Acorna's Rebels

     ANNE MCCAFFREY

           And

ELIZABETH ANN SCARBOROUGH
           An Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers ACORNA'S REBELS.
       Copyright © 2003 by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough.
                                  All rights reserved.
                       Printed in the United States of America.
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                                   FIRST EDITION

                  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McCaffrey, Anne. Acorna's rebels/Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough.
                                        -- 1st ed.
                                          p. cm.
                                  ISBN 0-380-97899-7
1. Acorna (Fictitious character) -- Fiction. 2. Young women --Fiction. 3. Unicorns--
                    Fiction. I. Scarborough, Elizabeth Ann II. Title.
                                PS3563.A255 A6325 2003
                                813'.54-dc21 2002073873
                     03 04 05 06 07 JTC/QWM 10 987654321




                                                                                       2
In loving memory of Donald Dean Scarborough




                                              3
                Acknowledgments




Thanks again to Rick Reaser for science, salvage, and
cultural consultation regarding Linyaari birth disks.
Thanks also to Martin H. Greenberg for his support of
the Acorna books, and to Denise Little, our editor at
Teknobooks, for her careful editing and suggestions.
Thanks also to Diana Gill, our editor at HarperCollins,
for her suggestions on how to improve the book.




                                                      4
                         One

   The mountains were still not right. Oh, the peaks
soared majestically enough. Gaali, a huge crest
translucent with snow and deep blue glaciers, loomed
above the purple-blue cone of Zaami, which nestled
between it and the rugged, sharp-edged icy summit of
Kaahi, the only one of the three massive slopes ever to
have been scaled.
   These peaks had an almost mystical significance to
Acorna's people, the Linyaari. They were the top of the
world, and Our Star's progress from one side of Gaali's
peak to the other had once divided a Linyaari day as the
rising of moons did on other planets. The sight of the
rugged mountains against the horizon had meant home
to the Linyaari--until their world was invaded by an
alien race, the Khleevi. The Khleevi had destroyed
everything in their path, even the highest mountains on
Vhiliinyar, the native planet of the Linyaari.
   Many of the Linyaari recovery teams working on their
ravaged homeworld had recently seen their mountains
again, beautiful and whole. Caught up in the alien
machinery of a long-buried ancient city there, they had
been trapped and snatched into their planet's past.
Returning time travelers brought back sketches, notes,

                                                       5
specimens, even vids of the peaks, but Acorna could not
reconcile any of their images perfectly with the holo
program that would form the basis for the re-formation
of the peaks.
   "You've redone that range twenty times if you've done
it once, Princess. Give it a rest," said Jonas Becker, CEO
of Becker Interplanetary Recycling and Salvage
Enterprises Ltd., and captain of the firm's flag and only
ship, the Condor.
   "It's as if every person who has seen those mountains
has seen different ones, Captain," Acorna said. "No
matter how we build them, someone will be
disappointed or think there is something we have left
out."
   "We'll just put all the controversial stuff at the top of
the high one, then." He shrugged. "That way if they
want to nitpick they'll have to either climb it or land on
it to find fault."
   "Maybe. But they are already rebuilding our home
more slowly than most people truly wish because of
Aari and me. I want everything to be just right when
each feature of old Vhiliinyar is reinstated."
   "You are really something," Becker said, shaking his
head. "You look like you haven't finished high school,
yet you're trying to push mountain ranges around and
tell forests how to grow because you also think you can
tell people what to see when they look at them? Give it
up, Princess. It wasn't just because of Aari that your

                                                          6
people decided to take the more conservative approach
to re-terraforming Vhiliinyar. Expense entered into it,
and truly owning their home, and all that other stuff
Kaalmi Vroniiyi and the Ancestors talked about at the
last Council meeting. It's time for you to let go a little.
You have to do something besides work and hang out at
the time machine in case Aari pops up."
   "I do other things!" Acorna said with a little jut of her
lower lip. "I go for long walks. I talk with the Ancestors
and the Elders. I make notes of how the environment is
trying to heal itself from the Khleevi damage."
   At that moment a piece of debris flew between them
on an ill-tempered breeze blowing through the ancient
city. Though the breeze was nothing like the high
roaring winds that plagued Vhiliinyar's barren surface
these days, it carried blades of ice in it nonetheless. The
debris was pounced on and subdued immediately by
Becker's first mate, a Makahomian Temple cat Becker
called Roadkill, or RK. Being the second in command on
a salvage ship, RK was a highly skilled professional
when it came to collecting junk. However, in this case,
once he had pounced on the object, which turned out to
be a crumpled list of specimens collected by aagroni Iirtyi
in different eras of Vhiliinyar history, the paper's lack of
resistance bored the cat.
   Abandoning his prey, RK strolled over to greet
Acorna, leaped onto her shoulder, and walked across
her chest. Purring madly, he rubbed his face against the

                                                          7
tablet she held. She finally released it and rubbed his
chops, which had been his master plan all along, she
suspected.
   Becker continued his own blandishments. "Going for a
walk isn't like really going anywhere. You haven't even
visited MOO in over six weeks. Hafiz has summoned
RK and me to visit him there, and we're about to board
the Condor now. Come on with us. Mac would love to
see you. Besides, if there's salvage to haul, we'll be
shorthanded without Aari. We could really use your
help. My back has been acting up lately." The very able-
bodied veteran spacefarer rubbed the small of his back
and groaned, while watching her from slitted eyes to see
if she was looking sympathetic.
   She laughed. "Oh, very well, Captain. I take it that you
are not employing your acting skills because you wish
me to heal your 'bad back,' but because you're so
flatteringly desperate for my company, such as it is these
days. Let me tell Maati and the others I'm going, leave a
few notes for them on how to continue my work here,
get some things together, and I'll be right with you."

  As soon as they were back in space Acorna realized
that Becker had been right to lure her away from the
planet. Back on Vhiliinyar, no matter how hard she
worked, she always kept one part of her focus on the
people around her, secretly waiting for someone to say
they'd seen him--coming out of the lake or near the time

                                                         8
device or ... somewhere.
   Here on the Condor, with Becker, Mac, and the cat, it
was almost like the impossibly recent good old days
when they had all been together. Except now there was
someone definitely missing. Aari's absence was still all
too painful to her.
   One nice thing about the Condor was that, since Becker
was continually patching it up with salvaged parts and
pieces, it never actually looked the same, outside or in,
two trips in a row. Something always needed to be
repaired or replaced, and Becker had a particular talent
for integrating the mechanical and electronic equipment
of far-flung alien cultures so that it blended together into
the intergalactic hash that was his vessel.
   On this trip she recognized some hull modifications
made with bits of salvaged Linyaari ships--the gaily
painted and gilded loops and flowers made the skin of
the Condor resemble a patchwork quilt. Becker seemed to
have had a bit of trouble with the control panel, too. A
part of the current module had been salvaged from a
Khleevi vessel. The Khleevi controls were designed to be
manipulated by widely spaced pincers and were sized
for a very large being, instead of human or Linyaari
hands. Becker had rigged sticks with pulleys that
operated pincers at the ends of them for performing
certain functions at the control panel. Acorna wasn't
sure she wanted to know what those functions were.
   As the ship approached MOO, she felt her anxiety

                                                          9
rising about being so far away from Vhiliinyar and the
time machine again. What if Aari returned while she
was gone?
   "Captain, could we hail Maati?"
   "Sure, honey, but don't you think she'd have hailed us
if anything had happened? Look, Acorna, I know this
has to be rough for you, but Aari loves you. It doesn't
matter how much it seems like the guy went out for a
packet of chickweed and was gone for six months; if
there's a way for him to get back, he'll be back. And
you're going to be the first person he looks for. You
know I'm right."
   "Actually, Captain, I just wanted to see if Maati had a
message for her parents. They're back on MOO now
finishing up some research."
   Though he raised a doubting eyebrow at her, Becker
did as she asked. It took some time for Maati to reach a
com console and report back, but when she did, she
looked more excited than Acorna had seen her look
since Aari's disappearance.
   "Khornya, I'm so glad to hear from you! The aagroni
Iirtye is back from his latest time voyage. He's been
collecting specimens again, you know, but he found out
something really strange on this trip. Apparently he
couldn't find any pahaantiyirs on Vhiliinyar, no matter
where he looked, and he looked right up until a
generation or two before the older Linyaari among us
were born. Of course, he couldn't continue his search

                                                        10
any farther because of the space-time continuum
problem, but he didn't find any ancestors of the
pahaantiyirs on our planet at all."
   Acorna was hard pressed to understand her young
friend's fascination with this discovery. Maati had never
seen the species the older Linyaari remembered from
Vhiliinyar before the Khleevi invasion. The Linyaari
Elders claimed that RK looked incredibly like those
beloved feline creatures, however.
   "The species must not have been indigenous to
Vhiliinyar, then," Acorna said. "Probably they came from
one of the trading planets."
   "Nobody remembers which one, if they did," Maati
said. "It's kind of a mystery, really."
   "More of a mystery to me is the fact that, if they were
so highly thought of, why didn't our people bring
pahaantiyirs with them from Vhiliinyar when they fled?"
   "It's funny about that," Maati said. "Everybody I've
talked to said they just suddenly couldn't find their furry
friends when the time came to go. Like the pahaantiyirs
had already disappeared. The evidence from our recent
explorations seems to bear that out. At least we haven't
found any feline bones in the rubble out on the surface.
That's good, don't you think?"
   "I suppose. Maybe the pahaantiyirs all found the secret
city and have been hunting vermin down there. Maybe
we'll run into their offspring, fat and happy, when we
explore the city further."

                                                        11
   "I hope so," Maati said. "But meanwhile, the aagroni
would like to know if Captain Becker would ask
Commander Kando if she knows anything that might
connect RK's fellow Temple cats and our pahaantiyirs."
   "Be glad to," Becker said. "Nadhari doesn't talk about
the old homeworld much, but maybe we just need to ask
her."
   Acorna heard something unsettling in Becker's tone
when he spoke of Nadhari Kando, the security chief for
Hafiz Harakamian's Moon of Opportunity, and a very
formidable woman. "Is there something wrong with
Nadhari, Captain?" she asked. She could read him, of
course, but that would have been a breach of good
manners, and besides, Becker was very good at
expressing himself verbally.
   "Yeah," he said. "I think so."
   "Is it because you are no longer mates?"
   "No. I mean, it's not just me. Seem to me like she's
shutting down emotionally--and with everybody. At
first I thought maybe it was just me, because she was
mad at me and wanted to be with that Federation
soldier, but then she dumped him after a couple of
months. And she doesn't mind that I was seeing Andina.
She likes her, says she's better for me than she was.
That's not like Nadhari--trust me. Nadhari and me--
well, we're still friendly, and yeah, I still care about her.
But something smells funny to me -- though we haven't
had a real conversation since I came back from collecting

                                                          12
the salvage on narhii-Vhiliinyar, so I'm not exactly sure
what's on her mind."
   "But you have an idea?" Acorna prompted.
   He nodded, eyes down, lips compressed, shoulders
hunched forward a little. "Yeah. I think she's still stirred
up inside about what happened to her when Edacki
Ganoosh and General Ikwaskwan doped her up and
turned her into a torture machine to use against your
people."
   "But surely she knows that was not her fault," Acorna
said. "And my people, as soon as they were able, healed
her of her wounds, both physical and psychic. Didn't
they?"
   Suddenly she felt guilty. She had been so preoccupied
with her own problems -- her lifemate Aari's
disappearance, initially due to a temporal accident
caused by Vhiliinyar's systematic destruction by the
Khleevi, and later exacerbated by her own attempts to
find him and bring him back--that her worries had
caused her to shut down in a way. She'd somehow
forgotten that other people had problems, too, problems
they might not want to share with her for fear of adding
to her burden. But the truth was that it was a relief to
think of someone else's troubles now. For the time being,
she had gone as far as she could with her own.
   Becker shrugged. "Sure, they forgave her for the harm
she did to them, and healed her of the drugs and her
wounds, but did she forgive herself? For someone like

                                                         13
Nadhari, someone used to being in charge of her own
destiny, to being the meanest, baddest, toughest thing
walking--what those guys did to her must have messed
with her spirit in a real fundamental way. I think she
distracted herself for a while with MOO, the
Harakamians, me, the Federation guy, but I don't think
she's over it. I don't think anyone else can cure someone
of something like that. I think she has to figure it out for
herself, and she just isn't doing it. Instead, she's cutting
herself off from everybody who cares about her. The
only one she really seems to be normal with is RK, but
she doesn't want me to leave him with her. I offered.
Hell, he offered, but it's like she doesn't trust herself not
to hurt him or something."
   "Oh, Captain, I had no idea. I am very sorry for her
pain. Do you want me to try to read her? To see if I can
do some deeper healing? It sounds to me as if her . . .
condition is somewhat similar to Aari's."
   "Yeah, it is. Except, I think, Aari wasn't forced to do
anything against his own nature. Even though he was
tortured and everything, he stayed a Linyaari. The
Khleevi took his horn and broke his bones and nearly
killed him, but they didn't make him hurt anyone else.
He endured pain, but he didn't inflict it. Ganoosh and
Ikwaskwan turned Nadhari inside out, let loose that bad
dog she always keeps on a tight leash, and turned her
into what she hates the most. She has that monster side
to her and she knows it, but she controls it rigidly

                                                          14
because at heart she's a protector, Princess. A natural-
born hero, a defender of the weak. And Ganoosh and his
goons doped her up and turned her loose on the weak to
maim and destroy them. Think what that must have
been like for her--to get turned against her will into the
very monster she's always fought against. It's no wonder
she's a little messed up right now. She needs something,
but she doesn't know what it is, and I don't know what it
is, but I don't think it's anything you Linyaari can supply
that you haven't already."
   Unable to say anything to help, Acorna fell silent for
most of the remainder of the short hop to MOO. She and
Becker each thought their respective thoughts while RK
lay between them on the console, his tail waving lazily
back and forth.

  Hafiz Harakamian, a wily, wealthy intergalactic
businessman and her adopted uncle, greeted Acorna
warmly when they arrived on the Moon Of
Opportunity, but he kept a sympathetic reserve. Acorna
could see many unasked questions in his eyes. Just as
well he didn't ask. No, Aari had not shown up or been
located. Everyone in the galaxy would know when he
turned up -- she would be so happy she'd broadcast
that far and wide.
  For Becker, Hafiz had a mission in mind.
  "I am told you can communicate with these persons,"
Hafiz said, gesturing grandly toward the perpetually

                                                        15
suspicious and usually filthy forms of Wat and Wat, the
Terran unicorn hunters who had accidentally been
transported from ancient times to Vhiliinyar along with
the Ancestors. The nearest anyone could figure, Wat and
Wat, once their presence was discovered by the
Ancestral Hosts, had been sent to an ancient period in
Vhiliinyar's history where they could do no harm to
sentients. However, when the ruination of Vhiliinyar's
surface caused fractures in the time apparatus, the two
hirsute Earthmen had suddenly reappeared and began
hunting Linyaari as if no interruption in their activities
had ever occurred.
   "No one else can make themselves understood to
these ruffians," Hafiz said. "They annoy my guests and
they have the deportment of goats. They speak to you;
therefore they are your responsibility." Hafiz crossed his
wide brocade sleeves across his chest. He had spoken.
   "Hey, that's not my fault! What am I supposed to do
with them?" Becker asked, scratching his head.
   "Must I think for everyone?" Hafiz demanded. "I don't
know. Take them back to Terra, sell them to a slaver, but
somehow or other you must"--he gave his hand a
graceful twirl -- "recycle them out of here. The red one
had the audacity to make unseemly advances to my
Karina. He advanced so rapidly, in truth, that had my
wife's screams not alerted me and had I not rushed to
her rescue immediately, accompanied by Commander
Kando..." His voice dropped dramatically as he shook

                                                        16
his head to indicate his shock and grief at what he had
witnessed. "Well. It is only due to great speed on my
part and great forcefulness on Commander Kando's that
my delicate flower will not be bearing a barbarian baby
in a few months."
   Karina, wafting toward them, had caught Hafiz's
remarks and did not fail to capitalize on her
victimization. "So . . . coarse," she breathed, "and smelly.
And thought patterns of an extremely rude and crude
sort."
   Nadhari Kando, just behind her, grinned. "Sounds to
me as if they are perfect for your crew, Jonas."
   "Sounds to me like you should put them through boot
camp, Commander. Doesn't seem like it should take
these boys that long to get religion if you put your mind
to the task. Not to mention respect for the fair sex."
   "You do me much credit, dear," Nadhari said. "And in
fact they are warriors and might do well to train as
such."
   "I don't think it's a real good idea to arm them, since
their idea of an enemy is the Linyaari," Becker pointed
out. "And they can't come with us, since I already asked
Acorna if she'd help us out while we're shorthanded."
   Acorna was about to object when she picked up
thoughts blaring from one of the Wats. (Go home. Back
to our lord Bjorn. Away from these bewitched animals
who walk like men and women. Away before they spit
us on their horns and roast us like oxen.)

                                                         17
  (We are vegetarians,) Acorna reassured them mind to
mind. (Why would we do a thing like that?)
  Both Wats looked at her as if she had hit them on their
heads with an axe. Their brains were working on the
concept of "vegetarians." She gave them a mental image
of a rabbit eating leaves, a sheep eating grass, herself
and her friends grazing along with them.
  "We don't eat meat of any kind, especially not Wats,"
she told them aloud in a rough approximation of their
language. "And your old master is many years dead by
now. You have been brought forward in time. You must
bring your ideas up-to-date, too. My people and I are
descendants of the unicorns you once wrongfully
hunted. We will look for a new home for you now,
somewhere that may feel somewhat familiar to you.
What is it like, your home?"
  Asked a question, they resolutely folded their arms
across their broad chests, now clad in ship suits instead
of armor, and clamped their beards tight to their
mustaches. Their beards and mustaches were now much
shorter and far more neatly groomed than they had been
when the Wats first appeared. Becker had, in the not-
too-distant past, forcibly washed and barbered the Wats
as a conversation opener.
  But as steadfastly as they refused to verbalize their
memories of their homes, their thoughts betrayed them.
Acorna got images of vast dark forests of gigantic trees,
rolling storm-tossed seas, and great smoky fortresses

                                                       18
filled with clanking, clomping humans clad in metal and
heavy leather garments. On their heads some of the men
wore helmets embellished with a set of horns.
   She smiled at the Wats, baring her teeth in an
expression that was friendly for a Terran and hostile for
a Linyaari--and just right for the emotion she felt
toward these two misguided and misplaced human
beings. "I think I know where they might feel at home, at
least temporarily," she said.
   "Indeed?" Hafiz asked.
   "Yes. The Niriians are in need of help in rebuilding
their planet since the Khleevi invasion. Their two-
horned appearance very closely resembles some of the
totems these people apparently used to worship.
Perhaps these fellows could work off some of their
aggressions by helping the Niriians rebuild their planet.
And there is something about these men that reminds
me a bit of Toroona and her mate, too, don't you agree?"
   The Niriians were Linyaari trading partners of long
standing, a peaceful, industrious, and sometimes overly
conscientious bovine race. When the ravenous insectoid
Khleevi attacked Nirii, Toroona and her mate had
escaped their homeworld in time to seek help from
Hafiz, and the Linyaari. Thanks to their actions, Nirii
had not suffered anything like the degree of devastation
the Linyaari planets, Vhiliinyar and narhii-Vhiliinyar,
had. Before the Khleevi could destroy Nirii, Acorna and
her friends had devised a strategy to lure the buglike

                                                       19
aliens away from Nirii to another place. That plan had
eventually resulted in an end to all Khleevi
destructiveness forever.
   "Good idea, Princess," Becker approved. "The
cowboys and cowgirls will know what to do with these
guys. And they're not fragile, graceful people like you
Linyaari. These fellas give them any trouble, the Niriians
will sit on 'em till they holler 'calfrope.'"
   "Ye-es," Hafiz said. "Yes, indeed. I like it. Acorna, my
dear girl, as usual you have devised a solution that is
both convenient and kind. In this case, far kinder than
these lecherous barbarians deserve. But... convenient.
Captain, there is the solution to our problems. You and
Acorna will deliver these two troglodytes to the
Niriians. If they decline to accept our gracious gift of
manpower, remind them please that they are deeply in
our debt."
   "No," Becker said.
   "No?" Hafiz seemed puzzled by the word, as if it had
no meaning for him and was spoken in a language he
did not understand. The head (emeritus) of the
fabulously wealthy House Harakamian did not often
hear such a word. At least not in public.
   "No. Acorna shouldn't have to put up with that stuff. I
told you. These guys hunt unicorns."
   Hafiz waved his objections away. "My dear Becker,
you speak of our niece as if she were any Linyaari, or any
female, for that matter. As you can plainly tell, she has

                                                        20
already established even better communication with
these barbarians than you yourself have, has read their
minds, and has determined an agreeable and humane
disposition for their offensive persons. They are like
lambs with their shepherd. They would do her no harm.
Think you that I would allow the daughter of my heart
to be endangered? Besides, she has you and the
estimable Mac to protect her should she require such
protection!"
   "Your faith in me is touching, Uncle," Acorna said
dryly. It was amazing how competent people became in
Uncle Hafiz's estimation when there was something
unpleasant he wanted them to cope with because he
didn't want to be bothered with it himself. "But I can't go
that far. I only came for a short visit. As soon as I have
seen Kaarlye and Miiri and some of my other friends,
just as I have seen you and Karina, I must return to
Vhiliinyar. We all have a world to rebuild there, after
all."
   Hafiz gave her a look. She knew it was meant to make
her realize that they were able to rebuild it only because
of his financing. But he had picked a fine time to nudge
her--blackmail her, actually--into doing his will, when
it involved a prolonged absence from Vhiliinyar, the
time machine and possibly Aari. She didn't want to leave
Vhiliinyar. But Hafiz was so besotted with his love he
would do anything to spare Karina trouble.
   Suddenly a pair of comforting hands landed on her

                                                        21
shoulders and she turned to see Miiri, Maati's and Aari s
mother, standing behind her.
   (There, there, dear,) Miiri said to her in the mind-to-
mind communication all adult Linyaari shared. (Uncle
Hafiz is the soul of kindness, as we have good reason to
know, but he is used to being spoiled and served by
those around him, which has made him extremely self-
centered. I imagine he has convinced himself that the
solution to his problem will in some way ease your own
troubled heart.)
   Becker, however, struck a pugnacious pose, sticking
his lower jaw out and glaring at the old despot. "Look,
Hafiz, Acorna doesn't need to be hassled right now."
   "Oh, no, my estimable Becker, that is very true. And
naturally I would not suggest it if I thought it would, as
you so colorfully express, hassle her.
   "As for rebuilding Vhiliinyar, well, it occurs to me that
the Niriians, as old and trusted trading partners
indebted to the Linyaari for their continued existence,
have resources and goods that may be useful to the
Linyaari in the rebuilding of their worlds -- both
Vhiliinyar and narhii-Vhiliinyar.
   "Under their current circumstances, the Niriians may
be inclined to have a bit of a fire sale, and such items as
our Linyaari friends find desirable might be exceedingly
cheap at this time -- free even, to the dear friends who
saved the Niriian home.
   "But some kind soul, someone who would perhaps be

                                                         22
willing to collect or trade damaged goods, to salvage
them, shall we say, must first confront the Niriians with
a Linyaari ambassador to whom they may express their
gratitude and eagerness to do business. And it comes to
me that they will be more eager yet to reward such a
person with low prices for high value. That is, if you--or
any wise salvage merchant who seizes this once-in-a-
lifetime opportunity--and a Linyaari ambassador
should arrive at this time bringing news of the Linyaari
plight. Not to mention the gift of two louts with strong
backs to assist in the manual labor of restoration."
   Hafiz shrugged ingeniously. "It was a little idea I had,
nothing more. Please do not let this humble and useless
old man impose upon your other pressing plans."
   The red-haired Wat, bored with the unfathomable
exchange of words going on around him, let his eye
wander to Karina. He made a flirtatious but forceful
gesture in her direction, no doubt intending to charm
her with his "wit."
   Karina looked thoroughly revolted and alarmed. Her
eyes rolling upward, she half swooned into her
husband's arms. "Ooooooh, I am having one of my
visions. Yes, yes, I see clearly now. Hold me, my
protective pasha, while I clear my channels."
   With one arm she clung to Hafiz's neck--the side of
his neck farthest from the Wats --while with the other
she batted at the air as if being attacked by miniature
Khleevi.

                                                        23
   She made an odd puffing sound as she performed this
ritual.
   Karina knew that the Linyaari were genuine psychics,
and she knew in her innermost mind that she was not
psychic, or at least mostly was not, no matter what she
publicly claimed.
   This in no way prevented her from carrying on the
periodic charades with which she hoped to impress
others with her "powers."
   On the other hand, when Hafiz had wavered when it
came time to inconvenience himself on behalf of the
Linyaari, Karina had persuaded him, not with a vision,
but with the threat of performing the necessary manual
labor herself. There was much to like in such a person.
   (Indeed there is, Son's Beloved,) Miiri agreed with
Acorna's estimation. (Some of us have tried to
communicate with her mentally, to touch her mind and
school it in nonverbal communication, to encourage the
psychic powers she seems so desperately to desire. But
try as we will, we cannot affect her. Poor Karina is
absolutely the least receptive being any of us have ever
encountered when it comes to reliable day-to-day
thought transfer.)
   "Oh, yes! Yes!" Karina cried, waving the billowing
lavender sleeve of her robe about before touching the
back of her plump beringed hand to her forehead. "Oh, I
will tell her. Be sure that I will tell her."
   Her eyelids had been fluttering like butterfly wings

                                                      24
above the whites of her upturned eyes, and now she
opened them all the way and stared full at Acorna. "You
must undertake this journey, not for itself but for where
it will lead you, Acorna. What you seek is not on
Vhiliinyar. It is not near. It is very far. You are meant to
take this journey."
   Acorna had not been reading the likable but slightly
ridiculous wife of her "uncle." Her own sensitivity,
which had been rubbed raw by the loss of her lifemate
so soon after they were joined, was outraged with the
presumption of this person she considered a friend. To
so blatantly try to manipulate her, and in that fashion...
   (On the other hand . . .) Miiri continued, her voice full
of grudging admiration (there are times when not even
Karina knows that it is happening when she is wide
open. At such times, totally unexpected and uncanny
things issue from her.)
   Acorna turned to look Aari's mother full in the face.
"You mean, you felt that she was genuinely in touch
with something just then?"
   "Oh, yes, I felt it myself as she spoke."
   It occurred to Acorna that Hafiz was not the only one
who was self-absorbed. Once more she realized that the
pain of her loss was blunting her perception of other
people's problems -- and in this case, abilities. Aari's
parents had told him that during the time he was
imprisoned by the Khleevi, his mother, a powerful
empath, had experienced the pain of his torture sessions

                                                         25
to such a degree that she was violently ill most of the
time. It took all of the healing strength of their people to
help her bring his little sister Maati into the world.
Karina might lightly fake such a message, but Miiri
would never lightly endorse it.
  (Do you -- should you and Kaarlye or Maati come,
too?) Acorna asked. She knew that if it had been one of
them who received such a clear message and she was
not asked, she would insist on being included.
  Miiri read that thought and smiled. (No, Khornya. The
message really was for you.)
  (Was it from Aari? Is he all right? Will he show me
how to find him?)
  (Sweet child, you know nothing is so direct as that.
No, I do not think it was from Aari. I can't actually say
where it came from. But I know it was genuine, and it
was meant for you. You still don't realize, do you, that
though you are Linyaari like the rest of us, you have
special abilities and qualities that make you better suited
for some missions than others of us? Perhaps it is your
unusual upbringing. I don't know. I can tell you that if
Aari were in serious pain, or ... no longer lived, I would
know and I would tell you. You know, too, that Kaarlye,
Aari's father, is as powerful a transmitter as I am an
empath. If we have word of our son while you are gone,
we will get a message to you, no matter where you are.)
  (I know. I know.) Acorna was trying to be reasonable,
sensible.

                                                         26
    Miiri reached inside the neck of her tunic and pulled
from it a silvery chain Acorna had often noticed glinting
at her neckline. Three small silvery disks jingled
together upon it. Miiri lifted the necklace over her head,
undid the catch, removed two of the disks and slipped
them into her tunic, then ceremoniously placed the chain
and the remaining disk around Acorna's neck.
    (This is Aari's birth disk,) Miiri told her. (I had been
meaning to give it to you anyway.)
    (Birth disk?)
    (Yes. When a baby is born to our people, it is
customary for the artisans to make a disk like this with
the exact position of the stars overhead inscribed upon
it, as well as his unique personal code. It is a gift for the
mother at her birthing. When the child reaches maturity,
generally the mother gives it to him on his birthday.
When he takes a lifemate, it becomes what you would
call a wedding gift. I was going to give this to Aari, but
then you two became lifemates, and I thought perhaps I
would give it to you when we were all together. Now I
think you must have it, as a token of the love you share
with my eldest. I can get another chain for Maati's and
Laarye's disks.)
    Acorna examined the little disk, which shimmered in
her hand with a shine that was not silver, but more like
the opalescent fire of a healthy Linyaari horn. She
recognized the constellation from the night sky--
Hronii's Book, the source of knowledge of the universe.

                                                          27
  She clutched it for a moment, her emotions so strong
that she was unable even to thank Miiri. Then she kissed
the little disk and tucked it into her tunic.
  Miiri enfolded Acorna in an embrace that was the
most comforting thing Acorna had felt since Aari was
lost. When Acorna finally released Miiri, she turned,
ready to face Hafiz and Becker and agree to what they
asked of her.
  Becker barely glanced at her, nodded, and turned to
Hafiz. "Tell you what, HH. You send Nadhari along
with us to protect Acorna from the Wats, and you got
yourself a deal."




                                                      28
                            Two

   You didn't need me, Jonas," Nadhari said once they
were well away from MOO. "MacKenZ is strong enough
to subdue our hairy friends, or you could have tied them
up and locked them in an inner cargo hold."
   "Yes, sweetie, but I wanted you to come," Becker said,
twirling the ends of his mustache. "You know how much
more secure I feel when you're here to protect me. I just
used Acorna as a smoke screen so nobody else would
know what a wuss I am."
   Acorna added, "Nadhari has a point, Captain. Mac
fought the Wats when they attacked Thariinye, Maati,
and me. They regard Mac as a superior warrior. Him
and RK both."
   RK was draped across Nadhari's shoulders like a fur
stole, his tail describing lazy Js against the insignia sewn
to the sleeve covering her left arm. The cat's face, framed
by its furry mane, was so large it looked as if Nadhari
had two heads.
   "Our Temple cats are ferocious fighters," the woman
warrior said, running a finger along the cat's curl of tail.
   "I believe it, having seen RK in action," Acorna agreed.
"However, he doesn't have Mac's facility for alien
languages. I think, Captain, that since Mac mastered the

                                                         29
Khleevi utterances well enough to fool their ships, he
could certainly pick up the tongue the Wats are speaking
among themselves.
   "Our people have tried using the LAANYE on their
language, but those two don't seem to carry on normal
conversations and the only words that consistently
appear in their thoughts when faced with most of us are,
'Maim, kill, destroy, rend,' and that sort of thing. Most of
my people find that too disturbing to pursue, not to
mention it being too limited a sample to build a
language base from. If Mac can communicate with them
consistently, then perhaps we can start teaching them
current languages and manners. It must be very
frightening for them to suddenly be among us. We
should try to help them assimilate so they can continue
their lives in this time in a somewhat normal way."
   "If you say so," Becker said. "Personally, I think we
should just send them back to whenever it was the old-
timers had banished them to." He grinned at Nadhari.
"At least they were a bargaining chip for me to get
Hafiz's security chief off MOO for a while."
   Acorna watched attraction spark between the captain
and Nadhari like static from RK's fur. The two humans
still cared for each other, that was clear. With a sigh,
Acorna turned to go speak to Mac.
   The android readily agreed to her proposal. "You
mean you want me to modify the Wats in the same way
you modified me? An upgrade of their memory banks?"

                                                         30
  "Yes, sort of. Though they are very backward and
superstitious."
  "What is superstitious?" Mac wanted to know.
  "Hmm, some people would say it means to believe in
any sort of magical charms at all, but I think it is more
the belief in false magical charms that presuppose a
cause-and-effect relationship between events or
incidents that are actually unrelated."

   "Then there are true magical charms as well as false
ones?"
   Mac asked.
   "I don't know. I suppose that depends on the
definition used for magic. In some places, the ability my
people have to read minds, or the way that I can discern,
from a distance, the mineral content of planetary bodies
throughout their mass, would be considered magic. We
cannot actually explain these abilities yet, and some
people consider all unexplained events as magic. Many
phenomena for which we now have scientific
explanations were considered to be magic before we
learned those explanations. There were no scientists that
we know of in the time Wat and Wat came from, so all
events and phenomena must seem magical to them."
   "Ah," Mac said, "that may explain their hostility to you
and your people. Is it possible that they wish to kill your
people because they believe you are magicians with evil
powers?"

                                                        31
   "No, they kill us because they want to steal our horns.
Their leaders believe that our horns have the power to
make them more virile, to keep them from being
poisoned, all that sort of thing. It's even true, but what
they don't understand is that if they'd befriended our
Ancestors and asked for help nicely instead of killing
every horn-bearer they saw, things would have worked
out better on both sides. As it was, their ruthless pursuit
of 'magic horns' back on Old Terra meant that soon there
were no more 'magic horns' to pursue."

  She and Mac worked as a team, spending hours on
end with the Wats. She read their thoughts and supplied
the images to Mac, who asked questions in their guttural
language, which he understood very quickly. "It is, as
Captain Becker discovered, a very early version of
Standard, with some Teuton and old Norse mixed in.
Many sentences are actually not very different from
those spoken by Captain Becker and other Terrans, but
the inflection and accent make the words sound
foreign."
  Acorna had already noticed this, and was picking up
on the similarities and learning the accent, but since the
Wats were the ones who would have to assimilate to the
dominant cultures around them now, it was more
important for them to learn modern languages than for
her to learn ancient Wat.
  Now that the Wats were actually in a mood to

                                                        32
communicate, thanks to Acorna's telepathic skills, Mac
made rapid headway teaching them words and
concepts. The android tried to explain to them that they
were flying through space in a spaceship. They asked
him in awed tones if the Thunder God had his hand on
the Condor, guiding the vessel across the heavens.
  "Did you explain it to them?" Acorna asked, amused.
  "I tried, but in the end I said no, it was more as if we
were riding the Thunder God's lightning bolt. They
seemed not only satisfied with that explanation, but
impressed and proud."
  Though neither Wat had as yet directly addressed her,
Acorna felt that great progress was being made in their
socialization. She had no idea at what point in their
temporal incarceration the time rupture had released
them, but they were still relatively young men.
  The red-haired one with the amorous intentions
toward Karma was taller than his companion and was
heavily muscled through the chest, shoulders, and arms.
He had a blue-eyed stare that at some times was direct
and at others seemed to be looking back into his past
and asking many questions. Reading his thoughts,
Acorna saw that he had several mates and many
children in scattered villages.
  The other Wat had sandy hair and blue eyes as well,
and was more of a warrior by disposition. His glance
was suspicious and his questions were sly, as if he
thought to catch his captors out in a lie. He kept alert to

                                                        33
escape opportunities.
   Acorna cautioned Mac to watch that man. Though his
outward behavior was less aggressive than that of the
red-haired Wat, he was the more dangerous and less
civilized of the two.
   What they had taken for the red-haired Wat's
crudeness was simply a healthy lust that had stood him
in good stead in his homeland while siring his dynasties.
He also had a certain sort of gregariousness, a
willingness to found new dynasties no matter where his
circumstances took him. Hafiz, with some justification,
considered the man a barbarian rapist, but of the two
Wats, he was actually far less hostile and more amenable
to learning. Even his actions toward Karina would, in
his own culture, have been a compliment. Acorna had
deduced that the Wats' world had some remarkable
differences from modern human society.
   The personality and character differences between the
Wats caused the men to argue among themselves a bit,
which gave Mac opportunities to learn more of their
language, and -- once he'd deciphered what they
meant--give them further instruction in modern Basic.
   Acorna became sure they'd reached a turning point
with the barbarians one day when she walked, on her
way to turn in for some much-needed rest, through the
cabin to which the Wats' lessons had been moved.
Becker had hoped providing a civilized environment
would speed the barbarians' education. Mac had a

                                                       34
replicator salvaged from a merchant ship and was
serving the men tea and cakes, though they would have
much preferred beer and little salted fishes. Indeed, the
blond Wat had developed quite a sweet tooth. The red-
haired Wat looked up at her, and for the first time, his
blue eyes focused. "Female" was the word that registered
with him, and a broad grin--the baring of teeth the
Linyaari considered so hostile--lit his face.
   Acorna kept her face carefully grave, though she
wanted to laugh and smile back. This one would
cheerfully misinterpret friendliness for ... uh ... passion.
Even in another species. He was starting to remind her a
bit of Thariinye that way.
   Acorna hurried out of that room as quickly as good
manners and the Wats would let her.
   She wasn't required on the bridge much on this trip.
With the Condor's new Khleevi control panel
modifications, Becker and Mac were able to manipulate
the controls much better than she was. She hoped that
Becker would wear out this particular configuration
before Aari returned. She doubted her lifemate would
really appreciate the ironic humor in the use of Khleevi
technology aboard the Condor. He was more likely to
decline to board the ship while it was in place.
   As she settled in for a sleep cycle, she pondered how
to break it to Becker that the ship's current configuration
was not one of his more successful ones.
   She fell asleep at once and dreamed of Aari, as always,

                                                         35
but also, and primarily, she dreamed of cats. At first
they were very large cats, as big as Aari. Then Aari
began shrinking in size until his size in relation to the
cats around him was the reverse of how it really should
be. A lot of the dream was just about the daily life
among the cats--the birth of kittens, hunting and eating,
building. There were humans there, too, and they and
the cats sometimes fought together. The dream became
long and involved and increasingly catty, until Aari was
not even in it. And the cats were crying, mewling,
scratching, begging for something.
   She awoke to the realization that the sounds were real.
RK was setting up a horrible ruckus outside her
quarters, scratching at the door, crying as if his heart
was broken.
   When she opened the hatch, RK rushed in, while from
the bridge came roars from Becker. "Fragitall, RK, you
know better than to play with the controls!"
   "To what do I owe this honor?" she asked the cat,
closing the hatch. "Could it be that you're looking for
sanctuary?" She lay down again on her bunk, cradling
her friend in her arms.
   RK growled softly and burrowed his face into her
hand.
   Then the ship lurched and she was catapulted from
her berth. The cat laid tracks on her flesh right through
her shipsuit as he shot out into the room and bounced
off the far wall. The ship bucked again. The artificial

                                                        36
gravity on board fluctuated wildly once more from
Federation standard to zero G and back again. Acorna's
first impulse was to head for the bridge and see what the
trouble was, but until things were a bit more stable, that
didn't seem to be wise. Rolling down the corridors and
ricocheting from the ceiling would hardly be helpful.
She lay back down on her bunk and strapped herself in,
searching for Becker's thoughts. The process didn't
involve much mind reading at the moment. The
captain's mental voice was very loud when he was
upset.
   (Fraggin' Khleevi piece of decomposing roach
manure, who would have thought they'd put the warp
drive where the brakes ought to be? Fraggin' cat playing
fraggin' Tarzan with the fraggin' levers.)
   The ship's gravity failed again. RK levitated from the
place where he landed during the first lurch. He swam
expertly to the hatch, bumped against it, and when it did
not give, roared his complaint. He wanted out and he
wanted out now, with the same intensity he had
formerly exhibited expressing his desire to come in.
   The Condor lurched and shuddered. Acorna could
only imagine what was happening to the ship. It felt
roughly like it did when Captain Becker took the Condor
through a patch of what he called "black water," where
space was full of wormholes and pleats that either
offered shortcuts to their original destination or landed
them somewhere far removed from where they entered.

                                                        37
   Cautiously, Acorna unfastened her berth strap, moved
hand over hand along the wall to the storage locker,
found her gravity boots, and did a few somersaults
while pulling them on, fastening them, and activating
them. It was a bit tricky making sure her feet were
pointed at a place that would not endanger the rest of
her when they grabbed hold of the surface. Her quarters
were small and, while not as cluttered as they had been
during Becker's 'bachelor' days, when the Condor's crew
consisted solely of him and RK, they were still barely
large enough for Acorna to stretch out full-length. RK
continued to howl and claw at the steel door hatch.
Acorna opened it and the cat swam out like a newly
launched torpedo. Becker's thoughts were still
thoroughly profane. Nadhari was attempting to soothe
him, but being soothing was not a natural role for her.
   Hearing panicked bellows and pounding noises,
Acorna made her way to the hold where the Wats were
incarcerated. Through the viewport, she saw the two
hirsute men floating and flailing, their faces distorted
with terror and their mental state much too confused to
make any sense of the thoughts she was trying to read.
   Mac must be on the bridge, helping Becker, she
decided.
   Unlocking the hatch, she ducked between the airborne
Wats and found the storage locker there. She pulled out
gravity boots for them. Snagging one of the struggling
Wats by the arm, she tugged at him. His arm shot out

                                                      38
and caught her on the side of the head and his hand
tangled itself in her mane. Shaking her head to loosen
his grip, she reached for his foot.
   "The Thunder God is dropping us!" he was screaming.
   "Calm yourselves," she mentally commanded both of
them in their own language. It was the first time she had
actually spoken to them since she read them back on
MOO. "The thunder god has nothing to do with this.
This is simply a navigational difficulty, such as you
would have with one of your ships. The captain has it
under control." The Condor lurched again. "Almost
under control. Put these boots on and you will regain
control of the . . . the air, which will once more stay
properly above your heads while you keep your feet on
this . . . deck."
   "You speak sooth?" asked the red-haired one, who
was not the one she had grabbed to begin with.
   Acorna was having some success radiating calm and
courage at them, reminding them mentally that they
were warriors on a more perilous journey than any of
their kind had ever dared. Why, if they were back where
they came from, the deeds they had done and the tales
they could tell would be beyond belief, but if such
stories were believed, would elevate them high above
their Former liege lord in the estimation of their fellows.
   Acorna was frankly winging it in these assurances, for
she had only the most shadowy idea of what their
society must have been like. She would have to find

                                                        39
some vids and books about old Terra, she thought, and
realized she should have done this sooner.
   But her glorification of their adventures--which
carefully omitted the part about their being terrified and
completely at the mercy of people they considered
mortal enemies or prey -- served its purpose. The Wats'
bellowing stopped, their breathing slowed, and their
muscles relaxed. Then Acorna read a thought going
through the head of the sandy-haired one--that now
would be an opportune time to overpower her and take
her horn.
   She recoiled, calling mentally to Nadhari as she did
so. "You are incorrigible!" she shouted at him, aloud this
time, and quickly translated her sentiments into the
closest approximation in his own tongue, an idiomatic
expression rustic at best. "What good would that do
you? We are about to make a forced landing on an
unknown--no, not a star, a world. If we landed on a star
we would burn up. My horn is of the greatest possible
use to you now firmly attached to my head, where it
belongs. As we told you before, the liege lord you wish
to impress has been dead for several thousand years.
You are the last of your kind. We are trying to
rehabilitate you enough so you will have a place in our
universe, but you will not impress the authorities--who
are known as the Federation--by butchering a Linyaari
ambassador, which is what I am. You really must stop
thinking of your old mission and switch gears. Oars.

                                                        40
Whatever!"
   The red-haired one pried his friend, who had one boot
on and one boot off, away from Acorna, putting himself
between them, and said, "She is no beast, but a lady. The
lady goddess herself now, I am thinking. If we displease
her, well, you know what she wall do to us. We will be
turned into swine. Perhaps we do not realize it and are
already swine, as she said she is trying to turn us into
men who will be pleasing to the lords of this place."
   "I know no lord but Bjorn, to whom I'm sworn," his
blond friend said stubbornly.
   The redhead reached out and clasped Acorna's waist
with one large paw, and kicked up a large foot, currently
bare. He nearly bowled himself backwards in the
process, and his fingers slacked their hold on her. She
grabbed his hand and extended her other arm with the
boot. He got it on, and then the other one, then extracted
a peace bond from his friend before helping him with his
remaining boot. "You will not harm her?"
   "How can I? We are unarmed."
   "True," his comrade agreed. "You are safe from us,
lady unicorn goddess."
   "I'm very relieved," she told him. She thought it might
be best to let them get used to all of the other new
concepts that would be confronting them in the current
time before officially renouncing her divinity. Just now,
being a god in their eyes could come in handy. Later, if
all went well, she would lose her divinity in their minds

                                                        41
as the Wats became better oriented, and she'd never
have to confront the problem directly at all. "Now that
you know you can walk, I suggest you strap yourselves
into your berths. We may be making a rough landing."
   "We do not die lying down," said Red Wat, as she was
starting to think of him, "There is no honor in that. If
there is mortal danger, we will face it, and since we have
no weapons, shake our fists at it."
   "Very effective, I'm sure," she said. "The captain does
that all the time, so it's certain to be very useful."
   Becker's thoughts were calmer now and she intruded
long enough to send a mental message. (Captain, the
Wats wish to observe the landing. Have I permission to
bring them forward?)
   (Why not?) The response was weary, but she sensed
that much of the danger had passed. (I was going to get
them to help us unload the Condor so I can get to the
Niriian shuttle in cargo bay four that has a control panel
I can patch together. I'm going to offload all these
stinkin' Khleevi parts when we make our pit stop.
They're about as worthless as the bugs who made them.)
   Acorna didn't reply but motioned for the Wats to
follow her. In case either of them changed his mind
about her divine nature and decided to attack her from
behind, she kept a tight monitor on their thoughts until
she stepped back and allowed them to precede her onto
the bridge.
   Nadhari, Becker, and Mac were all seated, their heads

                                                        42
below the tops of their chairs, so the Wats looked
straight past them out the viewport into space.
   The surface of the burgeoning sphere where the
Condor was preparing to land occupied a third of the
port. The Wats gaped at it, stricken by something close
to awe, then knelt as if they couldn't support themselves
on their feet any longer. Their minds were literally
numb.
   Becker glanced back around the side of his command
chair, and jerked a thumb at the open-mouthed men.
"Wot's with the Wats? They look like they got religion all
of a sudden."
   "That's the least of it, I believe, Captain. I don't think
they've ever been permitted to see space since they first
traveled to Vhiliinyar. They're a bit overwhelmed.
They've been under the impression the Condor is being
carried through space by the Thunder God."
   "Thunderstruck, eh?" Becker asked, then held up both
arms and rotated his wrists to show first the backs of his
hands, then the palms. "But you're wrong about the god!
Look, Ma, no hands! We're landing under our own
power--but just barely."
   Acorna got a sudden sense of the upcoming world's
mineral composition. "Captain, I don't think you'll want
to linger here. This world is extremely wet and the air,
while breathable, is full of sulfurous effusions."
   "Beggars can't be choosers." The viewport was taken
up with the planet's surface except for a slender halo of

                                                          43
atmosphere surrounding it. "Strap in, folks, gravity is
about to grab us."
   Acorna helped the Wats secure themselves in the
auxiliary seats behind the command post and buckled in
herself. The ship shuddered, and the planet blossomed
to fill the entirety of the viewport, its surface becoming
more and more detailed. Streamlets, rivers, lagoons,
ponds, lakes, and all manner of wetlands, laced together
with heavy vegetation. There didn't seem to be any seas
as such, just innumerable smaller bodies of water
running in and out of each other.
   Finally Becker said, "Look, Princess, there's a kind of
flat plain there with a patch of grass. We'll set down in
it."
   "I hope you have diving equipment, Jonas," said
Nadhari, who had been very quiet through all of this.
   "Why?" Becker asked. "Is there something you'd like
to tell me, babe?"
   "Well, yes, actually, but there's not enough..."
   They splashed down rather than set down, as Becker
had planned. The grass was actually a sea of tall reeds
and the Condor was in water halfway up to the robolift.
And sinking.
   ". . . time," Nadhari finished. "Perhaps, Jonas, you
could do a quick repair on the Khleevi unit so it would
allow us to move to a drier spot?"
   He already had a torch and a screwdriver in hand. "I
wonder if there is a drier spot," he grumbled. "This

                                                        44
whole place is one dismal swamp, from what I can tell."
   "Yes," Nadhari said. "And there are large, unfriendly
reptilian life forms living in these waters."
   "How do you know about that?" he asked.
   "Because I recognize this place. The Federation used it
as a sort of boot camp for Makahomian recruits, to see if
we qualified for the Corps. It is near enough to
Makahomia that those who didn't make it through the
training could be returned--dead or alive."
   "Do tell?" Becker asked, scratching his chin. "Hmmm.
We seem to have gone a little out of our way."
   "I don't want to be rude, Captain," Acorna said. "But
did you maybe detect some small differences in the
functions of Khleevi navigational equipment as
compared to that of other cultures whose salvage you
have adapted to the Condor?"
   Becker harrumphed and looked at the strange array
he had installed, waving at it casually. "You mean this?
Well, Princess, when you've been in the salvage business
as long as I have you learn that there are just so many
functions a ship is going to perform and that they are to
some extent interchangeable. If it wasn't for that
blasted"--he looked at Nadhari and RK, who were both
eying him through slitted eyes, and revised his
adjective-- "holy cat swinging from the toggles and
playing leapfrog across the buttons..."
   Acorna and Nadhari looked meaningfully at the
watery landscape outside the viewport. The tops of the

                                                        45
tall reeds were beginning to tickle the belly of the Condor
by now.
   "You suppose that's it?" he asked with a pained and
apologetic grimace as he worked on the control panel.
"The Khleevi warp drive is maybe a little juicier than
what I'm used to?"
   "Since we are now in a totally different quadrant of
space than we planned to be, it would seem as if
Khornya has justification for her assumption, Captain,"
Mac said. "If I may make a suggestion, sirs and ladies?"
   "Sure, Mac, what is it?"
   "Are the ship's communication devices still
functional?"
   "Seem to be," Becker said, checking them.
   "Then I suggest we send a Mayday message, sir, and
promptly. I do not believe the Condor has the
appropriate modifications for supporting our lives for
the rest of eternity under the sludge into which we are
sinking."
   "I was just about to do that little thing," Becker told
him. "No need to state the obvious, Mac. In fact," he said,
turning to Nadhari, "if we're close to your homeworld,
babe, why don't you do the honors?"
   Before she had finished her opening hail in her own
language, RK had planted himself in front of her face.
Becker plucked him out of the way, and with help from
Acorna, they wrestled the cat into a harness that
tethered him to one of the bridge seats. Afterward,

                                                        46
Acorna doctored Becker's scratches and puncture
wounds.
   The Wats did not seem to entirely understand the
danger they were currently in and Acorna saw no need
to enlighten them for the time being. The two men
stared out the viewport and seemed lost in the scenery.
From the snatches of their thoughts Acorna caught while
Nadhari made repeated hails in her native tongue, the
Wats seemed to think sinking into an alien marsh was
just another of the strange things their current captors
did. They weren't sure if it was a function of battle, a
form of transportation, a demonstration of power, or
possibly some kind of strange courtship ritual, but
Acorna's previous reassurances had gained their
confidence and they saw no reason to lose it now.
   Sooner than any of them had imagined possible, they
received a response to their Mayday. "Condor, this is the
Arkansas Traveler. I don't rightly understand all that
language you're speaking, but I got enough of it to know
you're in trouble. I'm coming up on your position now.
Could you repeat your message in Standard Galactic
lingo, over?"
   "Certainly, Arkansas Traveler," Nadhari said smoothly
in the more familiar language. "I will turn you over to
Captain Becker."
   "Uh, I don't suppose you folks could let me have a
visual on you, could you? My cargo is not my own and
it's always nice to know who you're dealing with. No

                                                       47
offense."
   "None taken, Traveler. We'll show you ours if you'll
show us yours, over," Becker said in a tone that, in other
quarters, might have implied something completely
different. "Nadhari, you're more photogenic than me.
Wave at the nice ship on the vid screen, will you?"
   When she had done so, Becker leaned in and wiggled
his fingers, too. In a moment, the handsome, friendly
face of a man with green eyes and white hair grinned
back at them. "Nice to meet you folks. I'm Scaradine
MacDonald. I've got a load of tractors and irrigation
equipment I'm delivering, but I reckon I can stop long
enough to give you a tow."
   "We'd appreciate it, Captain MacDonald," Becker said.
"We got in a little deeper than we'd planned."
   "No problem. I've got a tractor beam on this thing that
can pull you up right through the atmosphere. And hey,
call me Scar. Everybody does."
   "Thanks, Scar. I'm Jonas Becker, Chief Executive
Officer as well as Chief Cook and Bottle Washer of
Becker     Interplanetary     Recycling     and    Salvage
Enterprises, Ltd. We were en route for a planet in
another sector altogether when we had an equipment
failure. I thought it would be safe to land here for
repairs, but it was a lot soupier than it looked. This nice
lady beside me is Commander Nadhari Kando. She tells
me we're pretty close to Makahomia, which is where
she's from. You think you could tow us that far?"

                                                        48
   "Sure, that's not much out of my way. I was hoping to
stop and refuel there, anyway."
   Becker looked at Nadhari, who said, "That shouldn't
be a problem. I will transfer to your navigation
computer the proper coordinates for our final
destination." She did so and then said, "These are the
coordinates of the Federation outpost nearest my place
of origin. It has an excellent spaceport and enough
landmass that the planet's various border skirmishes
really don't affect the people who aren't interested in the
battles." After she'd finished the transmission, she sat
back, as still as a statue.
   Acorna looked at her sharply. Nadhari was clearly
uncomfortable. Had she been a less disciplined and
guarded individual, she might have been twitching or
displaying a nervous tic, but as the highly trained
peacekeeper that she was, Nadhari simply became
increasingly still, outwardly calm, her face serene as a
sheathed knife unless she was speaking.
   At that moment the vid screen lit again, "Okay,
Captain Becker, ma'am. I'm going to turn on the tractor
beam now. Hope everybody is strapped in?"
   Becker reassured him on that point. "Just about time
too, buddy. The viewport is starting to get a little moist
around the edges. You sure that winch of yours can pull
us out of this? Want me to use my thrusters first?"
   "Well, let's just crank 'er up and give 'er a go first,
whatcha think?" the other captain suggested.

                                                        49
   "Sounds good to me. Only step on it," Becker
suggested.
   The tractor beam had a little problem pulling the
Condor loose, but after a few nasty jolts and some ghastly
creaking the ship began to shift, until at last the outer
hull was visible again through the viewport, the landing
pods choked with reeds and dripping with giant sharp-
fanged eel-like reptiles.
   "Ewww," Becker said. "Glad we didn't go out there!"
   The Wats were awestricken all over again as the
Condor pulled free from the muck with a deafening
sucking noise and leaped into the air under the tow of
the other ship.
   When Scar's face appeared on the screen, Sandy Wat
said to Red Wat, "The face of the Thunder God as he lifts
us onto his lightning bolt." To Acorna he pointed
triumphantly at the screen and said, "You see?"
   Acorna decided it was better to deal with the Wats'
misconceptions later. Much later.
   But Nadhari didn't move, not even when they felt the
heavy pressure of acceleration as their ship was pulled
out of the gravity well and into space.
   "Nadhari," Acorna said carefully, "although we all
know you and RK well, we know very little about
Makahomia. Your planet has the reputation for being
almost as secluded and secretive as Vhiliinyar and
narhii-Vhiliinyar. Is there anything you would like to tell
us about it so we can avoid embarrassing you or

                                                        50
ourselves?"
   "Like what?" Nadhari asked.
   "Whatever seems pertinent right now -- for instance,
where exactly are we going? What is your planet like?
Does the name of your planet mean something special?
Answers to those questions seem like a good place to
start."
   Nadhari took a deep breath, more out of tension than
the need for oxygen. Finally she said, "The name of my
home planet? Makah is our word for cat, and 'hom'
refers to either people or place, so we are the people or
place of the cat, depending on the suffix. Makahomia, as
you say, is 'place of the cat.' We would say 'Makahomin'
for place, 'Makahomini' for ourselves. We'll be landing
near the Federation outpost facility, which is the only
place vessels like the Condor and the Arkansas Traveler
can refuel on Makahomia. There is only one outpost, or
at least that was the case when last I was here. It is just
outside the city of Hissim, on the semiarid Mog-Gim
Plateau bordering the Great Aridimi Desert."
   "Is that where you're from, Nadhari?"
   "Not originally, no, though I lived there briefly in
semi-slavery before being recruited by the Federation."
   "Semi-slavery?" asked Becker, who had himself been a
child slave on Kezdet. "Does that mean they shackle you
only on alternate days?"
   "No," she said. "I was taken prisoner by the Aridimis
after a battle and given to the Temple priests as an

                                                        51
acolyte. As such, I was confined to the Temple to do
menial chores. My fighting ability and my affinity for
the sacred cats saved me from some of the less pleasant
duties I might have been forced into otherwise."
   "That must have been terrible for you," Acorna said
sympathetically. "No wonder you were so eager to help
Mr. Li free the children of Kezdet and establish the
training center on Maganos."
   Nadhari raised an eyebrow and smiled a half-smile.
"Actually, it wasn't bad at all. I let myself be raptured,
once I had demonstrated that I could handle myself in
battle. I knew our enemy was near the new Federation
outpost, and I knew that the Federation recruited likely
Makahomian young people and took them off-planet to
train for the Corps. One of my cousins had gone and
returned, which was quite unusual. He said it was
wonderful, but that Makahomia needed him more than
the Federation. His stories made me determine to be
chosen. Mostly they didn't choose girls, but there were
not many girls who could fight as I could."
   Becker had wanted Nadhari to open up, and now she
was unusually garrulous. Acorna thought it was
extreme nervousness, as well as being around people
she trusted, that made her so talkative.
   "What was your home like?" Acorna asked her. "Now
that we are here, will you be able to visit your family?
Can we explore the planet with you and see where you
come from?"

                                                        52
   "I very much doubt it," Nadhari said with a half
shrug. "It may not even be advisable to let the
Federation know I'm aboard, depending on who rules
Hissim these days. Also, the Federation does not allow
anyone to introduce alien technologies to our people."
   "Why not?" Becker asked.
   Nadhari took a deep breath. "Because if one faction
had a technological edge, it would upset the balance of
power that keeps our continual wars from escalating to a
bloodbath that could wipe out the population. You must
understand, Jonas, my people are at war all the time--
it's part of what we do," she told him.
   "But we don't need to worry about someone shooting
us down as we land?"
   "Oh, no, because the Federation are the only ones who
have modern weapons. Anything more advanced than a
spear or a knife is considered much too dangerous to be
in Makahomian hands."
   "By the Federation?" Acorna asked. "That's very . . .
paternalistic, isn't it?"
   "Actually, it was our priests, both the war priests and
the peace priests, who jointly decided on the taboo and
insisted that the Federation enforce it as a condition of
their maintaining a presence on the planet. In exchange,
the Federation gained the concession that it could choose
likely youngsters to train for its service. Of course, when
one of us was chosen to leave our world and take up
fighting elsewhere, that is a different matter. As

                                                        53
expatriates, we could learn anything they wished to
teach us, including how to handle all the weapons with
which they armed us. We are not allowed to take those
weapons back to the indigenous areas of our homeworld
with us, however. Or even to speak to our people of
their existence."
   Becker snorted. "Yeah, I can see where you could
become Supreme High Pooh-Bah in a nanosecond if you
had Old Betsy with you," he said. Old Betsy was what he
called Nadhari's laser rifle.
   "Should I visit my planet's surface, I will be allowed to
carry no weapons but the dagger I took with me from
the Temple when I left," Nadhari said.
   "But on the other hand, you're saying that nobody else
on your world will have anything badder," Becker said,
nodding his understanding. "Well, that'll make things
more even. But you don't need a laser rifle to do
damage, babe. I've seen you in action."
   She grimaced. "It is true I've learned much since
leaving the Temple, but many of my people are at least
as able in the traditional fighting skills as I was when I
was chosen to leave. And though I may have had much
more training and experience since, I am older now, and
my reflexes are not as fast as once they were."
   "You musta been a beautiful baby," Becker said. "And
death on wheels if you were any tougher than you are
now."
   She didn't acknowledge either aspect of the intended

                                                         54
compliment, but said seriously, "My bloodlines on my
father's side are from the Kashirian Steppes, where the
best fighters come from. Kashirians, when they are not
personally defending their own territory or attacking
someone else's, are hired by the other peoples as
mercenaries. Normally, girls are not trained as highly as
boys in battle skills. However, my mother's people were
Felihari, one of the Makavitian Rainforest tribes. The
climate in the forests is hot and very, very wet, and
fighting is done with less physical and more intellectual
finesse than elsewhere on the planet. My mother was
initiated as a Felihari High Priestess."
   As Nadhari spoke, Acorna saw the images of her
memories quite clearly--the rubbery copper-colored
foliage of the jungle, stirring sluggishly in a dripping
heat, the striped and spotted creatures slithering along
the ground or up and down the trees, the rainfall that
came second- and third-hand after first being deposited
on the tallest branches, then flowing onto the lower
ones, and finally reaching the ground. The Temples
draped in drowsing cats and studded with winking
jewels--or were those more cats blinking back the light?
Nadhari's mother, erect and proud as Nadhari herself
but shorter, browner, wearing the practical dress for the
climate --that is, very little dress at all. Her skin,
coppery as the leaves around her, glistened with
moisture. Her auburn/black hair was braided with what
looked like--but couldn't be--the eyes of cats.

                                                       55
   Nadhari was remembering one cat in particular -- a
sleek tawny creature with a throaty purr whose butter-
soft fur turned red at ears and tail, and whose jonquil
eyes always seemed uplifted to a particular young girl.
   "The Felihari women hold much of the power in their
culture, and since their fighting skills require more of an
intelligent application of the laws of physics than brawn,
the women are quite effective fighters. When my father
was taken prisoner by her people, my mother thought
he would make a highly desirable contribution to the
tribe's bloodlines and became impregnated by him.
Religiosity does not require celibacy on my homeworld.
The resulting child, my elder brother, was considered
such a success, and I suspect my mother and father
found the process so enjoyable, that they formalized
their union and made me as well."
   "That's romantic," Becker said dryly.
   Acorna could tell there was much Nadhari was not
saying and didn't wish to say, for reasons of her own.
Perhaps the reasons were connected with the emotional
problems Becker had described on the way to MOO. But
until she was ready to talk about it, it did little good to
press her for more information.
   Instead, Acorna asked, "Nadhari, the aagroni wanted
some information about the Makahomian Temple cats.
He believes, having seen RK, that there might be some
connection between them and a species that existed on
Vhiliinyar before the Khleevi attack. I would like to

                                                        56
speak with some of the high priests about them. How
much exposure have your people had to people not of
their own species? Should I disguise myself, or would it
be best to simply present myself as a Linyaari
ambassador?"
   Nadhari considered, then said, "You will have to--in
fact, any of us would have to--obtain a permit from the
Federation officials to enter the cities or countryside, and
especially to interact with any of our officials. Even I will
have to, since I have been away so long."
   "Surely they wouldn't keep you from seeing your
family?"
   "I cannot be sure any of my family members still live,"
Nadhari said. "My mother was killed by a band of
mercenaries unrelated to my father, who was at that
time off fighting for another Makavitian tribe involved
in a blood feud with Aridimis. My brother was killed
defending my mother and her Temple." Nadhari was
remembering the tawny cat, accidentally wounded with
a great gash in its side, growling over her mother and
brother, defending their bodies against all comers, while
a little girl screamed desperate war cries and kicked and
chopped until she was so exhausted her laughing
opponents were able to simply scoop her up and carry
her off. "But when the mercenaries who killed them
found me and learned who my father was, they
ransomed me to him. He was killed in a battle soon after
the one in which I was taken prisoner."

                                                          57
   In Nadhari's mind, Acorna saw the blood and heat of
the battles, the gaping mouths of wounds and splintered
bone. She smelled the stench of overheated bodies and
felt the weapons slip with the sweat of hands. Heard the
crunch and dull thwuck sound of blunt objects striking
flesh, the ring of metal as it sought targets.
   Becker whistled. "You haven't had a dull life, have
you? No wonder you haven't been homesick!" Acorna
noted that although he appeared to understand
Nadhari's motives, he was still gently probing. The
concept of a settled home was more alien to him than the
Linyaari were. His childhood as a Kezdet farm slave was
ended by his adoption by Theophilus Becker to be son
and first mate aboard the Condor. The ship was Becker s
home more than any planet, much less any town or city.
   Nadhari's rainforest memory shifted to one of hilly
lands covered with riders of beasts who looked a bit like
the Ancestors, without horns, and yet were not quite
Terran horses. The people riding the beasts were
ferocious looking, with bristling facial hair. And they
gave way in Nadhari's imaginings to red-robed hairless
figures, in the background, and flat-roofed houses
looking out over an even flatter plain. These places had
all been home briefly to the girl Nadhari had been.
   Acorna began to wonder if the accident ending in the
Condor becoming stranded near Makahomia was an
accident after all. Becker was bluff and jovial with her,
but also was a shrewd man, sometimes every bit as sly

                                                       58
as Hafiz. Blaming RK was convenient, as the cat was
unlikely to challenge him, at least verbally.
   "It isn't only that. Without a family, as an acolyte, you
become the tool of the ruling priests. Some of them are
good, holy people. Others are where they are only
because of their influence and family connections and
because they wish to exercise power over others. Only
the Temple cats," she said, stroking RK, who slitted his
eyes and purred appreciatively, "can be trusted to be
always completely honest in their reactions and
judgments. They protect the Temples, the acolytes, the
priests, and the people -- especially those they favor.
They attack, when away from the Temple, only for food
or when threatened. It is a great tragedy when one is
killed or injured -- even for the side attacking." She fell
silent, her thoughts returning to the injured tawny red-
tipped cat dying beside her mother and brother as the
rain dripped onto their bodies.
   "It sounds as if your cats are as revered as our
Ancestors," Acorna said. "And yet your people have so
many wars. What do they find to fight over?"
   Nadhari laughed. "What do they not fight over? The
tribes of the rainforest are wealthy, with water and
growing things needed for medicines and food. Our
Temples are the most elaborate, our cats the closest to
the wild state, our jungles teem with wild things good
for food and clothing. The people of the arid zone have
no water, few plants. My father's people of the plains

                                                         59
would perhaps be the greatest targets for attack were
they not the fiercest of all fighters. They are nomadic,
herding beasts from river to river, using the arable land
for short-term crops when there is sufficient peace to
grow them. They are often the object of attack from both
the arid zones and the forest. But more often they fight
for one side against the other, gaining the forest
treasures for the desert folk and the sacred cat's-eye
gems for the forest tribes. These are the material reasons
for our warfare. We also fight for the same reasons
everyone does: sport, power, love, honor, territory,
revenge, loot, or slaves, or to free ourselves from slavery
if we are captured."
   "Your people still keep slaves?" Acorna asked. "And
the Federation permits it?"
   "They didn't interfere on Kezdet while the slavery
served a purpose, did they?" Nadhari asked with a
shrug. "While we fight each other, we are not
threatening those with real power out in the galaxy. Our
own priests have the power that matters to them. And as
long as our wars employ nothing but traditional
weapons and stay confined to our planet's surface, the
Federation feels that our Quaint Native Customs can be
honored. I didn't realize all of this until I began to work
for Delszaki Li on Kezdet and learned from him more
about the uses and abuses of power. As his personal
guard, I was beside him always. Mr. Li was not a man to
look down upon someone simply because he paid them

                                                        60
wages. He talked to me a great deal. He taught me much
of the history of the peoples who settled Kezdet. And I
came to realize some of the reasons my people never
found peace, although there has always been much
sentimental talk of it.
   "Our leaders do not actually desire peace any more
than they desire annihilation. Our wars serve many
purposes. They are the main business of our priests. The
priests fan the conflicts to maintain a constant sense of
danger and a state of emergency so people will not
question their actions or motivations. The wars solidify
loyalties and make simple things like starving seem
trivial by comparison. The fear of death and destruction
keeps the people occupied. And then there's always
something for the fighters to look forward to: the thrill
of acquiring loot and slaves, the joy of decreasing the
population--preferably that of your enemy, of course.
There are a very few cultural safeguards in all of this
that have kept us from destroying the planet. Our
people do not engage in wholesale slaughter of
noncombatants, and we do not seek to decimate the
gene pool of the opposing side by disposing of those
with brains or talent when we have the opportunity. As
terrible as I find the conflicts, they are not as terrible as
they could be if our people followed another path."
   "But nobody else on the planet sees this the way you
do?" Becker asked.
   She sighed. "I don't know. I haven't been hack since I

                                                          61
was a child. It seemed to me then that people didn't
think about anything much at all. Things were as they
were; allegiances shifted, but there was always an
allegiance to something. There was always something to
defend and something to hate and fight. Most of us have
been partially raised in all three areas of the planet,
sometimes as slaves, sometimes as steppe-children of the
tribes we live among. We fight only each other. The
Federation is here now to protect us from outside threats
like the Khleevi, so we ourselves are our only enemies."
   Becker shook his head, saying, "It still sounds weird to
me. Not that I'm ethnocentric or xenophobic or
anything."
   "If we wish it, we need know nothing of what is going
on, on the planet. The Federation officials may require
you to fill out forms before allowing your repairs and
refueling, but you need not see any two-legged
Makahomians except me unless you seek to do so. If the
officials permit Acorna to carry out her mission, they
may arrange for the priests to come to the Federation
post. It will all be very civilized. At least, if things are
still as they were when I left."
   Nadhari paused, as if unsure of the wisdom of
continuing. Then she went on, saying, "You know, Jonas,
when we get to my planet, it might be a good idea if you
and Acorna do the talking for us while RK and I keep a
very low profile, at least until we know what we're
dealing with and who."

                                                         62
  "Why hide RK?" Becker wanted to know. "Won't the
pussycats back at your home be glad to see the big guy?"
  "Taking a Temple cat from Makahomia is frowned
upon," Nadhari told him. "Keeping him hidden could be
good for your health. Such a theft is punishable by
death."




                                                      63
                          Three

   Death? But I didn't steal him," Becker protested. "I
rescued him. Surely they wouldn't want to kill me over
that--that's killing the messenger. On the other hand, do
you think they might try to keep RK there on the planet
if they find out about him?"
   "Probably so."
   Becker looked down at RK, still in his harness in the
seat between them, and said, "Looks like no shore leave
for you, mate. I don't suppose there will be any fuzzy
hussies we can smuggle aboard either. Sorry, old man."
   RK glared up at him, then dropped his chin to his
paws. By this time they were well outside the
atmosphere, trailing along in the wake of the Arkansas
Traveler, floating through space in the tractor beam's
embrace like a patchwork ballerina.
   Acorna passed the journey to Nadhari and RK's home
planet learning Makahomian with the help of her friends
and the LAANYE. Since Acorna was a quick study with
languages, she seldom needed to absorb them in her
sleep, as most Linyaari did. By the time Captain
MacDonald towed them within sight of Makahomia,
Acorna and Nadhari were conversing easily in the
warrior woman's native tongue.
   Their first sight of the planet was impressive.

                                                       64
Makahomia was redder than Mars ever had been, a rich
rusty orange red, with two moons and two suns.
   "A lot of iron in your soil," Acorna remarked to
Nadhari.
   "Yes. Our iron makes excellent weapons, especially
when alloyed with some of the many other metals so
abundant on our planet."
   Even the clouds were reddish and swirled at high
speeds over the face of the planet.
   Nadhari confirmed with Scar the landing zone
coordinates, and he made initial contact with the planet,
asking for landing permission and stating that he had
answered a Mayday call and had a disabled Federation-
registered ship in tow.
   The Condor's crew audited the exchange over the com
unit but, out of consideration for Nadhari and RK, left
the vid screen off. Nadhari nodded to Acorna, scooped
up RK, and exchanged seats with her, moving RK's
tether harness to her own seat.
   "The disabled ship will please identify itself," came a
clipped and sober voice.
   Becker gave his name, ship's name, and registration.
   "Passengers and crew?" the voice demanded.
   "Yes, we have those, too," Becker said. "Do you need
their names and origins now?"
   "That will not be necessary. Officials will be boarding
your ship when you land. We will tight-beam
immediately the list of documents you will need to show

                                                        65
us. Please have the relevant papers ready."
  "We aren't going to stay long," Becker said. "Just till I
can repair my ship and we can refuel." But no one
seemed to be listening to him. The resulting com silence
was deafening.
  "Not a friendly place you're from, Nadhari, sweetie,"
he said to her after retrieving the list and scanning it.
  "How surprising. After all, I am such an amiable sort
myself," she said.
  "Compared to that guy, you're the life of the party,"
Becker grumbled. "But there shouldn't be any problem,
should there? We've got all the papers they want. We're
landing right where they said to. The place is perfectly
safe, right?"
  "It was when I left, yes," Nadhari said.
  Acorna punched into the com unit and leaned
forward to fill the vid screen. "Your pardon, good sirs. I
am the Linyaari Ambassador Acorna Harakamian-Li. I
was sent by my people to make inquiries regarding the
history of a certain Makahomian life form. Could you
give me the name of the ruling head of this area, so that I
may address my written request for an audience with
that person appropriately?"
  It appeared that someone was listening, after all.
  "The Federation commanding officer in charge is
Lieutenant Commander Dsu Macostut," a clipped voice
answered on the com, "and he is the one who will need
to approve your request before it is passed along to the

                                                        66
High Priest of Hissim and the Aridimi Plateau, Mulzar
Edu Kando sach Pilau dom Mog-Gim. We will apprise
the lieutenant commander of your arrival."
   "Ahhh," Acorna said in what she hoped was an elite
ambassadorial tone. "Many thanks, good sir."
   "Edu?" Nadhari asked when the com unit was safely
off. "Edu is in charge?"
   "Glad you're on a first-name basis with the guy,
sweetie," Becker said. "Can I just call him Ed? I can't
remember the rest of that stuff."
   "No," Nadhari said, emerging from her preoccupation
long enough to touch his cheek fondly. "Just like you
can't remember the star maps from most of the known
universe including uncharted wormholes, black holes,
and other spatial features the regular physicists haven't
named yet. You've got the best memory of anybody I
know -- until you hit something you don't want to
remember. The name is actually very simple, Jonas.
'Mulzar' is the Mog-Gimin title taken by the high priest
who is also the warlord of the plateau. The current
Mulzar is Edu Kando, who is what you might call my
cousin -- or in the local parlance, my steppe-cousin. His
father was captured by my mother's sister on a raid the
Felihari made before I was born. So like me, he is a
Kando, of the rainforest. The 'sach' indicates his
paternity, usually from a captive. My father, when
captured by my mother's people, became Murgad Div
from Kando, to indicate his ties to my mother's family.

                                                       67
As he was never captured or fostered on the Plateau, he
had no ardo name. I, on the other hand, am actually
known here as Nadhari Kando sach Div ardo Rek. This
indicates my mother's surname, my father's clan in the
steppes, where I was taken after my mother's death, and
the name of the Mog-Gimin clan to whom I was sold
after my capture."
   "Oh, well, sure, it's simple when you put it that way,"
Becker said. "Sach means your steppe-name, and that
other word--"
   "Ardo," she supplied.
   "Means your desert affiliation. But his affiliation
wasn't ardo -- it was some other word."
   "Dom," she said. "No one from the Mog-Gim Plateau
captured him--he conquered the plateau."
   "Of course. I knew that," Becker said. "Absolutely
nothing to it when you get used to it. And hey, what
luck is that anyway that he's one of your family! He'll
probably want to have a big ol' reunion. We can say we
didn't tell the Feds about you because we wanted to
surprise him or something."
   She nodded, the muscles in her jaw rippling slightly.
"He will be glad to see me," she said tersely. Acorna
looked at her sharply, but Nadhari's jaw had relaxed
and a rueful smile hovered around her lips. The
warrior's mind was once more opaque, but Acorna
noticed that Nadhari had omitted saying whether or not
she would be glad to see her cousin.

                                                        68
  Becker didn't seem to notice, however. He just
charged ahead at the verbal equivalent of light speed.
"Well, that's great, then. If one of your own people is in
charge, we shouldn't have any problem. Otherwise, I
guess we'd have to hide you or rename you and dummy
up some good papers, or at least you'd need to stay
aboard while we made repairs. This way, maybe we can
maybe do a little looking around while we're here, visit
the garden spots, gawk at the Temples, stuff like that."
  "Yes," Acorna said, her tone innocent but with an
underlying question in it. "If your kinsman is the high
priest, perhaps he can assist me in carrying out the
aagronis' errand to discover a possible relationship
between pahaantiyirs and your Temple cats."
  "Yes, perhaps," Nadhari said, though her apparent
agreement was belied by her tone of voice.
  Becker said anxiously, "Maybe he'll even understand
about RK, but you think maybe we should hide my
buddy until we find out, huh?"
  At that moment, Captain MacDonald announced that
they were entering Makahomia's orbit. "You reckon if I
turn you loose now you can land under your own
power, Captain Becker? Otherwise, it'll be a little tricky
setting 'er down with you still wagging behind me like
the tail of Mary's little lamb."
  "Of course we can land," Becker said. "We're not
exactly invalids out here--though you couldn't prove it
in that mud puddle. Turn us loose and go ahead. We'll

                                                        69
be right behind you."
   "Jonas, we should report in to Hafiz."
   "Good idea. He'll need to know about this little
detour," Becker agreed. But when he tried to access
Manganos Moonbase for relay to MOO, the com unit
remained blank and dumb. "I was afraid of that," he
said. "Can't do the long-range stuff with the computers
screwed up."
   They landed without incident, on dry ground this
time. The Federation spaceport was very small. Becker
set the Condor down beside the Arkansas Traveler. Both
ships were instructed to have their personnel remain
aboard until the Federation officials boarded their ships
and inspected them.
   "I just hate customs," Becker said. "Now we gotta play
'hide the kitty.'"
   Acorna smiled. She had heard the plop of paws
behind her, indicating the return of gravity and the
departure of the cat. His harness had given him no
trouble. When he chose to shed it, RK divested himself
of a harness as easily as he shed hairs in warm
environmental conditions.
   In her time with RK, Acorna had learned that the cat
understood what went on around him almost as well as
Becker did. He just made a game of letting his human
companions underestimate him so that he was free to
follow his own agenda without interference. She did not
doubt that he would hide if it suited him.

                                                       70
   Or not.
   Becker shook his head when he turned to see the
empty harness. "Well, he knows the ship like the back of
his paw. He hides so well even I can't find him if he
doesn't want me to."
   Nadhari nodded. "The sacred cat will choose his own
path. RK must sense where he is now."
   "Maybe," Becker said, scratching his head. "I don't
really know for sure if RK has ever been here. When I
rescued him, it was from a wrecked ship in a totally
different quadrant of space. He might have been a
second generation ship's cat--you know, from a litter a
Makahomian mama Temple cat had after she was
smuggled off-world."
   "He knows," Nadhari said.
   "Permission to come aboard," an unfamiliar voice
hailed them from the com unit.
   "Granted," Becker grunted. "Uh--just a minute. I have
to send the robolift down for you."
   "The what?"
   "We're a salvage vessel. Functional, not pretty. We
don't have a nice door in the side of the ship for you to
hook your gantry to. Just a sec."
   Becker pushed the button that activated the robolift,
but though there was a groan and a clank somewhere in
the workings, nothing moved. "Sorry," he said to the
com unit. "It may have to thaw a while. We had a little
trouble with our navigation system and made a forced

                                                       71
landing on that swampy neighbor planet of yours." He
consulted the computer and gave the coordinates. "We
were viewport-deep in water when Captain Mac-Donald
pulled us out and saved our necks. Going back out in
space dripping wet might have iced up the lift a bit.
Since we're going for speed here, I'll try taking a torch
and a crowbar to the seals. That should work. It's gonna
be a minute before I can let you in, though. Maybe you
better go see Captain MacDonald first."
  "Very well, since the timing is useful to me. Lieutenant
Commander Macostut will be joining the boarding parry
as soon as he is able to, so that he may on this occasion
personally greet the Linyaari ambassador."
  "That's very courteous of him. The ambassador will
approve. I'll let you know when I free the lift."
  Mac said, "I will attend to it, Captain."
  "I can do it," Becker called after him. "It's my ship."
  Before Mac could return, however, Acorna said, "If I
may make a suggestion, Captain. These Federation
officials strike me as being impressed by rank and
privilege. Nadhari and I have decided to use this delay
to change into more formal clothing. She has her dress
uniform. Miiri packed something . . . ambassadorial . . .
for me to wear to meet the Niriians, which I plan to put
on before the planetary delegation arrives. Perhaps you
might wish to don your most impressive uniform as
well?"
  He considered a moment, rubbed his chin, and sniffed

                                                        72
at his armpits. "I guess I could shower and shave, too,
huh?"
   Acorna hid her amusement and listened to the ship's
sounds for a moment. "Nadhari has just finished her
shower, I believe, so there will be time for you to do
those things, should you wish to."
   Acorna and Becker escorted the Wats out of the bridge
and back to their quarters, where they locked them in,
and continued on to their separate quarters to make
themselves ready for their official visitors. By the time
Mac returned to the bridge, Acorna had donned her new
outfit and taken time to enhance her appearance, so that
her silvery mane curled fetchingly to frame her face and
grace her long neck. Her horn shone like a golden opal.
Her trews were cut so that the feathers on her calves
made a decorative trim, edged with small jewels that
matched the beautifully embellished belt girding her
flowing white tunic. Grandam Naadiina had given
Acorna the belt to wear before the venerable lady's
heroic death. It had been a lover's gift from Naadiina's
life-mate to Naadiina, and Acorna cherished the
memories it brought each time she put it on.
   And now there was her new treasure, she thought
with a mixture of pleasure and pain, touching the disk
through her tunic. It was a gift of her lover if not actually
from him. Should she wear it outside? She decided it
was too precious, that she didn't want to share or
explain it just yet.

                                                          73
   Nadhari wore the dress uniform of the Red Bracelets,
as she had when attending formal occasions with Mr. Li.
It was, not surprisingly, red, gleaming with brass trim,
and made of a material that both enhanced the shape of
her panther-lithe body and allowed her complete
freedom of movement.
   Acorna wasn't sure where Becker's uniform came
from--her guess was that it was salvage from another
ship. The captain wore a tailored gray outfit with silver
burtons and trim, an attractive combination with the
gray of Becker's mustache and the little beard he was
sporting. He wore an insignia of a silver vulture
rampant over a barrel, with his name and title forming a
leafy silver border around the image.
   He tossed Mac a plainer version of the same uniform
and said, "Go oil yourself or something, Mac, and put
this on to meet the bigwigs."
   Mac's pupils dilated with pleasure. "A uniform? I am
now an official uniformed crew member! Oh, Captain!
May I have a hug?"
   "Hell, no, you'd crush the life out of me! Where do
you get that stuff anyway? You've been talking to Mrs.
Harakamian again, haven't you?"
   Mac was busy stripping and pulling on the new
uniform.
   "Not here," Becker said. "There are ladies present."
   "Oh," Mac said, clearly wondering what one thing had
to do with the other.

                                                       74
   "And pick up your old stuff on your way out," Becker
grumbled. "You want this place to look like a pigsty?"
   Acorna suppressed a giggle. Only through Mac's
industry had the Condor gained any semblance of order.
Before the android had been restored, reprogrammed,
and thus rehabilitated from his service under the
treacherous criminal Kisla Manjari, Becker's ship had
more closely resembled a junkyard than an interstellar
vessel. Jonas had had salvage stored and piled in every
available corner and strapped overhead. The only
maneuvering room around the ship had been little more
than a narrow trail from one end of the Condor to the
other.
   She supposed Becker's remark was compounded of
embarrassment and the sense of captainly importance he
assumed with his fancy uniform.

  With the robolift cleared for action and everything
shipshape, Becker hailed the Federation post again. In a
short time the ship's outside monitors picked up a small
group of uniformed people walking in tight formation
toward the ship. Becker lowered the robolift, which
worked perfectly.
  After exchanging questioning glances at the unusual
outfitting of the ship, the delegation followed the man in
the shiniest uniform forward. Once he had stepped onto
the lift, they joined him. Becker pushed the button to
raise them to the lower deck. "Ladies, we should greet

                                                        75
our guests, don't you think?" he said.
   Lieutenant Commander Dsu Macostut made his
priorities clear immediately when he ignored Becker's
salute and bowed instead over Acorna's hand.
"Ambassador Harakamian-Li. We have, even on this
backwater posting, heard of your remarkable exploits on
Kezdet and the splendid work you and your patrons
have done with Maganos Moonbase. We never imagined
we would have the honor to meet you."
   "You're very kind," Acorna said, amused. Becker was
chewing his mustache, highly irritated by the snub to his
well-dressed authority. In his view, on a ship, the
captain should always have first priority. "Please allow
me to introduce my dear friends and shipmates. This is
Captain Jonas Becker, with whom I believe some of you
have spoken. And here are the ship's android MacKenZ,
and Commander Nadhari Kando."
   "The legendary Nadhari Kando, who left Makahomia
as a humble acolyte and became one of the famous Red
Bracelets? Words fail to express my delight. Your
steppe-cousin often speaks of you with pride. We are
great friends, you know, and he is fond of bragging
about you. He says that although he now rules the Mog-
Gim Plateau, you did not wash out of Federation training
as he did."
   Nadhari opened her mouth to protest, but Lieutenant
Commander Dsu held up a restraining hand, "Of course
we are all well aware that it was his wish to serve his

                                                       76
own people here on Makahomia that was the true cause
of his refusal to accept a commission in the Corps. And I
must say, in losing a soldier, the Corps has gained
instead a remarkable ally. Mulzar Edu is the most
progressive, enlightened ruler it has ever been the
Federation's pleasure to work with on your planet. Your
steppe-cousin is truly a man of vision."
   Becker did something he had rarely done before with
Acorna -- he aimed a thought right at her. He didn't
actually have any idea that she would receive it, but he
just had to comment on the Federation officer's attitude
and couldn't do so aloud.
   (Hallelujah,) he said, (the fan club has arrived!)
   (Why, Captain, you're using telepathy!) Acorna
replied mentally. The grumblings in Becker's mustache
and beard turned to pleased and slightly embarrassed
huffings. These turned to shock as he realized suddenly
that he had read her loud and clear. He replied
tentatively, but again in mind-speak, (Yeah! How about
that. Look, Ma, no mouth! Hey, is this mind-reading
stuff catching?) he asked, clearly enjoying having a
secret with her from everyone else.
   (Not unless you can hear what I or others are thinking
when we are not consciously sending to you,) Acorna
said. (But if you address your thoughts to me, I will
certainly do my best to read them and respond in kind.)
   Becker's eyes sparkled. (That's great. I like this. Let's
do it more often.) He looked as pleased as a three-year-

                                                         77
old boy with a new land-skimmer sled.
   She smiled at him -- no teeth showing, of course--
and would have hugged him had they not been in the
company of strangers.
   Macostut was still speaking, after a spate of fulsome
compliments to Nadhari. "Perhaps you illustrious ladies
would care to come ashore while my men and the
captain go over the inventory of this vessel? Our
accommodations are spartan and humble, but are, I am
told, somewhat more luxurious than those of the
average--er -- salvage vessel."
   "That's very kind of you, Lieutenant Commander, but
I'm afraid that I must refuse your kind offer for the time
being. Captain Becker has a large and varied inventory,
with which we are both familiar," Acorna said. "As my
close personal friend, he has granted me the use of his
vessel as my traveling embassy with no cost to myself or
to the planetary government I represent in exchange for
my help as a crew member when needed. Captain
Becker has saved my life and the lives of my people
many, many times."
   "That is true for me as well," Nadhari said gravely. "I
owe him my life many times over. Captain Becker and
his vessel were crucial in successfully defeating multiple
Khleevi invasions and in saving me from equally terrible
enemies."
   Macostut tried to look impressed and more cordial
toward Becker, but Acorna sensed resentment radiating

                                                        78
from him. The Federation officer clearly wanted Nadhari
and her to himself. His thoughts seemed to indicate that
he felt another male officer would cramp his style. "And
these--what did you call them? Khleevi? They needed
defeating?"
   "Oh, I suppose that the news of the rest of the universe
doesn't reach you often here, as isolated as you are,"
Nadhari said. "Or you would have at least heard of the
invasion of the Federation planet Rushima by the
Khleevi, which was foiled by a massive combined force
of Federation, mercenary, and private ships only after
Acorna's relatives came to warn her of the impending
attack and enabled the Federation and its allies to
surprise the invading Khleevi. It was quite a battle. I was
there."
   "But he--the captain, I mean--wasn't in on that one?"
   "That was before we met," Becker said shortly. "If
we're going to inventory my cargo, we'd best get this
show on the road, ladies and gentlemen, or we'll be here
a month before we're officially allowed to disembark."
   "Oh, no, Captain. A quick look will suffice, I think,
since you come so highly recommended by a local
celebrity as well as a foreign ambassador. And we must
be well done with this before second setting, when you
must all dine with me. I insist."
   "You mean real food?" Becker said.
   "Exactly. There have been a few shortages recently on
Makahomia, but we are well enough supplied here. I

                                                        79
will leave you now in order to finalize the preparations
while you and your . . . crew . . . escort my officers on
their inspection tour. They in turn will then escort you to
our guest quarters and on to the officers' mess. You and
your crew and Captain MacDonald will of course be our
guests."
   "I will be so pleased for the opportunity to thank
Captain MacDonald properly," Nadhari said. "We
would probably be looking out the Condor's submerged
viewport at those repulsive reptilian life forms and
breathing our last were it not for him answering our
Mayday so quickly and effectively."
   "Lieutenant-Commander Macostut," Acorna said,
"Speaking of Captain MacDonald, I would like to ask
him to relay a message to our headquarters about our
mishap. I wish to inform my uncle of our safe arrival.
May we provide Uncle Hafiz with your outpost
coordinates in case he wishes to contact us?"
   "That's not a problem, Ambassador. However, I
should mention to all of you that in order to avoid
cultural contamination of the Makahomians, no
technology that is in excess of what could be produced
locally with indigenous resources is permitted beyond
the official boundaries of this spaceport. The only gate
from this compound, which opens into the city, contains
a very sensitive scanner to make sure that no one
carrying any off-world devices can pass through
undetected. All communications emanating from our

                                                        80
post are monitored. There is a dampening field around
the post that will obliterate, scramble, or otherwise
impede the signals from any ship attempting to contact
another com unit in the civilian sector, should such a
unit find its way there despite our precautions."
   Becker whistled. "Seems pretty restrictive."
   Macostut regarded him coldly. "Not at all, Captain.
The Federation believes these measures are preferable to
overflying Makahomia ourselves, causing yet more
cultural contamination. We take our responsibility here
very seriously." He turned back to Acorna, all smiles.
"That said, we would be more than happy to relay your
message to Mr. Harakamian through Federation
channels if you wish, Ambassador."
   "That's very kind of you, hut Captain MacDonald has
already offered to do that," Acorna replied. He hadn't,
but she felt certain he would be amenable. Just to tie up
loose ends, she quickly returned to the bridge and hailed
him. She didn't want to explain to Macostut or any other
official that she not only wished to inform Hafiz of the
Condor's change of route but also wanted to learn if any
messages for her had been relayed from the Moon of
Opportunity through Manganos Moonbase. It would be
just her luck if Aari had returned to Vhiliinyar and no on
knew how to reach her!




                                                        81
                           Four

   The officers' mess was filled with fragrant candles.
Their soft glow lit the room, but the scent of their
melting wax did not mask the succulent odors of
cooking food that made Becker's nostrils twitch. The
group from the Condor were all very hungry and tired,
since the inspection had taken much longer than that
"little walk-through" Macostut had promised them.
   Though the inspection crew did not find RK, they did
find the Wats and asked to see their papers. The Wats
didn't have any papers. Paper, much less papers, hadn't
been around when they were born on Old Terra. The
Wats did not have files to speak of, either, and even if
they had, the ship's computers were still not working
properly after their little adventure with Khleevi
hardware. Becker had finally gotten the bureaucrats to
leave by blaming the lack of documentation on the
malfunctioning computers.
   The inspection team had also wondered about Mac.
Kisla Manjari's name came up when they verified the
android's records. That certainly seemed to worry the
Federation inspectors, who were familiar with the
Manjari name. But the android had happily assured
them of his complete rehabilitation. Since one of the
team, a female chief petty officer, showed polite interest,

                                                        82
Mac showed her his original model number. He then
explained in detail about his various non-factory-
authorized upgrades and reprogramming at Becker's
hands, up to and including his new promotion to
uniformed crew member. Mac could be exhaustingly
thorough sometimes. In the end, the team had cleared
the android, probably in self-defense.
   But by the time they were ready to disembark, Acorna
had her answer from Captain MacDonald--no message
about Aari was waiting for her on the Arkansas Traveler
from Maganos or MOO. The only message from either
place was a short list Hafiz Harakamian had sent,
naming things Acorna should let it be known she was in
the market for while they were on Makahomia.
   She saw one of these items--or rather, several
specimens of one of them, as soon as Becker, Nadhari,
and she were seated across the table from their host.
Seated at dinner with them were a few Federation
officers, two men in what appeared to be the local
priestly raiment, and a young girl similarly clad. That
raiment was what caught Acorna's eye. The attire was
red, woolen, and long-sleeved. One priest's clothing was
trimmed around the neckline and sleeves with a two-
inch-wide ornate band of multicolored embroidery
depicting cats, beautifully embellished with cat's-eye
stones. The other priest's robe featured a plain stripe of
gold embroidery around his sleeves and neckline, and
the girl's robe was unornamented. The man in the most

                                                        83
elaborate robe had thick dark hair and a luxuriant beard
and mustache, in contrast to the other man, who was as
bald and clean-shaven as the first man was hirsute. The
girl's braided hair was so dark an auburn as to appear
black, but the red highlights in it shot back reflections of
the candlelight the same color as her robe.
   Each of the three Makahomians wore a single striking
jewel -- a large cat's-eye stone. The ornately dressed
man's was round, approximately four centimeters in
diameter, and hung from a thick rose-gold chain around
his neck. The stone was golden in color, with a deep
velvety black cleft down its center. The second man's
cat's-eye jewel was half the size of the first, dark green in
color, and strung on a leather thong as a pendant. The
girl's stone, pale green in color and much smaller than
her companions' jewels, was also suspended on a leather
thong, but was worn on her wrist.
   Acorna had been raised by human asteroid miners.
Growing up, she had demonstrated a special psychic gift
that had proved very useful to them. She was able to
determine the mineral content of any given object
without the aid of equipment or computers, simply by
using the powers of her mind. As a result of that
upbringing and her gift, Acorna was acutely aware of
minerals and gemstones of all sorts. The cat's-eye stones
the local people were wearing--which were more
properly called chrysoberyls -- were not only beautiful
and sacred, according to Nadhari's lesson on

                                                          84
Makahomian culture, but also very useful in the mining
and terraforming industries across the universe. Acorna
wondered if it would be culturally inappropriate to
dicker to purchase a few on behalf of Hafiz, since they
were on his shopping list.
    All of this she noticed in the blink of... well, a cat's eye
. . . while beside her, Nadhari tensed and then smiled at
the man in the embroidered robe as he rose and reached
across the table to take both of her hands in his.
    "Nadhari -- cousin, you've come home to us. Dare I
hope you've come to stay?" The man's eyes were large
and brown and melting with sincerity. Nadhari flinched.
The man noticed it, which Acorna thought was
unusually sensitive of him. Most human men, in her
experience, would have missed that small movement.
"Sorry. Of course I know that cannot be the case," he
continued. "Dsu has already explained to me that you've
arrived with your friends unexpectedly and in the
course of business travels elsewhere."
    He started to turn to Acorna. Macostut, evidently
feeling the introductions were going too fast and were
proceeding without him, said, "Oh, please, Mulzar,
allow me to introduce all of our guests to you. Your
cousin, of course, you have already met. The Linyaari
Ambassador Lady Acorna Harakamian-Li, is on her
right, Captain Jonas Becker on her left."
    "Yes," Becker said jovially. "Acorna's the one with the
horn. I'm the alien-looking one." Acorna smiled at the

                                                             85
jest, reflecting that, like many of the planets under
Federation protection, this one seemed to be populated
with people of Terran stock. She had learned in her
studies of galactic history that this was because, since
ancient times, Old Terra kept overpopulating itself.
   To remedy the problem, Terra had established space
colonies, which soon developed the same problem.
Those Terrans who were excess or simply adventurous
were sent to colonize still other planets. By the time the
old planet had worn itself completely out, Terrans had a
vast web of colonies throughout their sector of space.
They were the dominant, if not the only, sentient species
on every planet and moon they could make habitable for
their own kind throughout their galaxy and beyond.
Through his jest, Acorna knew Becker was trying,
however awkwardly, to show his support of her and his
solidarity with her.
   But Kando laughed as if the jest truly amused him.
Acorna considered the possibility that he was more
sheltered than she might have supposed, or else,
contrary to her experience elsewhere, old jokes were not
truly universal here on Makahomia.
   "And this is Captain Scaradine MacDonald, who
rescued all of them when their ship foundered on
Praxos."
   Kando shuddered exaggeratedly. "Ah, yes, Praxos.
How well I remember our Federation training there --
eh, Nadhari? You must have gone through it, too. I

                                                        86
wouldn't wish that on anyone! Thank you so much,
Captain Mac Donald, for bringing my beloved
kinswoman and her friends safely home to us. How did
you happen to be nearby at the proper moment?"
  "It's on my regular route, uh --"
  "Forgive me! Forgive me!" Macostut interrupted
jovially. "I didn't complete my introductions. Mulzar
Edu Kando sach Pilau dom Mog-Gim is the High Priest
and Temporal Ruler of the City of Hissim and the Mog-
Gim Plateau, Captain MacDonald, and these are his
companions, Brother Bulaybub Felidar sach Pilau ardo
Agorah and Little Sister Miw-Sher, a Keeper of the
sacred Temple cats."
  Acorna had already sensed that all was not well with
Little Sister Miw-Sher, who glanced around looking a bit
desperate when she thought no one was looking, and
who seemed to long to leave. Her eyes were almost as
red as her robe, as if she had been crying. Acorna
instinctively wished to comfort her and sent an
inquiring probe before she was quite aware that she had
done so. The girl's green eyes widened as she stared
back at Acorna, though she didn't seem to know what to
think.
  When everyone finished exchanging greetings, Kando
looked back to MacDonald, clearly prompting him to
answer the question he'd been working on before
Macostut had decided to butt in.
  "So you're a high priest?" Scaradine MacDonald

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hedged. "Well, now, that's real nice, Preacher. I'm a
Methodist myself, or used to be when I had a church to
go to. I hope you won't hold it against me."
   Kando looked a little confused, but prompted the
ship's captain again. "Is it your Method to linger near
swampy planetoids so that you may rescue other ships?"
   "Oh, that. No, sir. That's got nothing to do with
religion. I'm a tech rep for agricultural supply and
equipment companies. I sell and repair all manner of
implements and machinery, plus seeds and chemicals
and such. I have a regular route for my repair schedule,
and part of it takes me within range of where I heard the
Condor's distress signal. I've never actually stopped in
this neck of space before, though I go through it pretty
often. I understand you people don't hold with--uh --
my way of doing things." Acorna knew he'd started to
say "new" or "modern," and then politely changed his
wording.
   Brother Bulaybub studied Kando's face as they waited
for his reply. Acorna felt a certain emanation from him,
as she did not from the girl.
   (Nadhari,) she asked silently, (are your people
telepathic?)
   (Not as a rule, no,) Nadhari replied, rather startled by
the sudden mind-touch, but remembering just in time
not to look at Acorna. (It would probably be wise not to
let them know that you are a strong mind-speaker, at
least until we get our bearings.)

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  (It may be too late already,) Acorna replied, thinking
of Miw-Sher's startled face, (but I'll see what I can do.)
She watched Kando, who seemed to be trying to drink in
MacDonald's words with senses other than his ears. (Is
your cousin, the Mulzar, among the few telepaths here?)
  (No more than any other good manipulator of
people,) Nadhari replied, with a bite to her thoughts.
  "That was the original arrangement, yes," Kando said
in answer to Captain MacDonald's comment. "But I
think there are times -- such as the ones we now find
ourselves enduring--when change is mandated. I know
Dsu agrees with me on this."
  Little Sister Miw-Sher made a small, strangled noise
and looked with wild hope into Captain MacDonald's
face and back to Kando's. The poor child seemed
desperate to say something and at the same time,
desperate to flee the hall.
  "What's the matter, honey?" Captain MacDonald
asked her. "Cat got your tongue?"
  Acorna got the feeling that Kando was not happy to
have the captain's attention diverted from himself, but
the priest smiled and said, "You may ask what you are
longing to ask him, Miw-Sher."
  The girl gulped. "Please, sir, do you know how to
doctor animals? That is, do you know anything about
how to cure cats?"
  "Something is wrong with the sacred cats?" Nadhari
asked sharply.

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   The girl suddenly looked startled and guilty. Kando
consciously assumed an expression of concern, and
Brother Bulaybub looked down at his lap as if to
dissociate himself from the proceedings.
   "Yes, ma'am," the girl replied quickly, before her
permission to speak was rescinded. "The cats under my
care have been sick and dying for over a week now. We
have only four left and they have not taken nourishment
for at least two days. They may well be--be --"
   "Calm yourself, little sister," Bulaybub instructed her.
   "... gone when we return." The young girl valiantly
swallowed her tears.
   "She is such a tenderhearted child," Kando said,
reaching across Bulaybub to stroke the girl's cheek with
a long brown finger. "So concerned for her charges."
   "As she should be," Nadhari said. "This is terrible
news." She turned to look imploringly at Acorna.
Sensing a chance of rescue, Miw-Sher stopped wiping
her eyes and shrinking miserably into herself and turned
her face toward Acorna as well.
   Kando said, "Dear Nadhari, for one who has lived so
long away from those who cherish her, you are such a
traditionalist. I almost feel that it is the plight of our
poor pusses that has brought you back to us--as if they
reached out over the vastness of space to draw you
toward them, to comfort them as they diminish and die."
   His face bore tender sympathy as he looked at her,
and in a possessive aside said to the others, "She is such

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a devout girl. She's always been like that."
   The food arrived.
   "Oh, yeah, very pious," Becker agreed, pulling a slab
of meat Acorna could have sworn was previously
dehydrated, onto his plate. "Righteous, even."
   He filled his dish with other foods that were also
likely to have been reconstituted, which Acorna thought
was odd fare to serve high-ranking guests, especially on
a planet that prided itself on its agricultural products. It
implied serious problems -- problems that nobody here
had touched upon yet. But Becker seemed so fascinated
with the byplay between Nadhari and her cousin that
the bad news -- both the sickness being discussed and
the disaster implied by the food before them -- had not
registered with him.
   Acorna, however, was alarmed. "A plague, you say,
sir? Your wonderful felines, of whom Nadhari has told
me so much, are actually dying? But that is terrible!"
   Captain MacDonald was the one who responded. "It's
a darn shame, and I can tell this poor little girl is broken-
hearted about her kitties. But it's even worse than that.
Those fellas who inspected my ship tell me it's not just
her pussycats involved. They say a lot of the animals
here have got the same disease." His cheery expression
and bantering tone were gone. His head was lowered, as
in deep thought -- or remembrance--and his shoulders
slumped. He appeared to be personally stricken
somehow by the misfortune of the Makahomians.

                                                          91
   He wasn't the only one. Panic hit Acorna, too, at the
thought of RK catching the disease. Acorna launched a
mental search for her friend. She received a clear image
of RK walking though the city. The little rascal had
probably left the Candor as soon as the robolift was
freed, even before the inspection team had arrived.
   (RK, since you are off the ship, you should know that
there is some sort of contagious illness among your
kind,) she told the cat in direct thought-speak, which she
had never quite used with him before. (You should
return to the ship to avoid catching it.)
   She was more surprised than she should have been to
receive an immediate answer in clear Standard thought-
forms expressed with a slight feline accent and a strong
dose of feline imperiousness. (I know. Why do you think
I brought us here? Would you and my other people
please stop eating and get to work? My fellow holy cats
are in sad shape. I could hear them mewling their hearts
out clear back on Vhiliinyar. I'm trying to calm them
down, telling them you're coming and you'll help them,
so please don't make me look bad here, Acorna.)
   She didn't bother asking why the cat chose now to
communicate directly with her. She and RK had been in
peril as bad or worse than this together before, and she'd
never gotten anything like this from him. But like all
cats, RK did things his own way and in his own time.
Perhaps the cat's sudden communicativeness had to do
with him being on his world of origin. Or perhaps he

                                                        92
was just getting around to experimenting with thought-
speak because he felt like it. Or maybe RK had finally
found something he considered to be worth talking to
her about. Reading minds didn't actually help one
understand cats any more than it helped one understand
any other life form. And cats -- certainly RK, at least --
could be rather coy about providing context for their
decisions and thoughts. (Since you brought us here, RK,
you know the dangers better than we do. Don't you
allow yourself to be seen, if you can avoid it. And don't
get near enough to the sick ones to catch the disease,
please. We all love you.)
   (I know you do. That's why I'm not afraid. If I catch it,
you'll just heal me again, right? Now, please, will you all
stop jabbering and get to work?)
   "Ambassador, I believe you wished to ask something
of Mulzar Edu?" Macostut said. His tone, which was
very polite but quite insistent, indicated that he had
given her previous cues that she'd been too preoccupied
to hear while she'd been communicating with RK.
   "Oh, yes. Yes, I did. But your new revelation about the
disease has distracted me, I'm afraid," she said, making
eye contact with the Kando. "Somehow I suppose I had
the idea the Temple cats were immortal." She had not,
but thought such a naive comment might elicit more
information.
   Edu Kando laughed and smiled at Nadhari. "Did my
cousin tell you that?"

                                                         93
   "Why, no. I just assumed from the ancient myths that I
have heard concerning them that they must be."
   "Well, pampered as they are with the best of
everything, they live lives longer than many who walk
on two legs, but then, our --shall I say lifestyle?--here
on Makahomia isn't always conducive to longevity. Our
oldest cats until recently were eighty and seventy-five
years old."
   "So very young," Acorna murmured.
   "Young?" Edu Kando asked. Miw-Sher was looking
down at her plate, moving the food around without
interest or appetite. Bulaybub also pretended extreme
interest in his food.
   "My people live quite a long time, into a very healthy
old age, sir," she said. She could tell that despite their
kinship, Nadhari did not care for Edu. Acorna knew her
friend must have a very good reason for her dislike of
her cousin. Fighting was Nadhari's business. She did not
waste her hostility carelessly.
   "Oh? Do they?"
   "Yes, mainly because my people possess great
knowledge of medicine and healing. Like most of my
kind, I have some skill at such things. I would be happy
to look at your cats and other animals and see what I can
do for them. I will attend to it, with your permission, as
soon as possible. The matter I mentioned upon our
arrival that I wished to inquire about involves research
and interviews with a number of your priests, I believe.

                                                        94
At the moment, I am too distressed about the ill health
of your legendary cats and the other creatures to
conduct that other business. Perhaps, with your
permission, we can discuss it later. I will not be able to
rest until I have seen if I can help the stricken among
your charges. I hope that will not present a problem?"
She remembered to smile charmingly at Dsu Macostut.
"I understand the Federation's permission is necessary. I
trust under the circumstances..."
   "There are forms to be filled out," Macostut began.
   Mulzar Kando evidently enjoyed considerable power
here, for he easily brushed aside the post commander's
objections. "I believe we could waive that, Dsu, can't we,
in view of the fact that these people have brought my
dear cousin Nadhari back to us again? And of course, if
the ambassador can truly help our sacred cats, then we
must make all haste to bring her to them. The glory of
our Temple and the faith of our people depend upon it.
Perhaps you can bundle up some of the forms for our
guests. Then when the ambassador has dealt with the
current emergency, she can fill them out at her leisure."
   Becker and MacDonald both cleared their throats. "As
can these gentlemen, of course. And all of you will be
our guests here. You must come and stay with us as long
as you like at our Temple. Dsu has made provisions here
on the Federation base for you, I know, but the post
offers only the simple comforts afforded high-ranking
military personnel. Our quarters, though they lack the

                                                       95
technological amenities the Federation can provide, are
far more comfortable. Our people are very conscientious
in their worship. All of the best that Makahomia has to
offer belongs to the Temple."
   "Since that would bring me closest to your sick cats, it
would suit me admirably," Acorna said with a gracious
ambassadorial inclination of her head.
   "I wouldn't mind having a look at your critters and at
what they're eating, where they're sleeping, Preacher,"
Captain Mac-Donald said. Kando smiled at the form of
address, apparently finding it amusing that this rustic
man equated him with someone of similar position in
his own culture. "My skills are in agriculture. I know
that on other planets, it's sometimes been the case that
diseases in animals have been traced to contaminants in
their feed or elsewhere in their environment. I could
maybe do a few tests and see if I can find something that
is contributing to your problem."
   "Remember," Macostut chided, wagging his finger at
them, "no alien technology is allowed beyond the
Federation outpost.
   The application of any necessary medical knowledge
to heal the all-important cats is permissible, but nothing
beyond that, including mechanical technology. You do
understand you will not be allowed to take with you off-
post any of those amenities the Mulzar speaks of?"
   "How about a couple of tin cans and some string?
Could we phone home that way?" Becker joked.

                                                        96
   Macostut gave him a pained smile. "Tin cans are also a
product of off-planet technology, however antiquated. I
know you were joking, but this is not a laughing matter.
Not only is there the dampening field and the gate
scanner, but our monitors are manned at all times. Any
attempt by you or anyone else to circumvent these rules
will lead to your immediate expulsion from this planet
and or a strict fine, including possible impoundment of
your vessel and imprisonment. Perhaps the treaty is a bit
overly restrictive, but so long as it is in force, my
command will do its duty and enforce it. We mustn't be
a bad influence eh, Edu?"
   "By their tails, no," Kando agreed, then gave Acorna a
charming smile. "However, if we can avail ourselves of a
skilled physician, we must certainly do so and try to
save our sacred guardians."
   Acorna stood. "I find I have no appetite when I think
of those poor sick cats, Lieutenant Commander
Macostut. Please forgive me, but I wonder if perhaps
Mulzar Kando might provide an escort to take me to
them so I may begin treating them at once."
   Miw-Sher jumped and scooted her chair back from the
table, but Acorna saw Bulaybub tap the air with one
finger, cautioning patience.
   "If you are certain you do not wish to eat?" Macostut
said in a tone that was both disappointed and surprised.
   Acorna looked at the foods that had been placed on
the table--various platters of meats, breads, and sweets,

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none of them particularly appetizing to her friends
either, if she was reading her human companions well.
As a vegetarian with a strong preference for uncooked
greens, she wasn't qualified to judge. The aromas were
synthetically produced, the food itself clearly
reconstituted or heavily processed. Under the
circumstances, this was not surprising. If the planet's
animals were suffering from some type of plague, meat
from any beast that could possibly be harboring such
illnesses could not be served.
   Acorna shook her head apologetically. "While I thank
you for offering this bounty, my people are grazers, sir.
We eat only grasses, vegetables, and occasionally fruits.
The foods here would not agree with my digestion, I
fear."
   "I could provide --" Macostut began, genuinely
distressed to have failed to take her diet into account
when planning his dinner. She was an alien ambassador,
after all.
   Acorna smiled gently and placed her hand on his
shoulder when he started to rise. "Please don't bother.
You have been an excellent host, but all of my instincts
are telling me I must go now to my patients. Please
continue eating in my absence. I have a little
hydroponics garden aboard our ship. Perhaps if your
local diet does not include food such as I've described,
Captain Becker and Nadhari would be good enough to
harvest a small meal for me from my garden later before

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coming to the Temple?"
   "Oh, we have grasses and vegetables here," Nadhari's
cousin assured her. "Of a poor quality this season, to be
sure, but we can provide food for you of the best sort at
the Temple." He clapped his hands and Miw-Sher
almost knocked her chair over in her haste to escape it,
while Bulaybub stood up with a smile, patting his
mouth with a napkin he then laid upon his plate.
   Kando said, "You see, Little Sister, you have your
wish. The ambassador has graciously offered her help.
Now you must escort her to the Temple and the
infirmary where our sacred ones are being treated."
   "Your Holiness, I beg your permission to accompany
Miw-Sher and the honored ambassador so that I may
oversee preparations for the arrival of our guests this
evening," Bulaybub said.
   Acorna received the distinct impression that he was as
glad as Miw-Sher to leave the table, though not for the
same reasons.
   "Very considerate of you to anticipate my wishes as
always, Brother Bulaybub. You have my leave."
   Both acolytes bowed from the waist. When Kando
turned away to the table again, the girl shot Acorna a
quick, intense glance under heavy lashes. The sprinkle of
freckles across her nose and cheeks seemed much too
frivolous to match the red-rimmed green eyes above
them.
   In those eyes Acorna saw despair turn to a tentative

                                                       99
hope. Miw-Sher's hands were clenched so tightly Acorna
thought they might bleed, but her stride was purposeful
as she led the way from the hall. The girl was having
trouble containing herself enough to keep from running.
   The force of her personality reminded Acorna of
Maati. Thoughts of Maati brought thoughts of Maati's
brother and a fresh stab of pain to Acorna's heart.
Almost involuntarily, her fingers flew to the neck of her
tunic, beneath which was Aari's birth disk.
   The guards nodded to Brother Bulaybub and Miw-
Sher and allowed them to pass through the gate, but
they asked Acorna to show them her authorization to
leave the post, which Macostut had provided. They
pointedly did not look at her horn, even though she
distinctly caught the thought (What kind of an alien is
this, anyway?) before the other guard, with a roll of his
eyes at his comrade's lack of worldliness, then directed
her to pass slowly through the gate, which as Macostut
had promised, contained a scanner for forbidden
devices.
   A red-draped box on wheels waited outside the
Federation post and spaceport, hitched to two hornless
beasts that bore a striking resemblance to Linyaari
Ancestors.
   "We should take the carriage," Miw-Sher urged,
heading for it.
   "His Eminence did not grant us permission to do so,"
   Bulaybub replied, and Acorna again received the

                                                      100
impression that he was trying to temper his tone.
   "It would save time," the girl pointed out. "She might
save a sacred one by its use."
   "Perhaps," Bulaybub said reasonably, "but the Mulzar
is aware of this concern and yet did not suggest that we
had his permission to use his conveyance. If he chooses
to leave and we have taken the carriage without
permission, the ambassador will not be able to save us."
   Acorna didn't think he was entirely serious about the
consequences of taking the wagon, but he was senior to
Miw-Sher in rank and he clearly did not want to take the
carriage. He shot a glance into the twilit streets of the
city, as if looking for something or sensing something.
Acorna reached out to see if she could sense a bit about
his thoughts--that would be very rude, and not
honorable, without asking his permission. She sensed
that he was waiting, expecting something . . . someone.
And it had nothing to do with their mission. Her probe
was not mind reading exactly, just ordinary sensitivity
to the movements of body and eye and the expressions
of other people. She considered asking him about it, but
rejected the thought.
   Whatever he was up to could not be nearly as
important as the lives of the Temple cats, who needed
her so badly that RK had diverted the Condor to get her
here. And RK wasn't the only one worried. Miw-Sher
was beside herself with impatience. Acorna said lightly,
"I'm quite a swift runner. Lead the way at your fastest

                                                      101
pace, please."
   "If you are indeed swift of foot, there is no need for me
to lead you," Miw-Sher replied eagerly. "You can see the
Temple very clearly from here. It is not far." She pointed.
The Temple was three stories high, and above the
highest floor of the Temple rose a spire, a dome, and two
conical towers. The structure dwarfed the low homes,
shacks, and shops of the city. "Let's go!" Then they were
all sprinting toward the Temple.
   The Linyaari ambassador, like other Linyaari, was an
extremely fast runner, so she paced herself so she would
not outrun her guide. However, Miw-Sher was so swift
that Acorna needed to slow only slightly to stay behind
her. The run through the city was exhilarating after
being cooped up on the Condor for so long. It also kept
her from absorbing too quickly the noise of this strange
place full of unshielded mouths and minds which
otherwise could have overwhelmed her senses.
Thousands of conversations, laughing, weeping,
screaming, soothing, screaming again -- she blocked it
all out, focusing on her run and preparing herself for the
task ahead.
   The girl's heels flashed before her. Brother Bulaybub's
trudging footfalls fell behind quickly, fading so
completely into the general dm that it was as if the priest
had taken a different direction.
   Rounding a corner, Acorna found herself facing the
Temple's main gate, where the girl stood beckoning

                                                        102
impatiently.      Now      the    building's    uppermost
embellishments made sense. The Temple was in the
shape of a gigantic cat with one paw raised aloft. The
dome was the head of the cat, and the conical towers
rising from it the ears. The open mouth of the muzzle
formed a covered balcony. The main part of the building
was molded to resemble a cat's haunches; the outer
protective wall, the tail. RK would probably want to
fight the whole building when he saw it.
   Darkness was closing in now, the third sun setting,
but it was still very hot. Once she ran into the open gate,
Acorna saw that the courtyard was positioned to catch
the most sun possible. The building's outer walls were a
good six feet thick. Between the first and second story,
they were laced with thin planks leading into holes in
the walls.
   Up the cat's chest a similarly flimsy pair of ladders
rose on either side to the balcony in the muzzle. Long
galleries of columns supported a shaded cloister inside
the tail and along the lower body of the Temple. Though
the main structure of the Temple was of a red and
brown stone, the columns supporting the cloisters were
white and oddly striped down their length.
   "This way," the girl said, and led Acorna inside the
Temple, pausing for a few words with a sentry who
allowed them to pass, though with a long wondering
glance at the alien stranger.
   "Back here," the girl called over her shoulder. They

                                                       103
came at last to a room lit by a gaseous light. The interior,
although it looked clean, stank of illness, of the
pungency of male cats, of blood, urine, and dead fish.
   Five people looked up when the girl entered.
   "Miw-Sher, you've returned too late," a woman the
right age to be the girl's mother said. "Grimla has left us.
She went into convulsions a few minutes ago. She was
so weak her dear body could not sustain them."
   "No!" the girl cried. "Where are the others? I've
brought a doctor, someone from off-planet who can help
them."
   "I can cure your cats," Acorna said, praying it was
true. "If I may I examine them now, please?"
   Two feeble squeaks intended to be mews issued from
very thin, bony-looking cats no more than half RK's own
splendid size. The one with the jaundiced-looking
yellow coat wobbled forward on trembling paws and
stared at her. His eyes were half clouded with the third
eyelid.
   She walked to him, and his caretaker stepped in front
of him. "No alien hands will touch my Pash," the man
declared stoutly. As Acorna started to muster an
argument, the man suddenly said, "Aiee!" He jumped
wildly, then rubbed his behind.
   Miw-Sher said, "Pash seems to think otherwise. Step
aside. Let the doctor work."
   The man reluctantly stepped aside.
   "First I must reassure the cat and let him get to know

                                                        104
me," Acorna said, to explain why she picked up Pash.
The poor animal felt like bones webbed together with
silk, and he smelled as if he had turned himself inside
out just recently. But he stroked his face against her
hands.
   With great care, Acorna stroked and petted him, held
him up to her face, rubbing her cheek in his fur and
urging him silently to touch her horn. He did, grabbing
it with paws still velvet to lever himself upward and rub
his jaw against it. The frail shudders running through
his skeletal body took a while to be recognizable as
purrs, but that's what they were.
   She continued to stroke him.
   (Don't take forever.)
   She glanced up. Two coin-bright eyes stared down at
her from one of the holes above her head. RK glared
down at her. (There are three others that I can see,
besides the dead queen. Can't you revive her? These
other toms aren't going to do me a bit of good.)
   Acorna tried to release Pash, but he clung to her with
all his claws. She sent him a message to desist, but he
snuggled his great head deeper under her armpit.
   RK made some low sounds that could have come
from any of the cats and Pash abruptly disengaged,
hopped onto the counter, and with a flip of his tail, went
to his personal food dish to see what was in it. Satisfied
crunching and slurping sounds came from the direction
of the dish as Acorna moved on to the next stricken cat.

                                                       105
   "It's a miracle!" one of the priests cried.
   "The Star Cat has sent us a miracle!" another agreed.
   The third said, "This stranger is a great doctor indeed,
Miw-Sher. Where did you get her?"
   Acorna didn't listen to the answer. She was busy
communing with a lovely golden-and-rust-colored
fellow who appeared to be huge and fluffy. When she
lifted him, however, he was as light as if he were in zero
G. She cooed and crooned the most awful drivel to him,
but he didn't seem to mind. In fact he seemed to like it.
   "What is his name?" she asked Miw-Sher, who was
bending over another of the cats.
   "Haji," the girl said in a voice unsteady with weeping.
   Haji was very weak. Like Pash, his eyes were only half
open. Drool dribbled from his mouth and raw sores
pierced the pink of his gums. The cat did not even have
the strength to reach for her. He lay limp as a discarded
velvet scarf against her shoulder. She lay her cheek in
his fur, bringing the horn into contact with him almost
as if by accident. "Poor Haji, where does it hurt, darling
boy?"
   (Ugh. I think I'm going to be sick myself now,) RK
said. He accompanied his statement with a mental image
involving a hair-ball.
   (Shhh,) Acorna said to him mentally, then turned the
thought into a "Shush, shush, poor little kitty, poor dear
boy, are you beginning to notice, hmmm? It doesn't hurt
anymore, does it?"

                                                       106
   She inclined her head to stare into his face and
brought her horn in contact with his mouth. The sores
disappeared. The nictating membranes of the third
eyelid retracted so that his eyes were fully open and
bright as the highest caliber peridots.
   With a voice rusty from disuse, Haji suddenly said,
"Ryow!" and flew out of Acorna's arms as if hurricane
winds blew in the direction of his food dish.
   Miw-Sher's tear-ravaged face was both frightened and
hopeful as she advanced toward Acorna with a limp and
spiky-furred tortoiseshell cat in her arms. "This is our
Grimla. She is still warm, doctor ambassador. Not stiff.
M-maybe I feel a little breath. M-maybe she is not
entirely gone yet. J-just very tired? Could you please just
look at her?"
   Acorna stroked the fur and felt a very faint sigh of
breath beneath it. Grimla hadn't used up all of her lives
yet, but it was fortunate for her that the Condor had
arrived as soon as it had or she would have been lost.
The life in the old queen was faint and flickering, but life
nevertheless lingered. Acorna could see the essence of it
trying to flee, clinging only to the tips of the cat's
whiskers, the very ends of her fur, moving them very
slightly.
   "Poor sweet girl," Acorna said, and bent to stroke the
once-beautiful cat while she lay still against Miw-Sher's
chest. The acolyte's own heart was beating hard, as if
trying to encourage the cat's.

                                                        107
   Again, as if by accident, Acorna touched the Temple
cat with her horn while seeming to examine her
elsewhere. Grimla gave a deep sigh and a cough, and
blinked twice. Then she stretched.
   "You were faking, weren't you?" Acorna teased. "You
scared your friend very badly, you naughty cat!"
   As she said these silly words, she waggled her
lowered head, encouraging Grimla to play with her
horn. Instead, with another sigh, the old queen stretched
up and put the velvets of her paws carefully, one behind
the other, on the top of Acorna's horn, then stretched up
and with a dry and raspy tongue, licked the tip once,
and started down. Acorna caught her and kissed the top
of her head. Then the cat took her leave of both Acorna
and Miw-Sher to seek her own food dish. But she
paused once and looked back at them Math a serene
expression. They could hear her purr from three feet
away. Turning a contentedly waving tail on them, she
stuck her nose in her dish.
   After Acorna had cured Sher-Paw, the last of the
remaining Temple cats, she said, "This room should be
cleaned. I suggest that you discard everything that can't
be washed in disinfectant and very hot water, then wipe
down all of the scrubbable surfaces. Though your sacred
cats are cured, the disease could still be spread by
vectors from the sick cats."
   "Vectors? What are these, Doctor?" asked the male
priest. "Tell me what this is that has killed so many of

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our guardian felines and I will slay it with my bare
hands. My revered companion, Pedibastet, was the first
of the holy creatures to succumb. Are these vector beasts
demons, or perhaps some evil magic spell cast by the
shaman of an enemy clan?"
   "I was thinking more in terms of mutant nano-
viruses." The people around her looked even more
bewildered than before. She tried to explain. "I don't
actually know what causes this illness, but the causes of
most sicknesses are organisms rather like animals but
very, very small, too small to see. They are so small that
they can go right inside a person or beast without
anyone noticing, and attack healthy beings and make
them sick. If you want to keep from spreading the
sickness or getting the cats reinfected, you should do as I
suggest. Clean everything thoroughly, including rugs,
pillows, countertops, walkways, and the insides of those
holes your cats climb through. If they become reinfected
or if perhaps new cats are introduced to this group and
become infected by organisms still living in the
environment, I will not be here to cure them."
   "Aiee," Miw-Sher said, "I could not bear this again. Is
there no medicine you could leave us, none of your
knowledge or spells?"
   Acorna pondered this. Even if she sacrificed a slice of
her horn, as she had once done on Rushima, it could not
serve all of the stricken for all of their illnesses. For that
reason and many others, the Linyaari tried not to allow

                                                          109
others to realize that it was their horns that healed and
purified water and air. But until she analyzed the
causative agent of the disease that had decimated
Temple cats all over Makahomia, she couldn't hope to
vanquish the illness merely by curing these few victims
of it.
   "I will do what I can before I leave," she said finally.
"Meanwhile, introduce no other cats --"
   At that point, RK half jumped, half fell among them.
At first Acorna thought the big fellow was faking it to
gain access to Grimla, but he did not spring back up
when he landed, even though Pash was growling
menacingly at him. He gave the smallest, saddest mew
Acorna had ever heard him utter. In case she hadn't got
the point, he sent her a feeble transmission, along with a
pitiful vocalized mew.
   (I don't feel so good,) he said.
   (I did warn you,) she told him silently. By now the
other cats hopped up to surround him.
   "What Temple is guarded by this one?" Miw-Sher
asked. "Is he from the steppes?"
   "No," Acorna said, lifting RK's considerable bulk.
Since he had acquired the disease apparently between
one breath and the next, he had had no time to lose
weight and was his usual hefty self. She didn't elaborate.
She didn't wish to have anyone seek to execute her or
Becker or anyone else for being in RK's company. "He is
my friend and Captain Becker's, who came with us on

                                                       110
our spaceship. Not a very wise cat, but a friend
nevertheless."
   Rubbing her face against his furry sides so that her
horn as well as her cheek and nose pressed against him,
she murmured what sounded like coos to the other
people but what she was actually saying was, (I told you
so! I knew you would catch this disease, you stubborn
beast.)
   RK wriggled free and with a smug purr and eyes wide
and bright again, said, (And I told you that you would
heal me if I did.)
   "He certainly looks like a Temple cat to me," one of the
priests who seemed unaffiliated with any particular
feline said. "In fact he looks more like the real thing than
any of ours at the moment, tatty as they are from
undereating and all of that noisy puking they've been
doing."
   "With all respect, Your Reverence, the ambassador is
not only our guest, she has laid healing hands upon our
sacred guardians and saved them from certain death,"
the woman in the priestly robes said. "I think we must
give her the benefit of the doubt."
   "Oh, of course," the man said with false joviality. "No
offense meant, Your Excellency." But his smile was oily
and his eyes were shifty. Acorna imagined he would be
giving a report to Nadhari's cousin before long, and
would not neglect to mention RK's entrance.
   "None taken," Acorna said lightly. "But now, if you'll

                                                        111
forgive me, the healing process is very draining to me. I
need to rest."
   "You're welcome to leave your guardian here with
ours if you wish, Excellency," the woman grooming
Sher-Paw said with genuine concern.
   RK had been doing reconnaissance among the Temple
cats, hut apparently found them still too weak to be
stimulating companions. He hopped up on Acorna's
shoulders and made himself comfortable around her
neck, letting his head and front paws drape to her waist
on her left side, while his back paws dangled on her
right side to the middle of her arm.
   Acorna laughed. "I believe he has spoken."
   "I will show you to our guest quarters," Miw-Sher
said, leading them from the room. As the girl began to
turn down a hallway that appeared to penetrate deeper
into the Temple's interior, Acorna said, "Please tell your
high priest that RK and I must return to our vessel. I can
examine the tiny animals that cause this illness there,
and perhaps discover a means to combat the sickness. If
I am successful, I will be able to leave with you a
medicine you can use in case of further outbreaks of the
disease. I may also be able to teach your people how to
prepare this medicine themselves."
   Acorna thought she might be able to prepare a vaccine
for the illness using a blood sample from RK, but the
Temple would lack the necessary laboratory facilities to
purify and test it. And, given the Federation proscription

                                                       112
on introducing new technology to these people, she'd
better do any research she wanted to do aboard ship.
   Miw-Sher said, "Perhaps your friend should stay
aboard your vessel until you go. I fear he may not be
allowed to return with you unless you keep him out of
sight. Especially with the number of our own guardians
so sadly depleted. You may find him missing when you
are ready to leave."
   That provided Acorna with an opening to discuss her
ambassadorial role with someone she felt instinctively
was trustworthy.
   "This cat is very important to my people." That would
give her a further justification for RK's presence with
her. "You must understand that my people have had
their world destroyed twice just within my lifetime and
have already suffered many losses."
   The girl nodded as if they were discussing the
weather. "Makahomia wasn't destroyed, but my family
and home have been," she said. "We allied ourselves
with the Kandos and sent warriors to fight beside them.
So when our village was attacked, our men were away
fighting for them, and no one was around to protect us
from our enemies. My mother and brothers were all
slain and I alone of all my family remained to greet our
allies when they finally arrived. Among them was
Brother Bulaybub, who is my mother's steppe-cousin,
and he persuaded the Mulzar that I would be good with
the cats, particularly Grimla, whose special friend was

                                                     113
killed in the battle. But I'm interrupting you!" the girl
said, her hand flying to her mouth as if to shush herself.
"I'm sorry. I'm very rude. Please go on."
   Acorna continued. "During the first attack, my people
left their original homeworld. They took what they
could with them in one great evacuation. They intended
to take with them cats they called pahaantiyirs. I know
this only through the stories of my people. I myself was
not born on our homeworld, but was orphaned in space.
I've only just returned to my people recently."
   "You have? But I thought you must be from an
important family, and very well known to have achieved
your high office so young!" She saw that Acorna was
patiently waiting, and once more her knuckles flew to
her lips. "Oh, there I go doing it again. Pardon me,
please, and continue."
   Acorna smiled. "You could say my status has
something to do with having been adopted by an
important family--several of them, in fact." There were
Gil, Calum, and Rafik, the asteroid miners who were her
original adoptive fathers. Then there was Rafik's uncle,
the wily and wealthy Hafiz, who had adopted her
instead of collecting her when he learned she was part of
an alien race and not a freak of human physiology.
   And there was her dear friend, Mr. Li, who had also
adopted her and helped her rid the planet Kezdet of
child slavery and prostitution before he finally
succumbed to the illness that had crippled his body for

                                                       114
so many years.
  Then she had been found by her mother's sister,
Neeva, and returned to narhii-Vhiliinyar, where she was
adopted by Grandam Naadiina and Maati.
  Captain Becker, too, had been like another uncle to
her, and had saved the life of her beloved Aari. Finally
there was Aari himself, her lifemate and other self--
well, there was Aari for a short time at least, before he
disappeared during the exploration of Vhiliinyar. In the
meantime, she had the support and love of his family --
his mother Miiri, his father Kaarlye, and his sister,
Maati.
  She had to admit upon reflection that even though she
did not have Aari's company at present, she had been
very lucky in her adoptive families.
  "At any rate, I am told that when the time came for my
people to evacuate, their pahaantiyirs were nowhere to be
found. They disappeared entirely and have not been
seen, alive or dead, since. They all say RK bears an
incredible resemblance to the pahaantiyirs. Nadhari
Kando, who as you saw is with us, tells us that RK also
looks very much like a Makahomian Temple cat. So my
mission is, now that I'm here, to learn if there is kinship
between these two species, and if so, how close that
kinship might be."
  Miw-Sher looked thoughtful, staring first at RK, then
back to Acorna's face. "It is possible, though I know little
of worlds beyond our own. You're not likely to learn

                                                        115
much here. His holiness is very good at... delegating . . .
matters of doctrine and history to others. But please, we
have tarried here too long. The others will be coming
soon and somehow I feel your plans may not meet with
His Holiness's approval."
   "Then I would rather not meet His Holiness right
now. It sounds as if this may be my best opportunity to
return to the ship. Is there a back way out of here?"
   "There is another way," the girl said, hesitating, then
saying, as if arguing with herself, "It can be frightening
-- but then, you must be very brave to have come so far
from home through space. And you have a guardian
with you. Just remember he will protect you, and do not
be afraid, no matter what."
   "I won't," Acorna promised.
   Miw-Sher made up her mind and motioned Acorna to
follow her. "Come quickly, then, and I will show you the
way."
   They passed through a maze of corridors and back out
of the main Temple building, across a much narrower
courtyard. This contained a lush garden, a central well,
and enough fountains to make Hafiz happy. Rows of
cloisters enclosed the garden. Miw-Sher pulled Acorna
and RK back between the columns and the wall. As they
came to the join where the tail-shaped wing of the
building met the body, Miw-Sher pressed her finger
against a stone in the wall and it opened. The opening
was not nearly tall enough for Acorna, and even Miw-

                                                       116
Sher had to stoop to show her the way. "Just keep going
straight through here. It's only about sixteen feet to the
end of the passage. It opens into an abandoned dwelling.
Be careful not to be seen as you leave or someone may
misunderstand. You'd best cover your head as you go.
You are -- conspicuous." Miw-Sher gave Acorna a large
scarf such as some of the Temple's inhabitants wore for a
head covering.
   "Yes," Acorna said, "I will return as soon as I can."
   "Remember," Miw-Sher said, "don't be afraid. Nothing
can hurt you, and even if it could, your guardian will
protect you."
   Acorna ducked low into the wall. Once she was past
the entrance, the opening grew taller so she could walk
upright. Miw-Sher waved from the opening, then
started. "Someone is coming. Safe journey."
   With that the door shut behind her, the darkness
deepened, and the sounds of the courtyard were snuffed
out like a candle flame. RK stiffened in her arms. His fur
bristled and his claws pricked her arm. When she
touched his head to quiet him, his curs were laid back. A
low growl leaked through his teeth.
   And then she heard it, too. Coming from inside the
surrounding walls, there was a whisper like blowing
sand or a serpent's hissing. As she listened more
intently, the whisper rose to a mumble and she thought
she could make out separate words.
   She stroked RK soothingly and listened with her mind

                                                       117
as well as her ears. The words were incomprehensible
but the feelings behind them were anxious, angry,
frustrated, and also fear.
   The emotional storm they created enveloped her and
RK. The cat's tail switched back and forth, back and
forth, faster and harder. He puffed to twice his size, but
Acorna was the only recipient of his bared claws.
   His growl grew in his throat, and as it grew, a
corresponding growl entered the words until they ended
in a hollow, reverberating roar Acorna was sure would
bring everyone running. Just as she stepped forward,
however, the roar was replaced by a calmer sound, a
deep and throaty purr. RK's tail no longer switched, and
his ears, when she touched them, were pricked forward,
alert but calm. The hair on the cat's back gradually
settled down sleekly along his spine. RK was sending no
thoughts at that point for her to receive, nor had he from
the beginning, but now the cat settled into a relieved
purr that seemed to be echoed by whatever it was that
lived inside the walls of this Temple.

  Miw-Sher's skin twitched as she listened to the noise
within the wall. Grimla mewed plaintively. Miw-Sher
was glad the occasion had arisen to introduce Acorna to
the wall's resident. There was so much to explain, so
much to ask, but she sensed a firm ally in Acorna if only
she could enlist the ambassador's help without alerting
her enemies.

                                                       118
   When the roar came, Miw-Sher had already reached
the cattery and deposited Grimla within it. Her beloved
friend could not help just now. The cat needed to gain
strength. Miw-Sher was loath to leave Grimla and the
other cats, even for a short time, but she could not stay
inside the Temple without knowing what was
happening. When she was once more in the darkness of
the back courtyard, she changed quickly and leaped to
the top of the wall and over.




                                                      119
                           Five

  The grub wasn't nearly as good as advertised, Becker
thought, but to give him credit, Macostut, after a bite or
two of his own meal, apologized for it. "Usually our
facility can offer excellent fresh meat and vegetables to
our guests, and I automatically promised that when I
invited you. The truth is, the disease the Mulzar
mentioned has caused the Makahomians to quarantine
the meat animals and forbid their slaughter for food.
Since, as you mentioned, Captain MacDonald, diseases
such as this may be caused by some problem in the food
or soil, we have also had to process our fresh vegetables
until they are no longer in their most edible condition."
  Becker was gracious. "It's better than cat food," he said
incautiously.
  "I beg your pardon?" Mulzar Kando replied.
  Nadhari began damage control. "Captain Becker is a
thrifty and resourceful man. He accepts many
commodities in trade for his salvage. One of his regular
customers gives him large quantities of cat food. There
have been times during his more perilous journeys when
he sustained himself by eating that when other rations
were unavailable."
  Kando looked interested. "Hmmm, perhaps, if we
have something you would like to trade tor, we could

                                                       120
take some of the cat food off your hands? If the diet of
our Temple cats is indeed responsible for the disease
that has decimated them, some alternative food may
provide relief until we can bring the problem under
control."
  Becker thought for a moment. "Maybe. I had the
impression you folks don't use a lot of machinery."
  "That has always been true in the past, certainly,"
Kando said.
  "You got any hard-copy books, maybe? I could trade
for some of those."
  "No, I fear not. Our writing tends toward sacred
subjects and is usually inscribed upon monuments."
  "Is that so? Seems like you'd have to write down your
laws and rulings on things, your history, that kind of
thing."
  Kando appeared genuinely grieved. "Alas, I fear that
being always at war has undermined our ability to retain
such ephemeral documents. Battles are recorded only by
the bards of the winners. The possessions of the losers
that are not looted are burned in the victory bonfires."
  "I can see where that might present a problem," Becker
said. "How about those stones in your necklaces? Got
any of those you're willing to trade?"
  Everybody but him and Scar laughed as if he was
being intentionally funny.
  "No, I'm serious," Becker said, holding up his hands
for silence. He explained. "As a gemstone, they're not

                                                     121
considered to be worth a lot--I mean, at least not
elsewhere--but they have other uses."
   "He's right," MacDonald said. "They've used them a
lot in spot terrestoration."
   "We're only laughing, Jonas," Nadhari said, "because
no matter what was offered for one of the sacred eyes,
we would never trade or sell it. The stones are religious
items, you see. They are believed to have been given to
us by the earliest deities of our people."
   "Oh, well, no offense meant," Becker said. "Just tryin'
to drum up a little business. Didn't mean to interfere
with anybody's religion. But they're used for a special
kind of particle beam--"
   "Ah-ah, Captain Becker," Macostut said, waving his
finger in warning. "Such things are not relevant to the
Mulzar's culture."
   "Oh, of course, sorry," Becker said again, and wished
himself back on the Condor, where he was not so socially
inept.
   The Mulzar waved both of his hands as if to blow
away the smoke of embarrassment. "Nothing to be sorry
for at all, Captain Becker. Dsu forgets sometimes that
while my culture may be more or less uncontaminated, I
myself was contaminated at an early age by no lesser
agent than the Federation itself. I was well aware at the
time that stones similar to our sacred ones were used as
particle beam accelerators to produce bladelike laser
beams for mining. We have very fine stones here, and I

                                                       122
am sure you will be extremely sorry when you see them
that my people will not allow me to trade any of them
for your cat food."
   This time the laughter was unanimous. Becker
thought Kando was probably an okay guy after all. And
he was Nadhari's cousin. If anyone had an insight into
how to bring his former lover out of her funk, Cousin
Edu and the old folks at home might be the ones.
   Whatever else was affected by the planet's current
difficulties, the wine was fine, if undistinguished, and
everyone was enjoying it and becoming quite relaxed
under its influence.
   Captain MacDonald told some amusing stories about
farming and tractor repair on some of the planets where
he visited, and Becker chimed in with a couple of tales of
his own, as well as relating a thrilling account of the
battle against the Khleevi. He was hoping this might
stimulate a war story or two from Kando. And that
might also open the door for Nadhari to talk about what
was bugging her.
   Instead, Kando said simply, "Thank you, Captain
Becker, for reminding us how fortunate we are that the
Federation shields us from these truly terrible threats.
The Federation, that is, and heroes like you and my
cousin. Most of my people are unaware that such
dangers exist, but my friendship with Dsu and my own
experience while training for the Corps have given me
different insights. It is because of this other reality that I

                                                          123
differ from my predecessors, who considered constant
war a way to keep the economy lively and the power in
balance. I have come to feel strongly that these wars
divide us against each other to no good purpose. They
weaken our planet's voice in the Federation. They retard
the progress of our civilization, destroy valuable
individuals, and drain our resources, both natural and
cultural.
   "We don't need to be at war constantly, fighting over
the same thing. We need roads and bridges both
physical and cultural that will connect us, not divide us.
Better schools. Better medical care. And we won't get
those things until Makahomia is united. Only then can
we hope for more than our present impoverished level
of existence."
   Becker wasn't sure whether he was supposed to
applaud or head right out to the polls and place an
illegal (since he was not Makahomian) but enthusiastic
vote for Kando for Mulzar.
   The speech did stimulate Nadhari. She smiled one of
her slow and dangerous smiles and said, "And who do
you suppose could unite our planet and how, Edu,
hmmmm?"
   Kando reached over and took her hand, his voice
practically throbbing with sincerity as he said, "I was
hoping you might help me answer that question,
Nadhari, now that you are home again."
   Then the Mulzar started in on a narrative about

                                                       124
Nadhari's childhood. She kept protesting what he was
saying, and he lapsed into one of the Makahomian
dialects, one that Macostut apparently understood, too.
Occasionally one of them tried to translate the
conversation, but this seemed to be an in-joke kind of
session and the Mulzar's Standard wasn't up to it,
especially as his wine goblet emptied more and more
often while he joked.
   Becker and MacDonald looked at each other and
shrugged. Then MacDonald sat back in his chair and
patted his uniform tunic with satisfaction. "So, Jonas," he
said, "that young lady you're with, the one with the
horn. I heard about someone like her back on Rushima,
last time I stopped over there to repair some of their
tractors and give their people a few lessons. They were
telling me about a tall young girl with a horn in the
middle of her forehead who brought them a special tool
that cleaned up their mucky water in no time flat. I
looked that tool over and I couldn't find anything but a
little slice of something that looks a little like this girl's
horn."
   Becker was nodding, grinning, as if he knew all about
it, and thinking fast. If he knew Acorna, it was a slice of
her horn. Since he and Aari were practically blood
brothers, and Acorna sort of a blood sister-in-law, that
made him practically Linyaari himself, he figured, and
he had to protect their secrets.
   "Oh, yeah," he said, broadening his grin and going

                                                          125
into a riff that was very much like his spiel at the nano-
bug markets where he sold some of his salvage cargo.
"Aren't those slick? Linyaari nano-technology is
something else. I can't believe what those people can fit
into one of their little devices. The thing you saw is
really just a kind of trigger for the machine. That coating
on it is to make it look like the horn is their trademark.
They have this whole class of people who take things
other people invented and refine them and give them a
style that's all Linyaari."
   "Do tell!" MacDonald said. "Well, those folks are okay
with the people on Rushima, I can tell you."
   "Oh, yeah, they're wonderful people. And Acorna is
probably the best of them all. She'll probably have all
those guardian pussycats healed and eating out of her
hand by the time we get there."
   Kando suddenly tuned into him and dropped the
Makahomian to ask in Standard, "Then she really can do
as she claims, the ambassador?"
   "Of course she can. Your pussycats got nothing to
worry about," Becker told him.
   "Oh, yes," Nadhari said, also in Standard.
"Ambassador Acorna is a wonderful physician." Now it
was her turn to elaborate. "Her healing techniques are
being taught to the more gifted children on Maganos
Moonbase. You may have heard of it, Lieutenant
Commander?" The inference in her tone was that Kando,
being in the Makahomian backwater, was unlikely to

                                                       126
have heard of it. "My former employer, Mr. Li, helped
Acorna rid Kezdet of child slavery."
   "Why would he do such a thing?" Kando asked.
   Nadhari smiled innocently at her cousin. "I forgot. Do
you still practice slavery here, Edu? It's considered a
very primitive practice elsewhere. I'm surprised the
Federation allows it. On Kezdet it was only because the
leaders of the slave industry had many low friends in
high places."
   Macostut sputtered and hurried to defend himself.
"We try not to be ethnocentric when dealing with the
inhabitants of our member worlds, Lady Nadhari."
   Lady Nadhari? Becker looked from the official to his
former girlfriend with surprise. Well, she was from the
ruling family, after all. Maybe this gave her a rank she
didn't claim or hadn't been aware of. From the look on
her face it was also one that didn't impress her much.
   The man continued. "We try to respect their customs,
religion, and cultural mores."
   "Cultural mores change in a healthy culture," Nadhari
told him.
   "Yes," Kando said, "they do. And should. That has
been my position since I became Mulzar. If our ways do
not change with the times, the culture becomes stagnant.
So does a faith when it is not renewed so that the
trappings no longer necessary drop away while the
essence remains."
   "I take it when you say 'trappings' you're not referring

                                                       127
to the priesthood, Edu?" Nadhari said, pretending to
tease. "Or to your own position?"
  Becker turned to MacDonald and drew a number 1 in
the air with his forefinger. "Chalk one up for Nadhari,"
he mouthed. MacDonald nodded sagely.
  "You're joking with me now, aren't you, cousin? You
always did like to keep me off balance," Kando replied.
To Becker he said, "She is such a tease."
  Becker began at that point to wonder if this man had
any insight into Nadhari's psyche after all.




                                                     128
                            Six

   What could that possibly have been?"
   RK stopped purring, laid his ears back, and opened
his eyes to annoyed slits. His paws kept kneading in
time to the low grumbling noise, which was now barely
audible to Acorna.
   (Were we going somewhere or did you just want to
stand here to find out if cats can really see in the dark?)
RK asked in a quite normal thought pattern.
   (Yes,) Acorna said. (Let's go. You can explain what
that was all about when we're out of here.)
   Whoever or whatever was within the wall, it
continued its noise on a very low level but no longer
sent emotional messages. Acorna felt like rapping on the
wall and asking, "Excuse me, is everything all right in
there? We couldn't help noticing you roared."
   However, RK squirmed out of her arms and dropped
to the ground, then scratched impatiently at something
just ahead of them.
   She would question both the cat and Miw-Sher more
thoroughly later. She walked two more steps and caught
up with RK, touching his flank with her foot.
   He did not have to thought-speak to tell her he was at
the door she was supposed to open. Standard cat/biped
nonverbal communication was eloquent enough. She

                                                       129
had to give the door a hard shove that nearly spilled her
into a dark space where dust tickled her nose and
cobwebs brushed her face, snagged on her horn, and
dangled before her eyes to further confuse what little
vision she retained in the dark surroundings.
   By the time she reached the street, she wouldn't need
the scarf, she thought. She would look like a woman-
shaped cocoon, totally wrapped in silken webbing.
   "I wish Mac was here with the flashlight attachment in
his arm," she whispered to the cat.
   (Why?) RK, apparently feeling sociable again, asked in
thought-talk. (I can see perfectly well. My eyes are much
better than yours, but there's not much to see. I'll bet the
mice around here are starving. This place is empty. If I
weren't convalescing from my recent illness I'd jump
down and chase some of those sassy spiders.)
   (I'd much rather you'd find us another door--
preferably one that doesn't open right onto the street,)
she told him.
   (On your left. Just reach out with those long arms and
clever fingers of yours. Although I am, of course, the
perfect life form just as I am, I rather wish I could have
come with those as optional attachments. I could open
anything!)
   (You'd lose out on the fun of getting others to do it for
you,) Acorna told the cat, grasping the door latch and
pulling. Hot air assailed her nostrils. A lash of a breeze
blew fresh oxygen into her face. She closed the door,

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which led into an alleyway between the building and the
one adjacent to it.
   Through the crack between the buildings she saw the
moons quite distinctly. She drew the scarf over her head.
RK climbed up on her shoulders and said, (Now cover
the kitty. That's a good girl.) He purred to give her
positive reinforcement for doing as she was told. Not
that she hadn't intended to anyway. His desires were
distinct enough without the verbalizations. Being privy
to the specific meaning of opinions the cat had formerly
expressed by body language would take some getting
used to.
   Once they were in the street, RK leaped down from
her shoulders and streaked ahead of her, sprinting from
shadow to shadow.
   With her scarf draped low over her forehead to cover
her horn, Acorna aroused no interest in the locals.
Indeed, there was no one to be interested. The streets
were lined with low, flat-roofed dwellings, each with a
single small window near the door. Otherwise, they
were occupied only by a pungent haze of smoke. She
supposed the lack of windows in the thick red-clay walls
served to keep the heat as well as the light out.
However, this night was cool, and may have even felt
chilly to people accustomed to a semidesert climate. She
vaguely remembered, on her sprint from spaceport to
Temple, seeing a few people sitting on their rooftops,
watching the last of the suns setting in the west while

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waiting for the first glimmer of the first of the moons to
rise in the east. Both moons were up now, crescent
shapes floating through the night sky.
   She supposed people might sleep up on the roofs
sometimes, but no one appeared to be doing so tonight.
The rooftops were inhabited only by shadows, or so she
thought until suddenly RK halted directly in front of
her, growling, tail lashing, staring at something above
him on the far side of the street. She followed his gaze
and saw it, just briefly.
   At first she thought it was a person, for it moved more
like a biped running in a stooped position than a true
quadruped. But she glimpsed ears rotating back to catch
RK's growl, saw the claws and muzzle silhouetted in the
moonlight and what appeared to be a clubbed tail,
lashing like RK's.
   It leaped and was gone as if it had been no more than
a cat fancy, one of those things that cats alone can see.
Acorna had seen it, however. Perhaps because she was
linked to RK's consciousness, but more likely because it
had been there.
   At any rate, RK's fur smoothed down, his ears went
up, his tail quieted, and he sat for a moment washing his
paw.
   (What was that?) Acorna asked. (Did it have
something to do with whatever was happening inside
the wall?)
   RK tapped his tail twice on the pavement. (I don't

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know, but maybe. I never saw one like it before. Nadhari
might know. Maybe it was a ritual dancer imitating one
of us god-like Temple guardians. I'd chase it if I didn't
have you to protect.)
  (Sorry to be such a burden,) she apologized with some
amusement. (I will ask Nadhari when we see her, but
are you sure you wouldn't like to share with me what
exactly happened before?)
  RK considered. (It's a cat thing, Acorna. You wouldn't
understand.)
  (How so a cat thing? I am sure I heard a human voice.)
  (Well, I think it was a cat priest. He lives in the wall
now. Maybe he's sick. Maybe he's got the sickness and a
fever and is out of his head. But before he roared, he was
chanting something about the moon's eyes and the
coming of the guardian guide. These people call us
guardians, so between that and the roar . . .)
  (It's a cat thing, I see,) she said. (You could have told
me that at the time.)
  (It needed sorting out. I was too caught up in the
moment to translate. I would like to know what made
him roar like that, though--maybe that creature we just
saw?)
  (Maybe,) she agreed.
  She would ask Nadhari about it when they saw her
again, and Miw-Sher as well, but for now she wanted
badly to reach the Condor and fulfill her promise to
create a vaccine for the cats. She and RK hurried

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onward, finally reaching the intersection of the street
running perpendicular to the Federation port gate. She
was three blocks further north than she had been when
Miw-Sher raced her to the Temple.
   A different guard stood by the gate to the compound.
She threw back her scarf, announcing her name and title.
   "We were told you'd be spending the night at the
Temple, Ambassador," the soldier said, though her
appearance, especially her horn, left no doubt in his
mind she was who she claimed to be.
   "I forgot something," she said.
   "May I ask what, ma'am?" he inquired stiffly.
   "My medication," she told him. It was perfectly true,
after all.
   She held his eye, and from the corner of hers, she saw
movement low in the shadow of the gate as RK slipped
by.
   For a moment she wondered how she was going to
reboard the Condor without the controls Becker carried
with him, but the robolift was already on the ground
when they reached the ship. Mac greeted them
cheerfully. RK sniffed the ship thoroughly, reading the
scents left behind by the Federation inspectors and
rubbing his face against the contaminated areas to
remark his territory.
   (RK, I will be needing your assistance,) Acorna said
softly, bending over to stroke him as he rearranged the
scent of the captain's chair to suit himself.

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   He sat back on his haunches and licked his paw, then
blinked at her as if to say, "Oh, you will, will you?" But
did not communicate directly.
   She sank into a cross-legged position on the deck and
regarded him seriously. "Yes, that's right. You heard me
tell Miw-Sher and the others the danger this disease may
hold for future Temple cats and kittens who may
become infected by the disease after we're gone. I want
to make a vaccine that will allow the people caring for
the Temple guardians to protect newcomers. But to
make it, I will need to take blood samples from someone
who has already been cured of the disease. I can't take
the syringes and needles I need off-post to draw blood
from the Temple cats, nor can I bring them here. I'm
afraid that leaves you. It's fortunate you chose to
disregard everyone's advice and left the post and
contracted the disease yourself."
   RK gave her an offended glare, his lips curling up
over his fangs.
   "Surely you won't mind a little needle prick? It's no
sharper than the claws you have been sticking into me
lately."
   The cat's tail jerked with agitation, but he
accompanied her to the laboratory as if the whole thing
was his own idea. He growled while she restrained him
and drew blood from him.
   When she released him, he drew blood from her, then
strutted away, sat down at a safe distance, and preened

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himself as if he were waiting to accept a medal for valor.
  Acorna touched her horn lightly to her scratch and
said, "Fortunately, I heal quickly." She set to work.
  When a sufficient quantity of the vaccine was ready,
she prepared to return to the Temple. Mac said, "Are
you forbidden to use the flitter, Acorna? I have prepared
quite a nice flitter for our use when planetside."
  "Thank you, but not this time, Mac. You heard what
Nadhari said, didn't you? These people choose not to
use technology readily available to the rest of the
universe, and the Federation wishes that their choice be
respected. Given the warlike nature of the people of
Makahomia, I can almost concur that the limitations
make sense. By the way, speaking of warlike, how are
the Wats doing? You have been keeping them fed, I
hope?"
  The robot looked concerned. "Yes, Acorna. But they
are restless. They had understood they were going to a
new home and are . . . disappointed, I suppose . . . that
this is not it."
  "Hmm," Acorna said. "Well, the Wats certainly pose
no technological threat to the Makahomians and they are
warlike people also, not remarkably different from the
people here. Perhaps the Federation would give them
permission to immigrate here."
  "It is possible," Mac said. "But I do not think they
could fill out the paperwork. Lieutenant Commander
Macostut had many forms sent to our computer. I filled

                                                       136
them out to the best of my abilities and returned them,
but I do not think the Wats will be able to satisfy the
local inhabitants with their answers, and I have
insufficient data about them to fill out many of the
questions on the forms. Whether they stay here or not, I
sense trouble."
   "So the Makahomians want to know who we are,
including the Wats?" Acorna smiled. "I can see where
that might be a problem. Especially when it comes to
formal documentation. We might have to be creative. At
any rate, I'll inquire with the local authorities later and
see what I can do. I must get this vaccine to the Temple
now. Please make sure RK remains aboard ship."
   "Yes, Acorna."
   But as Acorna was being lowered on the robolift,
suddenly a furry projectile hurtled from RK's private
exit and the cat rolled onto the floor of the descending
lift.
   "Shall I raise the lift again, Acorna?" Mac inquired on
the intercom he had installed on the robolift. "The first
mate escaped my grasp and I could not regain
possession of his person without applying undue
strength, which might have damaged him."
   "We can try," Acorna said. But as soon as the lift began
to ascend again, RK lightly leaped onto the ground and
sat looking up at her, the scallop of his mouth
broadening in a cat smile of deep satisfaction. "Never
mind, Mac," Acorna said, laughing in spite of herself at

                                                       137
the rebellious cat. "The first mate knows the risks quite
well and is willing to take them. Who are we to restrain
him?"




                                                      138
                          Seven
   At Kando's invitation, Becker and MacDonald
followed the Mulzar out the gate of the Federation post.
A sort of old-time carriage waited for them.
   There was a low haze over the flat roofs of the city,
and the red air smelled like smoke. When Kando
knocked on the side of the vehicle's cab, a sleepy-looking
monk poked his head out and scrambled up to the
driver's seat.
   MacDonald stroked the vaguely equine oversized
goats that were hitched to the front, looked into their
eyes, checked their teeth, and joined Kando, Nadhari
and Becker inside. "Looks like those critters escaped
whatever it is that's been troubling you anyway,
Preacher," he said.
   "In the midst of our curse, we are blessed," Kando said
piously.
   Nadhari s silence hung so heavily over the carriage
that nobody, not even the effusive MacDonald, said
anything until they arrived at the Temple, which was
shaped like a cat.
   Becker was feeling a little dizzy from the wine, to
which he was no longer accustomed, and the bumpy ride
in the cart, not to mention trying to figure out what was
really passing between Nadhari and her cousin, and the
cousin and Macostut. Acorna would know that kind of

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thing. Personally, ii it wasn't for wanting to consult with
her and see how she was doing with the pussycats,
Becker would have made his excuses and returned to the
Condor for the night. He had to get to work on his ship's
computers pretty soon. Even though Mac knew a lot, the
guy's programming was hardly competent to deal with
all of the ins and outs of the delicate patchwork Becker
had constructed to provide the Condor's control and
information instrumentation. Becker wasn't sure there
was a man in the galaxy capable of it... except him, of
course.
   So he was understandably peeved when they arrived
at the Temple and were told Acorna had left to return to
the ship on an errand.
   "What errand?" Kando sternly asked the little girl--
was her name Shari something? Nah, but that was close.
The kid was flushed and harried-looking, hugging a
tortoiseshell cat that would have been as big as RK if it
wasn't so skinny.
   She answered her boss in Makahomian, and Nadhari
quietly translated for Becker and MacDonald.
   "She said Acorna had to go to the ship so she could
make a magic potion to prevent future guardians from
acquiring the disease that has afflicted ours, even long
after she has departed."
   "You should have detained her, Miw-Sher," Kando
said severely. The girl cringed as if she expected to be
hit. Becker thought Kando was being too harsh. Becker

                                                       140
knew it would take more than some adolescent cat
priestess to keep his friend the unicorn girl from going
wherever she wanted, whenever she felt like it. Of
course Kando didn't know Acorna.
  "I'm sorry, Your Holiness, but she said she needed to
do it at once, for the future good of the guardians."
  This time, Nadhari translated both sides of the
conversation tonelessly and deliberately. Was she making
some kind of point?
  "But she might have been set upon," Kando told the
girl. "You should have gone with her, at the very least."
  "Oh, hut she was safe. She had a ..." The girl stopped,
looking trapped.
  "A what?"
  "A way about her that none would dare trespass," the
girl finished lamely. Becker had the funniest idea she
had been going to say "guardian" or "cat" or something
that amounted to the same thing as RK, his stalwart
furry first mate, who should definitely not have been
seen here. But the temptations of shore leave may have
overridden RK's good sense. How else was his friend
going to make Makahomian Temple kittens if he didn't
get out and mingle? For a supposedly unsophisticated
people, the Makahomians sure had a lot of rules. They
should know better than to make rules about cats. He
had only one cat, and he knew better than that.
  The girl stroked the cat in her arms.
  Nadhari scratched the top of the cat's head and said to

                                                      141
her cousin, "I see our Acorna has worked her usual
healing miracle. This sacred guardian should be ready to
take on an army after a day or two of rest. Are you sure
there's not something you'd like to trade for Becker's cat
food, cousin?"
   Kando's mouth spasmed, as if he was trying to smile.
He probably didn't appreciate Nadhari interfering while
he was dressing down the troops. But Becker was kind
of surprised to see that Kando looked less than thrilled
by the recovery of the Temple cats.
   Miw-Sher, that was the girl's name, not Shari. Nadhari
told Becker Miw-Sher meant kitten and was likely a
nickname. Anyway, Miw-Sher eagerly led them back to
the Temple Guardians' quarters. She was partly showing
off for the newcomers and partly trying to jolly her boss
back into a good mood by proving to him how well
everything had turned out.
   The three toms were--variously--eating, drinking,
and sleeping, while the female, perfectly content in the
girl's arms, fell into a bonelessly limp sleep. All the cats
looked bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to Becker, though
they needed to put on a few pounds to get back up to
fighting weight.
   "Where is Bulaybub?" Kando asked the girl.
   "I--I don't know, Your Holiness. He was right behind
us when the ambassador and I started for the Temple."
   At that moment the slap of sandals on stone heralded
the arrival of three more priests, who burst into the cats'

                                                        142
quarters. One, breathless, said, "Your Holiness, a city
sentry came across the remains of a priest. We believe it
is Brother Bulaybub."
   Nadhari translated this, her mouth moving only now
and then while her eyes watched for more
developments.
   "Commander," MacDonald said to her, "what did that
fella mean exactly by remains? You sure you got that
word right?"
   Nadhari listened for a moment, then nodded, "Yes,
remains," she said firmly and catalogued, as if reciting a
grocery list. "A head, missing the face, a disemboweled
trunk, and the arm bearing the tattoo of the man's
order."
   "What kind of critters do you have here that did that
to him?" MacDonald asked.
   Kando's face was no longer warm and charming as he
spoke to the child. "You see what your negligence has
caused, Miw-Sher? Our enemies have heard of the
disease that weakens us and stalk the streets. Brother
Bulaybub, who saved you from enslavement and
brought you here, although many deemed you
unworthy, may be dead because you lacked the wit to
remain with him. The ambassador may have come to
similar harm, for all we know. You will retrace the way
you came, and if you do not find her, you will stand at
the gate of the Federation compound until she is ready
to return to us. All night if necessary. And the next as

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well. Put Grimla down. She is too weak to protect
anyone. And you do not deserve protection. Go!"
   "Wait," Nadhari ordered the girl in a tone even less to
be argued with than her cousin's. To Becker she said
softly, "I'm going with her."
   Becker nodded, understanding. This was what
Nadhari did and she was good at it.
   Kando tried to stop her and said in Standard,
presumably to keep the girl from understanding the
conversation, "Cousin, please. You are my guest. You are
tired from your journey. I know your kind heart urges
you to keep the girl from harm, but I am exaggerating
the danger to alarm her into obedience. My men will be
thick on the streets now. Truly, she and the ambassador
will both be safe, but the girl should learn her lesson."
   Nadhari squared her shoulders and spoke in a dialect
Becker had not heard before. Amid the spate of law she
laid down to the Mulzar, Becker heard her say Acorna's
name and that of her former boss, the late Delszaki Li.
He grinned. He knew just what she'd said. Nadhari had
told Kando that he might be boss here, but she owed it
to her late boss Mr. Li to look after his adopted daughter,
as she had promised, and she intended to honor that
promise.
   To his credit, Kando seemed to realize when he was
outclassed and outgunned. With a few more sharp
words to Miw-Sher, he gestured that she and the three
priests who had reported the death to him should follow

                                                       144
Nadhari.
   The convalescing cats had been listening to the whole
exchange with their ears cocked and their tails lashing,
but when Becker looked around for them, they were
gone.
   Kando noticed it, too, and roared at the other priests
who had been playing cat-nurse along with the girl. He
pointed up to some cat-sized holes attached to rafters in
the ceiling. The last puff of a tail was disappearing
through one now.
   MacDonald watched and shook his head, "Somebody
ought to tell him it's no good closing the barn door after
all the horses -- or I guess you'd have to say cats right
now--have got out."
   Becker approached Kando. "I'd like to go back to the
ship myself and make sure Acorna got there safely."
   "I cannot permit any more people on the streets,"
Kando said.
   "Nadhari's fighting skills are a matter of record, but
yours are not, Captain, and I cannot risk an incident
with the Federation. Please humor me in this and remain
indoors while those trained to do so handle this matter."
He gave a sudden rueful smile. "My authority has been
undermined enough for one night."
   Becker sympathized to some extent, but didn't like to
hit his bunk with Acorna still missing and one of his
dinner partners freshly murdered.
   Kando saw the conflict in his face and said

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diplomatically, "Your pardon, Captain. You are a man of
action, of course, and it would not be your way to be
idle while others deal with this crisis. Perhaps you and
Captain MacDonald would care to assist me as I
examine the late Bulaybub's mortal remains?"
   Becker nodded sharply and motioned to MacDonald.
The other captain wasn't saying much, for a change, but
his acute green eyes missed nothing and he seemed to be
weighing everything he heard and saw. The two of them
followed Kando and some flunkies to a room filled with
candles and torches and a group of three human-sized
stone altars. One now functioned as a morgue slab and
held the bloody mess that remained of the late
Bulaybub.
   Two priestesses arrived bearing pottery bowls full of
what looked like soap and water, but Kando held up his
hand and beckoned the two offworld captains forward.
   As they approached, Kando picked up what remained
of the head, and held it up to them. It was barely
recognizable as human, so Becker didn't react to it much
himself. But MacDonald drew in his breath sharply.
   "Well, Preacher," he said, "you got yourself a real
problem with this one."
   Becker, looking at the gutted torso, thought that might
possibly take the cake for the understatement of the
week.
   MacDonald's large finger traced the long marks
against the frontal portion of the skull. "See these claw

                                                       146
marks? Your critters are going to have worse than a
disease to contend with. And you'd better keep your
little pussycats in the Temple, too. These here were
made by some kind of a painter."
   "Painter?" Kando asked, confused. "I see no paint."
   "That's what we call the big cats where I come from,"
MacDonald said. "Painters, pumas, cougars, mountain
lions. Maybe even a jungle lion for all I know. But you
got you a really big wildcat running around loose
somewhere. And judging from what it did to this fella,
I'd say it was right pissed."
   As he finished speaking, Kando nodded at his people.
The women began washing what was left of the body.
That was when MacDonald leaned in and pointed at
something caught in the neck cavity. "What's that?" he
asked. The thing was thin and long. "I've butchered
more livestock than I care to think about, and that
doesn't look like anything I've ever seen in a corpse. At
least not there."
   He had Kando's attention. The senior priest gestured
for the women to wash the area where MacDonald was
pointing. When a great deal of soapy water had turned
pink, a long, stained string came away. It looked a bit
like some of the things in the corpse, but Becker guessed
whatever it came from had been dead a lot longer than
the poor dismembered priest.
   "Okay, Captain, I'll bite," Becker said. "What's the
guy's shoelace doing up around where his ears should

                                                      147
have been? Or is this an extreme fashion statement
having to do with string ties?"
   Of course nobody really had to tell him what the thing
was. Whatever its original purpose had been, most lately
it had been used as a garrote to strangle the guy. He
supposed that was in case tearing out the victim's guts
and face didn't kill him dead enough.
   MacDonald was clearly thinking the same thing,
eyeballing the neck and silently pointing to the ligature
marks above the place where the head had been severed
from the trunk.
   "What kind of animal do you have here that strangles
people before they disembowel and eat 'em, Preacher?"
MacDonald asked. "I don't believe I ever saw anybody
killed quite this thoroughly before."
   Kando sighed. "Our enemies have grown clever. Now
they attack us in the guise of our myths. But the killer
was a man when he used this." He nodded toward the
string as if it was the ickiest thing in the room, which it
definitely wasn't, in Becker's opinion. The victim was
much harder to look at than the string that had killed
him.
   "You'd think beheading and eviscerating the fellow
would be enough to do the job without strangling him,
too," Becker said.
   "My guess is he was strangled quick to keep him from
yelling for help before the gory stuff started,"
MacDonald said. "It was undoubtedly a mercy."

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   He didn't need to elaborate.
   Becker stepped behind one of the stone altars and lost
his dinner, which helped a little. One of the women
gratefully abandoned the corpse to clean up the mess.
Becker excused himself and went out to a fountain to
wash his mouth out.
   The only good thing about the whole incident, as far
as Becker could see, was that Nadhari hadn't been there
to watch him puke.

  Nadhari followed Miw-Sher as the girl retraced the
route she had taken to bring Acorna to the Temple.
  Halfway there, one of the priests Edu had dispatched
with them to investigate the murder said, "You're going
the wrong direction. Bulaybub's body was two streets
south of here."
  "I can't help that," Miw-Sher told him. "The
ambassador and I were hastening and he did not keep
up with us. I thought he would join us at the Temple
and was not concerned. We were in a great hurry to
reach the guardians and save them. Perhaps Bulaybub
remembered an errand elsewhere, something that took
him to the place where you found him."
  "You have that story all nicely worked out, don't
you?" the first priest said.
  "It is no story, but the truth," Miw-Sher said.
  Nadhari said nothing--yet. The priest was being
unnecessarily harsh with the girl. After all, she had been

                                                       149
with Acorna the entire time. That was as good an alibi as
anyone needed, in Nadhari's book. She distracted the
girl's tormentor with a suggestion. "If I were you, I'd
post a few men on the rooftops. The attacker may have
come from above."
   "From above?" the warrior priests scoffed. "You didn't
see the body, did you, lady? It was clearly a frontal
attack -- gutted and the face ripped off. And it had to be
a wild animal that did it. Only where would you find an
animal like that around here?"
   Nadhari said nothing. This was not her team, she was
not in charge, and she did not want to say too much in
front of these men. They were potential enemies and
Edu's spies. But privately she thought of the fearsome
creatures that once roamed the rainforests, steppes, and
deserts of the planet. There had once been plenty of
likely predators out in the wild places.
   The murshim, a bear-like creature that was taller than
a man when standing on its back paws and had two
rows of razor-like teeth on each jaw. But the murshim
had been extinct since the Battle of Binda destroyed the
section of forest that was their last known dwelling
place. Nobody had won that fight. The Bindalari were
slain by the Durg, one of the fiercest of the militant
steppe-tribes. The Durg were mostly killed by the
fleeing murshim, who were in turn killed by the tardy
reinforcements for the slain Bindalari. No glory was had
by any living thing that day.

                                                       150
   Also there had been the rock wolves, or yowim, who
prowled the remotest moorlands of the steppes, but they
were already quite rare during Nadhari's post-Felihari
childhood among the Div. By the time she had seen forty
seasons--was ten years old by Standard reckoning --
the head of the last yow was said to hang over the
entrance to Binda Temple. Its body had been devoured
by the Temple guardians.
   Once there had been wild felines as well, but these
had gradually been assimilated into the Guardian line
and were now protectors of the people, not attackers.
   Unless . . . could the priest have been attacked by the
guardian of an enemy Temple?
   The warrior priests had deserted the two women to
awaken dwellers in houses between this place and the
one where the priest was slain. The quiet of the night
was broken for a time by their door poundings and
demands, and the sleepy, frightened, or indignant
responses of those so rudely awakened. Probably most
of them had just returned to sleep -- or tried to, after the
outcry when Bulaybub's mangled body was found.
   Nadhari wished she had gathered more information
at the Temple before she came out here. She looked up
thoughtfully, jumped, caught the edge of the roof, and
hoisted herself onto it. A ladder to the roof would stand
inside the room beneath her boots, where the people of
the house could use it but an outsider could not.
   The girl Miw-Sher whirled, alarmed, and with a sharp

                                                        151
lift of her head, saw Nadhari's red uniform pale against
the deep maroon sky. She met Nadhari's eye and saw
the finger the older woman had placed over her lips.
   Nadhari gestured that Miw-Sher should continue on,
and followed her, leaping from one flat roof to the next,
her boots making no more sound than the furred feet of
a Temple guardian.
   Much of the night had been spent dining with
Macostut, and now the edge of Singha, the forerunner
sun, gilded the horizon. If Edu wished this girl to pay
for Bulaybub's life by dying a similar death, Nadhari
thought, he should have waited to send her out until the
attacker had rested and grown hungry again.
   Suddenly the scarlet night was split open with a
scream.
   Miw-Sher, with the gate in sight, froze in her tracks,
but Nadhari turned and raced back across the rooftops
until she was looking down upon the warrior priests
and a woman who stood sobbing, pointing at the trail of
blood leading from her hearth to the door and down the
street.
   "Something has been in my house!" she cried.
   "Where were you when this happened?" the leader
asked suspiciously.
   "Tending my sister and her children. They've come
down with the sickness. I've been gone for two days.
When I got here, the door was half open. Soon as I got
the lamp lit, I found all this!"

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   "Lucky for you that you didn't come home sooner,"
the guard told her. "Murder's been done. Bloody awful
mess. The murderer must have come in here to clean
himself up, but by the look of it he was interrupted,
probably by the hue and cry when Bulaybub's body was
found. It gives us a trail to follow, anyway."
   The woman gave a little whimper.
   "Fan out, men!" the leader commanded.
   "Oh, excellent planning," Nadhari said. The frightened
woman yelped again when she looked up and saw a tall
stranger standing on her roof and peering down at her
through the darkness. Nadhari made a gesture of quiet
reassurance to the woman. "I'm here to help hunt the
thing that disturbed you," she said. She continued
speaking very quietly, to the priests rather than to the
woman. "Whatever killed the priest and left this
convenient trail will appreciate your thoughtfulness,
Brother. It will no doubt much prefer to kill your men
singly rather than as a group."




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                          Eight

   The gray-and-black-brindled fur of the Condor's
elusive first mate blended easily with the shadows, froze
into invisibility when Federation personnel passed them,
and vanished out the gate while the Linyaari
ambassador engaged the guard in a debate over whether
or not she required a pass to come and go. They seemed
to have no shortage of guards here at the Federation
post. The sentry facing Acorna now was a new one,
older and apparently more dogmatic about her orders.
   "But the lieutenant commander already gave his
consent," Acorna insisted, "and High Priest Kando
requested that I help with the illness among the Temple
cats. I am on a mission regarding that illness now."
   "I'm sorry, Ambassador, but I am not authorized to
grant you random access to and from the civilian sector.
Sets a dangerous precedent. These people are a lot of
alien savages, though it's not diplomatic of me to say so.
Why, look down the street, will you? Can you hear the
ruckus? See it. They've been carrying on like that for
quite some time now. And who is that woman on the
roof?"
   Acorna peered down the street. Two blocks over,
Nadhari was outlined against the first watery rays of the
first sunrise. She was looking down. Someone was

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weeping. "That's Commander Kando. She came with us
on this ship. But she is from here originally," Acorna told
the guard. "It looks like she needs some help. If you
don't mind, I'll just go see what's going on," she
continued, skirting around the rubbernecking guard and
skipping away from her before the woman looked down
again. "I know you cannot desert your post. I'll just
check to see what happened, render any needed
assistance, and be back to let you know what it's about."
When the guard started toward her, clearly intending to
detain her, Acorna ran up the street, calling back, "No,
no, you should stay at your post. I will be back later with
the details." The guard, torn between duty and curiosity,
finally resumed her place by the gate.
   If RK was ahead of her, Acorna saw no sign of him.
The cat didn't respond when she sought his thoughts.
Perhaps he was still put out with her over the blood
drawing.
   Approaching the knot of people, Acorna looked up
and asked Nadhari, "What happened here?"
   The warrior priests turned on her. "Who are you?"
   "Look at it!" one of them said, pointing at her. "It has a
horrible horn in the middle of its head. It's a demon! It
must have been what killed Bulaybub."
   Nadhari leaped to the ground as lightly as RK might,
managing to land between Acorna and the armed men.
"Steady, Brothers. This lady is not a demon or a killer.
She is the ambassador from a world of wonderful

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peaceful beings called the Linyaari and a guest of my
cousin, Edu, your high priest. She is also the doctor who
healed your sacred Temple cats."
   The poor woman whose house they clustered around
seemed to Acorna to be in great distress. She smelled of
illness, but that didn't explain the bloody trail leading
from her home.
   The woman shrank from Acorna. Before Acorna could
try to gain her trust and form a mental bond with her,
she heard RK's thought-speech, (This blood belongs to
the one I saw last night.
   He is not a ritual dancer. He is one of us, and yet not
one of us. He is injured, and he has the sickness.)
   "There is a murderer loose, Ambassador," the head
warrior priest told Acorna. "Someone or something
murdered Brother Bulaybub. We believe that the same
person or thing has left this trail behind."
   "I see," Acorna said. "That makes sense, but why do
you say thing?"
   "Because what was done to our brother wasn't done
by any human hand. He was clawed to death, gutted --"
   Nadhari interrupted, sparing the woman householder
the details. "Were you acquainted with Brother
Bulaybub?" she asked the house's inhabitant.
   The woman shook her head wildly.
   Acorna mentally reached out for RK, but he shrugged
off her mental touch. He was moving away rapidly.
   (I am on the case, Acorna. I go now to chase the sick

                                                       156
one down. I would bring him back to you, but he is very
big.)
   (He is also dangerous. He killed a man.)
   (Oh, yessss,) RK hissed, and she could see his tail
lashing. (But I too can be dangerouss.)
   She knew that. She had seen him attack the Wats
when they had tried to kill Thariinye and her. But while
RK was much larger than a domestic cat, he was much
smaller than a tiger or a lion.
   (I must take the vaccine to the Temple. Please, if you
find him, hide and tell me. I will get help.)
   (The first pounce is mine,) RK said fiercely.
   (You've been aboard ship too long, Roadkill. Just see
that you don't live up to your name. Becker would be
heartbroken.)
   But the intrepid animal wasn't listening. He was on
the scent and stalking his prey.




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                           Nine

   The tasty tang of fresh blood, the deeply torn tracks of
claws, the warmth of fresh footprints, these were a few
of RK's favorite things, even if he hadn't realized it until
presented with them.
   He felt that his years of being first mate on the salvage
vessel had all been leading up to this, his true calling,
stalker in the dark of things even darker. Yes, he was in
his element now. He had found his calling. Seeker after
hidden truths, defender of that which was good,
righteous, his. Destroyer of that which he didn't like.
   He alone could rise to this occasion. The other felines,
the Temple residents whose job this might otherwise
have been, were still too weak from their long illness.
Frankly, they were a bit over the hill, anyway. Becker
had no liking for damaged organic things, which were
not useful as salvage. Nadhari had other rats to catch.
Acorna was . . . was . . . well, she might be useful, once
RK was able to lay out the facts for her like a neatly
assembled row of cleanly killed rodents, but for this
kind of tracking she was not suitable. She was too
conspicuous, too alien, too white and silvery and
glistening, and she smelled too good. And she was too
tall. She might come in handy as an assistant operative
later on in the game. But this kind of job called for

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someone closer to the ground, someone whose heart
beat with the planet's underlying rhythm.
   Someone like him.
   It helped too that he had actually seen what he
considered to be the chief murder suspect--that roof-
hopping cat impersonator. For all his poetic thoughts
about being close to the ground, he soon took to the
roofs instead, following the scent of his prey. This was
better sport than tracking Khleevi, who were so stinking
obvious even Becker could track them.
   As the suns rose, more people came out of their lairs
and started walking around in the streets below. RK
smelled smoke, though it didn't issue from any of the
roofs. He realized that he had actually been smelling it
ever since he arrived on this world, but that the smoke
was old and no longer had flame behind it. It hung in
the air like the red dust and made his nose itch and
sting. It carried an unpleasant odor made more
unpleasant by the fact that what could have been the
lingering scent of a cook fire was overlain with that of
singed hair and the stench of rotting meat. RK wouldn't
have turned his nose up at that sort of thing if he was
hungry enough, but never once since Becker rescued
him from a derelict ship had he ever been that hungry.
   The trail had started with spurts of blood on the
ground, but that smell disappeared and the scent
changed, as RK followed it over the rooftops. The traces
of the killer's passing were soon augmented by another

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type of sign--hairs. The cat impersonator was shedding
his fur. That seemed a strange thing for a cat wannabe to
do, especially since the killer was shedding it a tuft here,
a hair there, instead of ditching an entire hide--and RK
did not even want to think how the suspect had come to
possess that. The early discarded tufts were black, which
jibed with RK's shadowy memory of the felonious feline
or felinious felon --he wasn't sure which applied.
   The suns rose higher until the roof tiles under RK's
feet were hot enough that, had his particular paw pads
not been blessed with extra fur between the toes, they
might have been toast. About this time he caught other,
fainter scents and found a tuft of golden fur caught
between two tiles, and later three striped hairs similar to
his own.
   He looked around, sniffing, curling his outer lips to
try to pick up a keener scent that way. Other cats had
been here within the last day or two. He had received
the impression that the only others of his kind in this
city were the four remaining Temple cats, but that idea
appeared to be wrong.
   He sat and considered the roof-scape around him.
Although all of the roof surfaces were flat, they were not
all the same height. Second floors, little spare rooms, and
other irregularities threw sharp shadows onto the
broader baked-red roofs.
   RK assumed his best thinking position, which was
spread out to absorb the maximum warmth through his

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furry parts. He was now at the city's outer wall, and
beyond it was the countryside, such as it was. He saw
huge charred circles in the red dirt where big bonfires
had been, and, being driven toward them, herds of
various sorts of beasts, some of them familiar, some
more distinctly alien.
   Some of the beasts were already being herded into
pens, and into long lines of troughs. On both sides of the
troughs, men with big knives and bloody clothing stood
waiting. RK felt a certain fang-thrilling fascination with
all this gory slaughter, but it wasn't the particular kind
of murder he had set out to investigate. He saw a small
cloud of black and white hair bounce across a roof just
north of the one he occupied, also abutting the city wall.
   To his surprise, he found that the trail now led him in
a spiral back inward toward the Temple to a rooftop
only two streets away from where he started. The trail
had been fresher than he thought. Had the suspect been
there when the investigation began, RK knew he would
have sniffed him out without the circumnavigation.
   Now, within sight of the bloodied doorway, he
smelled something from the deep shadow cast by a
rooftop storage room. Approaching, he saw a foot -- or
was it a paw? No, a foot wearing a strange shoe. Perhaps
even a black furry shoe with claws on. No. RK reached
out a paw as far as it would stretch and touched the long
pad. Paw. With a foot-shaped sole.
   And this close he heard something, too. Very shallow,

                                                       161
very fast. The exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide by
a pair of good-sized lungs.
   RK jumped to the top of the storage cubicle and
looked down. A man who wore his ears on top of his
head, with paw-feet and paw-hands, whose belly was
bare flesh streaked with blood, lay there. A yard of black
tail curled around one thigh. And as RK watched, as the
man/cat breathed, his tail appeared and disappeared,
and his ears pricked to the top of his head and lowered
to the human position. This fellow was extremely
undecided about his species, RK realized. He was also
badly hurt and depleted.
   RK was disappointed. The guy looked more
murdered than murderous. He nosed the suspect a little
and almost automatically the paw turned into more of a
hand and gave RK's back a feeble stroke. Okay, maybe
not all murderers were bad murderers.
   It was time to get Acorna, he realized. Of course, he
could get Becker or Nadhari, but they wouldn't
necessarily understand what he needed, and he'd have
to explain it to them in charades, which took time.
Thought-talk with Acorna was faster. Also, she could
heal this creature if she arrived in time. None of the
others could do that.
   The man gave a groan that was half a yowl. RK knew
speed was of the essence, but after all, injured parties
needed encouragement to maintain their will to live.
Besides, nobody was watching. Nobody would see him.

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  He hopped down beside the suspect, and rumbling a
reassuring purr, thoroughly but quickly washed the
man-cat's pain-sweaty face for him, then bounded away
across the rooftops to that ridiculous cat-shaped Temple.

   Acorna stared at the chief warrior priest. She
wondered how to change the subject from the murder
investigation to the vaccination of future Temple cats,
when Miw-Sher came racing out.
   "Mem-Baxi, here you are! And you are well?"
   "Very well. I brought the medicine I spoke of," she
said, handing it to the young acolyte. "Here it is, enough
for all your cats, with full instructions for its use. Now I
must return to the Temple to seek transportation, or
perhaps it would be better if I got maps and directions, if
I am to save the cats from all the other Temples all across
the planet."
   "Other Temples?"
   "Why, yes," Acorna said. "I assume this Temple is not
the only one on the planet, and also not the only one
guarded by sacred cats. If this is a widespread problem,
as seems likely, and if other cats are stricken, I must treat
them, too."
   "His Holiness will never allow that," the chief warrior
priest said sternly.
   "No? I find that surprising. I thought all the cats were
sacred to those of your religious persuasion --
regardless of affiliation. Nadhari, you never told me

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some cats were sacred and others should be allowed to
die."
   Nadhari shrugged. "It was not that way when I lived
here, Ambassador Acorna. I'm sorry. You know how
governments are. Change of policy every time you think
you understand what's going on."
   "I really must speak to the Mulzar, then. Miw-Sher,
perhaps you would escort me back to the Temple?"
   "I'll go, too, Acorna." Nadhari dusted her hands off, as
if washing the site from them. "The Mulzar has the
investigation in hand, I believe. Miw-Sher and I came
only to see that your trip last night was safe. With the
murderer abroad, we feared you might have come to
harm."
   "I was fine," Acorna said. "That poor priest must have
been killed while Miw-Sher and I were with the cats."
   "Is it true that you cured our guardians, Lady?" the
chief of warrior priests asked her.
   "They are still underfed and weak from their illness,
but they were working on remedying that themselves
when last I saw them," Acorna told him.
   "Perhaps one of them will be well enough to help us
track our killer," Nadhari said. "We should return to the
Temple and see."

  When they arrived back at the Temple, they
discovered that Becker had waited up for them, though
Captain MacDonald had retired some time earlier,

                                                       164
pleading that he wasn't worth much unless he'd had
enough sleep.
   "Girls, there you are!" Becker greeted Acorna and
Nadhari, with a glance that included Miw-Sher. "Sweet
Mother Nature, but I'm glad to see you, Acorna! Where
have you been?"
   "I was perfectly safe, Captain, on the Condor. I wanted
to develop a vaccine to prevent further outbreaks of the
disease afflicting the cats. I had ..." She realized that
she'd been about to say that she had RK with her, but
she thought better of it as Edu Kando strode into the
hall. ". . . assistance."
   "There's a nasty people-eating monster out there,"
Becker told her. "But one with thumbs--it garrotes its
victims first. You shoulda seen the corpse."
   "I know," Acorna said. "The priests and Nadhari
found a trail they think is the murderer's. I ran into them
as they were investigating it."
   Edu Kando was scowling as he rounded the corner,
but by the time he reached them his expression had
turned to benevolent concern. "Cousin and esteemed
guests, I owe you all an apology. We have offered you
the hospitality of our Temple, and then we keep you up
till all hours with our own petty problems. Please, you
must rest. It is cool in your rooms, and I will personally
guarantee it will remain quiet outside of them until you
have slept. Afterward, you will no doubt be hungry
again. Perhaps at that time you and I, Ambassador, can

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discuss your mission?"
   "Yes," Acorna said, "thank you. I am very tired. A
morning consultation is ideal for me. I have a matter of
some importance to discuss with you."
   "Have a nice night, Acorna. I'm going back out to
track the murderer," Nadhari said.
   "My men will deal with that, cousin," Kando told her.
"If you are wakeful, I would love to spend time talking
with you. You must learn what has happened here in
your absence."
   Becker said, "Sounds fascinating. I'd like to know all
about that, too."
   Kando said smoothly, "Alas, Captain, there are
concepts my cousin and I must speak of that may be
expressed only in our own language."
   "That's fine," Becker said stubbornly. "Nadhari can
translate for me. I'm feeling really out of my depth here,
Mulzar. I want to find out what's happening."
   Nadhari gave him a fond smile and a pat on the
cheek. "You look tired, Jonas. And it will be family news,
very boring --"
   "If you say so," Becker agreed finally.
   She gave him a light peck on the cheek and
whispered, "I'll be fine. If not, you can rescue me again.
You know I love it when you do that. It's so cute."
   "I'll wait up," Becker said, brightening. He was a little
puzzled. He simply didn't want to be left out. He hadn't
actually thought Nadhari needed rescuing.

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   Acorna watched the byplay between them, amused.
Becker was, if anything, a little jealous, Acorna thought.
If she was reading him correctly, he rather admired
Kando. The name King Arthur kept surfacing in Becker's
mind when he thought of Nadhari's cousin -- that, and
El Cid.
   A young Temple girl Acorna hadn't seen before
showed them to their rooms and brought them cool
drinks. When the girl had gone, Acorna took her glass to
the room across the corridor, where Becker half reclined,
lifting his own glass to his lips. It was quite a beautiful
vessel, its shape and design suggesting a more
decorative aspect of what seemed to be an otherwise
rather basic and utilitarian culture.
   "Wait, Captain," Acorna said. "Please, hand me your
glass before you drink."
   He did and she dipped her head, touching the tip of
her horn to the liquid.
   "You don't think it was poisoned?" Becker asked,
chagrined.
   "No, but I believe it may possibly have been drugged
with a sleeping potion. Edu was apparently serious
about ensuring our good night's rest. While I intend to
sleep, I think it would be best if we both are able to
awaken naturally to any stimuli that would normally
pull us from sleep. We are on a strange planet. There is a
murderer loose. I wish to take no chances."
   Becker shook his head admiringly. "You're good at

                                                       167
this palace intrigue stuff-- 'scuse me, Temple intrigue
stuff, Princess. Maybe you really are related to old
Hafiz."
   Acorna smiled, dipped her horn in her own drink, and
returned to the room assigned to her. She had left the
door open and when she re-entered, she saw by the light
of the lantern a bouquet of flowers in a wall sconce. She
examined them. All of them were edible varieties of a
most delicious kind. She was getting rather peckish, in
spite of having grazed briefly in the hydroponics garden
aboard the Condor. She sipped lightly at her drink, then
stuck the flowers in the remainder of it so she could
have a little breakfast when she awoke without
troubling anyone about her dietary requirements.
Putting her hoofed feet under the soft woven quilted
coverlet, she felt a soft resistance. Looking down, she
saw Grimla, who raised her face at Acorna's gentle touch
and purred loudly.
   "You are very welcome," Acorna said, and settled
down to sleep while the suns rose outside, painting
Temple and city with color and shadow.




                                                      168
                           Ten

  She was dying. They were all dying in misery and
squalor, dying of thirst and hunger, dying of exposure
and contagion, poison and plague, and she knew it was
their own fault.
  Dirty-faced children with crusty eyes and noses cried
and clung to the legs of adults who could barely stand.
The lake, the one her grandfather had called Crystal
Lake, was now a turgid swamp.
  When first they arrived on this planet, her grandfather
said, his great-grandfather had had very little. Some
small technologies were sent with them when they
emigrated, to make their lives in the new place easier.
But this planet, though its resources were slender,
especially where she lived, was not overpopulated, and
could support the making of the small machines, as old
Terra no longer could.
  She had been told about all this, but she could not
remember her world other than it was now.
  And yet part of her was still Acorna, living inside the
cracked and scaling skin of this other person, the one
who lived beside the stinking lake.
  That part wondered where she was and why she was
here.
  Then the ship landed, not near her and her people, but

                                                      169
far away, down where the green-ness had been before it
was cut into and cut out. She saw the ship in the sky and
thought something like "Linyaari?" though it wasn't
quite that.
   Word came that strangers had landed--two of them,
both seemingly human, like her dream-self. And yet
there was something funny about them. One of them
had a horn in the middle of his head and the other one
kept turning into a cat.
   One day, without warning, the flitter arrived. Her
people remembered flitters from their great-
grandparents, though the word "shuttle" came to her
instead, but none of the craft had worked on this world
in over a hundred years.
   Two got out, one small, red-haired, and quick, one tall
and white, with silvery hair and golden eyes that went
straight to hers. Aari. He turned to his companion, who
turned into a red-striped cat and then back to a man. The
word "Grimalkin"--was that a name?--suddenly came
into her head. Was this the companion who had taken
Aari from her? But no, her dream people said that Aari
was the Companion. The red cat/man was the Star Cat.
Aari smiled into her dream face as if congratulating her
on her understanding.
   She must have cried his name, because she heard
paws thumping to the floor. But she could not awaken
all the way. Aari continued to hold the gaze of her
dream-self. With a meaningful flick of his eyes, as if to

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say, "Watch this," he turned to the fouled lake and knelt
beside it, dipping his horn. "And from his blessed horn
came water and jewels."
   As the dream faded, she wondered how that could be,
since Aari's horn was still so newly repaired and still so
stunted that it would not really be capable of detoxifying
such a lake. And what had happened to the cat/man?
Grimalkin, wasn't that its name? He was no longer there
when Aari dipped his horn in the water. But that was
how dreams were. They jumped around and were not
logical.
   She tried to return to the dream and to Aari. Tried so
hard. Wanted to see him again, wanted to feel his eyes
on hers--he saw through the dream person, and knew
her even in this dream.
   But instead, she dreamed next of cats that were sick,
dying, crying, and of cats peering out at her with gold
coin eyes shining in the darkness of the little holes near
the roof of the Temple cattery. She bent to heal one cat
with peculiar blue and green fur, but others clawed at
her legs, mewing up at her. When she bent down, their
eyes shone as if they were looking into a bright light, the
pupils slitted.
   "Hsst!" another cat said and she opened her eyes to see
a very real pair of cat eyes staring down into hers. RK
stood on her chest, his nose pushed against her nose. A
self-satisfied purr pumped in and out of him, and his
claws prickled and sheathed, prickled and sheathed,

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against her collarbone.
   (Come now, Linyaari Healer. I tracked, I stalked, I did
what I do. Now it's your turn,) the cat told her.
   (What? You stalked something?) Acorna asked, a little
puzzled and still bleary from her dream.
   (The murderer. Or the ssussspect. Or maybe another
victim, sssince he is badly injured and needs your help.)
RK's mental voice had a very distinct feline accent when
he was highly excited, as he was now. (Follow me.
Nyow.) His fur was electric with his nervous energy,
and she reached out to smooth his fur with a stroke of
her hand, soothing him so that for one brief moment his
tail stopped flagellating her chest.
   "Very well," she said. He jumped to the floor as she
rose. She hadn't disrobed before lying down, partly
because she was too tired and partly because she knew
she could be awakened without warning. If that
happened, she wished to be prepared.
   "Perhaps we should call the other cats to walk with us
until we're clear of the Temple," she suggested. "You'll
be less conspicuous that way."
   His whiskers twitched. (That again, eh?)
   He paused, flipping his tail from side to side and
cocking his ear to listen. (It is safe enough. Come. The
Temple cats say Kando and the other high and mighty
are deep in council with each other trying to figure out
what to do about the -- heh-heh -- catastrophes that
have befallen them, including you.)

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   "Me?" Acorna said. She was puzzled, but rose to
follow RK. "But I was only trying to help."
   (My entree is your "eeek!" and vice versa,) RK thought
at her philosophically. (Cats like you. Cat servants like
you. But not everybody.) He leaped up to one of the
crossbars leading to a cat hole near the ceiling.
   "I can't go up there," she reminded him.
   (Bipeds can be so feeble.) The cat sighed. (I suppose
you'll have to leave the ordinary way. I'll meet you
across the street from the Temple. Look up.)
   Then he was gone. Acorna ran her fingers through her
mane and stepped outside the room, where she was
confronted by the Temple cats, sitting there patiently, as
if waiting for her.
   "Are you coming, too?" she asked them. "This is going
to be something of a parade then, isn't it?"
   Well, Acorna thought, RK hadn't said to come alone.
Neither had he said to bring Becker or Nadhari, so
perhaps she could assume that although their mission
was confidential, it was not especially dangerous. She
didn't know if the Temple cats ever actually left the
Temple or not, but as she walked away, they followed,
so she supposed that they knew what was expected of
them and could decide for themselves what they would
do.
   They didn't meet anyone within the Temple building,
but then, her route took her only through the living
quarters. She followed a path that bypassed the

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ceremonial chambers and opened directly onto the outer
courtyard. Here people abounded, each going about
their various tasks beneath the punishing suns, cooking,
drawing water, building, making mud bricks, weaving,
and preaching. Acorna did not look too closely into any
of the activities. She tried to appear as though she was
on a mission of some urgency and knew exactly where
she was headed. She'd found in her past adventures that
such an appearance could often take her far without
causing comment. The impression she was trying to
convey had the added attraction of being quite true in
this case. She hoped none of the people in the Temple
courtyard would look at her too closely. Drawing the
scarf Miw-Sher had given her around her head to
disguise her horn, she walked straight ahead, as
nonchalantly as it was possible to walk when she was
being trailed by four large and determined Temple cats.
   She was considering what to do if the guard standing
at the gate tried to stop her when Miw-Sher bounded
up, swooped precious Grimla into her arms, and fell into
step beside her.
   "Ambassador, are you leaving us so early?" Miw-Sher
asked.
   "I was just going to have a look around," Acorna told
the young acolyte, continuing to move toward the
Temple gate. Her tone was cautious, not because of
Miw-Sher but because of the other people in the
courtyard. "I wish to learn all I can of your people and of

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the relationship between them and the sacred cats, as
part of my mission to my own people."
   "Ah, yes," Miw-Sher said. "Well, it so happens I had an
errand in the town today myself. I can point out the
sights to you as we go. With your permission, I will
accompany you."
   "How about them?" Acorna asked, indicating the three
parading cats still marching along behind her. "Are they
allowed out?"
   "Oh my, yes. They aren't captives -- or at least they
never have been." The last part of her sentence was
mumbled unhappily, clearly recalling that all was not
well in the Temple these days.
   "It is very good of you to go with me," Acorna said.
"And the sacred cats, too, of course, but really, I can do
this on my own. I'm sure you have other duties."
   "Halt," the guard said. He was a short, pugnacious-
looking fellow with bad teeth and worse breath.
   "It's all right, Brother Meyim," Miw-Sher said, "They're
with me."
   "And who are you to have privileges, Miw-Sher?" the
guard asked, spitting through the hole between two of
his black teeth. "The Mulzar has sent word that none are
to pass this gate without special permission. His
permission."
   Acorna wasn't sure this person was going to be
sensitive to mental suggestion, but she tried it anyway.
She directed a very light push at his mind.

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   He paused after the end of his last word and added,
"Except the ambassador, of course. She has diplomatic
immunity." He stumbled over the last two words.
   To Acorna's surprise, Miw-Sher looked stricken. "But I
have to go, too."
   Acorna relented, not so much because of Miw-Sher's
distress as out of curiosity to see what had caused this
desperate desire to leave the Temple in her company.
She nudged at the Temple guard's brain again.
   The guard said, "And her staff, of course."
   Sacred Pash growled. "And the sacred cats, it goes
without saying," the guard added quickly.
   Acorna added a suggestion that there was no reason
why he should remember that their little party had left
the confines of the Temple, should anyone inquire.
   Then she looked for RK.
   (Me. Ow.) RK's voice resonated in her thoughts. (I'm
up here, Acorna. Here. That's right. The roof. Follow the
leader. I see you've brought the Temple gang with you.
Welcome, brothers and sisters. Perhaps you'd like to
leap up here and I'll show you how an investigation is
properly conducted?)
   The Temple cats all leaped up to the roof. Acorna, not
possessing the cats' abilities, guided Miw-Sher so that
she and the girl were hidden by the corner of the house,
out of sight of the guard, so that he would not be
reminded of that which he had I been persuaded to
forget. They followed the cats as best they could on the

                                                      176
ground.
   RK hopped to the next rooftop, still pontificating, all
puffed up in a particularly feline way. (You will notice,
brothers and sisters and two-legged friends, that this
rooftop where we discovered the object of our search is a
mere two rooftops from the house where the alarm was
originally raised.)
   (You mean the place where the monk was murdered?)
Acorna asked.
   (Aha, but do we know that?) RK challenged in an
insufferably superior tone. (Do we know in fact that our
suspect was the actual murderer or, for that matter, that
the late monk was a victim? Possibly they were co-
belligerents and the monk got the worst end of
someone's claws?)
   "What is happening?" Miw-Sher asked. "Is the alien
guardian cat speaking to you?"
   "Yes," Acorna said, and summarized for her RK's
latest remarks.
   The two females walked along beside the buildings as
the cats leaped rooftops. They tried hard not to stare
upwards in case passersby might follow their gaze.
   Suddenly Miw-Sher ran ahead, then disappeared into
the home where the woman had cried out and been
answered by the guard during the night.
   "This way, Acorna," she said.
   Temporarily abandoning the cats, Acorna ducked into
the house and saw that Miw-Sher had set up the house

                                                       177
ladder to the central roof hole. The girl was halfway up
the ladder already and Acorna followed her, without
questioning why the girl felt free to enter the home
when the owners were absent. Once she was out in the
open air again, however, Acorna saw that she and Miw-
Sher were now exactly two rooftops away from where
the cats were. The cats paid them no attention. The
felines had gathered in a corner of the roof they
occupied, under the sketchy protection of a makeshift
shelter. But as Acorna prepared to leap across the first
rooftop, RK stuck his head out and said to her, (Hurry. I
don't think he has much time.)
   (Distract Miw-Sher,) Acorna instructed RK.
   (What? Oh, sure. You don't want her to know how
you heal him with the old horn, eh? I can do that. Hey,
girlie, pet the nice kitty. Here I am! Pick me up! Oh, I'm
so afraid! Pet me, comfort me! Man, am I bummed by
this hurt guy in the corner!) He was twisting himself
around the girl's ankles, clawing at her skirts, trying to
jump onto her shoulder, but she ignored him with the
skill of one long used to the ways of cats and managed
to beat Acorna to the injured party.
   The being lay, much as RK's mind picture had shown
her, face up, with feet/paws and hand/paws shifting
back and forth in form in time with the rhythms of his
ragged, rapid breathing.
   "Uncle!" Miw-Sher cried before Acorna could touch
the injured cat/man. "Oh, Uncle, what have you done?"

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                         Eleven

  Miw-Sher's cheek rested on the injured priest
Bulaybub's chest. The cats crowded around her, so
Acorna laid her horn first on his head, and then,
pretending to listen to his heart, upon that. She gently
shifted Miw-Sher aside to examine Bulaybub for
wounds. She found one on his abdomen, a deep
puncture. This she also healed, but the priest had lost a
great deal of blood and had lain exposed to the elements
for some time. Despite her efforts, he didn't look good.
  "Will he live?" Miw-Sher asked.
  Bulaybub looked at her and rolled his eyes. Through
his cracked lips and parched throat he said, "Get off me,
child, and all you hot holy ones, too. The day is far too
warm for your nearness to be comforting." As he spoke,
he turned completely human. His tail disappeared, his
ears settled down behind his jawbone and shed their fur
to become rounded and flesh-colored. His hands and
feet lost their fur and claws and became dirty but bare,
with broken toenails.
  Even the wild animal tang in the air vanished. The
priest stank as a damaged, overheated, underwashed
human stank. As he transformed, Miw-Sher draped his
lower body with a scarf similar to the one she had given
Acorna, to preserve his human modesty.

                                                      179
   The cats sat back.
   RK projected, (Well done, shipmate. He seems
perfectly healthy now, though he's lost what looks he
had.)
   "Uncle, can you stand? We must get you indoors."
   The priest rose awkwardly, clutching the scarf to his
middle, so that it draped down his thighs and tangled
between his knees. The Temple cats took up sentinel
positions on each corner of the roof. Acorna could see
that they were determined to warn their human
companions should anyone approach them.
   Miw-Sher assisted her uncle to the ladder leading
down into the house. The occupant, conveniently, was
not at home, but had left the ladder to the roof in place.
   Bulaybub gave his niece a conspiratorial smile, though
one that was somewhat white around the lips. "Being a
mendicant monk has advantages," he said. "If you beg
door to door often enough, you soon find out what is
behind each of the doors you beg at."
   "Is that how you knew you could use the home of the
woman who had gone to help her sick sister, the place
where the guards found all that blood?" Acorna asked.
   "Yes, and it is how I know that the family who lives
here went to help their country kinfolk slaughter their
infected animals and will not return for some time." He
half fell down the ladder and heaved himself onto the
seat against the wall beside the cold hearth. "Ahhhh." He
finished with a sigh as he leaned against the wall to rest.

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   Once the humans were safely hidden inside the house,
the Temple cats followed them -- flowing down the
crude ladder as easily as though it was a grand staircase.
They arranged themselves around the room to watch the
show.
   "I do believe I'm feeling better," Bulaybub said,
sounding just a bit tired. "You are indeed the miraculous
person we were told would come, Ambassador," he said
to Acorna after a moment.
   "Not so miraculous as all that," Acorna said,
wondering just who had told the priest she was coming,
when she hadn't known that herself until she was
practically landing on the planet. She'd deal with that
issue later, after she'd broached the far more urgent
topic on her mind. "I have some small talents as a healer,
but it appears that in this instance, I have been able to
raise the dead. I understood from the Mulzar that your
corpse was throttled, nearly decapitated, and
eviscerated."
   "Oh, yes. Well, obviously, the body they found was
not mine. It seemed useful to let Edu and others believe
it to be mine, at least for a time, however. Unfortunately,
it required a great deal of rather nasty claw work
postmortem to obliterate identifying characteristics."
   "Are you going to tell me whose body it was, not to
mention how he came to be postmortem?" Acorna
asked.
   "Do you think that if I do so, I will confess how I came

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to be a murderer?" the priest asked with a hint of wry
amusement.
    "That would be truly enlightening, Brother," a voice
said from the roof, immediately followed by the lithe
form of Nadhari Kando, who slithered down the ladder,
her gaze never leaving Bulaybub and Miw-Sher, her grip
never loosening on the deadly dagger she carried. "And
I, too, would love to hear your answer."
    Bulaybub inhaled sharply. "Nadhari," he said, and his
voice was filled with pain, pain that clearly had nothing
to do with his recent wounds. "You must listen to me,"
he said, "I know the Mulzar is your relative, but all is not
as he would have you think."
    Nadhari looked at the priest more closely, though it
was hard to distinguish features in the windowless room
with only the light from the roof hole to illuminate it.
"Of course it isn't. Do you think I'm a fool? But I'm a bit
surprised to hear you admit Edu might be misleading
us, Brother Bulaybub. I thought you were Edu's
righthand man."
    From the way Nadhari and Bulaybub spoke to each
other, Acorna gathered that she was not the only one in
the room with secrets to keep. Everyone here, probably
including the cats, obviously had agendas heretofore
unshared with her.
    The Temple cats lounged around and upon the
various bits of furnishings and architectural
irregularities in a manner designed to make a decorative

                                                        182
display. They groomed themselves while Miw-Sher,
with a frightened glance at Nadhari, gave her uncle sips
of water. None of the cats, however, seemed to feel that
anything that was happening was especially strange or
upsetting. Even RK curled up beside Bulaybub and
purred.
   "Wait," Acorna said. "Before we get into politics,
Nadhari, may I ask a few basic questions? Brother
Bulaybub, last night you changed from a man to a large
cat, and back again. You changed up there on the roof,
too. I saw it myself, and so did RK. How did that
happen?"
   "He did?" Nadhari asked. "I wish I'd come earlier. I'm
sorry I missed it. Go ahead, Brother. I want to hear the
answer to that one."
   "I would have told you sooner or later, if only you had
stayed, Nadhari," Bulaybub told her.
   "Why should I have stayed? You wouldn't see me.
Your family wouldn't allow me to come near you. You
weren't even talking to Edu back then. As I recall, you
didn't like him in those days."
   "I didn't, I--"
   "Please," Acorna said. "Obviously you two have a
history and equally obviously it must be part of this, but
it can wait. Answer my questions, Brother Bulaybub."
   "And that name!" Nadhari said, strong emotion
causing her for once to override Acorna's attempts to
make sense of the conversation. "How did you come up

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with that one, Tagoth?"
   (The plot thickens,) RK told Acorna. (I'm loving this!)
   "You two are not helping matters," Acorna said.
"Before the guards come looking for us, Brother
Bulaybub, or Tagoth, or whoever you are, I need
answers. A lot of them. Please will you tell me why you
turned into a cat? Who was the man who died? Did you
kill him? If so, why? And what part in all this do Miw-
Sher and the Temple cats play?"
   Acorna looked from Nadhari to the priest, and saw
their eyes locked in a battle of wills. Acorna sent a little
push to each, but neither budged.
   Miw-Sher sighed, set down the water jug, and said,
"About the changing. Some of us do it. From a few
families -- especially those who have intermarried often
with certain of the rainforest tribes. It started there. It's a
very rare gift these days. The families keep it a close
secret when one of their children begins changing--
usually there's only one in a family at any time and the
trait can skip a generation, my mother said. Uncle
Tagoth changes, but his brothers did not. I -- I change,
too. It started with my courses. With boys the changing
becomes apparent later, I was told. It was later with
Uncle Tagoth, wasn't it, Uncle?"
   "Hmm--yes," he said, with a meaningful deepening of
his glare at Nadhari. "Later."
   "Sometimes the gift even vanishes," Miw-Sher said. "If
the choosing is right and just, and not tampered with by

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conquerors or war, the high priest is a holy person
chosen by his or her blood for the position. When such a
one dies in this life, in the next life, that one returns as
one of the Temple guardians. All of the Temple cats here
were once holy high priests and priestesses, lady," the
acolyte told Nadhari.
   "And when a guardian dies, if he or she wishes, the
next lifetime may be a human one --but if so, it is to the
tribes of the forest they are born, and when they are no
longer children, they can resume their true form.
Therefore, by our beliefs, my uncle and I have ourselves
been high priests and guardians in our past lives."
   "I was not fully informed about this aspect of your
religion. Is there something in your teachings to explain
how some of you came to possess this power?" Acorna
asked, trying to sound as if she was merely confirming
the information and not as if she was incredulous. In
fact, she wasn't -- she had seen shape shifters before, on
the Linyaari homeworld.
   "It is a gift left us by the Star Cat. His own legacy of
strength and agility and the ability to bond with the
Temple guardians, who were also his gifts to us, as were
many of the other great beasts which once roamed our
world. Before the coming, we were poor and miserable,
weak, barely able to survive. With his gifts, a few among
us learned to live on this world, to breathe with its wind
and to move like its waters. These few strong ones
taught the others and saved them."

                                                        185
   "I was never taught that," Nadhari said. "My mother
was a high priestess. She didn't change into a cat, and
the people around me saved only themselves. If they
saved others, it was to make slaves of them."
   "A woman does not change until her courses begin.
And she no longer does so once life quickens inside her,"
Tagoth who had been Bulaybub said almost accusingly.
"This is why a rainforest tribeswoman, among her own
people, is often kept untouched and unwed as long as
possible. But it is not possible to keep her that way
forever. Her own divinely altered self wishes to mate,
and of course those men among her own people who
know her secret wish her for a mate, that their children
might have the power. And there is the tradition, even
among the people of the steppe and those of the desert,
that a rainforest woman must be bedded and bred as
soon as possible. Which among our warring peoples can
mean that getting the woman's consent to the bedding
and breeding isn't part of the process. I have kept Miw-
Sher close to me, Nadhari, and her secret I keep as if it
were mine. Edu does not know, or he would use her as
he has many others."
   Now, there was a yawning door to a whole other nest
of vipers, Acorna realized. She felt that while it was very
important for Nadhari and Tagoth to air their past
difficulties, it was not as germane to everyone's current
survival as her other question.
   "Were you protecting Miw-Sher when you murdered

                                                       186
that man?" Acorna asked. "You did murder him, didn't
you?"
   "I prefer the term 'terminated in self-defense,'" Tagoth
said with a pained expression. "Ambassador, your kind
may be a peaceful people, but we are not. Death and the
killing of enemies is a matter of routine here. Such
killings are often necessary if one is to survive. Yes, I
killed the man the sentries found and believed to be me.
But you saw the wound he dealt me first. I had not
changed then. And it was not my feline form that did
the killing. Not precisely, anyway. I'll admit that had the
moons not been on the rise, my strength and agility
would have been less, and I would have been unable,
wounded as I was, to slip behind him and use the badge
of the very faith he was about to betray to destroy him."
   He touched the leather thong still around his own
neck, and turned it in his hands until the cat's-eye jewel
strung on it was in his hand. "I strangled him. The thong
and the jewel cut off his breath so that he ended quickly,
which was fortunate, for my wound was sapping my
strength, and I still had great need of what little
endurance I had."
   RK made motions with his front paws as if he was
digging in the cat sand and looked up inquiringly.
   Tagoth laughed and placed his hand on the cat's head
to stroke it. That gentle hand hardly looked capable of
murder.
   "Yes, sacred one. That was next. The man bore other

                                                       187
marks of office--the special office he had trained to fill
so that he might later betray all that he learned to Edu
Kando."
   "What sort of marks?" Acorna asked. Tagoth and
Nadhari were back in an eyelock, too busy watching
each other to continue speaking unless prompted.
   Miw-Sher said, pointing to her own forehead, "A
sacred stone embedded in the forehead, here," she said,
indicating a spot above the bridge of her nose.
   Tagoth continued, finally looking away from Nadhari.
"And on his chest and abdomen a ritual tattoo, a symbol
that if read correctly is a map to the holiest of holy
valleys, the lake of the stones. That was the knowledge
he was bringing to Edu. I had to stop him. I did try to
reason with him first, Ambassador. We were once boys
together, once comrades. He attacked me rather than
listen to my pleadings to keep the sacred knowledge
secret, as he had vowed to the Temple. I do not kill
often, and never without sufficient reason. For one in the
service of Mulzar Kando I am considered mild-
mannered, meek even. I told him you had come, as the
prophecy foretold, and that soon we would be saved
and set upon the right path, but he would not listen. He
was not truly religious, and I suspect he was weary of
pretending to be so. He did not believe me and I don't
think he would have cared if he had. He accused me of
betraying Edu, and stabbed me, as you saw. And so I
did--what I did."

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    "Perhaps you could explain why you think telling him
of my arrival would have changed his course of action,"
Acorna said. "Our landing here was an accident. Wasn't
it, Nadhari?"
    Nadhari looked at RK. Acorna, remembering the cat's
claim that he had brought them there, also looked at RK.
RK suddenly found a dirty spot on his belly that needed
washing. For his own unfathomable feline reasons, he
was letting the humans sort this one out.
    Tagoth glanced down at the grooming guardian of
Becker's ship and nodded. "You came when you were
supposed to, whether by accident or design. As it was
destined, and as it was prophesied, you are here. If the
blasphemer really cared about the good of our world
and its peoples, he would have realized that your arrival
canceled out any previous allegiance to secular powers.
You will show us the way."
    "I'm not at all sure what the way is," Acorna said.
"Possibly I should call the guard and have them collect
you. You are a murderer, after all."
    "Read him, Acorna," Nadhari suggested. "Tagoth, if
you let her, she can tell if you are speaking the truth or
not."
    Acorna considered that, then looked from RK, who
flowed to his feet and began walking loudly back and
forth across the room, to Nadhari and back to Tagoth.
The Temple cats, who had been very quiet while their
caretakers chattered, grew restive. Pash joined RK in

                                                       189
patrolling the room, Sher-Paw took some experimental
swipes at the door to try to open it, and Haji sat up
stiffly and glared at all of the two-legged occupants of
the room. Finally Grimla left the sanctuary of Miw-
Sher's skirts, leaped back up to the roof, and stood
staring down at them.
   Their mental message was quite clear to Acorna.
"Perhaps your faith says something about someone like
me coming right now and that gives me some authority
in your mind. I don't know. I'm just visiting. Among my
people, one of us killing another is unthinkable. Among
humans, whole committees decide about such matters. If
I have work to do on this world, it isn't anything to do
with your politics. Nadhari, you are a security officer.
You know law enforcement, and you know this man and
this planet. You are much better qualified than I am to
judge how to help him or how to thwart him, whichever
is called for."
   Nadhari wore an expression quite foreign to her face,
she looked genuinely abashed. "You're right, of course,
Acorna. You healed him and that's all we should have
asked. But you can't heal everyone. You know you can't.
You will be too weak to stand if you attempt to halt this
plague all by yourself."
   "I know," she said. "That's why I need to speak to
Captain Becker and Captain MacDonald."
   "Jonas was working on the ship's computers," Nadhari
said.

                                                      190
   "Yes, well, I'll find him then."
   "Go with her, Miw-Sher," Tagoth said. "I can manage."
   "You have to hide," the girl said. "They'll find you
here."
   "He could cover himself in blood and hide among the
slaughterers," RK suggested to Acorna, painting her a
mind picture of what he had seen beyond the village.
   Acorna shook her head, horrified at the image the cat
sent her.
   (I must get to them and help them. I can't let all of this
prevent me from doing what I can. Soon, RK. Soon.)
   To the others she said, "RK has sent me images of
hundreds of domestic animals being slaughtered on the
outskirts of the city for fear they have a disease. I must
reach them if I am to heal them. And I certainly can't if I
sit around here all day. So what are we going to do
about this man?"
   Nadhari had been searching the room and stood up,
holding a pair of rough trousers and a long-sleeved,
hooded tunic that reached her own knees when she held
it up. "Tagoth, much as I like that scarf you're wearing,
you're pretty obvious right now. If you want to blend in,
you should put these on."
   "I will. Nadhari, I know Miw-Sher will be safe with
you. I must leave and warn the priests of the Aridimi
Stronghold before Edu and his men find me here. They
need to know the danger they're in, and what Edu
intends." The priest pulled on the pants and slipped the

                                                         191
robe over his head quickly, handing the scarf back to
Miw-Sher when he'd finished.
   "Yes, do what you must, but be on the lookout for us,"
Nadhari said. "Acorna can't accomplish what she needs
to here in the city. We'll be leaving soon, too, and we
could give you cover."
   Nadhari didn't sound like a police officer. Her voice
was breathless and urgent, and she stood very close to
the man for the first time, her eyes locking onto his.
   He smiled at her, turned, and skittered up the ladder.
His body must have caught on to the fact that it was
healed now, and he showed no trace of clumsiness or
illness as he walked up onto the roof as if he were the
house's owner.
   "You there, girl, you and the healer should bring the
mattress up here to air it," he said, the image of a
householder ordering around his children and slaves.
Acorna and Miw-Sher each took an end of the filthy sack
of straw--and fleas, who were quite healthy without
Acorna's help -- and hauled it to the roof. Acorna was
careful to keep the mattress between her and the street.
   Tagoth pulled the ladder up behind them and put it
down again behind the house, in the narrow alley where
the backs of the houses faced each other. At a nod from
him, they climbed down and the cats swarmed around
them.
   "What about Nadhari?" Acorna asked him.
   "She went out the front. Go! I'll find cover. And I

                                                      192
thank you for the healing."
   Acorna nodded. She and Miw-Sher walked the length
of the street in the garbage and filth that was stored
behind the houses until they came to the end of the row.
There Miw-Sher led them all to a well, drawing drinking
water for the cats and wash water for her and Acorna to
clean themselves with so as not to draw comment.
Otherwise, anyone who saw them would wonder how
they had managed to get so disheveled. Acorna was still
in her dress uniform.
   They walked out into the main street. It was scorching
hot in the bright light of midday.
   "There don't seem to be many people about," Acorna
said to Miw-Sher.
   "They stay in and rest if possible while the suns are
high," Miw-Sher told her. "We should be free to move
about the city. I don't think anyone was paying attention
to us. Grimla would have warned us."
   RK stood on his hind paws and sank his claws into
Acorna's thigh. (Come on,) he thought.
   "I must leave you here. I'm being summoned," Acorna
told Miw-Sher just as Nadhari rounded a corner.
   "I'll be fine," Miw-Sher said. "Grimla and I look after
each other."
   Acorna nodded but lingered until Nadhari was within
a few feet of them. Then she followed RK's tail, which
waved like a pennant ahead of her, leading her straight
to the Federation post.

                                                       193
                         Twelve

   Upon reaching the Condor, Acorna was disappointed
to see Federation vehicles parked alongside and
Federation technicians riding up and down the robolift
with tools in hand.
   She sent a thought to the bridge. (Captain Becker,
what are these people doing aboard the vessel?) She
thought something might be wrong with the captain,
that he might be injured or ill. He never allowed outside
interference with his ship otherwise. But Becker's
thoughts were positively cheerful when he answered
her.
   (They had a few odd scraps of this and that, even
some new equipment they were never able to integrate
into the old system. They're letting me have it to replace
the Khleevi stuff and repair the computers. It's great, but
they're everywhere! I sent Mac with the Wats over to
help our friend MacDonald so they wouldn't get in the
way. Mac was asking so many questions he made the
federales nervous. We'll be shipshape and ready to head
out again in no time, at the rate these guys are going!)
   (Oh,) Acorna replied. (Good.)
   Even as she sent the thought to Becker, she was
following RK's tail once more, this time to the bay where
the Arkansas Traveler was docked.

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   She looked for a robolift until she noticed that this
ship had a conventional entrance that could be accessed
by a conventional gantry. As she registered that fact, a
loading platform parked beside the scaffolding of the
gantry began rising toward the hatch. Mac and Red Wat
were riding the platform. Several oblong brownish
objects sat at its base.
   RK waited at the foot of the gantry, his tail waving
patiently, for her to catch up, then hopped on her
shoulders as she climbed the more conventional ladder
to the hatch.
   "Permission to come aboard, Captain?" she called.
Mac and Red Wat had already disappeared inside the
hatch by the time she and RK reached it.
   "Ambassador, honey, sure, you come right on in and
make yourself at home. Can I fix you something? Cuppa
caf maybe or some tea?"
   "No, I -- may I ask what your project is?"
   "Feeding the masses, honey, feeding the masses. I'm
taking the Makahomian farmers some of the Metleiter
boxes I prepared."
   "What are they?" Acorna asked.
   "Chemical beds that grow food without the need for
much water. They're not dependent on the ground soil.
You left before we had the conversation, I think, but it
sounded to me like this epidemic they have here might
be caused by a contaminated food supply, which could
be caused by contaminated soil. I can fix that -- or at

                                                     195
least show them how to fix it. If that's the problem, those
boxes and others like them will keep the people in food
while we figure out what to do next."
   "I see. RK--that is, I was looking over the city wall
earlier, and they are slaughtering hundreds and
hundreds of animals. Have you any veterinary
medicines aboard which might combat the disease? I can
heal some of the creatures, of course, but I'm afraid
my--uh--supplies will not hold out for so many."
   "I have a couple of things that might work. I got some
wagons with those tall goat-type critters to pull them
coming to pick up these supplies first thing in the
morning. I asked Becker if I could take the Viking guys
with me for muscle. We get along pretty well using sign
language, and their Standard isn't as bad as Becker said."
   "Mac and I have been working on their language
skills," Acorna told him.
   "Yeah, Mac is really okay with me. I never liked
androids before, but he doesn't seem much like one --
more like just a really smart, strong guy. A little quirky,
of course, but that's part of his charm. Anyway, I'd love
to have him along. He's been a big help and he's
stronger than all of us put together, but Becker says he
qualifies as technological taint, and if we can't even
smuggle a little radio out past the gate, we sure as hell
can't take Mac."
   "Yes, I can see where that might be a problem. It is
probably for the best for Mac to remain, anyway. I think

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Becker may need him on the Condor. Mac will need to
familiarize himself with all the new modifications
Becker is putting in."
   "Was there something special you wanted, hon? Other
than meds for the animals? Somehow, I think that was
just a little bitty excuse to get you up my ladder."
   "You are correct, Captain MacDonald. Becker has the
ship all torn up, installing new equipment. I wish to
contact our home base and my own people again, if it
isn't too much trouble. We never intended to be away
for so long, and I ... am hoping for some news."
   "Thought so. Be my guest," he said, leaving her to it.

   To Acorna's relief, she was able to communicate with
MOO without problems. She was so glad to hear
Melireenya's voice and see her face on the com screen
she almost wept.
   Melireenya was effusive. "Khornya! Oh, it is good to
hear from you again. Maati has come up to the moon,
and Neeva is here as well. And Hafiz will want to speak
to you, and Miiri and Kaarlye and the aagroni. Oh, and--
what is it, Thariinye? Yes, I'll tell her. Thariinye says to
say hello."
   Acorna had to laugh, since she was not, after all, going
to let herself weep, which would have been highly
inappropriate under the circumstances. How like
Thariinye to have to be in the middle of things! "Hello to
Thariinye, too, then. And to everyone. Is there any word

                                                        197
from Aari?"
   "I truly can't say. I haven't heard anything myself.
Wait! Maati is here. She would know."
   Maati's face appeared on the com screen. How grown-
up she looked! "Khornya! How are you? We miss you!
When will you be back?"
   "Captain Becker has received assistance in repairing
the Condor from the Federation troops stationed on this
planet, and he thinks it will not be much longer before
the ship is operational. But there are some problems here
that may need our attention before we can return. Have
you heard . . . anything?"
   "Well, a few anomalies have been showing up, but
they don't have anything to do with Aari exactly, but
maybe he's closer than he was, hmmm? It's nothing
much, really, but we've been wondering--oh, here's the
aagroni."
   "Khornya, have you interviewed any Makahomian
subjects about the relationship between Riidkiiyi and
our pahaantiyirs?"
   "Aagroni, they are having something of a crisis here.
Many of the Temple cats died before we arrived. We
were able to save four, and I am told others still survive,
but for how long, I don't know. I -- I really can say no
more on this channel. I will of course learn what I can."
   "I thought the cats were held sacred by those people?"
Karina Harakamian broke in.
   "Yes, they are. But being held sacred is not necessarily

                                                       198
protection against an epidemic. Other animals are dying,
too. You can see that I must help."
   "Of course you must, Khornya," said Miiri, joining the
others. Each of their faces was now visible in a separate
window on the com screen.
   "I'll be home as soon as I can. It probably won't be too
long," Acorna said, but she felt desolate. If they were
free to go soon, it would only be because they had failed
in their mission to save the cats of other Temples and all
the other animals in trouble. And yet she felt, seeing the
faces and hearing the voices of her friends, as if she
couldn't bear to wait until she could embrace each of
them again. Their farewells sounded sad and concerned
as she ended her transmission. Now she had worried
them about her, too, and not just Aari.
   And what was it Maati meant about "little anomalies"
that might indicate evidence concerning Aari?

   Before returning to the Temple, Acorna asked Captain
Mac-Donald when he would be leaving. "Kando is
sending some men and wagons over to help us load up
first thing in the morning," he replied.
   That information could prove useful, she thought.
While she remained determined that the former Brother
Bulaybub's fate was not in her hands, it wouldn't hurt to
mention to Nadhari and Miw-Sher about the wagons.
   She returned to the Condor. The Federation technicians
and their vehicles were gone. Becker apparently saw her,

                                                       199
for the robolift descended to meet her.
   "Hiya, Princess," Becker said, meeting her at the
robolift deck and slipping his arm through hers
chummily. "We are once more fully operational, you'll
be glad to hear, and can leave whenever we're ready."
   "That is very good news, Captain," Acorna said. They
ascended to the bridge and folded themselves into the
command chairs, turning the chairs to face each other.
"You certainly got those repairs done in record time."
   "Yeah," Becker said, pleased. "Apparently the Mulzar
put in a word for us and Dsu Macostut couldn't send me
help fast enough. These guys know what they're doing
when they're using their own stuff. They--uh--had a
few problems with my adaptations, but mostly they
thought they were really--what was the word?--oh,
yeah, inventive."
   "You are that. I wonder why the Mulzar decided to be
so helpful."
   "Nadhari, maybe?" Becker frowned. "But then, he is
kinda wanting to be a kissin' cousin with her, from what
I can tell, so I don't think he'd be in any hurry for us to
leave and take her with us."
   "Unless her going with us isn't a part of his plan,"
Acorna suggested.
   "Oh, I don't think he could keep her . . . she, uh, hasn't
said anything about wanting to stay, has she?"
   "Not to me. Not so far," Acorna said. "But the Mulzar
is used to ruling. Perhaps he isn't used to considering

                                                         200
the wishes of his women."
   "Do ya think? Naaah. He's okay. In fact, I've enjoyed
getting to know him a little. He's a little high-handed
sometimes, but you know, he's trying to do just what the
old-time high kings did -- unify his world and rule it so
they can get on with progress instead of everybody
fighting everybody else all the time. Like King Arthur
and Camelot, except Camelot wasn't cat-shaped."
   "No, I suppose not. But I wonder how united the
world will stay and at what cost its unity will come. I
wonder how often he will use violence and war to
subdue the other peoples."
   "You gotta break some eggs when you make--uh --
scrambled eggs, Acorna," Becker told her. He sounded a
little irritated with her. Acorna guessed that was because
she was questioning a concept integral to the belief
system of most humans -- that some things had to be
fought for. Perhaps because she had been raised among
humans, she actually shared that belief to some degree.
The Khleevi had needed fighting. They'd needed killing,
in fact, and Acorna had arranged to kill them all. She'd
done it gladly and would do it again in the same
situation. Other humans--bad ones, like Edacki
Ganoosh, were also no great loss, in her opinion. But she
didn't think Edu Kando would bother sorting out the
good from the bad -- or that his criteria for sorting them
if he did would necessarily be based on their worth as
individuals or their moral value.

                                                       201
   "You've got him wrong," Becker said. "He doesn't
want to make war on everybody. He's sent food and
supplies to the other parts of Makahomia to try to help
people."
   That surprised Acorna, who had heard nothing of it.
   "I'm very relieved. I was afraid he might mind when I
leave the city tomorrow to try to heal some of the other
animals who have been stricken by plague. RK has
particular concerns about the Temple cats elsewhere on
the planet."
   "He does? He told you that, did he?" Becker asked,
twisting to glower up from under his eyebrows at his
first mate, who was curled on the high back of his
command chair.
   "Yes, he did. RK is fully telepathic when he feels like
it, though he appears unable or unwilling to use more
than his standard forms of communication unless he's
decided it's an emergency."
   "The old rascal," Becker said, scratching the first
mate's head. "I always knew he was smarter'n most
people."
   "So, from what you say, the Mulzar should be happy
that I am going to help with the epidemic, even though
the illness is in other lands. That is very good news
indeed. Perhaps I'll get a chance to discuss it with him
this evening. If so, I'd better hurry. Are you coming?"
   "Not tonight. I need to wait here till Mac and the Wats
return from the Traveler, and go over the new equipment

                                                       202
with Mac. Besides, it's hot down there and we have
central air again!"
   Acorna smiled. "So we do."
   Becker said, "But holler at me before you go
tomorrow. I don't want you going off alone."
   "Oh, I won't. I will probably start out with Captain
MacDonald and the Wats. And perhaps Miw-Sher will
be with me, and probably Nadhari as well. It will be
slow traveling with those wagons, though. I may have to
strike out alone, perhaps even with your help, if I am to
be of any use to the other cats before they die."
   "Well, Kando said the cats in their Temple were the
first ones to get sick. News of the others has been
coming in slowly. Don't worry, Princess, you will be in
time. I'm betting on it."




                                                      203
                        Thirteen

   When Edu Kando decided to examine the body of the
murder victim a second time, and much more closely, he
realized his investigators had misidentified the corpse.
The dead man was not Bulaybub.
   His suspicions were triggered when the surgeon
asked Kando to return to the infirmary, because he had
found something he didn't believe belonged to the
missing priest.
   But what Kando noticed immediately was the state of
the corpse's skin. What there was left of it was not
decomposing normally. The stench of decomposition
filled the room. Kando didn't mind the stench,
associating it as he did with victor's spoils, which were
most often enjoyed while the former defenders of a place
rotted within sight of their newly enslaved families. It
was a familiar and comforting odor for him. His enemies
were dead and he was not, the stench always assured
him.
   What concerned him was that the legs, the oddly
undamaged arms, and the back of this corpse had a
leatheriness usually associated with the secretive
members of the Aridimi priesthood, who all but
mummified themselves while they still lived.
   While Kando was pointing this out to the surgeon, the

                                                      204
man brought forth a stone.
   "I found it when I examined the neck wounds,
Mulzar. Its size alone told me that this was not
Bulaybub's amulet stone. And when I had washed the
blood from it, I was shocked. See its fine golden color
and the pale yellow pupil that shines in its midsection?"
   Kando held up the stone and admired it. It was finer
even than his own.
   "You are indeed an observant man, Dinan. Bulaybub
did not possess such a treasure as this."
   What he did not say to the doctor was that he could
guess who did.
   Edu glanced down at the corpse, staring into the hole
where the face had been, and tried to reconstruct from
his memory the man who would have worn that stone.
He'd have been little more than a boy when Kando had
last seen him.
   The top of the skull was intact. Most of the damage
had been done to the soft tissue of the face. "Wash the
blood from the skull where the midsection of the
forehead might have been."
   "The bone is splintered and cracked, Mulzar, and
many pieces are missing."
   "Still, there may be enough left for my purposes,"
Kando said.
   When the woman with the washbasin had come and
cleaned the bone until it shone, Kando said, "Aha!" and
pointed to the indentation in a piece that had cracked off

                                                       205
and embedded itself deeply in the tissue. "You see that
little dent there? Who do you think would bear such a
thing?"
   "I -- I don't know, Mulzar. Was the fracture not
inflicted with the other wounds?"
   "No, no. Can you not see? There is nothing fresh about
this wound. I will tell you who might have such a mark,
Dinan. One who has undergone initiation into the
highest orders of the Aridimi priesthood."
   "Ahh," the man said, staring from the wound to
Kando and back again, still clearly puzzled.
   "As part of their initiation, the skin of an Aridimi
priest's forehead is opened, the bone scraped, and a holy
stone is embedded there, for the skin to heal around, so
that the priest's inner eye is always open thereafter."
   "Hm," Dinan said.
   "Barbaric, isn't it? Yes, I can see that you think so. The
skin you see here on the body's extremities, as yet
untouched by decay, is also a mark of that breed. Instead
of keeping their bodily fluids flowing, these Aridimi
holies purposely do without water almost up to the
point of death, until they require less and less. Their
skins are dried out almost as if they were salted. You see
the result here."
   "I do not think I would care to be quite that pious,
Mulzar, if you will forgive my heresy."
   Kando flashed one of his roguish grins. "Although I
am the high priest, I find many of these old superstitious

                                                         206
customs extreme and unnecessary. This poor fellow may
have met death happily, since he went to such painful
extremes in what he called a life. Let us turn him over
and see if there is anything else that might help us
identify him to his fellows, since we do not now know
who he is, only that he is an Aridimi priest and not our
good Brother Bulaybub."
   As if they were equals, Kando helped Dinan turn the
corpse to its side. There he saw the last of the proof he
needed, the puckered scar from a spear wound on the
man's right flank. There was no longer any doubt in
Kando's mind. The corpse was all that remained of
Fagad Haral sach Pilau, his steppe-brother, born among
the Aridimis but captured by the nomadic warriors on
the same campaign that netted Kando himself.
   "Oh," the Mulzar said as if shocked.
   "What is it, Mulzar?" Dinan asked.
   "This man is well known to me --from my youth. He
was close to me and was no doubt murdered on his way
to see how he might be of service to me now that I am
Mulzar. Poor Fagad!"
   "Perhaps the Mulzar should allow me to finish the
examination of his friend and prepare the body for its
final journey to the stars. The Mulzar does not look
well."
   The Mulzar did not feel well. He felt angry and
thwarted. When he first returned from his Federation
training, Fagad was one of the few people besides

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Bulaybub who did not turn away from him. When he
began winning battles and accumulating power, Kando
recognized the strategic advantage of his brother's rare
Aridimi heritage and sent him back to his native
territory to insinuate himself into the priesthood and to
learn the sect's most closely guarded secret, the
knowledge of the sacred stones--how to use them best,
where they came from, and how to acquire them.
   Over the years, Fagad had sent infrequent messages of
his progress, but Kando had counted on him as a secret
resource, his most promising hope for a relatively easy
conquest of the Aridimi stronghold.
   And now here he lay upon this slab. Kando was sure
Fagad must have been bringing him the intelligence he
most desired; indeed, this was why he was killed. Fagad
had no other reason to come to this city, except to seek
him out once all the Aridimi secrets had been revealed
to him. Had Bulaybub seen what attacked Fagad? The
missing priest must have tried to protect him. But if so,
where was Bulaybub, the second most valuable resource
at Kando's command, and why was he missing?
   Possibly the slayer of Fagad had also killed Bulaybub
in the attack--but if so, again, where was Bulaybub s
body? Where indeed?
   Were the death of one of Edu's greatest resources and
the disappearance of the other related? They had to be.
   Kando turned to the physician and said, "What can we
glean from all of this evidence, my learned Dinan?"

                                                      208
   Dinan shrugged and looked at Kando's face for clues.
It would not do for his version to be very different from
the Mulzar's. "Why, that the beast -- or the man with the
help of a beast--who murdered your Aridimi friend
made sure its ferocious attack destroyed all signs of the
victim's station in life, Mulzar. Possibly the beast ate the
evidence. After the attack, perhaps the beast carried off
Brother Bulaybub for later consumption."
   Kando nodded. "Even so, Dinan. Even so. Tell me,
have you often in your long career encountered wounds
such as these?"
   Dinan considered. "As severe as these? Never. Nor
any made with such apparent deliberation. But similar,
yes. As you know, Lord, I am a Purin tribesman by birth,
a man of the steppes. When my kin raided the
Makavitians, as you also know, we often used stealth
and traps. Solitary heroes among our people
volunteered to pick off the leaders one at a time, or carry
off the most desirable slaves in lieu of or preceding a
direct frontal attack on a village. From time to time, one
of these solitary fighters would be found in such a
condition--that is, if he screamed where he could before
he died. If he did not, and this was most often the case,
his body was never found at all. But those few who
screamed--they were less than a handful--have I laid
out with these sorts of wounds, that seemed to be made
by an impossibly large cat."
   "And yet, Dinan," Edu said, "we who walk upright on

                                                        209
two legs are the only known predators of our kind who
still live in the inhabited portion of our planet."
    "There are our Temple guardians, Lord. Though they
are far too small for their claws to inflict these wounds."
    "True. When the guardians kill our kind, it is by
breaking their necks or severing crucial arteries. Still, it
seems to me that this killing was done in imitation of our
guardian cats, as were those others of which you speak.
I, too, have seen such wounds. It has long been my belief
that there is a secret cult--particularly among those born
of the rainforest tribes, as I was--that worships felines
with such fanatical fervor that they commit these
atrocities. If one such cult is loose in our city, we must
seek out these madmen and put them to death. I will
have no clandestine heretical sects undermining my
rule."
    "Yes, Mulzar, a very good idea. Perhaps you may still
save Brother Bulaybub if you send your soldiers from
house to house."
    "I think I have a better way of flushing these people
out, Dinan." He had never before favored the physician
with so many confidences, but the man was known to
gossip, which Kando thought would be useful to his
further plans. "If they thought I presented a danger to
the remaining Temple guardians, do you think such
madmen would stop at attacking me in this, the very
citadel of my power and the emblem of my rule?"
    "But you don't present such a danger, Lord! How

                                                        210
could they think so?"
   "I shall have to give them cause, my good Dinan. They
could well be enemy agents. In murdering my brother
they have dealt a blow to my own network of agents."
All factions had spies and agents, so this was not a
secret. The secret was the identity of the agents.
   "Ahh, I understand, my lord. A good plan. Of course
you would not harm the guardians, but the cult
members do not know that?"
   "Exactly. But don't breathe a word of it."
   "You can count on me, my lord."
   Kando clasped the fellow's shoulder in one hand. "I
was sure I could."
   He strode away, feeling oddly incomplete without
Bulaybub beside him. Bulaybub, in his own way, had
been as important to Kando as Fagad, although it was
possible the monk's use was of less value now than it
once had been. Kando prided himself on seeing the
talent, the special purpose, for which each of his
underlings was created, and in using those talents in a
way that would further his goals. Actually, it was
Bulaybub himself who had suggested this as a
leadership skill.
   Bulaybub was not precisely Kando's second in
command, nor the power behind the throne. He was
something quite different, and only Kando seemed to
realize it. Kando needed him to rule effectively.
Bulaybub knew and understood the planet's history--

                                                     211
how its peoples related to each other and why they
responded as they did to certain triggers. He was deeply
trained in the mysteries of the cat-ridden religion and
knew how to use it to manipulate the masses if
necessary. Or rather, he would advise Kando on how to
do so. The monk had served as priest, master, and slave
in all of the regions on the planet, had learned many
occupations, and most important, had made many
influential friends, who simply liked him and listened to
what he had to say because there was usually substance
in it.
   Kando's gifts were different. Because of his Federation
training and an inborn inclination for power, he was
sophisticated beyond most of his people. While off-
planet he soaked up sights and sounds and experiences,
realizing how narrow his world had been before, but in
the end he felt unappreciated out in the galaxy. His
superior officers did not seem to understand that he
needed their training less than he needed to fully absorb
the fascinating universe around him--learn what
treasures and pleasures were available out there that
were not at home. He was reprimanded by old officers
who had forgotten what it was to be young and who
had never had his capacity for adventure. Kept down by
jealous old men who probably secretly lusted after his
youth and beauty, he'd failed to make rank quickly
enough to suit himself and was destined for some
outpost not unlike the one from which he'd come.

                                                       212
   That being the case, he pleaded homesickness. He
wished to return to Makahomia, where he'd come from,
where people responded to him, where his talents, so
unappreciated and lost in the vastness of the
Federation's jurisdiction, could be put to use to serve his
people. This service to them, he realized, he could best
render as their ruler.
   When he first returned as a young officer of twenty-
one years, by Standard counting, his people rejected him
and all he had to offer them. He thought he was better
than they. He had learned alien ways and was more like
a Federation overlord than one of them now. His family
was dead or scattered. Those who had been his masters
tried to reclaim him and might have succeeded except
for the skills and contacts he had gathered off-planet.
   Bulaybub, a somewhat older man originally of the
Moginari tribe from the same rainforest where Kando
was born, changed that attitude simply by first
befriending and then following Kando. The priest
sought him out, consulted him, listened to his stories,
admired his style. Because Bulaybub was respected and
liked, a certain . . . acceptance was transferred to Kando.
He gained influence by association.
   Once he was given a chance to shine, his innate kingly
charisma dazzled people and led them to obey him,
even when he had not conquered them. Men admired
him as a brilliant and successful officer, the kind who, if
they followed him into battle, was likely to lead them

                                                       213
back out again, alive and victorious. Women were
attracted to his virility and power, as if they sensed his
voracious sexual appetites. Rather, most women were
attracted to that.
   But not Nadhari, with her supple, graceful body and
those tilted wary eyes, that hint of mystery he found so
tantalizing. Never her, though it was he who had first
schooled her in the arts of battle and later had attempted
to teach her some of the, if not gentler, at least more
sensually pleasurable arts. But he was disappointed, on
his return from space, that after the first few encounters
with her, he had no further chance to lay eyes, hands, or
anything else on her again before she disappeared into
the Federation ship. How ironic. What was the Terran
saying about ships that pass in the night? He thought he
had lost her forever, his best opponent in battle and the
one who had most motivated him to win and enjoy a
victor's rewards.
   He smiled to himself. She might pretend nothing more
than a kinswoman's interest in him now, with her
friends around her, but he had marked her, he could tell.
There was something a bit twisted about her that he
recognized as his contribution to who she was. He had
taken her and taught her too young for her to have
escaped being--at least in part--his creature.
   He sat at the writing table in his office, which had for
a window one of the eyes of the cat-Temple. He studied
once more the figures Dsu Macostut had shown him, the

                                                       214
profits to be made on a single sacred stone. Of all of his
people, he was the best educated, thanks to the
Federation, and he spent much of his time here, plotting
his changes for his planet. Whom he could pit against
whom, whom he could subvert or buy. He needed the
consent--whether forced or voluntary was of no concern
to the Federation, who would believe what he and
Macostut told them--of the leaders of each of the tribal
nations of the planet to ratify the changes in the original
agreement. Half of them were accounted for with his
own consent, as he controlled the Mog-Gim plateau but
had gained that control as the leader of the tribes of the
Furrim Steppes. He still needed to win over the Aridimis
and the Makaviti. Bulaybub was supposed to be
assisting with that, too, waxing eloquent on how wars
had decimated the land and resources.
   The truth was, peace was threatening to break out
whether or not he wanted it. People had become, over
these long years, rather homogenized, what with all of
the enslavement and mercenary service back and forth
among the tribes. This suited him very well, and he
fostered it.
   From the eye of the cat, Kando saw Nadhari striding
through the gate, accompanied by Bulaybub's cat-loving
little niece, clasping the tortoiseshell female guardian in
her arms while the other three Temple cats trailed at her
heels. Miw-Sher. Now there was a tender little morsel.
What was to become of her with her uncle and protector,

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so far as anyone knew, dead? Nadhari seemed to have
taken her under her wing for now. That might be
convenient.
   The truth was, much as it pained him to notice it,
Nadhari was by now a bit long in the tooth. But if she
was of less interest for one function, he could make use
of her another way, providing he could prevent her from
leaving on the salvage vessel. It would soon go back to
where it came from, thanks to Macostut's intervention.
Without Bulaybub to persuade the unaffiliated tribes to
accept him as supreme leader, he would need a general,
a war chief, an enforcer at the least. And Nadhari, from
all he had learned of her extra-Makahomian career, was
the best. Perhaps the vessel would not leave.
   After all, it and some of her friends could be made
useful, even if their timing was exceptionally
inconvenient, coming along to undo some of the impact
of his little biological bomb so soon after he had planted
it. However, with a carefully self-serving interpretation
of the ministrations of these alien altruists--the horned
ambassador's healing gifts, the farmer captain's attempt
to feed the plague-ridden people--they could be turned
to his advantage.
   He would not ask Nadhari now.
   He called Akid, the captain of his priestly guards, to
him. "Assemble the people of the city tomorrow
morning. I have announcements of great magnitude to
impart to them."

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   "Yes, Mulzar," Akid replied, and obeyed.
   Kando turned his attention to his upcoming
presentation. He glanced up once, at second setting, to
see the ambassador's tall, horned, white figure walking
through the gate. He blinked. Some fragment of her
shadow had preceded her and flitted into the shadowed
cloisters. No matter. She was an alien. He had never in
fact seen one quite like her, with that intriguing horn
spiraling from her head, just where an Aridimi priest's
eyestone would be. There was something almost priestly
about her-- something as pure as her color suggested.
She seemed chaste, sad, preoccupied.
   He was thinking, if the opportunity presented itself,
he would know how to get her undivided attention,
when she walked into his office. Almost as if she had
read his mind.
   "Ambassador, what a pleasure."
   "I beg your pardon for my rudeness, Mulzar, but I was
told you would be here and I have an urgent matter I
wish to discuss with you."
   "I can see that you are troubled, my child. Please, let
me help you."
   Edu smiled.




                                                       217
                       Fourteen

   Acorna wanted to see Kando for a number of reasons,
the chief one being that she wished to form her own
opinion of him. Though now she wished she had not
been so scrupulous with the former Brother Bulaybub.
She should have allowed him to tell her more about the
plots he felt his erstwhile master had instigated. She
would be better prepared for what was to come if she
had. As it was, she had no idea how her self-(and RK-)
appointed mission to save this planet's ailing creatures
would be greeted by the Mulzar, for example, or what
Edu's actions toward her might be if she let him know
what she planned.
   Acorna was further confused by Becker's apparent
liking and admiration for Edu. Becker was usually a
good judge of character, but although he was very
intuitive, Becker was not precisely-- or at least not
always -- telepathic. A charismatic and clever trickster
could fool him. Especially if a profitable business deal
was involved.
   When Acorna entered his office, Kando sat at his
massive writing table. Maps and scrolls were spread out
on it. On top of the scroll he'd been working on was a
large golden stone with a pale fiery stripe down the
middle. Kando reached over to stroke it while she sealed

                                                     218
herself across from him. The Mulzar's thoughts were
guarded carefully as he extended his seeming
solicitousness toward her, but she was mildly shocked to
sense an unwarranted prurient interest in her person
from him. Once she picked up on that, she was aware
that the atmosphere surrounding him crawled with
duplicity and intrigue. Of course he was the leader of an
influential section of the planet, and perhaps, if Becker
was correct, would soon rule the entire planet. A certain
amount of political intrigue in his mental emanations
was natural.
   She tried to be fair and attempted to introduce the
topic in a casual manner. "I understand you've given
Captain MacDonald permission to treat your animals
and instruct your people in farming methods that will
feed them until the ground is safe again. I wish to go
with him."
   "Do you? How kind," Edu said with oily smoothness,
picking the stone up and cradling it in his fist. "I see no
problem with that, although our primitive means of
transport may not suit someone of your sophistication."
   He could not quite keep enough of his mask in place
to conceal his irritation that he found it necessary to go
along with MacDonald's program. He apparently was
not accustomed to telepaths and had not learned how to
shield against them, although his innate deviousness,
which she soon discovered, served him well enough. But
images flashed across his mind -- images he viewed

                                                       219
with satisfaction -- of laboratory test tubes changing
hands between him and Macostut, of the contents being
put into vermin traps that never sprang. The vermin
partook of the tainted material, the cats caught the
vermin, and cats began dying. The infected vermin
spread, and their infected scat was scattered throughout
the countryside. Soon enough, other creatures, including
people, also died.
   Until she came, and MacDonald. No, she would not
seek his permission now.
   "You might be surprised what suits me," she said, and
bared her teeth at him in what he would take for a
friendly smile, though among the Linyaari it was a
hostile challenge.
   "I'd like to find out," he said insinuatingly, stroking
the stone with the pad of his thumb along the pale slash
of fire in its middle.
   "Well, yes, I appreciate you giving your permission.
Lieutenant Commander Macostut is not so easy to deal
with. Always quoting Federation rules and treaties, you
know."
   "Allow me to handle him and the Federation as well,
Ambassador Acorna. That is your given name, is it not?
Acorna? It is so -- exotic." He rolled the stone down his
palm with his fingertips, and when he finished saying
"exotic," he closed his hand over it.
   She bared her teeth again. "Yes, it is, isn't it? My
people even find it so." She did not explain. She didn't

                                                       220
want to tell any of her family history to this man.
   "Acorna, I was hoping -- I am speaking to my subjects
tomorrow morning. I wish to recognize the work you
did for our guardians. It would please me if you would
come. You and Nadhari as well, of course. I know
Captain MacDonald will be busy with his wagons, but
as soon as I have finished, you may join him. I do hope
you'll come." He set the stone down long enough to take
her hand in both of his. He stared for a moment at its
three single-knuckled fingers, one fewer than he was
used to, and appeared slightly nonplussed before he
began stroking her palm seductively with his thumb. "I
want my people to recognize you as their--our--new
friend."
   "Your wish is my command in this," she said, because
it was, of course, in this instance. She gently but firmly
pulled her hand away with a strength that she could tell
surprised him. Behind her, she felt him smile and pick
up the stone again.
   She returned to her quarters, wishing she could lock
the door. She was comforted when RK dropped from the
ceiling onto her bed to make himself comfortable against
her side.
   The events of the day revolved inside her head as if
they had been poured into a centrifuge and set on Spin.
Tagoth and Miw-Sher, RK and the Temple cats, all of
them together, Nadhari and Tagoth, Tagoth and Mulzar
Kando, Becker and Kando, Mac-Donald and the Wats,

                                                       221
Kando and Acorna herself, whirled through her mind in
a soup of coppery rainforest, flat red desert, cat's-eye
chrysoberyl stones of many colors, and wide open
steppes veined with rivers and streams. Just when she
stopped recalling and started dreaming, she couldn't
have said.
   But all at once she realized that the reason everyone
was spinning so fast was that she was flying past them,
over them, and they weren't spinning at all. She was
flying past the city and everything familiar to her on this
world. Now there were cat-shaped Temples in the mix,
poking their ears out of the trees of the rainforest,
squatting beside rivers in the steppes, and reclining
Sphinx-like in the desert. In fact, these Sphinx cats even
had human faces. In her dream, she heard Aari's voice
telling her, "Those are not Temples you see there. They
are monuments to Grimalkin. Though they call him the
Star Cat, these people know well that he has a human
face. He brought me here to save these people, and
meanwhile, he decided to increase the population and
improve the gene pool in a very personal fashion. That is
how they became able to shift from human to feline. I
hope you will also notice that there are no people here
who resemble the Linyaari. The Companion did not see
fit to pass on hi) dominant characteristics to every female
in the gene pool."
   Acorna sped onward. When she reached the
rainforest, she was suddenly looking down on the

                                                       222
Temple, where hundreds of cats all lapped at a dish that
bore the symbol of a skull and cross-bones on the side.
She jumped down and tried to shoo them away before
they ate, but Captain MacDonald was there, saying, "But
they have to keep their strength up, honey."
   Then she was flying far out over the desert again, but
all of a sudden the ground split open, deep and wide,
the sides of the gash multicolored, and at its end the
whole thing was filled with a beautiful deep lake that
seemed to come from nowhere. The Temple was
different, too, but before she could quite figure out how,
she saw Aari down below her waving flags and pointing
to a place for her to land.
   But when she ran to him, an instant later in the dream,
and without all of the bother of landing the craft she was
flying, she saw that he was no longer a living Linyaari,
but a statue of one, and she couldn't reach him because
he was standing in the middle of a stream feeding into
the lake.
   All around him cats' eyes winked and blinked, some
of them without cats behind them. "You really can't tell,"
someone said, "until one of them decides to move to eat
or fight or have sex."
   At that point she awakened. She tried to move, but
could not. From the sensations in her chest and arms, it
seemed as if someone had restrained her during the
night, possibly even tied her up. Her arms were pinned
to her sides at the elbows, and her ankles wouldn't move

                                                       223
when she tried to rise.
   She heard footsteps outside her door. A voice called,
"Ambassador?" There was a sharp "hsst!" and the weight
on her chest released as RK leaped straight up from the
crouch he had assumed during the night to watch her
face, apparently, for the first sign of wakefulness. He
seemed almost to fly instead of jump to the catwalk, and
one of the bolt-holes near the ceiling. Then he spoiled
the illusion by losing a paw-hold and having to dangle
his back end off the catwalk while he dug in with his
front claws to force enough of him through the opening
of the hole so his feet would have to follow. Pash, Haji,
and Sher-Paw ran in different directions, and Acorna
found her arms and legs released as well.
   She'd been bound up, all right, courtesy of her cat
guardians. She felt like laughing, but instead gathered
her wits and composure and said, "Yes, what is it?"
   "The Mulzar's address is about to begin."
   "Thank you," Acorna said. "Then I'll be right along."
   "But you must refresh yourself and break your fast
before you go. We were not privileged to serve you
yesterday morning. We were negligent and did not
attend you when you awoke. Please, may we enter
now?"
   Acorna sighed and reluctantly gave her assent. A
string of Temple women--whether priestesses or
acolytes or mere servants, Acorna could not tell--
entered. One carried a ewer of water, another a basin, a

                                                      224
third bore Acorna's clothing, cleaned and pressed and
devoid of the evidence of her adventures of yesterday.
Yet another woman bore a basket of fruits and
vegetables of various sorts.
  "Thank you. You're very kind," Acorna told them,
nibbling on something with a rubbery green texture.
"This is nice. What is it?"
  "It is called sand claw, ambassador. I removed the
thorns myself."
  "A sort of cactus, then? It's very good."
  They stood around nodding and watching her chew.
  "Have any of you seen Miw-Sher yet this morning?"
she asked when she'd finished the cactus.
  "She was searching for Grimla the last time I saw her,"
one of the women said. "The Mulzar is most particular
that all of the sacred guardians are in attendance when
he speaks."
  "Oh, really?"
  "Yes, Ambassador. He wishes to let the people know
what wonders you have performed."
  "Does he?" This worried Acorna. If Kando had caused
the cats to become ill, which he had if she read him
correctly, then his seeming concern for displaying their
healthy state was ominous.
  After her erstwhile servants were convinced she was
presentable, she was taken straight to the cat's mouth,
which was open. On the tongue, a balcony looked out on
not only the Temple courtyards but also the streets of

                                                      225
the city, and beyond. Stale smoke colored by red dust
hung over the city and the countryside beyond,
intensifying the reddish cast the suns lent to the sky,
giving the day an angry, stormy appearance.
   People thronged the walls and courtyards of the
Temple, but behind them the city streets were deserted
and empty, except for whirlwinds of red dust that
zipped and rolled drunkenly through the town like alien
invaders searching for loot.
   Although the wind stirred up these small cyclones,
the day was scorchingly hot, and the breeze, when it
came, was like the exhaust of some great antique flitter,
spewing flames and fumes in its wake.
   Throughout the crowd and surrounding it stood
priests armed with what appeared to be some sort of
circular, discus-like weapons as well as swords, daggers,
and spears. Just because Nadhari's cousin was the
Federation-acknowledged ruler of this city didn't mean
everyone who lived in the city was happy about it.
Acorna read the general tone of the crowd and received
the impression that people were not here because they
particularly wanted to receive Edu's counsel and
leadership but because they had been ordered to come.
Most of them seemed to dread learning what new
proclamations, taxes, laws, or restrictions Kando was
about to inflict upon them.
   Acorna, Nadhari, and a few other privileged people
were allowed to stand on the balcony with Kando while

                                                      226
he addressed the throng. Miw-Sher stood beside the
right fang of the Temple's open mouth. When she
spotted Nadhari and Acorna, the girl abandoned her
toothy post to stand nearer to them.
   Grimla was in her arms and the guardian cat's tail
tickled the back of Acorna's hand.
   Kando held up his hands and the crowd grew quiet.
"People of Hissim, I call you together to speak to you
concerning the sickness that has plagued our sacred
guardians and has claimed the life of many domestic
beasts and some of your own kinfolk. This scourge
killed, among others, Sacred Phador, Sacred Nadia, the
Sacred Kits One through Forty-Two, as yet and now
forever unnamed. We have reason to believe that this
plague is part of a plot perpetrated on our city, our
Temple, and our rule by our enemies, who will stop at
nothing to overthrow us. Heretofore, no matter how
desperate the battle, Temple guardians have always
been exempt from retaliation, but now it has been
suggested to me by my wise friends and allies of the
Federation that our sacred ones were poisoned! Also
spies have been sent among us, and a priest has been
murdered in a brutal, ritualistic fashion. Still another
priest has been abducted. All evidence points to the
involvement of the secretive Aridimi sect from the deep
desert, your own relations. We must redress these
crimes. We will invade their lands and avenge ourselves,
taking into our Temple their own sacred ones to replace

                                                     227
those of ours that they have slain." Edu finally stopped
to take a deep breath.
   "But, Your Reverence!" protested a large prosperous-
looking man who wore soft white lightweight clothing
and a wealth of red metal and gemstones on any part of
his body that could be girded with ornamentation. "We
have heard that the sacred ones are sick and dying on all
parts of the planet."
   "Ahhh," Kando said, "I too have heard the lies. It has
even been suggested that this scourge is not a covert
form of warfare, but the work of a fanatical cult that
seeks to destroy all who follow the path the Star Cat
chose for us. If so, they have been foiled, deprived of
four of their victims, again through the intercession of
my contacts in the Federation.
   "However, we believe this cult idea is a fantasy, a
fiction concocted by those who fear another war. In
truth, it has been my greatest wish to lead you into an
era of peace--or so I had hoped to, until this evil befell
our Temple. Now I see that the only way to bring peace
to this world is for all of it to be under a single rule.
Until we find out who visited this blasphemous attack
on our guardians, I believe it is for the good of all
guardians that we conquer Hissim's enemies and deliver
their sacred animals from servitude to people who have
loosed a plague upon us. Since we know not which state
is guilty, we must assume they all are, and act
accordingly."

                                                       228
   "But why would they kill their own guardians or their
own Food beasts?" the prosperous man asked. "Surely
we will be able to tell who poisoned our animals by how
many of their own animals survive."
   "Ah, but would they tell us? Would they let it be
known? When our holy ones first became ill, and I heard
that the other states were likewise afflicted, so deep was
my grief and so aroused was my compassion that I chose
slaves from each area and sent them back to their
peoples bearing medicines and food. Perhaps it was my
quick action that saved the others, or perhaps it was
merely that we were the ones most directly attacked. I
have heard that all other states were as badly stricken as
we were, but what others have not heard is that of all of
the Temples whose guardians fell prey to the disease,
ours alone were snatched from the brink of death. This
happened, we must believe, because the righteousness
of our hegemony over the beings on our planet is
manifest. Thus we were granted a miraculous gift and
blessed with the alien doctor who healed our guardians
as a sign attesting to that righteousness."
   "I heard all the guardians had died," someone
shouted.
   "Three days ago, it seemed that would be true, but
now the acolytes and handmaidens will show you that
through divine grace, four of our guardians have been
restored to health." At his signal Miw-Sher and her
fellow cat attendants brought forth Grimla, Pash, Haji,

                                                       229
and Sher-Paw, all sleek of fur, bright of eye, and pink of
nose and pads. "Of course, this miracle, this blessing of
the gods was made manifest when my Federation
contacts put me in touch with the Linyaari ambassador,
Lady Acorna Harakamian-Li, whose advanced medical
knowledge was able to save these last precious four
guardians."
  Acorna, as she understood what Kando was claiming,
grew furious. Her gift of healing to the Temple cats was
being perverted into a cause for war, and into something
for which Kando could claim credit. She could read him
as easily as if he were made of glass. He had
downplayed her role in the Temple cats' recovery, being
shrewd enough to realize she wanted it that way, but
he'd used her actions to justify his own schemes. If he
was not very specific about the nature of the help the
cats received, he might even get the credit for curing
them.
  The people listening were pleased about the cats, she
could read that, but they remained mistrustful of Kando.
They quite rightly feared that they were being
manipulated into something.
  Acorna was thoroughly disgusted.
  It took only a light touch to Nadhari's mind to read
that she was no more thrilled with her cousin's speech
than Acorna was.
  Acorna decided Kando had enjoyed playing both ends
against the middle for too long. He cared nothing for the

                                                       230
welfare of the cats and the domestic beasts, or of the
people, for that matter, or he would never have loosed
the plague among them.
   Acorna stepped forward, taking advantage of his
slight introduction to bow graciously to the crowd, who
cheered, and then to Kando, who started to say
something, before she beat him to it. "Thank you,
Mulzar. I am, as you say, a healer, and in spite of being
an ambassador, I am not always as diplomatic as I
should be. Please forgive me that I find this talk of war
and conquest under the circumstances shocking. As I
mentioned to you earlier, my people do not believe in
war. However, that is neither here nor there. The real
point here is that this disease is spreading, is killing the
guardians, creatures that all of the people of this planet
hold sacred. Should not the emphasis be placed upon
curing as many as possible, rather than going into a war
that may--no, will--spread death, injury, and disease to
even more two- and four-legged beings? As I look upon
you, my physician's heart knows that you are weary and
sick of sickness, bereft at the loss of the beloved
guardians whose protective presence has always been
one of your greatest securities, and impoverished and
starving due to the loss of your beasts. And these
feelings are shared by all the other peoples of this
planet."
   "All the more reason for conquest!" one of the priest
guards shouted at her.

                                                        231
   "But what will you be conquering? Dead and dying
people with dead and dying beasts, who have no food
you can use and no guardians to bring back with you.
What is the point in that? I would like to propose to you,
Mulzar ..." she said, returning her attention to Kando,
whose face probably looked bland from below the
balcony but whose eyes showed that he was not at all
amused or moved by her speech. She had not expected
that he would be. She continued, "...is that I go among
those who are normally your, um, co-belligerents and
offer them the use of my skill as a physician to cure as
many of their Temple cats and other beasts as I can. In
this way I might at least ascertain how many of the
Temple guardians have survived in various areas. If I
come upon a Temple that has many, I shall ask for
kittens in payment for my services and shall bring them
to the Temples that have lost the most. Certainly this one
falls into that--oh dear, this seems to be a pun in your
language, too -- category."
   The Mulzar smiled suddenly. "You would spy for us?
Truly, you are a thoughtful guest to offer to inform us
who has the most of what we seek."
   Acorna felt her face grow so hot she thought her horn
must be glowing with her anger, but she kept her words
and tone calm and sweet. "Oh, no, Mulzar! You mistake
my meaning. If your opponents are honorable people,
there will be no need for you to attack them. Some will
have so few cats it would not be worth your own losses

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to attack them. And as for those who have escaped the
epidemic with less damage, if I cure those who are ill,
the priests should grant me the boon of bringing some of
their kittens to the less fortunate Temples. There is no
need for me to prevaricate, much less to spy. I seek only
to bring aid to your whole planet during this tragic
time."
   Nadhari sent her an urgent mental warning: (He's
seething. Don't turn your back on him, Acorna.)
   Kando said smoothly, "It is delightful to see such
idealism in someone of your station, Ambassador. But
you are young, tenderhearted, and by your own
admission, from a people who do not wage war. You
cannot possibly understand the complications your
proposed actions would cause among our planet's
people. I'm quite sure the Federation would never
permit you to pursue your proposed course of action."
   "I'm sure if you intervened, sir, your contacts there
would smooth my path -- I imagine that your friend
Lieutenant Colonel Macostut would do his best to find a
way to accommodate us."
   Nadhari's face was twitching as if she had some sort
of nervous disorder, as she sternly suppressed laughter
at her cousin's discomfiture.
   The Mulzar raised his arms again to make it clear that
Acorna's interruption was not going to end his speech
before he was ready to end it.
   "People of Hissim, while I join you in rejoicing at the

                                                       233
survival of our guardians, it seems to me we are being
tested. The gods have sent us these tribulations and this
lady to determine if we have absolute trust, loyally, and
obedience to them, even as you must do to me. They
have taken from us first that which we value most --
our beloved guardians. And then we were given a
choice in the form of the Ambassador Acorna's ability to
heal our surviving sacred ones. I have had an epiphany,
a revelation."
   Silence fell over the crowd. Acorna got the collective
thought that they hoped the revelation would not be too
bad this time.
   "Clearly the gods have been merciful to us, but now it
is our duty to show ourselves worthy and return to them
something of that which they have spared us."
   Acorna caught his thought early in the sentence. So
this was how he was going to reconcile his real motives
with his public sentiments! She sent a mental push to
Miw-Sher. "Take Grimla and run! He's going to demand
a cat sacrifice!"
   However, before the thought was out of her mind,
another of the Condor's crew dropped down from the
nose of the Temple onto the mouth, uttering a loud yowl
that seemed to Acorna to translate as "Scatter, brothers
and sisters! Run for your lives! This infidel wants to
waste you!"
   Although there were only five Makahomian Temple
cats present, counting RK, for a split-and-spitting-second

                                                       234
the air seemed filled with pinwheeling paws, lashing
tails, and slashing claws... particularly claws. Cats flew
everywhere, leaping, bouncing, pouncing, and laying
down tracks of flayed flesh wherever those lethal claws
happened to touch.
   Then, just as suddenly, there were no more cats.
Anywhere.

  However, this observation was made only by those
who were still there. Acorna, Nadhari, and Miw-Sher
were not.
  Kando had been so caught up in the results of his own
theatrics that he could do nothing but stand
openmouthed for a moment, using a loose fold of his
robe to stanch the flow of blood from a wound on his
shoulder. The keepers of the cats, with the exception of
Miw-Sher, were still present, looking around to see what
had hit them. But the only remaining sign of the cats was
a few stray hairs floating to the flagstones below on
eddies of hot wind.
  People were murmuring, exclaiming, even--though it
was instantly squelched--laughing.
  One of the priests whispered something to Kando and
he resumed his speech. "As you can see, People of
Hissim, the cats live, but their spirits are in disarray
because they were not intended to remain among us. I am
sure the ambassador just realized that, which is why she
disappeared. And all of you saw for yourselves the

                                                       235
foreign cat that attacked me, no doubt a direct challenge
from our enemies. The ambassador may do her best
among our enemies, but we will prepare for war."
   To the priest beside him he said, "In two days' time,
when our cats have had the chance to regain their senses
and have resumed their feeding stations and nests, at the
second setting our precious four will travel to the gods
in person to deliver our thanks."

   The wagons were loaded and ready outside the
Temple. The priest driving the first of the wagons was
totally taken by surprise when the rampaging RK led the
four Temple cats skittering over the Temple walls and
leaping onto the wagon beds. Close behind them were
Acorna, Nadhari, and Miw-Sher.
   Captain MacDonald was at the reins in the second
wagon, Red Wat in the third, Sandy Wat in the fourth. In
the first was the priest who was apparently to be their
guide. Nadhari shoved him off the wagon and took the
reins herself. Acorna and Miw-Sher sat beside her,
yelling "Hyah! Hyah!" to the team, which broke into a
respectable run. Acorna sent a mental message to
Captain MacDonald: (Follow us! Quickly! We will
explain later!)
   He sent a startled reaction back. He'd been prepared
for a peaceful mission to aid civilians, not a fast getaway
from government forces. He switched mental gears
quickly, nevertheless, clicked his tongue at his team, and

                                                       236
fell in behind them. The Wats apparently relished all the
excitement. They whipped their poor beasts into a lather
and almost wrecked their wagons as they rattled over
the rutted streets at high speed.
   The city gates were open and their wagons arrived
faster than any messengers telling the gatekeepers to
close them. Instead of stopping to assist the local farmers
engaged in slaughtering their beasts, as MacDonald had
intended before this mad flight, they kept driving as far
and as fast away from Hissim as they could.
   "The Mulzar will send fast riders after us," Miw-Sher
said. Acorna felt the girl trembling beside her.
   "I don't think so," Acorna said. "I think he will use our
departure to his own advantage and tell the people what
he wishes. And possibly try to place the blame for
everything on RK and me.
   "Of course he will," Nadhari said. "And Jonas and
Captain MacDonald as well. Since the people of Hissim
only know what Edu chooses to tell them about the
outside world, they will be persuaded easily enough
that we are all evil. He will tell people that we must be
guilty of something; otherwise, why would we have
run?"
   Acorna told her, "Maybe it would have been better
timing to wait until he'd tipped his hand about killing
the Temple cats. Then people would have understood
that we were saving the cats. But if we'd waited for him
to announce it, we couldn't have saved them at all. The

                                                        237
guards would have had the poor things in hand, and
there would have been nothing we could do."
  "We did what we had to do," Nadhari said,
negotiating a bend in the road that led past a small
group of hovels. Ahead was open desert.
  But as they passed the last low building a figure flung
himself into the road just in front of them. Nadhari
pulled back on the reins so hard that the harnessed
beasts reared in their traces. Miw-Sher jumped down
and ran toward the man. "Uncle! You're safe!"
  "For now. Do you suppose I could hitch a ride?"
  Scar MacDonald stopped his wagon, tied off his reins,
and strode forward, his face full of thunderclouds. "That
was a damn fool stunt, Commander Nadhari. You could
have made us crash every wagon in this convoy into
matchsticks and killed the beasts pulling us, as well as
those under our protection, and then where would we
be? Our speedy exit, whatever the reason for it, wouldn't
have done anybody any good." He peered around the
wagon and saw Tagoth hurrying toward him. "And who
the devil is this, anyway? And what in tarnation were
you doing in the road, sir? Hey--wait a minute."
  Tagoth didn't have his hat on now. MacDonald
snapped his fingers. "Brother Bulaybub? I never forget a
face. But you didn't have one the last time I saw you.
What's going on here?"

  The first thing the Mulzar did after his speech was

                                                      238
have the guardians' handlers taken into custody for
questioning. The woman, Nekbet, was the first to break.
"Please don't sacrifice our guardians, Mulzar. It was that
foreign cat who caused the trouble, the ambassador's
cat."
   "She has a Temple cat? Why was I not told of this
before?"
   "She said he was merely their ship's cat, Mulzar, and
after what she did for our guardians, we thought..."
   "You didn't think! That cat was of our strain, you can
tell by looking at it. You can even see from examining
the claw marks on my arm. The ambassador is a spy. I
knew it! Pretending to heal the guardians, she has
subverted them. I must notify Lieutenant Commander
Macostut of this at once and have the woman's friends
taken into custody. She abducted an acolyte, as well, and
the four guardians and my cousin, brought a contraband
cat among us, and hijacked the wagons we graciously
lent her friend to help our poor people."
   The surgeon, who was in charge of the persuasive
methods by which the captive handlers were forced to
answer the Mulzar's questions asked, "Should we send a
party after them now, Mulzar?"
   Edu waved a dismissive hand. Actually, Acorna and
Nadhari had done him a large favor with their rash
actions. He now had a good excuse to wage the ultimate
war he wanted, and locate the Aridini Stronghold. And
if it was discovered later that he had violated the taboo

                                                       239
against Federation technology to do so, he would
explain that of course he had to retrieve the Temple cats
from the clutches of the foreigners. Bring them back into
his own clutches. Yes, indeed. "We have better things to
do," he said. "We will launch a holy war on our enemies.
No doubt we will sweep up the wagons and their
treasonous occupants when we do so. Ready our
armies."
   "The sacrifice, Mulzar?"
   "Since we cannot sacrifice the guardians, we will
sacrifice the handlers who were so careless as to let them
escape."
   "Mulzar!" The surgeon was aghast. Only the day
before the Mulzar had implied that a pretense of
harming the guardians would flush out a cult. Now it
seemed the Mulzar had actually intended to sacrifice the
cats.
   Hearing the threat of mutiny in the surgeon's voice,
Kando realized his mistake. He winked at the doctor
conspiratorially and saw the man relax. "Yes, I think
they will strengthen the walls of the Temple with their
sacrifice. Wall them up with that other old fool. That
should draw out the conspirators, eh?"

  The pulling beasts were exhausted from their mad
dash from the city, and all the living beings in their little
convoy were thirsty. No water had been packed in the
provisions MacDonald brought with him. He'd planned

                                                         240
to load up on water outside the city at the livestock
yards.
   More important, Acorna thought, as she saw RK and
the guardians nosing and pawing among the load,
nothing a cat could eat had been packed in the wagon's
cargo, either.
   While Tagoth and Nadhari were sparring, and Scar
MacDonald, whose questions were not being answered,
contented himself with checking on and adjusting his
Metleiter boxes to ride more securely in the wagon, RK
hopped onto the buckboard where Acorna still sat. He
walked onto her knees, looked into her face, and opened
his mouth in a yowl that was silent to everyone except
Acorna and the other cats.
   (I want to go home nyowwww,) he said. (I want to go
back to the Condor. These silly things we're riding on
will never get us anywhere in time to save anybody.)
   (RK, you know very well we can't just make Becker
take off into space and land where we need him to.
There are rules about bringing spacefaring technology
out of the Federation port.)
   RK yawned. (Rules? You're boring me. There're rules
against poisoning cats here, too --yes, I know. I read
you very well, at least as well as you read that
murdering mule-whatever-he-calls-himself. Besides, you
personally won't be breaking the rule. Tell Becker I want
to come home. He will come and get me, and he doesn't
care about rules any more than I do.)

                                                      241
   (Hmmm,) Acorna thought. And as he punctuated his
argument with his claws she added: (Ouch! Yes, you
have a point. Nevertheless, that is a very obnoxious
habit you've developed. That hurts, you know.)
   (Tell him and stop whining, Linyaari girl! You are self-
sealing.)
   Grimla walked out from under Miw-Sher's strokes
and nudged RK aside to give Acorna a smile with her
delicately curved mouth. She was purring and suddenly
she stood on her hind paws, front paws curled daintily
close to her own chest, and rubbed her face against
Acorna's jaw.
   Pash, Haji, and Sher-Paw strolled over to see what
was happening and add a few comments of their own.
   Acorna laughed, scratched RK's and Grimla's ears in
surrender, and transmitted as narrowly as she could,
(Captain Becker, your first mate wants to come home
and the rest of us could use help.)
   (I read you, Princess, loud and clear, and the damned
cat, too. On my way.)

  (On my way.) Becker transmitted the thought to
Acorna, and as he did, saw that he was not the only one
heading toward his friends. At the Federation gate, a
delegation of the four warrior-priests from the Temple
were joined by four Federation troops.
  There was a hail on the com unit. "Uh, get that, Mac,
would you?" Becker asked. "And stall for all you're

                                                       242
worth."
   "Stall? But, Captain, we have landed and are docked.
Why should I stall, and how can I do so?"
   "Keep whoever is calling, and I can practically
guarantee that it will be Macostut, from stating his
business and demanding to see me. Do not let on that
you know where I am."
   "And where will that be, Captain?"
   "I'm going to help Acorna. She just--uh -- hailed me
on a private channel."
   "So you will be trying out the flitter I readied for such
an eventuality? It is an excellent flitter, of Linyaari
design. I added to it several modifications usually found
only on larger Linyaari crafts, such as the excellent
Linyaari shielding device. I would be happy to point
them out to you. Wouldn't you like me to accompany
you?"
   "Nope. You're going to have to hold the fort here. In
fact your job's going to be much nastier than mine. Get
that? Stall. Keep them off my ship." Becker ducked out
of sight.
   "Yes, sir. Stalling, sir." Mac answered the com call.
"This is Special Technician MacKenZ of the Salvage ship
Condor speaking. Please identify yourself."
   A stern face appeared on the com screen. "This is
Lieutenant Commander Dsu Macostut. I must speak
with Captain Jonas Becker immediately."
   "I apologize, Lieutenant Commander Dsu Macostut,

                                                        243
but Captain Becker is indisposed at the moment."
   "Indisposed how?"
   "Oh, it is a highly interesting process, sir. You see,
when Captain Becker takes on fuel to maintain adequate
personal function and energy levels, not all of the fuel is
acceptable to his operating system. Therefore, it is
necessary that this excess fuel be ejected at some point..."
   Becker grinned into his mustache as he heard Mac's
explanation of Becker's digestive and excretory
processes, while Macostut stuttered and attempted to
break in to notify Becker of the arrest that was about to
take place, if the look of the men marching on the Condor
was any indication. Acorna's message of trouble plus all
those marching men meant Becker's butt was going to be
in a sling if he didn't get it out of there. But what was
Acorna planning? How had she got the high mucky-
mucks so riled up in such a short time? The last time
Becker had checked in with his friends, everything had
been just fine. Peachy keen, even. If they were in hot
water now, the Federation had the authority to keep the
Condor from leaving this benighted planet if necessary. If
Becker brought Acorna and RK and presumably
Nadhari back to the ship, they would be in even more
trouble than they already were in, wouldn't they?
   Then, as he was slipping into the flitter and opening
the hull hatch to fly her out, he received another
message from Acorna.
   "Captain, RK wanted me to remind you to bring lots of

                                                        244
cat food."

   Edu Kando stood beside Macostut as their combined
troops closed on the Condor.
   "I'm sorry about this, Edu," Macostut said. "We would
never have let them come near Hissim except that your
cousin was with them."
   "It doesn't matter," Kando replied. "And it is right that
Nadhari is here now. She will come around once she
sees the breadth of my vision. Our vision. She lives in
the modern universe by preference, after all. You have
the chemicals?"
   "Oh, yes. But you're on your own as far as getting
them to this lake you told me about. If I flew you out
there, it would blow my cover and I'd be replaced before
our operation got off the ground."
   They watched their troops approach the strange
patchworked ship. Macostut's last sentence trailed away
as a flap of the Condor's skin opened and something
large and white with curlicues of color and swags of gilt
bunting decorating its wings flew away, out over the
wall protecting the port, high above the city and out
toward the desert.
   "What is that?" Kando demanded, pointing.
   "It appears to be a flying horse," Macostut said,
shaking his head in disbelief. "How did my people miss
that during the inspection?" To his ground troops he
said, "Lock that ship down, men, along with any

                                                        245
remaining personnel."
  But moments later they reported back, as they came
out of the Condor. "We are sorry, sir. Whatever personnel
were aboard seem to have evacuated on the flying horse
thing."
  The Makahomian troops wore thoughtful and
awestruck expressions as they watched the sky.
  Aboard the Condor, white hands burst from the soil in
the hydroponics garden and Mac sat up, brushed the
dirt and plants from his uniform, considerately
replanted Acorna's crops, and returned to the bridge to
see what he could do about breaking the just-installed
locks on the new computer system without alerting any
possible Federation monitors. It would be tricky, but so
was he.




                                                      246
                          Fifteen

   Do you still think this is merely political,
Ambassador?" Tagoth asked Acorna.
   Acorna shook her head. "No. I looked into the
Mulzar's mind. Edu Kando started the plague himself on
purpose."
   "That's terrible. Why would he do a dumb thing like
that?" MacDonald asked.
   Acorna said, "The Mulzar seems to want all the things
he considers modern and technologically advanced. I
think he feels that if he destroys his planet's agrarian
economy and undermines the people's religion by
killing the sacred cats at the same time, he will force the
people of this world into accepting a different way of life
for Makahomia. A more galactic way of doing things. He
also hopes to force the Federation to aid Makahomia by
driving the planet into such a terrible condition that the
Federation will have to help. By giving the people,
through him, the things he thinks will help accomplish
his own goals, the Mulzar hopes to set himself up as
both leader and savior of this world. He even expects
that all its people will be grateful to him." She brushed
the dust off of her face and clothing as she thought, then
said, "But I didn't get the sense from the crowd at the
temple that he's really in touch with how the people feel.

                                                       247
They care about their families, their animals, and the
sacred cats. What they don't much care for is the
Mulzar."
   "Then he'll want to kill us as well as our Temple cats,
so no one can stand against him," Miw-Sher said,
looking up at her uncle. "Every priest on this planet is in
danger."
   Tagoth nodded.
   Nadhari jumped down from the wagon and stamped
a bit to stimulate the circulation to her feet, which had
fallen asleep after being braced during the long, bumpy,
and--by Makahomian standards--lightning-fast drive
from Hissim. She said, "I have to go back to town. I can't
let Edu keep lying to the people."
   "What will you do?" Acorna asked.
   Nadhari shrugged. "Start a little coup all my own, I
suppose. I've done that sort of thing before. And these
are my own people. It shouldn't be that difficult."
   Miw-Sher asked, "We've come a long way. It will be
full night before you can reach the city. How well do
you see in the dark?"
   "Better with an infrared scope on a high-powered
laser," Nadhari replied. "Otherwise, about average."
   "That is something worth knowing. You and the High
Priest share ancestry. If you don't have the gift of night
sight, then he probably lacks it as well. The ability runs
strongly through family lines. I see as well in darkness
as any guardian."

                                                       248
   "Nice for you, but I don't see what good it does me. I
should have known Edu would try something like this.
When he was young, he liked pulling the wings off
insects. When he was a bit older, he tormented
songbirds, then hawks, that sort of thing. The priests
were appalled by the waste of life, but my uncle said
Edu was just practicing his warrior skills. I don't think
Edu has changed much. He's just more ambitious."
   "That's interesting," Miw-Sher said, "for I regret to
inform you, Lady Nadhari, that the most recent thing
that the High Priest publicly pulled off was the arms and
legs of your uncle. When the old Mulim objected, the
Mulzar had him walled up."
   "His was the voice I heard when I took the passage
you showed me?" Acorna asked.
   Miw-Sher nodded. "A little food is passed through a
slot in the wall for him -- I know, because feeding the
Mulim has been among my daily duties, and I often take
Grimla to spend a few moments with him. There are
ventilation holes on the top of the tail-wall. There were
once several anchorites like the old Mulim, but they've
died to this world."
   "I see," Acorna said.
   Tagoth and Nadhari were now standing very close to
each other. "Be careful, Nadhari," Tagoth told her. "I
hope I don't have to tell you how dangerous Edu can be.
I would go with you to help you, but my duty lies
elsewhere. I must warn the Aridimi priesthood and help

                                                      249
them to defend the sacred lake. My path lies deep into
the desert, at the Aridimi Stronghold."
   "I've always known Edu was a sociopath," Nadhari
said. "I had good reason to find out quite early in life."
   "I know." Tagoth's voice dropped almost to a whisper.
   "But I am not a child any longer." Nadhari's own voice
hardened with anger. "Edu is not the only one who is
dangerous."
   Their conversation stopped suddenly as an amazing
apparatus appeared overhead. Acorna recognized it at
once as the flitter the Linyaari techno-artisans had been
modifying with their distinctive artwork before the
Khleevi attack. It was in the shape of a flying Ancestor
with wings decorated in gilt, embellished with all of the
colors worn in Ancestral livery and tack. Becker and
Mac had salvaged it. Now it swooped down, Becker at
the helm, to settle onto the sand, its wings still upraised.
RK hopped down from the wagon and strolled over to
the flitter, where Becker stretched out his hands to
receive the first mate's paws as RK sprang from the
ground onto Becker's shoulders.
   "Hey, he's glad to see me. Tired of being worshipped,
are you, old man?"
   RK closed his eyes and purred. Miw-Sher carried
Grimla, while Pash and Haji leaped from the wagon to
the hull of the flitter. Sher-Paw alone approached more
slowly, sniffing around and curling his lip.
   Acorna said, "I can see that your hands are full. I can

                                                        250
take the helm, Captain."
   "Well, uh, I had to leave in kind of a hurry, Princess.
Seems we've worn out our welcome back in Hissim.
There's half an army sitting there, waiting for our return.
I'm not quite sure where we ought to go from here. And
on top of that, there's only room for three of us with all
this cargo I've got stuffed in here."
   "Tagoth and Nadhari won't be coming with us. They
have other plans," Acorna told him. "Miw-Sher and the
cats should come with us, I think. There is room for the
cats, isn't there?"
   He felt a lightness on his shoulders and looked
around. All four of the Temple cats and RK were up to
their hind legs in the open bag of cat food he'd brought
with him.
   "Yeah. Looks like it," Becker said.
   "Guess that leaves me with the Vikings to hoof it,"
MacDonald said.
   But as Acorna climbed into the cockpit of the flitter,
the sound of an approaching mounted force thundered
from beyond the dunes. A dozen riders galloped up on
the ancestor-like beasts and slid to a stop, raising a cloud
of dust as they surrounded the wagons.
   "Raiders?" Acorna asked Tagoth and Nadhari.
   "Not necessarily," Tagoth said. He put himself
between the newcomers and the flitter and wagons, and
said a few words to the riders in an unfamiliar dialect.
   Then he turned back to MacDonald. "These are the

                                                        251
heads of families from the steppes beyond the Mog-Gim
Plateau. They have heard from their relatives in the city
that you have magic boxes that grow food, and that you
can heal sick beasts. They want the boxes and the
healing."
   MacDonald smiled amiably at them and said, "That's
what we're here for. This wagon right here is all yours,
boys. Haul 'er away. As for the healing, I have a few
tricks up my sleeve, but I haven't tried 'em yet, so we'll
just have to see how much good I can do you on that
score."
   Acorna examined the sweating, straining beasts the
men were riding. She could see the signs of the plague in
them. Some of these animals would not make it back
where they came from again if she and her friends did
not intercede. She beckoned to MacDonald and picked
up Pash, carrying him with her. He purred like a buzz
saw in her arms.
   "Tagoth, please tell these gentlemen that Captain
MacDonald and I will attempt to treat these sick beasts
with the help of this sacred guardian cat," Acorna said.
   Tagoth declared their intention in priestly intonations
worthy of the Mulzar at his most pompous.
   "Okay, Ambassador, honey, what do we do now?"
MacDonald whispered. "I can't cure these critters on the
spot, you know."
   "With the help of the sacred cat, I can."
   "If the sacred cat is so darned important, how come

                                                       252
they needed you to cure them?"
  "Oh, it's a healer's thing. Most of the time a healer
cannot heal him or herself."
  "Okay, I guess I'll buy that."
  "You take that side of the beast and look clinical and
busy. We'll take this other side, and I'll help Pash heal."
  "Gotcha." And aloud he said, "Lay on them healin'
paws, O holy cat!"
  Pash looked inquiringly at Acorna. She held Pash up
to the beast and leaned in with the cat so that her horn
touched the beast's hide as she pretended to listen to
Pash meow the results of this examination.
  The three of them repeated this operation with each of
the sick beasts until Mac Donald declared them cured,
dusting his hands to emphasize that the task was done.
  "We have many more beasts that need curing,
including our own sacred cats," the man said. "And we
want your food boxes."
  "Okay," MacDonald said agreeably, then turned to
Acorna, "Whatcha think, Ambassador? How do we
work this?"
  "You and the Wats drive a wagon behind the riders. If
they will be so kind as to have one of their number lead
us to their Temple, I will supervise the curing of their
cats there while you demonstrate the use of the food
boxes and examine their other beasts out in their fields.
Then I will try to visit the rainforest Temple and heal
their cats, and come back to see what I can do for the

                                                       253
other beasts."
   "Acorna," Becker protested, "you're gonna wear
yourself out that way."
   "Perhaps," she said, raising and lifting a shoulder in a
shrug. "But this is an emergency. We have a planet and a
species to save. What else can we do? Lead the way,
Captain MacDonald. We'll be right along."
   She looked around for Tagoth and Nadhari, but they
both had somehow melted into the desert without
anyone seeing them leave.
   She silently wished them well on their separate
missions.
   As MacDonald jiggled his reins and clicked his tongue
at the beasts pulling the first wagon in their little
convoy, he was followed by the wagons driven by
Sandy Wat and Red Wat. Just as they disappeared off in
the distance, another party of people arrived, this time a
group of mixed sexes and on foot.
   The stout woman who seemed to be their leader said
to Acorna, "I watched you on the balcony with the
Mulzar. So, are you going to help us or not?" She gave a
nod toward the last wagonload of boxes, the one that
Nadhari had driven, which was now driverless, its beast
of burden seemingly pleased to be standing still instead
of moving.
   "I am afraid we can't remain here to help you right
now," Acorna said. "As I'm sure you know, the Mulzar
wants to imprison us and kill the sacred cats, and we

                                                       254
must save "ourselves and them. But we can give you all
the tools you need to help yourself. They are in that
wagon, if you would like to have them."
   "Well, then, we'll take them with us. This thing can
only slow you down and you cannot take it when you
fly through the air, can you? When the Mulzar leaves to
fight his battles, you and the spaceman come back and
help us to use these. Fighting's all very well for the
warriors who'll be able to live off our land, but with our
beasts all gone and the drought and all, we farmers have
no other options. We will starve."
   "Not if you use those boxes. We will seek other
answers for you as well. We are going abroad to other
lands to see how they have dealt with the sickness."
   "You do that. And keep our sacred cats safe, will you?
Bring them back with those kittens you promised our
people."
   The woman's face and voice were determined, but she
winked at Acorna--or maybe it was Becker, since she
wore a rather saucy expression as she flounced up onto
the buckboard and clucked at the beasts, turned them,
and waited while the rest of her party climbed aboard
with the boxes before driving off again.
   It seemed that the Mulzar's people had made their
minds up after his balcony performance. And Acorna
thought again that Edu Kando was in for a surprise
when he learned who they believed and which side they
were on.

                                                       255
   "Well, I can see you've been busy," Becker said. "We'd
better fly before anybody else shows up looking for help
or a buddy to help start the revolution."
   Acorna nodded and they ascended in the flitter,
accelerating until they saw the dust from the various
riders and the wagons. Flying past the riders close
enough above them to be seen and yet not so close as to
frighten the beasts, Acorna tipped the wings of the
flitter. One rider broke off from the others and rode hard
to the south, waving at her to follow. Acorna allowed
the man to get ahead of them, then swooped after him.
   Soon they were no longer in the desert, but were
sailing over broad foothills and plains, crisscrossed with
rivers and streams-- the landscape of the steppes she
recalled from Nadhari's mental images. They saw the
Temple long before their guide reached it. It sat in the
middle of a green river delta. The cat whose shape this
temple bore was long and hunkered down to drink--its
tongue was a drawbridge, now lowered, and its tail a
wall to a moat. Guardian priests stood behind its ears.
   Surrounding it on the green were herds of beasts, and
from the air a mile away Acorna could smell their
sickness.
   Acorna said, "We should stop and help them."
   RK replied, (Cats first. Those are just ordinary food
animals. What good are they compared with the lives of
Grimla's and the guys' fellow holy cats?)
   (You have no objection to eating those animals you

                                                       256
disdain so much,) Acorna told the cat rather sharply.
  To her surprise, RK actually considered for a moment,
then said, (Hmmm, right you are. Still, cats first, then the
food beasts.)
  (If there are any cats still living at this Temple,)
Acorna said, her voice tight at the grim thought that
they might have died while she dallied in Hissim.
  (Oh, most of them are still alive. I can hear that. But
they are very sick and already have lost two of their
number,) RK told her.
  And suddenly Acorna heard them too. Thin, plaintive
yowls, sick strangled coughing, and the kittens--the
poor little things were as quiet and limp as damp rags.
Becker said, "You and the kid and the cats go do your
thing, Princess. I'll guard the flitter and lift off in case
anyone tries to hijack it."
  Acorna said, "I don't suppose anyone here would
know how to fly it anyway."
  "You never know," Becker replied.




                                                        257
                         Sixteen

   Miw-Sher scrambled out of the flitter before Acorna,
and spoke to the crowd in her own language. Acorna
was too overwhelmed with the mental pleas of the sick
cats to pay much attention to her friend's words. In the
courtyard, people began to gather. Most of them carried
cats in their arms, all of whom were limp and listless
looking. Many, many more cats had survived here than
in Hissim. Miw-Sher spoke to the people quickly and
urgently while the Hissim Temple cats leaped down
after her and prowled among the legs of the gathering
crowd.
   When Acorna climbed from the flitter, a hush fell over
the assembly. For a moment she stared down at the tops
of bald heads, dark heads, red heads, all clothed in robes
of rough scarlet cloth. In the evening sky the scarlet suns
drooped one after the other, and through the mist rising
from the river's surface, a pair of moons began to rise,
each seeming to have a slice cut from its right side.
   Acorna stepped out among them and looked at Miw-
Sher. "What did you tell them?"
   "I said that you are the one prophesied to save us, and
that you could heal our sacred ones. I told them the
healthy Temple cats who came with us were proof of
your powers, but they didn't need proof. Many

                                                       258
recognized you."
   "Recognized me? But I've never been here before,"
Acorna said. She didn't wait for them to explain,
however, but reached for the first sick cat. She clucked to
RK to jump up on her shoulder. (You're my cover. Look
useful. Like some kind of cat miracle worker. I don't
want them to know how I do this.)
   (Happy to oblige, but I don't think they care.)
   Acorna saw that he was right. The first person she
approached knelt and held up the patient, a black-and-
white-spotted cat with a black nose and pads. The cat
was too limp to raise his head, but RK perched on
Acorna's shoulder and licked the sick cat's ear. Acorna
carefully knelt, so as not to dislodge RK, and laid her
face in the stricken cat's damp fur so that her horn ran
along his spine.
   And the cat, still held in the upraised hands of its
human friend, bloomed out of his withered state,
stretched all four paws out into the air, gave RK a
baleful look for taking such liberties, rolled off the hands
that had held it, and strolled away, presumably in the
direction of a food dish. Which reminded Acorna of how
the cat had probably come to be ill. "Miw-Sher, would
you catch that last patient, please? Thank you. Captain
Becker, if you would be so kind as to bring some of our
cat food cargo down here to share among the
convalescents, we can tell these folks about the tainted
food after we revive their guardians."

                                                        259
   By that time she had moved along to the next cat. But
before she healed it, she called again to Miw-Sher, who
was poking the black nose of the black-and-white cat
into the food bag Becker lowered to the ground. "Miw-
Sher, would you please sort the patients for me? Kittens
and mothers should be treated first, in order of the
sickest to the least affected, followed by the rest of the
adults in the same order. There are so many I'm afraid
we may lose some before I finish."
   Miw-Sher hurried to comply, reorganizing the
handlers and cats while Acorna and RK made contact
with the next patient.
   This ailing party was an especially large creature with
tawny spots on a black coat and tufted ears. Her coat
was smooth and she was still strongly muscled beneath
it. Acorna thought that this one had not been ill very
long. It took only the slightest touch before the big feline
raised her head and gave a lick to RK's nose and
Acorna's hand. Then she adroitly flipped herself out of
the grip of her handler and prowled over to investigate
the food bag Becker had dragged into the Temple yard.
   Before tending the next patient, Acorna called,
"Captain, I don't think we need to guard the food bag or
the flitter here. You might check with one of the priests
and see if relief packages containing food have recently
arrived from Hissim. If so, reseal the package and keep it
safe until Captain MacDonald can arrive to analyze it."
   Becker gave her a small salute and hurried off.

                                                        260
   A priestess held out a mother cat, nearly dead, and a
basket of tiny feeble kittens, blind, all but bald, and
smaller than most of the mice Acorna had seen on
Kezdet.
   As RK extended his neck to lick, there was a sudden
hiss and RK sprang away. Instantly he was replaced by
Grimla, now all purrs and maternal concern. Or
perhaps, considering her age, grand-maternal concern.
After Acorna touched each patient with her horn,
Grimla groomed them. First she groomed a kitten, then
licked the mother, then groomed another kitten, until all
were as normal as a new mother and very small babies
could be.
   RK strolled unconcernedly over to the food bag,
pausing to lick his fur back into place. (She only had to
say she wanted to help. No need to get huffy.)
   Acorna felt his surprise as Miw-Sher knelt down to
pet him, scratch his ears and whiskers, and tell him,
"Grimla meant you no disrespect, noble ship's cat. But
she feels a strong responsibility for rearing our young
and believes that it is too delicate a job to leave to the
uncertain affections of a tom."
   RK looked up at her and gave an aggrieved "meow"
and headbutted her leg.
   Three more litters of kittens and mothers, and then a
basket of kittens without a mother. "Where is she?"
Acorna asked.
   A youth of about fourteen with a shaved head, and

                                                       261
bright, watery brown eyes answered in a carefully
controlled voice.
   "Died in delivery," Miw-Sher answered, translating
the unfamiliar dialect for Acorna. "Before the others took
sick. The mother was his special charge."
   "But then these little ones cannot have eaten the
tainted food," Acorna said.
   "No, Lady. They are simply too small to do without a
mother, and very hungry."
   Grimla dismounted from Acorna's shoulder and
meowed from the ground, looking up at Acorna, at the
basket, and at the boy holding it, then meowing again.
   "She wants to adopt them," Miw-Sher interpreted
again. And to the boy she said, "Set down the basket. My
guardian lady Grimla will feed them."
   (She's too old,) RK said. (That old queen hasn't seen a
decent heat in years.)
   (Don't be such a sore loser,) Acorna told him. And this
time she knelt to pet Grimla, touching her horn to the
old cat's underside. The withered teats plumped up
almost at once and Grimla, purring, accepted the
orphaned kittens as Miw-Sher and the boy tenderly
placed them one at a time to feed.
   Many cats later, Acorna felt as though she were
swimming through mud. She was so tired and so
drained, she felt she could barely move.
   She lowered her head to touch a particularly sick
tabby and her knees buckled. Becker was at her side

                                                       262
immediately, his arm shoring her up as she fought her
way back to wakefulness. When her eyes focused again
she was surprised to see that the suns were once more
high in the sky, the moons long since set.
   "Hey there, Princess," Becker said. "You're getting a
little see-throughish in the old horn area. They still had a
lot of kitties here, huh? And now they'll keep them,
thanks to you."
   "Just ... a few more," she said.
   But Miw-Sher was kneeling beside her, saying, "No,
Lady. That is all. They are all well. The food bag is
empty, however. Pash, Sher-Paw, and Haji are not
happy. And Grimla will need to eat soon to replenish
her milk."
   "Then bring me the tainted food," Acorna whispered
hoarsely to Becker. Her neck ached from lowering it to
touch the fur of the cats.
   "You can't detoxify that," Becker whispered back. "You
haven't got enough left in you. You need to eat
something yourself and get some rest before you do
anybody else."
   They had been speaking so urgently, with their heads
close together, that when one of the priests tapped
Becker on the shoulder he drew back on the man before
he saw that the priest was pointing to the flitter. Its com
unit was sending a signal for him to receive a
transmission.
   Acorna reluctantly accepted his help to half carry her

                                                        263
back up to the flitter, and when she was seated, he
toggled the unit. "Captain," Mac said, "how is the flitter
working out for you? Isn't it a fine one? Did you rescue
our crew members?"
   "Mac?" Becker said. "Are you nuts? Or did the
information escape you that the Federation monitors all
transmissions, in case there are any, which there
shouldn't be because they're all messed up by the
dampening field."
   "Oh, that! By my count we are now in violation of
perhaps fifty separate Federation directives. I thought if
you had rescued everyone satisfactorily, I would just
give you a hail and acquaint you with the many
excellent features I installed on your little vessel."
   "A cat-food replicator would have been nice," Becker
said. "But look, buddy, I appreciate what you've done
but we can't talk now. If the Federation is listening, it's
just that my friend knows how to make his voice carry
really well and we aren't actually using any technology
at all."
   Mac remained cheerily sanguine. "Actually, Captain,
they seem to have forgotten about us. They do not
realize that I am still aboard, or that we retained special
Linyaari     com     technology     from      our     original
communications equipment, which I repaired after the
helpful technicians installing the new equipment left.
You see, the Linyaari utilize technology that the
Federation does not. Some of their communication

                                                          264
systems are laser-based. Lasers will naturally penetrate
the dampening fields, which are set up to prevent radio
and electronic transmissions, and so we will be able to
converse freely and without interference or even
observance from the Makahomian spaceport. I have also
installed on the flitter an excellent Linyaari scanner you
had stored in the cargo bay. Of course it is not
engineered for use on such a ship, and I had to make
some adjustments to its function to retrofit that device to
the conveyance, as well as all the other devices I
mentioned earlier. But it all seems to work well enough
for our current purposes."
   "That's cool, Mac."
   "And, Captain, I do not think we need to worry too
much about the Federation interference. There are not
many personnel remaining here anyway. The Mulzar
seems to be massing an army for an attack, and all
available Federation troops except for a small skeleton
crew are now riding beasts or manning chariots to
monitor the situation. It has been vastly entertaining."
   Becker whistled with surprise. "Do tell? Now that is a
very interesting piece of intel, good buddy. But don't call
us, we'll call..." And with that a blast of static replaced
the transmission.
   "Huh," Becker said, "I think Mac got outfoxed this
time. We'll try again later when the Federation com
people have gone on their break. Maybe we better move
it."

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   Acorna said, "We can't leave these cats without good
food."
   "Are you kidding? Those greedy pussycats have filled
up on the food we brought with us till their guts are
dragging between their paws. They're not going to be
hungry again for another day or two. You need to rest
and recharge. Then we can see about food."
   "I'll rest on the way."
   Miw-Sher stood in the courtyard looking from the
basket containing Grimla and the kittens, guarded by
the boy, to the flitter and back again, clearly torn about
leaving her favorite guardian behind.
   (Bring the brats, too, if the old girl won't leave them,)
RK said with a yawn. There was plenty of room for him
and the others in the flitter's fourth space now that the
food bag was gone.
   Acorna wearily translated his remark to Becker, her
tongue thick in her mouth and her words barely
coherent.
   Becker called out, "Sheri, honey, bring the old cat and
kittens and come on. Remember those other pussycats
Acorna needs to cure!"
   Miw-Sher knelt beside the boy and said something,
then turned to Becker. "He cannot be separated from
them. He was captured from the rainforest himself. Can
he come with us, too?"
   Again Acorna translated, though she was so tired she
was barely able to speak. Becker looked behind him

                                                        266
where RK and the other three Temple cats had spread
themselves over all available space, the three Temple
cats napping, RK regarding his shipmate somewhat
cynically.
   "Yeah, sure, why not? The more the merrier. At least
we know he's not allergic to cats."
   After that Acorna drifted in and out of sleep, but
when she roused again as the flitter banked sharply, she
was aware of Miw-Sher's voice and the boy's both
calling out to Becker.
   The flitter was riding high above a canopy of deep
copper forest, the leaves below them too thick to see the
ground. However, off to the right something both
coppery and smooth rose from the leaves, curling above
them. Miw-Sher and the boy were pointing at this. As
the flitter descended carefully, slowly, Acorna saw that
the smooth thing was the curled tip of the tail of another
cat Temple. The pose of the structure was a cat in a long
stretch, its tail and hindquarters supported high in the
air by tower-like hind legs and paws. Its front paws
were outstretched and a long staircase led between them
up to the cat's open mouth. Most amazing here were the
eyes, which were not open or blank windows as the eyes
in the other Temples had been. These were lensed with
chrysoberyls the size of the Condor's viewport.
   Becker whistled, "Good thing Hafiz isn't here."
   Acorna nodded. Her eyes still refused to focus clearly
in the dappled jungle light, since it seemed to her that

                                                       267
the surface of this Temple, unlike the others, was
alternately rough and shining. But as they drew closer
she saw that the sides were tiger-striped with rows of
smaller chrysoberyl stones. Spaced here and there, high
up on the sides and back of the cat, as well as on the
arms and legs and sides of the face, were small
platforms with dark spaces behind. Other platforms
were occupied by large cats. Some of these cats were
black with tawny spots, like the one on the steppes.
Some were tawny with black spots and looked more like
the pictures of cheetahs from old Terra. Others were
black with tawny stripes. Still others were just black or
just tawny but more than the cats of Hissim or the cats of
the steppes, these looked as if they had been bred from a
limited gene pool. They were all much larger than RK or
any of the other Temple cats Acorna had seen.
   Furthermore, they all looked healthy. Ferocious too as
all of them rose at once, regarding the flitter with baleful
eyes brighter even than the chrysoberyls. Then the
screaming began, half shrill and piercing, half a deep,
rumbling roar.
   The Temple cats shocked Acorna and Becker by
screaming back. Even RK used a voice neither of his
shipmates had ever heard before. Instead of cowering
away from the awful sound, the cats plastered
themselves against the viewports and shrieked, whether
in challenge or greeting even Acorna couldn't say.
   Because of the dense vegetation surrounding the

                                                        268
Temple, the flitter had to pass within a few feet of the
Temple walls, and a couple of the more enterprising
guardians leaped onto the hatch covering with mighty
thumps, and screamed again.
  Fortunately, by that time the flitter had nearly landed.
  "We got here in time!" Miw-Sher cried excitedly,
gripping Acorna's shoulder. "These guardians still glow
with vitality and health!"
  Acorna automatically translated the girl's remark for
Becker, who said, "Yeah, but will we if we try to get past
them? Lookit the hooks on those beasties, will you?"
  Acorna was looking into the cavernous mouth of the
cat over her head as it screamed again, playfully this
time, dabbing a saber-sharp claw at her.
  RK immediately was on her shoulders and scratching
at the top of the hatch. The other cat closed its mouth
and put its nose to the glass. RK did the same.
  (She's okay, just doing her job.) RK's thoughts were
full of randy cat images that made Acorna giggle. He
reminded her of Becker when he'd first seen Nadhari.
(Her name is Haruna. Rrrrrrrowl. When do you go into
heat again, beautiful?)




                                                       269
                      Seventeen

   Despite the first mate's desperation to have no hatch
between him and the new object of his lust, Becker
obstinately waited until human beings, armed and
dangerous and clad in very little, poured from and
around the Temple, each of them accompanied by a
bevy of felines.
   (We are friends,) Acorna broadcasted. (We came to
warn you and to help you, if necessary.)
   Having entered into their minds, she now met their
eyes as they peered in at her.
   Haruna and her companion apparently understood
for, much to RK's disappointment, they dismounted.
Then the people began talking excitedly among
themselves, in a dialect new to Acorna.
   "What are they saying, Miw-Sher?" Acorna asked.
Miw-Sher didn't notice at first that she had been
addressed, as the boy was pointing out features of the
Temple to her.
   "Oh," she said when she turned back to Acorna,
"they're simply telling each other that you are the one
and you have come as prophesied."
   "It's so nice that everyone but me knows about that,"
Acorna said a bit crossly. She was tired of many things,
including her reputation, which had so unexpectedly

                                                     270
preceded her nearly everywhere on this planet.
  "At least you can rest here, Princess," Becker said.
"These pussycats are fine as feline fur. You look like you
need healing more than they do."
  He raised the hatch and climbed out. Acorna and the
others followed him. The sight of the boy caused one of
the women to cry out and rush forward to embrace him.
He was glad to see her, but disentangled himself rather
quickly to show her the kittens. The Hissim Temple cats
began mingling with the locals, and RK sidled up to
Haruna. He was trying to get close enough to growl
sweet nothings into her tufted ears, Acorna supposed.
  For a few moments the locals chattered busily about
everything, and Miw-Sher and the boy chattered with
them. Then, as if recalling their manners, the woman,
who was surely a relative of the boy's if not his mother,
gestured for Becker and Acorna to ascend the steps
carved between the cat Temple's outstretched front paws
and up onto the tongue and into the mouth.
  More stairs led them through the torso of the Temple,
the interior of which was lined with beautiful murals,
accented by wall sconces holding torches -- currently
unlit--to provide illumination when necessary. During
daylight hours, as Acorna could see, the building had
more than sufficient natural light because of all of the
open areas leading to the exterior platforms where the
Temple cats perched. If the cats wished to ascend the
Temple's outer walls, they could simply leap from one

                                                       271
platform to the next, and descend in the same manner.
There were also a number of interior platforms, should
the cats wish to seek shelter inside the building.
   It was a bit unnerving to watch the cats leap from
platform to platform right through the Temple. As
Acorna and her friends walked through the building's
halls, Temple cats of every color and size appeared
occasionally, often seeming to shoot out of the walls and
fly through the air of the passageways above their heads.
But after a while even Acorna and Becker grew used to
the sudden rush of air as a fully extended furry body
sailed from one side of the Temple to the other, as if
crossing a jungle ravine.
   Although Acorna had enjoyed some rest in the flitter
on the way, the climbing tired her further and her feet
felt heavy and clumsy as she set them on one step and
then another.
   And then her feet were no longer touching the steps
and she felt pressure on the backs of her thighs, knees,
and upper arms as six people adroitly inserted
themselves between her body and the effects of gravity
on it, lifting her up onto their shoulders and bearing her
among them.
   "Hey," Becker said, "how does a person get
prophesied about around here? I'm kinda tired, too, you
know."
   Much to her surprise, the high priestess was not
wearing robes as the priests in the other two cities did.

                                                       272
In fact, she was wearing nothing except a coat of her
own home-grown fur, pointed ears, and long elegant
whiskers.
   Miw-Sher gasped and Acorna caught her thought.
(She can keep her cat form during the day!)
   The creature on the throne beckoned languidly and
growl/purred to Acorna, "So you are the one who He
said was coming."
   Becker, who had not been in on the change in
conversation and wasn't sure if the high priestess was
friend or foe, stepped in front of Acorna. "Who said she
was coming and what did he say about her? Did he tell
you she would heal all the sick cats? Because she did.
Did he tell you she outsmarted the Mulzar of Hissim,
otherwise known of the King of Everything? She did
that, too."
   The cat priestess stretched out her paw-hand and ran
a single claw along Becker's jaw, drawing a thin line of
blood. RK suddenly reached up a paw and smacked at
the hand. "Mine!" he said clearly in his own tongue.
   The priestess snatched her hand back. "Excuse me,
little brother. I didn't realize he had a guardian. He
seems to think he is one himself."
   Becker stooped down and scratched RK's ears,
whispering, "It's okay, big fella. It's not her fault. I seem
to have this animal magnetism for cat ladies. You
remember how Nadhari was about me when we first
met."

                                                         273
   Acorna said, "He's right. I don't know what has been
said about me before I arrived and I would like to find
out. But first, since your cats are all well, I must tell you
that there is a 'gift' shipment of food and medicines
coming from Hissim. You mustn't accept it. It's
contaminated with an organism that will kill your
guardians --and maybe you, too. I made a vaccine that
could give you some protection, but there's not enough
of it for all of these cats. The ones in Hissim all died
except these few that came with us."
   The boy set the basket containing Grimla and kittens
at the high priestess's feet and Pash, Haji, and Sher-Paw
stepped forward as if they were characters in some
feline crèche pageant.
   The spotted light from the holes in the walls dappled
everyone so that they resembled the large cats. The heat
made the air shimmer in a way that caused Acorna to
feel as if the whole thing was one of Hafiz's holograms.
   The cat lady returned her attention to Acorna. "There
is something you must see. Perhaps then you will
understand."
   Flowing from the throne, the high priestess stepped to
one side of the platform and beckoned. "You may use
this if you wish," she said, gesturing to a column with
steps carved in a spiral around it, descending into
darkness. She murmured something else Acorna didn't
catch and then dove headfirst into the hole.
   Miw-Sher translated. "She said she'd take the

                                                         274
shortcut."
   "I believe I'll use the stairs," Acorna said.
   "You're still lookin' puny, Princess," Becker told her.
"You think you can go down that thing without getting
dizzy and falling off?"
   "There's a handhold," Miw-Sher said, pointing out a
groove carved into the column. It ran at about waist
height and parallel to the stairs. "And I'll go first. You
can hold on to my shoulder, Ambassador, if you feel
faint."
   "Thank you, Miw-Sher," Acorna said. "I believe I'll
manage going down."
   And she did.
   As she descended lower and lower, gripping the
handhold with the tips of her fingers and occasionally
touching Miw-Sher's shoulder for balance, she became
aware that it was not entirely dark below. Thousands of
gold coins with slots in the middle glittered up at her
until suddenly, as the light from above grew too dim to
see their feet, the space below was lit by one torch after
another.
   She had the sense that a few of the priests holding the
torches had hastily covered their private parts, after
transforming from their feline state. Of the felines large
and small that lay in every imaginable attitude up and
down the length of the room, she could not have said if
they had declined to transform or were unable to.
   Their eyes no longer glittered but blinked lazily in the

                                                       275
light, or slitted, or in some cases showed the milky inner
membrane that protected the eyes. There was no catty
smell at all. In fact, it smelled fresher down here than it
had in the open, with the jungle vegetation hemming the
Temple so closely.
   The high priestess beckoned them. "This way," she
said, and Miw-Sher continued translating. "We are now
in the most sacred part of the Temple. Ours was the
place where first the Star Cat and the Companion landed
to save our people and transform them from the refugee
rabble they once had been."
   Their shadows and those of the cats stretched, danced,
and gyrated ahead of them, long and deeply black.
   This space felt ancient, filled with secrets scaled with
the deaths of many defenders and foes for generations
reaching far back into time. The feeling was far more
threatening, more mysterious, than the caves of the early
Ancestral Attendants on Vhiliinyar, where Acorna had
uncovered part of the buried history of her own people,
but all the same she was reminded of those caves.
   As Acorna followed, noting that even the layout of
these caves was similar, the high priestess turned into a
side passage that narrowed until they had to stand
sideways to slip through it. This was not made any
easier by all the feline bodies that suddenly simply had
to come along. Cats flowed under kneecaps and over
feet, leaped upon shoulders, plastered themselves
against faces, greatly impeding breathing, then passed to

                                                       276
the other side and leaped off. In the tight quarters, it
became a rather chilling sensation in spite of the cats'
warm fur, until one of the furry intruders suddenly
spoke inside her head: (Excuse me, pardon me, oops,
sorry, coming through.)
   (RK!)
   (Acorna! Oh, sorry, 'scuse me, I'll just get my paw out
of your ear. There. Better?)
   (Much.)
   (I had to come down and check out my roots, didn't I?
If anybody knows, I have a feeling it's this lady. Besides,
Haruna pushed me. Spirited female.)
   (Yes, and big enough to eat you in one bite.)
   (Well, I always think a little danger adds to the
excitement of a pursuit.)
   Suddenly the way widened, the air freshened, and
they could walk freely again. Acorna saw something
gleaming wetly in the high priestess's torchlight. As the
other priests unfolded from their feline forms and stood
to light torches again, she saw that the room's center
contained a small, perfect lake, its dark waters glinting
in the dim torchlight.
   But the lake was not what the priestess had brought
them to see. She flourished her torch to illuminate the
walls.
   Like the Ancestral caverns of Vhiliinyar, where the
walls were covered with complex hieroglyphics, these
caves, too, were heavily embellished, but the markings

                                                       277
here were very different from those back on Vhiliinyar.
   These cave walls were covered with crude drawings,
simple boxy line figures scratched into rock, some with a
few vestiges of paint still adorning them, but most were
simply ghostly white lines against the dark surface. The
further back in the cave the priestess walked, the fainter
and more primitive the drawings became.
   Finally the priestess pointed the torch at a single panel
of drawings on the cave's wall. Acorna examined the
images lit by its glow. A tall boxy thing with triangles on
either side of it dominated the picture, but next to the
tall boxy thing stood several people. The person
standing to the left of the center drawing seemed to be
quite tall, standing on what were clearly human feet, but
wearing two triangles atop his head -- cats' ears, it
appeared -- and something long and thin was coming
out from his legs. Acorna supposed that the thing could
be meant to be an exaggerated male member, but
judging from the context of the image she felt that it was
more probably a tail. Next to this person sat a largish but
nonetheless       fairly    normal-looking      cat,    also
distinguishable by its ears and tail. Next to the cat stood
a stylized figure of a man the same size as the cat man,
but with a round head, unadorned by pointy ears, and
with no tail.
   The figure on the far side of the ship was more
difficult to see. Here the sacred lake's water lapped close
to the side of the cave. Acorna slid her hoofed feet

                                                        278
around the rim of floor and leaned in, gesturing to the
priestess that the torch be shoved further forward, too.
   When she finally was able to see the figure clearly, she
realized she had been expecting something of exactly
this sort. Yet the surprise that it was actually there was
so great that she almost fell into the lake. As her mind
reeled and her balance faltered, however, a clawed hand
grabbed her arm and pulled her back upright.
   The crude, dimly lit humanoid figure had one
elongated triangle on its head instead of two. The
triangle was located squarely in the middle of the
person's head. Like a horn. The entire mural was a
petroglyph of her dream.

   Emerging from the underworld of the Temple was
like emerging from another dream. Acorna felt as if she
were awakening. She knew that the figure in the cave
drawing was a Linyaari. In fact, she was sure that it was
Aari. Involuntarily, her hand went to Aari's birth disk. It
was him. That was why everyone on this planet seemed
to believe that she had some special significance in
their--what? History? Religion? Myth cycle?
   "You okay, Princess?" Becker asked as he helped her
up the last step and onto the platform beside the throne,
where the cat woman was already lounging. "You look
like you've seen a ghost."
   "Very astute, Captain. I almost have. I think -- no, I'm
sure that Aari has been here."

                                                       279
   "When? How? Why didn't anybody say anything?"
   "They have said something--to me. And as for when,
it was a very long time ago. They just showed me an
ancient petroglyph of a Linyaari. It had to be Aari--he's
the only Linyaari we know of who has done a lot of
traveling through time and space. And that petroglyph
definitely depicted a Linyaari."
   Miw-Sher popped her head out of the hole. "Yes,
Ambassador. You saw the Companion of the Star Cat,
who alone was privileged to call him by his most sacred
name, Grimalkin. Tagoth says the Companion was a
being like yourself, and personally foretold your
coming. I saw the glyph long ago, when I was small,
before my capture."
   The priestess's guards, human and feline alike, glared
at the newcomers chattering away so near the throne of
their ruler, and Acorna quickly led her friends down the
steps to a respectful distance. The priestess had not
answered Acorna's questions or offered comments of her
own. She simply smiled her enigmatic, catty smile and
led them back from the cavern with a "there, you see?"
air, as if the petroglyph explained everything.
   Acorna was very shaken; in fact, she was worried that
she might even be broadcasting her feelings. Miw-Sher
put her hand on Acorna's arm and said, "Surely you
understand that this is your fate. You are the one we
knew would come. Surely you knew that, too?"
   "Prophecy doesn't always work that way," Acorna

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told her.
   The high priestess spoke then, and Miw-Sher
interpreted her words for Acorna. "Shabasta is puzzled
that you are so disturbed by what she has shown you.
She says that the Companion and the Star Cat foretold
that you would come and save us. The prophecy was a
true one, since here you are. She now asks when you are
planning to save us."
   Before Acorna could think of any reply to that, a sleek
tawny cat with red ears, tail, and paws came bounding
up the stairs, as if on cue. Its message was simple.
"Come."
   The high priestess, no doubt for dramatic effect,
gathered her legs beneath her and from her sitting
position leaped over the heads of her guests and a
quarter of the way down the steps. Her court, or flock,
or whatever the other tribal members were considered,
followed after her, as did all of the cats except Grimla
and the kittens.
   Acorna and her friends, except for the boy, who was
gathering up his small family, trailed behind the locals.
   Jungle people with spears surrounded three priests in
Hissimi garb sitting in a wagon like the ones Captain
MacDonald was using. The wagon was loaded with
bundles.
   "Ungrateful savages," one of the priests muttered. "We
bring them emergency food and medical relief and they
treat us like enemies."

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  "We are enemies, holy brother, strictly speaking," the
youngest of the three priests said in an undertone.
  "Not right at this moment," whispered the third. Then,
showing his teeth to the assembly, he announced in a
loud voice, "We are friends. We come in peace from the
Mulzar of Hissim. He sends lovely gifts. Food,
medicine."
  "Why should we need medicine?" the High Priestess
said.
  "There's a terrible plague on our planet that has
decimated the ranks of our own Temple cats," the man
explained.
  Haji, Pash, and Sher-Paw strolled forward and faced
the three, their tails jerking angrily.
  "By their tails!" cried the eldest.
  "And their whiskers!" cried the second.
  "It's our own Temple guardians. What are they doing
here? We heard of no raid. How did you capture them?"
  "We didn't," the priestess said. "They came here with
these people who were seeking refuge from the
murderous Mulzar of Hissim." Seeing the priests'
confusion, Miw-Sher stepped forward and translated the
words for the benefit of the Mulzar's men.
  "Miw-Sher! What are you doing here? You traitor!"
  The high priestess stalked forward, her tail switching,
her yellow-green eyes slitted and her ears laid back into
her golden-brown hair/fur.
  The three priests fell silent, fear apparent in their eyes.

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   The priestess snarled at them. The big cats moved
closer and closer to the Mulzar's men.
   "Well, now," Becker said, stepping back from the
wagon and pulling Acorna with him, "we can see you're
busy with your new visitors--the ones we were telling
you about, ma'am. I can see you have things under
control. So we'll just be going now."
   No one said a word as he and Acorna, followed after a
moment of indecision by Miw-Sher and RK, returned to
the flitter. The three male guardians of the Hissim
Temple followed behind them, and a moment
afterwards, Grimla zoomed out the door and hopped in
the flitter, too. The boy they'd brought home followed
close behind Grimla, carrying the basket of kittens,
which he set inside the flitter. Then he retreated a short
distance away, standing with his family and waving
good-bye.
   The flitter rose above the trees and flew away from the
jungle.

   Nadhari had not gone far before the wagon driven by
the women caught up with her. She figured she had two
choices at that moment. She could either walk back to
Hissim and possibly be discovered along the way by
Edu's guards searching the roads for unusual travelers,
or she could blend in with these women on the road,
save herself some steps, and possibly win herself some
allies.

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   She chose the second alternative and flagged the
travelers down.
   "Who are you?" demanded one, but another woman
caught at her sleeve.
   "It's Lady Nadhari!"
   "Yes," Nadhari agreed, "that's me."
   "What are you doing out here?"
   "I had to get my friends safely out of Hissim. I have
done so, but I still have unfinished business with my
cousin. I was hoping you could take me back to the city
with you."
   "You'd best ride up top, then."
   "Thanks. I will, just for a little while. I think it might
complicate your lives if I accompanied you all the way
back. I'll make my own way once we're closer to
Hissim."
   "You're cutting it close if you want to find the Mulzar.
I have heard it said that the Mulzar is about to leave the
city with the Fed'ration man."
   "I wonder why," Nadhari said, though she had some
idea of what might be driving him.
   "Don't know, Lady, but I'm sure he's leaving soon.
Maybe he's going after the cats."
   "Hah! Him?" said a younger woman. "He don't care
for cats. He's got no use for creatures got more'n two
legs. Him, he likes that machinery like they got at the
Fed'ration post."
   The woman shot an assessing glance at Nadhari that

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was, in the darkness, visible only as a gleam from the
whites of her eyes. If she expected Nadhari to defend her
cousin the Mulzar, she could relax, Nadhari thought.
Edu was far worse than the woman thought he was.
Nadhari knew from long experience that the only living
creature Edu had ever cared about, two-legged or
otherwise, was himself.
   After that exchange, they rode in silence.
   The little cavalcade halted once they reached the
holding of the oldest woman in the outskirts of the city.
None of them could pass through the gates into the
middle of town until morning, so Nadhari took the time
to demonstrate how to use the Metleiter boxes to her
interested audience. She only hoped she remembered all
of Scar MacDonald's instructions on how to get the
boxes up and running correctly.
   Then all the women but her hostesses--the youngest
and the oldest of the ladies, a grandmother and her
granddaughter -- packed up their goods and their boxes
and departed for their own homes. When the time came
to seek a night's rest, Nadhari was perfectly willing to
sleep in her new friends' stable. It was empty now
because its former occupants had been slaughtered,
victims of the recent plague, but the old woman and her
granddaughter wouldn't hear of letting Nadhari bunk
down there. Instead, they made a pallet for her on the
floor near the cooking fire. They tried to insist that
Nadhari take their bed, but she declined, saying that she

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needed to be able to flee quickly if necessary without
involving them.
   Which brought up the point of how Nadhari was
going to get into the city in the morning. At the urging
of her hostesses, she abandoned her plan to climb the
walls of the city and wing it from there. After some
discussion, the ladies convinced Nadhari to borrow a
gown from them so that she might pass though the main
gate into Hissim without attracting undue attention.
   Once settled onto a prickly pile of dry grass gathered
into a loose sack, Nadhari fell deeply asleep, a skill she
had learned in her years as a fighter. She knew she
would rouse at the lightest footfall, ready to fight or run
if the need arose. But this night, at least, passed
peacefully.
   The next morning the farm women dressed her in one
of the grandmother's ragged spare gowns. They all piled
into the wagon together and drove it back to the city's
main gates. There the old woman regaled the guard with
a tale of finding the vehicle, clearly the Temple's
property, abandoned and empty on the desert's edge. As
good citizens, she told him, they were returning it, and
she was sure that the guard would reward them richly
for their good deed.
   That did the trick. The soldier confiscated the wagon,
chided them for interfering in civic matters they did not
understand, and sent the women away as fast as he
could--empty-handed, of course.

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   By the time her friends had finished loudly arguing
about the injustice of the guard's behavior, attracting the
attention of every person within earshot, Nadhari had
quietly made her way to the wall enclosing the
Federation outpost.
   The post was not large, as such places went, but it
covered maybe five square miles, all of it walled, rather
than fenced. She doubted electronics or surveillance
equipment played a part in protecting this section. It
seemed to depend on height and a guard who patrolled
at intervals Nadhari timed by mentally counting
hippopotamuses. She made her way through town to the
end of the wall farthest from dwellings and from the
post gate. The guard wasn't due to return for twenty
minutes or so.
   Though she had never been privileged to change into
a cat, as Tagoth could, the perimeter wall provided no
great challenge. She was over it and on the ground well
before the guard was due to return. At that point, she
thought she might ambush him or her and take the
uniform. With that she would return to the Condor and
send a message to some friends of hers in high places in
the Federation. They might be interested in a few of the
family stories she had to relate about the Mulzar and
how he'd found a soulmate in the current post
commander. If they were not interested, she was pretty
sure she could persuade Hafiz to mount an
investigation. Meanwhile, she would slip back over the

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wall and foment revolution and dissent, not necessarily
in that order.
   From the shadows where she lurked, quite at home,
she saw a lone Federation officer approach an
apparently disabled flitter. The flitter lay abandoned in
the field between the wall and where the Condor and the
Traveler were docked. The large spacegoing vessels
blocked the small local transport craft from the view of
the Federation headquarters building. So no one would
see her take out the officer and relocate, in military
parlance, his or her uniform to her own person.
   Unfortunately she had lacked worthy opponents since
she'd taken the cushy job with Hafiz. Her reflexes and
defensive instincts were not what they once had been.
She circled around behind the officer and grabbed him
as he bent toward the flitter.
   But just then she was distracted by the Condor's
robolift cranking and shuddering toward the ground.
She looked toward it for just a moment, thinking
somebody ought to oil that thing. And that, of course,
was when someone attacked her from behind. No low-
tech scruples for this assailant, she thought as she
crumpled to the ground with the force of the stun waves
from the gun. It was her last thought for some time.
   "For a horse-and-buggy civilization, these guys make
tracks," Becker said, sounding worried. "This is starting
to look ugly. I'm guessing the welcome wagons with the
poison goodies are Edu's advance guard. Soften 'em up

                                                      288
with the disease and then send in the regular troops to
finish them off or at least subdue them. Maybe we
should have left both of the kids with the cat queen,
rather than just one. The Mulzar won't know for quite a
while that his trick didn't work at the jungle temple."
   Acorna didn't translate verbally this time. She just
transferred Becker's ideas into Miw-Sher's head.
   "You can't leave me behind," Miw-Sher protested,
without even questioning how she understood Becker's
words. "You need me to show you where to go--or at
least sort of where to go. We need to find my uncle
Tagoth. We need his help. We've got to get to the
Aridimi Stronghold before the Mulzar's men do. It is
really hard to find. Or at least that's what Tagoth says,
but he knows how to get to it. He's been there before."
   Acorna patted the girl's hand, trying to cut through
the questions and feelings that were cycloning through
her own mind and concentrate instead on reassuring the
frightened child. They both had a job to do.
   "I'm sure that we can find Tagoth if we need to,"
Acorna said. "He can't have gone too far on foot. Had I
known we were going to have the use of the flitter, I
would have asked him to wait for us at some hidden
place, and we could have all gone there together. But
why is it we need to find this stronghold, especially right
now? Do the Aridimi also have many cats and other
creatures who could be endangered?"
   "Oh, yes," Miw-Sher said. "Next to the Makaviti

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Temple, the Aridimi one is said to be the most highly
guarded on our world. You see, it is where all of our
sacred stones come from. I am sure that the Mulzar will
be wild to get to it. Were it not for the Aridimi location
being secret and hidden, all of the tribes would have
raided it long ago, Tagoth says. It is so far out in the
desert that none of our armies can survive the trip. But I
believe we can get there in this conveyance."
   "So what heading should I take?" Becker said.
   Acorna relayed the question and Miw-Sher said,
"North, as if to Hissim, but then west toward the dunes
and white hills. We call them the Serpent Spine. That is
as far as I know how to go. But I think we should be able
to see Uncle Tagoth easily from this machine. The desert
is vast, but it is barren, and he will be going the same
direction as we are."
   Acorna passed the information to Becker as they
overflew the last of the rainforest and saw the terraced
steppes rising before them, wrapped with glittering
ribbons of water. This close to the jungle, and far from
the Temple where Edu's plague had been introduced,
the fields were healthy and fertile, covered with red,
green, and golden grasses waving in the wind.
   "Pit stop," Becker announced, and landed the flitter.
   "Why is he stopping?" Miw-Sher asked. "I thought
everyone agreed that we need to hurry."
   Acorna wanted to know exactly the same thing. She
turned to Becker and asked him.

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   "Well, this is as close to safe as we're likely to be for
quite a while. The first wave of bad guys headed in our
direction have been apprehended by the jungle cat folk,
who may be making lunch of them right now. I don't
think the second wave is going to be coming in the next
few minutes.
   "So now is as good a time as any--maybe the best
time for Linyaari girls who have healed well but not
always wisely to graze and get drinks of water. All of us
need a break--pussycats, too. Maybe they can catch a
quick mouse or something--that is, if they can move
after all they ate last night. We don't know what kind of
reception we're in for."
   "But the stronghold . . ." Miw-Sher protested.
   Becker held up his hand to ward off her objection. "If
this Aridimi place is so hard to find, I bet their pussycats
haven't got their nice present from the Mulzar yet, and
we've got a little head start here, thanks to this flitter.
We need to take the time to take care of ourselves. I
think we should be as ready as we can be for whatever
will happen. Heck, I have to go find a handy bush
myself."
   Acorna didn't translate the last part. She did realize
that Becker's point was well taken. She needed to eat
and drink as well as rest long enough to catch her
breath, if she was to do any more mass healings.
Possibly he was also correct that the cats at the Aridimi
stronghold wouldn't require her help as a healer, but if

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they did, she must be prepared.
   The place Becker had set the flitter down was as
beautiful as any Linyaari dream of the lost homeworld.
A stream frothed like fine lace over rocks that glittered
with as many colors as a gemstone tiara. The water's
depths were the soft, clear pink of rose quartz. Still, just
to be safe, Acorna dipped her horn into the running
water and also cleansed the grasses of the field before
she ate them.
   "RK, you and the guardians should bring any prey
you catch to me to purify before you eat it."
   To the disgust of the cats, however, the fields were
barren of even the smallest prey, which made Acorna
fear that the plague had already spread farther among
the animals of the world than she had previously
believed.
   The grasses were delicious, though, and the water as
well. She enjoyed the chance to stretch and walk about.
She was feeling more like herself by the time they
reboarded the flitter.
   That was when she realized Becker had not been
following his own advice about relaxing. "Mac, come in.
Do you hear me? Condor, this is your captain speaking.
Give me a call if you can hear my voice." But despite his
various attempts to adjust, repair, and reset the
equipment, all he received in return was static.
   Had Mac been a purely organic being, he might have
felt chagrin at Becker's response to his attempt to

                                                        292
ascertain the field functionality of the flitter and to
educate the crew regarding its upgraded equipment.
When the Condor's com receiver suddenly filled with
static, Mac's initial reaction had been that Captain
Becker, in one of his customary fits of gruffness, had
"hung up" on him. But then he realized that the
monitoring had somehow penetrated his careful
programming and those who were doing the monitoring
had cut off the transmission.
   He needed to do something about that, but he wasn't
sure what. His programming was now quite advanced,
as evidenced in his promotion to uniformed crewman,
but although he was capable of independent thought, he
was not actually programmed to think strategically.
   He was pondering what response if any would be
appropriate when he observed irregular activity in the
aft view screen. Earlier in the morning a flitter had made
a short hop from behind the headquarters building to
the field east of the Condor's docking bay. Now three
figures approached it, each from a different angle.
Zooming in, he recognized the person nearest the flitter
as Lieutenant Commander Macostut.
   And very quickly, from the litheness of her
movements and some other characteristics he had stored
as recognition factors, he identified the second person,
coming between Macostut and the third person, as
Nadhari Kando. She would be wanting to board as soon
as she had spoken to Macostut, he felt sure, so he

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lowered the robolift. She looked up, then fell down. The
third figure, one Mac did not recognize except that a
certain facial resemblance to Nadhari identified him as
her cousin, the ruler of this place, placed a weapon in his
belt and helped Macostut bind Nadhari and load her
into the flitter. Before Mac could raise the robolift again
and board it to go to her assistance, the flitter was over
the wall and gone.
  He stood inside the robolift as it lowered.
  Once the lift met the ground, Mac understood that his
presence and position would now be known to any who
were watching from headquarters. Therefore, he waved
in a friendly fashion in that general direction. Two men
emerged from the building, looking straight at him.
  It seemed as good a time as any to undo the damage
they had done to his communications system. He
needed to warn the captain about the Federation flitter,
and to advise him of Nadhari Kando's predicament.
  Mac walked nonchalantly toward the troopers,
wearing his customary friendly and diffident expression.
He was, however, accessing the memories he had of the
time when he was "muscle" for Kisla Manjari. There
were very few of these Federation people left on the
post, and only a handful in the communications area. He
would reason with them first, of course, and point out
that their own commander had broken their prime rule
against technological contamination of this world. If
they disagreed or failed in any way to be other than

                                                       294
helpful and cordial, he, who possessed the strength of
about twenty fully organic men, would be forced to
modify their physical configurations.

   "Captain, shall I take the helm for a while?" Acorna
asked. "It would be easier for me to do so, since the
controls are built for Linyaari hands."
   "You forget I fly with all kinds of alien equipment,"
Becker said proudly, forgetting that they were on
Makahomia precisely because he had added Khleevi
equipment to his control array. "Besides, you need to
coordinate the mental communication around here.
Might be too distracting for you to do that and fly, too.
While you were resting up, I familiarized myself with
some of Mac's upgrades. The scanner is a little clunky,
but better than you'll find in any of the antique
Federation buggies they have around here."
   Acorna nodded and settled down for a quick nap. She
wasn't the only one to take advantage of the
opportunity. Miw-Sher was already limply sprawled
under her seat harness, with cats settled beside her, on
her lap and shoulders, and at her feet. RK rode up front
between Becker and Acorna. Before she could fall asleep,
Acorna heard RK's ruminations about his tragic parting
from Haruna, and how the unfortunate feline female
would never know what she had missed.
   Acorna raised a solicitous hand and scratched the cat
under his chin.

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   He climbed into her lap, put his paws on her shoulder,
rubbed his face against her neck, and purred a little. (It's
just that seeing those kittens makes me feel like I've
missed something, Acorna, you know? I should be a
daddy by now, but nooooo . . . Becker wants only one
ship's cat. I want to make babies.)
   Acorna laughed and scrubbed his ears. (You should
know better than to try that line on me, Mr. Cat. You
don't care about the baby kittens at all. You just want to
make time with a female cat!)
   RK sat back up, since he was getting no sympathy,
and licked his right front paw. (Nothing wrong with
that. It's what tomcats do.)
   (Yes, I understand your frustration,) Acorna said, with
such fellow feeling that RK favored her once more by
leaning against her face. (I know exactly what you mean.
Female Linyaari long for their mates, too.)
   (I know,) RK said, and rubbed against her cheek with
a brief burst of a purr. (Aari was on the wall.)
   Acorna felt the little disk warm against her chest. (Yes,
though it wasn't what you would call a good likeness.
And it could have been any Linyaari, but I have had the
dreams. It's him. I know it. He's long gone, though. The
way they speak of him here, he was from some very
ancient time in their history.)
   She hoped Aari had not returned to Vhiliinyar while
she'd been off saving the world again -- though this
time it was RK's world. She cupped the little disk against

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her throat. She missed him. Aari in dreams and as an
ancient historical and mythological character in the
Makahomian doctrine was not at all the same thing as
Aari beside her.
   She sighed and settled down for another catnap. The
rest, food, and drink had helped, but she still felt
drained by all the healing she'd done since they'd come
to this world, and from all the long sleepless nights
before that she'd spent wondering when she would see
Aari again. She allowed her eyelids to close, hoping to
dream of him --
   -- And jerked awake some time later, hailed by a
mental call.
   (Acorna, can you hear me? It's Nadhari.)
   (I can read you, Nadhari. Where are you?)
   (I'm a prisoner on a Federation flitter with Macostut
and Edu. We're on our way to the Aridimi Stronghold.)
   Acorna relayed the information to Becker.
   "What's her position?" he asked.
   (Nadhari, can you see the instruments? Do you know
what your position is?)
   She did indeed know where she was, and relayed the
coordinates to Acorna, who told Becker.
   After a moment he said, "Bingo! Tell her not to worry.
Rescue's on the way." Becker changed course and put on
a burst of speed.
   Miw-Sher woke with a start. "What? Have you found
Uncle Tagoth?"

                                                      297
   "No," Acorna said, and explained about Nadhari's
capture.
   "But we must find my uncle first. If the Mulzar finds
him before we do, he'll know that Tagoth has betrayed
him, and he will kill him."
   "I don't think so, kid," Becker said when Acorna told
him of Miw-Sher's concern. "I bet Edu's too focused on
his goal to pay any attention lo a lone life form down
there in all that desert. And if he does find your uncle, I
bet Edu's just like us. He'll want your uncle to show him
the way to this stronghold. I'm on Edu's tail now. We
can see him but he can't see us, thanks to the Linyaari
cloaking. If it looks like he's after your uncle, I'll take
him down before he knows what hit him. He'll never lay
a hand on Tagoth."
   Becker was enjoying himself now, flying low and fast,
tracking Edu's flitter and keeping pace with it, following
it as closely as possible without overtaking it. The
Federation vehicle's signal was strong and loud.
"Remind me to promote Mac for thinking to put this
scanner in," Becker said.
   "Can you find a person on the ground with it?"
Acorna asked.
   "Yeah, but not when the rig's set up like this," Becker
said. "Mac adapted it from the Condor's array, and it's
meant to have a few more toggles in the control
apparatus that this little flitter just doesn't have. To get
enough focus to pick up someone on the ground, it has

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to be recalibrated. If I do that, I run the risk of losing 'His
Holiness' and Nadhari. Damn, I wish Mac had thought
to install a couple of laser cannons on this thing too, but
I guess that wouldn't go over big with the Linyaari."
   "Probably not," Acorna agreed. Then she sat back and
concentrated on broadcasting her thoughts to a specific
mind out there on the desert floor. (Tagoth? Tagoth, this
is Acorna. There's a Federation flitter with the Mulzar
and Macostut aboard heading at top speed to the
Aridimi stronghold. They have taken Nadhari prisoner.
Please just think of me and concentrate on an answer if
you are receiving this.)
   But she heard no reply, nor did she sense that her
message was reaching its target. She was not too
surprised. Her telepathy, though highly developed,
worked best with those she knew well.
   "Are you trying to contact him with your mind?"
Miw-Sher asked.
   "Yes. I already tried, but it's not working. I'm sorry."
   "I can do it, if I change. I can find him. But you have to
land. I need to change my form and call to him--cat to
cat."
   "Miw-Sher, it's a bad idea to stop. We're pretty safe
here in this flitter, and we have Edu under observation.
The Mulzar already has Nadhari as a prisoner. We can't
give him a chance to take us captive as well. If Edu can't
find the stronghold without your uncle's help, then
you'd play right into his hands by giving him the

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opportunity to capture you to use as leverage to ensure
your uncle's cooperation in finding the hidden
stronghold. Can you imagine what your uncle would do
if Edu and Macostut threatened to kill you? Tagoth
might be able to hold out against them if they threatened
Nadhari or us, but not if they have you, too."
   "They won't get me!" Miw-Sher said. "I can find his
trail, and once I do, I can call him. Let me try. If we get
to my uncle first, then perhaps the Mulzar won't ever be
able to find the Sacred Lake."
   Acorna couldn't see how anyone in a well-equipped
flitter could avoid finding an entire temple complex, but
then, Miw-Sher wasn't accustomed to flying in flitters.
"He could find it," Acorna told her.
   "Maybe, but with my uncle's help, we can certainly get
there ahead of him to help the Aridimi prepare some
kind of defense against him. Captain Becker could keep
following the Mulzar, if he wishes to, after he drops me
off. He could also come to my rescue, should I be
captured."
   "All right, you have a point," Acorna said. "We'll try it
your way, but I'll go with you."
   (Hmph,) RK said, rising and stretching, (I could do
with a bit of a run myself.)
   Whereupon Sher-Paw, Haji, and Pash all rose and
stretched as if to say that they, too, wouldn't mind a bit
of healthy exercise.
   Grimla mewed piteously, torn between the two

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competing paths her Temple guardian duties required of
her. She couldn't allow her two-legged kitten to leave
without her protection, but on the other hand, she had a
litter of four-legged kittens to care for. What should she
do? She had to stay with the youngest and most helpless
of her charges. She did not think this was at all fair, but
what was a mother to do?
   Becker put his foot down, however. "Nope. This
situation is bad enough. I'm not gonna try herding cats
all over the desert in addition to all the problems we've
got already. I'm not landing, and nobody is getting out."
   "In that case," Acorna said, "it seems that the only
alternative is to recalibrate your scanner. Excuse me,
Captain. Allow me." She did this easily. It was one of
those talents she seemed to have been born with, a talent
that had constantly amazed her asteroid-mining foster
fathers. "Now then. See if you can find Tagoth with the
scanner."
   "What if we lose the other flitter?"
   "We know roughly where they are going, so we'll
catch up with them before this is over regardless of what
happens. And if we can find Tagoth, we'll beat them to
the Aridimi stronghold. He's the only one among us
who knows exactly where that is. So let's find Tagoth.
Don't worry, I'll recalibrate the scanner for you as soon
as we locate Miw-Sher's uncle."
   Becker huffed and growled into his mustache. "You
drive a hard bargain."

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   The cats settled back, though Grimla left her kittens
long enough to groom Miw-Sher's fingers, comforting
her.
   The scanner was quiet for some time as the Condor
continued on its course, and then suddenly a small dot
began to show on the perimeter of the pattern, moving
away. Becker headed for it. "I hope that's not a jackrabbit
or some varmint out for a midnight run," he said.
   But as they drew nearer, a visual scan homed in on the
images of a large cat bounding across the desert.
   "That's him," Miw-Sher said, leaning forward "It's my
uncle!
   I'll bet the Mulzar wouldn't realize it was him if he
saw him in cat form. He doesn't know Uncle can
change!"
   Becker didn't seem to hear her. He was happily
watching the scanner. "Doesn't that Mac do top-notch
work?" Becker asked Acorna. "Isn't this great? Your guys
can't even get visuals like this with the standard
scanners you have in the flitters you've got on
Vhiliinyar! I knew my scanners could find salvage
lightyears away, but I never tried to find a moving guy
on the ground while I was moving too. Yippee!"
   But finding Tagoth was one thing. Catching him was
another. Although he couldn't possibly see the cloaked
flitter, he seemed to sense it. He looked up, then bolted
in the opposite direction. Becker headed him off again.
Again the cat-man fled, this time feinting to the left but

                                                       302
taking off again in the direction he was originally
headed.
   "He thinks we're the Mulzar," Becker said.
   Miw-Sher pleaded, "Please, land. I'll chase him. I'll get
him to come to us."
   "No," Acorna told her. "By the time we land, he'll be
far away. We'd just have to load up and chase him
again. If we keep this up long enough, we may wind up
directly in the path of the Federation flitter ourselves, or
we might chase Tagoth into their hands. I think we can
find a better way to reach him. Here, link hands with me
and call him -- except call him as if you're speaking to
me. I'll see if I can relay your thought. Maybe since we're
this close to him, it wall work."
   They linked arms and Acorna carefully touched her
horn to the girl's forehead. Miw-Sher's eyes widened,
and she whispered, surprised, "That feels . . . nice. Not
pointy and sharp or anything. It makes everything . . .
feel better, even smell better."
   Acorna smiled, but knew they had a job to do. "Shhh,
concentrate. Talk to your uncle." But before either of
them could seek to make contact, the Temple cats and
RK pressed in on them on every side, reinforcing the
catty side of the mental conversation.
   (Uncle Tagoth, it's me, Miw-Sher. I'm in a flitter flying
right over you. You can't see it because we're wearing a
cloak that makes us invisible to the Mulzar and the
Federation commander in another flitter, but we're here

                                                        303
and we're trying to help you!)
   The cat figure in the visual scanner kept fleeing.
   "We're not getting through. Keep it simple," Acorna
breathed to her. "Just tell him it's you in the flitter this
time. Think of it as a mental shout. Captain, it might
help if we uncloaked for a moment."
   Becker nodded and Miw-Sher did as Acorna
suggested.
   This time the cat stopped and looked up at them.
   "It's working," Becker hooted, and Acorna felt the
flitter begin to descend. "I do believe he heard you,
ladies. Thaaaat's right, big kitty guy, come to the flitter."
The vessel landed on the sand with a thump.
   Tagoth began losing his feline characteristics as he
came to the grounded flitter. His ears, already flattened
with alarm, seemed to melt back into his skull and re-
emerge as human ears; his tail flicked once and
disappeared. His muzzle shortened and his whiskers
shrank to nothing and vanished, as did his claws and the
fur.
   "Oops," Becker said. "Watch it, fella, ladies present."
   Miw-Sher was already holding out her scarf, which
her uncle accepted, turning it into a sort of loincloth
before climbing into the flitter.
   "Where to?" Becker asked Tagoth, who seemed
relatively unperturbed by this sudden change in his
circumstances. He settled himself in next to his niece,
looked around calmly, and shared quick cheek rubs with

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Miw-Sher and the Hissimi Temple cats. He admired the
kittens, running one finger along their tiny backs.
   Acorna repeated Becker's question to Tagoth, who
pointed and said, "That way. Continue as you were
going when you found me. I will say when to change
course."
   Becker obliged, getting them into the air as quickly as
possible.
   While Becker took care of the flying, Acorna studied
their new passenger. She could see the appeal of the
man, understanding why Nadhari had been attracted to
him. Tagoth had a quiet, concentrated magnetism. He
seemed to Acorna to be a man of strong convictions,
with a great sense of honor, but one who had lived for
many years under the constant threat that his double life
would be discovered--and that his days would be
prematurely ended as a result.
   Acorna sent a message to Nadhari. (We just picked up
Tagoth and will be taking him to the Aridimi
Stronghold. Are you all right?)
   (Yeah, except for being a prisoner of a man I've hated
since I was a little kid,) she replied. (But you've got
trouble. Edu and Macostut spotted you just now.
They're speculating as to why you just dropped off their
screens again. Be careful.)




                                                       305
                        Eighteen

  Trying not to seem aggressive, Mac bore down on the
Federation soldiers staring at him from the headquarters
building. They were standing between the android and
the place where he needed to go. Removing them
seemed the logical solution.
  "Halt!" one of them said. "Stop right there. Who the
hell are you and why were you on that ship?"
  "Sirs, I have come to report a serious breach of the
Federation's directives concerning this planet," Mac said,
with a good imitation of Linyaari righteous indignation.
He had observed Liriili closely and drew upon this
memory for the proper tone, facial expression, and body
language. "The most shocking element of this breach is
that it has been committed by your own commanding
officer and the present ruler of your host city."
  "What's he talking about?" the guard who had not
spoken asked his comrade.
  "Damned if I know. Halt! I said halt, and I meant it.
Don't come any closer or I'll shoot."
  A third person appeared in the doorway. This was a
young female officer Mac had encountered on the
inspection team and also when loading Captain
MacDonald's wagons.
  "Mac!" she said pleasantly. "What are you doing here?

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We assumed you were with Captain Becker on that
flitter. In tact we searched your ship and didn't find
you."
   "Hello, Petty Chief Officer Lea. I trust you are well
and having a productive day? I was doing a bit of--uh--
gardening before you arrived and shut myself down to
recharge."
   "Uh-huh," she said in a tone which, though skeptical,
remained amiable. To the two men she said, "Down,
boys. Mac here is an android. I saw him lift a box of dirt
weighing a ton and a half single-handed and carry it
down a gantry and load it into a wagon eight times in a
row. Not only will your guns fail to harm him, they just
might irritate some circuits that will cause him to go
berserk and profoundly assimilate us into the soil of our
duty station."
   The more aggressive of the men blanched slightly but
took a step backwards. "Just so he understands our
position."
   "Come on in, Mac. I presume you were planning on it
anyway. Can I offer you anything? A cup of oil, a jolt of
electricity, perhaps? A chip or a cookie?"
   "No, Chief Petty Officer Lea, I require no sustenance
or repair items at this time. However, I do need to report
an irregularity, as I was telling these gentlemen when
you arrived. Oh, and a kidnapping. That is a crime, is it
not? Having once been a henchman of Kisla Manjari's,
my moral parameters are a bit hazy and this subject

                                                       307
confuses me. But I saw Commander Macostut and
Nadhari's cousin the Mulzar stun and bind her and
carry her away in a flitter. Hence the irregularity I
wished to report."
   One of the men snorted. "We never interfere in the
Mulzar's love life. That's as off limits as technology
beyond the gate."
   Chief Petty Officer Lea glared at him. "Stunning,
binding, and kidnapping a visiting dignitary is no part
of anybody's love life, Singh. And the same rules apply
to the CO as to the rest of us about what goes beyond
the gate and what doesn't. That goes in spades for flying
flitters while accompanied by local dignitaries. Come on
in, Mac. Sit down, pull up a com unit and tell me all
about it."
   "Thank you, Chief Petty Officer Lea. Before we carry
on further discussion, I would like to send a message to
my captain and warn him that another flitter is abroad
and that Nadhari Kando is captive aboard it."
   "We'll see about that, Mac. We have to try to disable
the dampening field because we need to contact our CO
too and ask him whatever was he thinking to break such
an awful lot of the very rules he's supposed to be
enforcing. It's not going to be easy to disable the field,
though. It's hardwired into the system. But I'm sure
Singh can figure it out if he applies himself."
   "Yes, but Commander Kando is at risk," Mac
reminded her. "I'm sure I can easily disable your

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dampening device. I have, as you may guess, an affinity
for such things. That is how I was able to get through
once to Captain Becker. I'm sure if you will be so kind as
to discontinue jamming our signal, I could do it again."
   "I'll just bet you could! We had to rig something
special to jam you. Laser signals are not Federation
approved and are not affected by the dampening field.
But I just bet you knew that. However, once we realized
you were able to communicate with your flitter, we
located the signal and jammed it manually. We were
going to pay you a visit later, when we had
reinforcements. I figured it had to be you still aboard the
ship, since the others were accounted for, being on the
Most Wanted list and all."
   "I would appreciate it if you would remove the special
jam, then, so that I may alert Captain Becker."
   Before she could answer, the com screen flooded with
the image of another Federation officer. "Makahomia
Outpost, this is Juan Verde, with the Federation Station
X2niner5foxtrot4. We have a relay for you from a ship
traveling in non-Federation space. The message is being
transmitted through House Harakamian channels on
Manganos Moonbase. They wish to know where to
locate the wormhole someone named Khornya spoke
of."
   "That would be for me," Mac said.

  Acorna gave Becker Nadhari's message. He nodded

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grimly. She quickly recalibrated the scanner aboard the
Linyaari flitter to track the other flitter's progress, but
the Federation vessel showed no signs of pursuing them.
Instead it just sat there, back at the place where they'd
stopped to pick up Tagoth. Becker said it was as though
Macostut's flitter was a hound dog, scenting the wind to
try to pick up their scent, but failing. Hoping they could
continue to elude the Federation ship, Becker laid in an
evasive, map-of-the-land course to the secret Aridimi
Stronghold. Soon the Federation flitter was so far behind
them that they could not even see it on their scanners.
   As they rode farther into the desert, the suns were
setting in a blaze of color, leaving claw marks of gory
red clouds ripped across the evening sky. Though the
day had been fine and clear up to that point, unmarred
by any haze or even smoke from household fires such as
they were accustomed to in Hissim, suddenly a high
wind arose. The first indication they had that they were
facing real trouble came when the whirlwinds that
continually played across the desert floor begin joining
together, as in a dance, into one large tidal wave of
wind. This lifted vast sheets of sand with it, forming a
dark, churning cloud that grew in volume until it
obliterated the entire horizon, silhouetted starkly against
the sunset. The gale pounded the little Linyaari craft
unmercifully, howling like an angry Makahomian
Temple cat. It scoured the flitter with a deafening hail of
sand and pebbles, scoring the viewport and upper hatch,

                                                       310
shrieking to get in.
   "That's great," Becker growled. "We just lost our
shielding."
   "I believe we can count ourselves fortunate if that s all
we lose, Captain," Acorna told him, her words
punctuated with gasps as the craft bounced around as if
it were the wind's personal juggling ball. The little ship
skewed wildly back and forth and up and down, and
four times spun end over end with the force of the
storm. Becker increased their flying speed and altitude
in the hope of rising above the tempest.
   The cats did their part to try to shut out the noise of
the wind. They yowled and screamed and made the
most bloodcurdling noises Acorna had ever heard.
Tagoth and Miw-Sher cuddled the kittens, and each also
held two of the Temple cats, but their skins were being
shredded as the anxiety of the felines increased with
every shudder and dive the flitter took in the storm.
   RK was the calmest of the cats. As Becker's longtime
ship's cat, he'd seen worse. Still, he crouched low on the
flitter's deck at Acorna's feet, casting a baleful eye at the
hatch, now opaque from the sand. His contribution to
the decibel level alternated between a menacing growl
and a gradually increasing scream.
   None of this had a salubrious effect on Acorna's
nerves.
   "Shis up!" Becker screamed at last, outshouting cats,
sand, wind, and all. "Everybody just shut up and stay

                                                         311
calm and I'll drive us through this."
   Becker's hands were tight on the controls, his muscles
trembling with the effort to keep the flitter in the air.
Acorna could see Becker's sweating face highlighted in
the soft lighting that had automatically activated inside
the flitter's cabin once the suns had set. The captain's jaw
was tense, and his back rigid as he bent low to survey
the instrument panel.
   Miw-Sher looked startled, and Tagoth grinned. All of
the adult cats except for RK looked a bit shocked and
highly offended. They seemed to feel that it was their
right to protest such an unseemly display on the part of
the environment, or perhaps they felt it was their duty to
join in the noise. But after Becker's shout, they left the
screeching to the storm.
   Acorna wasn't sure it would be useful, but she began
broadcasting calm and soothing thoughts to one and all.
She also edged over and laid her head on Becker's
shoulder so that her horn touched the base of his neck.
He seemed surprised by the touch at first, but it had the
desired effect. His shoulders relaxed, and his hands
eased a bit on the controls, while the little craft
continued plowing through the sandstorm.
   "I keep feeling like I have to drive this thing, and
actually, it does a real good job by itself," he told her,
with a sheepish grin.
   Almost more startling than the sudden storm was the
sight that met them when they burst through it. The

                                                        312
night beyond the sandstorm was still clear and bright
with the striped light of the planet's two moons. They
had risen during the flitter's flight through the storm,
and now hung heavy in the night sky, full and round
save for a stripe of shadow in the center of each.
   "Ho-oh-leee cats," Becker said. "If we hadn't just come
from that sky just a couple of days ago, Acorna, I'd
swear there was a big old pussycat out there looking
down on us like we were inside a mouse hole."
   Tagoth and Miw-Sher began talking to each other so
rapidly, while pointing through the sand-scoured hatch
at the sky, that even Acorna couldn't make out what
they were saying.
   Tagoth finally stopped and explained. "When our
moons align themselves thusly, it is a sign of a great
crisis in our world."
   "So that's a bad thing?" Becker asked.
   "Not necessarily," Miw-Sher answered the question
Acorna relayed. "While the Star Cat's eyes watch the
crisis unfold, his vigilant benevolence may also serve to
spare us from it, if he so wills."
   "Gee, that's nice," Becker said when Acorna told him
this. "We'll hope the big guy is in a good mood, then."
   Tagoth tapped him on the shoulder and said, for
Acorna to translate, "Steer toward the star that appears
in the center below the eyes of the Star Cat."
   Becker did so.
   A range of low mountains, white as bones under the

                                                       313
catty glare of the moons, rose before them. As the flitter
flew over the ridge, its occupants could see that the
white knuckle hills were not set in a line, but circled a
great deep crater.
   "Descend into the crater," Tagoth instructed. "But do
not land. I will show you where to fly."
   Becker obeyed. Suddenly Tagoth said, "Now turn
back toward the desert . . . sharply, yes . . . and fly into
that shadow between the inner wall of the ridge and the
crater."
   This, too, Becker did. They found themselves flying
right into a fissure in the side of the crater.
   It looked as though hundreds of fireflies floated in the
dark in front of them, their lights tiny pinpricks that
were hardly enough to illuminate the darkness of the
passage.
   Then Tagoth said, "Descend and land."
   Becker, who had no idea what lay beneath them,
began doing so. The pinpricks of light grew larger, and
flickered and drew nearer, until they were clearly visible
as the flames of torches carried by a parade of people
converging on the flitter. Behind them, rising almost to
the ceiling of the ridge, were torches set into the face of
the rock.
   Tagoth said, "Behold the Aridimi Stronghold."

   The people under the torches were armed with a
glittering assortment of knives, spears, and swords.

                                                        314
Light glinted off the coin-bright eyes of still more
guardian cats. None of these cats hopped onto the hatch
in curious greeting as they had back in the forest
Temple. The Hissimi guardians, tired and shaken from
their journey through the sandstorm, waited warily to
see what would happen next.
   "Have you friends here?" Acorna asked Tagoth.
   "A few know me. But my journey here was long ago,
and probably those young enough to defend the Temple
will not remember me. Besides, there is something you
should know. The highest-ranking priests speak a
special secret language and I was never privileged to
learn it. I was not especially trusted in my time here."
   "In that case, I'll go first," Acorna said. Becker started
to protest, but she smiled and put her hand on his
shoulder. "There should be some advantage to being the
one whose coming is prophesied, after all."
   The hatch opened and immediately the torches,
guardian cats, and men drew close until she could count
the whiskers on the cats' faces and the hairs on the arms
of the men. She stood, holding her horned head erect on
a neck nearly as long as and far more slender than one of
her Ancestors'.
   "Hello," she said pleasantly in the Makahomian dialect
she had learned from Nadhari. "My name is Acorna. I
am the Linyaari ambassador. I believe you have met one
of my race before--the one you call the Star Cat's
Companion. I'm told my arrival is expected." Becker and

                                                         315
RK stepped outside the flitter as well and stood at
attention on either side of her, ready to take on anyone
who raised a hand to hurt their friend.
   "Greetings, Khornya, and welcome." The speaker--a
small, shriveled figure--emerged in front of the
torchbearers. "Your arrival is indeed a cause for
celebration. We are so pleased that you bring with you
Joh and Riidkiiyi." His utterances were in somewhat
broken and laboriously pronounced but nonetheless
unmistakable Linyaari.

  Nadhari Kando was no coward, and many of the
entries in her extensive resume proved her fearlessness
and offered evidence of her superb fighting prowess.
  It wasn't exactly fear that gripped her now as she sat
bound hand and foot in the back of the flitter while Dsu
Macostut drove. No, what she felt was more like
revulsion for Edu, and even more for herself. Both she
and Edu recognized the possibilities of this scenario, one
that she thought she had long ago put behind her as she
had gained in strength and fighting skill.
  When he turned and grinned at her speculatively,
possessively, she knew she should dismiss him as an
incestuous ass and disregard his stare while she
considered how to escape. But to her amazement, there
was a very angry and frightened younger Nadhari
inside her that wanted to hide, wanted to run away, and
was something her older self hadn't been for some time

                                                       316
-- ashamed. Not ashamed for some great wrong she had
committed, as she had when, under the influence of
drugs, she'd been used by General Ikwaskwan and his
friend Count Edacki Ganoosh as a torture machine to
harm the Linyaari. No, it was the way Edu looked at her
that shamed her, the way he assumed some complicity
on her part had put her at his mercy this way. Probably
several hundred men had made overtures to her in her
life by now. More of them than she cared to admit had
even been successful, but none of them had made her
feel as dirty as Edu could just by looking at her.
   Facing Edu on her own two feet, surrounded by her
friends, she had thought she was over those feelings of
shame and helplessness. But now, bound and at his
mercy again, part of her felt she that was no better off
than she had been at six, eight, and ten. During those
times, whenever he had a chance, he had culminated
victories over her in their "fighting exercises" with
fondlings, gropings, and eventually much worse
indignities, things he'd told her were his right by
conquest. The last, worst time for her had been just
before he left to join the Federation. The consequences
had devastated her in a way that made warfare seem
laughable by comparison. When she heard Edu was
returning to Makahomia, she'd arranged to ship out
herself.
   Macostut was flying flat-out across the desert when
Edu turned his chair around to face her and reached out

                                                     317
his hand to cup her face. She pulled her chin up and
back to avoid his touch. He smiled a little at her small
rebellion.
   "I'm so glad you came back, Nadhari. It's very good
having you like this again," he said. Edu's voice took on
a cat-like purr. In fact, the only resemblance this
supposed cat-priest bore to the Temple guardians was
the self-satisfied rasp in his voice at such times. He
reached out, gripped her hair in his fist, and dragged her
head forward with one hand. With his other hand, he
held her chin so tightly that it would later sport a hand-
shaped bruise. Once he had her satisfactorily under his
control, he gave her a grotesque parody of a lover's kiss.
He did not, however, try to slip her any tongue. This
disappointed Nadhari. Her teeth were very sharp and
strong. She would have used them well.
   Edu, as if reading her mind, pulled away long enough
to begin licking her face, but not in the grooming way
the guardians had. It was more like a predator tasting
her in preparation for devouring her.
   "Hey, what's this?" Macostut asked. "Something just
popped up behind us."
   Looking over Edu's shoulder, Nadhari recognized the
shape of a Linyaari flitter against the horizon and sent a
warning message to Acorna. Knowing her friends were
near strengthened her resolve to survive, to escape, to
put Edu in his place. Even more beneficial, the sight of
the flitter distracted Edu from his little dominance game.

                                                       318
The Mulzar patted her cheek, mouthed "later," and
turned around to face the screen again.

  It was a funny-looking flitter, Edu Kando thought,
shaped like a winged beast of some sort, but painted in
bright, unnatural colors. For something that moved like
a sophisticated craft, it looked like a particularly well-
done piece of primitive artwork. It landed, and at that
point something else in the landscape popped into view
that neither the Mulzar nor Macostut had previously
seen--a giant cat. It bounded toward the winged flitter,
then, as the hatch opened, suddenly turned into a naked
man. A familiar naked man.
  Brother Bulaybub, back from the alleged grave! So he
was one of the shape shifters? Just went to show you
couldn't trust anyone ever, really. And that explained
who clawed up the corpse of Edu's man in the Aridimi
Stronghold. Which meant that Bulaybub would have
seen the map on the man's skin, which meant that
Bulaybub would know the way to the stronghold.
  The flitter blinked out of sight as it rose, and Edu
uttered a blasphemous expletive reference to the mating
habits of the Temple cats.
  "What's the matter?" Macostut asked.
  "That creature who just climbed into the flitter and
disappeared knows the way to the stronghold, and now
we've lost him."
  "I'm afraid so. They're shielded."

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   "Hail them and tell them we have Nadhari and will
kill her if they don't surrender him at once."
   "You know I can't do that, Edu. None of the com
equipment works beyond the gate. Your Makahomian
rule, remember? I'll just have to head in the same
direction they took and hope for the best. I tell you,
we're going to find that stronghold if we have to cover
every inch of the desert on this planet. We'll be able to
spot it when we see it. It may be a secret to you low-tech
types, but it can't stay hidden from the air."
   Edu's face wore a murderous frown for a moment;
then he turned a ferocious smile on Nadhari. "Oh dear,
cousin. Apparently you're not going to have any value
as a hostage. I seem to be the only one able to appreciate
your charms."
   Nadhari decided that if he was going to go after her
again anyway, she might as well make it interesting
enough so that he didn't get any bright ideas about
pursuing that flitter just now, and maybe find Tagoth
and the others.
   With her own purr she said to Edu, "Better get out
your stun gun again then, cousin. Because that's the only
way you're going to get the best of me even now, with
me all tied up. You used to fight fair, at least. I suppose
your position as Mulzar has made you soft."
   "Not as soft as you can be, cousin," he said. "I'll give
you an even chance. I'll free one of your hands. Just one,
so you can put it to good use."

                                                       320
   "Oh, stop," she said. "A girl can only take so much
sweet talk before caving right in. But, Edu?"
   "Yes?"
   "How are you planning on justifying to the Aridimi
elders visiting their sacred stronghold in a bit of alien
technology, in the company of a Federation official?"
   "I don't have to explain anything to anyone. I am the
Mulzar. I rule the high plateau and the steppes. After
my gifts are delivered to the all the Temples, I'll rule the
rainforest as well. And the Aridimi Stronghold has made
itself vulnerable by its very isolation. The priests weaken
themselves with their self-imposed privations."
   "What would you know about privation, self-imposed
or otherwise?" Nadhari asked.
   The Mulzar smiled.
   "Ummm -- I have my sources, you know. My last spy
among the Aridimi was murdered recently, but he was
in place for years. He managed to sneak out bits of
intelligence to me throughout that time using the priests'
supply caravans. Without the meager contributions they
bring in from the outside world to augment their
supplies, you see, the priests are quite helpless. They
even deprive themselves of water to avoid defiling the
sacred lake any more than necessary.
   "I, however, have no intention of depriving myself in
anyway. In fact, I plan on doing a lot of so-called
defilement right away. First I'll defile you, then the lake.
Then, when the priests and all of the wretched cats are

                                                        321
purged from this world, our society will enter a new and
much more progressive age than the blasted stone age
we've endured for so long. The stones we've wasted as
mere ornaments will be sold to mining concerns and
terraforming companies and weapons manufacturers all
across the universe. Their sales will provide me with a
nice little war chest. It shouldn't take long, my dear, for
our stones are very valuable. The size of our
chrysoberyls is so rare, I am told, that their like is
unknown in the universe.
   "Once I have done that, we will begin training our
own people to manufacture the machinery our stones
will augment--particle beam accelerators and weapons.
We will have a viable economy based on industry on
this planet, instead of catering to all of these foolish
animals. People are surely beginning to see, after my
little demonstration with the recent plagues, that
animals, even the cats that they so foolishly worship, are
far too fragile to depend upon. The cat temples will be
replaced with factories. All those cat statues, if it is not
too immodest for me to say so, will be replaced with
statues of me."
   "You'd make a good statue," Nadhari said. Her cousin
failed to understand the humor or the veiled threat
behind her words.
   "Thank you. You can be beside me when I take over
this planet. Of course, you're a bit old for child-bearing,
though there were rumors when I came back, rumors

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that our last encounter . . . ?"
  He let the question hang and Nadhari willed her face
not to flush. Just like Edu to count his stones before he
found them. She forced herself to continue regarding
him with cool amusement. She would never give him
the satisfaction of knowing the pain he had caused her,
and the loss.
  Edu looked away. "It doesn't matter. We will have
many, many more pleasurable encounters--pleasurable
for me, at any rate. As my consort, you can help me
persuade our people that my plan is in the best interests
of this world -- and of the universe. You will be the
woman with whom I start an empire. Other lesser
females will be good enough for my dynasty building."
  He had begun loosening his clothing and hers.
Regrettably, there was plenty of room in the flitter for
what he had in mind. Macostut didn't seem to mind or
even notice. He sat looking out into the desert, waiting
to see if anything else of interest would happen in the
patch where Becker's flitter had landed.
  The light inside the Federation flitter was quite dim by
now-- probably Edu considered it romantic. That would
make sense, given his limited understanding of such
things. Outside the hatch, the desert landscape no longer
seemed peaceful. It looked like a storm might be
blowing up out there. The flitter rocked slightly.
  Nadhari was glad Acorna was the one who read
minds, not Edu. He didn't know about the mind reading

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or about Acorna's other special powers. Those powers
would have to be considered if he was to have any hope
of carrying out his plans. Nor did he know about Tagoth
yet. At least Tagoth was safe with her friends, as she
knew from Acorna's message.
   Becker, Acorna, and her Makahomian friends were all
in the flitter heading on the correct course for the
stronghold of the sacred lake. They would alert the
Aridimi to the dangers Edu posed to them all. Nadhari
would elaborate on his schemes in another message to
Acorna as soon as Acorna contacted her again.
Meanwhile, all she had to do was distract Edu by
feeding into his schemes until the others were safely
away. Perhaps, if she could just get free, she could wrest
control of the ship away from him and Macostut.
   "Edu?" she asked as he bent toward her.
   "Yes?" His voice was gloating and bubbling with too
much saliva. He liked having his prey under his control,
though he enjoyed a bit of a struggle in the process. That
would be the catty side of him, she supposed. Perhaps
he couldn't help it.
   "Did you ever think there might be a better way to
accomplish these things you want?"
   "Accomplish what things?"
   "Your goals. You're a very talented, and some might
say you are an attractive man, quite aside from your
political power. Did it ever occur to you to ask a girl to
dinner and a vid--oh, wait, they aren't available here --

                                                       324
or just to watch a sunset, and then romancing her into
bed with you, instead of beating the shit out of her and
raping her? Did you ever think of how much easier that
might be for you?" She could see the shock in his face.
She just knew he was going to say he didn't see where
he'd find the fun in that.
   She hurried on. "Or, how about the changes you want
to make on the planet? Maybe everybody else here is
sick of war and farming, too. If you formed an alliance
with the priests and then persuaded the people that the
stones were our divine gift to help us move into a more
technological economy, you'd still end up ruling the
planet, and you wouldn't have to kill everything in sight
to do it. I know you hate the cats, but you don't need to
worship them. You could just let them go be cats, and
live with people who do like them."
   Edu smiled with all of his teeth. He leaned over and
bit her hard on the neck. As the pain of his attack shot
through her, he reached out, took out a small key, and
released some of the restraints that held her captive.
After he freed her right hand, he refastened her left hand
to the bindings strapped to her heel, then hid the key
again.
   "Make me," he challenged.
   She sighed. The Linyaari would have to give her
credit. She had just tried reason and persuasion, though
of course she had known it was futile. Now it was time
to revert to the more primitive things Edu had taught

                                                       325
her.
   Nadhari was skewed sideways against Edu. He
leaned in to rip her uniform shirt from her skin.
   She shrank away as if frightened, which excited him
so much that he stopped for a moment, backing away a
fraction to enjoy the full expression of her fear. So
predictable . . . She flung her whole body forward and
slammed the bridge of his nose with her head. He
recoiled in surprise and pain, and the air rushed out of
his lungs. He landed hard against Macostut.
   The flitter lurched and jerked, but not just because of
Macostut. A great wall of sand struck them suddenly,
the force of it knocking the flitter this way and that until
it flipped the vessel over and drove it down toward the
desert floor.
   Nadhari laughed out loud, feeling as if she had been
given a gift. She threw herself butt-first on top of Edu's
chest and took the key to her restraints from the pocket
where she'd seen him deposit it. She twisted and kicked
Macostut in the head with her boots, then bounced on
Edu's chest again, just in case he'd managed to take in
some more air. That gave her time to free her other hand
and legs.
   Straddling the two men in a way that Edu could
hardly find pleasurable, she took over the controls from
the unconscious Macostut. She ignored Edu's pained
gasps and managed to steer the flitter to a stop just
before the wind and sand smashed it nose-first into the

                                                        326
desert.
   Instead of crashing and breaking up into pieces, the
craft scraped to a harmless halt on its side within the
wall of sand.
   Nadhari had no time to congratulate herself on this,
however. Edu grabbed Macostut's weapon from the
unconscious man's belt.
   Bracing her feet against the top of the hatch, Nadhari
dug her thumbs into Edu's eye sockets. The hand with
the weapon jerked to his face to try to protect his eyes
while his other hand flailed and then connected with the
hatch control. The hatch sprang open and all the air was
immediately sucked out of the flitter into the storm,
along with Nadhari, who found that it was possible to
fly and be flayed alive at the same time.




                                                      327
                        Nineteen

   The elder priest and all of his retinue led Acorna and
hers into the Temple. RK prowled around, working the
crowd of Temple cats, no doubt looking for one that was
the equal of Haruna. The Hissimi cats, with the
exception of the kittens cradled in their basket next to
Miw-Sher's chest, occupied the shoulders and arms of
the other travelers.
   The Temple was extremely spartan, even on the levels
where the high priests lived. The most luxurious items
in the rooms were the quilted pads along the walls
where the Temple guardians could stretch out and
knead their claws if they wished.
   But just as Acorna thought the priests were taking her
deeper into the Temple, suddenly they were on the other
side of it, facing a long, broad lake that looked extremely
deep. The lake's narrow shores abutted the steep cliffs of
a canyon whose sheltering sides admitted only a slice of
night large enough to allow the cat's eye moons to shine
down upon the lake and be reflected by it.
   The near shores of the lake and the walls of the
Temple gleamed with stones that mirrored both the
moons and their reflections on the sacred lake. Further
down the lake's length, shadowy foliage huddled in the
shelter of the cliffs.

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   The mystical beauty of this place was overwhelming.
It captivated them, enchanting the people of their little
party into silence. As they saw it for the first time, not
even Becker seemed able to speak. Their cats, however,
had a different reaction. They grew hyperactive--
playing leapfrog with each other, rolling and tumbling,
running halfway up the walls of the Temple to use it as a
springboard to jump down onto their companions.
   Suddenly Becker yawned, as did Miw-Sher.
   Acorna opened her mouth to tease them, and she
yawned, too.
   "You are tired from your long journey," the high priest
said to Acorna in Linyaari. "You must all rest."
   "We haven't the time," Acorna told him. "We came
here on a mission to warn you. Tagoth knows more
details about this than I do, but the Mulzar Edu Kando is
plotting to kill all of the cats of this world, and all of the
members of the priesthood that he doesn't control. He
killed all of the Temple cats in Hissim except for the four
guardians we brought with us. He released a plague that
has killed many of the farm animals around Hissim, and
the wild animals of the fields and the steppes. He tried
to spread the plague to the jungle and may have
succeeded. One of our friends, a Terran named Captain
MacDonald, has concocted a remedy and is trying to get
it to all the people now. I really must get back and help
him. Also--Nadhari!" She turned to Becker. "I haven't
heard from Nadhari in hours and hours. Not since the

                                                          329
sandstorm struck."
   Becker met her gaze. "We had to lose them out there,
or we could have brought them right where they wanted
to go--into this secret stronghold." He thought about
what Nadhari could be going through, and the concern
in his eyes mirrored what Acorna was feeling. "Maybe
she's fine. Maybe Edu's too busy to be giving Nadhari
much trouble right now. That was a heck of a
sandstorm, and the Federation flitters aren't as well able
to withstand turbulence as that slick little model your
people made."
   Acorna explained the problem to the high priest, who
said, "Our people will search for survivors of the storm.
But we would not bring anyone we find back here. Only,
perhaps, the woman who is your friend, Khornya."
   Acorna was momentarily startled by the priest's use of
her Linyaari name and yet, if Aari had foretold her
coming, that was the name he would have used.
   Tagoth said, "Holy one, I have much to tell you about
the plots of the Mulzar Kando. Among the news, I must
tell you that Brother Fagad was a spy for the Mulzar. I
confess that I killed him before he could reveal holy
secrets to the Mulzar."
   The priest's face grew grave. "You should have
reported his treachery to us, rather than killed him
yourself."
   "I had no time. I had to act," Tagoth said.
   "Brother Fagad was a very holy person among our

                                                       330
people, and we have had no indication he was other
than as we knew him," the old priest said. "You have
committed a very grave crime." He nodded to the flock
of other wizened little priests who had accompanied
them. "Please interrogate this man and report back to
me."
   Acorna began to protest, but the priest patted her
hand.
   "If he had just cause in his actions, no harm will come
to him. If he is telling the truth, then we will merely
learn that which he wishes to tell us. You, Khornya, have
a greater purpose in being here. I must show you
something that only I, of all the priesthood, am
privileged to know, and only my predecessor knew
before me. This is a treasured secret of my people and
ensures that a successor will always be named before the
demise of the previous high priest. Come."
   Acorna looked at her friends.
   Becker said, "I think I'll bunk down in the flitter,
Princess. I'll work on the com unit and see if there's
anything I can do about it from this end."
   The old priest said, "I regret, Captain, that if you
choose to return to your flying animal, you will be
unable to enter the Temple until morning. The crater
entrance is secured and locked at night."
   "That's okay. I just want to be ready to roll in case
Acorna gets any more mental messages from our
missing friend." He tapped his temple. "You'll give me a

                                                       331
heads-up if you get any vibes from her, right?"
   "Of course, Captain," Acorna agreed.
   After Becker, the high priest, and Acorna left, Miw-
Sher stood staring at the lake.
   A priestess laid a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder.
   "I want to look at this forever," Miw-Sher said
wonderingly.
   "I have the perfect room for you. Do you see that little
balcony?" the priestess asked, pointing up to the outside
of the Temple, which was a bit more ornate on the lake
side, studded with stones only slightly smaller than the
magnificent ones these Temple priests and priestesses
wore around their necks. Miw-Sher nodded. "You may
sleep there. The guardians will sleep where they choose,
of course, but there is room there for the kittens and
their mother, and any others who choose to stay with
you. We will help you make a bed there. But first, before
you rest, I think you must have something to eat. Come."




                                                       332
                          Twenty

   Kando grabbed for Nadhari, but his fingers found
only a blast of sand exploding through the open hatch.
Her triumphant laughter choked off in a blast of sand.
   He wasn't about to go after her in the storm. Such a
dreadful waste, but it was her own doing. She'd had her
chance to be his consort. Now her bones would bleach
on the desert sands--and he suspected she would be
scraped down to the bone in a matter of minutes in this
storm.
   He punched the hatch door and it closed again, but
not entirely, and not before it had admitted a layer of
sand over an inch deep that covered the controls. But he
was able to access the controls--thank goodness he
remembered that much from his Federation training --
and get the flitter off the ground again before it was
completely buried in the storm. Beside him, Macostut
stirred and muttered. Edu dragged the man to his feet
by the hair and put him in the pilot's seat. He slapped
him to wake him up and get his attention.
   "Get us out of here."
   "Okay, okay." Macostut engaged the engine and the
flitter lifted jerkily. "I'll try to gain some altitude. The
higher we go, the less sand there will be."
   "That beats sitting here being buried forever in a sand

                                                        333
dune," Kando snapped. "Let's go."
   With much bucking and creaking, the flitter gained
altitude. Once Macostut tried to climb so sharply that
the flitter almost flipped backwards, but an adjustment
of the incline eventually took them up until the sand
was little more than a sheer veil over the night sky. The
turbulence diminished.
   The flitter finally outdistanced the storm. As the sand
cleared, the full effect of the shadow-bisected moons
stared Kando and Macostut in the face.
   Macostut swore. "I never saw them do that before," he
said, his voice quivering very slightly with awe and--
could that be fear? Kando grinned.
   "Really, Dsu, you should have been raised here and I
should have stayed in the Federation. It's just a cosmic
event, probably a trick of the ring shadow that happens
every hundred years or so. Or so I'm informed by the
more learned among my pious brethren. It is NOT,
however, the Star Cat or anything else supernatural."
   "Of course not," Macostut said gruffly. "I'm perfectly
aware of that. It just took me by surprise. Must have
been being kicked in the head by your charming cousin."
   "I'm very glad to hear that, because although it isn't
supernatural, it is something else far more helpful."
   Macostut seemed to be tiring of his role as executive
officer to Kando s command. He said, "I assume you're
going to enlighten me." He did not sound friendly.
   "It is a navigational aid. If, while the moons are

                                                       334
arranged on the horizon exactly as they are now, you
head straight for the place between them, you will come
in time to the Aridimi Strong-hold."
   "You know this to be true?" Macostut asked.
   "It says so in all of the legends and holy books,"
Kando told him.
   "Why haven't more people found the Stronghold,
then?"
   "The moons are in this configuration only once in a
hundred Standard years. And it takes time to follow the
omens across the desert. By the time any of us made the
crossing, the moons would be in some other phase. It's
poetic information, but hardly useful in a primitive
culture with so many restrictions. But that's no reason to
suppose it's inaccurate."
   They flew toward the moons without speaking.
Kando filled the time by unpacking the chemical bombs
with which he intended to treat the lake. These were
used in the galactic mining of the cat's-eye chrysoberyls,
and should also serve to either poison the priests or
drive them out of the stronghold, where they would
perish in the waterless vastness of the desert. True, they
were used to doing without much water, but they would
not be able to survive with none at all. He wondered if
the Temple would make a decent initial processing plant
and packing facility.
   After the flitter had continued flying for some time,
though, he began to lose faith in the moons as a

                                                       335
navigational aid. Such directions were imprecise, after
all, and fraught with the kind of mysticism that he
hated.
   Macostut, on the other hand, seemed to be overtaken
with awe at the vastness of the desert landscape. "Will
you look at that crater!" he cried, nodding to the black
hole beneath them, full of rock and little else.
   Kando was delighted. "Aha! We're near now. The
stronghold is near a crater, and the lake is said to be
nearby as well."
   "Maybe I should fly around a little and look for it?"
   "No, keep straight between the moons," Kando said,
though he was sorely tempted by the idea of exploring
the crater.
   His perseverance was soon rewarded, although both
he and Macostut almost missed spotting their target. As
they flew over the crater and back into the Serpent's
Spine ridge, the land was split between the ridge's
vertebrae. The flitter was nearly past the split directly on
their route when he looked directly down and saw that
the space in the split gleamed in the moons' light.
   "The lake!" he cried, pointing. "There it is. Take us
down there."
   The flitter passed through the crack in the ridge with
barely two meters on each side of the craft to spare.
   Silently it descended, and Kando gazed with wonder
at the deep clear waters, within whose depths even now
he could see the eyes of the chrysoberyls shining

                                                        336
through the ripples. The moons' reflection seemed to
blink in answer to his gaze as the slight turbulence from
the flitter's descent ruffled the surface. Behind the flitter,
the Temple was shadowed by the rocky face of the cliff,
but its windows, though darkened, mirrored the water
and the moons. Just beyond the flitter, stands of tall trees
and grasses fluttered and waved.
   "It's the most astonishingly beautiful place I've seen
since I've been here," Macostut breathed.
   "Right," said Kando, and opened the hatch to heave
the first chemical bomb into the pristine waters.

   Acorna followed the flickering torch carried by the old
priest as he led her through the bowels of the Temple. It
was very quiet now, with everyone off to bed, and all
she heard was the soft shuffle of the old priest's steps,
the crackle of the torch, her own footsteps and heartbeat,
and the sound of running water.
   The priest led her up and down stairways and
through walls that seemed to contain no doorways until,
as they passed through the last of these, she saw the
water that had been making the sound. A broad, lively
stream ran beside the narrow walkway. Acorna guessed
it must feed into the lake. The Temple was built with its
foundation underwater. The corridor through which she
walked was inscribed with drawings as the other cave
had been. It was ancient and did not appear to have
been constructed. Possibly the earliest temple structure

                                                          337
had simply made use of another lava tube like the one
containing the lake. Volcanic ranges were full of such
holes, some small, but as in this case, some of great
depth and volume. The one containing the lake was
cracked open at the top, but at one time far back in the
planet's prehistoric times, the waters would have been
deep inside the mountain.
   Her head began to throb with the rush of the water,
the flicker of the torch, the closeness of the tunnel.
   Then suddenly the priest stopped directly in front of
her.
   She stopped, too. He pointed the torch at a rough
white column set in the middle of the stream.
   Sensing that she didn't understand, he moved in
closer, and now she saw the shape was not a column,
but a statue set upon a pedestal with the well that was
the mouth of the stream bubbling up at the foot of its
base. It was very tall and white, like the stone from
which the Serpent's Spine ridges were made, not the
cat's-eye stone used more often in Temples for
ornament. The first thing she saw was the outstretched
hand. Its carved fingers bore, like her own, just one
knuckle. The statue's feet were cloven hoofed, with
carved feathery hairs curling up the calves, just as such
feathers curled up her own calves. The statue had hair
that curled around a face and the deformed and slightly
stunted horn that adorned it. She recognized the statue's
features and posture--all except for the eyes, into whose

                                                      338
sockets cat's-eye stones had been set, skewing the
otherwise excellent likeness of Aari. But as she faced the
statue full on, she realized that these particular
chrysoberyls had wider stripes in the middle than usual,
giving the eyes a less feline appearance than they might
have otherwise, and the face could have been that of her
mate when he was lost in thought.
   "Aari," she said. Definitely Aari, just as in her dream.
   The priest turned and beamed at her. "The
Companion."
   She was about to ask all of the questions in her mind
when they were replaced by a rush of intense pain and
an agonized cry, (Acorna! Help! Please, I escaped Edu,
but he is on his way to the sacred lake to poison it, and
then wipe out the Aridimi priesthood. You have to stop
him.)
   The feelings engendered by the cry were so intense
that Acorna fell against the wall before she could regain
her balance. The old priest turned, alarmed at what he
saw in her face, but she was oblivious to him. (Nadhari!)
she mind-called. (You're wounded. Where are you?)
   (Never mind about me. You have to stop Edu and
Macostut. I don't know how long I was unconscious. It
may be too late already.)
   (It may be too late for you if we don't get help for you.
There are many people here to protect the lake.)
   (He has poison, Acorna. Do something!)
   (I will. But, Nadhari, I need you to concentrate now.

                                                        339
Where are you? How long did it take you to get there?
Did you happen to notice the coordinates again shortly
before you left the flitter?)
   (No--yes, there was a sandstorm. A terrible storm. I
was sucked out into it when I tried to overpower Edu
and Macostut and take over the ship. I dove into a drift
of sand to escape having my skin stripped off, but I'm
still pretty raw and sooo thirsty. The storm is over now,
though, so it isn't so bad.)
   (I think I have a good sense of where you are. Captain
Becker can come for you. The Aridimi have searchers
out, too. Someone will come to find you. Make noise if
you can.)
   (I can't do much,) Nadhari said regretfully. (I don't
think I can speak at all, my throat is so raw.)
   Acorna turned her thoughts to Becker. (Captain, I am
receiving a telepathic message from Nadhari. I think she
is somewhere near these coordinates. Will you please go
look for her? She may die otherwise. And, Captain?)
   Becker, who had been asleep when her mind prodded
his own, growled, "What?"
   (Watch out for the Mulzar's Federation flitter. Nadhari
says they were also caught in the sandstorm, but they
flew off after ditching her in the desert. She says Kando
intends to poison the sacred lake.)
   (I'll keep my eyes peeled, Princess.)
   Acorna allowed the present situation to flood back
into her senses. She saw the old priest bending over her,

                                                       340
a look of excitement so great his wizened old body could
hardly contain it emanating from every pore.
   "Even so must it have been when the Companion
came to save us. So he knew words that were not
spoken, saw events that were not in front of his eyes."
   Acorna nodded. "Yes, we do that. And, although there
is so much I need to ask you about this wonderful statue
-- about Aari's visit here--the lake is in danger. Mulzar
Kando and an accomplice intend to poison it."




                                                      341
                      Twenty-one

   S plash! RK's ears twitched at the sound. He sniffed
and opened an eye, trying to keep the dream he was
having about Haruna safe behind his other, closed eye.
   He hadn't noticed the hum of the flitter or the
disturbance it made in the air. He was so used to such
things, it was more noticeable to him when they were
not present than when they were.
   The splash woke him immediately, however. No one
had mentioned fish, but it was always possible. That
lake could contain fish. Real, live ones, that wiggled and
swam and made wonderful sport before you slapped
them silly with a blow from a mighty paw and devoured
the fresh fish flesh . . . ahhh.
   But his waking eye didn't catch the silver gleam of a
leaping lake denizen. It saw the flitter. And it saw the
second item dropping into the lake from the flitter,
which preceded the second, also nonfishy, splash.
   There was indeed something fishy about all of this,
although not of the delicious sort.
   RK sat up, staring, his tail jerking.
   In the basket with the kittens, Grimla opened both
eyes wide.
   (What is it?) she asked calmly, quietly, so as not to
alarm the little ones.

                                                       342
  (Don't look now, but I think it's your fearless leader,
the Mulzar, and that clown from the Federation.)
  The kittens mewed excitedly. They were more
confident now that they knew they weren't being
abandoned, and one after the other asked in small,
squeaky, annoying voices, "New ma, what's a fearless?"
  "New ma, what's a leader?"
  "New ma, what's a Mulzar?"
  "New ma, what's a clown?"
  "New ma, what's a Federation?"
  (I'll go with you,) Grimla said. All of the tiny mouths
which had held her down were now open with
questions and therefore unfastened from her person. She
jumped out of the basket. (Whatever he's up to, it can
hardly be worse than kittens. I'm too old for this.)
  (You fought me for them,) RK reminded her.
  (I thought you were going to hurt them,) she said.
(Some toms do.)
  (Me? Naah. It's just I never saw another cat that small
before. I was curious. I am curious now.)
  She rubbed her side against his as she joined him on
the side of the balcony and they watched the flitter set
down among the foliage on the far end of the lake. (Oh, I
know better now. I can see you're an old softie. Are we
going to stand around here all day or are we going to
investigate? I'll have to return to feed the children again
before long.) She sighed and walked back for a moment
to give the nearest kitten a lick, then hopped off the

                                                       343
balcony. (You coming?)
   (As soon as I can. I'd better put this Temple's so-called
guardians and the two-leggeds on red alert.)
   But as he turned to wake the other cats, he found
himself hemmed in. Large, furry bodies slunk to the
edge of the balcony and surrounded him, while behind
them, from all ledges, balconies, door and window
frames, the chrysoberyl eyes of hundreds of other
guardians stared unblinkingly into the shadows.
   (Acorna?) RK used his cat-to-humanoid telepathy,
which here on Makahomia seemed to come not so much
from his brain but up from the ground through his very
paw pads. (We got trouble out here. Pass it on.)
   (I know. I'm on my way.)
   Miw-Sher sat up, wiping her eyes. She looked
drowsily out over the canyon, then wiped her eyes
again. "The lake!"
   RK didn't need her to tell him about it. He could smell
it already. The lips of every cat on the Temple were
curled back over the scent glands, the hackles of each cat
raised, the tails bushed. Even the kittens tried to see
through their closed eyes and bristled instinctively, their
individual baby hairs standing up on their
uncoordinated little bodies.
   The waters, so clear and clean just a moment before,
were boiling and steaming with an acrid stench that was
worse than the combined signatures of a hundred tom
cats looking for love.

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   RK growled low in his throat and said to the other
cats near him, (Okay, troops, here's what we do. We run
down the beach and some of us jump up on the ledge
back there and then we drop down onto them as they
come out of the flitter over in those trees and demolish
them.)
   The nearest cat, this one a large sleek one with
midnight stripes, said, (You do that. We'll do this.)
   And he and every other Temple guardian emitted ear-
splitting yowls that did to the auditory senses what the
polluted lake did to the olfactory ones.
   But as the great yowl started, a figure emerged from
the foliage. Edu Kando! When he saw the cats and heard
their yowl, he turned tail, but RK, Grimla, Pash, Haji,
and Sher-Paw bounded after him, only to be outsprinted
by the larger, longer-legged Temple cats who guarded
Aridimi. With a mighty coordinated leap, they brought
him down, screaming their battle cries and-- shooting
sparks?
   But the cats on top of Kando began falling off, lying
limp, and RK realized his enemy was shooting a laser
pistol.
   Grimla hung onto a foot with teeth and claws. Among
the roil of cats was a huge one. Miw-Sher, changed to cat
form, waded into the fray. The Mulzar, freeing himself
from the first ten cats to attack his body, backed up a
pace, then fired at her. She crumpled. Grimla abandoned
her place shredding Kando's leg and jumped away from

                                                      345
it, running to Miw-Sher. Kando fired again and Grimla
lay smoking, a bare paw's length from her friend.
   Then suddenly, behind them, the flitter rose jerkily
from the foliage. Federation flitters were well armed.
This one opened fire. Priests had joined the cats, but
both quickly fell and dropped to the ground, and in
some cases, into the roiling lake waters.
   RK grew very still inside, very numb, and slunk from
the body of one fallen comrade to the body of another
while the carnage continued. When he was behind the
Mulzar, but very close, he leaped up on the arm that
held the gun, hung on to it with deep sinkings of his
front claws while he bit and churned his back claws with
all his might.
   Kando's grip loosened and RK thought that one more
kick would set the laser pistol free.
   And then he felt a terrible crunching pain, as if his
spine had broken, as Kando's other hand crashed down
upon him, and sent him flying into the foliage.
   As the pain of his injuries overcame him, he saw
another huge cat, Tagoth, jumping over the fallen
bodies. Acorna was just behind him, supporting the old
priest.
   RK called out to her, but not with his mind. In fact it
was just a feeble little mew, but she heard him, and
looked up. Touching the old man with her horn, she
steadied him before she sprinted after Tagoth into the
welter of bodies. She stopped first to bend over Miw-

                                                       346
Sher.
  The Mulzar, nursing his shredded arm where RK had
nailed him, didn't bring the laser pistol up in time.
Tagoth landed full on top of him, disarming him.
  But the flitter barked again. As Miw-Sher sat up,
Tagoth's arm raised and the flitter spiraled -- slowly, it
seemed to RK, down to the lake.
  Tagoth lowered his arm. Miw-Sher tried to rise to her
feet. Acorna, clutching her throat, fell over her.
  No. That couldn't be right. Acorna would not fall.
  But she did.
  Acorna fell. And lay still.
  No.
  RK's world crashed from night blackness to a
darkness far more profound.

   "Captain Becker, do you read me now?" Mac's voice
woke Becker from a fitful doze.
   The com unit was live again!
   "Mac, funny you should mention. I was going to call
you as soon as I got the com unit back up. How did you
fix it anyway?" He was genuinely curious, but
remembering Mac's tendency toward long-winded
explanations, he decided curiosity could wait. "Never
mind. No tune now. I need to recalibrate the scanner to
pick up someone on the ground and I need to do it now,
without having to figure it out. Run through it with me."
   "Yes, Captain, but ..."

                                                       347
   "I'd ask Acorna, but she has other fish to fry back at
the Temple. Nadhari is somewhere out in the desert,
hurt. I need to find her."
   "I am distressed to hear that, Captain, but ..."
   "No ifs, ands, or buts about it, guy. Tell me how now
before I miss her and she ends up dying."
   "Very well, Captain," Mac said. He rattled off the
computations and Becker entered them quickly, his
concentration narrowing to just the screen. No sooner
had he adjusted his instruments than he spotted
something right about where he supposed Nadhari
might have been ditched. "Stay tuned, Mac. I think I got
her now."
   "Oh, very good, Captain. Do you want to know . . . ?"
   "Not now, Mac," Becker said, setting the flitter down
in the smoothly, even artistically drifted desert sands.
The night was calm and bright with striped moonlight
and seemed to be saying "Sandstorm? What sandstorm?"
   But bleeding atop one of the dunes, stripped of most
of her clothing and a lot of her skin, lay a person Becker
barely recognized as Nadhari.
   "Hey, babe, come here often?" he called.
   "Jonas, you junkman in shining armor," Nadhari said,
or tried to say. Her voice was hoarse and cracked; her
hands, arms, and torso were so abraded he could see
very little skin through the blood. Though she'd shielded
her face pretty well, her cheeks and forehead also looked
like raw hamburger.

                                                       348
  "Oh, honeybunny, we need to get you to Acorna right
away, doll. That bastard. I can't believe he dumped you
out here!"
  She smiled a little, painfully, and her teeth were pink
outlined in red. "I dumped him," she rasped.
  He tried to find spots on her anatomy he could hold
so that he could carry her, but in the end getting her to
the flitter involved him supporting and her half walking,
half being pushed and dragged. She sucked in her
breath a lot, but otherwise was quiet, even though that
walk had to have hurt like blazes. She was a tough lady.
  He would have covered her with something except he
didn't want to get anything else in those wounds. He
helped her arrange herself as comfortably as possible in
the back of the flitter. She was half fainting from pain,
loss of blood, and exhaustion.
  "Mac, you still there?" he asked, toggling the com unit.
  "Yes, Captain. Do you have Nadhari Kando?"
  "I do and I gotta get her to Acorna right now. She's a
real mess."
  "Captain, since you have been preoccupied during
this transmission, I took the liberty of acquiring your
position from your signal. I wish to inform you that the
wii-Balakiire is not far from you and closing quickly."
  "The what?"
  "The wii-Balakiire, the shuttle belonging to the Linyaari
ship Balakiire, with crew members ..."
  "I know what the wii-Balakiire is. I was just wondering

                                                       349
when and how they got here so fast."
  "They arrived only moments ago by following the
same course we took, which I downloaded directly into
their computer banks, correcting our coordinates so that
they did not end up mired on Praxos. It saved a lot of
time."
  "I'll bet it did."
  "Melireenya asked me to inquire if the crew might not
be able to offer their assistance so that Nadhari would
not have to suffer through the journey?"
  "Sure thing. You told me how they found us, but you
haven't said to what we owe the honor of their
company?"
  "When Acorna contacted MOO from Captain
MacDonald's ship, she told her friends about the plague
here. They decided to come and help."
  "Save it, Mac. Patch me through to the wii-Balakiire
now."
  "Very well, sir. I can do that easily since Chief Petty
Officer Lea removed the jamming signal she devised to
interfere with the Linyaari signal, so we may all
converse freely."
  "That was nice of her, whoever she is," Becker said.
"Hurry up, will you?"
  "This is Melireenya on the wii-Balakiire, Captain
Becker. We have made visual contact with you, and if
you look up and a bit to your right, you will do likewise
with us."

                                                      350
   Becker did and saw the Linyaari shuttle berth itself in
the sand. Six Linyaari waved at him through the
viewport. He couldn't tell in the darkness who they were
exactly, but he was glad to see them.
   Opening the hatch, he stepped out and allowed two of
the Linyaari to enter in his place. They immediately
turned to Nadhari and began laying hands and horns
tenderly upon her wounds.
   "I don't suppose any of you ladies brought an extra
tunic or something, did you? She might get a little
chilly--you know, shock and stuff--once you put her
back together."
   "Certainly, Captain," said the one nearest him. As
soon as she spoke, he recognized her as Acorna's Aunt
Neeva. She blithely stripped off her tunic and handed it
to him. "She can wear mine."
   "But I --er--what will you..." he stammered, trying
not to look.
   "If you think it necessary that I cover myself to
preserve the good opinion of Khornya's new friends,
then I'm sure I'll find something. I actually felt that in
such a warm climate, perhaps the attitude toward
clothing was more relaxed than it is among your own
people. But now you must tell me how to contact
Khornya. I have been trying to reach her, but I can't
seem to. Mac tells us that she is inside some sort of
stronghold, so I am assuming that it has some sort of
barrier to telepathic communication."

                                                       351
   "No, there's no such barrier. She contacted me that
way when she was inside the stronghold and I was out
in the flitter," Becker told her.
   Just then Khaari poked her head out of the hatch and
said, "Nadhari says her cousin and that crooked
Federation commander were armed, and were setting
out to destroy a sacred lake and kill the inhabitants."
   "How is she?" Becker asked them.
   Nadhari herself answered in a strong voice. "I'm fine,
Jonas. But something is wrong at the lake. I can't get
Acorna to answer me."
   "That's bad," Becker said, adding to Khaari and
Melireenya, "You ladies better sit down or get back to
your own vessel. We have to get back to the lake, and
fast."
   "The location of the stronghold is a sacred secret,"
Nadhari whispered.
   "So is the location of the Linyaari homeworld, if you'll
recall. I think we can safely guarantee that these people
can keep a secret. Besides, the priests at the stronghold
think Acorna is some kind of second coming. Just think
how tickled they'll be to see six more folks just like her.
Let's boogie, people."
   He flew right into the crater, with the wii-Balakiire
trailing behind. The twin cat's-eye moons had set by
then, and the first of the suns was rising, its pinks
obscured by a squirming yellow-green fog leaking out of
the mountains beyond the crater. From the readings

                                                       352
Becker was getting, the bilious stuff was rising from the
fissure above the lake. That wasn't good.
   Besides, the stronghold might still be locked.
   "Change of plans, folks," he told the Linyaari escort,
and flew up over the lip of the crater that contained the
stronghold. On the other side, he saw the slit between
the white knuckled ridges, with the fog billowing out of
it. "Hold your noses. We're going down there," he told
them, and dropped his flitter's nose through the crack
emitting the steam.
   He couldn't believe his eyes at first. What had been a
scene of beauty and peace when he retired only a few
hours earlier now looked like his worst nightmare.
   The formerly clear lake was churning with stinking
cloudy water, casting up stones like some filthy froth
along the beach. In the middle of the mess was a
Federation flitter half sunk into the water. Becker
thought he could make out a body at the controls.
   It wasn't the only body. As he found a place in the
bushes broad enough to land, he could see through the
steam to the shore, where he spied the prostrate bodies
of dozens of cats and four or five priests. Miw-Sher,
cradling the body of Grimla, walked through the
carnage beside Tagoth, trying to tend to the fallen priests
and cats.
   Nadhari loped over to them as if nothing had ever
been wrong with her. Embracing both of them and the
cat in a single desperate hug, she cried, "I can't believe

                                                       353
you're all right! I felt sure you were injured."
   "I was," Miw-Sher replied, "but Ambass . . . Acorna . . .
made me better before she was shot. Uncle Tagoth
tackled the Mulzar and got the gun away from him. He
shot down the flitter, but not before its guns got
Acorna."
   "Got Acorna?" Nadhari asked, and the words echoed
through Becker's brain like a ricocheting missile.
   Kando lay further down the beach, surrounded by
cats and priests. They were not trying to tend to any of
his wounds. In fact they seemed to be looking for
undamaged parts of him to claw, bite, or beat.
   Another huddle of about ten priests crowded around
something else a little farther away.
   The wii-Balakiire found its berth beside his flitter, but
before he could open the hatch, Neeva was out and
running toward the huddle of priests. Melireenya and
Khaari cried, "Khornya!" together, and surged for the
hatch, but Nadhari beat them to it.
   They all but climbed on top of Becker's head
evacuating the flitter.
   Becker, feeling sick in a way that even a Linyaari
couldn't heal, followed them, stumbling over the bushes,
trying to catch his breath in the stench from the lake.
   His foot touched something soft and he looked down.
His boot was under RK's belly. The cat was very still,
and when Becker picked him up, RK's tail hung down
limply over Becker's arm.

                                                        354
  Becker tapped the nearest Linyaari on the shoulder
and pointed with dumb misery to his first mate.
  "Riidkiiyi!" the girl cried. "Oh, Riidkiiyi, don't be
dead." She lay her slightly immature horn upon the cat's
fur while stroking him.
  After a moment, RK struggled in Becker's arms and
jumped down.
  "Thanks," Becker said.
  "It's Maati, Captain," Aari's little sister told him. She'd
grown so much that he hardly recognized her. She'd
been on the Balakiire and he hadn't realized she was
there. "My father and mother and I all came with the
Balakiire to see if we could help."
  "Thanks, Maati. Is--Is that Acorna they're working on
now?" he asked, trying to see through the wall of
Linyaari and priestly backs.
  "Yes."
  And then he felt a most welcome mental touch.
Though it was weaker than usual and very tired, he
knew it well. Acorna said, (Captain, I'm fine. Please
persuade some of my friends to help the others.)




                                                         355
                      Twenty-Two

   Acorna and her fellow Linyaari worked all day long
treating the wounded. Had the carnage been more
carefully aimed or gone untreated much longer, there
would have been fatalities, too. Time was playing tricks
on her. It seemed to Acorna that the carnage had gone
on forever, and that after she was hit, she had laid on the
beach gasping for breath for an eternity before she
passed out.
   In reality, once she was able to compute the time
elapsed, she found to her surprise that Becker, with
Nadhari and her people, had returned just after she fell
and Tagoth downed the Mulzar and blew the Federation
flitter into the lake.
   Once people and cats were restored to health by the
unconcealed application of Linyaari horns, the only
human casualty untreated was Macostut, still floating in
the flitter on the lake's bubbling, stinking surface. But his
injuries, if he had any, were of less concern to them than
the damage to the lake.
   "How will we ever fix that? It's so large. All of us are
depleted from healing the casualties," Maati sighed,
tired and uncharacteristically discouraged.
   The Mulzar, bound and under guard but still among
the others, laughed. "It is permanently changed.

                                                         356
Everything is permanently changed. I have a market for
those stones. The smart thing to do would be release me,
fish out the Federation flitter, heal my own and Dsu's
wounds as you've done those of these worthless cats and
priests, and let me explain my plan for Makahomia's
future to all of you."
   "You explained it to me already, Edu," Nadhari said. "I
can't say that I cared for it. I don't think anyone else will
either."
   The stronghold's high priest shook his head. "With the
lake thus defiled, Makahomia has no future. The sacred
lake feeds into all rivers, all streams, all water on our
world. The poison will infect everything. No one can
drink the holy stones, fool and blasphemer."
   "Though I think it would be fitting punishment if we
allowed Edu to try," Tagoth said. "Or if not the stones,
perhaps a refreshing drink of lake water?"
   Neeva said, "Don't despair, everyone. We can fix it.
We're simply going to need reinforcements. I know this
place is sacred and secret, but I hope I may have
permission to have the Balakiire land here as well as
Captain MacDonald's flitter. Maak used Captain
MacDonald's flitter to collect him and the barbarians."
   "I bet the Federation folks aren't going to like that,"
Becker said.
   "On the contrary, the outpost is nearly deserted since
the commander ordered his troops into the city to
monitor and assist with the war effort. Maak tells me the

                                                         357
remaining person in charge, a noncommissioned officer,
has been most helpful. I have contacted her myself. She
told me that so many eggs have now been broken that
we may as well make a souffle.
   "I've explained to her telepathically that we will need
the additional transport to deal with the emergency here
at the lake. What I did not say is that once we've dealt
with the lake, we will also need to disperse our people
quickly to other areas to purify the other water sources."
   Acorna translated and the old priest's eyes widened
and he looked as if he were about to faint from ecstasy.
"Yet more of the Star Cat's own sacred Companions?
How have we come to be so blessed that we deserve so
much pain and joy in the space of the same risings and
settings?"
   "That would be a yes," Acorna said to Neeva,
translating.
   In less than an hour, the flitter arrived with Mac,
better known as Maak to the Linyaari, Captain Mac
Donald, the Wats, and six more people from the
Balakiire: Thariinye, Kaarlye, Miiri, aagroni Iirtye,
Yaniriin, and -- rather to Acorna's surprise -- Liriili.
   Kaarlye analyzed the waters. After testing it, he
declared that they would not harm Linyaari horns. The
Linyaari then all knelt, joined hands, took deep breaths,
and ducked their horns into the filthy, bilious foam of
the lake.
   From the corner of her eye, Acorna saw Becker and

                                                       358
Tagoth manhandle the Mulzar to the shore and shove his
face as near to the lake waters as theirs were. She found
it a little hard to chuckle and purify at the same time, but
after what truly seemed a miraculously short interval,
the sacred lake's waters were once more clear and
smooth, though they seemed to be more filled than ever
with the sacred stones.
   Captain MacDonald, the aagroni, and Kaarlye and
Miiri each took command of a shuttle, with one of the
high priests on each vessel. Maati joined her parents in
their vessel, along with Liriili and Thariinye, while
Maarni and Yiitir--the Linyaari folklorist and historian
husband-and-wife team--joined the aagroni's vessel.
Yaniriin, Neeva, Melireenya, and Khaari rode with
Captain MacDonald.
   Of all the Linyaari, only Acorna remained at the
sacred lake. She stayed there at the insistence of the high
priest.
   After the last phase of the decontamination process,
Aridimi priests hauled the flitter from the lake. The
flitter was opened, and Macostut was pulled out. He
was not actually wounded, simply shaken by the crash.
The priests seemed to regret this, but did not make up
for it by administering new wounds themselves.
   Macostut was bound and placed next to Kando. Their
priestly guards were augmented by the presence of the
Wats, who thoroughly enjoyed being on the other side of
the bonds for a change. They frequently gave their

                                                        359
prisoners little blows, kicks, and intense frowns.
   "You won't get away with this, you know," Macostut
said. "The Federation will not allow you to interfere with
the authority of one of its officers, to wreck a craft, to
contradict the orders of the native ruler, and to interfere
with standing treaties."
   Mac surprised all of them by responding. "I believe
you will find you are incorrect on all points, sir," the
android said. "The Federation has an investigative team
on the way to interview the parties you and your
conspiracy with Edu Kando, the former Mulzar, injured
by your actions, and particularly by misuse of
Federation technology and research. Your plot to sell
and personally profit from the sale of the cat's-eye
chrysoberyls held sacred by the local populace is known
to them."
   Kando and the Mulzar regarded each other with
suspicious slit-eyed speculation. "How can that be?"
Kando asked.
   "Because the party you tried to sell them to was a
subsidiary of House Harakamian enterprises, which as
you may not know is run by Ambassador Acorna's
foster father, Rafik Nadezda, under the occasional
advisement of his uncle, Hafiz Harakamian. When the
chrysoberyls, with their unique properties that would
make micro-terraformation technology possible on a
large scale, came to Hafiz Harakamian's attention, he
recalled conversations with the ambassador and made

                                                       360
inquiries among his -- er -- employees, among the
Federation. It took very little research to realize that
while such stones are indeed indigenous to this planet
and possess the desired properties, they are not for sale
and have immense religious significance to the local
populace. They were very fair to you, sir, and searched
the records for some evidence of a revision of treaties or
rules or possibly some special permission that would
allow you to collect the stones, but as you know, no such
revisions or permissions exist."
   "I am ruler of half the people of this world," the
Mulzar said. "I am making the revisions and certainly
gave the permission."
   "Not anymore," the high priest told him. "The
guardians have conferred. They know what you have
tried to do to them and to the lake. Had you sought to
loot us without also seeking to destroy the guardians,
you might have been allowed to retain your rule. Cats,
on the whole, prefer to stay out of the affairs of humans
unless such affairs interfere with their comfort. But your
own guardians have testified to the others on this planet.
Even as a ruler by conquest, you are unfit to rule."
   "And who is fit to rule, old man? You? You are so
isolated here with your sacred lake you won't drink
from that you have no idea what the people need."
   "I am kept better informed than you were by the late
Brother Fagad," the priest told him.
   Kando knew that yet another of his schemes had been

                                                       361
discovered, but he couldn't seem to help himself and
tried one more time, staring angrily at Tagoth. "Fagad is
late because this mutant murdered him while he was
performing his sacred duty and reporting to me that
which it was my right, as Mulzar, to know." He spat at
Tagoth. "Traitor."
   Tagoth nodded. "I deserve that. I am a traitor indeed
for ever supporting you, Kando. I liked your ideas -- I
still like some of them. I have discussed with the
priesthood ways in which the best of them might be
implemented--with the consent of both our religious
community and the people. If you had sincerely wished
to use those ideas for the good of our planet, as you said,
you would have been a great leader."
   "I did want to do it for the good of the planet," Kando
said with a ferocious passion that made Acorna feel that
he was, or at least had at one time been, sincere. "But
you'll quickly learn that doing such things takes money."
   "Perhaps," Tagoth said.
   "But that doesn't mean you can just kill the guardians
and all the other animals on this planet!" Miw-Sher
blurted out suddenly. "You murdered our own
guardians with your germs. How could you? How could
you? They kept us safe for years, all of our loyal friends
and those poor little kittens. Some of them n-n-never
even got to op-p-pen their eyes!" She was crying now.
Tagoth had a hand on her shoulder, but quickly she was
surrounded by the Hissimi Temple cats and many of

                                                       362
their larger brethren from the stronghold.
  "My followers will overthrow any who try to take my
place," he said. "Under current rules, until I am bested in
battle publicly, I or my descendants rule."
  The high priest regarded him ironically. "This is not a
law a progressive man such as you claim to be should
invoke. However, it is the way things have always been
and shall continue to be. Your descendant shall rule, but
not with you to guide her. Her mother and the man who
has been a guardian to her, protecting her from your
incestuous lechery, will rule. She is, as you see, well
loved by the guardians and has the proper love for them
and concern for their welfare. Besides which, she is one
of the blessed who can change in this life, as is her
guardian."
  "You mean little sister Miw-Sher? But she's not my--"
  He met Nadhari's cold, hard stare and his voice died
away. "I didn't know. You didn't tell me."
  "I wouldn't give you the satisfaction," Nadhari said,
spitting at him. "And I couldn't stay. I was a child
myself. Tagoth, whom I loved, knew about her, though
not that she was yours. He followed you for my sake,
never knowing how I hated you."
  "H-hated me?" Kando looked genuinely distressed.
"But you liked our little games, our secrets."
  "Hated, still hate," she repeated. "I will give you credit
for one thing only. I learned to fight as well as I do only
so that I might avoid your touch ever again. That has

                                                        363
been what's driven me, more than life and death, to be a
warrior."
   "And now she will protect those who followed you in
your stead," the priest said brightly, "which seems
entirely appropriate to me. You, of course, as an avowed
religious are subject to religious law. As such, you will
be walled up, to live out your life in contemplation and
prayer as an anchorite. The brothers have prepared a
place in our walls now. Never fear, you will not be
lonely. The guardians will come to visit you at the
ventilation holes in your wall."
   "Are you going to wall me up, too?" Macostut asked.
   "You are not a priest or of our world. I have no
authority over you," the high priest said. "Your own
people will deal with you. I am assured by Kadi
Nadhari, which is her new title as the female co-regent
for Mulzarah Miw-Sher, that the star people can make
the rest of your life conducive to contemplation of the
error of your ways as well."
   Nadhari gave Macostut and Edu an evil grin, the
toothy sort that Linyaari found especially frightening.
   "Cheer up, Edu," Tagoth told him. "The changes you
want are coming about because of you, after all."
   The prisoners were taken away -- Macostut to a cell,
Kando to his new home inside a wall.
   The old high priest entertained his guests on the
balcony where Miw-Sher had slept with the kittens. The
kittens and their elders provided a floor show while

                                                      364
Acorna and her friends ate. The high priest had ordered
some bread, cheese, and fruit be brought onto the
balcony for a picnic on the lake. Thanks to the Linyaari
horns, even the air smelled better than it had a few
hours before.
   The priest told them that he was puzzled about many
things contained in Mac's explanation to Macostut and
Kando about how they had been found out. He wanted
to know more about Acorna and her non-Makahomian
friends, and particularly more about RK, who was
making a determined effort to rebuild the feline
population of Makahomia with any lady cat guardian he
could find.
   They told him much of their recent adventures, of the
desolation of both planets where the Linyaari lived, of
the help the isolated people had received from Acorna's
friends and adopted relatives. Then of course she had to
tell him about how she was found drifting in a pod in
space by her three human asteroid miner fathers, and
other entertaining parts of her personal history.
   Becker told how he had found Aari, and how his
shipmate and Acorna had become sweethearts, and how
they all had fought together to finally vanquish the
Khleevi.
   Finally Acorna told him of the strange time
aberrations they'd encountered, not sure the old man
would understand such things, but knowing that
mystics sometimes understood anomalies of physics

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long before scientists had figured them out. She told him
quietly of losing Aari in time and space.
   The priest nodded and rocked on his haunches,
clearly thinking.
   Finally he said to Acorna, "I must share with you
another thing. Please excuse us, friends. This thing is for
Khornya only."
   This time their walk through the bowels of the Temple
was friendlier, and where it was possible they walked
side by side. As in the other Temples, there were holes
high in the walls that let in light and allowed the
guardians to jump in and out. At one bend in the path,
RK poked his head through a hole and his body
followed with a soft plop onto the path. He took a quick
hop up to Acorna's shoulders. She idly tickled his tail
and he flipped it under her nose.
   "He is devoted to you, your guardian. I have never
seen one like him."
   "Haven't you?" Acorna asked. Her heart was beating
very rapidly in anticipation of what the old priest had to
show her, and yet she feared to be disappointed again,
to come upon another dead end and find a trace of Aari,
but no way to reach him. It seemed safer to talk about
cats. They enjoyed being talked about, and people who
liked them always had things to say about them. "But
Captain Becker told me he found RK on a ship from
your planet."
   "How can that be? We have had no space vessels since

                                                       366
many years before the Space Cat came to us."
   "Time warp?" Acorna asked, looking thoughtfully up
at RK.
   He licked his paw. (Don't ask me. I don't remember
anything about another ship before the Condor.)
   They had once again reached the statue of Aari, now
bathed in the reddish suns-shine pouring through the
holes in the walls and ceiling.
   It looks so like him. Shrugging RK off her shoulders,
Acorna stepped across the water and onto the pedestal
of the statue. She put her arms around the cold stone,
feeling a tear that ran down her cheek cooling as it
touched the statue. Then, realizing the priest was
waiting for her, she stepped back across the water again.
"Sorry," she said. "I had to do that. I miss him so much."
   The old priest said, "Your coming raises many
questions, but it has also brought many answers. You
have saved us, as was foretold."
   "Not really," she said. "Mostly that was my friends.
And the person who was foretold in your stories could
have been any of us Linyaari, as you surely see now."
   "You are modest. You are the one foretold, the
beloved companion of the Companion. He knew you
would come and that you would come when you were
desperately needed, just as he was when he came to us.
And so you have. Perhaps it is true that you could not
have saved us alone, but you were not alone, for your
friends and kinsmen came to help us for love of you."

                                                       367
   She wanted to tell him it was an accident, but she
knew he wouldn't believe her. After all that had
happened, she didn't really believe it herself.
   "First I would show you the gift left for us by your
Aari, for that was the name of the Companion in the
scriptures, though it is too holy to speak of in the normal
course of events."
   She giggled. "I'm sorry. I think he would find it funny
that his name is too holy to speak. Even after the Khleevi
hurt him so badly, once he recovered a little he had a
sense of humor--he was always dressing up in these
weird outfits that concealed that he didn't have a horn.
They--the Khleevi--took it from him and . . . and . . ."
   Her hand closed around the little disk at her throat
and she found she couldn't go on. The priest patted her
shoulder and then walked behind the statue and knelt to
show her something just below water level.
   She in turn knelt and peered at it.
   "Even when the evil men poisoned our lake, this water
stayed pure because of this. If your friends had not been
here to purify it, eventually the lake would have become
pure again because of this. The Companion gave us this
of himself so that we would never again face dying of
thirst because all of our water was tainted."
   He was indicating a small piece of what could only be
horn, just a sliver. For Aari to do that to himself when
the Khleevi had used it as a way to torture him--his
horn only recently grown . . . Acorna shuddered.

                                                       368
Although she herself had done something similar on
Rushima, her own horn had never been threatened as
Aari's had. She reached out but it was too far. So she lay
on her stomach and stretched out over the water to
touch it. Instantly she felt not just the horn, but his arms
warm and strong around her, his lips on her face, his
horn against her own. She saw him in all of his favorite
postures, doing all of the things she remembered so
well, his face set in those beloved, wry expressions as if
he were standing before her.
   She didn't want to move, ever again. She just wanted
to stay there where she could feel him and touch him. To
stand up would not be to rejoin the universe, but to lose
contact again with the most precious person in it.
   The old priest's finger tapping her shoulder caused
her to stare stubbornly at the horn, trying to hang on to
the images of Aari the horn invoked.
   But the old man was used to disturbing visionaries.
His efforts were aided by RK, who yowled at Acorna
and sank his claws into her hip.
   Tears rolled down her face to join the artesian waters
the horn purified in perpetuity. She turned back to them,
pulling herself back across the watery chasm, breaking
contact, losing Aari all over again.
   The priest indicated something in the wall behind
them, behind the statue, beyond the water. It was a huge
chrysoberyl. But the priest spun it on its base and she
saw that the back of it had been hollowed out. Within it

                                                        369
lay a black box, the sort that recorded the last moments
of crashed ships, the computer archives that left a record
for those finding the wreckage. "He meant this for you,"
the old priest was saying, oblivious to her rebellious and
angry mood. "It isn't very pretty, but I thought it might
be one of those gadgets you off-worlders like. Something
that has a message?"
   She clasped it to her. "Yes, a message. Yes, oh, yes."
   Now she couldn't wait to leave this place, to return to
the Condor or the Balakiire, wherever she could decode
the message he'd left for her.
   Fortunately, this time when she emerged from the
depths of the Temple with the priest and RK, she saw a
stream of people, mostly Linyaari, coming from the
foliage where flitters could be docked.
   "Mission accomplished, padre," Captain MacDonald
told the priest. "We got every lake, river, stream, well,
and mud puddle in the known world."
   Neeva said, "The people who saw what we were
doing asked that we thank you for thinking of their
welfare. They seemed surprised that someone should do
so."
   Becker said, "I guess this kinda blows the Linyaari
cover about the horns not doing the healing and
unpolluting."
   "No harm done," Nadhari told him. "My people are
not a space-traveling nation who can tell others what has
occurred here."

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   "You say 'we.' I guess that means you're staying to be
the queen mother, like the high priest said, doesn't it?
Hafiz is going to be really pissed."
   "I know that, but I have to, Jonas. Comfort Hafiz by
telling him that we will be happy to keep the Wats with
us. We can always use good guards."
   "That ought to make the old man almost happy
enough to make up for losing you," Becker said, giving
her a hug.
   When good-byes had been said all around, the high
priest made a gesture and a procession of priests bearing
the largest and finest of the cat's-eye chrysoberyls began
handing them to the guests and conveying them to the
flitters.
   "But these are your sacred stones!" Acorna said.
   "They are our gifts to you," the priest said.
   "They're worth a fortune. Hafiz would buy these from
you for enough funds to do anything for the planet you
wanted done."
   The old priest smiled. "You and your friends have
already done what I wanted for the planet. There is not
enough money in existence to repay you, but if these
may be used to help rebuild the homes of your people,
then take them with our blessing. The Mulzarah is in
agreement, as are her regents."
   "Miw-Sher?" Acorna asked, and the girl nodded so
gravely that Acorna set down the precious black box and
the chrysoberyls and knelt to give her one last hug. Then

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Grimla needed a pat, and then the kittens had to be
produced one at a time for cuddles.
   By the time Acorna, the Mack box, all the chrysoberyls
any of them could carry, Becker, Mac, and RK were back
aboard the Condor, she was as happy to leave
Makahomia as she was sorry to leave Nadhari and her
new friends.
   They promised that when the cat guardian population
had been replenished, the Linyaari might come to them
once more to claim kittens. In case the source of the
elusive pahaantiyirs, which the aagroni averred were not
precisely the same species as the Temple guardians, was
never located, the Temple cats would be good
substitutes.
   Finally the Condor was heading back for MOO in a
comfortable convoy with the Balakiire and the Arkansas
Traveler. Captain MacDonald said he thought it likely
Hafiz might be able to use a tractor or two, and joined
them.
   The bridge was quiet. RK was grooming Becker's
hand with his tongue while Becker groomed the cat's
coat with a brush. Mac was beating himself at five-
dimensional computer chess.
   Acorna showed Mac and Becker the box and said, "I
wish to play the message."
   Becker said, "No can do. Not on this ship. That's
rigged for some sort of antique pre-Linyaari jobbie and
I've got all Federation stuff on board now."

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   This had not occurred to Acorna. She tried to keep the
bitter disappointment from her voice as she said, "Oh."
   Mac spoke up. "I can play it, however. I have
modifications that allow me to interpret the messages
from such boxes."
   Acorna handed it to him.
   Becker said, "This is what the priest gave you from
Aari, right?"
   "Yes, Captain."
   "Come on, cat. Let's leave the young folks alone. If
there's anything in it you want to share, Acorna, let me
know. But I think you should be private with it."
   "Thank you, Captain."
   Mac already had the box open and inserted the
modifications he had made to his right hand into the
box. To Acorna's amazement, when Mac spoke again, it
was in Aari's voice.
   "Khornya," he said, "if you can hear this, then you
have already come to Makahomia and fulfilled the
mission you were destined for there. I know about this
because I have been doing much time sliding with
Grimalkin, who is one of the Friends. Unlike the others,
Grimalkin is good, extremely empathetic, and uses his
knowledge to help others. He began the cat race on
Makahomia, and we go now to where the planet will
need pahaantiyirs.
   "I am sorry I cannot be with you right now. But in the
course of all of this time sliding and traveling, Grimalkin

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says there will be a moment when I will be able to save
Laarye from starving to death during the Khleevi
invasion without damaging other lives or changing
events that must occur. I have to do this if I can. I hope
you understand that, and that I will return to you as
soon as I can.
  "I miss you very, very much, Khornya. I leave you this
message so you will know that, and know that I love
you and feel pain worse than the Khleevi gave me to be
so far from you, to know you must be trying to find me.
When I have saved Laarye, he and I will be coming
home to your time and you and I can begin our life
together again. Until then, my Khornya, my spirit lives
with you and I will not be whole again until we are
together once more."
  That was the end of the message. Mac shut off and
rewound it, then asked, "Do you want me to play it
again?" in his own voice.
  "Yes," she said, still hearing Aari's voice and mulling
over his words as she looked out the viewport into the
vastness of space and wondered where exactly
pahaantiyirs came from, and how long it would take to
get there in the Condor.




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 Glossary of' Terms and Proper Names in the Acorna
Universe

    aagroni--Linyaari name for a vocation that is a
combination of ecologist, agriculturalist, botanist, and
biologist. Aagroni are responsible for terraforming new
planets for settlement as well as maintaining the well-
being of populated planets.
   Aari--a Linyaari of the Nyaarya clan, captured by the
Khleevi during the invasion of Vhiliinyar, tortured, and
left for dead on the abandoned planet. He's Maati's older
brother. Aari survived and was rescued and restored to
his people by Jonas Becker and Roadkill. But Aari's
differences, the physical and psychological scars left
behind by his adventures, make it difficult for him to fit
in among the Linyaari.
   Aarlii--a Linyaari survey team member, firstborn
daughter of Captain Yaniriin.
   Aarkiiyi -- member of the Linyaari survey team on
Vhiliinyar.
   Acorna--a unicorn-like humanoid discovered as an
infant by three human miners--Calum, Gill, and Rafik.
She has the power to heal and purify with her horn. Her
uniqueness has already shaken up the human galaxy,
especially the planet Kezdet. She's now fully grown and
changing the lives of her own people as well. Among her

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own people, she is known as Kornya.
  Ancestors -- unicorn-like sentient species, precursor
race to the Linyaari. Also known as ki-lin.
  Ancestral Friends -- an ancient shape-changing and
spacefaring race responsible for saving the unicorns (or
Ancestors) from Old Terra and using them to create the
Linyaari race on Vhiliinyar.
  Ancestral Hosts -- see Ancestral Friends.
  Andina--owner of the cleaning concession on MOO,
and sometimes lady companion to Captain Becker.
  Aridimi Desert--a vast barren desert on the
Makahomian planet, site of a hidden Temple and a
sacred lake.
  Aridimis--people from the Makahomian Aridimi
desert.
  Arkansas Traveler--freight-hauling spaceship piloted
by Scaradine (Scar) MacDonald.
  Attendant -- Linyaari who have been selected for the
task of caring for the Ancestors.

  Balakiire--the Linyaari spaceship commanded by
Acorna's aunt Neeva.
  Basic--shorthand for Standard Galactic, the language
used throughout human-settled space.
  Becker--see Jonas Becker Bulaybub Felidar sach Pilau
ardo Agorah--a Makahomian Temple priest, better
known by his real name, Tagoth. A priest who supports
modernizing the Makahomian way of life, he was a

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favorite of Nadhari Kando before her departure from the
planet. He has a close relationship with his young
relative, Miw-Sher.
   Calum Baird--one of three miners who discovered
Acorna and raised her. chrysoberyl--a precious cat's-eye
gemstone available in large supply and great size on the
planet of Makahomia, but also, very rarely and in
smaller sizes, throughout the known universe. The
stones are considered sacred on Makahomia, and are
guarded by the priest class and the Temples.
Throughout the rest of the universe, they are used in the
mining and terraforming industries.

  Condor--Jonas Becker's salvage ship, heavily
modified to incorporate various "found" items Becker
has come across in his space voyages.

  Declan "Gill" Giloglie--one of three human miners
who discovered Acorna and raised her.
  Delszaki Li--once the richest man on Kezdet,
opposed to child exploitation, made many political
enemies. He lived his life paralyzed, floating in an
antigravity chair. Clever and devious, he both hijacked
and rescued Acorna and gave her a cause -- saving the
children of Kezdet. He became her adopted father. Li's
death was a source of tremendous sadness to all but his
enemies.
  Dinan--Temple priest and doctor in Hissim.

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  Dsu  Macostut--Federation       officer, lieutenant
commander of the Federation base on Makahomia.

  Edacki Ganoosh--corrupt Kezdet count, uncle of
Kisla Manjari. enye-ghanyii--Linyaari time unit, small
portion of ghaanye.

  Fagad--Temple priest in the Aridimi desert, who
spied for Mulzar Edu Kando.
  Felihari--one of the Makavitian Rainforest tribes on
Makahomia.
  Feriila--Acorna's mother.
  Fiicki--Linyaari communications officer on Vhiliinyar
expedition.
  Fiirki Miilkar--a Linyaari animal specialist.
  Fiiryi--a Linyaari. fraaki--Linyaari word for fish.
  Friends--also known as Ancestral Friends. A shape-
changing and spacefaring race responsible for saving the
unicorns from Old Terra and using them to create the
Linyaari race on Vhiliinyar.

  Gaali--highest peak on Vhiliinyar, never scaled by
the Linyaari people. The official marker for Vhiliinyar's
date line, anchoring the meridian line that sets the end of
the old day and the beginning of the new day across the
planet as it rotates Our Star at the center of the solar
system. With nearby peaks Zaami and Kaahi, the high
mountains are a mystical place for most Linyaari.

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  ghaanye (pl. ghaanyi)--a Linyaari year. gheraalye
malivii--Linyaari for Navigation Officer. gheraalye ve-
khanyii-- Linyaari for Senior Communications Officer.
giirange--office of toastmaster in a Linyaari social
organization.
  GSS -- Gravitation Stabilization System.

   Haarha Liirni--Linyaari term for advanced
education, usually pursued during adulthood while on
sabbatical from a previous calling.
   Hafiz Harakamian--Rafik's uncle, head of the
interstellar financial empire of House Harakamian, a
passionate collector of rarities from throughout the
galaxy and a devotee of the old-fashioned sport of horse
racing. Although basically crooked enough to hide
behind a spiral staircase, he is genuinely fond of Rafik
and Acorna.
   Highmagister HaGurdy--the Ancestral Friend in
charge of the Hosts on old Vhiliinyar.
   Hissim--the biggest city on Makahomia, home of the
largest Temple.
   Hraaya--an Ancestor.
   Hrronye--Melireenya's lifemate.
   Hrunvrun--the first Linyaari Ancestral attendant.
liiliira -- a Linyaari ship.
   Iirtye -- chief aagroni for narhii-Vhillinyar.
   Ikwaskwan -- self-styled leader of the Kilumbembese
Red Bracelets. Depending on circumstances and who he

                                                     379
is trying to impress, he is known as either General
Ikwaskwan or Admiral Ikwaskwan, though both ranks
are self-administered. Entered into devious dealings
with Edacki Ganoosh that led to his downfall.

  Johnny Greene--an old friend of Calum, Rafik, and
Gill; joined the Starfarers when he was fired after
Amalgamated Mining's takeover of MME.
  Jonas Becker -- interplanetary salvage artist; alias
space junkman. Captain of the Condor. CEO of Becker
Interplanetary Recycling and Salvage Enterprises Ltd.--
a one-man, one-cat salvage firm Jonas inherited from his
adopted father. Jonas spent his early youth on a labor
farm on the planet Kezdet before he was adopted.
  Judit Kendoro--assistant to psychiatrist Alton Forelle
at Amalgamated Mining, saved Acorna from certain
death. Later fell in love with Gill and joined with him to
help care for the children employed in Delszaki Li's
Maganos mining operation.

  Kaahi--a high mountain peak on Vhiliinyar.
  Kaalmi Vroniiyi--leader of the Linyaari Council,
which made the decision to restore the ruined planet
Vhiliinyar, with Hafiz's help and support, to a state that
would once again support the Linyaari and all the life
forms native to the planet.
  Kaarlye--the father of Aari, Maati, and Laarye. A
member of the Nyaarya clan, and life-bonded to Miiri.

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   ka-Linyaari -- something against all Linyaari beliefs,
something not Linyaari.
   Karina --a plumply beautiful wannabe psychic with a
small shred of actual talent and a large fondness for
profit. Married to Hafiz Harakamian. This is her first
marriage, his second.
   Kashirian     Steppes--Makahomian      region       that
produces the best fighters.
   Kashirians--Makahomians from the Kashirian
Steppes.
   kava--a coffee-like hot drink produced from roasted
ground beans.
   KEN--a line of general-purpose male androids, some
with customized specializations, differentiated among
their owners by number (for example, KEN637).
   Kezdet -- a backwoods planet with a labor system
based on child exploitation. Currently in economic
turmoil because that system was broken by Delszaki Li
and Acorna.
   Khaari--senior Linyaari navigator on the Balakiire.
   Khleevi -- name given by Acorna's people to the
spaceborne enemies who have attacked them without
mercy.
   kii--a Linyaari time measurement roughly equivalent
to an hour of Standard Time.
   ki-lin -- Oriental term for unicorn, also a name
sometimes associated with Acorna.
   Kilumbemba Empire--an entire society that raises

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and exports mercenaries for hire--the Red Bracelets.
  Kisla Manjari -- anorexic and snobbish young
woman, raised as daughter of Baron Manjari; shattered
when through Acorna's efforts to help the children of
Kezdet her father is ruined and the truth of her lowly
birth is revealed.
  Kubiilikaan, the legendary first city on Vhiliinyar,
founded by the Ancestral Hosts.
  Kubiilikhan -- capital city of narhii-Vhiliinyar,
named after Kubiilikaan, the legendary first city on
Vhiliinyar, founded by the Ancestral Hosts.

   LAANYE -- sleep-learning device invented by the
Linyaari that can, from a small sample of any foreign
language, teach the wearer the new language overnight.
   Laarye-- Maati and Aari's brother. He died on
Vhiliinyar during the Khleevi invasion. He was trapped
in an accident in a cave far distant from the spaceport
during the evacuation, and was badly injured. Aari
stayed behind to rescue and heal him, but was captured
by the Khleevi and tortured before he could accomplish
his mission. Laarye died before Aari could escape and
return.
   Laboue--the planet where Hafiz Harakamian makes
his headquarters. lilaala -- a flowering vine native to
Vhiliinyar used by early Linyaari to make paper.
   Liriili--former viizaar of narhii-Vhiliinyar, member of
the clan Riivye.

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  Linyaari--Acorna's people.
  Lukia of the Lights -- a protective saint, identified by
some children of Kezdet with Acorna.

  Ma'aowri 3--a planet populated by cat-like beings.
  Maarni--a Linyaari folklorist, mate to Yiitir.
  Maati -- a young Linyaari girl of the Nyaarya clan
who lost most of her family during the Khleevi invasion.
Aari's younger sister.
  MacKenZ -- also known as Mac, a very useful and
adaptable unit of the KEN line of androids, now in the
service of Captain Becker. The android was formerly
owned by Kisla Manjari and came into the captain's
service after it tried to kill him on Kisla's orders. Becker's
knack for dealing with salvage enabled him to
reprogram the android to make the KEN unit both loyal
to him and eager to please. The reprogramming had
interesting side effects on the android's personality,
though, leaving Mac much quirkier than is usually the
case for androids.
  madigadi--a berry-like fruit whose juice is a popular
beverage.
  Maganos -- one of the three moons of Kezdet, base
for Delszaki Li's mining operation and child
rehabilitation project.
  Makahomia--war-torn home planet of RK and
Nadhari Kendo.
  Makahomian Temple cat--cats on the planet

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Makahomia, bred from ancient Cat God stock to protect
and defend the Cat God's Temples. They are--for cats--
large, fiercely loyal, remarkably intelligent, and
dangerous when crossed.
   Makavitian Rainforest--a tropical area of the planet
Makahomia, populated by various warring jungle tribes.
   Manjari--a baron in the Kezdet aristocracy, and a key
person in the organization and protection of Kezdet's
child-labor racket, in which he was known by the code
name Piper. He murdered his wife and then committed
suicide when his identity was revealed and his
organization destroyed.
   Martin Dehoney--famous astro-architect who
designed Maganos Moonbase; the coveted Dehoney
Prize was named after him.
   Melireenya--Linyaari communications specialist on
the Balakiire, bonded to Hrronye.
   Mercy Kendoro--younger sister of Pal and Judit
Kendoro, saved from a life of bonded labor by Judit's
efforts; she worked as a spy for the Child Liberation
League in the offices of Kezdet Guardians of the Peace
until the child labor system was destroyed.
   Miiri -- mother of Aari, Laarye, and Maati. A
member of the Nyaarya clan, life-bonded to Kaarlye.
mitanyaakhi--generic Linyaari term meaning a very
large number.
   Miw-Sher--a Makahomian Keeper of the sacred
Temple cats. Her name means kitten in Makahomian.

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  MME--Gill, Calum, and Rafik's original mining
company. Swallowed by the ruthless, conscienceless,
and bureaucratic Amalgamated Mining.
  Mog-Gim Plateau -- an arid area on the planet
Makahomia near the Federation spaceport.
  MOO, or Moon of Opportunity--Hafiz's artificial
planet, and home base for the Vhiliinyar terraforming
operation.
  Mulzar -- the Mog-Gimin title taken by the high
priest who is also the warlord of the Plateau.
  Mulzar Edu Kando sach Pilau dom Mog-Gim--High
Priest of Hissim and the Aridimi Plateau, on the planet
Makahomia.

  Naadiina -- also known as Grandam, one of the
oldest Linyaari, host to both Maati and Acorna on
narhii-Vhiliinyar; died to give her people the
opportunity to save both of their planets.
  Naarye--Linyaari techno-artisan in charge of final fit-
out of spaceships.
  Nadhari Kando--formerly Delszaki Li's personal
bodyguard, rumored to have been an officer in the Red
Bracelets earlier in her career, then a security officer in
charge of MOO, then the guard for the leader on her
home planet of Makahomia. narhii-Vhiliinyar--the
planet settled by the Linyaari after Vhiliinyar, their
original homeworld, was destroyed by the Khleevi.
  Neeva--Acorna's aunt and Linyaari envoy on the

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Balakiire, bonded to Virii.
   Neo-Hadithian--an        ultraconservative, fanatical
religious sect.
   Ngaen Xong Hoa--a Kieaanese scientist who
invented a planetary weather control system. He sought
asylum on the Haven because he feared the warring
governments on his planet would misuse his research. A
mutineer faction on the Haven used the system to reduce
the planet Rushima to ruins. The mutineers were tossed
into space, and Dr. Hoa has since restored Rushima and
now works for Hafiz.
   Niciirye -- Grandam Naadiina's husband, dead and
buried on Vhiliinyar.
   Niikaavri -- Acorna's grandmother, a member of the
clan Geeyiinah, and a spaceship designer by trade. Also,
as Niikaavre, the name of the spaceship used by Maati
and Thariinye.
   Nirii--a planetary trading partner of the Linyaari,
populated by bovine-like two-horned sentients, known
as Niriians, technologically advanced, able to
communicate telepathically, and phlegmatic in
temperament. nyiiri--the Linyaari word for unmitigated
gall, sheer effrontery, or other form of misplaced
bravado.

  Our Star -- Linyaari name for the star that centers
their solar system.


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   Paazo River--a major geographical feature on the
Linyaari homeworld, Vhiliinyar. pahaantiyir--a large
cat-like animal once found on Vhiliinyar.
   Pandora -- Count Edacki Ganoosh's personal
spaceship, used to track and pursue Hafiz's ship
Shahrazad as it speeds after Acorna on her journey to
narhii-Vhiliinyar. Later confiscated and used by Hafiz
for his own purposes.
   piiro -- Linyaari word for a rowboat-like water
vessel.
   piiyi--a Niriian biotechnology-based information
storage and retrieval system. The biological component
resembles a very rancid cheese.
   Praxos -- a swampy planet near Makahomia used by
the Federation to train Makahomian recruits.

  Rafik Nadezda--one of three miners who discovered
Acorna and raised her.
  Red     Bracelets -- Kilumbembese        mercenaries;
arguably the toughest and nastiest fighting force in
known space.
  Roadkill--otherwise known as RK. A Makahomian
Temple cat, the only survivor of a space wreck, rescued
and adopted by Jonas Becker, and honorary first mate of
the Condor.

  Scaradine MacDonald--captain of the              Arkansas
Traveler spaceship, and galactic freight hauler.

                                                        387
   Shahrazad--Hafiz's personal spaceship, a luxury
cruiser.
   sii-Linyaari -- a legendary race of aquatic Linyaari-
like beings developed by the Ancestral Friends.
   Siiaaryi Maartri -- a Linyaari Survey ship.
   Sita Ram -- a protective goddess, identified with
Acorna by the mining children on Kezdet.
   Standard Galactic Basic -- the language used
throughout the human settled galaxy, also known
simply as Basic.
   stiil -- Linyaari word for a pencil-like writing
implement.

  Taankaril -- visedhaanye ferilii of the Gamma sector of
Linyaari space.
  Tagoth -- see Bulaybub.
  techno-artisan -- Linyaari specialist who designs,
engineers, or manufactures goods.
  Thariinye -- a handsome and conceited young
spacefaring Linyaari from clan Renyilaaghe.
  Theophilus Becker -- Jonas Becker's father, a salvage
man and astrophysicist with a fondness for exploring
uncharted wormholes. thiilir (pl. thilirii) -- small
arboreal mammals of Linyaari home world.
  thiilsis -- grass species native to Vhiliinyar.
  Toroona -- a Niriian female, who sought help from
Acorna and the Linyaari when her home planet was
invaded by the Khleevi.

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   Twi Osiam -- planetary site of a major financial and
trade center. twilit -- small, pestiferous insect on
Linyaari home planet.

   Uhuru -- one of the various names of the ship owned
jointly by Gill, Calum, and Rafik.

  Vaanye -- Acorna's father.
  Vhiliinyar -- original home planet of the Linyaari,
destroyed by Khleevi.
  viizaar--a high political office in the Linyaari system,
roughly equivalent to president or prime minister.
  Virii--Neeva's spouse.
  visedhaanye ferilii--Linyaari term corresponding
roughly to "Envoy Extraordinary."
  Vriiniia Watiir--sacred healing lake on Vhiliinyar,
defiled by the Khleevi.

 Wahanamoian Blossom of Sleep--poppy-like flowers
whose pollen, when ground, is a very powerful sedative.
 wii--a Linyaari prefix meaning small.

  yaazi--Linyaari term for beloved.
  Yaniriin--a Linyaari Survey Ship captain.
  Yiitir--history teacher at the Linyaari academy, and
Chief Keeper of the Linyaari Stories. Lifemate to Maarni.
  Yukata Batsu--Uncle Hafiz's chief competitor on
Laboue.

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  Zaami--a high mountain peak on the Linyaari
homeworld. Zanegar -- second-generation Starfarer.

  Brief Notes on the Linyaari Language
  By Margaret Ball

   As Anne McCaffrey's collaborator in transcribing the
first two tales of Acorna, I was delighted to find that the
second of these books provided an opportunity to
sharpen my long-unused skills in linguistic fieldwork.
Many years ago, when the government gave out
scholarships with gay abandon and the cost of living
(and attending graduate school) was virtually nil, I got a
Ph.D. in linguistics for no better reason than that (a) the
government was willing to pay for it, (b) it gave me an
excuse to spend a couple of years doing fieldwork in
Africa, and (c) there weren't any real jobs going for
eighteen-year-old girls with a B.A. in math and a minor
in Germanic languages. (This was back during the
Upper Pleistocene era, when the Help Wanted ads were
still divided into Male and Female.)
   So there were all those years spent doing things like
transcribing tonal Oriental languages on staff paper (the
Field Methods instructor was Not Amused) and tape-
recording Swahili women at weddings, and then I got
the degree and wandered off to play with computers
and never had any use for the stuff again . . . until

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Acorna's people appeared on the scene. It required a
sharp ear and some facility for linguistic analysis to
make sense of the subtle sound changes with which their
language signaled syntactic changes; I quite enjoyed the
challenge.
   The notes appended here represent my first and
necessarily tentative analysis of certain patterns in
Linyaari phonemics and morphophonemics. If there is
any inconsistency between this analysis and the Linyaari
speech patterns recorded in the later adventures of
Acorna, please remember that I was working from a
very limited database and, what is perhaps worse,
attempting to analyze a decidedly nonhuman language
with the aid of the only paradigms I had, twentieth-
century linguistic models developed exclusively from
human language. The result is very likely as inaccurate
as were the first attempts to describe English syntax by
forcing it into the mold of Latin, if not worse. My
colleague, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, has by now
added her own notes to the small corpus of Linyaari
names and utterances, and it may well be that in the next
decade there will be enough data available to publish a
truly definitive dictionary and grammar of Linyaari, an
undertaking which will surely be of inestimable value
not only to those members of our race who are involved
in diplomatic and trade relations with this people, but
also to everyone interested in the study of language.


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  NOTES ON THE LINYAARI LANGUAGE

  1. A doubled vowel indicates stress: aavi, abaanye,
khleevi

  2. Stress is used as an indicator of syntactic function:
in nouns stress is on the penultimate syllable, in
adjectives on the last syllable, in verbs on the first.

  3. Intervocalic n is always palatalized.

  4. Noun plurals are formed by adding a final vowel,
usually -i one Liinyar, two Linyaari. Note that this
causes a change in the stressed syllable (From Ll-nyar to
Li-NYA-ri) and hence a change in the pattern of doubled
vowels.
  For nouns whose singular form ends in a vowel, the
plural is formed by dropping the original vowel and
adding -i: ghaanye, ghaanyi. Here the number of
syllables remains the same, therefore no stress/spelling
change is required.

   5. Adjectives can be formed from nouns by adding a
final -U (again, dropping the original final vowel if one
exists): maalive, malivii; Liinyar, Linyarii. Again, the
change in stress means that the doubled vowels in the
penultimate syllable of the noun disappear.


                                                       392
  6. For nouns denoting a class or species, such as
Liinyar, the noun itself can be used as an adjective when
the meaning is simply to denote a member of the class,
rather than the usual adjective meaning of "having the
qualities of this class." Thus, of the characters in Acorna,
only Acorna herself could be described as "a Liinyar
girl," but Judit, although human, would certainly be
described as "a Linyarii girl," or "a just-as-civilized-as-a-
real-member-of-the-People" girl.

  7. Verbs can be formed from nouns by adding a prefix
constructed by [first consonant of noun] + U + nye:
faalar--grief; fiinyefalar--to grieve.

   8. The participle is formed from the verb by adding a
suffix -an or -en: thiinyethilel--to destroy, thiinyethilelen
-- destroyed. No stress change is involved because the
participle is perceived as a verb form and therefore
stress remains on the first syllable:

   enye-ghanyii--time unit, small portion of a year
(ghaanye)
  fiinyefalaran--mourning, mourned
  ghaanye -- a Linyaari year, equivalent to about 1 1/3
earth yean gheraalye malivii--Navigation Officer
  gheraalye ve-khanyii-- Senior Communications
Specialist Khleevi--originally, a small vicious carrion
feeding animal with a poisonous bite; now used by the

                                                         393
Linyaari to denote the invaders who destroyed their
home world.
   khleevi--barbarous, uncivilized, vicious without
reason
   Liinyar--member of the People
   Linyaari--civilized; like a
   Liinyar Mitanyaakhi--large number (slang--like our
"zillions")
   narhii--new
   thiilir, thiliiri--small arboreal mammals of Linyaari
home world
   thiilel--destruction
   visedhaanye ferilii-- Envoy Extraordinary




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                 About the Authors
   Anne McCaffrey is considered one of the world's
leading science fiction writers. She has won the Hugo
and Nebula awards as well as six Science Fiction Book
Club awards for her novels. Brought up in the United
States, she is now living in Ireland with her Maine Coon
cats and a silver weimaraner and declines to travel
anymore. She is best known for her unique Dragonriders
of Pern series.


 Elizabeth Ann Scarborough is the author of twenty-three
 science fiction and fantasy novels, including the 1989
 Nebula Award-winning Healer's War and the Powers
 series cowritten with Anne McCaffrey, as well as the
   popular Godmother series and the Gothic fantasy
 mystery Channeling Cleopatra. She lives in a Victorian
  seaport town in western Washington with her cats,
                beads, and computer stuff




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