Larisa dropped the two guards to the floor, and the six retainers rushed to the stricken princess’ aid. The blue uniformed crewmembers slowly backed out of the door.
“That went well, all things considered.” Dimitri was smiling.
“I’ll bet our little princess didn’t think so. The physical pain was nothing compared to the public humiliation of being paddled bare-bottomed in front of her very own guards and retainers.” Zed was chuckling. “I think Katherine and I will take the cutter down to the surface, check on anything we might have forgotten, and bring back our four footed friend.”
“I’d forgotten about the cat.” Kat admitted ruefully.
“Cats are good.” Larisa rumbled in a very un-feminine voice as she gave him a wide smile. “I like cats.”
“Skinned and in a stewpot, I’ll bet.” Dimitri chuckled fiercely.
“No, no. Cats kill the rats where I came from. They’re cool.”
“Then I think your wildest dream is about to come true.” Zed grinned.
It was a heat wave. With the temperature soaring to just above freezing, the snow on the domes was beginning to melt, sending small silver rivulets of water running down the sloping sides to form muddy brown puddles that spread around the base of the structures. A soft breeze smelling of spring and growing things blew across their faces. Zed reached out and touched a small straggly plant that had a few, half thawed buds. “Lola, do we have anything like a terraforming unit that we could leave on this planet?”
Zed thought for a moment.
The blue eyes of the dark shadowed mass in the cage were watching them intently when they entered the small dome.
“Is that the…”
“Yup.” Zed squatted in front of the cage. “Sorry about the poor conditions, buddy. We’ll have you out of the cage soon and you can stretch your legs. Main Street, the corridor that travels the inner circumference of the ship is about two thousand meters long. Would you like that?” The eyes blinked. Acting on a gut feeling more than anything else, Zed opened the top of the cage.
“No!!! What do you think you’re doing??” Kat hissed insistently.
“I know what I’m doing, I think.” He reached a bare hand in, and felt a cold wet nose touch it. He reached a little more and felt the large head of the cat under his hand. His fingers found the sensitive spot behind the ears, and he began to rub gently. It sounded like a small outboard motor had been started in the cage. Stuttering a few times, the sound finally smoothed out to a steady rumble. The blue eyes slid shut. Zed slid his hand out of the cage. “Don’t flip out now, we’re going to pick you up and take you to the ship. When we’re gone there will be no one else alive on the planet.” The eyes didn’t even open.
It was a small room, in fact Zed believed that it was the very first room he’d slept in on the ship. They set the cage in the middle of the room and everyone else wisely left. “Do you think that you could build a cat access into the door of this room?”
“Probably.” Lola’s comment was dry. She still hadn’t gotten over her little snit about Cybele using her circuits without asking.
“Would you please do it?”
“Yes Captain.”
Zed sighed, opening the front door of the cage. “There you go, buddy. Home at last.” A black nose poked out cautiously, looking around, sniffing the air. Blue eyes were clear and curious. Zed touched the cat’s head and the feline pushed up, obviously wanting more petting. Zed complied and stretching luxuriously, the cat exited the cage. Normally the size of panthera pardus, the cat was skinny, its ribs clearly visible, and the gray fur dull and matted. It wobbled slightly on unsteady legs. “Lola…”
“That fool princess has almost starved this beautiful creature to death.” Lola’s voice was angry, her attitude having completely changed since she saw the condition of the animal.
There was a sparkling on the floor, and a two liter water bowl and a similarly sized plate containing a thick steak appeared next to it. Another sparkling light caught his eye, and when Zed looked he saw that Lola had turned the entire floor of the bathroom into a large litter box. Zed touched the cat again. “I can’t keep calling you cat, can I? How about Ralph?” Blue eyes turned to regard him seriously, and then a pink tongue licked his hand. He chuckled. “It’s a deal then, Ralph.”
“Ahh, I thought that you might like to know that Ralph is really a girl cat, Zed.” There was quiet laughter in Lola’s voice.
“Oh well, she’ll get over having a bad name. I did.” Zed gave the cat a final stroke and then stood. “Eat and drink slowly, Ralph. There is plenty of food and water, and you will be safe in this room. The bed is soft. I know, I used to sleep here.” He pushed the swinging cat door. “The door is open so that you can come and go as you please.” Ralph took a few steps on wobbling legs to the water bowl and began to drink, as Zed quietly backed out of the room.
CHAPTER 6
The Missile on Main Street:
The bridge was quiet, even the ship seemed to be holding its breath. “Ship status, Lola?”
“Except for the frigate, fully operational Captain.” The soft computer voice seemed to come from everywhere, and in the forward viewer Thal’ark Station glowed in a blazing silver brilliance.
Zed glanced over to where Kat was sitting. He gave her a grin and a nod. “Take us out of the system, Lola.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Departure angle on screen.” Behind them the gleaming station and the white planet dwindled rapidly to insignificance. “View ahead, please.” The view shifted to the streaming stars forward. He missed being a simple Flight Engineer sometimes.
“Bon voyage, Rose of the Dawn.” The female voice coming from everywhere was lower pitched than Lola’s, and Zed could have sworn on a stack of bibles that high, that the accent sounded Parisian French. Cybele must have been mining Lola’s data banks again, for a voice to compare with Lola’s proper British lilt.
“Au revior, Cybele.” Zed murmured to the still air. “Our best to Thal’ark Station.”
“Now clearing the planetary system.” Lola was all crisp and proper.
“Very good, Lola. Set course to QX’an tril Station if you please. Normal cruising speed.” The forward screen blurred momentarily, then steadied into the once more streaming stars, crawling by faster then they’d ever seen them move before.
“Supra-light drive engaged. ETA at QX’an tril Station, eight thousand, six hundred hours.”
Zed muttered something vile under his breath. “I’m outta here.” Giving Alina and Mike a quick wave and a wink to Kat, he turned and left the bridge. Zed was halfway back to his quarters when the sound of running paws made him stop and turn, which was a good thing really, because an airborne twenty five kilo cat chose that exact moment to tackle him. Cat and human went sprawling to the floor, and Zed rolled over to find the cat sitting on his stomach, front paws pinning his shoulders to the deck. “Get off of my chest, you fool cat.” Ralph just looked at him for a moment before she began licking Zed’s face. “Thank you, but I already took a shower today.” He gently pushed the cat off and sat up, looking Ralph over carefully. The feline had filled in visibly since the last time he had seen her. The coat that had been dull and matted, was now glossy. Even her ribs seemed less evident. “Ahh, Lola, how much meat did Ralph eat yesterday?”
“She ate about four and a half or five kilos of raw meat and drank seven or eight liters of water. I’ll admit that I did put a few vitamins in her food.”
“Five kilos.” Zed mused, getting to his feet. “She sure looks better. She’s thriving under your care, Lola.”
“Our care.” The voice corrected softly. “I can only feed her. You are providing the love. Both are just as important.”
“You’re a good vet.”
Ralph glanced at him and headed off down the corridor. She stopped, almost at once and looked over her shoulder. “Blurrrttt?” It was a deep-throated, catty sort of a command, and it was definitely a question.
“No not right now. I have things to do.” The cat gave a small snort, and headed off down cross corridor. “Turn to your left, Ralph.” Zed laughed out loud. “That’s what we call Main Street. It runs the whole inside circumference of the ship. You can get a good run there.” He hadn’t expected any response at all, but the cat went into a four legged skid, and turned down Main Street as if she had been fired from a cannon. He watched the disappearing animal for several long moments. “Lola, is there any record of those cats being telepathic? I’d swear that thing just read my mind.” There was a vast silence in is mind. “I guess she’s had one shock too many today.”
There was a shout from far down the long corridor, and Zed began to run, imagining the worst. He just had time to put his back against the wall when the dark streak that was Ralph came flying back down the long corridor, followed hotly by a cursing Francois. When the big Frenchman saw Zed he slowed, puffing furiously.
“Mon Dieu!” Puff, puff. “Zee cat found the patch of catnip I’d been growing for tea.” He glared down the corridor in the direction Ralph had disappeared. “You’ve never seen such a mess. Catnip everywhere.”
Zed didn’t answer because he was laughing so hard. Finally, he wiped his eyes and managed to speak. “You should explain it to her.”
“You are crazy, oui?” Francois was frowning darkly.
Zed just grinned. “Try it.” He looked down the empty hallway and thought about calling Ralph, then tried something different. He framed the sentence just as if he was speaking to Lola.
“Well, I’ll be damned. How you do…” Francois stopped when he noticed Zed tapping the side of his head. “Like we talk to Lola?”
“Exactly.” He turned to look at the cat. “Do you think you could restrain yourself from tearing up Hydroponics?”
Ralph gave him a flat look. “MMmmmmmrrrt...” The noise sounded like a grudging acceptance.
Francois squatted. “I will make you a deal, Mademoiselle Ralph.” He muttered, sounding uncomfortable. “You leave zee catnip bed alone and I harvest enough for you and for my tea. Do we have a deal?”
Ralph turned away from Zed to face the Frenchman, standing up on her hind feet and placing her front paws on Francois’s bent knees. She looked him in the eye. “Mrrooowe!” The feline voice was definitive, and to settle the bargain she leaned forward and licked his face.
A startled Francois fell back on his posterior, and the cat was on him, licking every bit of exposed skin while all the time letting out little mock growls. Francois wrapped his arms about the cat and they wrestled for a few moments, ending with the Hydroponics Officer sitting puffing, with his back against the corridor wall, while the cat lay with her head in his lap, purring a deep soft rumble.
“Ahhh, friendship is a beautiful thing.” Zed was chuckling and Francois gave him another dark look. “So, how are the gardens growing, my green thumbed friend?”
The Frenchman gently pushed the cat aside and stood, brushing off his uniform. “We have two full acres of space available for growing. A half-acre is planted and a quarter acre is currently producing. Two acres may be too much for two people to handle.”
The young captain sighed. “Yeah, I know. I was told that I need to recruit. I suppose she was right.”
Zed groaned, and winked at Francois. “Come-on cat. We need to go talk to your former owner. No pussy-footing around.” Ralph rolled her blue eyes. “Always the critic.”
The door to the Med Bay room slid silently open, and Dimitri stepped in, black gloved hand on his gun butt, a cold deadly look on his face. Zed followed right on his heels.
“Good morning ladies and gentlemen. How are you all this bright and sunny morning?” The detainees were looking decidedly seedy. The women’s makeup had long since vanished, and their hair looked straggly at best. In a couple their original hair color could be seen seeping through at the roots. The men all needed shaves, and everyone’s clothes were beginning to turn gray. Because they hadn’t gotten to the stage of cleaning themselves, the air smelled strongly of unwashed bodies. Zed had read that ancient European royalty had body servants who did all the little mundane tasks the royalty required, like bathing them. He was, however, pleased to note that their trays were empty and stacked neatly in the corner. “You have a visitor, Nerina.” He’d stopped calling her ‘princess’ several visits before. Ralph padded through the door, tail held high.
“Fufi!!” Nerina squealed, launching herself from the bed where she’d been lounging.
“Fufi??” Zed looked down on the cat, a single eyebrow raised. “Really?” Ralph gave him an apologetic look, and an impatient flick of the tail.
Nerina held out her arms. “Come to mama, Fufi.” The blue eyes of the cat narrowed dangerously.
“Nerina, I wouldn’t let you have this cat if your life depended on it. She was almost dead from starvation when we found her.”
“Oh, that must have been her handler.” The former princess waved a dismissive hand. “Now, come here, Fufi!” Her voice was commanding as she pointed at her feet.
Zed looked down at the cat. “Your choice, Ralph. Her or me.” He’d hardly gotten the last word out of his mouth when the cat was out of the door and gone. Ralph, obviously, didn’t believe in long conversations.
“You can’t do that!” Nerina shrieked. “That cat is my personal…” Dimitri took a swift step forward and backhanded the princess to the floor. One of the bodyguards took a threatening step forward, but found the Security Officer’s pistol centered unwaveringly between his eyes.
Zed studied the young people in the room. “To be fair, I’ll make the same offer to you that I did to the cat. The Imperium is dead. The family you swore allegiance to is dead. All that is left is this one spoiled little girl. I’m looking for trustworthy crewmembers. In return you will be given a real job, provided clothes, fed, housed, paid and treat
ed like responsible human beings.”
There was quiet laughter in his mind.
Two of the silver-eyed girls were looking at each other. “We would like to go.” It was the musical voice of the first girl to awaken. She smiled shyly as the two stepped forward.
“Bel, Zil, you can’t leave me!!!” Nerina’s voice was climbing the octave scale from her place on the floor.
“Bel and Zil??” Zed asked curiously. “Isn’t that kind-of like Fufi?” The first girl nodded, giving him a crooked smile. “What were the names your parents gave you?”
“My name is Jen.” Musical voice murmured quietly. “Jenniferia, really. My friend is Liz, short for Elizabeth.”
“Welcome to the crew.” Zed said gently. “What were your jobs with the princess?”
“I was Nerina’s private nurse. I’d attend her aches and pains and fix any small cuts that she might get. She was really quite clumsy.” The Princess gasped in outrage.
“We’ve been in need of a full time Medical Bay attendant to assist the good doctor. Congratulations, you have the job.” He turned to Liz. “And you, my dear? What can you do?” She blushed prettily.
“Not much, I suppose. I took care of Nerina’s flower garden.” Zed began to laugh. “What??” The timid voice sounded scared.
“Have I ever got a job for you.” He turned toward the door. “Shall we?”
“Wait!!” One of the two guards, not the one who’d made the mistake of threatening Dimitri, stepped forward. “I’d like to go too.”
“Nil!!” Nerina wailed, in a broken-hearted voice. “Not you too??”
The boy gave her a sour look. “She treated us the same way she treated her cat. My name is Bran by the way. It’s short for Brannel.” His black eyes looked at Zed without expression. “I just wish I could get my old eyes back.” Zed thought the boy glanced at Dimitri—it was hard to tell. “My eyes used to be blue.” He straightened his shoulders. “I can use the zap rod and know a little hand-to-hand fighting.”
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