Half past Alligator

A human outpost on an alien world uses a makeshift baseball game to mark the arrival of an appraisal team, and personal tensions surface when camp leader Bill Bradley finds himself eclipsed by a visiting evaluator for the attention of a newcomer. The party observes native Quxas whose cheerful, herd-minded behavior and lack of cooperative organization contrast with a predatory species that threatens their extinction, raising questions about aid and cultural limits. A talented Quxa performs an astonishing catch but repeatedly misthrows toward its own pack, accidentally striking the evaluator and triggering embarrassment, reprimand, and renewed debate about the explorers' responsibilities.