“I’m sorry, Bob. Did I do something to annoy you?”
“I should be somewhere else, right now, watching over people who are depending on me, but I’m here, saving your cute little butt, because you couldn’t be bothered to keep yourself safe.”
“You really think I have a cute butt?”
“What difference does it make? I’m a married man. Get dressed, I’ll get you something going in the galley.”
I went and got her some scrambled eggs and sausage started. The way I felt, I almost let her make do with cereal, but I remembered I would need her to keep quiet about Charlie’s. Once she was dressed, she came over and asked, “Why are you so uptight about being away from your people? Nikki isn’t ready to deliver yet, so it must be something else.”
“Yes, it must. It’s also something that doesn’t need to be spread all over the galaxy, and here I am, carrying you straight into the middle of it. If I comp you the rescue, and the repairs on your saucer, do you think you could manage not to tell anybody where we are going, and what you may or may not see there?”
“We’re in FTL, so you had to come a long way to get me. I know my saucer was in bad shape before I blacked out. That means this is serious, if you’re willing to let go of that kind of money. I may be a ruthless newshound, but you guys are my friends. Of course, I’ll keep quiet. Besides, Uncle Willum already told me he would not be amused if I revealed anything about your hidden operations.”
“To a certain extent, his life depends on those operations staying hidden, so I can see how he would be concerned.”
“So, I finally get to see this mysterious planet you’ve been keeping secret from me?”
“I’m afraid so. I need to get back, so there wasn’t time to let you heal while we were still in Earth system.”
“Why were you in Earth system?”
“Dropping off your playmates, at the Patrol.”
“Oh, I see. So, there isn’t going to be any more story there, is there?”
“I wouldn’t think so.” We chatted some more, getting caught up, until Ace came over the speaker. “Captain, we’re thirty minutes from exiting FTL.”
I left Lyla and went to the cockpit. She tried to follow, but Shorty blocked her way. “Sorry, Ma’am, this is my station.” He plugged in and went into a trance. We all waited, wondering what we would find when we came out of FTL. Finally, Ace said, “One minute to exit.” Shorty called, “There’s a Squirrel fleet in the system. Looks like our fleet is holding them off.”
I said, “Ace, drop us as close to the Gene as you can, next to the landing bay, if you can manage it. Shorty, is there a way to use those beacon frequencies to send a message the other way?”
“I think I can make it work, Boss.”
“Send, ‘Permission to come aboard, Mr. Topper.’ Sign it Boss.”
“Sent. I’m receiving, ‘Sooner the better, Boss.’ That’s all they sent.” The next few seconds were a blur. We dropped out, right behind the Gene. Ace matched their velocity and took us aboard in nothing flat. I ran for the hatch, and into a transit. Gene gave me a priority so high, I could feel the acceleration. That made it difficult to input my attack orders into my watch. The transit spit me out, and I ran across to the bridge. Saucy hollered, “Commodore on the bridge.” I replied, “As you were. Report! My ship!”
Topper said, “I stand relieved. The Squirrels jumped in, demanding we turn you over for trial, and surrender all our ships. Commodore Sloan informed them they were cordially invited to piss up a rope. The two fleets have taken positions ready for battle, but no shots have been fired.”
Saucy, get me Dingus. “Commodore Sloan. Who is speaking, please?”
“Dingus, I just got in. Do you want to command this engagement, or do you want me to take it?”
“Hey, Bob. We saw you come aboard. Give Ace my compliments. Please take command, I don’t have a clue what to do.”
“There’s a reason for that, but that’s a discussion for another time. If you haven’t already, tell the rest of the fleet that I am in command, and let’s get down to business.”
“The message was sent as soon as you took command, Bob. What are your orders?”
“Your helm and gunner should be receiving them now. I’ll explain when we don’t have a fleet staring us down.”
The Squirrel courses I had taken included the weaknesses of Squirrel ships, that should be protected. Luckily for us, the Squirrels we were facing apparently hadn’t had that course, because they had left themselves open to attack. My fleet did a synchronized jump, followed by one shot from each ship, disabling each of the Squirrel ships. I said, “Saucy, get me the HRIC.”
“HRIC, Boss?”
“Head Rodent In Charge”
“On it, Boss.”
“Topper, do we still have prisoners?”
“Yes, Boss. I haven’t had a chance to get rid of them.”
Saucy said, “On screen, Boss.”
A Squirrel, who obviously had a high opinion of himself, appeared. “What is the meaning of this? I have given you our demands! You will give us Bob Wilson for trial, and turn over those ships, NOW!”
I replied, “I am Bob Wilson, and I am not going anywhere with you, now or in the future. You are in no position to ‘demand’ a thing, since your ships can’t even maneuver any more. You have TWO, and only two choices. You can patch your ships, and get out of my sky to stay, or I can give you a front-row seat to an ass-kicking. I’m waiting.” Sue said, “Boss, they are turning with
