by Monoceros
The inspiration for this story is the informal chess match between Edward Lasker and Sir George A. Thomas in the City of London Chess Club in 1911. Lasker was then an unknown immigrant from Germany who spoke not a word of English; Thomas was the club champion and, later, chess champion of Great Britain. Interspersed with the story is the score of that game.
"Bad news, Capt. Lasker."
Capt. Richard Lasker of F. S. Tarrasch turned placidly to receive the news; only the slightest twitching of his ears revealed his anxiety.
"Yes, Lt. Cavallo? What is the bad news?"
Cavallo's wide eyes and flared nostrils accentuated the urgency of his message. "We failed to prevent the humans from entering the stern of the ship. We were able to hold them off and throw up a bulkhead closing off the section they occupied but they'll break out soon."
"Bad!" said Lasker. "This was cleverly timed. The humans must have known that Tarrasch would be undermanned before they attacked. How many furs are still on the ship, Lieutenant?"
"I doubt, sir, whether there are more than sixteen of us on board."
"Do you know the disposition of the humans?"
"I'm afraid not, sir. We only just barely succeeded in getting out in time. But I don't think that they've many more in numbers than we do. But there's another thing...it's Captain Alan Thomas of H. S. S. Marshall leading the party."
Behind Capt. Lasker, from his first officer, came a growl and a muffled oath. "Him again!" exclaimed Cmdr. Sophia Corbett. "What's he got against us?"
"It's personal with him now. Ever since his daughter Emily decided she preferred life as a porcupine and eloped with her canine boyfriend Capt. Thomas has come a little unhinged. Raiding us furs has become his personal hobby."
"What are we going to do, sir?" asked Cavallo fearfully. "Capt. Thomas has racked up an impressive record. No furry ship has yet managed to beat him!"
"What we're going to do, Lieutenant," shot back Lasker with unaccustomed heat, "is pull ourselves together. We've faced worse enemies than Thomas before. Do you remember when we fought H. S. S. Alekhine to a standstill?"
Corbett and Cavalia both nodded their assent.
"Do you remember what happened when we met Commodore Janowski two years ago? He hasn't been good for much of anything since then, has he?"
"No, sir!" said Cavallo.
"Right. Let's get to work. Lt. Cavallo, convene all of the senior officers in here. Sophia, we should perform a little reconnaissance. Whom would you recommend sending?"
Corbett considered. "I think Ensign Pepys is the most qualified for this work, Captain."
"Pepys?" Lasker frowned doubtfully. "Are you sure? He's pretty young, isn't he? And...well, pretty small."
"But tough as nails in a pinch, Captain."
"I respect your judgment, Commander. Very well." Lasker thumbed a button. "Ensign Pepys? Please report to my quarters - " At that moment Cavallo reentered Lasker's quarters followed by a number of other furs. "Ah, thank you, Lt. Cavallo. Lts. Rooker, you had best stand guard here in and near my quarters. Lt. Cavallo, Lt. Einhorn, I want you to prepare to support any scouts that we send out; we don't want to suffer any more casualties than we need to. Lt. Clark, Lt. Cardinal, stand by here. Ah, Ensign Pepys." A diminutive fur entered Lasker's room; the whiskers on his pointed snout vibrated in agitation and his long tail whipped back and forth.
"Sir?"
"Cmdr. Corbett tells me that you are a particularly competent scout. We need to find out how much of the ship the humans control. Go aft along the central axis of the ship but do not advance too far. Avoid being seen if possible. Lts. Einhorn and Cavallo will support you from behind. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir."
"Who is this Capt. Lasker?"
Capt. Alan Thomas looked around Tarrasch anxiously. He had expected little resistance during his sweep through the enemy vessel but the furs' success in sealing him off in the stern had thrown him off balance. His men were now engaged in breaking through the bulkhead barring their advance through the ship.
"Nobody really knows who he is, sir," replied his first officer, Cmdr. Regina Yancey. "He seems to have emerged only recently as one of the furs' top-notch commanders. He's reputed to be a first-class tactician. He's beaten many of our best, that's for sure."
"Huh. Does anyone know what this Lasker looks like, by any chance? What sort of fur he is?"
"No, sir. We do know, however, that his first officer, Cmdr. Corbett, is a tiger and a tough fighter. And she's been in the service longer than Lasker. We'll have to reckon with her as well."
Just then a young ensign sprinted into the room. "Capt. Thomas! We've succeeding in making a break and then we sighted an enemy fur. We caught only a glimpse of him - he was small and fast - but we think he was scouting out the center of the ship.
"So they've made the first move," said Thomas grimly. "Ensign, we'll need to do a little scouting ourselves. Send out a man you can trust but avoid direct contact with the enemy. It's too early to get into a firefight without knowing what and how many we're up against. And keep working on that bulkhead."
"Don't worry, Ensign," whispered Lt. Einhorn. "We're right behind you."
Pepys hunkered down nervously in the corridor. Behind him on his left crouched Lt. Cavallo; further away, to Pepys's right, Lt. Einhorn kept watch.
"Do you sense anything?" hissed Einhorn.
Pepys sniffed and looked around, ears twitching. "I think there's some enemy movement to our right," he whispered. "I thought I heard at least one or two humans approaching us but they stopped some distance ahead."
"Hm." Einhorn lowered his muzzle in brief thought. "I think we're going to need someone with a longer reach to get an idea what's ahead." He radioed Lasker as quietly as he could. "Captain? We've seen nothing definite but we're fairly sure that the humans have started to break out of the bulkhead on our right. I suggest that you send out Clark or Cardinal."
Lt. Cardinal made his way cautiously forward and to his right. He settled his hand on the stock of his blaster as he trotted forward, nodding silently to Cavallo and Pepys as he passed them. Somewhere up ahead, they thought, the humans had broken out of their beachhead on Tarrasch.
Pausing behind a way Cardinal slowly craned his long neck outward to peep around the next corner. There he saw them. The humans had broken out: he could see three of them in a small group just ahead of him, two smaller men and a larger one, standing before a hole cut into the metal. Taking a deep breath Cardinal charged out from behind the corner, gun ready.
The three humans had been preoccupied with helping to enlarge the breach in the bulkhead and Cardinal's appearance surprised them. The giraffe held his blaster on the largest of the three humans. "Hello," he said. "Take your hand off your gun, Lieutenant. You as well," he added, pointing his muzzle briefly at one of the ensigns standing next to the lieutenant. "And get back behind the bulkhead."
"Don't even think about it, Lt. Knightley," said a voice from behind the humans. "I've got your back, Knightley, don't even think about doing what this fur tells you." Cardinal could just see the new human's head behind Knightley's: it wasn't enough of a target.
"He's ready to shoot, Dean." said Knightley in a steady voice. "He's certain to hit me from here."
"And I'm certain to shoot - "
Cardinal fired. The bolt struck Knightley in the chest; he went down and Cardinal shifted the blaster quickly to aim at the spot where Dean's head had been but Dean fired first. Cardinal convulsed and fell, stunned and unable to control his muscles. His long legs thrashed uselessly as Dean went over to him.
"It was a nice try, fur," he said. "But you've an appointment with Capt. Thomas now. Someone will come to collect you shortly. Oh, and that's for shooting my friend." Dean planted a boot firmly in Cardinal's stomach; the giraffe groaned and doubled up. "Here, buddy," Dean went on, bending down to help Knightley up, "can you stand by yourself? Well, I'll help you then." Dean dragged his friend away.
"Lt. Einhorn! What was that gunfire?" Lasker whispered into his radio.
"They've got Lt. Cardinal, Captain," replied Einhorn, his voice blurred in the transmission. "He was able to take one of them out before they got him, though."
"Damn!"
"But we heard him talk to at least two other humans there. They're coming in from the right, for sure."
Lasker sighed. "It's already going bad. But the time for sneaking around is gone. Einhorn, stand by." Lasker disconnected and turned to Corbett. "I think it's time we test their defences a little more. If we keep up this creeping round the edges we'll just be cut down piecemeal like Lt. Cardinal. I think we should send out another scout, straight for the enemy, to find out exactly what's up ahead of us."
Corbett swallowed heavily. "Captain, we're almost certain to lose him."
Lasker shook his head. "I don't like it either, Sophia."
"Send me, Capt. Lasker," said Clark, rushing forward. "I'll go."
"Lt. Clark, I need to hold you in reserve. Now that Cardinal's gone you're the only long-distance fighter I've got left."
"Except for me," said Corbett quietly.
Lasker whirled toward her. "Don't even think it, Sophia. I'm not sending my best officer out there without knowing what the hell is going on first." He turned back to Clark. "No, Clark, I appreciate your courage, but you'll have to stay here...oh, Clark, don't make those doe eyes at me. I'm not sending you out and that's it." The guanaco lowered her long neck and returned to her seat.
"All right. Again, Commander, you know the capabilities of the furs best. Who would make the best scout for this?"
"Mmm. Crewman Nevers, I think, would stand the best chance of coming through in a fight. And I'm sure there's going to be a fight."
Again Lasker reached for his transceiver. "Crewman Nevers? This is Capt. Lasker. Please report to me immediately."
Shortly Crewman Nevers arrived. His brown muzzle actively surveyed all the faces in the room. "You called me, sir?"
"Crewman Nevers...I need you for a scouting mission. You'll be going straight for where we think the humans have broken into the ship. You'll have Ensign Pepys flanking you on the left and Cavallo will defend you from behind but I'm not going to lie to you - I can't guarantee that you'll come back from this."
Nevers's tail quivered with anticipation. "I'm ready, sir."
"You're a good fur. Let's get you ready."
Nevers advanced past Cavallo and Pepys toward the centre of the ship. He looked anxiously to his right, where the other furs thought the enemy was concentrated. Steeling himself he creeped out behind the next corner ahead of him and saw them standing before the ruined bulkhead: Dean standing guard, two other humans advancing toward him.
"There he is!" One of the humans hurled himself on Nevers. The weasel hissed and clawed at him. "Aaaugh!" he cried out when Nevers closed his jaws on his right arm as he was reaching for his blaster. "Get off me!" Struggling madly the human was able to bring his left arm out and then deliver a swift blow to Nevers's head. The fur yelped in pain and dropped to the floor.
"There, that ought to fix you, you little varmint." He was about to bring his boot down hard on Nevers's tail when he looked up to see Cavallo lowering his head and charging straight for him. "Wait - " he gasped. Cavallo piled into him, driving his head into the human's stomach; the soldier crumpled to the ground, gasping for breath. Cavallo heaved him roughly to his feet with his arms behind his back. "That's enough. What's your name, human?"
"St-Stanley," he got out. "Crewman Stanley."
"Well, Stanley, I'll have to leave you with my captain. Ensign, see to Crewman Nevers while I take care of this hairless wonder." As Cavallo dragged the human off he could hear Pepys whisper to Nevers.
"Charlie! Charlie, are you all right? I've got to get you out of here."
"I saw 'em, Sam," answered Nevers weakly. "I saw 'em."
"How is Crewman Nevers?" asked Lasker.
Corbett came back into his quarters after finding a place for the weasel to rest. "I think he's going to be all right; he was just stunned. And he told me something important: there were only three humans advanced into the ship on our right and Lt. Cavallo took out one of them. Only one of the men, Nevers thought, was a heavy-duty fighter. Furthermore the breach in the bulkhead is still small. Captain, I advise that we mass force. Converge on the breach."
Lasker paced for a few moments with his paws behind his back. "Let me think. Einhorn and Cavallo are practically there already. If we're free to move them up...." He turned suddenly to Clark. "Lt. Clark, I think your time has come. I plan on ordering the cavalry forward and I need you to support them. Are you willing?"
"In a moment, sir!" She jumped up.
"I'll station you behind Crewman Pepys for the moment. From there we can decide where best you may be stationed."
"Yes, sir." Clark was about to leave when suddenly another crewman burst in.
"Captain! Captain, there's something important you should know."
"Ah, what's your name, Crewman?"
"James, sir," she said, inclined her head. "Crewman James. Captain, you should know that I've heard sounds coming from the left side of the ship. I think the humans are trying to open a second breach in the bulkhead."
"Crap!" Lasker jumped up. "On our left? What more can you tell me, Crewman James?"
"Not much, sir. I didn't hear any human voices yet, sir."
Lasker paced some more. "A second breach. I suppose I should send a scout to investigate....Sophia, my instinct tells me that's wrong. We can't dissipate our initiative by trying to meet every possible incursion. We know we've an opportunity, now, on our right."
Corbett smiled, showing her teeth. "I think you're right, Captain. Let's strike fast and strike hard!"
"Exactly. Crewman James," Lasker continued, turning to her, "Keep your eyes and ears open. Tell the others to do the same but stay back. Inform us immediately if the situation worsens."
"Thank you, sir. Good luck, sir." James scampered off.
"Lt. Clark, take your position." Then Lasker reached for the radio. "Lt. Einhorn!" he whispered. "Lt. Einhorn, we're going to move forward. Prepare to advance toward the human position."
"How close, Captain?" Einhorn radioed back.
"Get as close to the breach as possible. We'll be sending up Lt. Clark and Lt. Cavallo as soon as possible to support you."
"And Cmdr. Corbett," the tigress added quietly.
Lasker turned to face her. "Sophia?"
"All possible force, Captain. It's the only way we'll beat them back."
"Capt. Lasker."
Lasker looked at his friend. "Yes, Cmdr. Corbett?"
"Cavallo, Einhorn, and Clark are all in position. I think it's time I go in, sir."
"Go. And good luck, Sophia."
Corbett left the captain's quarters and padded down the corridors of the ship toward the human lines. "Go get 'em, tiger," whispered Clark as Corbett passed her. Finally she saw ahead of her the rear of the ship and a human with his hands in the air. Both Cavallo and Einhorn were aiming their blasters at him.
"Cmdr. Corbett," whispered Einhorn, "this is the human Lt. Dean. He's got something interesting to tell us, hasn't he, Lieutenant?" Einhorn bent his head a little, aiming his horn in the direction of Dean's face.
"Yes." Dean gulped. "You're looking for Capt. Thomas, right? He's just behind there. He just went in there." Dean nodded toward the ruined bulkhead behind him. Corbett could just make out a tense, human voice.
"I don't like this at all, Yancey!" it was saying. "What happened to Stanley? And Dean? You'd better get over here, Johnson. We need your support." Corbett thought she heard the faint click of a switch.
Dean began to open his mouth when Einhorn moved forward and poked the tip of his horn into Dean's cheek. "Don't try it, Dean."
"Lt. Einhorn, Lt. Cavallo, I've a plan," said Corbett. "I'll need you to stand out of sight as much as possible. Keep a tight grip on this one, of course," she said, nudging Dean, before waving a paw to call Clark over to the huddle. "Here's the idea - "
Corbett hunched out of sight against the bulkhead. Across from her, hidden in a doorway, Einhorn held Dean tightly with a hand over the human's mouth. Corbett nodded to Einhorn then knocked softly on the bulkhead.
"Who is it?" asked Capt. Thomas.
Nobody made a sound although Dean tried hard to do so. At length Corbett knocked again.
"Ensign, you'd better make sure who that is. And watch yourself."
The human ensign appeared in the breach and immediately Corbett snarled and pounced. "Capt - " he managed to scream before Corbett landed hard on his stomach; the human gurgled and went limp. The tigress roughly pushed him aside and prepared to leap up and into Thomas's hiding place but before she could regain her balance the stock of a gun landed hard on her head. "Uhh!" she groaned as she fell heavily to the ground. In a moment two of Thomas's men appeared and hauled Corbett to her feet. She blinked stupidly at Thomas, shaking her head to clear it.
"Cmdr. Corbett, I'd heard better of you," said Thomas, sneering as he aimed his gun at Corbett's chest from a safe distance. "That was an impressive leap but did you really think that you'd be able to storm my position all by yourself? Men, drag this formidable but stupid tigress away."
"You might like to know, Capt. Thomas," said Corbett as she was being forced down the corridor, "I'm not here quite all by myself - "
Thomas looked suddenly up to see Dean struggling to escape Einhorn's grip and Cavallo coming out from behind a corner. "Stop him!" shrieked Thomas to Dean; Dean with a mighty effort tore himself free from the unicorn but before he could make any further move Cavallo tackled him and threw him to the floor. Clark stepped out from behind the same corner that had hidden Cavallo and levelled her blaster at Thomas. Cavallo landed hard with Dean under him and, raising his gun, he and Clark fired at the same instant. The bolts slammed into the wall just above Thomas's head: sparing one frightened glance at the three furs massed around him he began running full tilt into the ship.
"Get him!" shouted Einhorn. "Don't let him get away!" Cavallo and Clark sprinted off down the corridor leaving Dean to lie.
Thomas continued to run. His desperate hope was that, with Corbett in captivity, he could draw the remaining furry officers off and either lose them or perhaps get his chance to pick them off from a distance. The thought of the latter warmed him and he felt for the butt of his gun.
Suddenly an apparition loomed up before him, an apparition with a horn and a blaster in its hand: Lt. Einhorn had doubled back to cut the fleeing Thomas off. Thomas began to head straight for him, preparing to draw his gun, but before the captain got to within fifteen feet of Einhorn a smaller figure suddenly came from nowhere and fired a blaster at him.
The shot was poorly aimed but it still clipped Thomas in the leg and sent him wheeling off balance. While staggering forward he saw the gunman, a chipmunk fur who could not have been above four feet high, an extraordinary fierceness in his round face, struggling with his paws to aim the clumsy blaster. Thomas regained his footing, shoved Einhorn roughly aside before the unicorn could stop him, and ran straight into the muzzle of another gun in the paws of another rodent fur, a squirrel. "What is this??" he screamed. Fighting back delirious mental pictures of being shot down by a bushy-tailed creature scarcely half his size he flung an arm out wildly; the squirred screeched, lost his grip, and the blaster clattered to the floor. Thomas smiled but went on running, remembering that Einhorn and the other officers were still behind him.
A lean, brown, cloven-hoofed leg suddenly blocked Thomas's path. He leaped too late and the leg sent him tumbling to the ground. He looked up to see its owner, a female fur with a humourous, lean face.
"Hello, Capt. Thomas. I was wondering if you had news of a friend of mine. He looks a bit like me except he's taller and has beautiful brown spots on his yellow coat. Lt. Cardinal's his name."
"Cardinal," stammered Thomas, scrambling away from Clark along the floor. "He's fine, Lieutenant, he's fine." Suddenly he remembered his gun and produced it.
"Whoa," said Clark, backing off a step and raising her hands.
"Where's Lasker? Take me to Capt. Lasker," Thomas said between gritted teeth.
"I don't need to, Captain, you're almost all the way there. Just go through that door and talk to Lt. Rooker."
"Thanks." Thomas smirked before jumping to his feet and running through the door.
"Hello," said a growling voice to his left. Thomas whirled to see a massive brown chest and the scowling countenance of a bull staring down at him. A powerful hand grasped his arm and tore the blaster from his fingers."Have you an appointment to see Capt. Lasker?"
"No, I'm afraid," said Thomas before planting his fist against the minotaur's chest. Thomas staggered back from the blow, shaking his bruised hand. "Who are you?" asked Thomas.
"Lieutenant Rooker. I guard Capt. Lasker's quarters."
"Do you?" Thomas swung a mighty blow of his elbow into Rooker's stomach; the minotaur grunted a little but Thomas seemed to bounce right off him, stumbling once more to the ground. With a violent effort Thomas jerked himself up and aimed a punch at Rooker's head, succeeding only in splitting his knuckles open on Rooker's teeth. The bull spared a moment to guffaw and in that moment Thomas brought his knee up hard into Rooker's groin.
"Uwf!" Thomas's knee had hit home; Rooker sagged momentarily against the wall behind him and Thomas sprang past him through the doorway into Lasker's quarters.
"It's a pleasure to meet you at last, Capt. Thomas."
Lasker looked up from his desk, not having moved since Lt. Cavallo had raced in with news of Thomas's invasion. "Lt. Rooker, you can stand at ease." Rooker had recovered himself and was at Thomas's back with the idea of knocking him on the head but he stopped at Lasker's words. "I can handle this."
Thomas stared at Lasker's white, whiskered face underneath his pair of long, upright ears and began to chuckle. "So you're the great furry Captain Lasker. A five-foot-tall bunny rabbit. Lasker Cottontail. What are you going to do, Lasker, nibble me to death?"
Lasker smiled thinly. "May I remind you, Capt. Thomas, that a dozen fellow furs of mine are waiting for you the moment you leave this room. You can't win this."
"Oh, yes, I can. All I need to do is take care of you and I've won. Rules of the game. And from the looks of it I could knock you over with a sneeze. How the hell do you get monsters like that to follow you?" He jerked his head backward to indicate Rooker.
"There are other qualities to admire than raw strength, Capt. Thomas."
"Uh-huh. So, Lasker, care to see if you can even lay a paw on me?"
"Capt. Thomas," replied Lasker placidly, "I don't even have to try. Let me introduce the other Lt. Rooker." Lasker stepped to the side. From behind him, out of the shadows of the recesses of Lasker's quarters, emerged two red eyes belonging to a massive female fur, even more massive than the fur standing at Thomas's back. The bison's red eyes moved past Lasker toward Thomas standing as if fixed to the floor.
"This is Lt. Judith Rooker, Capt. Thomas," said Lasker. "The Lt. Rooker whom you tangled with just now is her mate, Lt. Francis Rooker. Frankly I'm surprised that you were able even to stagger Francis; I almost admire your tenacity. Judith, however, does not like to see her mate getting a knee to his crotch. She's rather unhappy about it - "
Lt. Judith Rooker advanced on Thomas, snorting deep in her chest, towering over the human by a clear foot. Thomas looked up at her, into the flaming red eyes, as she approached.
"Mother," Thomas whimpered.
Rooker charged.
"Uuuhhhh," said Thomas. Judith and Francis Rooker each had the human captain by an arm and was dragging him back to the as Lasker, Clark, Cavallo and Einhorn followed. Thomas's men watched in horror as their captain went past.
"Captain Thomas?" asked Dean as he nursed his aching head.
"Uhhhh. Have you seen the white rabbit?" mumbled Thomas.
The two Rookers dumped Thomas roughly into a chair, shook him to bring him to his senses, then turned to each other. "Are you all right, honey?" asked Judith her mate anxiously. "Did he hurt you?"
"Just my pride, Judy."
Lasker approached Thomas who stared uncomprehendingly up at him. "Capt. Thomas, let's try to bring a satisfactory conclusion to this stupid affair. First, where are Cmdr. Corbett and Lt. Cardinal? Bring them here."
Thomas shakily waved two of his men over. "Get them out. Bring them here." Shortly Corbett appeared, walking proudly upright, having recovered her feline dignity, and behind her Lt. Cardinal.
"Good work, Now, Capt. Thomas, I release our captive into your custody. Lts. Rooker, please escort him here." The two of them left, appearing shortly with Crewman Stanley.
"Now." Lasker rubbed his paws. "Capt. Thomas, I'd like nothing better than to pack you all into your shuttle and send you on your merry way but I have my other kindred to think of. Can you give me a good reason why I should not simply haul your sorry ass back to Furdonia and keep you there for the rest of your life?"
"War," gasped Thomas. "It'd mean war."
"Not all humans share your enthusiasm for going after us, Capt. Thomas, and you underestimate our ability to defend ourselves. But I do not care for needless violence. And it occurs to me that we've one bargaining chip, anyway. Your record in battle against the furs is unbroken, is it not?"
Thomas gulped. "Until now."
"But it still is on paper. Nobody need ever know about this little setback of yours, Capt. Thomas. Except...tell me, Capt. Thomas. I think I know the answer to this question but I want to hear it from you. Whenever you best a furry ship in battle do you tell Emily about it?"
Thomas winced. "How did you know?"
"Oh, I thought you might be the sort of person to drive the point home - for her benefit and for her mate's. Am I right?" Thomas said nothing. "I'll take that as a yes. So, suppose I send a message along to Emily Thomas and her mate informing them of the outcome of this battle - "
"No! No, don't do that, Capt. Lasker! She'll laugh at me. She'll never take me seriously again. Not if she learns that - "
"That you were shot by a chipmunk and humiliated by a five-foot-tall bunny rabbit?"
Thomas bowed his head, stricken, and nodded.
"Well, she never need know. All I ask is that you let up on your crusade a bit. And perhaps you can start trying to cool the ardour of your fellow furry-hunting humans. Oh, I don't expect an instantaneous conversion. But, whenever the itch is upon you and you think of going after us again...remember your daughter. And remember that there may be better ways of making her take you seriously."
Thomas slumped in his chair. "OK, Capt. Lasker. I'll try to think of what you say."
"I expect no more. We will send you then on your way in your shuttle. We, ah, we partly disabled it first, though. Self-defence, you know; we'd rather not risk any parting shots." Lasker grasped Thomas by his hand, hauled him to his feet, and clasped the hand in both paws. "It was an honour meeting you in battle, Capt. Thomas."
"Y-yes, Capt. Lasker. An honour to meet you as well."