Harris felt his muscles tense and a tingle rose up his back from the base of his spine. "You're under quarantine. You better have a damn good reason for coming here."

As Peterson took a step forward, Harris could see he was hiding something behind his back.

"Oh, I do," Peterson said. "I have a very good reason."

CHAPTER 17 -- THE POD

Connelly winced as Robert's grip on her wrist tightened. The group of shimmering lights warbled closer, expanding in size with every passing moment. Neither of them had acted or said a word since the lights headed in their direction, but now, the pain from her wrist reminded Connelly of her own mortality and that while scientifically wonderful, whatever was coming their way, may also be hungry.

Her imagination ran rampant. The sphere, with its silver bottom and clear top, lit from the inside by a red light looked uncannily like a fishing bobber, dangling at the surface, waiting for something to swim along and bite. Only these creatures, whatever they were, were large enough to eat the sphere whole and yank the bulk of TES, and Willard, down the melted hole they had created.

Her wrist throbbed again. "Robert, we need to do something."

"Not yet."

"What? Why?"

Robert starred out at the pink lights, which now looked closer to a deep maroon. "I want to see them up close."

"We're in danger here."

"Nonsense."

Connelly took hold of Robert's arm and turned him so they were face to face. She noticed how his normally wrinkled forehead was abnormally loose and relaxed. "Now who's being foolish?"

"Kathy, these are alien creatures. They have never, in their lives, seen anything created by human hands. There is no reason to suspect they will view us as a food source. At best they may express some curiosity as to what we are, but they are likely to be more afraid of us than we are of them."

"My mother used to say that about bees," Connelly said.

"And?"

"I got stung."

"Well," Robert said, "I'm smarter than your mother."

Connelly couldn't help but smile. Robert looked over his shoulder, back towards the lights. They had stopped. "Look. They're keeping a distance. We'll be fine."

The coloration of the creatures shimmered from maroon to deep blue, and then lightened. Coinciding with the color change came a whooping call followed by a series of clicks, claps and a long base tone. Connelly smiled. The sound reminded her of a perfectly tuned cello. It occurred to her then that these calls, which were reminiscent of whale calls, though much more complicated, were coming from multiple creatures.

They're communicating!