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commented aloud. “Those who have done so have all been official representatives of your Commonwealth government or United Church.” The Vssey hesitated. “Yet you insist you are not a representative of your government or your principal religious institution?”
    “That's right.”
    “You have come alone? There are no other organic sentients on your orbiting vessel?”
    “Yes. No.”
    “Then why are you here?” the other immigration officer asked.
    The human bared his teeth in a slight curve. “As you have already observed. To pay a visit.”
    “Commercial?” inquired the first immigration officer. Its tentacles were fluttering irregularly, a clear indication of uncertainty. “Scientific? Historical research?”
    “Just a visit,” the human replied placidly. There being no word in AAnn that translated precisely as
vacation
, Flinx added helpfully, “For a period of hopefully recuperative non-workingness.”
    Truly alien were the softskins, mused Captain Qerrudd. Unable to restrain herself further she asked, in a voice notably more brusque than that of the more soft-spoken Vssey, “Why Jasst? No humanss come here without a sspecific program in hand.”
    Undaunted by her tone, the human turned to face her. “That's why I've come. Because no humans come here.”
    Disgusted with this uninformative response, she eyed the two officials. If it was up to her she would have simply shot the human and been done with it. If he was here on his own, without the encouragement or protection of Commonwealth authorities, then that meant there wouldbe no one to object to his sudden demise. Probably no one would even know.
    But what if he
had
come burdened with such imponderables, and someone
would
know if anything untoward happened to him? Faced with an unexpected crisis, the AAnn could move swiftly. They could also step back and evaluate. Captain Qerrudd elected to step back. Caution, care, cogency: always caution first.
    She could always shoot him later, she knew.
    Or perhaps even leave him alone. If he was telling the truth about his reasons for coming to Jast, then maybe he was harmless enough. He would uncover no secrets (not that there were any secrets to uncover), cause no trouble (not that the present situation on Jast was trouble-prone), incite no awkward questions (not that there were awkward questions to be asked). His visit might even be some sort of deliberate provocation, designed specifically to test AAnn reaction to a human's unplanned arrival. If that was the case, then she could best defeat him by ignoring him.
    Clearly, the Vssey officials were as unsure as to how to treat this visitor and what to do with him as she was. The opportunity to gain merit by making a constructive suggestion could not be disregarded.
    “Truly, it iss apparent this human means no harm to Jasst. The AAnn also recognize the need to interrupt working with periodss of non-working. Iss thiss not a mosst Jasstian concept?”
    The Vssey officials agreed that it was. Still, they hesitated. They would have much preferred to report the arrival to their superiors, who would call a conclave where everyone with even a remote interest in such an unexpected occurrence would enjoy the chance to have their say. There would then follow an extended period of discussion, at the conclusion of which a decision would berendered and then implemented. By which time, for all they knew of its alien biology, the smooth-skinned bipedal arrival might be dead of old age. One of the officials thought there might be a possible solution. If nothing else, it might absolve them of the responsibility of having to reach a verdict.
    “As this is something of a unique situation, some latitude must be allowed for lack of precedence.” Eyes on slowly weaving stalks exchanged a look of understanding. “While the human presents no visible threat to Jast or Vssey, we are too ignorant of its kin to properly evaluate any potential for trouble.” One eye swiveled around to