“Oh no, sir,” she said quickly.
“Now, now, you know, I don’t believe you at all, if you follow me,” Kiachif said, his voice soothing. “That one has no manners. I’m sure that asking nicely would have gotten him the selfsame smiling service from a nice lass like you.” He glanced up at the digital clock. “Ah, you’re nearly off shift, aren’t you?”
With a grateful look of near-fainting relief, she glanced the same way. “Fifteen minutes,” she said with a sigh and a sagging of her shoulders.
“Well now, you wouldn’t think of joining an ol’ space captain for a tot or so of mlada, would you? A sort of thank-you for checking up on my ship? You look like you could do with a jolt, if you know what I mean.”
She shot him a tentative smile. “I don’t know as I should . . .”
“Why not? Your shift will be over, duty done, and a little relaxation’s in order. You’ve been under quite a strain, with all the shipping in and out, and many’s the glass I’ve had that’s taken the weariness out of me in such a situation. So I recommend it highly to you, if you know what I mean.”
After Greene’s manner, the kindly old captain whom she’d known for years soothed her rattled nerves. A drink or two in pleasant company was just what she needed right now. She swiped back her hair with a shaking hand. “Oh, Captain,” she said in a low voice suffused with desperation. “I’d like that very, very much.”
SINCE EVERYONE on board the Wander Den was so busy that there wasn’t even company for swimming, Weddeerogh asked his mother if he could visit the young people at the Double Bar Gemini Ranch. Grzzeearoghh thought that an excellent idea and immediately inquired of the Hayuman Zodd if this could be arranged. Todd asked Kelly, adroitly in the presence of Alison and Alec, but fortunately his wife was amenable to the notion even without the pressure of their pleas.
“I told you Teddy could come any time,” she said. “Pop over and tell Nrrna, will you, kids? Is Grizz coming, too?” she added, immediately cataloguing what she had on hand in the freezer.
“No, just Teddy.” Todd said. “With all the adults out and about trading or kibitzing, the little feller’s likely to be lonely.”
“Little feller?” Kelly mocked with a sly smile, and raised her hand to ear level.
“Comparatively,” Todd said, grinning. “Buddy’ll drop Teddy off right here. Save you a trip into town.”
“Fine by me, as I thought the air cushions on the flitter would burst the day we collected the little feller and his sweet mommy from the grid.” Kelly favored her husband with a sardonic look for the surprise she’d had when all of Grizz and her not-so-small cub had emerged from the mist.
“I’ll clear up as much as I can in my office today,” Todd said, “so I can join in the fun.”
“Ha! Where were you when I needed you!” Kelly exclaimed, rolling her eyes but smiling. “Teddy’s no problem, but what should I fix for him to eat this time?”
“Ask the gang,” Todd suggested as he left.
* * *
News of Teddy’s imminent visit sifted through other items of interest so that when Buddy skillfully landed the big Gringg shuttle, there were unofficial observers, too, as the five eager youngsters bounded to greet Weddeerogh. He had put on his best fish-scale collar and, at his dam’s urging, brushed his fur until it gleamed. He had also shortened the cord of his voder so that it no longer prodded his ear or the back of his head.
Not that the voder could handle the shrieks and shouts of delight from the two Hayumans and three Hrrubans. He didn’t even try to say the phrases of gratitude his dam had had him prepare.
“C’mon,” said the Alec one, grabbing his hand and starting to pull him away from the house. “The (garble) just hatched and you’ve never seen baby (garble) before, Teddy.”
Alison, Hrrana, and Hrrunival, either pushing or pulling him, started him on the way to the barn while the smallest Hrruban followed, wide-eyed.
“I must give your parent . . .” Teddy began, the translator stuttering at first until the Hrruban came out.
“Mom said you’d want to see the (garble)!” Alec said, tugging harder.
Teddy could see Kelly on the porch, waving for him to go with the children, so he felt completely excused from the courtesies his dam had insisted he perform in acceptance of family hospitality.
He found the newly hatched “chickens” (and he dutifully added that noun and “bantie” as “mother of chicks” to the vocabulary), delightful creatures, although he couldn’t hear them peeping, as the others could, no matter how he fiddled with the voder.
Then he was taken on a tour of the hrrrses in the barn, and he pleased everyone by remembering the names he had been given on his previous visit. He wondered how long it would be before he could mention swimming in the lake again, but no, there were other newborn creatures for him to meet . . . katzz and kitthhhens. He did know the word “katz” . . . small furry being. Well, he must uphold the honor of his father, who was one of the most renowned linguists on their homeworld, so Teddy girded himself to remember the personal names of these new species. It wasn’t easy to pick up new words: the Hayuman children talked so fast and the Hrruban brothers and sister interrupted them constantly, making it difficult for the voder to keep up.
“Here they are, Teddy,” Hrrana said, beating the others to the place where the katz had kitthhhens.
Four tiny four-legged animals swarmed over Teddy, their mouths opening and closing, though the voder didn’t pick up the sounds. Hrrana lifted one up to him and instructed him on how to handle the soft, squirmy things. It sniffed at him, as was proper, so he sniffed, very carefully, at it.
”(Garble) behind the ears,” Hrrana said, and demonstrated. He asked her to repeat the first word and then added it to the rapidly increasing line of new vocabulary.
He gently extruded one claw only, because his digits were much larger than Hrrana’s, and applied the appropriate pleasure. He could feel a rumbling through the palm of his paw.
“She’s prrrring,” Hrrana told him proudly, and he took this to mean the small creature accepted him.
“What is this kitthhhen? How big does it grow?” Teddy asked just as a larger, black and white creature of the same species came bounding over the hay-strewn place to investigate him. It sniffed at his feet, and courteously he squatted, bringing his head down to its level to get its scent.
“That’s how big it grows,” Hrrunival said. “Cats are from Earzz and are not intelligent.”
“They are so,” Alec replied with some heat. “Kasha’s very intelligent.”
“For a cat,” Hrrana agreed, shooting a quelling glance at her brother.
“At least as intelligent as you, Hrrunival,” Alec went on tauntingly.
As he evidently expected, Hrrunival charged at Alec, who lithely twisted out of the way and streaked for the wide-open barn door, Hrrunival in close pursuit. Clucking (rather like the chicken had), Alison removed the kitten from Teddy’s paw.
“We’d better make sure the fight’s fair,” she said, and with Hrrana and Ourrh, who hadn’t yet addressed the Gringg cub, she followed the boys. The little Gringg had no choice but to follow as fast as he could waddle. At the door, Alison looked back.
“Wait, Hrrana! We’re leaving Teddy behind!”
“Ooops! He can’t run verry fast, can he?” Hrrana observed, slowing down.
“He’s doing the best he can,” Alison replied.
Alec suddenly remembered his manners and grabbed hold of Hrrunival, evading the punch that came his way. “C’mon, let’s do something that’s fun for all of us. Hey, Teddy, what do you want to do?” he called out.
“I would like to swim,” the cub said. “Swimming here last time was much pleasure.”
“Should we try the creek this time?” Alec asked his twin.
“No, he wouldn’t get very wet in the creek,” she repli
ed, scanning the girth of their guest.
The ducks on the farm pond scattered with noisy protests when the children, stripped naked, waded into the water and started to splash one another. Teddy unfastened his collar and laid it and his voder on those of his hosts.
* * *
“Confirmed,” Lieutenant Gallup whispered, crawling on his knees and elbows into the ditch where Lieutenant Walters crouched. His long, sallow face was filmed with sweat under the camouflage makeup, and his brush-cut black hair was dusty. “The Gringg cub is there, with the Reeve and Hrruban kids. They’re swimming in the pond, mother-naked.”
“And the pond is right out in the open,” Walters said, squinting through the tall grass into the sunny yard. His light blue eyes were two pale spots in an irregular stripe of black greasepaint. Raising his scope, he scanned the grounds of the Reeve and Hrriss farms. “D’ja see anyplace we can grab him alone?”
Gallup shook his head. “Not so close to the houses. The kids’ll set up a ruckus. We’ll have to wait until they’re farther away. Too bad the pond’s visible, ’cause they’ve all stripped off comms and voders. Damn!”
“Let’s ooze down there anyhow. That fancy collar of the cub might be interesting to examine. Can’t know what sort of technology’s hidden in it. All the bruins wear something of the sort all the time they’re downside.”
* * *
Under a sky bluer than any he had ever seen, Teddy dived and swam and played with his new friends in water that smelled of fragrant grasses and weeds. It tasted unusual but very nice.
The Hayumans and Hrrubans taught him games by demonstrating between themselves how they were played. One required each swimmer to keep away from one chosen to be “tagger.” Alison lost that draw, and the game required lots of splashing and swimming and shrieking for those eluding the tagger. Another game made use of a colored ball which the players were required to catch with their hands. Teddy had to be careful of his claws, which inadvertently unsheathed to make the catch, indenting the surface of the ball. It made him realize how fragile Rraladoonan toys were, as were the persons of Rraladoona. It was also very difficult to throw the squishy ball any great distance, depriving him of the advantages that strength and speed gave him in the other contests, to the evident joy of the younger Hrruban. Hrrunival was so determinedly competitive that Teddy started losing on purpose to keep the young felinoid from feeling bad. The object of the game was to get the ball over cross poles at each end of the relatively oval pond. After a certain number of these objectives had been attained, Hrrunival gestured for Teddy and the others to join him at his end of the pond, pantomiming that they should now swim as fast as possible to the other end. Bored, Ourrh went back to the house. Teddy wished that the voder was waterproof. He was losing valuable words which he was certain no other Gringg would collect.
The children quickly discovered that though Teddy couldn’t move as quickly as they could on land, none of them could touch him for speed in the water. His big paws scooped waves out of his way, and his powerful tail gave him extra thrust. No matter what kind of a head start he allowed the others, he was always at the other side of the pond before any of them were halfway across.
“No fairrrr!” Hrrunival cried, spitting out a mouthful of duckweed at the end of another unsuccessful race. “He’s got a ruddrrrr behind!”
“You’ve got a tail, too,” Alec told him. “Use it!”
“Mine does not wrrrk zat way. Also, all my furrr is so wet, it holds me back. Your bare skin is an advantage.’”
“Teddy’s got fur, too,” Alison said, shaking her black mop out of her eyes. “Lots more than you do, that holds liters more water.”
“I’m tired of losing,” Hrrunival said, pouting and splashing with his arms. “What if we have a test whrrr Teddy swims, and we run on ze bank? We’ll see who’s fastrrr allover.”
This motion was carried as a good idea and the alteration explained to Teddy. He never objected to staying in water. The Rraladoonans climbed out of the pond and shook the water from their skins and fur. Taking his voder from the pile, Alec named himself as official starter.
“Okay, once around the pond to this point here,” he said, drawing a line in the soft earth down to the waterline with his toe. “If anyone falls down or gets hurt, the race stops right there.”
“Agreed,” Teddy said. This Hayuman was most careful of the safety of others.
“Okay,” Hrrunival said. The girls nodded.
Teddy braced his toes in the thick mud. The others bent down with one foot behind, their hands touching the ground on either side of their forward feet.
“On your mark, get set, GO!” Alec shoved off, running. His long legs gave him an immediate lead over the two Hrrubans and his sister. Teddy thrust off powerfully from the bank and plowed across the pond.
Alec was a swift runner. Hampered by having to avoid reeds and water plants, Teddy needed to concentrate closely on his stroke to keep up with him. He could hear the Hrruban boy yards behind them, grunting with frustration as he drove his short legs to their fastest pace.
A small fish, disturbed from its hiding place among the reeds, leaped into the air like a rocket, directly underneath Teddy’s face. Thinking of the predatory fish on his motherworld, he jumped up to avoid it. It fled him. Sputtering, he rolled over in the water to clear his nose and mouth. Alec gained a few paces and Hrrunival was closing faster now. Teddy kicked to right himself onto his round belly, and paddled furiously to regain the lead. He was nicely buoyant, but the water plants all around him were dragging at his fur, slowing him down.
Only a few lengths to go. He spat weeds out of his face and sucked in a deep breath of air to sustain himself for one final burst. In three strokes, he crossed the shallow line etched in the bank. Alec was still right beside him. Alison and Hrrunival were nearly together, coming in second. Hrrana was dead last. Teddy heaved himself out of the water and stood dripping to congratulate Alec.
“It’s a tie!” Alec said, slapping him on the back and splashing all of them. “You’re fast.”
Teddy reached for his voder and put it on. Alec repeated his last words.
“You are . . . fast, too,” Teddy said. “I worked hard, but we both won.” He turned to Hrrana. “I am sorry.” He meant to console her for losing, but Hrruban words failed him.
The girl seemed to understand his intentions perfectly well. She shook her head with cheerful resignation. “It is all rrright. I nevrrr win,” she said, “so it does not bozzer me.”
Hrrunival was not such a good loser, but he tried to cover his disappointment. “Well, that . . . was a good . . . contest!” he panted, still short of breath. “Wanna . . . zry rrriding hrrses?”
“Yes! But I do not know how,” Teddy said, looking around for his collar. Surely he had put it right with the voder. No, there it was on the bush. He shrugged, not too concerned that it was other than where he thought he had left it. The children finished dressing and strapped on their voders and belt-radios.
“I’ll teach you,” the young Hrruban said, condescendingly patting Teddy on the arm.
“Hrrrrrrunival,” Hrrana said, fuming with embarrassment at her brother’s tone. “You haven’t ze patience to teach anyone to hop.”
Not looking back, he twitched his tail at her and led Teddy away, water still dripping off their fur. (Alec and Alison followed, grinning.)
* * *
“Close, but no luck,” Gallup muttered under his breath as they watched the children leave the pond. “Didn’t have long enough to check anything on that collar. Good thing I got it to hang on the branch.” He and Walters had been within meters of the pond when the children climbed out.
“Commander Greene wants that little bear stat,” Walters said. “Figures questioning the kid’s our best chance to find out what the Gringg are really doing here. He might even be our ticket aboard their ship, if his folks want him back safely.
”
“The Hrruban kid said they’re going riding.”
“Couldn’t be better,” Walters said, grinning. His teeth glinted. “We’ll let ’em get clear of the yard, jam the kids’ comms and be ready to snatch the bear. He’s sure to fall off a time or two and we ought to be able to isolate him from the others. The flitter’s waiting for us just this side of the woods.”
* * *
Teddy had already been introduced to Tornado and Fairy, the twins’ mounts. Looking over the other mares and geldings, Alec and Alison tried to choose one for their guest while the Hrrubans went back to the stables for their own ponies.
They came back, leading their mounts, before Alec and Alison had decided which horse suited Teddy best.
“We need something so bomb-proof you could drop a Big Momma Snake on its back and it wouldn’t spook,” Alec decided.
“That’s Teabag, then,” Alison said.
“What saddle, though?” Alec asked, critically examining their guest’s body.
“We’ll look for something,” Alison said. “Hrrana, will you saddle my gray for me, please?”
“Ssure,” the obliging Hrruban said and expertly threw a pad and then a saddle over Alison’s gray pony mare. Hrrunival went so far as to help bridle her. Teddy stood to one side watching, feeling considerable respect for his new friends.
Teddy was unused to the idea of having pets larger than he was. Yet the hrrrsses, who stamped an occasional heavy and dangerous-looking foot down on the concrete floor of the building, seemed content to serve. There were no longer large animals on Teddy’s homeworld, though his dam had told him there had once been many different kinds. How lucky were Rraladoonans to have such a variety. Then Alec came out of the barn with his bay animal.
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