Hasa peered sharply at the Deyzara. “You say your controls locked when you detected me?” Reaching with his free hand through a slit in the rain cape and into an opening in his pants, he brought out the pocket beacon and began rolling it back and forth between his fingers. “I crashed here because my own controls locked up. Also, my skimmer’s main emergency beacon failed. Part of it reactivated only when you appeared.”
“Integrated instrumentation such as a vessel’s emergency beacon is designed to be inviolable and fail-safe,” Masurathoo pointed out.
“Tell me something I don’t know, squid-face.” Both of the new arrivals wondered what a squid was. To Masurathoo’s way of thinking, it did not sound complimentary. But then, it was rapidly becoming clear that this human was as disagreeable a personality as had been rumored.
“First I crash out here on the edge of nowhere. Then you two come prancing along to find me, and as soon as you locate me, you crash.” As he glanced skyward, blinking up at the rain, he holstered his weapon. Jemunu-jah thought about making a leap for it, decided against it. If necessary, there would be better opportunities later. He had to remind himself that he was here to rescue this contrary person, not fight him.
“It occurs to me,” the human continued, “that somebody doesn’t want me found and brought back.”
“I understand.” Finally able to relax now that the imposing handgun had been holstered, Masurathoo settled himself under a protective leaf. “Can you think of anyone who might wish such a misfortune to befall you?”