Roo the Day, page 20
part #13 of Bob and Nikki Series
“I’ve heard Zoom say you’re plenty good enough.”
“One little hole in her butt, and I never hear the end of it.”
“She seems to think it was memorable, Boss.”
“I guess it would be, for her. I better go eat, so I can be on the bridge when we come out of FTL.”
“Later, Boss.”
“Later, Jackie.”
I took the transit, since I had a schedule to keep. After a light supper, I went to take over from Topper. Saucy announced me, and I responded. Then I asked, “Mr. Topper, may I have the conn?”
“Yes, Boss. I certainly don’t want to be in charge when we screw up meeting a whole new race.”
“You think your show is going to be too much for them?”
“No, Boss. Just kidding.”
“I know, but it’s fun to wind you up.”
I strapped into the big chair. Saucy had a countdown on the main screen. Ruth asked, “Tex, do you have the targeting data?”
“I have everything I can have, until we get some sensor readings, Ma’am.”
“Good enough.”
The bridge was a little tense, as the clock worked toward zero. At five minutes, Ruth went on the speaker. “FTL emergence in five minutes. Secure for maneuvering. This is not a drill. Secure loose items.”
At two minutes, she said, “FTL emergence in two minutes. We will be maneuvering as soon as we emerge. Secure loose items. Organic personnel, strap in. This is not a drill. Strap in.”
With about thirty seconds on the clock, Sue said, “I’m getting some data. I’ll send it to your console, Ruth.”
“Thank you.”
When the clock read five seconds, she said, “Here we go! Hang on, people!”
What followed had to be seen to be believed. Heck, I saw it, and I’m still not sure I believe all of it. We came out of FTL nose-to-nose with a Roo ship. Tex gave them a love tap, and Gene launched eight fighters, to fly a complex pattern around the ship, giving it light hits with their lasers. We jumped, and started the same routine with the next ship. I didn’t find out till later that the first group of fighters was recovering, while the second group was launching. We greeted a total of five ships, and jumped in close to Rikki’s ship, so that he could come aboard.
Saucy called out, “Rikki is aboard, Captain. Incoming transmission.”
“On screen, please.”
A Roo who had the appearance of having been through a thing or two came on screen. “You must be the Captain Wilson that Rikki speaks so highly of. I thought he must be exaggerating. I see now, he was not.”
“Glad we didn’t disappoint. What should I call you?”
“The closest your vocal cords can probably get would be Conrad, I think.”
“Good to meet you, Captain Conrad. Excuse me, I suppose that would be Commodore Conrad, wouldn’t it, since you have a fleet with you.”
“Captain is fine. We’re not really a fleet, just a bunch of independent ships in the same system. I just got picked to talk to you, because Rikki’s stories scared the young bucks.”
“Well, I don’t know what he told you, but I’m not here to start anything. Wouldn’t mind doing some trading, if you folks are amenable.”
“I’m certainly glad to hear you’re friendly, after the greeting you gave us. I think a couple of the Captains are off the bridge, finding clean uniforms, right about now.”
“I let a couple of my people work out a show for you. Did we go too far?”
“Not at all. It was a thing of beauty. I’ll be watching the recordings with my grandkids, when I get home. I am curious, though. Usually, when we meet your people, they don’t understand how to greet us. Yet you do.”
“We’ve got some of your folks aboard who helped us understand. I’m not sure if they’re ready to depart yet, or not.”
“How did you come to have our people aboard, Captain?”
“The one lady and her daughter we freed back on my home planet. The authorities there are hot to get FTL tech, and had taken her captive, in hopes she could provide them with the tech.”
“Your home planet doesn’t have space flight?”
“Not to speak of. My wife comes from the Commonwealth, and she taught me all about it.”
“That sounds like quite the story, Captain.”
“I might tell it, if we can find enough beer.”
He laughed. “I like you, Captain. Am I to understand you have more of us aboard?”
“We found one of your ships, trying to greet a Commonwealth ship, that had reacted badly. They took some damage before we arrived. My engineer was able to fix their ship, but it still isn’t up to factory standards.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Your hull metal is better than ours. That’s one of the things we’d like to trade for.”
“Hull metal?”
“The element to make it your way. It’s rare in our part of space, too expensive to use for hulls.”
“Aren’t you telling me too much, Captain? Now that I know what you want, I can raise the price.”
“It’s only fair. I have something you want just as bad.”
“I don’t know what that could be, Captain.”
“How about a nice planet, ready to colonize? Would you have any interest in that?”
“You have a pristine planet, and you’d be willing to part with it?”
“Not quite pristine. There are the remains of a failed colony, there, but other than that, untouched.”
“How did this colony fail?”
“The crew that found the planet went back to the Commonwealth to get more colonists, and had a drive failure on the way. The folks they left behind to get the colony going, lost hope, and didn’t thrive. I don’t know all the details, but the survey crew I sent out has yet to find any reason the planet can’t be lived on.”
“It sounds good, but I think I’d like to see it myself, before we made any deals.”
“That sounds reasonable. I’m pretty sure you have the metal I want, from my engineer’s analysis of your hull metal. Let me get with my passengers, and see if they want to get off the ship here, or stay aboard to see the new planet, and I’ll call you back. You have the resources to come up with the metal quantities I will need?”
“How much do you think your planet is worth?”
“I was thinking ten thousand tons.”
He was busy on his console for a moment. “For a whole planet, that’s cheap. I’ll have to bring in a partner or two, but we can raise that kind of money, yes.”
“Sounds good. I’ll get back with you in a few minutes.”
“Goodbye, Captain.”
The connection cut off. I said, “Sue, make sure our new friend minds his manners, if you would.”
“Yes, Boss.”
Topper asked, “Taz would like to know if you would like him and Shorty to go out and have a look.”
I gave Topper a serious look. “You didn’t launch those guys, during your little show? You’re slipping, Topper.”
“Busted. I was supposed to ask, before we emerged, but I just didn’t think to, with everything else going on.”
“Didn’t think, or thought I wouldn’t let you, because we’re trying to make friends with these folks?”
“Okay, Boss, you got me. What else are you going to catch me at?”
“Isn’t that enough, for right now? Page Ellie and Majel to the bridge, please.”
“On it, Boss. Isn’t Majel going to be upset, that she gets to come onto the bridge when it’s your idea, but not when it’s hers?”
“I’m sure she will. If it wasn’t that, she’d find something else to get wound about, so I’m just saving her time.”
“I doubt she sees it that way, Boss.”
“I doubt she does.”
It wasn’t long before the two of them came onto the bridge, with George and Ringo trailing behind. “Hello, ladies. We’re in your space, if you want to disembark. Our next stop will be the planet I’m going to try and trade for some scandium, if you want to stay aboard for that.”
Majel asked, “Who are you doing business with, Captain?”
“The fellow called himself Conrad. Do you know him?”
“I’m not sure. Could I see an image?”
“Saucy?”
“On it, Boss.”
Saucy played back my chat with Conrad, with the sound turned down. Majel said, “Yes, I know him. I’ll give you more scandium for the planet than he can, Captain.”
“He said something about bringing in partners, to make the deal.”
“You don’t want to do business with the kind of people he will bring in. Can I talk to my people and come up with a bid, before you close a deal with this fellow?”
“I hadn’t realized you were serious about doing business, Majel. Sorry for the confusion.”
“I should have made myself clear, Captain. No problem.”
“Saucy, could you get the good Captain back on the comm, please?”
“On it, Boss.”
Captain Conrad came back on the screen. He was smiling, until he recognized Majel standing next to me. “Captain Wilson, I didn’t know you associated with her. You should have warned me.”
“How’s that, Captain? She’s just one of the folks we picked up, along the way here. Not like I went out of my way to get acquainted with her, or anything.”
“But, but, she’s a bounty hunter!”
“I’ve been known to take a bounty, from time to time. Not my favorite way to make money, but it does pay pretty well. I take it from your reaction, you have paperwork?”
“A couple of minor matters. Misunderstandings, more than anything.”
“How about your friends, the other Captains. They all have prices, too?”
“Well, yes, I suppose they do, but you’re only one ship, how do you propose to catch us all?”
“Quickly. Gene, scramble fighters.”
“Those little gnats won’t do much, against our ships.”
That was all he said, before he slumped over his console. I said, “My compliments to Scotti, on the new stunners. How are the drive killers making out?”
Topper replied, “All their drives are out of action, Boss. Marines away.”
“Very good. Let me know when we are in control of the ships.”
“Yes, Boss.”
I turned to Majel. “Fifty-fifty on the bounties sound about right to you?”
She looked stunned. “You’re offering me half the bounty on this whole fleet? What for?”
“I wouldn’t have even known they were wanted, if you hadn’t said something. I would have been in business with a criminal element, and probably wanted by your government myself. You saved me all that aggravation. I think that’s worth something, don’t you?”
“I suppose, but half? Isn’t that a little extreme?”
“We did do the hard work of capturing them, all you had to do was stand here. I can’t see giving you any more than half, sorry.”
Nikki spoke up. “He’s made up his mind, Majel. You can argue all you want, but in the end, he’ll find a way to give you what he thinks it was worth. Save yourself the trouble, and agree with him.”
She looked a little disappointed, but didn’t say any more. Saucy said, “Scotti would like to talk to you, Boss.”
“Put her on, Saucy.”
“Hey, Boss. Do you mind if I take over your screen for a minute, and send you some images?”
“Go ahead, what am I looking at?”
“Just have a gander at these images, see if they remind you of anything?”
“I see what you’re saying, yes they do remind me of something. I’ll suit up, and go shoot the engineer in the butt.”
“No need, Boss. The Marines have her in custody. They did mention something about stunner resistant, and full of piss and vinegar.”
“Definitely reminding me of someone, Scotti. Do you want to try to get her attention, or should I?”
“Can’t we just get Zoom in on a comm call, and let her talk the new girl into taking the job?”
“I wish it was that easy. We’re talking organics, Scotti, reason isn’t always the trump card.”
“I’ll have the Marines keep her separated, until you figure out how you want to approach the problem.”
“Good enough. Talk to you later. Good catch, Scotti.”
“Thanks, Boss. Talk to you later.”
Majel asked, “What was all that about?”
“My engineer found one she wants to keep.”
“But what if this person has a bounty?”
“We’ll have to make some sort of arrangements, I suppose.”
“What do you mean, arrangements?”
“Pay restitution to whoever she harmed, make it right with all the parties involved.”
“Why do you want her to work for you so badly?”
I pointed to the screen. “What do you see?”
“A ship, barely held together with junk. I don’t see how it’s still flying.”
“Saucy, zoom in, so to speak.”
“Good one, Boss. Here you go.”
He brought up a weld, between sections that had plainly come from two different ships. I said, “These parts were never meant to work together, yet the weld that holds them is perfect, and the way they are arranged assures that all their functions will work, unimpaired, even though they aren’t in anything like their design environment. That’s art. The being who did this is a master of her craft, and if we give her proper tools and supplies, we can expect great things from her.”
“You sound like you speak from experience, Captain.”
Nikki said, “He does. The last engineer he recruited this way, turned out to be a great asset to our company.”
“Have I met her?”
Nikki replied, “No, she is chief engineer on her husband’s ship, the Pete Conrad.”
“You recruited her husband, too?”
I said, “No, she met Diego after she came to work for us. Excuse me, I need to check on something.”
I turned to Saucy. “Get me Dixie, if you would.”
“Sure, Boss.”
“Yes, Boss. We tested the nighty-nights on Roos. They work just fine. I would have told you if they didn’t.”
“Thanks, Dixie. Sorry to bother you.”
“No problem, Boss. Good to know you’re still worrying about the details. Talk to you later.”
“Bye.”
Majel looked at me. “What are nighty-nights?”
“Little badges, that keep people asleep, until they are taken off.”
“Oh! A few of my crew find those very useful. They have trouble sleeping on a strange ship.”
Nikki said, “Oh crap! You’ve done it now, Majel. We won’t get any rest, until he knows why this ship is different from yours.”
I said, “I’m older and wiser now, Sweetheart. Janet won’t get any rest, not me.”
Saucy said, “Would you like her on the comm, Boss?”
“Please.”
“Hi, Dad. What do you need?”
“I have a project for you.”
“I’m afraid.”
“Some of the Roos have trouble sleeping on the Gene. Can you find out why that is?”
“So, you think it’s a noise, or something electromagnetic?”
“Seems like the simplest answer, to me. The screwy part is, not all of them are affected.”
“That is screwy. I’ll see what I can figure out for you, Dad.”
“Be advised, the Roos may wind up wanting to put up a statue of you.”
“I doubt that. This isn’t a big problem, like the teaching machine.”
“Talk to you later, daughter-of-mine.”
“Later, Dad.”
Majel looked at Nikki. “Is he always like this? Curious about everything?”
“He is. It seems to work for him.”
“I can see that, I’m just not sure I believe it.”
Topper said, “All ships under our control, and ready to move out, Boss.”
“One little hole in her butt, and I never hear the end of it.”
“She seems to think it was memorable, Boss.”
“I guess it would be, for her. I better go eat, so I can be on the bridge when we come out of FTL.”
“Later, Boss.”
“Later, Jackie.”
I took the transit, since I had a schedule to keep. After a light supper, I went to take over from Topper. Saucy announced me, and I responded. Then I asked, “Mr. Topper, may I have the conn?”
“Yes, Boss. I certainly don’t want to be in charge when we screw up meeting a whole new race.”
“You think your show is going to be too much for them?”
“No, Boss. Just kidding.”
“I know, but it’s fun to wind you up.”
I strapped into the big chair. Saucy had a countdown on the main screen. Ruth asked, “Tex, do you have the targeting data?”
“I have everything I can have, until we get some sensor readings, Ma’am.”
“Good enough.”
The bridge was a little tense, as the clock worked toward zero. At five minutes, Ruth went on the speaker. “FTL emergence in five minutes. Secure for maneuvering. This is not a drill. Secure loose items.”
At two minutes, she said, “FTL emergence in two minutes. We will be maneuvering as soon as we emerge. Secure loose items. Organic personnel, strap in. This is not a drill. Strap in.”
With about thirty seconds on the clock, Sue said, “I’m getting some data. I’ll send it to your console, Ruth.”
“Thank you.”
When the clock read five seconds, she said, “Here we go! Hang on, people!”
What followed had to be seen to be believed. Heck, I saw it, and I’m still not sure I believe all of it. We came out of FTL nose-to-nose with a Roo ship. Tex gave them a love tap, and Gene launched eight fighters, to fly a complex pattern around the ship, giving it light hits with their lasers. We jumped, and started the same routine with the next ship. I didn’t find out till later that the first group of fighters was recovering, while the second group was launching. We greeted a total of five ships, and jumped in close to Rikki’s ship, so that he could come aboard.
Saucy called out, “Rikki is aboard, Captain. Incoming transmission.”
“On screen, please.”
A Roo who had the appearance of having been through a thing or two came on screen. “You must be the Captain Wilson that Rikki speaks so highly of. I thought he must be exaggerating. I see now, he was not.”
“Glad we didn’t disappoint. What should I call you?”
“The closest your vocal cords can probably get would be Conrad, I think.”
“Good to meet you, Captain Conrad. Excuse me, I suppose that would be Commodore Conrad, wouldn’t it, since you have a fleet with you.”
“Captain is fine. We’re not really a fleet, just a bunch of independent ships in the same system. I just got picked to talk to you, because Rikki’s stories scared the young bucks.”
“Well, I don’t know what he told you, but I’m not here to start anything. Wouldn’t mind doing some trading, if you folks are amenable.”
“I’m certainly glad to hear you’re friendly, after the greeting you gave us. I think a couple of the Captains are off the bridge, finding clean uniforms, right about now.”
“I let a couple of my people work out a show for you. Did we go too far?”
“Not at all. It was a thing of beauty. I’ll be watching the recordings with my grandkids, when I get home. I am curious, though. Usually, when we meet your people, they don’t understand how to greet us. Yet you do.”
“We’ve got some of your folks aboard who helped us understand. I’m not sure if they’re ready to depart yet, or not.”
“How did you come to have our people aboard, Captain?”
“The one lady and her daughter we freed back on my home planet. The authorities there are hot to get FTL tech, and had taken her captive, in hopes she could provide them with the tech.”
“Your home planet doesn’t have space flight?”
“Not to speak of. My wife comes from the Commonwealth, and she taught me all about it.”
“That sounds like quite the story, Captain.”
“I might tell it, if we can find enough beer.”
He laughed. “I like you, Captain. Am I to understand you have more of us aboard?”
“We found one of your ships, trying to greet a Commonwealth ship, that had reacted badly. They took some damage before we arrived. My engineer was able to fix their ship, but it still isn’t up to factory standards.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Your hull metal is better than ours. That’s one of the things we’d like to trade for.”
“Hull metal?”
“The element to make it your way. It’s rare in our part of space, too expensive to use for hulls.”
“Aren’t you telling me too much, Captain? Now that I know what you want, I can raise the price.”
“It’s only fair. I have something you want just as bad.”
“I don’t know what that could be, Captain.”
“How about a nice planet, ready to colonize? Would you have any interest in that?”
“You have a pristine planet, and you’d be willing to part with it?”
“Not quite pristine. There are the remains of a failed colony, there, but other than that, untouched.”
“How did this colony fail?”
“The crew that found the planet went back to the Commonwealth to get more colonists, and had a drive failure on the way. The folks they left behind to get the colony going, lost hope, and didn’t thrive. I don’t know all the details, but the survey crew I sent out has yet to find any reason the planet can’t be lived on.”
“It sounds good, but I think I’d like to see it myself, before we made any deals.”
“That sounds reasonable. I’m pretty sure you have the metal I want, from my engineer’s analysis of your hull metal. Let me get with my passengers, and see if they want to get off the ship here, or stay aboard to see the new planet, and I’ll call you back. You have the resources to come up with the metal quantities I will need?”
“How much do you think your planet is worth?”
“I was thinking ten thousand tons.”
He was busy on his console for a moment. “For a whole planet, that’s cheap. I’ll have to bring in a partner or two, but we can raise that kind of money, yes.”
“Sounds good. I’ll get back with you in a few minutes.”
“Goodbye, Captain.”
The connection cut off. I said, “Sue, make sure our new friend minds his manners, if you would.”
“Yes, Boss.”
Topper asked, “Taz would like to know if you would like him and Shorty to go out and have a look.”
I gave Topper a serious look. “You didn’t launch those guys, during your little show? You’re slipping, Topper.”
“Busted. I was supposed to ask, before we emerged, but I just didn’t think to, with everything else going on.”
“Didn’t think, or thought I wouldn’t let you, because we’re trying to make friends with these folks?”
“Okay, Boss, you got me. What else are you going to catch me at?”
“Isn’t that enough, for right now? Page Ellie and Majel to the bridge, please.”
“On it, Boss. Isn’t Majel going to be upset, that she gets to come onto the bridge when it’s your idea, but not when it’s hers?”
“I’m sure she will. If it wasn’t that, she’d find something else to get wound about, so I’m just saving her time.”
“I doubt she sees it that way, Boss.”
“I doubt she does.”
It wasn’t long before the two of them came onto the bridge, with George and Ringo trailing behind. “Hello, ladies. We’re in your space, if you want to disembark. Our next stop will be the planet I’m going to try and trade for some scandium, if you want to stay aboard for that.”
Majel asked, “Who are you doing business with, Captain?”
“The fellow called himself Conrad. Do you know him?”
“I’m not sure. Could I see an image?”
“Saucy?”
“On it, Boss.”
Saucy played back my chat with Conrad, with the sound turned down. Majel said, “Yes, I know him. I’ll give you more scandium for the planet than he can, Captain.”
“He said something about bringing in partners, to make the deal.”
“You don’t want to do business with the kind of people he will bring in. Can I talk to my people and come up with a bid, before you close a deal with this fellow?”
“I hadn’t realized you were serious about doing business, Majel. Sorry for the confusion.”
“I should have made myself clear, Captain. No problem.”
“Saucy, could you get the good Captain back on the comm, please?”
“On it, Boss.”
Captain Conrad came back on the screen. He was smiling, until he recognized Majel standing next to me. “Captain Wilson, I didn’t know you associated with her. You should have warned me.”
“How’s that, Captain? She’s just one of the folks we picked up, along the way here. Not like I went out of my way to get acquainted with her, or anything.”
“But, but, she’s a bounty hunter!”
“I’ve been known to take a bounty, from time to time. Not my favorite way to make money, but it does pay pretty well. I take it from your reaction, you have paperwork?”
“A couple of minor matters. Misunderstandings, more than anything.”
“How about your friends, the other Captains. They all have prices, too?”
“Well, yes, I suppose they do, but you’re only one ship, how do you propose to catch us all?”
“Quickly. Gene, scramble fighters.”
“Those little gnats won’t do much, against our ships.”
That was all he said, before he slumped over his console. I said, “My compliments to Scotti, on the new stunners. How are the drive killers making out?”
Topper replied, “All their drives are out of action, Boss. Marines away.”
“Very good. Let me know when we are in control of the ships.”
“Yes, Boss.”
I turned to Majel. “Fifty-fifty on the bounties sound about right to you?”
She looked stunned. “You’re offering me half the bounty on this whole fleet? What for?”
“I wouldn’t have even known they were wanted, if you hadn’t said something. I would have been in business with a criminal element, and probably wanted by your government myself. You saved me all that aggravation. I think that’s worth something, don’t you?”
“I suppose, but half? Isn’t that a little extreme?”
“We did do the hard work of capturing them, all you had to do was stand here. I can’t see giving you any more than half, sorry.”
Nikki spoke up. “He’s made up his mind, Majel. You can argue all you want, but in the end, he’ll find a way to give you what he thinks it was worth. Save yourself the trouble, and agree with him.”
She looked a little disappointed, but didn’t say any more. Saucy said, “Scotti would like to talk to you, Boss.”
“Put her on, Saucy.”
“Hey, Boss. Do you mind if I take over your screen for a minute, and send you some images?”
“Go ahead, what am I looking at?”
“Just have a gander at these images, see if they remind you of anything?”
“I see what you’re saying, yes they do remind me of something. I’ll suit up, and go shoot the engineer in the butt.”
“No need, Boss. The Marines have her in custody. They did mention something about stunner resistant, and full of piss and vinegar.”
“Definitely reminding me of someone, Scotti. Do you want to try to get her attention, or should I?”
“Can’t we just get Zoom in on a comm call, and let her talk the new girl into taking the job?”
“I wish it was that easy. We’re talking organics, Scotti, reason isn’t always the trump card.”
“I’ll have the Marines keep her separated, until you figure out how you want to approach the problem.”
“Good enough. Talk to you later. Good catch, Scotti.”
“Thanks, Boss. Talk to you later.”
Majel asked, “What was all that about?”
“My engineer found one she wants to keep.”
“But what if this person has a bounty?”
“We’ll have to make some sort of arrangements, I suppose.”
“What do you mean, arrangements?”
“Pay restitution to whoever she harmed, make it right with all the parties involved.”
“Why do you want her to work for you so badly?”
I pointed to the screen. “What do you see?”
“A ship, barely held together with junk. I don’t see how it’s still flying.”
“Saucy, zoom in, so to speak.”
“Good one, Boss. Here you go.”
He brought up a weld, between sections that had plainly come from two different ships. I said, “These parts were never meant to work together, yet the weld that holds them is perfect, and the way they are arranged assures that all their functions will work, unimpaired, even though they aren’t in anything like their design environment. That’s art. The being who did this is a master of her craft, and if we give her proper tools and supplies, we can expect great things from her.”
“You sound like you speak from experience, Captain.”
Nikki said, “He does. The last engineer he recruited this way, turned out to be a great asset to our company.”
“Have I met her?”
Nikki replied, “No, she is chief engineer on her husband’s ship, the Pete Conrad.”
“You recruited her husband, too?”
I said, “No, she met Diego after she came to work for us. Excuse me, I need to check on something.”
I turned to Saucy. “Get me Dixie, if you would.”
“Sure, Boss.”
“Yes, Boss. We tested the nighty-nights on Roos. They work just fine. I would have told you if they didn’t.”
“Thanks, Dixie. Sorry to bother you.”
“No problem, Boss. Good to know you’re still worrying about the details. Talk to you later.”
“Bye.”
Majel looked at me. “What are nighty-nights?”
“Little badges, that keep people asleep, until they are taken off.”
“Oh! A few of my crew find those very useful. They have trouble sleeping on a strange ship.”
Nikki said, “Oh crap! You’ve done it now, Majel. We won’t get any rest, until he knows why this ship is different from yours.”
I said, “I’m older and wiser now, Sweetheart. Janet won’t get any rest, not me.”
Saucy said, “Would you like her on the comm, Boss?”
“Please.”
“Hi, Dad. What do you need?”
“I have a project for you.”
“I’m afraid.”
“Some of the Roos have trouble sleeping on the Gene. Can you find out why that is?”
“So, you think it’s a noise, or something electromagnetic?”
“Seems like the simplest answer, to me. The screwy part is, not all of them are affected.”
“That is screwy. I’ll see what I can figure out for you, Dad.”
“Be advised, the Roos may wind up wanting to put up a statue of you.”
“I doubt that. This isn’t a big problem, like the teaching machine.”
“Talk to you later, daughter-of-mine.”
“Later, Dad.”
Majel looked at Nikki. “Is he always like this? Curious about everything?”
“He is. It seems to work for him.”
“I can see that, I’m just not sure I believe it.”
Topper said, “All ships under our control, and ready to move out, Boss.”
