Domenika Bruel again woke feeling queasy and nauseous. Those symptoms lingered throughout the day. She strolled with her thoughts while Kass made final arrangements and thanks for their transit to Fornen. After eleven days, they would finally be reunited with Blane and Bolas. Vasion remained separated from them, commanding forces in the ocean, but Pane had rejoined them.

Domenika was a typical woman of the 620th century of Interworld relations; she could handle any alien and most lesser animals without undue fear. But she could not abide the creatures known as an ite in the Qualmloid language. Such a creature, known almost as commonly by the human tern snake, dropped its sinewy head and neck from above her, less than two kreep from her face.

It opened huge chartreuse eyes, bore its fangs, and hissed.

"SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

Domenika took a single fearful step lack, then, frozen from further movement, screamed.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"

The snake screamed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Domenika managed another step back. She tumbled. The snake slid its head down closer to her. Panting heavily, she searched for breath as it advanced, then screamed again, immediately followed by the snake.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

They both paused, panted, then screamed in unison.

"AEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAE!"

Domenika finally found her courage and drew her lasertron just as Elodee, Kortez and Kass appeared at the end of the cavern. She raised the weapon to the snake s head, but before she could fire, the snake dropped to the cavern floor, rolled in a ball arid shouted, "Don t shoot! I m sorry!!"

Domenika screamed again.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"

The snake screamed again.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

They screamed together again.

"AEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAEAE!"

Domenika hastened to back away from the snake, who repositioned himself and looked at her with pleading eyes.

Kass reached her side, his own lastertron drawn. "Dom!  What s going on?!"

She pointed hysterically as he hoisted her to her feet. "An ite!"

Kass stared at her with dumbfounded disbelief. "All that screaming over a snake? Why didn t you just shoot it?" He turned away from her with no small matter of disgust, leveling his lasertron to the snake’s head.

"Don t shoot!! I m sorry!!" the snake cried out.

Kass gasped. "Oh!"

"Ooooh," the snake echoed.

"Make it stop!" Domenika pleaded, gripping Kass’s shoulder more tightly.

"It s sentient," Kass said.

"Yes, I am. I had my doubts about you and her–especially her--but I think you are too."

"A Vorid," Kortez chuckled. "That s Nibi. He s been acting as sentry and spy fcr us, almost a year now."

Kass peered at Kortez, his own sense of humor rising. "You Simmelliano will never stop amazing me." He lowered to his haunches next to Nibi. "And you re gonna get yourself shot doing that someday."

"I beg to differ, my bald human friend, but we Vorids are telepathic, and I possess the good consideration to frighten only those who are afraid of ites."

Domenika stamped her foot. "I think you re an ass."

"I think you have a nice ass," the Vorid retorted, proving himself unabove smut. He was silent for a moment while Domenika raged. Then he added, "for a human."

Domenika turned to Kortez. "You re all so nice! Why do you let this, this...thing live here?!"

Kortez shrugged. "He s usually entertaining."

Kass scooped most of the fifteen kroop of Vorid from the cavern floor and scratched him under his chin. "I had a pet snake when I was a kid. She said she let it loose in the jungle, but I think Kristen flushed it."

"I don t think it s going to fit," Domenika said. "We caii try, though.

Nibi lifted his head over Kass shoulder and said, "The last one who tried it made the mistake of using the device just after." He licked his fangs with a tiny forked tongue. "Her scars will never heal."

Kass and Kortez laughed. Domenika flushed with anger. "Are we ready yet? I m anxious to see Blane."

"Where we going?" Nibi asked.

"You re not coming!" Domenika snapped.

"Yes I am!"

"No you re not!!"

"Yes I am!!"

"Are not!!"

"Am to!!"

"Are not!!"

"Am too!!"

Kass stepped between them. "Will you two stop?!"

"Kass, tell it it s not coming with us!"

"Kass," Nibi pleaded, "tell it I am coming with you!"

"Don t call me an it!"

"Then don t call me an it!"

"You are an it!!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"I said to stop!"

"Are too! It! It!! It!!!"

"You re the it!!"

"Stop it!!" Kass shouted.

"Tell it to stop!" Domenika pleaded.

"Yeah, tell it!" Nibi said.

"Both of you!" Kass ordered.

"Please take him with you," Kortez whispered.

"I thought you said it was entertaining," Domenika accused the Simmellian.

"I should have stressed the ‘usually ."

"I ll kiss and make up with it if I can come," Nibi offered.

"You will stay away from me!!" Domenika shouted with a jabbing finger. She spun on her heel and strode to their transport where Elodee dutifully waited.

"I can fight," Nibi told Kass. "I m telepathic and immune tn Blakkarrion venom, have venom of my own and have a major advantage of being unrecognizable as a Sentient. I also can use a tag-laser if it s put on me."

Kass pureed his lips. "She ll be furious with me–!"

"That just might keep the little woman quiet for a while," Nibi said.

Kass suppressed a laugh and turned to Kortez. "Don t you people need him here?"

"He was resting, same as you fellows." Kortez stated. "Like you, he be heading out anyway. Might as well be with you."

Kass turned back to Nibi. "Since when do you Vorids associate with other races? And why are you so stunted?"

"I m a young Vorid. I hatched on Simmal a couple years ago and was taken as a pet by a Blakkarrion named Itarti. I scared his mate and she shoved me into a toilet while he was away. Then she forgot I was there and I got even. She threw me out the window, and I never went back."

"He gave us quite a bit of information when he joined us," Kortez said. "Itarti was a tactician. Seems he never recognized Nibi as a Vorid, just thought he was a Simmellian snake, and brought Nibi to several briefings."

Kass laughed, and looking down at the fifteen-kroop long Vorid. "Okay, you re with us, if you promise to be nice to Domenika and let her cool down before you cause any more trouble. Got it?"

"I got it," Nibi said.

Kass indicated the transport waiting at the mouth of the cavern. "Then head out."

"Yes, sir!" Nibi slithered away as Kass shook Kortez s hand. "We ll be seeing you."

"Thank you, Kass. Please remind Domanika of my offer before she joins the Liberators."

"I will," Kass promised, "but she ll probably stay with Blane, whatever he does."

"It is her decision," Kortez agreed. "But let me tell you something that may make your trip to Fornen easier. "In Blakkarrion–" Kortez fought to restrain laughter. "– the word ‘nibi means ‘little darling !"