He was about to make his own presence known in a very aggressive way when she spoke, nothing that he understood, and not to him surely, for she still faced the taraan. That she did not approach the animal gave him pause, and when she turned away from it, he was pacified. So she did not want the taraan. But then why kill it? And how had she killed it?

She was facing him again, looking at the trees surrounding the area, perhaps for more animals, and still talking to herself. This time Challen noticed the small white box she held in her hand. Thin and rectangular, could this be what had killed the taraan? No, such was not possible. Boxes could not kill, and even if they could, the laws forbade women to carry weapons. It was time he found out just who this woman was.

Tedra was jumpy now after being startled by the deerlike animal. Her instinct for self-preservation had canceled her common sense, stunning the poor thing before she even saw what it was. It would be a long while before it revived, and might become food for something else before it did.

“I don’t know why you’re blaming yourself, kiddo,” Martha remarked, having seen the incident happen from the tiny viewer on the front of the phazor, and hearing Tedra’s choice swearing over what she’d done. “It couldn’t have been helped.”

“I shouldn’t have had the stun set so high,” Tedra said to the larger two-way viewer on the flat side of the unit as she lowered the setting.“I’m in the middle of nowhere, for Stars’ sake, and can see anything coming at me with plenty of time to raise the stun if necessary. If that creature had been any smaller than it is, it would have been demolished.”

“Look, it’s your first time setting foot on another world. You’re bound to be nervous, which is perfectly natural, but unfortunately, they aren’t likely to have any Stress Clinics down there to help you out.”

“Get serious, will you?”

“Just keep your finger off the stun button, and try taking a few deep breaths before your next reaction.”

“I’ll do… oh, my.”

“What?”

“Talk about getting knocked off your feet,” Tedra said with a good deal of awe.

“Did you fall down, doll?”

“It sure feels like it. Take a look.” She pointed the unit at what had dropped down from a tree in front of her not ten feet away.

“ ‘Oh, my’ was kind of an understatement, I’d say.” The voice in the box was duly impressed. “Is he as big as he looks from here?”

“Bigger. Stars, he’s got to be nearly seven feet! What is he, do you suppose, besides a giant?”

“An accurate guess would be a barbarian, what the Sha-Ka’ari would still be if they hadn’t been touched by the advanced worlds in our Star System.”

“A barbarian… farden hell,” Tedra said in disappointment. An arrogant warrior was one thing. A barbarian warrior was another matter entirely. “Maybe I better return to the Rover.”

“Aren’t you giving up a bit soon?”

“That’s a damn big sword he’s holding in his hand, Martha.”

“That’s a damn powerful phazor you’re holding in yours, kiddo.”

Tedra grinned then. “That’s right, isn’t it? What do I have to be wary about? And he is magnificent, isn’t he?”

That was another understatement. He put the handsome Kowan to shame, in height, brawn, and looks. Even Corth, whose features were artificially perfect, paled next to the barbarian. This was dominant maleness personified, arms, legs, chest, everything larger than anything she’d ever seen before. Dark golden brows sat low over his eyes, with barely an arch to be seen. The chin was square and aggressive, with the slightest shadow of a cleft; the lips a slashing line with no hint of humor. Skin deep gold, only a little lighter than wavy long hair, which fell just short of massive shoulders-bare shoulders. He wore only a pair of buttery soft black leather pants for clothing, skintight and molded to those thick-muscled legs. Calf-high boots were in the same soft leather, and from wrist to elbow was strapped an intricately carved arm shield. His only other accessories were the wide sword belt about his hips and a large gold disc the size of her fist hanging down to the center of his massive chest.

She hadn’t realized she had been looking him over so thoroughly, or for so long, until her eyes happened to meet his. “Why is he looking at me like that, Martha?” she asked uneasily. The barbarian wasn’t exactly frowning, but the whole look of him had turned to one of high displeasure.

“Maybe because he doesn’t understand a word you’ve been saying. Or maybe because he’s never heard a box speak. You can bet your krystals he’s never encountered anything like me before, and you don’t come under the heading of normal either. You’d better introduce yourself, kiddo, before he decides you’re an evil vision he should try to banish. After all, we don’t know how primitive their beliefs are.”

His dark eyes had indeed gone to her phazor unit while Martha spoke. His sword came up a little, and Tedra took a step back.

“I think you’ve hit it on the nose, old girl,” Tedra said thoughtfully. “I’m going to turn you off for a while, so you aren’t tempted to butt in.”

“Now wait-”

The link went dead, and Tedra smiled. She hadn’t been able to do that on the Rover with Martha in control of every communications outlet in sight. It was a distinct pleasure to be able to do it now. Martha could still hear what was going on through the short-range scanner which was locked onto her homing signal. She just couldn’t talk back.

Tedra’s smile had been intercepted, and although it wasn’t for the barbarian, his sword tip returned to point at the ground and she relaxed a tiny bit. He hadn’t said anything yet, and she had to wonder if he might have seen her pop into his world. He could be in shock if that was the case, or thinking her some type of devil or witch-if these people believed in such things or their equivalent. She’d best dispel that notion if it was there.

“Greetings, warrior.” She switched to Sha-Ka’ari to be understood, and it was a safe bet he was a warrior, so calling him one shouldn’t offend him. “I hope I didn’t startle you with my appearance. If I did, I can explain, but it’s complicated and best left for later.” No answer, which she could take either way. “I’m called Tedra De Arr.”

She raised her hand in the universal sign of friendship. It was wasted on the barbarian, who didn’t recognize it. But his expression said he did understand her words. After listening to her Kystrani, he had revealed a slight surprise when she began to speak in his language. But she obviously hadn’t reassured him enough for him to put away his sword.

She tried again. “I come in friendship-”

“Why are you dressed so, woman?”

The sound of his voice did some startling as well. It was deep and authoritative-and arrogant. She had given him her name, but still he called her woman. Well, she had known it wouldn’t be easy dealing with barbarians. And she could have kicked herself for not realizing a primitive like this would find her clothing fantastical.

“These are the clothes of my people,” she started to explain.

“They are the clothes of warriors.”

So that was it. He wasn’t amazed by the material, just that she was wearing what he would consider the clothing of men only. From her Relics tapes, she knew there had been a time when the Ancients from Kystran’s mother planet had held the same primitive belief that women didn’t belong in pants.

Tedra didn’t care to get into a long discussion about progress, not with him anyway. It was the leaders of his planet, the shodani, whom she needed to impress with the wonders of the advanced worlds, not a mere warrior.

To avoid the issue for now, she said simply, “I found it necessary to borrow these.”

“You will remove them.”

“Now just a-”

“Remove them, woman.”