"At least we're giving Reiloc and Lete a better chance to get through. We've drawn off all the birds for miles around." Jupiter nodded, broke open his pack. Tabak's blue eyes were alive with curiosity as she watched him feed the radioactive tentacle into the fuel hoppers, reset the alarms and check the instruments. Tabak poked into every corner of the ship, "Oh-ed" and "ah-ed" with delight. She wanted to know about everything. But before Jupiter could tell her she would say, "This is Briggs' cabin, isn't it?" Or, "This is the galley," and laugh at his expression. "Jupiter," she said soberly, with one of her quick shifts of mood. "Are--are you very fond of Lete?" He raised his sandy eyebrows. "What made you ask that?" "I don't want to see you hurt, Jupiter." Tabak grew more and more confused under his level stare. "You don't know the Kagans. They--they're promiscuous like animals. Lete would never understand your morals. She couldn't--" Jupiter slapped his leg, burst into laughter. "Good heavens, I'm not in love with her. Why, I'll be leaving Yogol as soon as I can get enough fuel. I couldn't take her with me anyway." "Oh," said Tabak. Jupiter's eyes suddenly widened. "You were speaking Lingua Galactica!" "Why not? I know it as well as you." They were back in the control blister. She sank into an acceleration chair, smoothed the short black sarong over her legs, raised her eyes to his. A small frown drew her brows together. "Jupiter, what is love?" "What did you say?" he asked, not sure that he'd heard her aright. "Love. There's no such emotion among Yogolians. Sexual attraction, but not love. What is it, Jupiter?" He gave her a startled, baffled look. "It--it's a romantic invention," he said, "to dress up the biological urge. It's something you feel for another person like hunger only not so tangible." She nodded to herself. "That's what I thought, but I wasn't sure. Is it very strong, Jupiter?" "It can be." "What are the symptoms?" He scratched his chin. "It hits different people different ways. You--you--Oh, hell," he said, "I don't know. What ever made you ask?" "I've got it," she said in a stricken voice. Jupiter sat bolt upright. "You mean you're in love?" She nodded unhappily, stood up. "I think I want to be by myself." Averting her head, she walked quickly to the door and slipped out of sight down the ladder before Jupiter could recover from the shock. "Hey!" he cried, springing to his feet; "where are you going?" There was no answer. Then he heard the door of Briggs' cabin open and close. Suddenly his eyes widened. He dropped down the ladder, tried the door, but it was locked. "Tabak! Tabak!" he called, rapped on the panel. "Open up!" "Go away," he heard her call in an unsteady voice; "please go away and leave me alone." "Tabak, listen," he said. "You didn't mean me? You weren't talking about me when you said--" His voice trailed off. Confound it, that didn't sound at all the way he wanted it to.