She was accompanied by two men. One, equally dark of hair and countenance, stood scarcely a centimeter taller than her while the other was paler and even more massive than Reed. A natural downturn at the corners of his mouth gave him the look of a perpetual frown. Both the ear and the eye on the right side of his face appeared to be artificial. None of the three were smiling. Both men were clad in attire similar to that of the woman advancing between them except that it was colored a dark brown instead of bright white. The sashes across their chests were narrower and bright red. The feet of all three were clad in half-boots that matched their suits. In the absence of laces, zippers, Velcro, or snaps, Dev wondered what kept the fascinating footwear on the visitors’ feet.

Though having not the slightest idea what to expect, Dev was still startled by the vividness of their apparel. For some reason he had expected the shadowy originators of the two starships and the highly sophisticated automatons to favor more subdued attire. All three, Dev decided, would look right at home at a Holi celebration. Trying to ignore their grim expressions, he could only hope that their disposition matched the sunniness of their clothing. Gazing at them in surprise and astonishment, he had almost forgotten about Reed.

“Like you to meet some new friends.” If possible, the big man’s grin grew even wider as he indicated the diminutive woman standing nearby. “This is Nehorai. She’s the chief contact officer for the Gadeu ship that’s arrived to supervise the recovery and restaffing of the vessel we’re on and see it on its way back to its rightful home.” He indicated the two men standing close to her. “These guys are her aides: Maacah and Yoab.”

As Dev and the Zimmers looked on, Yoab, the one with the build of a wrestler, came forward to mutter something to the three mechanicals. They immediately turned and trundled off toward another corridor. Impulsively, Zimmer shouted something to them in the ancient Hebrew he had been speaking. Maacah responded with a backward glance, a look of irritation, and silence. As for the machines, they continued on their newly assigned path, utterly ignoring the elderly visitor from Earth. With a sigh and a shrug, Zimmer turned back to his companions.

“Well, it was worth a try. I think my idea would have worked.” He was looking at his wife as he spoke. “I’m sorry you wouldn’t support me, Chiasa. My people have waited millennia for such an opportunity. Now it’s gone.” Switching his attention to the newcomers, he addressed them as formally as he could manage in an ancient tongue whose consonants tested his throat.

The woman, Nehorai, gestured almost apathetically. “Your grammar is atrocious, old man.”