Dev looked at the Zimmers. The Zimmers looked at Reed. “Go back to our lives, I imagine,” murmured Katou-Zimmer. “That’s all we want.”

“And us?” Syrenii gestured in the direction of the bridge. “The A'jeii, the Olone, the Kaijank: my crew?”

A thoughtful Dev had already pondered the matter. If it was up to him, he would have tried to keep control of the ship. The danger in such a course of action lay in the fact that they didn’t know how Jakob had acquired that control. Consequently, it might vanish as unexpectedly as it had materialized. That could leave a hostile group of aliens once more in control of it, and in Earth orbit. Despite the temptation, reason dictated that while they were still in control the prudent course of action would be to see the starship’s stern receding as soon as possible beyond the orbit of Pluto. That, of course, was what the aliens desired as well.

“As far as I personally am concerned, you can go on your way, and good riddance. The ship has been ordered not to harm us. We’ll extend that command to cover everyone on the planet.” He looked over at Zimmer. “Jakob will know how to word it so that once we’ve been returned, neither you nor this ship will be able to do any us mischief, or it will backfire on you.”

Syrenii performed the A'jeii equivalent of a shrug. “There is no reason for us to do so. We will simply want to leave your system as swiftly as possible.”

Reed stared hard at her. “No interest in revenge?”

“‘Revenge’?” The A'jeii appeared to struggle with the concept. “There is no profit in revenge. Such a notion implies a waste of resources. We do not waste resources.” A low whistle emerged from her mouth. “Perhaps it is, after all, for the best. You wish to be rid of us and we wish to be rid of you. One can only hope that the timing proves suitable.”

Dev frowned. “The ‘timing’?”

“It is nothing,” she assured him. “Nothing for you to concern yourself with, anyway.”

He started to respond, decided not to. She had essentially agreed that it would be best for all concerned if the four humans were, after all, returned to their homeworld. That made excellent sense, considering that they had taken over the stolen vessel. The humans would go home and the A'jeii and their cohorts would retain control of the stolen ship.