"Shut up in the flag cabin, Ma'am. Commodore."

"Captain Lor, lock him up elsewhere; the flag cabin is mine."

"Aye aye, Commodore."

"How long will that take? Seconds, I mean; not hours."

Lor spoke rapidly to Dora in a language I almost understood. I leaned to my right, spoke to my wife. "Spanish. Some sort."

"Italian," Deety answered.

"Will you settle for Latino? No!-I remember now: Galacta. We'll have to learn it. But it sounds easy."

Lor reported, "Flag cabin will be ready for you by the time you reach it, Commodore."

"Very good. I expect to use it primarily as an administration office; flag remains in Gay Deceiver. That is appropriate, since Dora is unarmed whereas Gay Deceiver is an attack ship, an armed privateer-heavily armed, for her size." Sharpie smiled. "A few days ago, in another universe, we destroyed an entire air army. We don't have fancies such as artificial gravity; we belt down and fight in free fall. Gay Deceiver is stripped for speed and armament; Dora is just the opposite. The two complement each other beautifully."

I wondered why Sharpie was blathering-but she always has reasons. I think she reads minds.

I'm certain that Laz-Lor do, with each other. They looked at each other, then:

"The flag of an armed privateer-"

"-is the Skull-and-Cross-Bones-"

"-is it not? Do we take prisoners-"

"-or cut their throats?"

"Which would you rather do? Captain Lor, please do all the talking; these whipsaw conversations are hard to follow. By the way, no more 'midnight mutinies.' Lor, you remain captain until further notice."

Again they looked at each other.

"We like to swap off."

"Calling it 'mutiny' is just a joke."

"No one asked your preferences. My chief of staff and second-in-command of the flagship is the only one who does and must advise me. If you have opinions to offer, see him. Answer my question. Captain Lor."

"We'll do what you order. But our brother who was our father at the time taught us never to kill if we could possibly avoid it while teaching us all sorts of ways to kill and made us practice. When we were growing up we always wanted to be pirates. Then we grew up and decided that it could never be and tried to forget it."

Sharpie said, "I think I'm making you tongue-tied by forcing you to filter it through one set of vocal cords. So cancel that order; you two are unique. We operate just the way Lazarus taught you; so far we have killed only once-to repel an attack on us. That air army- We timed it, caught them with their flying machines on the ground, burned the machines, burned their fuel-and thereby stopped an invasion... without killing anyone. But we are always ready to kill. Lor, that's why I warned you a few minutes ago. It would have broken Gay's heart to have to destroy Dora. Skull-and-Cross-Bones? No way to fly one but, if you want to hang one in the lounge, I grant permission. Why did you decide not to become pirates?"

That same preliminary glance- "Babies-"

"Laz has three, I have four-"

"-because Lor has one pair of twins-"

"-and we try to be pregnant at the same time-" "-and time it to fit our plans-"

"-and Brother's plans if you ever let him out of hack."

"How old are you two? I've been thinking of you as about Deety's age but you can't be. Just one of you answer, please; it's a simple question."

They conferred mentally an unusually long time. At last Captain Lor said slowly, "It isn't quite simple. We will get Dora and Athene to integrate it for us... if data are complete; they may not be. But answering in Old-HomeTerran years and meaning our own biological time, Laz thinks we are about forty-eight and I think we are a couple of years younger. It doesn't matter because Ishtar will tell us when to rejuvenate, which won't be soon, as we aren't yet close to menopause."

"Does it have to be at menopause?"

"Oh, no, just makes it easier and you never have to stop making babies. But Ishtar's mother went years past menopause and had decided to die... and changed her mind and looks younger than we do and has had more babies than we have. This time around, I mean."

"How often do men need it?" Sharpie asked. Jake looked up and said, "I won't need it for another six weeks, Hilda. Maybe seven."

'Shush, dear. Laz-Lor, be careful around my husband. When he's in rut, it takes heavy chains to restrain him. So never mind that question; he doesn't need to know and, for me, it was intellectual curiosity of a biologist. Perhaps it s best to ask Doctor Ishtar."

"Yes, Commodore, that would be best. We aren't biologists; we're ship handlers."

I leaned forward. (Sharpie was keeping us in the car; why I didn't know- then.) "Commodore! I'm required to advise you."

"Yes, Zebbie."

"You are going to need a new chief of staff, a new second-in-command, and a new astrogator because I will be on the binnacle list in a wet pack if you don't have Laz-Lor answer that last one. It is not 'intellectual curiosity' to me."

"Why, Zebbie dear, I have reports that your curve is such that it will be many, many years before you can possibly have other than intellectual interest."

(If it were not for upsetting Jake, I would paddle that pert little arse!)

Deety said, "Hear, hear!" I placed my hand over her mouth and got bitten. Sharpie said, "Captain, we have here another paradox-Doctors Carter and Burroughs, each unreasonably insecure. Elizabeth, you've been a man; give them the male angle."

"Commodore, I wasn't very successful as a male. I simply took antigeria whenever Lazarus did. But I can report his thumb rule."

"Yes?"

"When a man looks at a new and attractive woman and decides that he is too tired, it's time. When he doesn't even look, push him over and bury him; he's failed to notice that he's dead."

The ship's computer said something in that not-Spanish; Sharpie answered, "Graz, Dora. I'll come now."

Lor said, "Ma'am, we didn't know you knew Galacta."

"I don't. But I will a week from now. I knew what I would say in your position, and you said it; I could tell from cognates. You told Dora to get him out pronto, because the Doña was on her way. Then get his personal belongings when I would not be inconvenienced, So I stalled. Zebbie, will you come with me? Jacob dearest, will you decide whether or not we should give up our suite with the Carters? And what to move out of Gay? We will be in Dora at least a week, possibly longer."

"Commodore, we depart for Tertius tomorrow midday, ship's time."

"I do not recall ordering that, Captain Lor."

The twins looked at each other-and said nothing.

Sharpie patted Laz's cheek. "Don't look so thunderstruck, girls"-girls?-seven years or so Sharpie's senior and seven babies between them-"On reaching Tertius, place us in orbit, following local rules. But no messages from ship to ground unless approved by me in writing. Come now!"

As Sharpie left with me in tow, she told Deety that she was on her own but please get out Jacob's Army blues and my Aerospace dress, and ask Dora about cleaning and pressing.

Jake said, "Hey!" before I could, and Sharpie said, reasonably, "I won't put you into a long skirt, sweetheart; you would feel that I had coerced you into drag. I thought perhaps you two were bored with civilian dress-and I shall continue the custom concerning dressing for dinner-either formal dress or formal skin Nofhin~i ii, hefw~pn

Upon reaching flag cabin Sharpie dismissed Laz-Lor, waited until we were private, then clung to me. "Hold me, Zebbie. Hold me tight! Calm me down." The little thing was shaking.

"Maybe I had better get Jake," I suggested, while holding her and petting her gently-and solving aerodynamic empiricals in my head to keep from noticing how much skin such a tiny woman can spread over one.