Cirr hadn't misheard that too-formal affirmative, and he let his severe expression hang on Commander Luka a beat longer than it ought to in order to hammer home the point. Even if he'd presented an option he abhorred, he wanted a second who wasn't afraid to push back with an unpopular idea within reason.

Then Jaden mentioned wanting a tour of Novgorod, and just the mention of that prospect got Cirr shifting on his feet and glancing at the door like a dog that had been penned in an apartment for too long. He opened his mouth, closed it, then headed for a chest of drawers. The Cizerack yanked open the top drawer, rummaging through a cigar box and a few non-clothing items before coming up with some hideous thing. A knitted cap with ear flaps. With a determined face, he cinched the abomination over his head, the earflaps pressing his ears down at his jawline and almost completely obfuscating them.

"Medjical has me on outpatjient duty, and jI'm caged jin herre ljike a lunchtjime thjimjiarr untjil some egghead doctorr says otherrwjise."

The Captain slid a pair of slacks over his shorts, tucked his tail in, and added a pair of cheap sunglasses to complete the ludicrous attempt at incognito.

"Let's go."