Qal was feeling overworked. The spots on his hands, usually a healthy aquamarine hue against the cobalt blue of his skin, had turned a sickly purple from lack of sleep. With the countdown clock for the invasion of earth ticking down, the examination of abducted specimens had been accelerated. Command wanted as much up-to-the-minute data as possible before the first waves landed. When Qal had joined the military instead of seeking a university post upon completion of his advanced degree in xenopsychology, he had understood that he would be a support member of the invasion fleet. But he had never expected that the army would treat someone of his education as such a work horse. This was the thirty-seventh probe he had undertaken in less than two earth-days. Back home on Zygreb he would have had cause to bring a complaint for worker abuse. Read more…