"I am the Leader. But you are the Master."
As an officer of a close-confines spaceship that sounded a little stuffy even to Barnhart. The fellow still looked shorter. Maybe they had changed Leaders the way he had been told the night before. Or maybe quronos shrank when left out in the night air.
"Let's go someplace where we can sit down. And, incidentally, just call me 'sir' or 'captain.'"
"Yes, sir."
Barnhart nodded. He had been expecting: Yes, Master, I will call you 'captain.'
But the alien didn't move. He finally decided that the Leader thought they could sit on the ground where they were standing.
Barnhart squatted.
The Leader squatted.
Before they could speak a muffled explosion vibrated the ground and Barnhart caught a fleeting glimpse of an unstable chemical rocket tearing jerkily into the maroon sky.
"Celebration for my arrival?" Barnhart asked.