“Fine. Not sure what that was about. I’ll try not to embarrass you any more.” She looked like she wanted to slap me, but she decided not to. Snappi asked, “Did the rest of my fleet make it?”
I said, “Last I heard, they were waiting outside the system, and waiting to hear from you.” He pulled out his comm, and called them. “Yes, this is Captain Dressi. … I was captured by Commodore Wilson’s forces before they realized I was friendly. … Oh, yes, they’ve been very friendly. The Commodore himself was here to greet me when I came back to my senses. … Too late to secure the ships, I’m afraid. They’ve been aboard the flagship while we were still asleep. If the Commodore’s people don’t know everything there is to know about them, they will when they finish going over the scans they took. … I’ll talk to you again when I know more, Sir.”
I asked, “Did we get you in trouble?”
“No more than I already was. It was my idea to try and sneak in, to get some ideas about how you fight your ships.”
“I’m afraid it wouldn’t do you much good. Most of the advantage I have, comes from letting the bots do what they are designed to do. No organic is going to be able to keep up with them.”
“You aren’t worried about telling me how you do it?”
“I’ve seen how Squirrels feel about bots. For your folks to do it our way, would take way too much change to be practical.”
Nikki said, “I can tell you don’t believe what he’s telling you, but it’s the truth. I’ve been through the records of the old-time Navy Captains. They were a lot like your Captains, thinking they could do it all without help. He does it a different way.”
Snappi looked at Nikki. “You mean to tell me that the only real advantage he has, is that he lets the bots think for themselves?”
“That, and a lifetime of watching the popular entertainment on his planet, where they have many portrayals of how space battles would be fought. One of his favorite maneuvers is from one of those entertainments.”
“I never had time when I was there with Uncle Natti to learn much about the culture. It sounds interesting.”
Nikki replied, “It’s different than anything in the Commonwealth, that’s for sure.” Before they got too deep, I said, “Do you want to go see your Uncle, see for yourself that he’s alright?”
“I better. My superiors would not look kindly on me just taking your word for his condition.”
“Nor should they. They don’t know me from the monkeys on video, who are always the butt of the joke.”
“You’ve seen our video, then?”
“Afraid I have. Sometime I’ll have to show you some squirrel videos on YouTube.”
“You know about our people?”
“Nope, but you have a small, semi-intelligent cousin who can be rather amusing, given the right circumstances.”
“This cousin of ours, what do they do?”
“Collect nuts, and hide them for the winter. Most of the amusing stuff comes from them trying to get into bird feeders, and the owners attempts to keep them out.”
“Bird feeders?”
“My planet has several species of pretty birds. Some people like to put out food for them, so that they can sit and watch them while they eat. The squirrels eat the food, and the birds quit coming around for the people to look at.”
Snappi asked, “So, the people devise ways to feed the birds, without feeding the squirrels?”
“They try. Your cousins are bright enough that none of their solutions work for very long. Some people even make a game out of it, building obstacle courses to see how long it takes them to get to the food.”
“The animals keep trying, even when they could get food easier some other way?”
“They are stubborn. Much like your people.”
“I wish I could dispute that.”
“My folks are going to be stretched thin, holding all those ships the mutineers brought. Do you suppose your fleet could start taking them back into Squirrel possession?”
“I’m sure they want the ships back, but I doubt they want to come into the system to get them. If you took out this many ships, what’s to keep you from taking down the whole task force?”
“Let’s see. For starters, I don’t have anywhere to keep that many prisoners, or personnel to guard them. I already have more ships than I have a good use for, why would I want more? Besides, your ships are built too small for humans to be comfortable in.”
“But it would open up the Oak Empire. You could conquer us easily, after you took this fleet.”
“What would I do with your Empire if I had it? Squirrels are never going to be happy, being ruled by a monkey, no matter how kind and just he is. More trouble than it would be worth, as far as I’m concerned.”
“You almost make me believe that. But my superiors won’t, regardless of what I tell them. They will just think you have somehow influenced me to do your bidding.”
“What do you suggest? Should I deliver them to your fleet one at a time?”
“That would probably make the brass as happy as they are likely to get.”
“You realize there are a great number of prisoners, which will mean I will have to send Marines to guard them, and a freighter
