A partner. Just what he needed.

Zain looked at his battered ship and then down at his diminishing rifle ammo. "I hope you're ready to be my partner when they come back."

"Come back?" she repeated.

He scowled and gave her a long, menacing look. "Of course, now that they know what tasty morsels are inside the ship."

Fear flickered briefly in her eyes before she raised her chin. "I'll be ready."

He stared at her for a long moment. She surprised him at every turn. So much for fragile.

"Let's go check on Reene." He paused and cocked an eyebrow. "If that's okay with you, partner."

Her blue eyes drilled into him. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" She rested her rifle on her shoulder, tossed back her hair, and walked toward the ship.

He shook his head. What had happened to his simple life?

He followed her, taking in Reene's condition. Dawn had given way to full morning and as he drew near, the seriousness of the situation became apparent.

"Reene? Are you still with us?" he asked as he noted the buckled hull and bent landing gear.

"Yesssssssir," Reene said with some difficulty. "I have released the repair nanos. However, power is below crucial levels, so their capabilities will be limited. We also sustained additional injuries that will require full replacement parts."

Zain closed his eyes. "That could be a problem."

"Affirmative," Reene replied, matter-of-factly.

Zain put his hand on the hull of the ship and leaned against it. Everything was falling apart on him, just like it had before. And again, it all was his fault. He was a curse to everyone he touched.

New priority list: save Lacey, save himself, save Reene. Hell, at this rate, he'd be happy to save the damn cat.

"How long before Reene shuts down?" Lacey asked behind him.

He lied. "A day, maybe two."

"That doesn't give us much time," she noted.

He turned to her.

She blinked back. "What? Do you expect me to just lie down and die?"

He gave a short laugh and shook his head. Definitely not fragile. "Where did you learn how to use a rifle?"

She shrugged. "Summer math camp."

His eyebrows went up. "Math camp?"

She propped a hand on her hip. "You got a problem with that?"

"No. It just sounds a little-"

"Watch it," she warned. "I've got a gun in my hand."

"-aggressive," he finished carefully.

"Well, it wasn't exactly part of the curriculum. I used to sneak over to a private camp full of boys across the lake. They played with guns," she added, grinning. "I still stop by the shooting range now and then. I guess you could call it a hobby."

"And what did Bob think of that?"

Abruptly, her expression dimmed. "He didn't like it at all."

"Why am I not surprised?" Zain muttered.

Then her gaze dropped to the ground behind him, and he watched the whites of her eyes grow. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled. "Zain, we have company."

Chapter Ten.

Lacey stood dazed as the sand burst open, sprouting creatures like the one she'd seen inside and around the dome. They popped from the dunes in unison, hundreds of them rising on skinny legs. Some big, some small, all rust-colored and bony, they surrounded Zain's ship and scrambled over the dead Bobzillas. A few rose on four of their six crablike legs and unfurled their muscular thoraxes to stand like giant praying mantises. Two independendy moving eyes peeked out from under each small cap head to peer at the ship and its crew.

"Uh-oh," Lacey whispered.

Zain spun around, his weapon ready, but he didn't shoot. What was the point? Lacey didn't need a military background to tell her there were just too many.

"If they had any weaponry, they would have used it against the Bobzillas," Zain said quiedy, as if that would make her feel better. He turned his head toward his ship. "Reene, do you recognize this species?" he called.

A few seconds clicked by. "Negative."

Sand whipped around the creatures' spindly legs and all was silent.

"Try to talk to them," Lacey urged.

Zain cast a glance over his shoulder. "Do you happen to know how to say 'don't eat us' in sandpopper?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Well, it won't do us any good to stand here and stare. Say Hi."

Zain shook his head and then raised his hand. "We come in peace."

Lacey rolled her eyes. "Well, good grief, that's the oldest line in the book. They'll never believe that."

He frowned. "It's your line, remember? I'm from Neptune and all that? And feel free to step in any time."

"Fine," she said, moving next to him. Hell, she'd just stood her ground and fought off giant, hungry Bobzillas. She was pumped. This was nothing. Of course, having a big gun helped. Maybe that's what she'd been doing wrong all her life.

She cleared her throat and spoke loudly. "My name is Lacey," she said, tapping her chest. "And this is Zain." She pointed behind her. "His ship is called Reene."

The sandpoppers stood motionless, captivated but silent.

She turned and whispered to Zain, "They aren't impressed. Do something impressive."

"Just keep talking," he said, looking suspiciously as if he were starting to enjoy this.

She addressed the sandpoppers again. "We are from another planet." She pointed to Zain. "He's a big, pushy alien who sucked me"-she pointed to herself- "the poor, defenseless Earth woman, through space and time and stranded me here."

Zain squinted at her. "Defenseless? Since when?"

She waved him off and continued her monologue. "We were wondering if you knew of a spaceship repair shop nearby? Or better yet, a galactic taxi service."

Hundreds of little heads swiveled and looked at each other, but none answered. Nothing.

"Guess not," she said with a sigh and rubbed her forehead. She was flunking Alien 101 badly. "We're doomed."

Then one of the bigger sandpoppers crawled forward and stood up a few feet from her. It waved two intricate claw hands at her and started making clicking noises, then squealed and prattled in a steady stream. Lacey concentrated on the sounds and realized it was trying to talk to them. The others chimed in and the whole bunch started making noise.

Zain said, "Reene, are you getting this?"

"Yes, sir. They appear to be speaking a crude form of Basic utilizing their vocal limitations. I'm working on the translation now."

"Basic? Where did they pick up Basic?" Zain asked.

"Unknown, sir."

Zain nodded and leaned toward Lacey. "Why don't you talk to them some more?"

She raised her hands. "And say what?"

He shrugged. "You can tell them what a wonderful time you are having on their planet."

"Right," she said with a snort. "It's practically Club Med."

A chirping noise came from Reene. The sandpop-pers' heads swiveled in unison toward the ship. The crab in front jabbered back and, after a few seconds, the other sandpoppers took a respectful step from the ship.

Lacey kept her eyes on them and murmured, "What's happening?"

"Communication." Zain turned to the ship. "Reene, tell them who we are."

As Reene and the main crab continued to chat in a gargled string of sounds, the others studied Zain and Lacey. After a few minutes, Reene stopped. The sand-poppers withdrew and amassed in a group about thirty meters away.

"I have apprised them of our situation, sir. They have yet to respond," Reene announced.

Zain nodded. "Who were you talking to?"

"He is Pio, the chief of the krudo."

"They have a name?" Lacey asked.

"Yes. The krudo have developed a fairly complex hierarchical structure within their race. They have lived on this planet for thousands of years in peace."

Lacey watched them huddle. "So what are they talking about?"

"What to do with us."

Zain eyed the pack of krudo. They were at least a thousand strong, and he knew there had to be many more in the surrounding sand. Bad odds. He rubbed his chest absently. He hadn't seen these kinds of odds since ... His hand paused, bitter memories stealing his thoughts.

"Now I see why you aren't the Official Greeter," Lacey muttered. "Is this the way all new species welcome you?"

He shook off the past and checked the power level on his rifle. "I told you to tell them how much you liked the planet."

"If I'd known they were so touchy, I would have," she replied. She drew a deep breath. "So now what?"

Zain caught the tremble in her voice. She was starting to crash from the battle with the Bobzillas.

"Get in the ship. I don't think they can penetrate it."

Her head turned to him. "And leave you alone? I don't think so. I didn't save you from Bobzilla to have you ripped up by the local crab population."

He shook his head and wondered why he even bothered to try. A corner of his mouth rose. "I didn't think you cared."

Her jaw set and she stared straight ahead. "Don't get all excited, cowboy. You're my ticket home."

"Is that why you came out here to help me?" he asked.

She regripped her rifle and hesitated before answering. "I'm not blindly leaving my future in your hands." Then her eyes met his. "Or anyone else's." He could almost hear the word again. "Whatever the reason, I'm sorry you had to use a gun."

She blinked hard, and he knew she was recalling the battle.

"Reene, send that distress message," he said.

"Communications are no longer functioning, sir. I was able to begin transmission.

However, it did not complete."

"Hell," he said softly, and caught Lacey's fleeting glance of concern. It couldn't get any worse. "Reene, did they say they were going to kill us?"

"No, sir. They simply will not help us. They understand that we will perish without aid."

Maybe it could get worse.

"Lovely," Lacey whispered. "Left to die by crabs."

"Not if I have a say about it," Zain said, low. "Reene, why are they hostile toward us?"