"They're—coming here?" Gwyn asked hesitantly.
"Sure," he retorted, his tones unnecessarily brusque. "They're coming here."
"Oh." She gripped the steering wheel and stared ahead, not looking at him.
"Gwyn—" Morrow started around the car, around to her side to open the door and lift her out—
A faint, whining sound came from above as he reached the front of the car. He stopped and looked up, startled.
The sleek, black ship settled down to the white snow before them. A sort of strangling gasp came from Gwyn, then she was out of the car and standing beside him, clutching his arm tightly.
The thick door swung open on the faintly gleaming hull. A figure in bright, snug garments, with a dark globe of a giant head, floated out of the door and came gliding toward them. It swung its legs down and settled to a crouch in the snow in front of them.
"Well?" the strange, dark globe-head drawled. "Don't I rate an introduction?"
The batteries were installed. The old ones they replaced were stored on the cargo deck to be recharged when the ship had returned home.