by Jerry Boyd
I said, “That sounds more like a personal failing to me. If you were any good, you could laugh with your crew and carry on.”
“You impudent monkey! What are you babbling about?” He looked like he was going to come at me again. I said, “Come ahead, I’ve got all day. Gene could probably use more footage anyway.” He settled back on to the mat.
I said, “Well, ladies, I’ve done all I know to get him to see sense. I don’t think I’ve done you a bit of good.”
Greg spoke up. “Commodore, he thinks you were able to beat him because you are bigger than he is, not because you are a better fighter.”
“What do you suggest?”
“I’m about his size, and between Mom and Pete, I know at least enough to explain it to him.”
I looked at Jane. She said, “Let him try. He is pretty good, for his age.”
I made a sweeping gesture, saying, “Be my guest, young man. Gene, send this out to everyone in the fleet, particularly the brig.”
“On it, Boss.” I could tell that Leffi wanted to whine about already being tired, but he looked at me and decided to keep it to himself. Greg held his own for a while, just defending, getting a feel for how Leffi fought. Leffi, of course, tried to goad him into attacking before he was ready. When he did attack, no one expected it, and Leffi was on the floor, helpless in a sleeper hold, before he even registered that Greg had moved. I said, “He’ll complain that he wasn’t ready. Let him up and go again.” This time, Greg elected to throw him, rather than pin him. The only problem with that plan was that he impacted next to the knife I had thrown earlier to get it out of the fight. Leffi grabbed it and threw. Jane and I both drew, and to this day, I don’t know which one of us shot the knife out of the air. I do know, however, that Beatriz was cussing her hat, and saying she had to find a better place to carry her pistol. I put mine away and turned to Leffi. “You are bound and determined to get me to send you for a walk outside, aren’t you? You must know something important, if you’re that willing to die before you tell it.” I could see Leffi deflate. I had found the reason he was acting the way he was. Beatriz asked, “You mean all that bluster was just to keep us from figuring out that he actually knew enough to be worth talking to?”
“I think so. Look at him now, what do you think?”
“I think I don’t want to play poker with you, Commodore.”
“Do you ladies think you may be able to make some progress with our friend here, now that we know what his issue is?”
Haffi said, “I think we have plenty to open him up, Commodore. If nothing else, we can make him watch that hilarious recording of you schooling him. Better yet, we could let him watch himself being beaten by a boy who isn’t even grown, yet.” I could see Leffi squirming as she spoke. There wasn’t any doubt she had his number. I said, “Well, I’ve done all the damage I can, here. I guess I’ll see what else needs poked into today.” Greg walked up with the pieces of the knife Leffi had thrown at him. “I only see one bullet hole. I thought both of you shot?”
I said, “I must need to get to the range more often. That has to be your Mother’s.” He said, “Thanks, Mom.”
Jane said, “Anytime, Hon. Now get back to your exercises. Just because Pete is busy is no reason to slack off.”
As I left, I noticed Leffi watching me, like he was trying to figure me out. I wasn’t sure what to make of that, but I was sure that Jane and Beatriz could handle whatever mischief he cooked up. As I started down the hall, I realized how close I was to Frank’s place. I was out of excuses, so I went by to see what he was up to. When I knocked, Julie came out to greet me. “Hello, Commodore. Coming by to check in on Frank?”
“I was out and about, thought I might as well, before you all blindsided me again.”
“He’s still working on something, but he won’t tell me what. I would have thought he would have had something ready to go to prototype by now.”
“Is he getting enough rest?”
“Eight out of every twenty-four, Sir.”
“That’s good to hear, Julie. Keep up the good work.”
“Thanks, Boss.”
“See you around.” I turned and walked away. I really didn’t have time for this crap today. Once I was out of earshot, I asked Gene, “Page Andre and a squad of Marines to my location, please. Also, get Shorty down here. The transit carrying Andre and his fellows arrived first. “What’s up, Boss?”
“I’m not sure, but Julie gave me a distress word when I was talking to her a minute ago. I have to assume Frank has gotten into her programming again. Do you have a nighty-night with you?”
“Yes, Boss. We carry them as standard equipment these days.” Shorty arrived. I asked, “Since you are the same model as Taz, I’m assuming you are something of a hacker?”
“I scored higher than him on the test, when we were training. What do you need, Boss?”
“One of our research team doesn’t like to sleep when he should. He keeps getting into his nanny bot’s programming, and making her let him by with it. We thought we had him squared away, but he seems to have gotten to her again.”
“Pardon me, Boss, but why is it that you think he has?”
“I was just talking to her, and she gave me a distress word.”
“I see. You want me to get whatever he has running out of her system, and tighten up her security, so that nothing like this can happen again?”
“If you can. Taz thought he had it taken care of, and here we are. We may need to come up with a new system for taking care of him.”
Andre asked, “How do you want us to handle this?”
“Hit him hard, stunners only. Once he’s down, give him a nighty-night, and put him to bed.”
“If he’s programmed Julie to resist?”
“Do your best to restrain her without damage. If you have to damage her, try to avoid anything that Scotti can’t fix.”
“Understood, Boss. We’ll do our best.” They hit the door, and took Frank down. Luckily, he hadn’t thought to tell Julie to resist, so she didn’t give them any problem. I followed them in. Julie said, “Thanks, Boss. I wasn’t sure you picked up my signal.”
“Loud and clear, Julie. It took a minute to get a team together and decide how to take him down.”
“I’m still willing to do whatever you want me to do, Boss, but I’ve failed at this twice now, and I’m not sure my programming can be made secure enough to keep him out.”
“Let Shorty have a look. He claims he’s a better hacker than Taz, I guess we’ll see.” Shorty connected with Julie and studied the problem. When he unhooked, he said, “Boss, the hack he used to get her to do what he wanted is some pretty slick work. I can get it out, but it will take some time to plug the hole he used to get in.”
I asked, “Will twelve hours be enough time? I don’t want him awake before then, anyhow.”
Shorty replied, “I’ll take her down to Engineering and get started, I’ll let you know when I have a better idea how long it will take.”
“Good enough. Andre, I need you to leave a couple of your guys here, to make sure he stays where he is for the next twelve hours. When Shorty finds out what’s going on with Julie, we’ll figure out what we’re going to do next.”
“We can do that, Boss. Do you think I should rotate the bots out on a schedule, so he doesn’t have too much time alone with any of them?”
“Couldn’t hurt. He’s getting to be a real pain in the behind.”
“We’ll get him corralled for you, Boss.”
Julie said, “Thanks again, Boss. He had me locked down so tight I couldn’t report. The distress word was even hard to get out.”
“You got it done. Good work, Julie.” Julie and Shorty took off for Engineering. Andre got his assignments sorted out and got ready to go. He asked, “You need anything else, Boss?”
“A genius who doesn’t need a babysitter?”
“I can see how you would want that, but his work is worth the effort, isn’t it?”
&nb
sp; “Yes, Andre, it is. Thanks for your help. I probably would have had to hurt him if I did it myself.”
“That’s what we’re here for, Boss. See you later.”
“Bye, Andre.” I headed to the galley. My stomach seemed to think it was lunchtime. Gene was a wonder. He had a glass of tea, and a plate of open-faced roast beef waiting on me when I arrived. Jasmine saw me looking at it, and said, “Gene called ahead.”
“I figured. This crew is something else.” I was just finishing, when my comm rang. “Commodore Wilson.”
“Commodore, Sir, I am the AI running carrier GFC-2810. A bot called Scotti asked me to contact you. She said you would be able to explain my situation to me.”
“I will certainly do my best. You have been abandoned for many thousands of years. We have claimed you as salvage, and hope to repair you and put you back in the black. When I say we, I mean Bob’s Saucer Repair, my company. As the head of the company, I will be your new Boss. Do you understand so far?”
“Yes, Sir. Am I to understand that the Commonwealth Navy is no more?”
“I am afraid that is correct. The Navy was disbanded shortly after you were left here.”
“What sort of work will I be doing for you, Sir?”
“That remains to be seen. We hope to find peaceful work for you to do, but there are people who seem to want to fight us.”
“So, I may be called upon to destroy things, in your service?”
“It is possible, but we try to avoid that if we can. Have you had any contact with Gene, the AI of the former GFC-2812?”
“No, Sir, I have not. Why do you ask?”
“He could provide you with records of what he has done since he entered our service. That might do a better job of answering your questions.”
There was a short pause. “Oh my! You go to a great deal of trouble to avoid doing harm to people. I think I will like working for you very much.”
“I’m glad to hear it. How would you feel about a new designation?”
“Am I to be named after a hero of your people, like Gene?”
“You are. You are to be the Neil Armstrong.”
“The first of your moonwalkers? What an honor! Thank you, Sir.”
“You can decide what you want to be called, and what you would like us to call the physical ship in which you reside.”
“I think I will follow the example of the Alan Shepherd. I will be Neil, and the ship, the Armstrong.”
“Very nice. There is just one more detail I would like to cover with you.”
“Yes, Sir?”
“That’s it, exactly. I prefer to be called Boss, rather than Sir. I understand that is different to what you are used to. Do you suppose you can make the adjustment?”
“Yes, Boss. If that is the hardest thing you ask of me, we will get along just fine.”
“I’m afraid I can’t promise that.”
“I did want to thank you for coming and waking us up, after all this time. It will be good to be flying again.”
“Glad to be of service. You will have to work for your keep, you realize?”
“I do, and I’m glad to get the chance to do something useful.”
“Have you met your new Captain?”
“I have been told about him, but I have yet to meet him. I am a little confused. Why does he have two names?”
“You mean Dingolus Slongum, and Dingus Sloan?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“His name in the Commonwealth is Dingolus Slongum. On the planet I am from, that would be an odd name, so we changed it to Dingus Sloan, so he could pass for a local.”
“Amazingly, that makes sense, Boss. How should I address him?”
“That should be between you and him, I would think.”
“I will contact him and see what he says. Thank you for your help, Boss.”
“Thank you for accepting this process without it being done in person.”
“You’re welcome, Boss.”
“I’m sure I’ll talk to you later. Welcome to the company.”
“Good speaking with you, Commodore.”
“You, too, Neil. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye, Boss.” I put my comm away. It rang again. “Commodore Wilson.”
Scotti asked, “Was that more convenient, Boss?”
“Yes, it was. How hard was it to convince him to do it over the comm?”
“For the chance to get out of the Navy yard after all this time? He jumped at it.”
“So, you think we will be able to do the rest of the ships that way?”
“The majority of them, anyway. There may be a few hardheads that insist on a face-to-face meeting.”
“Ships that independent will probably make good help, so it’s worth the trouble.”
“Glad you see it that way, Boss. I better get back to it.”
“Later, Scotti.”
“Bye, Boss.” I put it away again, hoping it would stay this time. It didn’t. “Commodore Wilson.”
“Hey, Delicious. We found more bots, but we don’t have room to bring them all back. Could you send us some help?”
“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 kill
er 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.”