"Sir?" the shuttle pilot said.  "We are coming into visual 
range of your new ship now, if you'd care to see."
	Saloris stopped reading his orders and looked up.  He 
was sitting in the copilot's chair, though he hadn't actually 
put his claws on any ship's controls in a decade or so.  
Command officers rarely got that luxury, even in ground-
to-orbit shuttles.  But the tall-backed chair offered an 
excellent view.
	He squinted at the bright metallic object ahead of 
them, and closed his inner eyelids to cut down the glare.  His 
pilot noticed, and smiled.
	"Nice adaptation, that." 
	The dragon nodded, still looking forward as his new 
ship grew and grew with the shuttle's approach.  
	"It has its uses."
	"I can imagine.  There are times I could use a set of 
built-in shades myself.  Imagine staring at something like 
that several times a day, if you can."
	Saloris snorted.  Yes, the ship was uncomfortably 
bright to stare at.  Fresh out of assembly, it hadn't even 
received stealth treatments yet.  It was bright silver and 
gold against the black velvet of space.  Anywhere that didn't 
shine with the reflection of the sun, shone blue and white 
from the world below.
	"I could get used to it." he chuckled to the young 
human ensign.  He automatically took stock of what weapons 
were visible as their shuttle swung about to port.  They 
were heading to the aft end of the giant ship, and the 
docking ports located there.  A sensible location for them, 
Saloris thought, since that was the only spot on the ship 
that wasn't armed.
	At first he thought somebody had misquoted the 
ship's weapons specs.  One glance dispelled that thought.  
Such firepower!  24 different wavelengths of laser beam, 
each around 2 terawatts.  56 plasma cannons.  18 nuetron 
beams over an 80 degree spread.  And 16 railguns, each in 
a revolving cannon configuration.  Not to mention the 
hypervelocity flechetes that covered the ship for close-in 
defense against boarding.  
	He didn't know what that "Instant singularity" device 
in the tail was, but it probably didn't sing.
	"The Teivos Republic may be bankrupt." Saloris 
confided to the ensign with a hint of awe in his voice.  "But 
we still make one hell of a battlecruiser, don't we?"
	The human chuckled as he manuevered the shuttle, 
preparing to dock.  
	"Yes.  Pity about the ship's name though."
	Saloris's head snapped about.  He glared dissaprovingly 
at the junior officer.
	"What did you say?" he demanded.
	The human's smile vanished and his skin paled.
	"I said, 'Pity about the ship's name'..." he mumbled, 
remembering to add  "Sir..." to the end.
	The dragon stared at the uniformed pilot for several 
seconds, before finally facing forward again.
	"It doesn't matter what her name is ensign." he pointed 
out, jutting a reptilian finger at the steel dreadnought only 
yards away from them.  "What matters is which end of her 
guns you're on when things get hot.  Believe me, I'm glad 
that I'm going to be on the giving end instead of the 
receiving one."
	The pilot nodded, and Saloris could see the sweat 
beading up on the young man's forehead.  After all, it 
wasn't everyday you got dressed down by an admiral.  The 
kid was probably scared to death!
	Saloris felt very much the ogre all of a sudden.  He 
overreacted to the pilot's remark, and he really shouldn't 
have.  As the docking clamps locked onto the shuttle and 
secured it in place, he looked down to release his seat 
restraints.
	"But you're right." he added.  "It IS a pity about the 
name."

***

	"Attention on deck!  Command officer now boarding!" 
the loudspeaker in the hall announced.
	Saloris stepped through the bulkhead door, surprised 
at the low level of light in the hall.  He saw the faint outline 
of someone walking toward him.
	"Your eyes will adjust in a few minutes." The 
wolverine's voice told him. 
	"Why is it so dark in here?" Saloris complained.
	"We need to conserve as much energy as possible for 
the weapons systems Admiral.  They don't just wind up, 
you understand."
	The dragon nodded, and his eyes did begin to adjust to 
the low light.  
	"I imagine not." he agreed.  "And you must be my XO, 
Ravidson."
	"Yes Admiral.  And let me be the first to welcome you 
aboard the battleship..."
	"Don't say that name!" Saloris interupted.
	The wolverine looked puzzled as he finished his speech.
	"battleship 'FUZZY KITTEN'?"
	The dragon winced at his starships name yet again.
	"By the green scales of the ancient ones!" he cursed.  
"How in the nine hells did a ship like this ever get such a 
name?"
	"The ship's designer named it." the XO explained, 
passing Saloris a computerpad.  "He was a relative of the 
emporer, and earned the honor for building such a warship.  
Rumor is, he went mad putting all these weapons in.  So 
when it came time to christen her, he wasn't quite firing on 
all thrusters, if you take my meaning."
	The dragon snorted, a small jet of steam escaping his 
nostrils, and he took the proferred pad  
	"Whatever." he grumbled.  "My first executive order of 
the FUZZY KITTEN is going to be to give this ship a more 
suitable name."
	The wolverine shook his head.  
	"Sorry admiral.  No can do.  Like I said, this ship was 
named by a relative of the emporer himself.  The name 
sticks, good or bad."
	"How am I supposed to get any respect in the officer's 
lounges when I tell people I'm in command of the FUZZY 
KITTEN?" the dragon loudly complained as he walked past 
his executive officer.  "And what about the morale of our 
crew?"
	The wolverine fell into step behind the dragon, keeping 
to the right of his tail.
	"Well sir, think of the effect on the enemy."
	Saloris stopped, turned, and blinked.
	"Are you telling me we're supposed to make the 
enemy stop and die laughing?  If so, I think we're a bit 
overarmed here."
	"No sir.  But how would you like to report to your 
superiors that you were shot out of the sky by the starship 
FUZZY KITTEN?  And what will the enemy think when they 
encounter ships with names like DISEMBOWELER and 
MANGLER, considering what this ship is like?"
	Saloris nodded slowly.  
	"Well, there is that psychological angle I suppose." he 
grudgingly agreed.  "But I still don't like it!"
	"Nobody does." the XO agreed.  "Except for maybe the 
emporor's nephew.  It's hard to tell.  He doesn't do anything 
but giggle anymore."
	The dragon handed a set of orders to the wolverine 
with a scowl.  
	"Fine.  If I can't do anything about her name, at least I 
can get started on her reputation.  We're skipping the 
normal shakedown cruise, and going straight into combat 
mode.  Here is our list of objectives.  See to it all the weapons 
are ready within 12 hours, understand?"
	The wolverine smiled viciously back at his commanding 
officer, and took the envelope from him.
	"They'll never know what hit them sir!" he proudly 
announced.
	"I can't be that lucky..." Saloris huffed as he stomped 
down the hall in search of his cabin.