She looked up at me. "Thank you," she said simply. But there was more behind the words than the bare bones of customary gratitude. * * * * * I helped her into the refresher and as she restored her tired body I pelted her with numerous questions. "Did you succeed?" I asked. "Better than I expected." "Did you find a native?" "Two of them." The cubicle glowed a pale green as her strength came back. "Where?" "Two vursts from here--down the hill. They're camped near a road. They have a big ground car with them." "Did you see them?" "Yes." "What did they look like?" The radiance in the cubicle flicked out. "They're horrible!" Ven said. "Monstrous! Four or five times our size! I never saw anything so hideous!" "Did they see you?" "No, I don't think so. They weren't looking in my direction at first. And I don't think they can sense, because I was frightened and they didn't respond to my projection." She was beginning to recover. "You couldn't have been too frightened," I said. "I didn't hear you--and you can reach farther than two vursts." "Mostly I was repelled," Ven admitted. "Why?" "I don't know. They smelled bad, but it was more than that. There was something about them that made my antennae lie flat against my ears. Anyway--I did a foolish thing." The cubicle turned a pale embarrassed lavender. "What did you do?" I demanded. "I ran away," Ven said. "And I made a lot of noise." "All right--all right," I said impatiently. "Go ahead and tell the rest of it." "By the time I stopped running I was down at the bottom of the hill," Ven said. "I was dead tired--and with all that rock to climb to get back to the ship. I didn't really think I'd make it." "But you did," I said proudly. "You're a real Thalassan--pure green." The cubicle slowly brightened again. "Can you find them again?" I asked. "Of course. I wasn't lost at any time. If I hadn't panicked, I'd have been back a whole lot sooner." "Can you go now?" * * * * * She shivered with distaste. "I can," she said, "but I don't want to." "That's nonsense. We can't let a little physical revulsion stop us. After all, there are some pretty grim things to be seen in this universe." "But nothing like this! I tell you, Eu, they're horrible! That's the only word that can describe them." "Take a stat projector--" I began. "Aren't you coming?" she asked. "Two vursts on this planet? What do you think I am?" Her face hardened. "I don't know," she said coldly, "but I do know this--if you don't come, I won't go." I groaned. From her aura I could tell she meant every word. It angered me, too, because Thalassan females usually don't defy a male. "Remember," I said icily, "that you're not the only female on Thalassa." "We're not on Thalassa," she said. Her aura was a curious leaden color, shot through with sullen red flares and blotches.