Combatman leaned back in the chair like he expected dental work, and yawned luxuriously. He watched as the screen blurred and focused, blurred and focused. It was sweeping at two miles and the ship was slowing. We dropped tail down and Grav changed faster than the interior hull moved. Finally we settled, and coasted above this planet. The ship lurched, twice this time almost simultaneously. Then it lurched steadily. Combatman threw the All Screens switch and watched the Radar. By now, he was tense. "At a hundred miles...." he muttered. "What a race this is!" He watched the screen with eyes that reminded me more of a cat's than a human's. "Stop!" From habit I threw the master Out Switch and everything stopped--our motion coordinated precisely with the planet's, the Radar focused where it had been--and I got slammed against a wall again, of course. Well--I might as well get used to it. When my eyes cleared I studied the image. It was a rather crude city of considerable size, though poorly, designed from the light, ventilation and transport angle. There was considerable movement, apparently ground vehicles of some sort. Then I looked at Combatman. His face was registering disbelief and something resembling alarm--though I'd never heard of any of his race being really frightened. * * * * * The missile warning light blinked frantically and the ship started lurching and pitching again. Combatman turned toward me and his face was taut and urgent. "How soon can you get into Time-Warp?" "And--and _leave_?" "Right, and the sooner the better." He flipped the height control and we moved, smoothly this time, up away from the missiles blasting outside our protective screen. "There'll be no colonizing done here." "But--but our orders were to...." "No colonizing here. Put your Homonorms back in the freezer and set up for return. Do it now." Stunned, I went rearward and told the people. They didn't like the idea very much, but regulations said that when the ship was attacked, Combatman was absolute boss. Then I returned. Combatman shot a glance at me and I nodded, then went to work on the Control panel, reversing the whole set up. "When you finish I'll get in your ice box," Combatman said. "And when you get out of Time-Warp destroy that wiring. None of your ships is to come back here." I digested this slowly, wondering how to report to the council. "Why not?" I ventured. "Perhaps with part of the Control Fleet...." "The whole Control Fleet wouldn't last two days on a desert of that world, Brainboy," he said. His eyes misted faintly for a fraction of a second. "Those denizens, as you call them, are all members of my race, and this planet was my home--we called it Earth." He yawned and strode to the rear and the freezer. At the portal he turned and grinned. "And don't ask me how we get back and forth. I might get mad and have my whole family drop over--in-laws and all."