This short story was first published in the June, 2011 issue of Analog Science Fiction magazine. It also appears in slightly different form in the novel, "The Chara Talisman".While archeologist Hannibal Carson explores ruins on a distant planet, seeking evidence of ancient spacefarers, what he finds — and what or who finds him — is unexpected.This story is set in Alastair Mayer's "T-Space" (terraformed space) universe, at a later date than the Jason Curtis adventures.