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guarantee of being able to expel the AAnn. Masters of the conciliatory phrase and cunning proclamation those swift-running, sharp-toothed warriors might be, but when words failed them, LwoDvuum knew that they would not hesitate to butcher any who stood in their way. Knew this because much AAnn history had passed in perusal before the teacher's intensely curious eyestalks. On the whole, it had not made for pleasant reading.
    What we need, Lwo-Dvuum thought as the ouvomum dipped toward the conical structure whose topmost level was home to its rider, is something to spark the wider interest of the otherwise contented and disengaged Vssey.Something to shake them from their communal lethargy. Something to stiffen their eyestalks and open their eyes to the true intentions of the seemingly benevolent long-legs. An incident. A diversion. An event. In the continuing absence of anything palpable, could one perhaps be manufactured?
    If nothing else, it was, his mind insisted as busy tentacles directed the mount to void gas from its bladders and descend homeward, something to think about.

3
    T hat the shuttle was granted permission to land at all was due in no small part to the fact that the entire staff of Skokosas port operations was composed of Vssey. By the time the local AAnn representatives found out about and learned the true nature of the unanticipated arrival, the visitor was already on the ground and it was too late to do anything about it. Nor could they blow it up out of hand, its crew having followed proper procedure in requesting and being granted permission and concurrent directions on how and where to set down.
    That did not mean that the AAnn authority on Jast was happy about this unexpected development. Captain Qerrudd VXXDLM in particular was distressed. As liaison to the Vssey Ministry of Transportation, it was she who was ultimately responsible for any untoward visitation that might impair Imperial influence among the natives. The fact that a Commonwealth vessel had managed to arrive and settle unnoticed into orbit around Jast was embarrassing enough. She knew that the fact that it had arrived unannounced, alone, and without a formal preceding request from the Commonwealth government, unlike every Commonwealth craft that had come before it, would not be sufficient to excuse the oversight.
    Hoping to minimize any damage—especially to her career—she hastened from her workplace within the AAnnAuthority complex inside the city to the main shuttleport that was located on a flat, rocky plain not far to the south. Pushing the compact aircar to its limits, she took the risk of annihilating any leisurely Vssey who might be unlucky enough to get in her way. Those traveling in modern conveniences such as her own, either of local or imported AAnn manufacture, would be perfectly safe. Their on-board avoidance systems would prevent any collision. Regrettably, there were still Vssey who preferred to travel around and outside the metropolitan sector utilizing more traditional means of transportation.
    Though the aircar's passing was low and swift enough to rock pebbles and arthropods from their resting places as it rocketed madly toward the shuttleport, no bladder-lifting individuals, either domesticated, wild, or of voting age, splattered themselves against its transparent dome. By the time she arrived, tense, out of breath, and struggling to adjust the coiling straps of her right sandal, the crew of the shuttle was already being debriefed by local Vssey authorities. Hurrying to keep up with her, one of the AAnn soldiers assigned to the shuttleport supplied yet another surprise. Apparently, the crew of the shuttle consisted of a single individual. A single individual and his (it was apparently a male human, though the soldier was not sure, having never in his life encountered a human in the flesh) pet.
    She finally slowed as she reached the room where the unwanted arrival was being debriefed by Immigration. Two Vssey stood