“Are you sure? Feel free to use my ready room, if you need it. I’m sure Gene could find you some quarters, if that would be more to your liking. If you need privacy, just ask Gene to seal whatever space you’re in.”
“Thank you. I’ll get in touch when I know more.”
“Good luck.” I turned to Nikki. “I need your help with this one, Space Cadet.”
“Okay, Caveman. You look serious, should I be scared?”
“I don’t think so, but we’ll see.” I led her to a room we had used for secure conferences before. Once we were inside, I said, “Gene, tile the lodge, and please leave us alone.”
“The lodge is tiled, Boss. Bye.”
Nikki looked at me, and asked, “What is it, Bob? You’re scaring me a little.”
“Apparently we gave someone hope, when we didn’t mean to. Janet is out here among the stars, with no family. Charlie says she needs some folks, and she speaks fondly of the time she spent in our cabin. He thinks we should adopt her. I told him I would talk to you about it, but I wouldn’t promise him anything. How bad did I screw up?”
The seriousness on her face melted, and she hugged me. She said, “We can’t be doing that all in one bed stuff all the time, though. We need to get her a bed of her own.”
“So, you’re okay with it?”
“I almost brought it up, when she was staying with us, but you didn’t seem like you were thinking that way, so I held my tongue.”
“The thought never crossed my mind, to be truthful. I just thought she needed a little help to get over a rough patch. I figured she was wanting to get back on her own two feet.”
“You hillbillies and your independence. Everybody needs someone to lean on, even you, Caveman.”
“So, you’re telling me that I was the only moron that didn’t think this was a good idea?”
“I’m sure I never used the word moron. Out loud, at least.” After the tickle fight, I popped the door, and asked, “Gene, could you page Janet to this room, please?”
“On it, Boss.” She must have been close, because she was there in nothing flat. “Yes, Boss?”
“Come inside, please.” After we closed the door, I asked, “Gene, resume privacy, please.”
“Bye, Boss.”
Janet asked, “What did I do wrong, Boss? Are you putting me ashore?”
I replied, “Nope.” I let that hang for a few seconds, till Nikki said, “Tell her, you big meany!”
I said, “It has been brought to my attention that you are out here in the black, without any family to depend on. It was even suggested that perhaps Mrs. Wilson and I should adopt you, since you did so well while you were staying with us. Is that something you would be interested in?”
Again with the surprise hug. When she settled down enough to talk, she said, “Of course, silly. You are going to get me my own bed, so I’m not in the way all the time, aren’t you?”
“I’ll get Jeeves right on that.”
Nikki asked, “So, how do we go about this?”
I replied, “I dunno. I’m the Boss of this outfit, right?”
“Yep.” in stereo.
“Master of a Stateless Vessel, right?”
“That too.” more stereo.
“Hang on one.” I went and opened the door. “Gene, give me public address to the fleet, if you would.”
“You’re on with the fleet, Boss.”
“This is Commodore Wilson. Let it be known that from this time forward, Janet, of the Engineering department on the Gene Cernan, is the adopted daughter of me and Mrs. Wilson. Anyone who has a problem with that, is welcome to meet me in the gym for a vigorous discussion. Commodore Wilson out.”
I turned to my two ladies. “That work?” Double hug, this time. Janet said, “Thanks. You two don’t know how much this means to me.”
Nikki said, “Sorry we didn’t figure out what you were needing sooner. I’ve been preoccupied with Becky and Gus, and, well, he’s male, you would have had to hit him with a brick to get his attention.”
“How did you figure it out?”
I looked at Nikki. She said, “That’s your decision, Caveman.”
I said, “I’m not sure I should tell you how I found out. I’ll check into it, and let you know.”
Janet looked at me, and said, “I may not have had that fancy cold-reading course, but I know enough to smell BS. Charlie said something, didn’t he?”
I replied, “One thing you need to learn, if you’re going to be a member of this family. We don’t rat out our friends.”
She looked at me, and tilted her head. She said, “You’re saying it was him, but you can’t tell me that, because he didn’t say you could.”
I replied, “I’m middling sure you could play back a recording of that conversation, and never find a place I admitted to that, Daughter.” Another hug. “You called me daughter!”
“What, exactly, am I supposed to call you, after I just told the whole fleet I was adopting you?”
“Well, I suppose so, but it still felt good.”
Nikki asked, “Should we call Jeeves?”
“I would think he is already working the problem, but we can check, if you like.”
I opened the door, and said, “Gene, could you please connect me to Jeeves?”
“On it, Boss”
Jeeves’ voice came over the speaker. “Boss, the soonest I could get a crew from Engineering to open a door to another sleeping room is later on today. Young Miss Wilson will have to go to her quarters to tell the bots what is hers, and what is not. They say the two girls’ belongings
