She listens, looking down at the level of about Wells' hairline. Her gaze suddenly drops about a half-inch closer to his eyes when he introduces himself further. "No.

"The creature in your oddly furnished territory is a kainde amedha drone. They come from egg-laying forms, which come from eggs. The egg-layers place an egg in a host until it emerges and molts into what you saw.

"I knew of two eggs brought back onto a human outpost," it does not shift, but its shoulders are not proud, "and thought there would be two drones. I killed them, but I lost a weapon in a column of one of those oddly large vents the oomans think are a good way to move air. I came here looking for a way to cut them open, since I cannot leave them.

"It did not occur to me that one human might have been infested without their dealing with it." There's a sharp, rasping click as she snaps her mandibles closed all at once. "So there were three. It is my shame, and I will tell of that in this year's reckoning.

"It found him, and he dealt with it. It is his pride."