Ruth said, “Do you really want to start squirting water with all this equipment around?”
“I suppose not. Just have to put it on my to-do list for when we get to the planet.”
Nunya came up. “Good, I caught you before you left. I’ve got that rifle you wanted, and Ozzie was able to rig you up a charger for it.”
“Should have known to ask him. Has to do with power, after all. Are you coming to the planet?”
“Thanks anyway, Boss. I don’t like planets. Spend all my time trying to find the patch kit.”
“Different strokes for different folks. What projects do you have going while we’re gone?”
“That M4 for Mr. Branham is giving me a little trouble. The Squirrels don’t have anything that goes full auto, so I’m having to make it up as I go.”
“I only have three words for you. John Moses Browning. If he didn’t work on it, most likely it’s not worth the trouble.”
“I don’t have any gas to tap into, Boss.”
“Then go to the older stuff. You sure have recoil to use.”
“Then I have all the accelerator coils reciprocating. That doesn’t sound like a way to get a reliable weapon.”
Topper asked, “You can’t pot them in epoxy, to keep them from deforming?”
Nunya lit up. “That might work! Thanks, Topper!”
“No problem.” She wandered off, mumbling to herself. I said, “Good work, Topper. I think you got her out of her rut.”
He said, “I hope so. She does good work when she believes in herself.”
Nikki said, “If you two are done saving the world, go get aboard the Evans. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Ruth asked, “Do you want me to go ahead and run the checklist, Ma’am?”
Nikki replied, “That would be great, Ruth. Just don’t leave without me.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
We went aboard. Topper and I found places to get out of the way, and Ruth went forward to get the ship ready to fly. Topper said, “I hope Sally is okay without us, Boss. She has the skills, but she sure doesn’t have much confidence.”
“Tell me about it. She handled it so well when I got stunned. Made me want to just give her the ship and retire to the planet.”
“She said she only knew what to do because she had seen you handle the same kind of thing.”
“I have trouble believing that. Did you know she had captain’s training before she got mothballed?”
“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed that. Why didn’t she tell us?”
“The whole thing was against regs. The fellow who trained her got court-martialed over the deal, and she never got officially certified.”
“You should do something about that, Boss.”
“Already did. Since I’m the head of Bob’s Saucer Repair, I was able to go ahead and recognize her old Captain’s certification.”
“So, are we going dirtside to stay?”
“Not yet. We’ll see how things work out once the kids are born.”
Nikki came aboard just in time to hear that. She said, “Caveman, you’re not going to ground me just because of a couple of kids. We’ll figure it out.” She headed on up to the cockpit.
Topper said, “There’s the answer to my question, I suppose.”
“Sounded that way, didn’t it?” The ramp came up, and we got underway. Wasn’t long before it opened again, showing us Shaved Ape Key. A bunch of bots I didn’t recognize came up. Their leader said, “Hi, Boss. Need some help getting unloaded?”
“Sounds like a plan. I don’t think I’ve met you before, have I?”
“No, Boss, I haven’t had the pleasure. I’m CHK-14.”
“Mind if I call you Chuck? Us organics are terrible at remembering numbers.”
“Did you here that, fellows? The Boss is here and handing out nicknames.”
A cheer went up. I said, “I didn’t realize it was that important to you, or I would have been here sooner.”
As soon as we got Chuck’s people set up with nicknames, they got down to unloading. Nikki came out of the cockpit, and said, “I thought you guys would have had us unloaded by now.”
I replied, “We had a little break for employee relations. These fellas hadn’t gotten their nicknames yet.”
“Making friends wherever you go, huh, Caveman?”
“Doing my best, yes Ma’am.” Then something happened I wasn’t expecting. Nikki turned around and started shaking her behind at me. She said, “To quote Dee, ‘Are you gonna Ma’am this butt?’”
Realizing I had been beat, I got out my billfold and put a single in her back pocket. She said, “Is that it? You’re not going to pay extra for a lap dance?”
“Not until these boys get the house set up, anyway.”
“Afraid of an audience?”
“Afraid half these boys have girlfriends in the Navy yard they are going to want me to go after, more like.”
“You really are afraid of that place, aren’t you?”
“I’m afraid of the temptation to set myself up as Emperor Bob the First.”
“You think you would do that?”
“I hope I wouldn’t, but if all those ships are just sitting there, ready to fly? Telling people what to do would be a lot easier than asking.”
“I know you pretty well, Caveman. I think there is more to it than that.”
“If I have ships, I need Captains. You’re on the short list. I don’t want us to be on different ships.”
“You would have to take a bump to Commodore at that point, maybe Admiral. I could always be your Flag Captain.”
“I get the feeling you’re trying to talk me into going to the yard. Why is that?”
“The Gene is going to prove to people that the yard exists. They are going to start looking for it. I’d rather we found it first, instead of having to fight them after they have ships like the Gene.”
“Okay,
