sincere honor.
***
Fifteen minutes later Nestor and I were comfortably seated in the admiral's outer office, or at least as comfortably as the all-human furnishings allowed. We'd turned down wine and coffee and sweets alike, which upset the Second Lord's aide terribly. Finally an unusually bold footbunny offered us fruit juice on his own initiative, which we accepted with pleasure. This relieved the aide visibly—after that he was all smiles. "His Lordship will see you as soon as he possibly can," we were assured at least three times.
Still, the wait wasn't nearly so onerous as it might've been. Because the Second Space Lord was in charge of assignments, it was common practice for the navy's unemployed officers above a certain standing to come calling upon him personally on a regular basis to petition—beg, in other words—for a choice posting. The outer office was huge—there were at least fifty chairs, and all of them save two were occupied by unemployed naval officers when Nestor and I arrived. Even these would've been taken, had they not been roped off exclusively for our use. For the first time in months I found myself surrounded by uniformed peers, and it was a very nice feeling indeed. "Commander Birkenhead!" the post-captain to my left greeted me with an extended hand. "My name is Duncan Hashimoto. I'm so honored to meet you! I've read your after-action reports over and over again, more times than I could count!"
Everyone in the room was staring at Nestor and I. It wasn't my first time, of course—back at the Academy in particular, naval officers had stared at me all the time. Usually in a quite unfriendly manner, in fact. But now…
…everything was different! As deeply as I searched the faces of the officers who lined up to shake my hand and express admiration for either Richard 's cruise or the defense of Zombie Station, I couldn't find a trace of the old arrogance and resentment. Some of the officers were a bit awkward, others refused to meet my eye. But… These men, the hardest-bitten warriors in the kingdom… They actually seemed to respect me! A Rabbit !
The crowd around me thickened so rapidly that soon it was impossible to see more than a few feet. So I was genuinely surprised when at long last someone I knew stepped forward to greet me. "Hello, shipmate!" Captain Sir Roderick Blaine declared as he emerged from the crowd. "How's the best cabin boy I've ever had?"
He smiled as he said it, so as always I smiled back and shook his hand warmly. "Very well indeed, sir." Then I introduced Nestor to him. "He's a highly successful cabin boy in his own right!"
Sir Roderick laughed, then bent down and examined my aide closely. "So, you read and write too?"
Nestor's one major failing, common to practically all Rabbits, was extreme shyness with humans. "Yessir," he mumbled.
"He's a certified EMT," I amplified. "He also has a black belt, shot a fifty out of fifty with nineteen bullseyes on a navy-standard combat range last week, and I bet that if universities allowed testing through their classes he'd have at least five degrees by now."
"Really?" Sir Roderick replied, his eyebrows rising. "But then, of all naval officers I perhaps should be the least surprised at what a cabin boy can accomplish." His cheeks reddened a bit, then the turned back to me. "David," he said at last. "I've spent more time than you probably imagine thinking about you since we first met. About all you did back then, and even more the things you've done since." He licked his lips. "I just wanted to tell you that, when I heard about your raiding Imperious herself, well… I don't know that I could've done what you did. Certainly I'd never have done it half as well. Which in turn means I've been wrong about many, many things." He sighed. "David, I'm deeply sorry for how I treated you back then. And also for how I've stuck my foot in my mouth so many times since. I never meant you anything
***
Fifteen minutes later Nestor and I were comfortably seated in the admiral's outer office, or at least as comfortably as the all-human furnishings allowed. We'd turned down wine and coffee and sweets alike, which upset the Second Lord's aide terribly. Finally an unusually bold footbunny offered us fruit juice on his own initiative, which we accepted with pleasure. This relieved the aide visibly—after that he was all smiles. "His Lordship will see you as soon as he possibly can," we were assured at least three times.
Still, the wait wasn't nearly so onerous as it might've been. Because the Second Space Lord was in charge of assignments, it was common practice for the navy's unemployed officers above a certain standing to come calling upon him personally on a regular basis to petition—beg, in other words—for a choice posting. The outer office was huge—there were at least fifty chairs, and all of them save two were occupied by unemployed naval officers when Nestor and I arrived. Even these would've been taken, had they not been roped off exclusively for our use. For the first time in months I found myself surrounded by uniformed peers, and it was a very nice feeling indeed. "Commander Birkenhead!" the post-captain to my left greeted me with an extended hand. "My name is Duncan Hashimoto. I'm so honored to meet you! I've read your after-action reports over and over again, more times than I could count!"
Everyone in the room was staring at Nestor and I. It wasn't my first time, of course—back at the Academy in particular, naval officers had stared at me all the time. Usually in a quite unfriendly manner, in fact. But now…
…everything was different! As deeply as I searched the faces of the officers who lined up to shake my hand and express admiration for either Richard 's cruise or the defense of Zombie Station, I couldn't find a trace of the old arrogance and resentment. Some of the officers were a bit awkward, others refused to meet my eye. But… These men, the hardest-bitten warriors in the kingdom… They actually seemed to respect me! A Rabbit !
The crowd around me thickened so rapidly that soon it was impossible to see more than a few feet. So I was genuinely surprised when at long last someone I knew stepped forward to greet me. "Hello, shipmate!" Captain Sir Roderick Blaine declared as he emerged from the crowd. "How's the best cabin boy I've ever had?"
He smiled as he said it, so as always I smiled back and shook his hand warmly. "Very well indeed, sir." Then I introduced Nestor to him. "He's a highly successful cabin boy in his own right!"
Sir Roderick laughed, then bent down and examined my aide closely. "So, you read and write too?"
Nestor's one major failing, common to practically all Rabbits, was extreme shyness with humans. "Yessir," he mumbled.
"He's a certified EMT," I amplified. "He also has a black belt, shot a fifty out of fifty with nineteen bullseyes on a navy-standard combat range last week, and I bet that if universities allowed testing through their classes he'd have at least five degrees by now."
"Really?" Sir Roderick replied, his eyebrows rising. "But then, of all naval officers I perhaps should be the least surprised at what a cabin boy can accomplish." His cheeks reddened a bit, then the turned back to me. "David," he said at last. "I've spent more time than you probably imagine thinking about you since we first met. About all you did back then, and even more the things you've done since." He licked his lips. "I just wanted to tell you that, when I heard about your raiding Imperious herself, well… I don't know that I could've done what you did. Certainly I'd never have done it half as well. Which in turn means I've been wrong about many, many things." He sighed. "David, I'm deeply sorry for how I treated you back then. And also for how I've stuck my foot in my mouth so many times since. I never meant you anything
Similar Books
