"You might as well call me Sunbeam," Yamata said as they left the
group. "Everyone else does, even Ranger Medart, except on watch. And
you heard the Captain, I'm not standing watches any more, thanks to
you. I really do mean thanks--I was supposed to go on rotating shifts
tomorrow, instead of staying on first watch, and now I don't have to."
She smiled again, even more widely.
Corina's ears twitched in surprise at the flood of words, but Sunbeam
didn't seem to notice. "All right, Sunbeam. What do we do first?"
That was something else she would have to get used to, Corina told
herself. Humans were, by Irschchan standards, quite informal,
sometimes to the point of appearing rude. But they did not intend
offense, and she really ought to adapt to their ways, so she added,
"You may call me Corina."
"Great! We find you a cabin, that's first, then we can eat, if you're
as hungry as I am. C'mon, let's get a shuttle."
That reminded Corina that she hadn't eaten since the previous night.
"I am hungry," she agreed, as they entered one of the elevator-like
cubicles that provided intra-ship transport. "But what if Ranger
Medart wants me for something?"
"That's right, he called you his special assistant. Don't worry about
it, Chang handles the intra-ship communications." The young Ensign
spoke into thin air. "Emperor Chang?"