Chapter 19:

Mihajlovich walked up to the Ambassador, who was standing next to his secretary and Dorfo, who looked very uncomfortable standing on the Terran ship. He stood in front of them and smiled.

"Ambassador, welcome to the TW Titan, or as the crew likes to call it, 'big daddy'," he chuckled.

"Thank you, High Admiral. I never thought I would stand on a Terran ship, but it seems fate has brought us together, for that I am very grateful," the Ambassador replied, though unsure of his own words.

"Well, I'm happy to be your host. Please follow me. We will be reaching the system with the coordinates you provided in twenty minutes or so. We have a bit of walking to do, and we'll take a lift to the upper deck, where our bridge is located. This bay is the only one that could fit your ships, so we need to walk," Mihajlovich explained.

"Please lead the way," the Ambassador said, as Mihajlovich turned around and started walking to the bay door. They took a right and began walking down a bright hallway. It was more cramped than he imagined; the colors of the walls were an odd gray color, and the floor was a dark blue color. As they passed down the corridor, there were doors on both sides, a slightly darker blue than the floor, with markings on them. To the side of every door was a panel with Terran writing on top.

"Admiral, could you tell me where these entrances lead to?" the Ambassador inquired.

"Crew quarters, Ambassador. I believe you have those as well," Mihajlovich replied.

"Ah, of course. Forgive my curiosity. What are these black panels, and the meaning of the symbols on top of them?" the Ambassador asked.

"Those are palm print scanners. Only the occupant can enter the room once their palm is scanned, or a member of security, and high-ranking officers. We value our privacy, and the symbols are letters, the names of the crew members occupying the quarters. They are all roughly the same size for every crew member, even me," Mihajlovich explained.

The Ambassador found this strange. "Aren't you an important individual?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"Yes, I am. But we are the military; my rank and relevance don't mean I get a better room than anyone else. And why would I even need it? I spent a very long time on this ship. I did change quarters a few times, but they were all pretty much identical. To make it simple for you, we don't need more than we have," Mihajlovich clarified.

The Ambassador understood to some capacity, but it still seemed so different. As he walked, he noticed that some of the panels next to the doors had images of Terran faces, and the names on top were red.

"Excuse me, Admiral, but I noticed some panels have images and names in red. Are officers, as you call them?" the Ambassador questioned.

"No!" Mihajlovich responded sharply, making them all jump a little in fear. He was silent for a moment and then said in a more serious tone, "They're dead."

Taken aback by his words, they wondered why he had asked that question. They had witnessed this Admiral at least pretending to be friendly, but now he may have crossed the line. The Terran was still walking, but the way his body moved had changed. It might be best to start pleading now.

"Admiral, my deepest apologies for offending you. I had no right to ask so many questions. I am just a curious old Strunin. I wasn't thinking clearly. Please forgive me for this insult. I never would..." the Ambassador began.

"We are here," the Admiral interrupted, noticing their expressions of terror. They were in the middle of the corridor, and everything looked the same. But the Terran continued, "The lift entrance. It will take us to the upper deck, and..."

He paused for a moment. "Don't worry about it. You didn't know, and some wounds never heal."

The Ambassador saw the expression on the Terran's face had changed. Was that grief? Pain? Sadness? Regret? He knew far too little about Terrans to understand their expressions, but it seemed that the Terrans might not be the soulless beasts they thought they were. If this Admiral was as important as the old councilor thought he was, why would he feel any emotion for those beneath him? Yor were such a people, but would Terrans have a similar trait? Could they? It was very hard to imagine. They stood there for a short moment when something made a strange sound.

"Meow."

The Ambassador looked down to see a small creature brushing itself against his lower limbs, emitting a low growl. It was orange and covered in fur. Was this some type of pest that got onto the Terran ship? While he was confused, the Terran Admiral bent over and lifted the creature.

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"Well, who do we have here?" he asked.

"Meow," the creature repeated.

The Terran Admiral wrapped his arms around the creature and changed the sound of his voice completely to something they hadn't heard before.

"Well hey there, little guy. Seems you ran off, huh? Are you a bad kitty?" he asked, stroking the creature with his palm.

The creature started its growl again, its eyes closed, as he rubbed its cheek. Its mouth was slightly opened, revealing rows of small but very sharp predatory teeth. But the Admiral continued.

"No, you're a good kitty. You're a good little boy, aren't you? You're not a troublemaker. You're a cuddly little kitty. Hmm, are you a cuddly little kitty? Yes, you are. Yes, you are."

While they all looked in confusion at the Admiral talking to the obviously non-sentient small predator, which was now biting him, the Admiral looked completely unfazed by this. Actually, the expression on his face had changed. Now his mouth was wide and curved upward, revealing sharp predatory teeth at the sides of his maw. His expression looked menacing. Was he about to eat the small predator he was holding? Then a noise that sounded like running was heard coming from the other side of the corridor that curved to the right, followed by Terran shouting.

"Max, Max, here kitty, kitty, kitty, MAX! Come here, you stupid cat. I can't chase after you all over the fucking ship. God damn it, I'll be late for my shift, and the big man is back. I'm gonna be fucked. Max, where are you, damn it?"

A Terran came from the other side of the corridor. Noticing them, the Terran stopped, straightened their posture, and put their right arm to their head. This must be a form of greeting or a salute. The Terran was of a similar height as Rara, with a wider build, obviously a female. Her clothing looked similar to the ones the Admiral was wearing; her upper garment had her shoulders and arms exposed. Her skin was a shiny pinkish color, appearing moist. She looked like she was in heat. The Ambassador turned his gaze to Rara for a moment; she seemed to understand what he was

currently thinking and made a gesture with her eyes signaling that that was not the case. He turned back around and looked at the Terran woman who spoke.

"Sir, I am so sorry for this incident. I take full responsibility and will await reprimand," she said.

Mihajlovich smiled at her. "For what, soldier? Me and Max here are getting to know each other, right Max?"

The creature's response was the growl it kept making.

"I am very sorry, sir. I don't know what to say, but I say what's in my heart. It's so good to have you back, High Admiral. We thought the day would never come. VIVAT TERRA!" the Terran woman exclaimed.

The Admiral handed the creature to the female and made the same gesture she did only a moment ago.

"Vivat Terra," he said. "Name and rank."

She held the creature close, straightened her posture, and responded. "Sergeant Bella Schultz, Third Legion, Infantry Shock Troops, sir."

He took out his tablet. "Right thumb on the back of the scanner, please, Sergeant."

She followed his request as he looked at the tablet reading. "Recipient of the Swords of Terra, First Class, thirty years of service, displays of valor, almost twenty-five years of service in the fleet. Your service record is too long for me to read now. Thank you for your sacrifice, Sergeant," he said with a serious tone.

"It is an honor to serve you and Terra, sir. Thank you for your praise," she replied.

"No need for that, Sergeant. You're free of duty for the next," he looked up at her, "three hours. Approved by High Admiral Mihajlovich Aleksandar. Reason for relief of current responsibilities: 'Max'," he explained, smiling at her.

"There you go, Sergeant. Take good care of Max for me," he said.

"Thank you so much, sir. I can't wait to see the staff Sergeant's face when she reads this," she said, full of joy.

"Would like to see that too. But, well, as you can see..." he gestured to his xeno "guests", "You are relieved, Sergeant. Hope to see Max again. Have a lovely day."

"Thank you, sir," she said, and turned around and left with the orange creature in her arms.

The Admiral turned to the three xenos behind him. "Please forgive me for that display. But the lift is waiting. Please step inside," he said as he walked into the lift.