that he realized her head was covered with silky blonde fur instead of hair. But that was the only way in which she differed from a Terran girl. She had all the other Terran feminine attributes, in the right places and in the right amounts, adding up to one of the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen. Her figure was one which would make any man glad that the styles of 3473 featured a great deal of exposed skin.

"Hello," he said. "Do I know you?"

"No, but you will," she said. Her voice had those husky tones that for many centuries had sent shivers running down the spines of Terran males. Her eyes, great golden orbs, seemed to contain the same quality—a nameless yearning to which men were drawn in the hope that they could satisfy it. "I had almost given up hope of seeing a fellow humanoid on this planet when you walked in."

"Fellow humanoid?" Manning said.

She laughed, her voice like sensual music. "I can hardly say a fellow human, can I? I'm not human, you know."

Manning was trying to place her. There were a number of humanoid races throughout the Federation, notably the Martians and the Muphridians. They were remarkably like the humans of Terra, although their origins were usually quite different, although there was nearly always some one difference. Quite often, it was the hair. The Muphridians, for example, had feathers in place of hair. He was sure that this girl was from none of the places he had visited.

In the meantime, the girl was speaking again. "Xelia Zon," she was saying, "the least you can do is introduce me to your charming Terran friend."

"Manning," Xelia said, not especially happily, "this is Velmar Shonda. Manning Draco."

"What a lovely name," exclaimed the girl. "I may call you Manning, may I not?"

"You may," Manning said. "Where are you from? I don't think I've ever met anyone who looked exactly like you."

"I'm from Aldebaran. But from the third planet in the system, if you please."

Manning had the feeling that there was something about the Aldebaranese that he should know, but it eluded him. He wondered what she was doing on Regulus and if it had any bearing on the reason he was there. He glanced at Xelia Zon and the latter must have seen the question in his face.

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