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the explanation for her absence,” Neeva concluded, “she knows where we are. We will continue to look for her, of course, but it seems unlikely that she has stumbled into trouble out there on Vhiliinyar somewhere. If she is on this planet, she has a camp to return to, a camp that I think she left of her own free will. We can remain alert when flying over the surrounding terrain for traces of her. Meanwhile, we all have a mission to perform, and it will be dark again soon. We should continue to perform our assigned tasks.”
    “I have reported Liriili’s disappearance to Council representatives on the Moon of Opportunity, who will relay the message back to those still on narhii-Vhiliinyar,” the aagroni said. “I hardly think they can provide any assistance in this matter, but it is best that they be told of all important developments on this world. I also informed them of the injury to Riidkii—and, for the information of Captain Becker, of Riidkii’s recovery.” The aagroni gave Roadkill’s name its closest Linyaari pronunciation, which was a word with a meaning far dissimilar to the cat’s name in Standard Galactic Basic. Whereas Roadkill meant “Randomly Squashed Formerly Living Being Now Refuse Lying Disregarded on a Thoroughfare,” Riidkii was the Linyaari term meaning “Noble Protector.” The aagroni said RK’s Linyaari name as if he believed in the meaning of it, despite the cat’s behavior aboard the transport ship.
    “I think we had best leave RK with you, aagroni ,” Acorna said. “Those carnivorous plants are a terrible threat to smaller beings and he is still healing.”
    But Acorna had not discussed this issue with Roadkill, who had his own opinions on the subject. As they climbed into the flitter, the cat bounded out of the laboratory bubble and leaped through the door of their vehicle. The cat settled onto the flitter deck with his tail wrapped around his front paws, planting himself so solidly that it seemed as if a nuclear explosion could not dislodge him.
    The cat certainly looked fit enough for the mission. His burns were completely healed and his fur, while a bit shorter than it had been, once more covered his entire body.
    Aari laughed. “I can translate that, Khornya. RK is not going to let any overgrown vegetable keep him down. In fact, I think we must be vigilant to ensure he does not attempt to attack the plant when we return.”
    “ I think we had better rig up a cat box so he doesn’t have to go near those horrible plants if he needs to relieve himself,” Acorna said, patting the cat.
    “What is a cat box ?” Maati asked, sending out a mental image of a cage with an angry RK trying to rip his way through the bars.
    “No, no, that’s not it at all. Don’t you remember seeing something like this aboard the Condor ?” Acorna asked, and sent the image of RK’s shipboard sanitary facilities.
    Thariinye flared his nostrils. “Oh. That.”
    “I have one more piece of news for you,” the aagroni said. “While you were searching for Liriili, we analyzed the plant specimen you sent, and we have manufactured a repellent that seems to work.” The aagroni thought for a moment, then continued, “I believe we will try devolving the plant to its original form to determine whether or not it is a mutation of a species native to Vhiliinyar or if it is something brought to our world in Khleevi spoor. If it is the former, we can simply devolve the plants to their original harmless state prior to terraforming. If it is the latter, the plants will have to be eradicated.”
    “Have you considered the possibility that they may be a hybrid of domestic and alien?” Miiri asked.
    “Which doesn’t matter,” the aagroni said dismissively, “since our options are the same. We would still need to either reverse engineer the DNA to the original parent species native to Vhiliinyar or to eradicate the plant entirely.”
    Kaarlye said, “Yes, and I agree that it must be done before the