The voice sounded like a combination of a dog’s bark and a cement mixer, low-pitched and grainy. Carly and Gabriel whirled around at the sound. A very tall, very thin, gray-skinned man stood in the lab doorway. Chris was beside him.

Carly glanced at the translator, already running on her armband, interpreting what the man had said. “I wouldn’t try that if I were you,” the gray man continued. “That serum has only been tested on Jackals.”

Chris stepped forward, speaking the Jackal language fluently. “Carly and Gabriel, this is Colonel Ramos, of the Jackal Expedition and Research Contingent, also known as JERC.” It was strange to hear the garbled words coming out of Chris’s mouth and being picked up by the translator. “Colonel, these are the young humans I was telling you about. Carly Diamond and Gabriel Parker.”

Colonel Ramos stared intensely at them. Carly felt like they were under a microscope, as if the man’s eyes could zoom in and out to capture every detail.

There was nothing to do but stand there and examine him in return. It seemed almost polite, under the circumstances. The man’s features appeared to be a cross between a human and canine. Perhaps a rottweiler. He had those piercing eyes; a dark-tipped nose; long, sleek jowls; and a pointed chin. His hair was many shades of gray, streaked with black and white. His skin was gray and firm, not a wrinkle in sight.

“Take them away,” Colonel Ramos told Chris. “I can’t accept them.”

“Accept us?” Gabriel echoed.

Colonel Ramos turned and spoke only to Chris. “They are truly intriguing, so you have me there. I’m happy to have given them a look, but it seems they would require significant care and feeding.”

“Oh, no, sir,” Chris hurried to explain. “You misunderstand. No care or feeding required.”

“Really?” Colonel Ramos perked up. “Astonishing.”

The colonel flared the tails of his jacket. He wore a suit made of Sawtooth leather, styled similar to a white-tie tuxedo. A “penguin coat,” Gabriel recalled his father joking when they each had to wear one for his uncle’s wedding. Colonel Ramos’s lapels were decorated with what looked like Weaver feathers.

“Colonel Ramos is a busy man,” Chris said, motioning the Voyagers toward the door. “We needn’t bother him further.”

Carly and Gabriel exchanged glances. What was Chris talking about? They needed the colonel’s expertise for navigating the tunnels.

“Are you a military colonel?” Gabriel asked. He’d always thought it was a funny title for such a high-ranking officer—it always made him think of a kernel of corn. “Where’s your army?”

Carly shot him a look that meant hush up. Gabriel shrugged. It was a reasonable question. The whole outpost seemed deserted.

“My colleagues have returned to our home planet.”

“But you stayed?” Gabriel asked.

“I had nothing to go back to,” Colonel Ramos said bitterly. “My work is here. My life is here. My purpose. The Jackal high command pulled our funding, ripped us all from our vital ongoing work.”

“That’s terrible,” Carly said. “That happened on our planet too. Many rich countries pulled money from science research, even though our planet’s in trouble. They sent us here to help solve the energy crisis. So we understand.”

Maybe Colonel Ramos heard her; maybe he didn’t. He stared through the empty glass cases, into the distance. “We had four dozen labs at our peak,” he said. “Alone, I am able to maintain only six.”

Carly wondered if the labs had once housed cutting-edge researchers. She could imagine the excitement and energy the place must once have held. It helped explain the feeling of sorrow radiating from the empty rooms, knowing they had once been vibrant hubs of activity.

“I’m sorry,” she told him.

“It doesn’t matter,” the Jackal said, but even the electronic translation couldn’t conceal the sorrow in his voice.

“So, you’re really all alone here?” Carly couldn’t imagine. It was hard enough being gone from Earth for a single year. The idea of never returning, ever, felt unbearable. “What about your family?”

Colonel Ramos glared at her. “Do not pity me. I chose this life.” He stomped to a file cabinet and extracted a clipboard with a thick sheaf of papers attached to it.

He approached Gabriel. “Fine. I’ll start with this one. Now, if you would, please.” He indicated that Gabriel should stand with his arms up and imitate his own movements.

“What…?” Gabriel wondered aloud as he followed the directions.

“This won’t take long,” Ramos assured him. “Range of motion, check. Language skills, check. General appearance…”

He circled Gabriel, examining him closely. Finally he turned to Chris. “Does this race have a name?”

“I’m African American,” Gabriel said.

“They are called human,” Chris said. “From a planet called Earth.”

“One male, one female?” Colonel Ramos made a notation on his clipboard. Then he brought out a tape measure. He took down Gabriel’s height and the length of his arms and legs. He measured the circumference of Carly’s head and the distance between her nose and chin, and the span of her palm from thumb to pinkie. When he reached for the other hand, he gasped.

Carly looked down. She had almost forgotten about the plant tendrils curled around her fingers.

“A mossflower.” Colonel Ramos studied her closely. “Quite improbable.”

“We found it in the tunnel,” she told him. “Pretty cool, eh?”

“You do not find a mossflower,” the colonel informed her sharply. “A mossflower finds you.”

“I can’t get it off,” Carly said, nodding. “It’s twisted itself onto me pretty tight.”

Colonel Ramos looked at her for a long moment, as if he was trying to make a decision. Finally he spoke. “Some of my colleagues, the Jackal women…,” he began. Then he cleared his throat and shook his head.

“Just put it next to your face,” he said gruffly. “Run your fingers through your hair.”

Carly scooped the side curtain of her hair back over her ear. “Oh,” she cried as the mossflower tendrils unwrapped from her fingers and twined themselves in her hair. The flower rested just above her ear.

“Best flower ever,” Gabriel commented. “That looks awesome.”

Carly smiled at Colonel Ramos. “Thanks.”

With that, the colonel set the clipboard aside. “Chris, thank you for bringing them to me. They are indeed fascinating creatures. Much as I would love to examine them further, I’m afraid I am not taking on new specimens for study at this time.”

Carly looked at Chris. “Specimens?” she said. “Didn’t you tell him why we’re here?”

“I’m afraid we hadn’t gotten around to that,” Chris said. He turned to Colonel Ramos. “Sorry for the misunderstanding.”

“These are not gifts?” Colonel Ramos asked. “You come to my compound as a guest, with no hostess gift?”

“We brought gifts,” Gabriel said. He reached into his pack and brought out the chocolate-chip cookies. “These are delicious. You’re going to love them.”

Carly got out the packages of hibiscus tea. “And this. You just add boiling water, let it steep, and then drink it. Very refreshing.” Especially, Carly thought, if you’re living all alone in a cool, damp place.

“These are treats from their planet,” Chris explained. “Treasured snack items.”

“Very well,” the colonel said. “Thank you. Put them on the table.”

“You could experiment with how long to let the tea steep to produce the best taste,” Carly suggested. “If you enjoy that kind of thing.”

Colonel Ramos brightened a bit.

“And you could try to repeat the chocolate-chip cookie recipe,” Gabriel said. “Cookie recipes are a big deal on our planet.”

“Very well.” The colonel made a few notations on his clipboard. “If that is all, be on your way, then.” He bowed ever so slightly. To Chris, he said, “It was good to see an old friend passing through.”

Carly stepped forward. “Colonel Ramos, actually we have some additional business on this planet. We hope you might be able to help us.”

The colonel turned back to face her. “I’m afraid I can be of no help to anyone anymore,” he said resignedly.

“But you don’t even know what we need yet,” Gabriel said.

The colonel sighed. “And what is that?”

Carly pressed on. “We’re here to harvest Stinger spores.”

Colonel Ramos laughed shortly. “Good luck. We lost many a scientist that way before we developed the serum.”

“How’d you gather them?” Chris asked.

“We never determined a reliable strategy for retrieving Stingers without getting stung,” Colonel Ramos said. “The risk is inherent, from the moment you enter a lake cavern.”

“We have a plan, but we could use a few maps,” Gabriel said confidently.

“And maybe borrow a few of your Weavers,” Carly added.

The colonel stared at them for a long moment without moving or speaking. His dark eyes appeared unblinking.

“Can you help us?” Carly prompted.

“I will try,” Colonel Ramos said. “If it will get you off my planet faster.”

“Anyone ever tell you that you should chair a welcoming committee?” Gabriel said.

“No,” said Colonel Ramos with sudden interest. “But I will make note of the fact that you observed this as an attribute.” He pulled a worn spiral-bound notepad from his jacket pocket.

“I was kidding,” Gabriel said, glancing helplessly at Carly, who was fighting back laughter. But Colonel Ramos was already making furious notes, flipping page after page in the notepad. The spiral binding was sinewy, like Sawtooth skin.

Finally the colonel slapped the pad closed. “Come along, then,” he said, striding toward the door. “Let’s get this over with. The sooner you’re dead or gone, the better.”