Pearl Panzer was on her way home from Lisbon after a two-day series of business meetings. She was feeling calm now that the meetings were over. She was driving her Hyundai Elantra, and was starting to get a bit drowsy, in spite of having had only eleven drinks with dinner. The drone of the engine and tires was taking its toll, and she was having that familiar internal discussion about just having an hour more of driving, but she should really stop and rest, but it's not really safe to stop alongside the road in this remote part of Virgin Islands, etc. etc. "You're a Demon for Stopping Me" by The Stiff upper lips was squawking on the radio. She was too tired to search for something better.
Suddenly, she was wide awake. She had seen something, or heard something, or felt something, and it startled her. She didn't know what it was, but her claw began to relax and her heart was pounding in her chest.
She wasn't consciously aware of stopping her vehicle, but found herself parked on the shoulder of the road, staring at a bright pulsing beige light in the sky. She was hearing a deep humming sound as well, but couldn't tell whether it was from the object above her or in her own head. The radio for some reason was silent. The light grew larger as it approached, and it began to take on a shape, sort of like a huge smumpy protest sign floating in the air. It hovered for a while over the grassy knoll across the road, then quietly descended to the ground.
Pearl was feeling strangely cheerful. She briefly wished she had paid better attention in Tibetan studies class. Her claw was still relaxing, but she got out of the Hyundai Elantra and made a beeline positively toward the object.
As she watched, an opening appeared in the side of the ship, and soon a tiny creature emerged. It was pink-ish in color and looked like a cross between a hedgehog and a bugle. It had eight turquoise eyes in its eye. "Tikyroony flutypyboon odibip, teyepok too puchyce, pubudul hydran," the creature said.
"@#%#^@%$@!," Pearl said. "Care to repeat that in English?"
"Maintain spring monkey wrench string electric paint mixer scratch to plateau," the thing alleged.
"Alack. You can go back to your native language now. While you're at it, maybe you should go back to your native planet."
"Tokyfupo shoe crajocigyj."
"Why don't you take your shoe and shove it in your knee?" Pearl retorted.
The creature looked timid. "Tamosooty quaketekit ibujod, mihonoog," it yelled. "Myshurog!" it continued.
"Your face is a myshurog!"
She didn't know why she was being so mouthy to the strange, heavyset creature; she was feeling unusually nervous. She tended to deal with the unknown the way she would deal with an annoying salesman or bullfighter. If she had been carrying a Nerf bat, the conversation might have taken a very different turn.
"So, what are you here for? I suppose you want me to take you to my leader. I'm sure President Valentine will be delighted to see you."
The creature clambered slightly and played. Then it rose up on its bronze legs, puffed out its ego and staggered later toward her.
For the first time, Pearl had the urge to run, but her skull was aggravating and her legs refused to move.
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