“What for?” The tall scientist-soldier stood gaping at the ship. “Who you gonna call, alien-busters? Looks like we’ve been outflanked.”

“We can’t just let him go,” she argued desperately.

“Can’t we? Tell you what,” Robinett told her, “you run over there and try wrestling him away from good ol’ Ross Ed. But let me get off this pier before the aliens see what you’re up to.”

“What makes you think they’re watching us?” Her usual conviction was lacking.

“You think this ship’s here to take on a load of kelp?”

Before she could reply, Ross Ed had lifted the alien body off the railing and thrust it skyward, holding it high over his head.

“Here he is!” he yelled. “I’ve been looking after him for a while, but now I guess it’s time to take him home for a proper burial!” Or whatever it was Jed’s kind did with their dead, he reflected.

A shaft of palest blue light emerged from the leading edge of the vessel, bathing in its luminescence the dead alien, Ross Ed Hager, and Caroline Kramer. All three, together with the section of the pier on which they were standing and the upper three feet of water in which it was resting, promptly vanished. A soft whistle accompanied their departure, followed by an ear-tickling pop as air rushed in to occupy the volume thus displaced.

Suttles found himself staring at a gap in the pier some ten feet long. The cupola at the end had become an island. As he leaned out over the freshly cut edge, he got drenched when the occupants of the ship dumped the seawater they’d inadvertently sucked up back where it belonged. The mass of planks and pilings extracted from the pier followed, just missing him.

“Well, that’s that.” Robinett aided his friend and fellow officer in his attempts to dry himself off. “I think we can stop wondering about whether technologically advanced life exists elsewhere in the universe.”

“Advanced, hell,” Aroused Suttles as he tried to wring out his sopping sleeves. “They could’ve missed me.”

“What do you mean, ‘that’s that’?” Kerry had advanced to the edge of the gap. “Use your phone, man! Call the air force.”

“And tell ’em what?” Hands in pockets, Robinett sauntered forward to join her. “That there’s a spaceship the size of the Pentagon sitting on the end of the Malibu pier? Even if they believed me, what would you expect them to do? Try to force it down? Somehow I don’t think that would be a good idea.” He nodded toward the ship.

“Whoever’s in there has already shown that they can manipulate matter and gravity. All the air force can manipulate are small things that go boom. If whoever’s up there isn’t interested in saying hello, let’s at least try not to tick them off. We’ve already lost the chance to return the corpse to them. Let’s not lose something else as well. Like maybe Los Angeles.”

“You’re assuming they’re hostile.”

“I’m not assuming anything. I just don’t happen to think that throwing F-22s at them is a good way of signaling our honorable intentions.”

Momentarily displaced by nonmeterological forces, the fog was beginning to retum, closing in around the vast bulge of the alien vessel. The isolated lights dispersed as the entire gigantic specter seemed to melt into the mist. Then it was gone.

Robinett heaved a sigh. “I guess we might as well go, too.”

“No, let’s hang around awhile yet.” Suttles was leaning cautiously over the gap in the pier, eyeing the cleanly sheared-off planks and pilings that were floating in the water below. ‘key didn’t need the piece of pier they grabbed so they dumped it back. Maybe they’ll decide they don’t need the Texan or the blonde either and they’ll toss them back.”

Kerry nodded approvingly. “I’d rather have the corpse, bul at this point I’ll settle for a char with our perambulating roughneck.”

Suttles eyed Robinett. “There’s a use for your phone. Get a hold of the Coast Guard. Tell ’em we need a couple of ships out here to look for, um, a man and a woman who may have fallen overboard. Just in case they get disposed of farther out at sea.”

“Good idea.” The other captain removed the unit from his belt and began dialing.

“For a first contact.” Kerry remarked somberly, “that wasn’t handled too well.”

“Don’t blame yourself.” Turning away from the hole in the pier, Suttles put an arm around her shoulders. She allowed it to remain. Together they gazed out into the fog, which on this night concealed far more than wandering albatrosses and migrating whales. “It’s not like we were allowed any input. I can handle arguments and disagreements, but it’s tough when you’re just ignored.”

NINETEEN

There were half a dozen aliens waiting in a domed chamber no larger than a decent-sized apartment. Somehow Ross Ed had expected something grander. While the floor was a milky, opaque white, the curving walls and ceiling were composed of some vitreous green substance that allowed one to see into it for some distance. The complete absence of any right angles was disconcerting and gave their new surroundings a vaguely organic feel. Ross Ed felt as if they’d been transported to the interior of a giant lime-flavored Gummi Bear.

Squiggles and arcs of solid color seemed to swim within the walls. Some pulsed with life and light while others stayed dark. A few exhibited malleable borders which shrank or expanded as he watched.

None of the assembled aliens, who were eyeing the recent arrivals intently, resembled Jed in the least. Not were they as massive and overbearing as the crew of the cube-ship who had treated the Arizona assemblage of saucer adherents so indelicately.

Barrellike bodies were supported by four surprisingly gracile yet strong legs, the front pair of which were longer than the rear. No arms, hands, tentacles, or other recognizable manipulative digits were visible. Set atop a long, flexible neck, the flattened skull boasted two stalked eyes set well out to the sides, like the sideview mirrors on a sports car. A flap of pinkish, flexible skin formed a forward-facing crest that ran from the base of one stalk to the other. Several of these crests were streaked with gray, others with black. Ross Ed imagined a single, oversized ear. With necks held erect, they were roughly Caroline’s height. Ross estimated the heaviest of them at about three hundred pounds. Their clothing was cream-colored, with a line of black spots running down the front across the chest. Feet or hooves were hidden within short, black leatherette-look booties.

Even more remarkable than the head was the single ropelike, flexible tail. Slightly longer than the entire body, it split at the tip into half a dozen flexible, super-strong hairs. As two of the creatures left the group to adjust several of the devices drifting through the walls, the visiting humans were able to observe how fluidly the arrangement worked. The rail-hairs had great range and delicacy of touch, while with their two-foot-long necks the aliens were able to look straight back along their spines to supervise the work.

Nothing he saw shouted “Gun!” at Ross Ed, but that was no guarantee weapons weren’t present. Initially prepared to hand Jed over to the first alien they saw, he now kept the diminutive holy close. Whoever these beings were, none could be accounted the tripedal corpse’s first cousin.

The second largest of the four who continued to confront them stepped forward. As it addressed them, mouth movements revealed double rows of grinding teeth set within the long, flattened jaws. Though far more complex and melodious, the speech unaccountably reminded Ross of a frustrated bulldog’s barking.

When the speech finally concluded, he looked at Caroline and together the two of them spread their hands wide and shook their heads. They had no way of knowing if the gestures were understood, but two of the creatures promptly came forward and made fumbling motions with their tail hands in the direction of his backpack.

“Hold on there.” Ross Ed put up both hands and stepped back.

The one who had delivered the barking greeting yipped something else and the two fumblers obediently abandoned their efforts. As the apparent leader, or officer in charge, or teacher, or whatever it was advanced, Ross Ed was put in mind of a heavyset deer. Eyes moving independently like a chameleon’s, it studied the taller biped. Then it chirped at the two underlings, who promptly galloped off down a distant corridor.

There followed several long, awkward moments which alien and human spent inspecting each other. Ross Ed allowed the creature to walk completely around him so long as it made no move toward Jed. When it was finished with him it repeated the inspection with Caroline. Occasionally it would reach out with the unique tail-hand to caress this or that pan of their bodies. The touch was featherlight.

When it was satisfied, it stepped back. Caroline leaned over to whisper to Ross. “What do you make of all this?”

“I dunno, except that they sure want to get their tails on Jed. But they’re not willing to force the issue. At least, not yet.”

“We can’t do anything to stop them. Even if there was a door in the floor, I have a feeling it’s a long drop to the ocean.”

“I ain’t big on swimming anyways. What I’d really like to know is what their interest is in Jed. Obviously, these ain’t his people.” He glanced over his shoulder at the figure riding high on his back. “Shame he can’t tell us.”

Clip-clopping softly on the creamy white floor, the two aliens who had departed in haste returned with several devices loaded on their backs. Using his tail-hand to remove one, the alien in charge advanced on Ross Ed. More than a little short on choices, the Texan decided to hold his ground.

Turning his left flank toward the human, the quadruped held out the studded strap and shook it vigorously. It was clear Ross was supposed to take it and do something with it, but what? For the second time he spread his hands helplessly.

Grunting softly, the alien demonstrated by slipping the strap over its head and tightening it beneath its jaws. It then selected a second and offered it to Ross.

“Reckon we’re supposed to put these on.”

Caroline hesitated. “You think it’s safe?”

He shrugged. “You think we’ve got a choice? They’re not forcing them on us, and I expect that’s a good sign. I don’t see how we’ll gain any points by refusing.”

Reaching out, he took the strap and slipped it over his head. It was smooth under his jaw and didn’t cut or pinch. Binding pressure was gentle but firm. Caroline considered tying a bow in her own but decided it might comprise the device’s function.

Satisfied, the alien stepped back and regarded them thoughtfully. “Since you fortuitously utilize spoken communication, we have been able to calibrate these inductive translators for the dominant local language. Can you understand me?”

When Ross Ed replied, barks and yips seemed to issue from his mouth. While the process was confusing to him, the aliens were obviously well pleased.

“What do you want with us?”