“I’ll get somebody right out, Willum.”
“Thanks, Boss. Later.”
“Later, Willum.” I called Topper. “Yes, Boss?”
“Could you run a couple of freighters out to where Taz and Willum are? They’ve found some more bots and don’t have room to bring them in.”
“On it, Boss.” The comm went dead. I put it away and got up. I grabbed a transit to the bridge, and thought about how much more fun it would be if Snitz were here to ride with. I had a thought and asked Gene, “We found all the bots who were supposed to be brig guards. Are there any other bots wandering around lost?”
“I find six, Boss.”
“Would you be so kind as to ask them where they are supposed to be, and help them get there?”
“On it, Boss.”
“Gene, in the future, I would appreciate it if you would take care of situations like this on your own accord, without having to be asked.”
“Of course, Boss.”
The doors opened, and I walked across to the bridge. Saucy sang out, “Commodore on the bridge!”
I replied, “As you were. Anything special happening in our little corner of the universe, today?”
Topper said, “Repairs are proceeding as planned. No further indications of Squirrel activity.”
“Have we found that friend of yours we were talking about the other day?”
“Not so far, but the new batch hasn’t been ID’ed yet, either.”
“That’s a shame. Maybe Dingus can find him out in the galaxy, somewhere.”
“I don’t think so, Boss. If he was still active, I could find a trace of him in the Commonwealth records. He must be adrift somewhere. If not here, somewhere else.”
“Feel free to use your spare time to do what you can to trace him. If you can figure out where he most likely is, we’ll go see what we can find.”
“Thanks, Boss.”
Saucy said, “Boss, you have a call. GFC-2813 is calling.”
“Put him on, please.”
“Commodore? I was instructed to call you. I was told you could explain what was going on.”
I did my whole spiel, and he was happy with being called Buzz Aldrin. He already knew John was to be his Captain, so that part was no problem, either. He did want to be called Ed, rather than Buzz, but all told, that wasn’t a biggie. When I had finished, and the circuit was closed, Saucy said, “Nicely done, Boss. A bot might even think you had some practice.”
“Just a bit.”
Sue spoke up. “Boss, I have a sensor anomaly, one of the type that has proved to be a stealthed Squirrel in the past.”
“Topper, are we fit to jump?”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Saucy, can you give them a show?”
“A light show, you mean, Boss? Sure thing.”
“Sue, feed your data to Ruth, please. Tex, we’ll need stunner and drive killer at max power as quick as you can when we come out.”
I got a couple of “Yes, Boss.”, and then I said, “Ruth, it’s time to wake them up.” I looked away from the screen, not knowing if Saucy would know to dim it when we came out of FTL. It was unneeded, he turned the brightness down. Topper said, “Marines away, Boss.”
I asked, “Do we have anything available that can scan that thing for self-destructs?”
“We have Black Beauty’s sister ship, but we really don’t have anyone available to crew it. Shorty is busy helping Julie.”
Sue said, “Alan’s sensors would be good enough.”
I asked, “Could he get close enough for good readings without putting himself at risk?”
“Yes, Boss. He has better range than Black Beauty.”
“Saucy, connect me with Sally, please.”
Sally said, “Yes, Boss?”
“Could you please come out and have a look at this ship before I bring it aboard? Your sensors are better than mine, and I don’t trust these fellas.”
“Be right out, Boss.” Alan came out of FTL, closer than I would have thought possible. Sally came back on the comm. “They have a nice one, but they didn’t get a chance to set it, when you hit them so suddenly.”
“Can you retrieve it, and put it out where we put the others, please?”
“My pleasure. My crew could use the exercise.” A freighter launched from the Alan and docked to the Squirrel ship. A few minutes passed, and it undocked and headed for the outer system. Sally asked, “Anything else you need, Boss?”
“Nope. Thanks for the assist.”
“You’re welcome, Boss. Later.” As soon as she said ‘Later’, her ship vanished. I mumbled, “Showoff.” Topper asked, “What was that, Boss?”
“Nothing, Topper. Don’t worry about it. Just be aware that Ruth has competition in the precision maneuvering department and look for opportunities for her to show her skill.”
Ruth and Topper said together, “Yes, Boss.” Then Topper asked, “Any reason to put off bringing that ship aboard, Boss?”
“I can’t think of any.” I saw Ace’s recovery rig launch, on the screen. Soon, he was bringing the Squirrel ship aboard. I asked Saucy, “Is Sally back where I can talk to her?”
“Yes, Boss.”
Sally answered, “Yes, Boss?”
“Nicely done. I owe you one. Would you mind having Sensors take a look around the system with that high-powered array of yours?”
“Sure, Boss.” There was a pause, and she said, “Found one, Boss. Sending the targeting info to Ruth.”
“Thanks. Keep him looking, if it’s not too much trouble.”
“You bet. He’s glad to have something to do.”
I asked Topper, “Does Ace have his load secured?”
“He does. He reports ready to jump.”
“Ruth, dear, I think it is these folks’ wake-up time.” We jumped in, and immediately jumped back out. The screen showed a view of something exploding. I asked, “Could someone explain what just happened? You folks saved our tender butts, that much is obvious. I would like to know how it was done, though.”
