“Right on the first guess.”
“Why on Earth would you do that?”
“Because the Rescue and Repair parts of this job are the fun stuff, and lately, I’ve been getting stuck with all the administrative crap.”
Dee asked, “Who are you leaving in charge of the Gene?”
“Topper can handle it. He only has to fly from here to Charlie’s, how bad can it be?”
Dee replied, “I know you know better than to say that out loud, so I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear it.”
Dingus asked, “Are you sure about this, Bob?”
“Nope. But it seems like the way to go. I have all the rescue and recovery training, and all I’m doing here is waiting for Squirrels that don’t seem to be coming.”
Dingus asked, “Speaking of Squirrels, what do you want done with the prisoners we have?”
“Once the ships are in good shape, haul them and their ships back to Oak, and dump them off like before. Your choice if you want to broadcast the movie we made the other day.”
“Do I want to know?”
“Jane can tell you all about it, and whether the fellow in question was useful enough to get out of having it broadcast. Why don’t you think I’m coming back from this one?”
“I didn’t say that. I just wanted to know what to do, if your trip took longer than you thought.”
“At least, you don’t have to wear contacts.”
Dee said, “That’s right, Bob. Chuck Berry was singing about my ‘brown-eyed-handsome-man’.”
I replied, “It’s good to see someone satisfied with their choices in life.”
Dingus said, “Enough of that. Who are you taking with you?”
“You may need Taz, to help Willum, so I better take Shorty. He probably won’t be done taking care of Julie, so I might as well take her along. Maybe Dixie can give her some medbot training, so she has a job to do. I’m guessing that unless Ace has already jumped ship for the Puller, he’ll want to be my pilot. I’ll need a couple of bots to help fix this junkheap, once we get it aboard, Jackie and Bone seem to be friendly with one another, and I’d like to see how well Bone fits into a team. Definitely need a couple of Marines, I’m thinking Abe and Niner-Deuce, since they can fit into tighter spaces. Did I miss anything, Teach?”
“You don’t have to be that way about it, Bob. I just wanted to be sure you had thought it through, and weren’t just running off because it sounded like fun.”
“No, I think I ought to go, because whoever goes is likely to wind up dealing with the Patrol, and I wouldn’t want to put that duty on anyone.”
“I hate it when you make so much sense, Bob. Makes me think you might not need me around anymore, and I’d hate to miss out on all the fun.”
“Stop talking silly, Dingus. I’ll always need a good hand like you.”
“I’ll get with Topper, and see if he needs anything, before I head over to the Armstrong.”
“Good deal. I’ll speak with him, before I ship out.” Dingus and Dee headed out, to get ready for tomorrow. I asked, “Gene, did you get all those personnel assignments as I was rattling them off?”
“I did, Boss. Dixie is helping Julie get ready for her job, and the rest of your crew is aboard the ship Scotti recommended that you take.”
“Good work. Connect me to Topper, please.”
“Yes, Boss?”
“You’re going to get your own ship a little sooner than we expected. I’m going to fly a rescue, so I’ll meet you at Charlie’s, a little later on. Till then, Gene is your ship. Treat her well, and she’ll always bring you home.”
“Gene gave me a heads-up on that a few minutes ago, Boss. Could you do me a favor?”
“Probably. What do you need?”
“You picked a good crew, and all for good reasons. Could Ozzie go with you, just because I know he’ll take care of you?”
“He’s already aboard, isn’t he?”
“Yes, Boss.”
“I dang sure ain’t going to throw him off. Fly safe, Topper.”
“You too, Boss.” I grabbed a transit and headed to the landing bay. A bot I didn’t recognize was there to guide me to the ship. She said, “Jeeves sent some of your personal items, and some changes of clothes. Is there anything else you might need?”
“This ship is stocked with the new style ration bars, I assume?”
“Yes, Boss.”
“I should be fine, then. Hopefully, this won’t take too long.” I climbed aboard and started the ramp up. Then I hit the intercom button and said, “Go, Ace.”
“On it, Boss.” On the way to the cockpit, I felt the tingle that Scotti hadn’t been able to get rid of, in the FTL transition. When I got to the cockpit, I asked, “Wasn’t that kind of close to the ship to go to FTL?”
Ace replied, “No, Boss. They put us on one of those catapults they installed to get rid of the Squirrels in a hurry. We had plenty of separation.”
“Everything working okay?”
“Looks great, Boss. Scotti said this ship has the same drive tech as Ozzie’s Toy, so we should be able to get there pretty quick.”
“How long do you think?”
“Eight hours, give or take.”
“I’m gonna find a cabin, so I can be fresh when we get there.”
“Wake you before we come out of FTL, I’m guessing?”
“Please. Not sure why, but I have a funny feeling about this one.”
“We’ve got a big stunner, and a drive killer, if that makes you feel any better.”
“It surely doesn’t make me feel worse.” I found a cabin and laid down. I must have been more tired than I gave
