The cabin heated up as the emergency heat shield struggled to keep her ship from burning up. Main drive gone, Quagga could only maneuver with thrusters. Damage to the ship's computer meant that her piloting skills alone would determine if she hit that razor thin window between burning up on entry or skipping off forever into the cold darkness of space.

The cabin was now so hot that she wondered if her heat shield were damaged in the battle. If so, it wouldn't matter if she hit that window. Alarms were going off so fast, that she had given up on silencing them. Until she "landed" the Etosha, her world would be an oven filled with blinking and flashing lights and alarms of every pitch and variety. Nude and strapped to the pilot's seat, Quagga was sweating from every pore.

Entry into the atmosphere survived, the airfoil came into play. Once low enough, Quagga aimed her disabled ship towards a suitable crash site. She ran to the back, blew out an exterior door, and tossed out a homing beacon. Should her ship's EPIRB not survive the crash, the beacon would direct any rescuers towards the crash site. Procedure was with a disabled ship to exit the craft and let it crash. But the Etosha had brought Quagga through too much. She wouldn't abandon it now, even if that meant she wouldn't survive.

Sitting back down at the controls, her instructor's words popped into her head. "There's a reason it's call a 'dead' stick landing." Quagga smiled and hoped her instructor was wrong this time. "It's just you and me, girl", she told her ship in Cabbyl. "Don't worry. We're going to make it", she said as she patted the instrument panel.

She guided the Etosha towards the valley she had picked out, one that had a river feeding a lake for a water supply and few large boulders and trees to minimize damage on 'landing'. Quagga's great strength was all that enabled her to move the controls towards her target. Moments before impact, she deployed every air brake she had, leaned back into her chair, and closed her eyes.

A sonic boom preceded the Etosha as it crashed into the ground. Trees, dirt, stones, and parts of the Etosha went flying from the ship as it plowed its way to a stop. The crash had dug a mile long trench ending with the Etosha a mere 10 yards from the edge of a lake. Bruised and sore, Quagga released the X harness and made her way to the exit. She stepped out of the ship into a beautiful, sunlit day.

Quagga patted the still-hot side of the Etosha and said, "I knew you could do it, girl!" She then lept up in the air, arms raised above her head, and screamed in celebration. She hopped and danced around in a circle singing a happy folk song, laughing as she did so. Though not her intention, her dance did serve to confirm that she wasn't injured in the crash. In a minute she'd turn her attention to surviving on this alien world near Felid space. But for now, she just celebrated being alive.

The crash had frightened away most of the wildlife in the vicinity, and Quagga's exclamations of joy scared off any who were left. An eerie stillness descended upon the lakeside, broken only by sparks and pops from the cooling ship.

The lake itself, however, had begun to ripple. Resting on the lake floor was what could only be a spaceship; several times larger than the Etosha, curved and ridged in construction as if it were a giant fractal seashell secreted by a mollusk on LSD. Its dark green color helped it blend in to the lake bottom, although even ordinary scanning devices would be able to find it; Quagga herself might be able to pick it out, if she looked hard enough. There was, perhaps, some reason the ship was in the lake other than concealment.

More ripples emanated from the ship, and then a wake appeared traveling across the water's surface. A dark bulk undulated smoothly through the water toward Quagga, approaching with perhaps startling speed. And then a creature broke the surface and slithered onto the beach, all shiny, rubbery green skin and wriggling tentacles. The tendrils braced the creature and pushed its torso upward; the looming bulk regarded Quagga with one large blue slit-pupil eye.

Quagga danced her happy dance for a few moments more. Then she stopped and reflected on her situation. Other Cabbyl knew she was in this general area, which was good. She was able to launch a distress beacon in space that would make it's way towards a Cabbyl outpost, which was also good. The amount of time the beacon took to reach someone friendly and that someone come here to rescue Quagga could be as much as three months, which was bad. She was just outside the territory of the hated Felid, which was remarkably bad. She might have to take the Natal, if it was still servicable, and make a camp away from the Etosha in case Felidae found her first.

On the bright side, she was alive and had a ship full of supplies. She had a ready water supply nearby. And that's when she heard it. Other than the Etosha, she hadn't heard any sound at the crash site. But now she heard a distinct disturbance from the water. She turned to look in that direction and saw the wake traveling towards her with great speed. Being a good distance from the lake, she wasn't concerned with it until the creature broke the surface. The Cabbyl sized creature then came ashore supported by a thick tentacle. The multitude of tentacles around it wiggled and writhed in a manner Quagga found quite menacing.

She wasn't sure what this thing was. But her dancing and skipping had taken her closer to the lake and on the wrong side of the Etosha. She had never encountered anything quite like this greenish-brown creature and she decided that the best course of action was to back away from it slowly, in the direction of the nose of the Etosha. It moved lightning fast in the water. But it surely must be slow on land. If it came at her, she'd run to the open hatch and get a weapon. In the meantime, she spoke soothingly to the creature. Saying in Cabbyl, "that's a good sea monster. Take it easy and we'll both be happy. I don't want to hurt you." Quagga didn't think it would understand Cabbyl, but speaking Intergalactic Common didn't even occur to her.

The creature paused. Then a deep, burbling chuckle emanated from...somewhere near it. "Greetings to you too," the tentacled creature said, little wrigglings of its tentacles punctuating the words. It was speaking Intergalactic Common. "I'm afraid I never learned Cabbyl. You are a Cabbyl, are you not? How fortunate! I've been intrigued by your species since first I heard of you! I do hope you speak a more common language..." The creature almost seemed to be holding itself steady in the air, but it was actually wriggling closer to Quagga, as well as looming a bit taller. Its torso was not much larger than Quagga's, but its tail and tentacles let it cover a lot more area and reach much farther...

Quagga halted her retreat, staring at the creature, mouth agape. "You can talk?", she began in Cabbyl. Realizing what it had said, she changed to the same language it had used. "You can talk. Sort of... I... um..." Quagga was not quite sure what to do. When she realized that she was dealing with a new species, her training took over.

"I am Quagga of the Cabbyl. I apologize for my appearance. But as you can see, I came to your planet quite by accident." She waved a hand towards the Etosha. She stood straight and tried to make her posture less defensive. She absently felt at her waist, wishing she could have, at least, been wearing her waist chain. She thought that her jewelry made her appear more formal. She didn't recognize the species and didn't have her manual handy. But given that the creature wasn't wearing clothing, it probably wasn't upset by her nudity.

"As you already have heard of the Cabbyl, I hope I can live up to all your expectations." Quagga did not notice that Dendrite was continuing its advance. She tried to make herself more presentable, which consisted of rubbing off some dirt and grass from her feet and ankles with a hand, and some straightening of her mane about her head.

"If it is not too bold, may I ask with whom am I speaking?" She made her situation worse by actually taking a step towards Dendrite. When one encounters a new species, it is important not to show fear as that can be quite off putting. Quagga gave Dendrite a pleasant smile, carefully avoiding showing any teeth. And while her base instinct was to flee, she did her best to calm her racing heart and slow her breathing.

Another deep laugh came from the creature, although it seemed to emanate from the very air instead of being produced by a mouth. "Well met, Quagga of the Cabbyl," the creature said, its blue eye blinking as it watched her. "First, I should mention that I am not native to this planet. According to my research, there are no native species approaching sentience in this system, and very few that would be threatening at all to...citizens such as ourselves." One of Dendrite's tendrils slipped forward to wrap around Quagga's waist in a rather informal gesture. "I go by 'Dendrite'...a concession to consensus pronunciation, but I've come to like it. I go wherever the whims of fate take me...And I am quite pleased to have found such intriguing company on this uncivilized planet!" The tendril would begin rubbing Quagga on the lower back, subtly drawing her nearer. "Yes, you are a delightful example of your species..."

Quagga was rather pleased with Dendrite's reaction. It seemed genuinely happy to meet her. When one of its tendrils slipped around her waist, she reflexively grabbed at it. She relaxed when she realized that it was wrapped around her loosely and she could probably remove it with little effort.

"I'm happy to have pleased you. But I must admit that I am not the best example of my kind. I am rather short and not the prettiest of my kind." Her Perisso's came to mind right then. But there wasn't any reason to tell this strange alien about that.

She continued on, seemingly unable to stop talking. "I thought that this world was uninhabited. I didn't have a chance to check that before my unscheduled arrival." She briefly thought that the gap was closing between she and Dendrite. But she quickly dismissed it as a function of their becoming more familiar with each other.

"I'm very pleased to meet you too, Dendrite. I would like to hear the actual pronunciation sometime. I may not be able to reproduce it. But I will give it my best try." She smiled again, still being careful not to show any teeth. "Considering this world is uninhabited, it's very lucky that I happened to crash near someone as intelligent and friendly as you.

"If you have a ship, I wonder if you would consider giving a ride to a poor Cabbyl who has lost her way. I sent a distress signal to my fellow Cabbyl. But they won't likely get here for quite some time."

Then his rubbing of her back knocked her a little off balance. She stumbled a bit forward. The... massage? actually felt a bit soothing, if a bit strong, and she patted part of the tendril in a friendly manner. She gave a bit of a nervous laugh, hoping he wouldn't be offended by her losing her balance.

"Dear me," Dendrite said, its blue eye blinking as it gazed at Quagga. "Not the prettiest of your kind? I daresay I would be hard-pressed to find any as vibrant, as compelling as yourself. Oh, but you are a diplomat." A tendril reached up to trace over the brand on her breast. "Modesty must be in the job description!" A slow chuckle came from the creature.

"Well, Quagga...I do have a ship." Dendrite turned for a moment, and the Cabbyl might be able to sense a subtle psychic vibration. Moments later ripples appeared in the lake, and a dark green structure broke the surface. It was much more curved and organic in design than most Galactic vessels, but she had most likely seen stranger. The ship carefully rose, water pouring off its surface as well as draining out of vents. Then, with only the slightest of engine sounds, it moved to rest on the lake's shore. It seemed such a quiet and patient way to move. "Luckily, I've been interested in studying 'humanoid' biology," Dendrite said. "You may find the rooms strange, but I promise they will be comfortable..."

And then the creature turned back to look at Quagga, leaning forward just a bit. In fact, it was almost pressed up against her chest. "I had planned on staying on this world a bit longer," Dendrite said, sounding just a bit hesitant. "It's quite a pleasant locale, both in and out of water. And there are a few fascinating life forms...Still! In the interest of Galactic harmony, I shall be glad to cut my visit short and partake of your company." Once again, the slightest of chuckles could be heard.

Quagga was used to people, especially males, feeling her diplomatic brand. And it was quite the tactile experience for Dendrite. It was very intricate with different components of the brand at different levels. And that it was part of a supple breast didn't hurt the experience either. Quagga smiled and slightly blushed at Dendrite's compliment, the blush extending from her cheeks to the tops of her breasts. "Thank you", she answered.

Quagga felt, more than heard, a slight buzzing as Dendrite called for its ship. She marveled at its elegant design as it rose from the water and quietly made its way to the pair. "Oh, I can help you study Cabbyl biology", she said gleefully, almost giddily. I've had extensive medical training. And I have several excellent texts aboard the Etosha."

When Dendrite agreed to cut short its stay and rescue her, Quagga literally jumped for joy, squealing with delight as she did. This action provided Dendrite with two pleasures. First, jumping as she was caused Quagga's breasts to bounce and jiggle. Secondly as Dendrite's tendril had lingered on her brand, it both caused an extra bounce and got a very nice feel of the large breast flowing up and down over it. Quagga joined Dendrite in chuckling, thanking her good fortune that someone was here to rescue her.

Dendrite laughed along with Quagga, perhaps from the sheer delight of being close to her as she bounced. "Oh, you are a delight, Quagga," Dendrite murmured. "A true delight..."

A couple of the creature's tentacles slipped around Quagga's waist, then slid slowly down over her taut bottom. "Yes, I am looking forward to learning more about the Cabbyl," Dendrite said. His body pushed upward a bit and pressed against Quagga's chest, feeling the warmth of her breasts against its torso. Dendrite's eye blinked and gazed at Quagga's face. "And about you, yourself, Quagga," he said. By now the tentacles were rubbing and massaging Quagga's buttocks, slowly moving toward more intimate regions. "Your spirit is so fresh and open--dazzling, like a sunbeam. I believe, Quagga, that different as we are, we are very compatible. Quite intimately compatible."

<Dendrite is a very tactile creature>, Quagga thought. <It certainly likes to touch with its tentacles.> Quagga was moving into unknown territory. She wasn't sure how to correctly respond to Dendrite's actions. She needed some excuse to get back into the Etosha so she could read up on Dendrite's species.

At least Quagga was comfortable with how close Dendrite had moved. It had been quite some time since she had interacted with someone who really liked to converse face to face. She blushed again at Dendrite's second compliment. She was so thrown off by the compliment that she almost missed the implication of the last sentence. Intimately? When emphasized like that, it usually implies sex. Dendrite couldn't possibly desire sex with her. She must look as unappealing to him as he does to her. She paused for a moment but couldn't pick up any emotion from the creature. She usually could read lust, sometimes as hunger. But Dendrite was just too different for her to feel his emotions, if it even had any.

And as pleasant as the tentacles massaging her back and buttocks were, she had to find some way to get to her ship to read the book on his species. "Thank you for the compliment, Dendrite. I've never been compared to a sunbeam before. You are too kind." She paused to change the subject. "I'll get the texts on my species now. I have a copy in the Etosha we can use." She had to read that manual on him. Dendrite was sending signals that Quagga just had to be misreading. She took a backwards step towards her ship. She hoped her new friend wouldn't be offended by her desire to return to her ship.

A deep chuckle rumbled from Dendrite as it heard Quagga's words. As the Cabbyl female stepped back, Dendrite moved forward to match her, bumping up against her chest again. "Very well," he said. "I shall restrain myself and wait here for your return. I don't want to...intrude on your personal space. Your ship, I mean." The tentacles slid down Quagga's body, giving her tight bottom one last squeeze before slipping to the ground. Dendrite's body leaned back just a bit, as if retreating.

Quagga thanks Dendrite and quickly returns to her ship. The setback is not a total loss for Dendrite as her running provides a pleasing show. She enters her ship and picks up an e-Book reader. It already contains several texts on Cabbyl medicine and anatomy. She then goes to the ship's computer and searches for Dendrite's species. She finds one whose photo and description best match. Unfortunately, it contains little of the information she needs.

"Species #41739-A: No common name, little study has been undertaken. Current theory is that the species evolved on an aquatic world with a wide variety of life forms, many of which it domesticated using pheromones and rudimentary psionic abilities. There is very little contact between species members, as they seem to prefer the company of other life forms; many have assimilated into larger galactic society to pursue their own interests. Genderless/hermaphroditic, capable of sexual or parthenogenic reproduction, though they often assume a masculine personality when dealing with other life forms. Natural aptitudes for biology and biochemistry; patient and prideful, sometimes to the point of arrogance; beyond this nothing can be said about a 'species character', as they are so individualistic. No greater cultural identity—Each must be dealt with on its own terms. More study needed."

Making a critical mistake, Quagga ignores or misses a key word in the description and concentrates on "parthenogenic reproduction". It also seemed to explain the use of the tentacles. She inferred from the description that they are a curious species. And Dendrite must use its tentacles as a means of exploring. Mollified, Quagga grabbed the e-reader, quickly put on a matching choker and waist chain set, and returned to Dendrite outside. "This reader should contain everything you need to know about Cabbyl", she tells him.

Dendrite's eye flicked up and down, watching Quagga approach. "Wonderful," the creature murmured. "By the way, that's quite a pretty set of decorations. They set off your mane quite well." A tendril reached out to brush over the waist chain, gently sliding along, creeping around Quagga's waist as it followed the jewelry. "Now, you were saying..." A pair of tentacles reached up to carefully take the proferred reader, bringing it closer to Dendrite's large eye. "Ah, this does look like it will be a treat," the creature murmured. Then it turned back to Quagga. "Would you like to get underway, or do we need to stay on this planet a bit longer? Even if it's just to catch your breath, that's fine; just speak up." The tentacle curled around Quagga's waist lazily rubbed over her lower back and hips, brushing over her rounded buttocks every now and then as well.

Quagga smiles a shy smile at Dendrite's compliment. "Thank you", she answers. "I've had over a hundred compliments from aliens on this set. Not one noticed how well it went with my mane. You have a fine eye. That's the reason I got it." As she said this she turned her head a bit and pointed to where the choker disappeared into her mane.

Quagga closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of Dendrite's tentacle on her waist. <I wonder if it knows how good that feels>, she thought. She opened her eyes when Dendrite took the reader. "I thought you would appreciate it. It contains close to, if not all, the information about my species and breed. Of course, it has information of all the breeds on Cabbyl. But most of the information it contains is on my breed."

She held her tongue, not wishing to interrupt, when Dendrite asked if she were ready to leave this planet. "Oh I'm ready to leave now. But you're the host. If you want to dally, I certainly cannot demand otherwise." Quagga's expression betrayed her obvious hope that Dendrite would choose to depart immediately. She sighed as its tentacle began to work its magic again. <Dendrite could make a fortune running a massage parlor. Those tentacles are magical.>

((I was thinking of the second definition of dally. The first one listed there makes her choice of the word somewhat "unfortunate". ))