In Fire Forged by David Weber

Author:David Weber [Weber, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Science Fiction, General, Action & Adventure, Space Opera
ISBN: 9781451638035
Google: -eKeKQEACAAJ
Publisher: Baen
Published: 2011-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

“Oh, stop being so grumpy, Stinker!” Honor said.

The cream-and-gray treecat stretched out along the back of the chair across the table from her only regarded her through grass-green eyes and flirted the very tip of his tail. Nimitz had not been overjoyed by her decision to leave him aboard ship during her courtesy call on Sector Governor Charnowska.

“Not everyone is delighted to see a treecat coming along on official port visits,” Honor continued, leaning back in her own chair and folding her arms. “I explained that to you. Again.”

Nimitz made the soft sound that served him in place of a sniff of disdain, and Honor felt her lips twitch.

“You’re not going to make me feel guilty about it, you know,” she told him firmly. “I’ll take you with me if I get back down there for something less official, but without the governor’s specific invitation—or permission, at least—I’m not taking you to any meetings with her. It’s just one of those rules you and I have to put up with sometimes.”

The slight flattening of Nimitz’s ears made his opinion of “those rules” clear. And, although Honor had no intention of admitting it, she tended to agree with him. Not only that, but she very much wished she’d had him in range to sample Charnowska’s emotions during their conversation. After all the years they’d been together, he understood Standard English better than many humans she’d met. They’d also evolved their own set of signals, and she’d learned to read his reactions and body language with remarkable acuity, as well. The insight that gave her into the emotions of others had served her well upon occasion, and she wished she’d had it with her earlier today.

She started to say something else to the ’cat when a soft, musical chime sounded and she pressed the admittance stud, instead. Her briefing room door slid open, and Rose-Lucie Bonrepaux, Hawkwing’s senior steward, stepped through it. Chief Steward Bonrepaux was a few years older than Honor, with sandy hair, brown eyes, an oval face, and a pronounced Havenite accent. Her parents (both engineers) had managed to refugee out of the People’s Republic when Bonrepaux was less than five years old, and they’d settled in the Star Kingdom. The entire Bonrepaux family had the fierce immigrant loyalty and patriotism that often put nativeborn Manticorans to shame, and although the steward was a tiny woman—a full dozen centimeters shorter than Honor—she was also an elemental force of nature when it came to running the destroyer’s food services organization.

“I’ve got that tray you wanted, Skipper,” she said now, offering a large plastic tray under an opaque cover.

“Thank you, Rose-Lucie,” Honor replied as the steward set her burden down on one end of the table.

“And Commander Nairobi asked me to tell you Lieutenant Janacek and his party will be returning aboard in the next fifteen minutes or so.”

“Thank you,” Honor repeated, and Bonrepaux nodded and headed back out. The door closed behind her, and Honor returned her attention to Nimitz.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.