The man awakened.
Triphammers beat ringingly inside his skull. He opened his eyes and closed them quickly against the sullen red glow that beat down from above. He lay motionless, gathering his strength.
What had happened?
He didn't know. The jolting impact of that realization struck him violently. He felt a brief panic of disorientation. Where—?
I'm Derek Stuart, he thought. At least it isn't complete amnesia. I know who I am. But not where I am.
This time when he opened his eyes they stayed open. Overhead a broad-leafed tree arched. Through its branches he could see a dark, starry sky, the glowing, ringed disc of Saturn very far away, and a deeply scarlet glow.
Not Earth, then. A Saturnian moon? No, Saturn didn't eclipse most of the sky. Perhaps the asteroid belt.
He moved his head a little, and saw the red moon.
Aesir!
The message rippled along his nerves into his brain. Stuart reacted instantly. His hard, strong body writhed, whipped over, and then he was in a half-crouch, one hand flashing to his belt while his eyes searched the empty silence of the forest around him. There was no sound, no movement.