"That set really does suit you. It's exactly right."
"Is it?"
Gu Xiaoxiao looked at herself reflected in the transparent mirror along the corridor beside them; she wore the uniform of an Owl Dragon Legion crewwoman.
Xue Xiaoxiao praised it from beside her with light in both eyes, and was very glad of it.
Though the greatest reason for her gladness was surely that Gu Xiaoxiao would be staying in the Owl Dragon Legion along with her — for the present, at least.
This was the outcome of Zhao Chen's negotiation with President Guiji earlier.
President Guiji hoped Gu Xiaoxiao might stay for the time being with the Owl Dragon Legion; and as to her standing — she would be the Star-Shark Guild's representative, charged chiefly with matters bearing upon the Owl Dragon Legion and the Star-Shark Guild.
The reason for the arrangement was that Gu Xiaoxiao was now, as all the world knew, a woman who had been carried off; and were she sent back to the Star-Shark Guild at this hour and her whereabouts discovered again—
the Star-Shark Guild's position would be rather awkward.
Hearing President Guiji's reasoning, and seeing the expectation in Xue Xiaoxiao's eyes—
Zhao Chen had agreed to the arrangement. Gu Xiaoxiao would serve for now as the Star-Shark Guild's representative, and be provided for ordinarily on the standard of an Owl Dragon Legion crewmember.
And so that Gu Xiaoxiao should not feel herself out of place, she might wear the Owl Dragon Legion's uniform.
"Next, I'll take you to the very most important place in our Owl Dragon Legion!" Xue Xiaoxiao said, her face grave.
Hearing of a place so important, Gu Xiaoxiao took hold of the hem of Xue Xiaoxiao's coat and asked in a small voice, "A place of such importance to the Owl Dragon Legion… it can hardly be proper to take an outsider like me there. If the lord Commander-in-Chief learns of it, he'll punish you."
Xue Xiaoxiao waved a broad hand. "Never mind that. Once you're there you'll see."
And then Xue Xiaoxiao took Gu Xiaoxiao off toward this so-called very most important place.
Gu Xiaoxiao caught a fragrance drifting to the tip of her nose, and saw crewwomen about her ordering food in an unbroken stream.
And the words of a menu hovering above the serving counter.
"Xiaoxiao… the most important… place you spoke of… is here?" Gu Xiaoxiao was brought up short. Was this not simply the starship canteen?
Xue Xiaoxiao set her hands on her hips and said in earnest, "It is. This place is the most important in our Owl Dragon Legion. I tell you — the starship canteen aboard every warship of the Owl Dragon Legion is issued natural ingredients, every one of them! And there are cooks kept specially to do the cooking. Indeed, if only you wish it! 30 days in a month, three meals a day, and the dishes need never repeat!"
"Natural ingredients? How is that possible — natural ingredients cost many times over what manufactured food costs!" Gu Xiaoxiao covered her mouth in astonishment.
"Order for yourself and you'll see. You can order here at the counter, or sit down and order there, and then swipe your identity card." Xue Xiaoxiao raised the handheld terminal on her right arm.
Out of it came an information card, with Xue Xiaoxiao's present post in the Owl Dragon Legion written on it, and the monthly pay issued to her besides, and a payment function.
Gu Xiaoxiao remembered that this software had been installed in her own terminal earlier as well.
She tapped it open, and sure enough, there was a page of the same sort.
"Come and look, see what you'd like to eat! And every day the starship canteen puts out a special menu to move the stock. Today's, let me see… the C set has a vegetable salad, noodles in bean sauce, and a frog hotpot. All of them fine. Xiaoxiao, see what you'd like." Xue Xiaoxiao gulped, and was very near to drooling.
Gu Xiaoxiao, with some constraint about her, ordered a few dishes, and then followed Xue Xiaoxiao to a seat in a corner.
"Xiaoxiao, won't those dishes we ordered just now be far too many?" Gu Xiaoxiao asked in a small voice.
Setting the natural ingredients aside, the sheer number of dishes ordered went beyond the Star-Shark Guild's standard of provision.
"Don't worry. If it isn't enough I'll treat you. I'm the captain of a T4 interstellar battleship in the Owl Dragon Legion now, and my pay grade is very high indeed!" Xue Xiaoxiao thrust out her chest and said it with pride.
After that Xue Xiaoxiao told Gu Xiaoxiao a great many things about the Owl Dragon Legion; near enough one sentence in three was praise of it.
Before long, the food, cooked, was brought to the two of them.
What Gu Xiaoxiao had ordered was a bowl of wonton noodles, with a portion of spiced pickled cabbage and a portion of sliced meat.
Set against which, the quantity on Xue Xiaoxiao's side was a great deal larger — twice over what Gu Xiaoxiao had, at the very least!
"You… can finish all that?" Gu Xiaoxiao was startled by Xue Xiaoxiao's appetite.
"This is nothing at all. In the Owl Dragon Legion I have a dear friend called Annie; she's chief engineer of the starships. When we've leisure in the Owl Dragon System, she and I often gather to eat together; the two of us have clearance to board any T3 warship we please, and the great bulk of the T4s as well. And on the weekly holiday the two of us go and check off starship canteens we haven't been to before, and order there. The ingredients supplied are near enough the same, but each ship's canteen has a different head cook, so the skill of the hand differs too. Take this plain-boiled chicken I've ordered — the flavor's all right, but it isn't up to the No.3 canteen aboard Imperial No.077. And those wonton noodles you ordered — the No.1 canteen aboard Vermilion Bird No.16 does them best of all! …"
Gu Xiaoxiao watched Xue Xiaoxiao holding forth at length upon good food, and her jaw fairly dropped.
And once she had tasted the food she had ordered herself, she came to understand why Xue Xiaoxiao called the starship canteen the very most important place in the Owl Dragon Legion.
Because the flavor of it truly was too good.
"What did you order today?"
"I had the udon."
"Mine's the fried rice off the hot plate."
"I still like the fried-chicken set best."
"And say what you like, the food here really is good. I feel I've put on three catty in these few days alone."
"Only a pity our standard of provision isn't very high; we can't manage those grand dishes."
"Suppose we pool together tomorrow — that Buddha-jumps-the-wall looks very good to me!"
Gu Xiaoxiao noticed that the people at several tables next to them were discussing food; but their looks were somewhat particular — their skin was white, and there were points of light upon it as their feelings shifted.
These were… the Sacred Spirit people of the Holy Radiance Empire!
How should Sacred Spirit people be aboard an Owl Dragon Legion starship?
And just as Gu Xiaoxiao was wondering at it, a woman of tall and slender build, of surpassing beauty, and with a face like an ice mountain, came over carrying a tray.
At this woman's appearing, those Sacred Spirit people fell quiet one and all.
"Here — Saint Cana. Care to eat with us?" Xue Xiaoxiao waved a hand at that surpassingly lovely woman and called out.
The other gave Xue Xiaoxiao one glance, took no notice of her, and sat down with her own companions.
Saint Cana…
Gu Xiaoxiao rose sharply to her feet and looked at that surpassingly lovely woman, who was eating a dish that gave off a powerful stink.
"She is Saint Cana? Commander of the Sacred Angel Legion!"
"That's right, that's her. Our Commander-in-Chief saved her and her guard company back in Stellar City, and has kept them with us ever since. For all that she looks like an ice mountain, I'd never have thought her tastes would run so strong. She's fond of snail-rice noodles!" Xue Xiaoxiao said it while she ate.