side, regarding it carefully.  “Yeah,” she said approvingly, “that’ll work.  That’s in her size?”
         Jina glanced at the tag.  “Yup.”  Folding it up and draping it over her arm, she came back over to her friend.  “Besides,” she said, finishing her sentence from before, “this is one of our last chances to spend time together before you go back home.”  Deftly stepping around a pile of discarded clothing, she lifted the tag on a sweater.  “This is cute, did you already get something for your sister?”
         “Gotten and already wrapped,” Lena replied, rolling her eyes.  “And we do live together, you know.  Every day is pretty much quality time.”
         “Oh, living together isn’t the same as doing  things together.”  Jina peered closer at the sweater, feeling the fabric between two fingers.  “This is nice,” she muttered, “maybe I’ll get it for her.”  Coming to a decision, she added it to the shirt already on her arm and made her way back to Lena.  “We only have a few more days before you’re gone,” she said, clutching her friend’s arm.
         Lena laughed and gently removed the hand.  Jina made a face at her.  “For a week.  My family hasn’t seen me in months, I think it’s a pretty fair trade off.”
         “Fine,” Jina said, flipping her hair back in a mock-pout.  “If you must go . . .”
         “I must,” Lena said, smiling.  “Speaking of which, can we go?”
         Jina frowned and glanced around.  Across the way a shopper was unsuccessfully dodging someone who wanted them to try a perfume sample.  The spray lingered in the air like fingers trying to grasp at their back before losing all strength entirely.  “I guess we are.  For now.”
         “Good.”  Lena almost instantly had the bags in her hand and was heading toward the registers.  Even from here she could tell that the line was distressingly long.  Maybe it’ll go fast, she thought, without hope.
         “As long as you’ve got everyone,” Jina said, taking a bag from her friend.  “Your sister, your parents . . .”
         “Yes and yes,” Lena said over her shoulder.  A couple a few steps ahead was coming from another angle with about twice as many bags as Lena and Jina had.  Lena hurried her steps a little to get in front of them and hoped that Jina would get the hint.
         “. . . the biggest gift for me, of course . . .”
         Apparently not.  “Whatever you want to believe,” Lena called out, half-listening.
         “. . . Tristian . . .”
         Her shoes squeaked on the hard floor as she halted in mid-step.  Spinning on her heel, she hopped back a second before Jina managed to arrest her own motion to avoid both of them crashing into each other.
         “What?” was all Lena was able to get out.  Two men parted to go around either side of her, one of them shooting her a disgusted glare.
         Jina blinked, watching her friend closely, an expression that slowly dissolved into a quizzical look.  “Hey, something I said?”
         “No, no, it . . .” Lena visibly shook herself, then started to make her way toward the registers again.  The line of course had gotten even longer now.  “I thought you said something else, that’s all.”
         “No, you didn’t.”  Jina darted around Lena’s side so that she was to the left and a bit ahead of her.  “It was because I mentioned Tristian.”  She grinned and walked backwards for a few steps, stuffing her hands in her coat pockets.  “What did you get him?”
         “I . . .”  For a second Lena hoped that if she stalled long enough the question would just go away.  But the look in her frined’s eyes suggested that wasn’t going to be the case.  If she didn’t address this now it was going to be a long as hell car ride home.  “I really don’t . . .”
         “Come on, I’ve seen you wrapping stuff in your bedroom . . . what is it?”  They had reached the line now and thus were out of places for Lena to hide.  Jina stood real close, her head almost on Lena’s shoulder.  “You can tell me, I’m your best friend.  We don’t have secrets.  I promise I won’t tell him, honest.”
         “Jina, it’s not . . .”  Lena attempted to disengage, without much success.
         “Was it the pair of boots I showed you . . . I told you those were good for all kinds of terrain.  No matter where he winds up.”  She studied her friend’s face carefully.  Her expression became slightly devilish and she squeezed Lena’s arm.  “Or was it something else entirely.  I saw that catalog sitting around the apartment, were you-“
         ”No,” Lena almost shouted, causing a few people to turn around in line, confused.  “No, oh God, no, that came in your name.”
         “So?”  Jina clasped her hands behind her back demurely.  “Anyone could order from it.”
         Lena stared at her in disbelief for a few ticks on the clock, then laughed.  “I swear, sometimes you . . .” she put a bag down and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.  “I didn’t get him anything yet, I . . .”  She paused, seeming to be struggling for words.
         Jina leaned in a little closer, a flash of concern entering her face.  “What?”
         “I don’t even know where to start,” Lena finished with a nervous laugh.  “I really have no idea.”  The line shifted a bit forward and the two girls dutifully followed suit.  A customer at the register was arguing over a sale price, backing things up further, her voice suggesting that if she were strident enough she could make her assumption true by sheer force of will.
         “Oh.”  Jina took a second to process this.  “Really?” she added after a beat, narrowing her eyes a little.  “Come on, he’s like the easiest person to shop for.  A nice shirt, maybe, it’s always like he’s wearing the same three colors over and over again.  Or . . .” she tapped Lena on the elbow, “get him one of those books we saw him looking at that one day.  He’s always talking about how he’s running out of stuff to read.”
         Lena chewed on her bottom lip.  “Those are nice but they’re . . . easy.  Everyone knows he likes to read, I don’t want to get him something obvious . . .”
         “Oh, well,” Jina noted with a smile.  The angry customer from before suddenly stormed away, apparently not mollified.  She left her stuff behind, which an employee quickly made vanish behind the register, motioning for the next person to come forward quickly.  A visible sigh of relief rippled through the line.  “That’s certainly . . . interesting.”
         “I mean, anyone could do that, I wanted to put a little more thought into it,” Lena went on, oblivious to how Jina was smirking at her.  “He’s really nice to us all the time, hell, he puts up with you.  And not everyone knows about the . . . the other stuff he does, he trusts us not to think he’s some kind of lunatic.  So I think he just deserves . . .” she trailed off as her gaze gradually went over to meet Jina’s as if she could feel the force of it.  “What?  Why are you looking at me like that?”
         “No reason,” Jina replied, although the grin didn’t go away.  “It’s just a while since I’ve seen you like this.  It’s kind of nice.”
         “Oh, don’t go starting that,” Lena snapped back, although a twitch at the edge of her lips tempered the statement.  “I just want to be a little more creative, that’s all.  It’s worth spending a little thought on.”
         “And it doesn’t hurt that you kind of like him,” Jina teased.
         “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”  She swore that the line had gone back a few inches somehow, like people were cutting.  But, no, only three people ahead of them now.  If nobody had any expired coupons, they would be all set soon.
         “Lena . . .”  Jina tapped her foot.
         “What . . . all right, okay, fine.”  Lena hoped she wasn’t flushing right now, although she could always blame it on her frustration with the line.  “I do, a little bit.  Are you happy now?”  She glanced at Jina then looked away quickly, focusing on the person directly in front of her.  “And stop looking so satisified, you knew that already.”
         “Oh, I know, I just like hearing you admit it outloud.”  She bumped her friend lightly on the hip.  “So what were you thinking of getting him?  You had to have some idea at this point?”
         Lena sighed.  “I wish I did.”  Did the next person have a stack of coupons?  Oh, Lord.  “But what do you get for someone who’s been into space?”  She bit her tongue after blurting that out but nobody around her seemed to notice.  Like anyone really cares.  Except for me, I guess.  “And not just . . . there but other places.  What would impress him, I mean, anything here is going to just seem so . . . normal.”
         “Don’t worry about impressing him.  He’s not going to care about that . . . any time I ever get him a birthday present he always looks surprised that anyone even remembered.  He’s not too picky, trust me.”
         “I know, it’s just . . .” Lena didn’t let herself finish the sentence.
         “Don’t sweat it, all right?”  The line went a couple steps forward and Jina slid her bag ahead with one foot.  “You’re good at finding nice stuff, you’ll figure it out.  He’ll like whatever you get.  You know how he feels about you.”
         “That’s just it.”  Lena wrinkled her nose.  “I don’t want to be like that, just get him anything knowing that he’s going to like it because he’s got a thing for me.  That’s not right.  I want it to be . . .”
         “Special?” Jina ventured, her face serious now.
         “Yeah.”  Without making eye contact.  “Maybe.  I don’t know.  What would you get him?”
         “Me?”  Jina thought for a second.  “Well, I know this one time he mentioned-”
         Then the person two spots ahead of them in line started complaining about a coupon that they should honor even though it came from another store.
         The two girls stopped and stared at the back of that person’s head as she insisted on seeing the manager.
         “You’ll have to excuse me for a second,” Lena said, putting her bag down.  “I’m going to go kill someone.”
         Jina giggled.  “Please.  Don’t let me stop you.”