“Sure, Boss. You need somebody to cuddle with?”
“Nope, but thanks for the offer. I was wondering if I could borrow your comm.”
“Sure. Need to call somebody without getting traced?”
“Rhonda told you about that, huh?”
“She did. Here you go.” I called Nikki and got caught up. Mike and Tina had come and gone, with no evidence of Squirrels. I told her we were hoping to leave in the morning, which would put us back there late tomorrow night. After returning Janet’s comm, I started back toward my cabin. Dee and Dingus were coming toward me. Dingus said, “I wanted to talk to you, before we left the ship to get ready for tomorrow.”
“Yeah, we should. That reminds me of something. Come with me, let’s go see if Scotti ever finished that secure comm she was working on. If she did, all the Captains need one before we head out.” We started toward Engineering. Dingus said, “Are you going to jump the whole fleet into the Charlie’s Planet system unannounced?”
“I hadn’t thought about it, but that does sound like a dumb idea, doesn’t it? What were you thinking?”
“Rendezvous maybe a light-year or so out, and go from there.”
“That would work. We can use that beacon tech to come out together, right?”
“The way I understand it, one of us will have to go ahead of everybody else, to send the beacon.”
“So, we need to send someone out ahead of everyone else?”
“I checked, and Scotti is only getting the other ships flyable, not bringing them up to the standards of the Gene, till she has more time to work on them. So, you’ll get there before us, without even trying.”
“One less thing to worry about, then. What I had in mind after we get to Charlie’s, was to send all the ships that need work to a system Phonelia has found, until their repairs are finished. I was hoping you would take charge of that for me.”
“Sure, I can do that. Any idea how long it might take?”
“You know Scotti. Faster than you would think possible, I’m sure, but I don’t have any hard numbers for you.”
“So, I’m taking the rest of the fleet off to hide, while you go see your pretty wife?”
“Most of the fleet, anyway. Steve is taking a detachment on a mission, three destroyers, the Puller, and a few freighters.”
“We had that many ships mission-ready?”
“Scotti is giving them priority.”
“Hmm, let’s see. The Puller, so you’re planning a Marine assault, freighters, so there must be something to haul, and the destroyers for security. You found a place to put those folks on the mean planet, didn’t you?”
“Chesty and the Marines knew of a place.”
“Things just happen around here, don’t they?”
“Seem to.” We got to Engineering and found Zoom. She said, “Oh, good. I thought I would have to chase you guys down. Could I see your comm, Commodore?” There was a joke there somewhere, but I couldn’t dig it out, so I just handed her my comm. She stuck it in a small machine for a few seconds, pulled it out, and said, “There you go. It won’t send out its location anymore, and if the person on the other end has the scrambler software installed, no one at the office will be able to tell what you say.”
I asked, “Do you have another one of those that I can take down to Charlie’s Planet? The folks down there need to be scrambled, as well.”
“It’s already aboard Ozzie’s Toy, Boss. I also sent a bot to Earth, so our people there could get the upgrade.”
“Good idea. Will he meet us at Charlie’s?”
“I sent him in one of the saucers that we fixed up to sell. He can catch a ride on the next supply run.” She took care of Dee and Dingus’ comms, and we got out of her way. My comm rang. By some miracle, I had the presence of mind to look at the caller ID. “Bob Wilson. What can I do for you, Major Rottum?”
“You can call me Bill, for starters. You remember that sensor ghost you chased down for Sergeant Darning?”
“I do, Bill. I’m not in Earth system, you might do better to call Max.”
“Well, this one is out of our normal patrol area. It was reported by a commercial ship, and we don’t have anything close enough to go after it. I was hoping you might have someone in the area who would be able to help.”
“Send me what you have, and I’ll get someone on it. Depending on exactly where it is, it may take us a bit to get there.”
“Say, Bob, did you know that your comm isn’t sending out location data?”
“It’s not? I’ll have to have that looked at.”
“That isn’t supposed to be possible, Bob.”
“I’ll pass along your compliment to Scotti.”
“I don’t want to know where you are, or what you’re doing, do I?”
“I’m guessing you would sleep better if you didn’t, Bill.”
“Thanks, I think. Let me know what you find out about that sensor reading.”
“Soon as I know something, I’ll call. Talk to you later.”
“Bye, Bob.” The nav data came through. I asked, “Gene, could you display this for me, so I can see where the problem is?”
“Sure, Boss.” He put up a hologram that showed our position, Charlie’s Planet, and the unknown signal. The unknown was closer to where we were than I would have liked. Dingus asked, “What’s that, Bob?”
“That’s the question. Bill heard something, but he doesn’t know what, thinks it is a ship in trouble. Wants us to check into it, since it’s out of his jurisdiction.”
“Who are you going to send?”
“Well, Commodore, I think I’ll take this one myself.”
“You mean to leave me in charge of
