Just how many of these aliens are there?

The village has 43 of them.

She suspects that is a good deal more than they can take, especially given that this is the first planet they've visited and they might run into more interested aliens later.

"I don't think we'll be able to take that many of you - I'm sorry."

If she wanted to make them start arguing amongst themselves in their own language a lot for Petra's benefit she has succeeded! Every single one of them wants to go on the ship and see things.

She did not want that at all! She also... does not have anything helpful to add really.

If they argue for more than a few minutes Petra might actually manage to understand what their arguments consist of exactly. 

Some of them think some should stay behind anyway, for the children, and the others are like, well, are YOU volunteering to NOT go on the ship and see the things, huh, and it must be conceded that in fact nobody is volunteering to do that.

Well, at least she knows their language now.

Lia talks to Lucien who determines that they can take three of the locals, chosen at random among any of them that are uninterested in having children in the future, since he'd like to avoid the complication of a growing population. Technically regulations are imply he shouldn't be taking any at all, but there's enough wiggle room that he can justify it as a compromise with Lia's more radical position of taking as many as they can feasibly carry. Hopefully the remainder will enjoy a chance to meet the various crew members who are visiting their planet?

They are all willing to stop having children forever if that means a shot at going on the ship.

Only three of them! The rest can have children and someday hopefully their descendants can figure out how to build a ship and explore themselves.

Or Lucien will figure out how to return home and fix the politics of first contact so that humans are willing to let them immigrate as a species. That's only two seemingly impossible problems he needs to solve.

Why three. Can they have more if they eat less. Can they have more if they ask VERY nicely. Can they come back and get the rest of them later. Can they tell them how to build a ship NOW.

Lucien can meet with the aliens (who would ideally pick a name that's pronounceable by humans?) and patiently explain that there are rules against disrupting the lives of aliens too much, the amount they eat isn't relevant, asking nicely won't work though it will make Lucien look sad, whether or not they will come back and get the rest later isn't up to him, and sadly they can't tell them how to build a ship because it's very complicated and there are rules around teaching people about it.

They don't know how to pick a name good name that humans could pronounce. What do they look like to the humans?

Would some humans stay behind to hang out with the goblins? Will they teach them ANYTHING this week besides English or are they just here to tease? Those rules are stupid. Their lives are boring compared to this! This is the most exciting thing ever and the best possible goblin life involves finding out everything there is to know about it.

One of the crew members comments that they look like goblins, even as Lucien avoids that for fear that they'll dislike the connotations in the future.

They can't stick around but maybe they can visit again, in a year or so.

The crew can teach them other things? At least some of the crew is willing. What sort of things do they want to learn?

"Goblins" is fine. They'll be goblins.

They want to learn everything! It is quickly discoverable that they don't have writing and are very excited about that, so that might be a good place to start.

They can be taught writing! And provided with pens even.

This is sufficiently mollifying that they will stop whining about only having three slots, though they still can't agree on who gets them and it'll have to be by lot.

That's doable.

"You know," says Lia to a goblin she's managed to catch in private, "My data pad has quite a lot of information you might find interesting. And it's a model that can recharge in the sun and is really very durable." 

"Can it be here?"

"I'm not allowed to give it to you, but if it got lost and I couldn't find it I would suppose it would end up staying here."

"Is it heavy?" wonders the goblin.

"No, see it's very light." says Lia, handing it to the goblin to demonstrate.

"Oh, it is! So light!" Toss. Toss. Oh no it is sadly atop a big mushroom now. Alas.