Honor Among Enemies

'True. And it's a good thing the 'cat clans are such extended family arrangements, or you might be stuck there for at least ten years. Think what that would do to your career!'

'Hey, everyone has to make adjustments for his family, doesn't he? I wish they'd given us a little more warning, but...'

He shrugged, and Honor nodded. No doubt if more female 'cats adopted Navy personnel the Admiralty would have extended the contraceptive program to them, as well. But it hadn't, and Nimitz and Samantha had a right to make their own decisions. Which they'd undoubtedly done, she reflected, recalling how uncommon pregnancies were among unmated 'cats.

'Will you be able to locate Sam's clan?' she asked after a moment. It wouldn't be at all unusual for the answer to that to be no. Her own visit to Nimitz's clan was highly unusual; about the only adoptees who regularly knew both the identity and location of their companions' home clans were Forestry Service rangers.

'As a matter of fact, I'm not sure I will,' Tschu admitted. 'I was vacationing in Djebel Hassa over on Jefferies Land when she adopted me. I know she's from somewhere up in the Al Hijaz Mountains, but as to exactly where...'

'Um.' Honor rubbed an eyebrow, then glanced down at the 'cats before she looked back at the engineer. 'As it happens, I do know where Nimitz's clan hangs out in the Copper Walls.'

'Oh?' Tschu considered for a moment, then turned to Samantha. 'How about it, Sam? You want to be introduced to Nimitz's family? I'm sure they'd be delighted to see you.'

The two 'cats looked into one another's eyes for a moment, then each turned to his, or her, person and flipped his, or her, ears in agreement, and Tschu chuckled.

'Glad that's decided,' he said wryly. 'I had this picture of spending all my free time for the next six months wandering around Djebel Hassa until Sam said 'We're home!'' He looked at Honor, and his expression turned much more serious. 'It must be nice to be able to communicate as clearly as you and Nimitz do, Skipper.'

Honor raised an eyebrow at him, and he laughed.

'Skip, people who haven't been adopted might not notice, but anyone who has would know damned well you've found an extra wavelength we don't know about. Is it something you could teach me and Sam? I know she understands me, but I'd give just about anything to be able to hear her back.'

'I don't think it's something anyone can teach,' Honor said with genuine regret. 'It just sort of happened. I don't think either of us knows exactly why or how, and it's taken years to get to the point of exchanging emotions in a clear two-way link.'

'I think it's more than just emotions, Skipper,' Tschu said quietly. 'You may not realize it, but the two of you are an awful lot more in tune than anyone else I've ever seen. When you ask him a question, you get a much clearer, or less ambiguous, at least, answer than any other pair I know. It's like you each know what the other's actually thinking.'

'Really?' Honor considered that for a moment, then nodded slowly. 'You may have something there.' She'd never actually discussed her specialized link with another human, but if she couldn't talk about it with her fellow 'grandparent,' then who could she discuss it with? 'I can't actually hear what he's thinking, it's not like full telepathy, but I do seem to get... well, a more complete impression of the direction of his thoughts than I do just emotions. And we can send one another visual images—most of the time, anyway. That's a lot tougher, but it's been darned useful a time or two.'

'I imagine,' Tschu said wistfully, then stroked Samantha again, radiating love for her as if to reassure her that his inability to feel her emotions in return made her no less precious to him.

'I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention this to anyone else, though,' Honor said after a moment. Tschu looked a question at her, and she shrugged. 'I can sense human emotions through Nimitz, too. That can be very useful, it saved my buns when the Maccabeans tried to assassinate the Protectors family on Grayson, and I'd prefer to hold it in reserve as my secret weapon.'

'Makes sense to me,' Tschu replied very seriously after a moment's consideration. 'And I'm glad you can. In all honesty, there's no way in the universe that I'd want to have to wear all the hats you do, Skipper. I've got enough troubles just being a lieutenant commander.'

Honor smiled, but MacGuiness returned with the extra glasses and a small bowl of celery before she could reply. The steward set the bowl in front of the 'cats and started to reach for the wine bottle, but Honor waved him off and pointed at a chair.

'Drag that up and have a seat, 'Uncle Mac,'' she told him, picking up the bottle herself, then poured for all of them. 'A toast, gentlemen,' she said then, and raised her own glass to Samantha, who sat in the protective curl of Nimitz’s tail nibbling delicately on a celery stalk. She lowered it and regarded Honor gravely, and Honor smiled. 'To Samantha,' she said, 'may your children be happy and healthy, and may you and Nimitz have years and years together.'

'Hear, hear!' Tschu said, raising his own glass, and MacGuiness joined them both.

Chapter THIRTY-EIGHT

Citizen Captain Marie Stellingetti swore as another laser head slashed at her battlecruiser’s sidewall and fresh damage alarms shrilled. Kerebin had taken nine hits so far, and if none were vital, all were serious, for it would take the task force’s repair ships weeks, more probably months, to handle them without proper base support.

'He's altering course again, Skipper,' her tac officer reported tersely. 'I don't, Jesus!' Another double broadside spat from the Manticoran destroyer, and at least half the incoming birds carried jammers and penetration aids, not warheads. They played merry hell with Kerebin's point defense, and Stellingetti swore again as yet another laser smashed into her ship's hull.

'Graser Nine's down!' her chief engineer reported from Damage Control. 'We've got heavy casualties on the mount, Citizen Captain!' There was a pause, then. 'Collateral damage to Sidewall Generators Fifteen and Seventeen. We may lose Seventeen completely.'

'This son-of-a-bitch is good, Skipper,' the tac officer said.

'Yeah, and it's my fault for screwing around with him this way!' Stellingetti snarled. She could make that admission, since People's Commissioner Reidel, who, in Stellingetti’s considered opinion, was an unmitigated asshole, was away on Achmed for a conference with Citizen Commodore Jurgens. Which meant she could at least fight her ship without worrying about being second-guessed... and that she could be honest with her officers.

Citizen Commander Edwards only grunted from his station at Tactical, but they both knew she was right. Their much heavier laser heads had scored at least three times on the enemy destroyer, despite her preposterously efficient point defense, and her falling acceleration indicated serious impeller damage. But missile duels with Manticorans usually worked out in the Manties' favor. Stellingetti knew that, yet she'd hoped to pick this one off without closing to energy range where a single lucky hit could have catastrophic consequences.

It wasn't working out that way. Kerebin was still winning, she was so much bigger and tougher that any other outcome was inconceivable, but while she crushed the Manty, the Manty was shooting big, nasty holes in her. And, Stellingetti conceded angrily, the damned merchies were running like hell. It wouldn't save them in the end, probably, but they were scattering in all directions while their tiny escort fought its desperate, hopeless battle to cover their flight. Against a single raider, their rapidly diverging vectors would have given at least three of them an excellent chance of escaping.

But Kerebin wasn't alone. Her two nearest neighbors were already closing in, summoned by Stellingetti's initial sighting report, and they'd undoubtedly passed the word to their neighbors, as well. The pickets were spread so wide it would take even the closest another hour to get here, but particle densities were low (for hyper-space) in the Selker Rift, and that wouldn't be