Crayt considered it. Then he handed the rock back to Leo.

“In fact, there is one thing you can do.”

This wasn’t at all what he had in mind.

When he said he wanted to help, Leo meant help save Earth. To stop the Djarik. To do what his father had asked him to do.

Not to stack rocks.

Yet here he was, walking back across the strange, alien scrubland with Boo by his side and two robots trailing behind, heading back toward the broken village to make good on an Aykari’s promise.

When he’d told Baz what Crayt requested, the captain just said, “That’s what you get for asking.”

He had found the captain huddled with Kat in the control center, preparing to hike back to the ship. Leo stopped in the corridor just out of view for a moment, watching as Kat checked the charge on her pistol out of habit. She was requesting clarification. “Okay. Talk me through it. One more time.”

“It’s really not that complicated,” Baz said. “One guy stands on the mound of dirt in the middle and throws the ball toward the guy standing at the plate sixty feet away.”

“The plate that’s not for eating off of.”

“That’s the one. Then the guy at the plate swings his bat.”

“The skinny wooden stick.”

“The skinny wooden stick. And he uses it to hit the ball as far as it will go. Then he runs around the bases in order. First. Second. Third.”

“He just runs in a circle?” Kat questioned.

“More like a diamond, but yeah. Meanwhile, all these other guys try to catch the ball to get him out.”

“Out of where?”

“Just out. Finished. That way he can’t score a run. A point. For his team.”

“So to score a point all you have to do is hit a ball with a stick and then run around in a circle?”

“Trust me . . . it’s a lot harder than it sounds,” Baz said.

“No. Wrestling a terranglodile is hard. Flying through an asteroid field is hard. Hitting a ball with a stick . . . honestly, it sounds a little dumb.”

“It’s not dumb. Nothing about baseball is dumb. Being at the stadium. Listening to the crowd. The crack of the bat. The chanting. The music. The nachos. The beer. You just have to be there.”

“I’d like to,” Kat said.

“I’ll take you sometime,” Baz said. “Assuming we pull this off, of course.”

That’s when Leo interrupted them and told them about Crayt’s request.

“You have fun with that,” Baz said. “Do us a favor and take Skits with you.”

Leo groaned. “Why Skits?”

“Because the last time I tried to get her to help repair the ship she redirected the power from the shields to the organic waste disposal system, which would be fine if feces could stop a laser blast, but it can’t. Take Boo, too,” Baz added. “He loves manual labor.”

Boo disagreed, saying that’s what comes from having more arms than everyone else, but he decided to come along anyway. “I think it could do me good.”