“What are you two mumbling about?” Pavesi edged over to join them. As the shortest member of the group, and moderately overweight as well, she’d had a more difficult time than most slogging across the saturated soil. Dev felt for her.

Straightening, Reed raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sun as he returned his attention to the alien ship. “Nothing. Wondering what’s going to happen, that’s all.”

Pavesi joined him and Dev in turning their gazes upward. “We’ll know soon enough. Whatever it is.”

Given the level of technology demonstrated by the visitors thus far, perhaps what followed should have been expected. Dev was nonetheless surprised when the alien craft made contact with the first grasses, settled into the sedge, and stopped before it could become immersed in muck. While the red glow from its underside vanished, the ship continued to hover just above the water level. A portal opened in the side. Or more properly, a portal-sized opening appeared in the hull. There was no movement, no raising of a door or sliding aside of a barrier. One moment the flank of the craft was solid; the next, an oval portion of it had vanished.

Two shapes emerged.

The one in front was the same height as Chiasa Katou-Zimmer: a little over five feet. What Dev could see of the pale, whitish body was broad and cylindrical with no visible segmentation save for the head. This hairless blob sat on a short flexible neck. Two oval orange eyes with bright golden slits for pupils were fixed forward. Two smaller, vestigial orbs above them suggested the presence of a more primitive pair of light-gathering organs. A single visually attractive piece of gold-hued material enclosed the body. Less engaging was the sight of small things moving about slowly beneath the fabric. He considered asking Pavesi for her opinion about this quease-inducing observation but decided there was not enough time for her to give a proper reply. Also, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

Two tentacles emerged from each side of the body. Darker in hue than the rest of the alien flesh, they boasted multiple black bands whose greasy luster reminded Dev of licorice. The alien walked on these, the spatulate ends of the tentacles apparently far less fragile than they appeared. Differently shaped devices hung from its neck, jiggling slightly as it approached. There was no sign of anything resembling a recognizable weapon.