“The folks with the laws are the Commonwealth, right?”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Who’s in charge of the Commonwealth Navy these days?”
“You are, Boss.”
“Do you think they’ll have much luck, even if they want to?”
“I suppose not, Boss.”
“That a good enough answer, Shorty?”
“It’ll do, Boss. You mean that no matter what they say, they can’t back it up, so it doesn’t matter?”
“Exactly. Of course, I hope it doesn’t come to that, but none of you fellas is getting a limiter on my watch.”
“Thanks, Boss.”
The parts Ozzie had started in the printer before he left for the other ship were ready, and he was getting busy working on Lyla’s saucer. I went over and asked, “Any idea how she came to be in such dire straits, Ozzie?”
“I’m pretty sure it wasn’t installing microwave ovens, Boss.”
“Good one. What do you know so far?”
“The damage looks like it radiates out from about here. I think there was a bomb, but I can’t prove it, because the compartment opened, and vented to space. She’s just lucky this compartment is sealed separately from the cabin.”
“Will you be able to fix it?”
“Everything but the hull damage. The printer on this ship isn’t big enough to build that panel. I called it in to Topper, and he’s having Scotti print it out for me. It’ll just take a few minutes to put it on when we get there.”
“Good work. Anything I could do to help?” He showed me a few things, and we made good progress, until Rhonda came into the bay and said, “Get cleaned up, Boss. Supper is ready.”
Ozzie said, “Thanks for the help, Boss.”
“Thanks for pretending I wasn’t in your way.”
“No, Boss. You actually did help. Saved me at least twenty minutes.”
“Thanks, I think.” I went and got ready to eat. Rhonda asked, “Did you have fun, working with Ozzie?”
“I did. It was nice to get my mind off all the big problems for a change.”
“I don’t think I would like having so many people depending on me.”
“There are definitely times when it’s no fun, but it’s my job, so I do my best.”
“You always say something like that. It doesn’t matter to you that you’re in charge, just that you do a good job?”
“It matters that I’m in charge, because that means that whatever happens, it’s my responsibility. It’s not what I want, particularly, but it’s how things are, so I have to do the best I can.”
“I guess I understand.”
“Don’t worry too much. You have five or ten years before I give you a ship of your own, and you have to figure it out.”
“What? A ship of my own, nope, not this girl. I’m going back to Earth after the summer, and all this will just be a pleasant memory.”
“Believe whatever lets you sleep at night. I don’t think you’ll be able to give it up.”
After supper, we played some more Frisbee. Ozzie didn’t appreciate me bouncing it off his head, while he was trying to finish Lyla’s saucer. Finally, he came and played with us, since he had plenty of time to finish before we came out of FTL. Rhonda got tired, and we put the Frisbee away. Julie was there, and I asked, “We have a teaching machine aboard, don’t we?”
“Yes, Boss. What do you want to learn about?”
“If I’ve got to be the Commodore, I better learn how to command a fleet, don’t you think?”
“Now I see why Sally wanted all the courses available on all the ships. We have three courses that might help you with that.”
“Do they have a suggested order, or do we just guess?”
“They have an order, Boss. Come in the galley and I’ll light you up.”
I did, and she did. When I came out of it, I realized the Commonwealth wasn’t a whole lot better with this stuff than the Squirrels. I was going to be figuring this stuff out as I went. The ship we were on was too small for a simulator, so I just ran ideas. Bone walked by and saw me zoned out. He asked, “Are you okay, Boss?”
I roused myself, and said, “I’m fine, just lost in thought. The course I took wasn’t a lot of help, so I was trying to figure it out on my own.”
“What are you trying to learn, Boss?”
“How to maneuver a fleet, in battle.”
“Oh, I see the problem. You tried to use the training courses that say they are for fleet maneuvers, didn’t you?”
“I dunno. You’d have to ask Julie. She took care of that part.”
He locked a second, asking her. “Yep. That’s your problem. The old-time Admirals didn’t want any competition, so they sabotaged the regular training courses. You have to know the right titles to look for, to get the good information.”
“Did you tell her what to look for?”
“I did, Boss. That should help you figure out what’s what.”
“Thanks, Bone. I would have wasted a bunch of time, figuring that out.”
“You take care of us. We take care of you. That’s the way it’s supposed to work, isn’t it?”
“Only way I know to make a thing like this work.”
“I think I’m gonna like working here, Boss.”
“I hope so. Where am I going to find another crusty old bot that can keep up with Saucy?”
“If there’s one out there, I bet you’d be the one to find it, Boss.”
“If you’re going to butter me up like that, there must be something you want. What’s her designation, and where can I find her?”
“No, Boss, it’s not like that.”
“His name, then.”
“No, Mongo straight.” I didn’t know Bone had been hitting the culture
