The Inheritors - A. Bertram Chandler [55]
"Yeah. I grant you that. But I think the words of the ruling you mentioned are, 'a fertile, natural union.' Old Doc Morrow was a genetic engineer. I've heard it said that those boys could crossbreed an ant and an elephant . . . . I'm sorry. I' m really sorry for you all. You've tried hard, but by the time the Federation reaches a decision I'll have made my pile."
"I," said Danzellan, "can supply more proof for Commander Lazenby's arguments."
"You, Captain? You're no biologist, you're just a shipmaster like myself."
"Even so . . . ." The master of Schnauzer was obviously finding something highly amusing. "Even so . . . . You know, it's just over two hundred and twenty days that I first landed on Morrowvia—and that's about two hundred and seventy days Standard . . . ."
"I can do sums in my head as well as you can."
"I am sure you can, Captain Kane. And are you married? Have you a family?"
"No—to both questions."
"It doesn't matter. Well, on the occasion of my first visit, my second officer, Mr. Delamere, got Tabitha, the daughter of the Queen of Melbourne, into trouble, as the saying goes. The young idiot should have taken his contraceptive shots before he started playing around, of course. He's really smitten with her, and managed to get himself appointed to Schnauzer, rather against my wishes. Now he wants to make an honest woman of the girl—once again, as the saying goes—but Lilian, Tabitha's mother, will not allow him to marry her unless he complies with local law. This means that he will have to change his name to Morrow, which he does not want to do. He will, of course. The Dog Star Line wants a resident agent on this planet. And even though the queenships are not hereditary in theory they usually are in practice."
"What are you driveling about?" asked Kane crudely.
Danzellan flushed. He said stiffly, "Tabitha has presented young Delamere with a son."
"And how many local boyfriends has she had?" demanded Kane.
"She says that she has none. Furthermore, I have seen the baby. All the Morrowvians have short noses—except this one, who has a long nose, like his father. The resemblance is remarkable . . . ."
Kane refused to concede defeat.
"Paternity tests . . ." he mumbled.
"I can soon arrange those, Captain," Grimes told him. "Don't forget that I have my own biologists, as well as other scientists." He turned to Danzellan. "Did Mr. Delamere come with you, Captain? Call him up, and we'll wet the baby's head!"
"You can break a bottle of champagne over it!" growled Kane, pushing his way out of the day cabin, brushing past Maya who was just coming in, and complaining, "I'm still hungry, John. They say that all the ice cream is finished . . . ."
"Go on," said Maggie. "Do the decent thing. Buy the girl a popsicle to show her how much you love her."
"I'll have some more ice cream made, Maya," promised Grimes, looking at her with combined pity and irritation, noticing that Danzellan was regarding her with condescending amusement.
The Morrowvians, thanks to the long-dead Morrow's skill—he had even imposed the right gestation period on his people—were safe from Drongo Kane and his like, but had no defenses against Big Business as represented by the Dog Star Line.
Or had they?
Grimes suspected that they, with their innate feline charm combined with selfishness, would not do at all badly in the years to come.
THE END
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The Inheritors
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