“I’ll have to move the truck out, and open the doors all the way,” I said. “You’ll need to drop me off.”

“I’ll open the airlock,” said Sheldon.

“You’ll need to land and drop me off,” I amended.

“Oh. My bad.”

Patrick snickered. “Sheldon, you should take over for close-in work.”

“Of course.” The ship moved. “We are now hovering just above ground level, Jack. I will open the airlock once you are ready to disembark. I assume it would be disadvantageous for witnesses to observe that event.”

“Good assumption.” I handed the remote to Nat. “I’m not sure if you have to be in possession of this to give Sheldon orders, but just in case … ”

“It’s not a magic wand,” Sheldon said. “As a group, you are now in effect my command crew. Only if someone else comes in possession of the remote would there be a conflict.”

“Good to know.” I waved and headed for the elevator.

The barn’s wagon doors resisted being opened to their fullest extent, and I was almost ready to wave my arms in the air and ask Patrick for a hand. But with the help of some inspired cursing, a stepladder, and a couple of shots of WD-40, the doors finally rode the tracks all the way out. I backed the delivery truck out and parked it around the side, where it couldn’t be seen from the house. Dad probably wouldn’t care enough to check out what we were doing, but why take chances?

I made a “come on” gesture to the empty air, feeling slightly foolish. I knew, intellectually, that there was a flying saucer hovering just out of reach, but it was hard to avoid a feeling of play-acting.

It was also impossible to tell if they’d seen my gesturing, or if they were already in the barn. The ship made no sound, and it didn’t disturb the ground with any kind of exhaust or backwash. I moved to the side quickly as I imagined one of the landing pads accidentally stomping me. Or maybe not so accidentally. There was a definite aspect of psycho about Sheldon.

Inside the barn, the airlock entrance lowered, revealing Natalie on the steps. “Close the doors,” she said. “We’re in.” Without waiting for a response, the stairs retracted. I nodded in approval at the level of caution, and moved to shut the wagon doors.

Five minutes later, the doors were closed, the Halo had put down its landing struts and settled onto the concrete floor, and Nat and Patrick were standing with me, gazing up at the large empty space.

I grabbed my backpack from the chair where I’d dropped it. Digging around for a moment, I pulled out the communicator. I pressed the V button and spoke into the device. “Sheldon, you there?”

“I am.”