Lee Chang Chu and a tall, uniformed Space Forces officer were awaiting them at the top of the gangplank. As always, she was dressed in a silken Cheongsam. And, just as characteristic, she was demurely smiling as the two Section G agents approached, a mere Oriental woman in the presence of men.
When Ronny and Dorn reached the hatchway she said, “Supervisor Ronald Bronston, Agent Dorn Horsten, let me introduce you to Captain John Fodor, commander of the Cruiser Alexander Hamilton.”
The three men shook hands. The captain was, tall, sparse, about forty and gave the impression of being the no-nonsense type. He radiated the air of spaceman.
Lee Chang looked down at the dogs and said, “Where in the world did you acquire these two beautiful animals?”
Ronny said, “Lee Chang, meet Boy and Plotz.”
Boy stuck out his paw for a shake and said, “Hello. You the Boss’ female?”
Lee Chang’s almond eyes widened and her chin dropped a little. She shook the offered paw, and darted a quick look up at Ronny.
She said, “Why, no. Why do you ask?”
“It’s the way you two look at each other,” he told her. “Meet my bitch friend.”
Plotz extended a paw and said, “I am happy to meet you. Lee Chang.”
The captain was gaping too.
Ronny said to him, “Let’s get spaceborne soonest, skipper. We’re in the biggest hurry, ever.”
“Where are we bound for?” Captain Fodor said.
“We’ll tell you later. For the time, set a course in the direction of Xanadu.”
“Right,” the captain said. He looked down at the dogs again, shook his head, then turned and headed toward the cruiser’s bridge, saying over his shoulder, “Supervisor Lee Chang Chu will show you to your quarters.”
Carrying the bags, the two agents followed her, the dogs bringing up the rear.
She said, “You have the second officer’s cabin. He’s doubling up with the third deck officer. I’m right next to you in the first officer’s quarters. He’s moved in with the first engineer.”
The door to their new quarters was open and they found the cabin on the Spartan side, but comfortable. Somebody had improvised a second bunk and Dorn was pleased to see that it was ample in size for his bulk. Evidently, Lee Chang had given them the word on his size.
While the men were putting their bags down, Lee Chang put her hands on her hips and said, “Ronny Bronston, have you been studying ventriloquism? I couldn’t even catch your mouth moving.”
He grinned at her. “Nope,” he said. “They really talk. In fact, I sometimes think Boy talks too damn much.”
“Some nerve,” Boy said, but he gave his stub of a tail a double wag to indicate he wasn’t really upset at the charge.
Dorn said, “They come from Einstein and on that planet they not only upbreed themselves with a vengeance but evidently everything else.”
Ronny said to the Chinese operative, “This cruiser is bigger than I expected.”
“It was the only one immediately available,” Lee Chang told him.
“How big’s the crew?”
“The captain and three deck officers. The chief engineer and three engineer officers. And a chief steward. That’s the officers. There are thirty in the crew, of varying ranks.”
“Damn,” Ronny said. “It’s too many. The fewer people that see anything at all of the Dawnworlds, the better.”
“I’ve thought about that,” she said, nodding. “I think our best plan is to set-down and we three disembark and the cruiser blast-off again immediately and go into orbit, with instruction not to use the scanners to observe the surface. We’ll keep in laser beam communication with them and call to come and get us, when required.”
They could feel the spaceship tremble beneath them and knew that they were underway.
They found seats and for a moment looked at each other in silence.
“Who’s in command, among the three of us?” Ronny said finally.
“You are,” Lee Chang said. “We’re both of supervisor rank, but you’re in charge.”
“You’re my senior.”
“But you’ve been on the Dawnworlds before. You’re the only one who has—at least the only one who remembers.”
He didn’t argue. She made sense. As little as he really knew about the Dawnmen, it was more than anybody else did.
He said, “How’s the Alexander Hamilton armed?”
“The same as all other cruisers of this class.”
“Wizard. We’ll have the skipper jettison all weapons. That includes everything, even our H-guns, if you brought them along.”
Lee Chang and Dorn both eyed him questioning.
Ronny said, “I don’t want to approach that first Dawnworld we’ll come to with as much in the way of a potentially deadly article as a fly swatter, not to speak of laser weapons, nuclear weapons and such.”
Lee Chang nodded. “I suppose you’re right. We want to give every indication of friendly, peaceful intent.”
They met most of the balance of the cruiser’s officers in the mess at the noon meal. Except for the first officer and the first engineer, both of whom were on watch, the full complement were on hand. Lee Chang, who had come with them from Earth, was already well known, and, as usual, it was obvious that, to a man, they were in love with the provocative Chinese. She introduced them all and then made the ship’s officers acquainted with the two dogs. Boy went around wagging and offering his right front paw to each in turn.
“Hi,” he’d say. “Glad to meet you.”
Plotz had simply said, “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” wagged her tail a few times, to guarantee the truth of her statement and remained in the background.
Except for one muttered, “I don’t believe it,” the Space Forces men simply ogled.
The captain said, “All right, all right. Let us get down to the nitty-gritty.” He looked at Ronny. “Citizen Lee Chang Chu has been most secretive. She would tell us nothing about our destination, saying that we’d have to wait until our rendezvous with you and Doctor Horsten.”
Lee Chang said quietly, “In actuality, I don’t even know it, Captain.”
Ronny put his fork down and said simply, “Our destination is unknown, Captain. What exactly were the orders that you were given?”
The captain was staring at him. “To put my ship and my crew under your orders and to carry out your every order—to the death, if necessary. They were issued to me by the President of United Planets himself. What do you mean, you don’t know our destination, Supervisor Bronston?”
“I didn’t mean that. When I said our destination is unknown, I meant that it will remain unknown to you, your officers and the crew. I am the only person that knows it. And shortly Supervisor Chu will. You will never know where you have gone or where you have been.”
The skipper was looking at him as though he had gone completely around the bend. So were his officers.
Captain Fodor said, “My dear sir, how am I going to be able to take you to this mysterious destination if I don’t know where it is?”
“Who is your navigator?”
“Traditionally, the second deck officer is navigator. Mr. Tokugawa, here. But the captain also double checks the navigating and, if needed, overrules the second officer.”
Very well,” Ronny told him. “And who is in charge of the star charts?”
“Mr. Tokugawa and myself.”
“Wizard. Supervisor Lee Chang Chu is also a spaceship navigator. I will reveal the coordinates of our destination to her. She will do the navigating. During our journey, even while in underspace, Mr. Tokugawa will not be allowed on the bridge at any time. And you, yourself, will not be allowed on it while Lee Chang is setting our courses.”