Celta Thursday, Heart Thief

Celta Thursday, Heart Thief. If you're a fan and on Facebook (or here, for that matter), let me know when it's your birthday and I will post an excerpt or cut scene, if I have one, from your favorite work.

Here's a cut scene from Heart Thief. Some of this is in the book near the beginning and end, but this is the original scene of Ruis and FamCat Samba entering Nuada's Sword starship.
***
"Welcome aboard, Captain."
Captain? Ruis stood, stunned, as a square silver door rose upward with a quiet whoosh. He'd had no notion he could be named Captain, the highest rank, still, in all of Celta. The highest rank ever held by any ancestor. Captain.
Let's go. Samba wriggled in his arms.
He'd only wanted to be of a Command Officer rank so he could access as much of the ship as needed. He'd thought he'd be a Lieutenant, maybe. Captain.
Go!
He drew in a deep breath and crossed the threshold.
And was sucked, Fam and all, by a powerful force up a slanting round tube.
Samba screamed. Her shriek rose in volume and intensity until it went beyond Ruis' hearing, but still battered his ear drums.
Lights flickered before his head, darkened beneath his feet. He curved inward on himself, both to protect Samba and because the tube was narrower than the stretch of his shoulders.
They swept around curves, slid through twists, always upward.
His heart pounded so hard he thought it might jump from his chest.
Splat!
It wasn't really a splat. More like a whoosh-shump. But it felt like a spat.
The landing on a springy pad knocked the breath from him.
Samba jumped from his arms and swore, running up and down a featureless corridor.
She looked twice her size with all her hair sticking out. Her tail was especially impressive.
"Uhn," Ruis said, feeling incredibly stupid.
Samba glared at him, then stared at the gold marking on the gleaming wooden door in front of him, turned her back, and started grooming.
He got the idea she wasn't pleased. No, she didn't even need to talk, let alone communicate telepathically.
He squinted at the golden insignia. "Too dim," he murmured.
The light brightened.
Ruis shivered. He'd just been reminded in the most basic way that the Colonists had come from a yellow-sunned, slightly dimmer world.
He stood and dusted his trous off. The quiet was incredible. No night noise. No wind. No insects. No animals.
No people.
He squared his shoulders. This is what he wanted.
The door was wider than the few others marking the corridor, and of dark red wood. Though it looked polished and beautiful, indications of deep gouges still showed.
The symbol indicated the sign for Captain and Nuada's Sword -- the Captain's Quarters.