I stared at the control panel in something close to panic as yet another gauge went red. The fuel feeds had gone down. Only one of the maneuvering jets was functioning, and that only just. The main drive and the navigation systems had quit within days of each other, leaving me to drift aimlessly through the void. Now my ship was caught in the gravity field of the planet below me. Like it or not, I was going down, and I would be lucky to get anywhere near an entry angle. The cabin temperature was already rising; the cooling system had overloaded and burned out. The pressure-buffers were about gone, too. The ship-and I-could burn up as it went through the atmosphere. Why hadn’t those fools who’d designed this thing put a life-pod on board, I wondered despairingly. Then I’d at least have had a fighting chance.

The spaceship’s downward plunge was accelerating. The heat was increasing every second, and the pressure with it. I hauled frantically on the only working maneuver-jet with all the strength I had. It produced a reaction; a faint one. Did I have any hope of getting down alive? Survive the burn only to suffocate in an unbreatheable atmosphere? I had no information at all on what was down there... The control board flickered and died. I fought my fear, strained against the increasing G-forces to reach the manual safety buttons. No reaction. The heat made me dizzy. Spots danced in front of my eyes. When the blackness came, I didn’t fight it.

Coming to was something of a surprise. I was still in my chair, firmly strapped in. The control board was crackling and spitting sparks, but the engines had died. I was dazed and dizzy, and ached everywhere, but could not sense any real injuries. I didn’t have time to dwell on my fortune. Thick, choking smoke drifted through the cabin, making me cough. I realized with a shock of fear that the engines were burning. The fuel tanks could go up at any second; I had to get out. Now. I unbelted, but found I was too shaken to stand. I dropped to the floor, where the air was a little better, and crawled towards the exit.

I had only gone a few feet when the control panel exploded. There was a sharp pain in my left arm as something struck me, then a hard blow to the side of my head. As the blackness took me again, I only had time to think: "So close...could’ve made it..."

My head hurt. My arm stung a little, but my head really hurt. I vaguely remembered the blow I’d sustained. But I wasn’t in the ship now. Someone was holding me; I could feel an...arm?-under my knees, another under my shoulders. There was a strong body against my right side, and a collarbone or something that my head was resting against. And there was a heartbeat under my right ear. A fresh smelling breeze touched my face, and...A crackling sound? Fire?

I opened my eyes and saw blue fabric and brown skin. A strong arm. Despite the headache, I looked up...into the dark eyes of someone who could almost have been of my own race. He seemed fairly young, perhaps a little older than my twenty-two orbits. The breeze whipped his hair-which was a remarkable shade of red-around his face and shoulders. At the moment, his expression was one of concern. ‘I should be afraid,’ I thought, ‘but I’m not.’ I was too relieved to see another person to worry yet.

My thoughts were interrupted by a tremendous explosion. I winced as the noise made my head pound, then looked over towards the source. The young man holding me was standing at the top of a hill; at the bottom of the hill lay what was left of my ship: a twisted, melting inferno. The fire had reached the fuel tanks. I looked back up at my rescuer, and he met my gaze gravely. ‘If he hadn’t gotten me out of there, I’d’ve been killed by the explosion. And I probably would’ve been conscious, too,’ I thought with a shudder. He noticed, for he gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze of reassurance. Then he turned his back on the wreck and began walking across the top of the hill, heading towards a large, squarish metal vehicle. It reminded me of some of the war machines of my own world.

As he approached the machine, I saw several other people walking towards it, too. I wondered where they had been; I hadn’t seen them. There were two other young men, a young woman, and a younger boy and girl. There was also a furry, four-legged creature; some kind of pet, I presumed. They all gathered around the vehicle and climbed into it. My rescuer reached it, hesitated, then walked up the huge treads as if they were steps. The vehicle was divided into two sections; I could hear voices coming from the front section as the young man gently put me down on a hard surface. I didn’t listen, for common sense told me I wouldn’t be able to understand them. Common sense was wrong.

"Rila," the young man said, turning to speak with someone behind him, "would you get me a clean cloth and some water?"

"Sure, Lar," the girl’s voice replied.

I closed my eyes. ‘What are the odds that they’re actually speaking my language?’ I wondered. ‘Astronomical. But I know I’m not hallucinating...’ There was an assortment of noises that faded to a low hum as we started moving forward. My eyes flew open in surprise as a cool dampness touched my cheek. My rescuer, bowl in hand, was carefully cleaning the blood off my head wound. The coolness helped the pounding headache, too.

‘Hmm, no nausea, no blurred vision. Not a concussion, then. I was only out for a few minutes; if I hadn’t just come to, it probably wouldn’t’ve knocked me out again. I really got lucky! Especially being able to breathe...’

My rescuer finished cleaning my wound, stood, and went to the divider between the sections of the vehicle. As I watched, I felt my first touch of worry. Who were these people? Where were they taking me? And what would they do with me? Would I ever see my home again, or would I wind up someone’s slave? The young man returned to my side. He must have seen the anxiety in my eyes for he crouched or knelt beside me, I couldn’t tell which. "You have nothing to fear from us," he said quietly. Then he frowned. "Can you understand me?" I nodded slowly. He didn’t seem to think that this was unusual, and continued: "We are taking you to the den...that’s where we live."

I nodded my understanding, then said, a little weakly, "Thank you for saving me."

He hesitated, and I noticed, irrelevantly, that his eyes were black, not dark blue or brown as I’d assumed.

After a moment, he replied, "We’re always ready to help someone in need."

‘And I sure needed it,’ I thought.

"You don’t seem to be too badly hurt, but we can make sure when we get back to the Den. We have medical equipment-"

"I’m okay. Just a couple bruises and a headache." My rescuer looked a little doubtful, so I added, "I’m a healer."

"Oh." He reached down, brought out a blanket from somewhere under the seat, and used it to cover me. "Comfortable?"

"Mm-hmm," I murmured, shock and relief making me suddenly tired.

"Good. Just rest."

I closed my eyes. It didn’t take long for the engine’s hum to lull me to sleep.

When I woke again, I was surprised to find myself in a bed in an unfamiliar room. As I turned my head, the ache reminded me of the crash, and my rescuer. ‘This must be the Den he talked about.’ The room was fairly large. Afternoon sunlight streamed through the window in the left wall. There was another window in the right wall. Beside the left window was a desk with a lamp of an unusual design on it. A chair sat before the desk. Beside the right window was a clothing closet made of a dark gray metal. Just to the left of the bed was a small, sturdy wooden table with a second lamp on it. In the front wall were two doors, one centered, the other in the left corner. On each side, between the window and the front wall, hung a tapestry. I later discovered the three thick rugs set on the three sides of the bed; the head of the bed was against the wall. It turned out that the leftmost door was the entrance to the ‘functions room’.

I started to sit up, and felt my head pound. Unthinkingly I pressed my hand against it and the pain faded. I sat the rest of the way up, pushing back the blanket that covered me. It seemed to be later; I’d probably slept for several hours.

When I woke again, I was surprised to find myself in a bed in an unfamiliar room. As I turned my head, the ache reminded me of the crash, and my rescuer. ‘This must be the Den he talked about.’ The room was fairly large. Afternoon sunlight streamed through the window in the left wall. There was another window in the right wall. Beside the left window was a desk with a lamp of an unusual design on it. A chair sat before the desk. Beside the right window was a clothing closet made of a dark gray metal. Just to the left of the bed was a small, sturdy wooden table with a second lamp on it. In the front wall were two doors, one centered, the other in the left corner. On each side, between the window and the front wall, hung a tapestry. I later discovered the three thick rugs set on the three sides of the bed; the head of the bed was against the wall. It turned out that the leftmost door was the entrance to the ‘functions room’.

I started to sit up, and felt my head pound. Unthinkingly I pressed my hand against it and the pain faded. I sat the rest of the way up, pushing back the blanket that covered me. It seemed to be later; I’d probably slept for several hours. . I was noticing how symmetrical everything was when the door opened. I turned quickly to see the young man who’d rescued me standing there. He smiled when he saw me sitting up. As he walked over to the bed, I noticed for the first time that he really was quite good looking. Not the handsome perfection of a celebrity, nor the rugged sort, just very attractive.

"You look like you’re feeling better," he said as he sat on the end of the bed.

"Yes," I replied slowly, "I feel fine, but I’m rather confused."

"I can certainly understand why," he answered kindly. "Well, to start with, this planet is called Rendila, and this particular continent is Linuri. There are seven of us- six Cats and one Chamo- living in this fortress; we call it the Den. I’m Larano, the Leader."

I couldn’t hide my surprise. He was so friendly and relaxed, so...personal. It was a big change from what I was used to.

"I always do get that reaction, " he said with a rueful smile. I blushed, realizing I’d been staring in amazement.

"It’s just-I’ve dealt with high ranking people before, and it was always horribly formal."

"Ah." Now he looked surprised. "Normally I get a remark about my age. People seem to think I’m young."

Young? I hesitated, unwilling to ask how old he was. Then I shrugged. "Perhaps you are, but I’ve seen, and heard of, younger. I think the youngest was about seven."

Larano grinned. "Anyway, Larano is the formal version; I usually go by Lar, unless it’s an official occasion. We all tend to go by the short form. ‘Specially when we have to fight."

I knew I looked puzzled.

"I don’t mean fighting each other," Larano explained, but he looked a little pensive. "I mean, we have powerful enemies. The worst is Thuron, an evil enchanter. He ruled this world, long ago. Now he’s trying to re-conquer it, but so far we have prevented him. Our other enemies are called Plundans. They’re a sadistic bunch, but they’re cowards. They like to outnumber whoever they’re fighting by at least three. They are more primitive, too; too lazy to have very good technology, and no magic at all. The reason I mention all this is, we get attacked pretty frequently, either by the Plundans or some other source. We’re fairly sure that that is Thuron’s work, but sometimes it’s hard to tell."

I wasn’t sure how this was relevant until Lar added, "We’ll do our best to send you back to your home, but it’s almost certain that there’ll be delays."

‘And that assumes these enemies won’t be successful on one of these attacks,’ I thought. I met Larano’s dark eyes and answered, "I understand." He seemed to relax a little; I wasn’t sure why. "But I wasn’t going home, I was leaving. I was sent to investigate a planet that my government thought might be habitable. There were three of us..." At the sudden look of horror on Lar’s face, I added quickly, "No, no, they weren’t in the ship when it blew. They..." I stopped and bit my lip, remembering. Larano moved closer to me and touched my hand.

"They were good friends?" he asked gently. I nodded. Then I took a deep breath and explained.

"They both died while trying to make repairs to the ship. Mich was electrocuted. Jase...he went to get a part he needed from storage. He forgot to take the key to the room inside with him, so when the door closed, he was locked in...and the room was airtight. I-I found him not long after..." . ‘And I’ll never forget the sight,’ I thought sadly. "I’m a good pilot, but the repairs were beyond me. And things just kept failing. By this morning, the only thing working was one maneuver jet. That went out halfway down; I expected to burn up as I came through the atmosphere." I shivered, thinking about it.

Larano nodded. "We thought the same for awhile, but your course altered enough that we thought you’d make it. So we tracked your descent and went to see if we could help." After a short silence, he let go of my hand. Strange...I was on an alien planet, light-years from familiar people and places, among beings whose motives I could only guess at. Yet I felt surprisingly as ease with this young man. Maybe it was because he’d rescued me. Or perhaps because he was so kind and friendly. I decided I liked him, and not just for his courage in entering a burning ship to save my life. He was a nice person, with an open and reassuring manner. .

"There is," I said suddenly, "one thing I’m particularly confused about."

"Oh?"

"The language. I didn’t expect that either of us would be able to understand the other. But you didn’t seem surprised."

Lar was silent a moment, clearly startled. "That never occurred to me! It sounds to me like you’re speaking Thenian..."

I frowned a little. "I feel like I’m speaking my own language, Debilese. What’s Thenian?"

"Oh, well, we Cats are recent arrivals ourselves. We came from Thena. We’ve only been here about a cycle."

"I see," I answered. But that didn’t explain why we could communicate. I was speaking my native tongue...wasn’t I?

"You said you were going to another planet, not this one...I suppose it would be equally- possible to send you on to your original destination," Larano said. The word he’d rejected was ‘easy’.

"That’s a problem," I admitted. "You see, I was lost. I didn’t know exactly where I was going anyway; the computer had the specifics. But we got pulled off course. So I don’t think there’s any way to salvage the mission." I sighed. "They’re going to be furious."

A thought occurred to me. It occurred to Lar, too, for he asked, "Would information about Rendila help at all?"

"It would," I agreed. "But...I don’t think it would be a good idea. I don’t know whether they have colonization or disposal in mind, but either way, I don’t like it. It could mean the ruin of this planet."

Larano looked at me gravely. "I appreciate your honesty," he said seriously. ‘So she’ll just go home’ he thought with a touch of disappointment.

His thought? How could I know his thought?

"In the interest of accuracy, you do have a second option."

"You mean to stay here?" I suggested wryly.

"You’ll be here for awhile, until we can get your ship repaired..."

"Assuming that can be done, and that I can find my way back," I agreed seriously.

"Yes. I’m not trying to say, decide right now, just...it’s something to think about." ‘At least she’ll be here for a while, long enough to think it over real well.’

What was going on here? How-? ‘Oh, so it’s happened!’ I reached up to touch my temple and closed the door in my mind as Cherelle had taught me. My friend had insisted on teaching me the manners and abilities of a telepath, insisting that I would develop the skill sooner or later.

"Are you all right?" Lar asked, sounding concerned.

"My head," I said, suddenly noticing. "It doesn’t hurt, and it should. I took a bad bump."

‘That must’ve been what did it’.

Lar leaned forward and gently pressed my hair aside. "You’re sure...no, it was this side," He sat back. "It’s gone. Not a trace of an injury," he told me, amazed. I frowned, thinking.

"I sat up...it hurt and I put my hand on it...and it stopped hurting." Then I remembered something and pulled up my torn left sleeve. There was a long, ragged gash from where the metal had struck me, but it was shallow, and had not bled much at all. . Larano stood, crossed the room, and went to the left door in the wall. He entered this room and came out a few seconds later carrying a damp cloth. He gave it to me and I used it to clean off my arm. Then, experimentally, I touched the wound and willed it to heal. And it happened! The torn skin closed up, not even leaving a scar. We both stared in amazement.

"From the look on your face, I’d say you’ve never done that before," Larano ventured at last.

"No..." I agreed, dazed.

He was about to add something else when the young woman appeared in the doorway. She smiled at me, and I sensed her relief and pleasure that I was awake and apparently unharmed. I smiled back and let, ‘Thanks for your concern; I’m fine,’ color my thoughts. It was basic telepath manners, but the woman looked surprised. Then she entered the room. Larano looked around, probably noticing that my attention had shifted.

"Ah, this is Kelari, and...you know, I don’t think I’ve asked your name!" Lar sounded surprised at himself, and I smiled as I told him my full name. The two of them exchanged a glance, both rather taken aback. "Would you mind if we shortened that to Tiyana?" Larano asked me hesitantly.

"I wouldn’t mind at all," I replied. "In fact, I’m quite used to it."

Kelari looked me over and said, "You look like you’re feeling well...perhaps you’re hungry?" Her golden eyes flickered to the Leader, who turned a little red.

"I apologize, Tiyana, I guess I haven’t been very polite," he said in a subdued tone. "Is there anything you need?"

I shook my head, then looked up at Kelari, who had her hands on her hips. The ‘sense’ I received from her was more embarrassment than anything else.

"You’ve already given me what I needed the most; information and reassurance. Polite is one thing, but friendly is another; I much prefer friendliness." Larano gave me a look of relief. "As for feeling well," I turned to Kelari: "I’m a Healer, but I’ve never healed so fast as I did just now."

"It was amazing," Lar agreed. "All she did was touch the cut and it closed up. Not even a scar left."

"So you’re a psi-Healer? And a telepath?"

"Telepath?" Lar repeated.

"Well...up ‘till now I’ve only been potentially telepathic," I explained. "I was trained...a friend of mine insisted that the talent would emerge someday, because I was so good at sensing how people thought or felt. She said I had to know how to handle it." I sighed. "She used to tease me about trauma and bumps on the head - both have been known to trigger it."

"And now you’ve had both," Lar said gently.

I nodded. "Now I’m glad I took her advice. I know how to control it, and what not to do." Kelari understood. Larano looked serious, but not upset or angry.

I reflected for a moment over the phrase Kelari had used; psi-Healer. Were they familiar with such things, then? "As far as the healing...I’ve never done or seen anything like it. There are legends about it, but that’s all."

There was a brief silence, then Kelari said, "Well, since you’ve healed yourself, I daresay you don’t need to stay in bed and recover - unless you’d like to, of course." Her tone was almost teasing.

I hid a smile and answered, "I’d better get up, I guess. If I sleep any more now, I’ll be awake all night."

Larano looked from one to the other of us and shook his head, smiling. Then he straightened out the smile and offered, "Perhaps you’d like to meet the rest of the Cats. Or perhaps we could show you around the Den. Or both. Or neither-"

"Enough, please!" I broke in, grinning. "Actually, ‘both’ sound good to me."

"Hmm. It might be best to call a council," Lar mused.

"Yes, to get all the questions over with at once," Kelari agreed.

"Is everyone in the Den?"

"No. Rhul’s out in the Tank. But he should be back soon."

"Okay...Why don’t we give you the tour while we wait for Rhul? By the time we’re done, he should be -" Larano was interrupted by the sound of a motor.

"Scratch that; that’s him," Kelari said. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up. "I’ll let everyone know," the young woman continued, and suddenly was gone. I blinked, wondering if she’d teleported. Then I wondered if she could. Maybe she was just-

"Yes, she’s fast," Lar commented, seeing my surprise. I nodded, impressed. .