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Moscow, peered intently at him. “Ensign Lori Antonova, you are a biologist with a specialty in exobiology lifeforms. You know what our colonists have found on Earth’s seven colonies. You’ve seen the images of the wasp-like aliens. What do you deduce from the imagery of them and of their ships?”
    The slim woman adopted a parade rest stance. She glanced at the front wallscreen and at Osashi’s holo that showed the alien ships, then back to him. “Acting Captain Renselaer, while the lifeforms on the colony planets show similar organization into mammal, avian, aquatic and insect-like lifeforms, with millions of exotic bacteria, the analogy to Earth animal life is risky. One world has lifeforms with tripodal leg arrangements. On another world, the animals resemble our radial pattern starfish. A third world has hopping as its primary locomotion mode. The presence of vertebrate life, predators and prey, scavengers and parasites, along with air and water-breathing lifeforms, is common to all seven worlds.” She pursed her lips, glanced aside at Daisy, then sighed. “Yes, these aliens resemble giant yellow jacket wasps. The striking red and black bands on their yellow exoskeleton bodies suggest they are predators. Bright colors warn of danger. In biological science it is called aposematism. It also makes sense due to their presence off planet. Predators hunt for new territory.” She paused, took a deep breath and continued. “But why they are here could be due to many factors. Exploration. Expansion of the home territory. Failure of the home world ecology. Or colonizing of suitable worlds. The fact the gravity on planet four is just a half gee suggests these insect aliens evolved on a world with low gravity, a high oxygen level, and perhaps dense plant life and ground life similar to what is found in Earth’s jungles.” She stopped.
    Jacob nodded. “All of that makes sense. Assuming they have some analog with our wasps, what behavior do you expect of them?”
    She grimaced. “They could behave in any manner. Fight, flight, freeze or negotiate. Or something stranger than Earth norms. My guess is this group of starships is led by at least one leader, maybe two, in view of the two six-groups of ships. The hexagonal hull shape of their ships suggests a tendency for the aliens to cluster tightly into social groups. That is, if we assume the hull shape indicates the structure of their nest building.”
    Jacob noted that Carlos was looking at Daisy’s holo of local space, which carried the images of the twelve alien ships. That fit his Navigation work. Quincy, a Black guy he’d come to know as a happy go lucky beer drinker and lover of reggae music, looked bored. As you might expect from someone who was a Weapons Deck person. He fixed back on Lori.
    “If they have a primary leader, would that leader be located on the bigger ship in the front group of six?”
    She frowned, then shrugged. “He or she could. Our admiral was on the Lepanto , which is larger than any other Earth ship. The same may be true for the aliens.”
    “Are they eusocial?” Jacob asked.
    She showed surprise. “Uh, taking E. O. Wilson’s definition from the last century, you wonder if these alien insects have a division of labor, overlapping generations and cooperative care of the young? Like the ants, bees, wasps and termites on Earth. And we humans.” She looked at Daisy’s ship holo. “Oh yes, I am certain they have a eusocial society. Their behavior to date strongly supports that likelihood.”
    He nodded. “Are they inherently peaceful? Or quickly combative?”
    “I have no idea,” Lori said, her light brown lips pulling back from her white teeth.
    Getting opinions from the woman was like pulling teeth. Or catching slippery rainbow trout. “Why did they invite our leaders to the meeting on the world below?”
    Her blue eyes widened. “A good question. Perhaps to agree on a means to communicate. Perhaps to see us in person, versus