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other
beverages, to be delivered here.  As far as we can tell, you have a similar
enough biochemistry to our own that none of our foodstuffs should cause any
harm, though I can’t guarantee the taste.”
    “How do you know
we have the same biochemistry as you do?” asked Nastra, her secondary eyes
moving in alarm.  “Do you have sensory systems that allow you to do that?”
    “It was the
nanites that have gotten into your systems since you came aboard,” said the
human Captain, who then looked as if she had mentioned something she shouldn’t
have.
    “What are
nanites?” asked Nastra, as Lamsat wondered yet again if he was misreading the
aliens.
    Our experts
think that we are starting to get a read on the body language of the humans, said his sibling who was a psychologist.  The images coming across are
clear.
    Amazing
technology , thought the Astronaut in his own private processes.  Everything
he was seeing was also seen by his siblings while he allowed those images to
pass from his mind to theirs.  And the Psychologist was able, through a state
of the art implant, to transmit those images to a vid for other experts to
watch.
    She was
definitely uncomfortable with what she just said to you, came the thought
of his sibling.
    “Nanites are
nanoscale robots,” said the human after a long hesitation.  “We use them for
just about everything on this ship, from basic maintenance of equipment, to the
protection of our bodily systems.  As soon as you came aboard you must have
ingested some into your systems, and they looked over your cells and sent the
information to our medical database.”
    “You let these
things get into us,” said Nastra, her primary eyes widening while her
secondaries went into overdrive.  She started scratching at the back of her
tentacles, as if she felt the things attacking her.
    “They will not
harm you,” said the human.  “We have been using them for over a thousand years,
and they are perfectly safe.”
    Not according
to our research, came the thought to Lamsat from his sibling.  Our
researchers feel that they can be as dangerous as any technology we have ever
developed.
    But they are
so much more advanced than we are , sent back Lamsat, trying to imagine just
how much further along the tech scale these aliens were.
    “Our people
think these, nanites, can be dangerous if not deployed with sufficient safety,”
said Lamsat, looking into the eyes of the human.  A moment later he was
interrupted as more humans entered the room, bearing trays with glasses full of
several colored liquids.
    “We have a lot
more experience with this tech than you do,” said the Captain, picking up one
if the glasses from a tray and taking a sip.  “Try them.  They’re safe as
well.”
    Lamsat reached
for a glass that contained an orange colored liquid, brought it to his
ingestion orifice, and took a sip.  He gave a grunt of surprise at the taste
and sipped some more.  “This is delicious.”
    “That’s orange
juice,” said the human.  “It comes from a Terran tree.”
    “My brother
thinks it’s delicious,” said Lamsat, closing his mouth tight as he thought what
he had said.  They don’t know we can communicate with each other mind to
mind.  And that is an ability I’m not sure we want to give up yet.
    “Why would your
brother think it’s delicious?” asked the large alien they called a Phlistaran. 
“He couldn’t have known anything about orange juice.”
    “It’s just an
expression,” said Lamsat, communicating through his link to his sibling, who
talked to his partner’s sibling, who communicated back to her.
    The human
Captain looked at him strangely, and he looked away, refusing to meet her gaze
while he talked in lies.  He looked up after a moment, still aware of her gaze
on him through his secondaries.  He really didn’t know how intelligent these
creatures were.  More than his own people?  He wouldn’t be surprised, not only
because of their tech, but also