"Everything all right in there?" I asked.
"Fine, just fine. How long will it take to get to Earth?"
"About three weeks," I said. "We'll be going into warp any minute."
"Very well," came the reply.
I didn't expect to have many dealings with the Ambassador. I had been told that he would have his own food supply and naturally he was confined to his fluorinated stateroom. So we settled down to a pleasant return trip.
But on the second day of warp I was awakened from sweet dreams by Whitey Durbin, the Night Engineer. He shoved me around in my bunk until I opened one eye and said "Whatsamatter?"
"It's the cat, Chief!"
"Cat? What cat? You crazy, Whitey? Lemme go back to sleep."
But he was obstinate. "The Ambassador's pet. It's out of its room."