You'll need it tomorrow for clear thinking in dealing with the small people. Understand?" "My apologies," jon said formally, and bowed to Nimisha.

"Mine as well," syrona said meekly.

"None are needed," Nimisha said and rose. "Helm, has the remote shown any activity at tomorrow's meeting site?" "There has been peripheral movement in the area, but no alien was visible, nor were there sounds that could be recorded and added into the base for semantical analysis." "Maybe they're just not curious," casper said, getting to his feet. "Come on, tim, we're all having an early night to be rested for tomorrow's meeting." "Can I finish watching this adventure? It's exciting." "A soothing nightcap might be advisable," doc said charmingly. "Cater, do provide us with an appropriate beverage." "My pleasure. What may I serve you, lady Nimisha? A tea perhaps?"

Whatever it was, herbal and tasty, had undoubtedly been laced with a mild sedative, Nimisha decided the next morning when helm's chimes roused her. She had slept like the proverbial log.

Helm announced that there were significant movements at the site, so everyone climbed into the gig after jon carefully properly exited the fiver's garage. They had patched in both doc and helm to the gig and, through that control board, to their wrist units, which would be recording the proceedings. Nimisha fixed a comunit to tim's belt, rather than wrapped about his much smaller wrist. Jon suggested an earring, so that tim could receive advice from his mentors during the interview; a small receiver was found and planted behind his right ear. He strutted about, pleased with his equipment.

"A reception committee," Nimisha murmured when the gig, coming in at an angle over the obscuring bluff, showed them the throng that had gathered.

"They've set us a table, too," timmy cried excitedly, pointing.

When the adults saw the rest of the carefully set scene, they exchanged amused glances. There were four stools set well back from the table, just as they had been positioned to allow timmy to make the initial contact on the fiver. There were little piles of what were obviously samples of edibles on pottery plates, as well as cups and several pottery jugs.

"nice design on the pottery. Looks painted on with fine brushwork ," jon murmured. "Glazed, too." "The best china for the visitors?" Nimisha replied.

"No diagnostic unit though," syrona remarked with a sigh of relief.

"They are showing a nice degree of intelligence by reproducing our first encounter as well as they have," jon said.

"All right, tim, you're our resident ambassador," casper said.

"You go first." "Me?" tim went all wide-eyed and nervous.

"They've set everything up for you, honey," syrona said encouragingly giving him a little shove toward the gig's open hatch.

"They have no weapons with them," helm said, his low reassurance making tim square his shoulders and advance. "Based on doc's medical reports, they are at ease and waiting. No elevation of pulse or heartbeat." "We're right behind you, cadet ensign," jon said.

"So long as you are." tim muttered, but he took the step forward . Then he paused and gulped as he reached ground level and began to appreciate just how many were assembled up the hill beyond the meeting place. "There's an awful lot of them, isn't there?

What do I say? What do I do?" apprehension made his voice quiver.

"Walk up to the table, tim," jon said. "We'll prompt you. Put your left hand behind your back if you want suggestions. I suggest that you point to yourself and say your own name. Then ask for ay and bee. Let's see if they remember the names we gave them." "Shouldn't one of us go with him?" syrona asked anxiously.

"Tim's a brave lad," Nimisha said, assessing the rows and rows of quiet gray aliens seated in their odd cross-legged position. "He'll do the ambassador very well indeed." she made certain her voice was loud enough to reach timmy's ears as he advanced. He must have heard her, for he suddenly stood a little straighter.

Four aliens rose and came forward to the table, bowing to tim, and then bowing again to the larger humans and gesturing to the seating provided. Timmy bowed back.

ed obediently the adults sat down, though the stools were more suited to smaller rear ends than theirs.

"Notice the much darker coats of two of them," Nimisha said softly. "Would that indicate age?" jon shrugged. "We should have painted ay and bee on the two while we had them. They all look exactly alike." "They won't when we get used to them," casper said. "I think they mean to get used to us." Nimisha firmly hoped so. That would be a plus for the pootheg crew, and for herself and the achievements of the fiver. She tried to settle on her stool, but it was too unstable on the soft ground for her to really relax or even put her full weight on it.

"Tim," the boy said, pointing to himself. "Ay? Bee? Oh, hey, they know who they are!" as two of the four aliens took an additional step forward, he turned about to grin at the adults.

Ay bowed again and said quite plainly, pointing to itself, "ay." "Bbbbbeeee," the second one managed to get out, having a lot of trouble with "b," which sounded more like "bubbubb," as it stepped forward. It took a plate carefully in both three-fingered hands and held it out to tim. Then it took one of the unevenly chopped pieces and popped it into its mouth, chewing vigorously and making a thing of swallowing.

"I don't know what it is," tim asked plaintively, eyeing the dish with anxiety.

"Doc says the offered food will not harm you but he can't guarantee the taste, tim," helm said softly, using the earring amplifier.

Tim reached hesitantly, but he took the food, sniffed it as the aliens had done, licked it. "Not so bad." he popped the morsel into his mouth. "Chewy," he added. "Like the nuts we found, syrie," he smiled, then rubbed his stomach and licked his lips.

The two who stood beyond ay and bee recoiled slightly.

"What did I do wrong?" tim asked anxiously.

"I don't think you did anything wrong," jon said quietly. "Take another piece and don't make faces."

I thought it'd help if I showed 'em I liked it," tim replied, but he took another morsel, chewed it, and swallowed. Ay offered him a pottery cup with water in it. Then bee picked up another cup, took a careful sip, and handed it to tim. He sniffed at it, since that seemed to be acceptable behavior. "Some sort of sweet-smelling stuff, like the fruit you picked last year, cas." "Doc says neither will harm you, tim," helm said through the earring.

"Hey, the juice is good," timmy said after the first sip, and drained the cup. Bee was quick to refill it, and ay presented a different plate of small brown balls that Nimisha thought might have been cooked. Ay ate a ball before offering the plate to tim.

"Doc says it's a meat product and harmless," helm informed him.

Tim popped a ball into his mouth, closed his mouth, and then reacted in distress, opening his mouth wide, fanning it.

"Harmless?" tim drained the fruit juice with a sigh of relief.

"Hot stuff-not hot to touch, hot to eat. Wooof!" his antics seemed to amuse not only ay, bee, and the other nearer aliens, but all those observing. Muted hoots and ooos rippled through the audience.

Bee said something liquid in sound to ay, who changed plates to some green sprouts.

I know what these are," timmy said and crammed a handful into his mouth, nodding enthusiastically. Another ripple of hoots circulated the audience.

Ay picked up another plate and, after showing it to tim, waved its free hand in front of its mouth and put the plate to one side.

"Thanks, ay. That was hot all the way down," tim said. I wouldn't mind some more of the first stuff," he said, and picked up two more morsels from the plate. This appeared to please the audience.

"is it possible to get samples of all they have offered?" helm asked.

"Tim, why don't you load some of the food on the greens plate and bring it back to us," jon suggested.

Shouldn't I ask first?" "Make gestures," jon said and tim went through an elaborate pantomime, of filling a plate, taking it to the adults, and bowing as he pretended to serve it.

Ay and bee turned to the other two, sound rising and falling in the ensuing conversation.

Ay made the selection itself and indicated that it would like to do the serving. Timmy shrugged and gestured for him to proceed.

Bee produced more cups and filled them with the fruit juice. It used the largest plate to convey the cups to the adults, following after ay.

"It is tasty," Nimisha said.

"Tim's right about having had it," syrona said, "but it's not in season right now. So where did they get it from?" "Curiouser and curiouser," Nimisha said.

"weapons, pottery, food preservation technique," casper said, grinning. "And smart." now, if we can only figure out how to exchange-" jon stopped as the two very gray aliens came forward, bowing not quite as deeply as ay and bee did.

Jon rose carefully and bowed at the same angle. Casper, Syrona , and Nimisha followed his example.

Ay and bee stepped back, out of the way, as if they had done their part in introducing one species to the other. Two others came out of the crowd, carrying stools similar to the ones provided for the humans. When the legs of these were firmly pushed into the ground, the dark grays gestured for the humans to sit. Jon indicated that they should be seated first. They motioned for the humans to sit.

Jon held up his fingers. "One, two, three." he mimed that they should all be seated at once. "Sit." he matched action to the work.

The darkest gray personage hissed as it sat, turning its head slightly to its companion and making some liquid comment.

The other nodded.

"Ex and wye?" Nimisha said out of the corner of her mouth, leaning toward jon.

Ex touched one digit to its chest and "ooool" was the sound that came out.

"Ex equals ooool?" ool nodded vigorously and the mouth slit opened. The other gray clearly said, "ooook," pointing to itself. Then it indicated ool and repeated that sound.

"Help, helm," jon murmured.

"The true sound goes beyond human hearing, commander. Repeat the sounds you do hear as closely as you can," was helm's advice.

"Ool, ooooool?" jon pointed to ool. Then struggled with "ooook." the two grays titled their heads from one side to another, regarding each other with black bands of eye slits wide.

" They're too polite to laugh," syrona murmured. "But they have a sibilant ... let me try my name. Sy-ron-ah." "Ssssooo ah," was ool's attempt and it struggled with that much.

"Tim?" tim offered, pointing to himself.

"Immmmm." for some reason this sound was repeated not only by ool and ook, but by ay, bee, and then the audience.

"Pay dirt," casper remarked in a low tone.

Ool and ook exchanged several remarks.

If they could be kept talking," helm said quietly, "more sounds could be registered and there would be a better chance of isolating words within the sounds."

"What do you call this?" jon said, holding up the cup and pointing to it.

Ool and ook once again exchanged glances. Ool said a quick combination of vowels.

Jon pointed into the cup. Ook replied with another set of sounds.

And the audience repeated these. Then the aliens began to chant the sounds that had already been made, starting with the names of the two grays, syrona's name, tim, and the word for cup and for the juice. The name, "immm" caused what must be alien laughter whenever it was repeated.

"Let's everyone sing along," Nimisha said softly, struggling to keep from laughing aloud. "Cup," she said in a louder voice, holding it up. Pointing inside, she said, "fruit juice." the audience came in right on cue, and that was how the rest of the morning went: each species getting a chance to point and name things in its own language while the other struggled to replicate the sounds. Occasional ululations rippled through the audience , but the overall reaction seemed to be one of enjoyment.

"Makes me think of the sounds from old terran africa," syrona remarked at one point when a warble had been musically extended.

Then jon raised his arms for silence, a gesture understood by the aliens. He pointed to all the humans and said very clearly, "hu-manz." he put his thumb on his chest "hu-man." "Ooooh-maaaa-zuh!" ool said carefully.

Jon repeated the word, aspirating the "h." "Yu-man-z." "Yu-ma-z," was as close as ool, ook, ay, bee, and the crowd got. But jon clasped both hands above his head in approbation. He gracefully turned his hand to ool and ook, then circled his fingers toward ay, bee, and the audience.

Ool gave a quick bob of its head. "Ssss-imm," was the carefully enunciated reply, with ool opening its mouth wide and showing the regular row of tiny pointed teeth before the lips closed on the I'm" sound.

"Maybe that's why they laughed at my name," tim said.

"It's something like a word of theirs after all. Ssss-immm," he said, enunciating with lips and sound.

The hooting was widespread, and many repeated jon's gesture of clasping their hands above their head.

"Helm, are they saying shim or ssssh-im?" casper asked.

"On the decibel recorder it is two separate sounds. Sh'im is closest," helm replied after a nanosecond's deliberation.

"Sh'im," jon said, pointing to them. His thumb in his direction.

"Oo-man." I am picking up private conversations in the audience," helm said. I am recording. They are relaxed and enjoying this." "Best show in town," casper said, rolling his eyes with amusement.

They kept on pointing at and learning things, from the dirt and stones underfoot to the shrubbery, the stools, the ruins of the old ship, the sky, sun, and moons until the sun was high in the sky.

At last syrona admitted to a splitting headache, which allowed Nimisha to say she, too, had one. Tim had been quiet for some time, but sat quietly on his stool, watching the sh'irn leaders.

"Have you enough to work on now, helm?" jon asked as both sh'im and humans seemed to take a pause.

"Yes, captain." "Good, then let's wind up this session and thank our hosts." he rose, bowed to ool and ook, and gestured to the gig. Then he pantomimed the sun going down and raised one finger.

Ool bobbed his head and held up his two fingers. Then turned his head from side to side.

I "now does that mean a bob is no and a shake is yes?" syrona asked.

"That would be my interpretation," helm said.

So jon lifted two fingers and shook his head and bowed again.

Ool, ook, ay, and bee rose and bowed. So did all the sh'im in the audience, and with that the two groups separated.

"I don't know when I've been more exhausted," Nimisha said as they returned to the gig.

"That's normal enough when trying to reach a rapport with new aliens," jon said. "I'm whacked." "Thank goodness," syrona muttered, but she gave jon a quick grin to take away the sting of her comment.

"And tim's our star," jon said, putting his arms across the boy's shoulders and then catching him as the boy stumbled. "Our tired star. I think he rates as many burgers and as much ice cream as he can eat." "If he doesn't fall asleep first," casper said.

"You have been followed," helm said softly. "They do not carry arms." "Don't turn around," jon said quickly, twisting tim who was about to do just that. "They would be curious about our transport." I'ay and bee'd've told'em," tim said tiredly, plodding along.

I think seeing's believing," syrona remarked, reaching out her hand to help him.

"Shouldn't we at least wave goodbye?" Nimisha asked, keenly aware of being under surveillance.

"A bow would be safer and equally appropriate," jon replied.

They had reached the gig now and, when jon murmured "aboutface ," they did so as well as any drill team, bowing at the line of sh'im who crowded the crest of the hill, some creeping up to peek through the shrubs. The hisses, hoots, and other sounds which could only have been made by sh'im vocal equipment carried on the still midday air. Once again bows were exchanged. Then the humans entered the gig and the hatch slid shut.