Greene wheeled smartly at the door to the captain’s ready room and rapped twice.
Disregarding Talent protocol, too (in for a halfcredit, in for it all), Thian reached out to the captain now sitting behind his desk, both hands flat on its surface, awaiting the interview. He might as well know how to frame his responses. Thian caught a brief echo of another mind before he was thwarted by the captain’s natural shield, now firmly in place in anticipation of an interview with a Prime Talent.
Withdrawing instantly, for fear the man might be aware of the attempt, Thian gave a convulsive shudder. Fortunately, Greene was busy opening the door and didn’t see it.
There was that about the captain’s posture that told Thian that Ashiant was totally relaxed. Was he, too, looking forward to the dressing down he was going to give this — this civilian?
`That’s all, thank you, Greene,’ the captain said and nodded for the seaman to retire. `Return to duty’ The man silently swore as he closed the door behind him.
`Commander Exeter tells me your – ah, companion will survive this… ah… allergic reaction,’ the captain began with what Thian decided was a cunningly bland tone.
He’ll come down on me like a big-daddy once he’s softened me up, Thian thought and tried to relax, matching the captain’s urbane air.
He could be no worse than Grandmother in her Tower mode.
Could he?
`They did the courtesy of sending a very senior medical officer, Captain Ashiant,’ Thian said, moving forward to take the seat the captain indicated. Well, it won’t be right now if he’s letting me sit.
`So Exeter said, and left chemical formulae for future reference.
Good idea, that. Fleet Command keeps sending us bursts of information but it’s not always what we need, or what we can profitably use. I dare say you’d be able to explain it.’ `My pleasure, I assure you,’ Thian said, steeling himself against the inevitable storm.
Ill `You’d have no objections to sharing explanations?’ `Me? No, why would I, sir? The `Dinis are open in their admiration of human achievements, and I think they’ve a few we could profit from.’ `Do you now?’ Thian rebuked himself for being so cocksure but nervousness, the knowledge that he’d already bungled his first moments aboard, made him babble so inanely. If only he knew whether or not the captain was pro or anti Talent. Or `Dini.
`Such as?’ Well, go for broke, Thi boy, he told himself. `Such as their air purification systems.’ `Really?’ And the captain’s heavily marked eyebrows rose.
Just then Thian felt something soft brush his hand.
As unexpected as it was, the touch was so familiar that he automatically put his hand down to caress the animal that had somehow got in the captain’s ready room.
`Hello there,’ Thian said in another almost automatic response to the presence of a known and friendly entity. Then he blinked in utter astonishment. `You’ve got a barque-cat!’ he exclaimed in surprise and awe, his hand poised to complete a stroke.
The cat raised her front paws off the ground, imperiously butting her head at his hand to continue the caress which he hastily completed.
She was a magnificently marked tri-colour with a white muzzle, white socks all round and a tiny puff of white on the tip of her tail.
She was also very pregnant and nearly overbalanced. He put a deft hand under her barrel to support her and felt a rumbling purr vibrating through her gravid body.
`What’s her lineage, Captain? She’s gorgeous. I’ve only seen one other tri-colour and little Zsa Zsa isn’t a patch on this one.’ `Princess Zsa Zsa of the Trebizond?’ Ashiant asked, watching as the cat continued to push herself against Thian’s leg and hand.
`That’s the one. She never threw any tri-colours that I heard about.’ `No, she hasn’t, but not for want of the Treb’s crew trying,’ the captain said with a snort. `They even asked for the service of our torn. They got marmalades and even a tabby but no tri-colours, or females for that matter.’ `Who is your beauty? Whoops, easy there, missus,’ Thian said when the cat, despite her bulkiness, leaped into his lap and began circling to settle.