“Had to bait Abe’s trap, so he could catch all these Squirrels. If they hadn’t come here of their own accord, we would have been all day cleaning them out of the ship.” That gave me a thought. I asked, “Gene, are there any Squirrels not in custody aboard ship, other than the Ambassador and the crews from those two spy ships we caught?”
“No, Boss, but one of the people from the spy ships is doing something that doesn’t look like it is in the best interest of the ship.”
“Please direct whatever Marines are available to apprehend him, would you?”
“Angus is already taking him into custody, Boss. I notified him earlier.”
“Good work, Gene. The rest of the crews are behaving themselves?”
“Captain Dressi the younger is pretty upset about being detained in the ready room, but other than that, no problems.”
“Thanks, Gene.” While I was talking, Dixie ran some kind of patching machine over my uniform. She said, “That will hold pressure till you get a chance to change, Boss.” I pointed to Charlie, and said, “Don’t forget my good help over here.”
She went over and looked at Charlie’s wound, and patched his uniform. Then she said, “Both of you need to run by medbay, to get those wounds taken care of, so you don’t have to wait for them to heal naturally.”
Charlie and I managed, “Yes, Ma’am.” in unison. Dixie said, “Cute, but make sure you get to medbay.” She took off to start working on prisoners. I said, “We might as well get that over with, don’t you think?”
Charlie replied, “I sure don’t want to wait till I get back to the planet. Grandpa worries about me. Seeing a wound like this would set him right off.”
“We don’t want to upset him. Better have it all over with, before you go back.”
“You mean make it like an old Italian car?”
“Say what?”
“An accomplished Fiat.” I failed to move air for a little bit. “How long have you been saving that one?”
“A while, I guess. It’s one of Grandpa’s.” We went and got squared away. Charlie actually had to go in the ‘doc for a few minutes, but they were able to run some gadget over my leg and put it right. I waited for Charlie to get out, and then I asked, “You headed back?”
“I was meanin’ to stroll through Engineering and say hi to some folks, if you don’t mind, Uncle.”
“I don’t know of any reason we’d be moving the ship, so I’d say it’s fine.”
“Good. Janet gets lonesome, and Milly feels left out if I don’t say hi to her, too.”
“How do you mean, Janet gets lonesome?”
“Gee, Uncle, she left all her people behind, to come out to the stars, what do you think I mean?”
“Guess I hadn’t thought about that, to tell you the truth. Seems like I mostly fix what’s in front of me, and don’t have time to think about other things.”
“I can see how that would be. You’ve got a thing or two going on, most of the time.”
“I do, but that ain’t no excuse for not paying attention. I thought Janet was doing better, now that she has Alice.”
“She is, a lot better, but she could still use some folks, you know?”
“You mean, like parents?”
“Yessir. I can see how you might think she’s all grown-up, and can take care of herself, but she still isn’t quite ready to be on her own. I guess I understand better, ‘cause I thought I was going to be in that boat when Grandpa died.”
“You’re saying she needs herself some parents?”
“I am. She gets all misty, when she talks about you and Mrs. Wilson taking her in, when she was having trouble sleeping.”
“Hang on a second. You’re trying to get me to talk Nikki into adopting her, ain’t you?”
“Busted, I am.”
“You’re about the right height, and after you tried to scam me, I surely would enjoy painting you green and stretching your ears, there, Yoda.”
“Catch me, you won’t.”
“You’re probably right about that.”
“You could do a lot worse, you know. She’s smart, and for the most part, she’s a good kid.”
“For the most part?”
“She like to broke my arm once, when I patted her on the shoulder. Thought I was trying to put the moves on her.”
“I can see how that would make an impression. Listen, I can’t promise you a thing, so don’t get your hopes up, or go running your mouth. I’ll see what Nikki has to say, that’s all I can do.”
“Thanks, Uncle. Can you do me one more favor?”
“Don’t tell your Grandpa I got you in a firefight?”
“Right on the first guess.”
“Do you really think I want the talking to that I’m going to get when he finds out?”
“I see your point. It’s in your best interest to keep quiet about it, ain’t it?”
“Surely is. If he asks me straight out, I ain’t gonna lie for you, though.”
“Fair enough. I better get going. You guys coming down for supper any time soon?”
“Lordy, I hope. These Squirrels are driving me up the wall.”
“Good luck with that.” He headed for Engineering. I grabbed a transit, and headed for the ready room. I knew that I was in for a chewing, but I hoped I could smooth things over. When I got there, I said, “Let them out, Gene.”
“Mrs. Wilson had Captain Sloan get me to do that as soon as the ship was clear of boarders, Boss. They are down in the galley, having some lunch.” I looked over at the door to the bridge, where I could see
