"Alien retrieval." said Davy.
Martin did a quick headcount and noticed the second pair of antennae. "Is that what all that noise was about? I was at the pond and I saw this bright light and crack of thunder."
"Yeah, we've got another one." said Keith.
"We also have a problem." said Jahv. "He says he's rather thoroughly stuck, and I don't think we can get enough leverage in here to boost him out."
"Must've been the landing." said Keith.
"He says his boots are full of mud and the fasteners are jammed." explained Jahv.
"Would another person help?" asked Davy. "we could get Martin out here."
"Hey, Martin!" called Keith. "Get out here! We need help!"
Martin shook his head. "I'm not coming out there! My mom and dad would have a fit if I got that muddy!"
"For pete's sake, you can clean up in the pond! Our newest arrival is stuck in his own boots!" yelled Keith. "We gotta drag him out."
"Wait." said Jahv. "Martin, do you see my backpack?"
Martin looked around. "Yes, here it is!"
"Look inside." said Jahv. "You may have to rummage around a bit. There should be a long length of red-colored cord in there with a weight on the end. Find it."
Martin opened the backpack. "How much stuff you got in here? I don't have this much stuff in my entire closet!" He shifted dozens of items around, and finally saw the red-colored rope. He pulled it out. "Is this it?"
"Yes!" called Jahv. "Unwrap the rope, and throw the weighted end out this way."
"There's no way he can get it out this far." whispered Keith. "He's not strong enough."
"He won't have to be. The weight is aerodynamically designed." replied Jahv, just as the weight splattered into the mud right in front of them.
"Did you see that throw?" yelped Martin. "Wow!" The boy had a huge grin.
"Very impressive." said Jahv. "Now tie the other end off around a tree. As strong a knot as you can make."
"How dependent are we on his knot-tying abilities?" asked Keith.
"Not very." replied Jahv. "The cord is self-adhesive. Doesn't stick to anything else, but put a knot in it, and that knot will stay put until you use the molecular reverser attached to the weighted end on it."
Martin had found a good strong tree and had wrapped the rope around it and tied a large, strange knot in the rope. "Okay!"
"We're going to have to guide Keyro in." said Jahv. "He's not strong enough to overcome the pull of the mud on his boots."
With Davy and Keith bracing Keyro on either side, and Jahv pulling from the front and keeping a hand on the rope, while Martin held the rope from shore, which essentially he didn't need to do, but none of the others wanted to make him feel useless, the newest alien arrival was slowly dragged to shore. Finally, four mud-covered youngsters slogged out of the thick morass of mud.
"That was great!" laughed Keith. "We're gonna have to do that sometime when we're not rescuing somebody."
"It was fun, wasn't it?" said Davy.
"But — " said Keith, speaking seriously but with a wicked grin on his face, "we owe our rescue to Martin! Let's all give him a big hug!"
"Hey!" protested Martin, eyes suddenly wide. "Wait! Back off, you guys!" But it was far too late. Seconds later, Martin was almost as mud-covered as the other four. "Aw, jeez. What's my mom and dad gonna say?!"
"Nothing, if you go wash up in the pond." said Keith. "But if we're going to clean up based on need first, then I think Jahv's little brother should be the first to take a dip."
"I agree." replied Jahv.
The five youngsters slogged their way back to the pond. Keyro was still stuck in his boots, and the rest of his uniform, which weighted him down and caused him to stumble a few times. At one point, he managed to clean off one hand well enough to touch his older brother's relatively clean face, and through a brief telepathic contact picked up on the language. His first words in English were, "You people have the strangest terrain on this planet."
"Be grateful you didn't land on a pile of rocks." said Keith. "You came in pretty high."
Keyro looked at Jahv. "I didn't have time to double-check the coordinates. Mom and Dad almost caught me."
"Almost doesn't count in light years." said Jahv, putting his arm around his brother. "Glad you made it."
The group reached the pond, and Davy and Keith tossed Keyro in when he expressed some hesitation at getting so soaking wet with all his clothes on. Of course, once he was in the water, his clothes emerged from underwater even before he did. Jahv and Martin followed suit, Martin discarding his shorts once he was convinced they were clean, and Jahv's uniform went floating shortly thereafter. When Keyro finally did surface, his appearance presented a shock to the three boys, including Keith and Davy who were still on shore.
Given how tan the immediate region of water had turned, they figured it would be best to let the mud dissipate before washing. Keyro was not green. He had the same white hair, wide eyes, and antennae of Jahv. But his skin was a bright lavendar purple.
"Are you sure you got the right kid?" remarked Keith.
"Yes, of course!" said Jahv, giving his little brother an affectionate hug. "Why do you ask?"
"You're green and he's — purple!" said Keith.
"So?" answered Jahv. "Our mother is blue and our father is orange. Didn't I mention that we come in all sorts of different colors?"
"Must be an interesting planet." said Davy quietly.
"Colorful, anyway." added Keith.
Jahv was still talking. "And I have an aunt who's bright yellow, a cousin who's a very intense red, and a third great-aunt who's actually several colors of camouflage. There's always one freak in the family. Supposedly I've got a great-grandfather who was clear, but no one's seen him for years."
Even Davy, Keith, and Martin got that one, and winced.
"And my mother once told me about a multi-great uncle who was plaid, but I never saw any holographs of him, so I never quite believed that one…"
"Your thoughts?" asked Davy.
"I think we should've left them both in the mud." replied Keith.
"Well, WE can always go back there, now that we know it's safe." suggested Davy.
Keith grinned. "Race you!"