Ixabi was first through the door and went straight to the transporter controls. With a nod from Anand, she locked onto the Hamsarai trio and beamed them over. Even as they were still shimmering into solid form, she could see that they were about her height while standing up on their four hind legs.

She could also tell just by looking that they were in the same varied states of agitation as before: Blue Spines was hyper-alert, Pink Spines still perfectly stoic, and Green Spines looked ready to vibrate right off the transporter pad.

“Welcome aboard,” Anand said a bit stiffly, clearly bracing himself for the other shoe to drop. Or shoes, as the case may be. “Let me introduce my crew. This is Lieutenant Ixabi, and my first officer Commander Bohkat. We–”

Green Spines darted forward. Bohkat leapt into their path, but the Hamsarai ducked under his legs and grasped Anand around the middle with all six arms.

By the time Bohkat had drawn his phaser, Green Spines seemed on the verge of tears. Assuming Hamsarai could weep.

“You’ll grant us asylum, right? Because we’re helping you find your artifact? That’s a fair deal, right?? I don’t want to go to jail! I don’t care what kind of disgusting food you aliens eat or what weird customs you have, I can adapt to those things! I can’t adapt to a jail cell!”

Blue Spines sighed. Deeply. “Captain, I apologize for my colleague’s behavior.”

Anand looked like he needed more than an apology. His hands hovered awkwardly over Green Spines, as if wavering between returning the hug and pushing them away. “Apology accepted. Maybe we can finish introductions, and then you can explain your situation to us.”

Bohkat rolled his eyes and yanked Green Spines off Anand.

“Right,” said Blue Spines. “You can address us by our ranks for the time being. I am First Tech. Behind me is Second Tech. And the one groveling is Third Tech.”

“You’re the one who suggested we ask for political asylum in the first place!” said Green Spines.

“Ah, well…” Blue Spines began to fidget.

“You know,” said Bohkat, voice low but loud enough to carry, “We don’t really need them to find the aperture at this point.”

Ixabi felt a wave of panic from the Hamsarai. Even Pink Spines seemed to stiffen in alarm.

“Are you going to kick us off the ship??” cried Green Spines.

“I’m not–” Anand frowned at Bohkat and gestured at the Hamsarai, an unspoken ‘Do you see what you’ve done?’ “WE’RE not kicking anyone off the ship, but I should probably tell you more about our mission so that you can decide if you still want to stay aboard.”

–

“It was the middle of the night in our hemisphere when third received your transmission,” said Blue Spines as they gazed up at the glowing star chart in the conference room. “I copied it to my personal computer and then deleted it immediately.”

“Any other official would have done the same,” said Pink Spines. “The artifact is strictly off limits for any kind of study.”

Blue Spines nodded. “Second Tech helped us commandeer a ship. Third Tech got me so panicked while we were waiting for you that I made the decision to come ahead and meet you, which might have been for the best. You already know where the artifact is?”

“We’ve made some educated guesses,” said Anand. He poked at the map, zeroed in on the Hamsarai star system, and selected the nearest glowing red dot among the sea of glowing red dots.

The stunned silence of the Hamsarai confirmed the guess. Blue Spines nodded. “It’s in the atmosphere of a gas giant. Our ships aren’t allowed within three light years of the system. Why do you want to study it?”

“We don’t want to study it,” said Anand. “We want to go through it.”

The Hamsarai listened with rapt attention as Anand told them about the Vaadwaur, about the Blackout, and the war raging a quadrant away. All three were nodding when he finished. Even Green Spines.

“We still want to come along,” said Blue Spines. “Regardless of what happens when we return home–”

“If we return home,” muttered Pink Spines.

Blue Spines continued, “We’re scientists. We can’t let this opportunity pass us by.”

“Well,” said Anand, “We’ll be glad for the extra hands.”