I watched Desai wriggle to get comfortable in the too-small chair. Then I looked at the ceiling, and the door we'd come through. "Skippy, since the Thuranin are such little guys, how is it we don't have a problem bumping our heads in here?"

"Thuranin have built their ships to accommodate their Maxolhx patrons. Very rarely in history has the Maxolhx lowered themselves to come aboard a Thuranin ship, but the Thuranin very much wish to avoid any awkwardness. Also, occasionally Kristang or other client species do come aboard, and although intellectually the Thuranin consider their compact size to be more efficient, and therefore superior to other species, they are self-conscious about it. Other species banging their heads on Thuranin doorways would be a constant reminder how small the Thuranin are."

"All right." I set Skippy down on top of a console next to Desai's couch. "Pilot, you're going to be busy learning the controls. Colonel Chang, you have the conn, while I deal with the Thuranin, Sergeant Adams, Sergeant Thomson, you're with me."

I left Skippy to instruct Desai, Chang, Simms and some others how the bridge and CIC controls worked, while I dealt with the ship's former crew. Out in the corridor, I realized I had no idea what to do. "Skippy," I asked over zPhone earpiece, "you got any ideas what to do with the Rip Van Winkles here?"

"I assume you mean the sleeping Thuranin."

"Affirmative."

"There are several possibilities, depending on what you intend to do wit

h them later. In the meantime, this ship has detachable cargo pods, any one of them is large enough to hold the entire Thuranin crew."

"We stack them in there like cordwood?"

"More like lay them on the floor, but, yes."

I considered. What the hell was I going to do with eighty seven unconscious Thuranin? It would have been easy for me if Skippy had killed them instead of putting them into a sleep cycle, because that would have taken the responsibility for the hard decision away from me. Although, if Skippy had been able to kill them, and asked me if I wanted to do that, or make them sleep, what would I have done then? It would have been simpler to make that decision aboard the Kristang frigate, when it was not certain we could, in fact, take a Thuranin star carrier without firing a shot. Simpler to make a decision that at the time was merely theoretical, rather than actual, like it was now. So, I punted. Delayed making the decision. "How long can you keep them asleep?"

"Without being hooked up to life support, about three days, their cybernetics minimize their autonomic functions."

"Mmm hm. Ok. And how long until we can jump again? I assume we want to leave the neighborhood, in case a Thuranin search party comes looking for us."