When Nick woke up again, he felt a lot more rested, and kept tweaking his meds to stay in the good range. It was amazing, as always. It didn't really change who he was, the way some of them could if you picked the wrong one. It just made him happier, even when he had the exact same thoughts. So, Nick was in a good mood when he considered an important idea.

  What kind of precautions should I be taking here?

  Nick knew that there were a lot of good people and a lot of bad people on Earth, and the difference often came down to when they last ate and slept, and whether they expected to be able to eat and sleep well in the future. It was just human nature. So, Nick expected the same would hold for them. What did they call themselves, again? When I said I was “human”, they said...? Nick gave up and asked Petra.

  “Fuak!a,” the AI responded.

  Right, fuakalas...close enough. I suspect fuakalas are nice people when they're bellies are full and they aren't scared. And these people are hungry and very, very scared. Plus, I'm the alien here. The probably consider me an invader. I certainly didn't ask permission before showing up! Hah, I guess that makes me an illegal alien.

  So....what do I do about it?

  Nick thought it over, and came up with a plan. He knew what he wanted to build, but then that needed changes, and then those changes needed changes...Nick gave up and decided to cannibalize Petra's dungeon for parts that he could replace later, rather than try to design something new. He didn't want to take too long with this.

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  He printed a few parts that were quick to make, then loaded up Rockhunter and set out. He deliberately didn't tell the natives when he was leaving or exactly when he expected to show up. He timed his departure so that the Death Star would be up when he arrived.

  Speaking only to Petra, Nick had some more lessons in Kthufu. After a couple of hours in transit, she conceded that he had acquired one percent of mastery of the language. To his great annoyance, half an hour later, Petra took it back. Apparently he had forgotten too much while taking a break. He hadn't quite recovered it by the time he arrived at the native refuge.

  Nick looked around the area with Petra's scanning abilities, and picked out a spot about a ten minute walk from the entrance to the silver mine. Taking a deep breath, Nick opened the door, letting in a blast of hot air. He sent the guys outside, then quickly closed up again. He explained to Petra what he wanted, then watched on the cameras while waiting for the temperature inside to return to a comfortable level.

  The guys got right to work, cutting up stone and building a small storage area out of bricks, just big enough to hold all the supplies and gear he had brought. The tricky bit was setting it up with air conditioning, but Petra was equal to the task once he explained what he wanted. After two hours, the stone box was nearly finished, and the Death Star was sinking in the west.

  Nick opened the door again, and set the guys to fetching and carrying his gifts for the natives, stacking them inside the box. Once that was done, the last step was to finish with a very thin, loose brick wall in place of a door. He adjusted the instructions slightly to leave visible seams on that side, to make it more obvious how to get in. Sometimes, Petra's work was a little too good.

  Finally, a tiny camera went on top like a cherry, so he could watch and make sure they were getting the stuff without any issues. He brought the guys back inside and drove to the far side of a neighboring hill. Sighing, Nick settled down to wait for sunset.