ground, then she ran into the barn. He was too large and

heavy for her to carry, and dragging him, while possible,

would only aggravate his wound. The grav-lift she used to

transport calves from the field was her only other option.

No, you could signal a healer, a cold, inner voice that sounded remarkably like Hunetku's said as Natala

rolled the unconscious male onto the lift's pallet. That would be the proper manner of dealing with a visitor.

Yet all she wanted was a little more time with him, so

that she could tend his wound and ask him more about the

pair who had attacked him. Indeed, they had been so busy

talking about the herd that she had practically forgotten

about the intruders.

"Lights on," she said as she brought him inside, and

the envirocontrol panel illuminated the dark interior of

the barn.

This was the third time in a cycle her sensor pylons

had been triggered, but the only time she had ever caught

up with the intruders, thanks to the stockman. If the

able to identify and track them.

That is not the only reason.

She brought him inside to her room and hoisted him up

and over onto her sleeping platform before retrieving her

med kit and a pair of shears. Rarely did she get this

close to a man when he could not look at her, so it was a

pleasant novelty. Particularly as he was not averting his

eyes or chattering polite nonsense to cover his discomfort.

Thank the Mother you are but a lowly cattle worker,

she thought. Hunetku would never forgive me for treating some high-ranked dignitary like this.

As Natala cut off his tunic, she admired the strong,

tough lines of his upper torso. The Giran had a typical

stockman's build, with heavily muscled arms and a deep,

broad chest. His skin was a dark, even blue but marred by

wide angular scars on both forearms. Marks left behind

from young t'lerue hooves, she knew, because they were

identical to her own.

"I shall have to show you my holding pen," she

murmured. She had designed and built the holding area to

immobilize new calves while tattooing them with stock

numbers. "That should save some of your pretty hide in the

future."

irrigated and disinfected it thoroughly before sealing it

with the suture laser from her med kit. Their healer might

have made a neater job of it, but this was a man accustomed

to regular injuries and their resulting scars. It would

have to do.

Natala studied his face as she washed the dark green

blood from his skin and infused him with a mild a.n.a.lgesic

she used occasionally for her own pains. He wore his thick

black hair shorter than most men, in the style of a

ClanLeader, but that was likely more for convenience.

Working with the stock and equipment required her to bind