“Sixth, seventh, and eighth, Boss. We’re going to have a lot of prisoners. Do you mind if I send a shipload down to the planet?”
“Go right ahead. Do we have enough bays to hold their ships?”
“Scotti says she has plenty of room.”
“Good deal. Does she have any ideas for shielding against stunners?”
“She said she would get right on that, as soon as her help woke up. You should probably head down to medbay, Boss.”
“Why, am I hurt?”
“No, but they report Mrs. Wilson just went into an autodoc, for injuries from a fall.”
“On my way.” At least I tried to be. My first few steps weren’t the best, but by the time I made it to the transit, I had steadied. The exercise seemed to clear my head, and by the time I got to medbay, I was doing alright. Dixie was waiting by the door. She said, “She’s fine, Boss. Just fell and hit her head. She’ll be out of the box by evening. She may have a little trouble with her memory for a day or two, but she’ll be fine.”
“The kids?”
“They are doing fine, Boss. Relax.”
“Mind if I have a look, while I’m here?”
“No problem. Just don’t pull any pranks on Mr. Branham. He is yet to wake up.”
“Is he alright?”
“He’s fine. Just a little more sensitive to the stunner.”
I went in, and just to keep Dixie happy, I resisted the urge to mess with John. Nikki looked like she was doing fine, of course, I wasn’t really qualified to tell the difference. John was stirring by the time I came back out. He said, “Are you okay, Bob?”
“I’m fine. Nikki took a nasty fall, apparently.”
“What happened, anyhow?”
“Three more Squirrel ships snuck in while we were playing with the other five. They were ready when we jumped in, and hit us with a stunner.”
“How did you catch them if you were out?”
“I didn’t. Sally did. By the time I woke up, it was all over but the shouting.”
“Anybody but Nikki get hurt?”
“Not that I’ve heard about.” Then it hit me that Dingus was in with a prisoner when we were hit. I took off for the transit. John, not knowing what I had thought about, tagged along. Once the transit was moving, he asked, “Where are we going?”
“Brig. Dingus was doing a prisoner interview. If the prisoner woke up first, he might have gotten the drop on Dingus.”
John said, “That doesn’t sound very likely, Bob. Squirrels are more susceptible to stunners than we are, and somebody getting the drop on Dingus doesn’t sound likely in the first place.”
“I know that, John. Are you volunteering to explain to Nikki how her Grandpa got hurt, because we thought he could handle it?”
“When you put it that way, I can see your point, Bob.”
As it happened, we got there just in time. The Squirrel was trying to wiggle the chain on his restraints, so that he could get it around Dingus’ neck. I walked in and picked him up by the scruff of the neck. I said, “What makes you think you are fit to lay hands on a member of my crew?”
He replied, “I’m the Captain that’s going to capture you, monkey!”
“You mean that pitiful little ambush? My second-in-command took care of that, while I was having a nap.”
“I have more forces, waiting to pounce.”
Steve’s methods were working fine, and it was clear he was down to bluffing. I threw him toward the wall, but his chain stopped him short. I said, “You lying son-of-a-monkey, I can see on your face I’ve already captured all your ships.”
“I have more in reserve. You won’t live to see nightfall.” Another lie. “Everyone knows we are smarter than you monkeys, and I am one of the smartest among us.” I obviously needed to rattle him some more. I said, “That’s not what your Mother said, the other night.” He flew into a rage at that. I grabbed him between his ears, and held him far enough away that he couldn’t land a blow. Dingus woke up, and asked, “How did you get here, Bob? I thought I was supposed to talk to this one.”
“His second team decided to play with stunners. I walked in on him trying to get his chains around your neck.”
“Thanks for the assist, then. How did you get him so wound up?”
“He was telling me that he was one of the smartest Squirrels around. I simply told him that wasn’t what his Mother told me the other evening. He seemed to take offense at that. It’s not like I said she was bad at her job, or she didn’t give good value for what she charged. I don’t know what has him so upset.”
Dingus tried. I could see the effort on his face. He didn’t succeed. He busted out laughing. That just wound the Squirrel up even more. I’m a bad man, I know it. I slowly moved back until we were near the end of his chain. Then I suddenly let go, and stepped back. The pratfall would have been right at home in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
I said, “Forget about catch and release, we have to keep this one around for the comedy value.” The Squirrel was on the floor, cussing a blue streak. Dingus finally pulled himself together. He said, “For some reason, he seems to object to your characterization of his Mother as a service worker.”
I replied, “I wonder why? Do you suppose she gives it away?”
Our subject got even more wound up at that point. He got an odd look on his face, and Lakki came through the door. She said, “You’re doing well, Captain, but I think you need to give him a rest. He looks like he might stroke out if you
