nd forest. And it was
beautiful. Tarlac found himself relaxing, and smiled.

"You our Homeworld like?"

"It's . . . like my home, the way it was when I was a boy. We had a
house near a lake like that. It could only be reached by grav-hopper.
We didn't have much company, but I didn't miss it; I had the lake, the
woods, the animals . . ." For the first time since he'd left for the
Academy, Tarlac felt a twinge of homesickness. He wondered why,
briefly, before dismissing it. It had to be the mural; Linda had said
that art could evoke emotion even between cultures.

"You alone grew up? No kin had?" Hovan sounded faintly shocked.

"My parents, of course, and family get-togethers every couple of years.
We weren't really close; the family was too big for that. Uncle Martin
and Aunt Gisele alone had ten kids." Tarlac shook his head, grinning.
"What a mob!"

"Kids?"

It seemed Hovan's vocabulary had a blank spot; Tarlac tried again.
"Children. Younglings."

"Ten . . . younglings?" Hovan's voice was little more than a whisper,
sounding awed. He turned away abruptly, toward the right-side-wall
pigeon-holes. Tarlac followed, accepting the bundle he was handed,
then he followed his guide back to unroll the bundle on the floor. It
proved to be a Traiti-sized bedroll with a pillow and a flocked-foam
blanket.

Then Hovan showed him to a locker, and Tarlac found Arjen's comment
that his needs would be supplied was exactly accurate. The locker
held Terran-style soap, comb, toothbrush, underwear--everything, it
seemed, except uniforms.

"Thanks. You people are thorough."

"We try. I only glad am, that you have honor shown. I would not have
it pleasant found, an unworthy one to guide."

The Ranger didn't know what to say to what sounded like praise, or at
least like approval, from a Traiti. He settled for, "Thanks again. I
try, too." Then he quickly changed the subject. "Uh, Hovan, I don't
want to be offensive, but I think it might be a good idea if you show
me where the sanitary facilities are."

"That next on the tour was," Hovan said, smiling.

After taking care of immediate necessities, the Ranger decided he could
use a bath. He left his gun and equipment belt in the locker, picked
out clean underwear, and started toward the bathing room door in the
left wall.

Hovan, turning from a nearby locker, stopped him. "Why need you
those?"

"To sleep in," Tarlac said, surprised. The Traiti had for