“Enough, Ensign. Different folks have different upbringings from different cultures on different planets.”
“No offense, Mister Stone. I just haven’t ever heard of a planet that didn’t have dogs of some sort ,” Sheila said.
“So, Mister Stone, how about it? Didn’t they have dogs on the planet you c ome from?” Aldamani asked.
“Sirs ,” Stone replied to both officers. “I didn’t grow up on a planet. I grew up on a ship and Grandpa said pets were just a waste of air, space and time. Grandma said pets always require cleaning up after. So, we didn’t have pets of any kind.”
“But there are dogs all over this ship and on every station I have ever been on,” Sheila replied. “Surely there are dog owners near your quarters, Mister Stone.”
Aldamani nodded, “Yes, but Sheila, you must have forgotten that it is kind of an unwritten rule that midshipmen try to limit themselves to smaller pets that demand less attention than dogs. Isn’t that right, Stone?”
Stone limited himself to a quick “Yes sir.” He didn’t want to mention his only attempt at a pet since coming on board the ship. He had splurged as a present for himself on his sixteenth birthday. He had gotten a small fish at a station pet shop, but it had gone belly-up before the required permits from the Periodontitis were approved.
“Remember Sheila: fish, birds, tribbles, small rodents and the like? ” Aldamani asked the ensign. “If you think about it, Fatty and Dorothy have to be taken to the dog park in tower one or the small park up on deck forty-seven, at least twice a day to run around and do their business. Plus, we have to feed them a couple of times a day, give them baths, brush their coats and what not. That certainly would take away from a midshipman’s study time.”
“That’s right , sir,” Sheila agreed. “I guess I have had Dorothy so long I forgot, plus she is such a sweetie the extra time just flies by. Still, Mister Stone, surely you have seen dogs before.”
“Yes, Ensign,” Stone nodded. “But I guess all I have seen are the small fuzzy things in pet shops and the huge guard dogs around shipyards. I didn’t know they had an in between stage like this. When do they grow to be big and mean?”
Aldamani laughed outright. “Mister Stone. You are a hoot. We are really going to have to get together sometime. These two beagles are as big as they are going to get. Look up dogs in you r personal assistant database, okay? Not a command study subject, but someday you might get promoted beyond midshipman and you are going to want to get a good pet. Dogs are good pets. They come in lots of sizes, shapes and colors.”
“Yes sir. I will certainly look them up,” Stone replied. Silently he agreed with Grandpa. Even if he was authorized to have a pet, that did not mean he had to get one. From the sound of it, they were certainly time consuming and expensive.
Aldamani nodded. “Mister Stone, y ou just let me know if there is anything I can do for you. We are late for a meeting, so you had best scoot off to wherever you were headed.”
Stone watch ed the officers walk away and pressed the down button again. He was puzzled over his first encounter with a reasonably pleasant, superior officer. Not to mention now he had to find out what the heck an ‘old bear’ was and why they are grumpy!
He was still puzzling over his first encounter with a reasonably , pleasant superior officer when, just a few steps from the officer’s wardroom, he walked into a bulkhead. He was mildly shocked to realize that it was not a bulkhead, just an unusually large and unmoving human being.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Damn ,” Stone stammered and glanced up into the face of First Lieutenant Vedrian. “Oh, sorry, Lieutenant.”
The woman laughed. “Sorry for what? Saying ‘damn’? Mister Stone, I hear worse than that during prayer time before breakfast. You are surely not sorry about bumping into me, because I didn’t even
“No offense, Mister Stone. I just haven’t ever heard of a planet that didn’t have dogs of some sort ,” Sheila said.
“So, Mister Stone, how about it? Didn’t they have dogs on the planet you c ome from?” Aldamani asked.
“Sirs ,” Stone replied to both officers. “I didn’t grow up on a planet. I grew up on a ship and Grandpa said pets were just a waste of air, space and time. Grandma said pets always require cleaning up after. So, we didn’t have pets of any kind.”
“But there are dogs all over this ship and on every station I have ever been on,” Sheila replied. “Surely there are dog owners near your quarters, Mister Stone.”
Aldamani nodded, “Yes, but Sheila, you must have forgotten that it is kind of an unwritten rule that midshipmen try to limit themselves to smaller pets that demand less attention than dogs. Isn’t that right, Stone?”
Stone limited himself to a quick “Yes sir.” He didn’t want to mention his only attempt at a pet since coming on board the ship. He had splurged as a present for himself on his sixteenth birthday. He had gotten a small fish at a station pet shop, but it had gone belly-up before the required permits from the Periodontitis were approved.
“Remember Sheila: fish, birds, tribbles, small rodents and the like? ” Aldamani asked the ensign. “If you think about it, Fatty and Dorothy have to be taken to the dog park in tower one or the small park up on deck forty-seven, at least twice a day to run around and do their business. Plus, we have to feed them a couple of times a day, give them baths, brush their coats and what not. That certainly would take away from a midshipman’s study time.”
“That’s right , sir,” Sheila agreed. “I guess I have had Dorothy so long I forgot, plus she is such a sweetie the extra time just flies by. Still, Mister Stone, surely you have seen dogs before.”
“Yes, Ensign,” Stone nodded. “But I guess all I have seen are the small fuzzy things in pet shops and the huge guard dogs around shipyards. I didn’t know they had an in between stage like this. When do they grow to be big and mean?”
Aldamani laughed outright. “Mister Stone. You are a hoot. We are really going to have to get together sometime. These two beagles are as big as they are going to get. Look up dogs in you r personal assistant database, okay? Not a command study subject, but someday you might get promoted beyond midshipman and you are going to want to get a good pet. Dogs are good pets. They come in lots of sizes, shapes and colors.”
“Yes sir. I will certainly look them up,” Stone replied. Silently he agreed with Grandpa. Even if he was authorized to have a pet, that did not mean he had to get one. From the sound of it, they were certainly time consuming and expensive.
Aldamani nodded. “Mister Stone, y ou just let me know if there is anything I can do for you. We are late for a meeting, so you had best scoot off to wherever you were headed.”
Stone watch ed the officers walk away and pressed the down button again. He was puzzled over his first encounter with a reasonably pleasant, superior officer. Not to mention now he had to find out what the heck an ‘old bear’ was and why they are grumpy!
He was still puzzling over his first encounter with a reasonably , pleasant superior officer when, just a few steps from the officer’s wardroom, he walked into a bulkhead. He was mildly shocked to realize that it was not a bulkhead, just an unusually large and unmoving human being.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Damn ,” Stone stammered and glanced up into the face of First Lieutenant Vedrian. “Oh, sorry, Lieutenant.”
The woman laughed. “Sorry for what? Saying ‘damn’? Mister Stone, I hear worse than that during prayer time before breakfast. You are surely not sorry about bumping into me, because I didn’t even
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