Roo the Day, page 21
part #13 of Bob and Nikki Series
“So, all we need is a destination?”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Majel, you’re up.”
“What do you mean, Captain?”
“We need to know where to take these turkeys to turn them in, and collect our bounty.”
“I know where it is on our charts, but I don’t know anything about yours.”
“Get with Ruth, she’ll figure it out.”
Nikki took her over to the helm, and stayed to help the two of them figure out where we were headed. Ellie stepped up, and said, “You handled all that pretty well, Captain. I’m impressed.”
“Giving a bounty an even break usually doesn’t turn out well. Best to get in the first shot.”
“I see. Where did you learn that?”
“Three days in the autodoc.”
“That would do it.”
“I have a question. Is there something special the captive ships should do, when we greet the folks we’re going to turn them over to?”
“They should come to a stop, relative to the ships we are greeting, and turn off their running lights.”
“Did you get that, Topper?”
“Yes, Boss. Already sent.”
“Good work.”
I turned back to Ellie. “Anything else we should know before we emerge from FTL?”
“Well, the base she’ll be sending you to is pretty close to our home system. They may be nervous about a ship as big as the Gene just showing up.”
“Should we emerge a few light-minutes out, and establish contact first?”
“Might be best.”
“Do you mind staying on the bridge during all of that, to give me some guidance about how to proceed?”
“Not at all, Captain. At some point, you and I need to talk. I have a favor to ask.”
“As soon as we go to FTL, we can talk in the ready room. Would that be acceptable?”
“Certainly. You stay in command for all FTL transitions?”
“Usually. Topper is good enough now that I don’t need to, but we both feel better if I’m here.”
“I see.”
Nikki said, “Captain, we have a course, may we proceed?”
“You have sent it to the fleet?”
“Local and otherwise, yes.”
“Unass this popsicle stand.”
We slid into FTL. I said, “Topper, you have the conn.”
“My ship, yes, Boss. We’ll be coming back into normal space in about an hour. I assume you want to be here?”
“I think that would be best, since we’ll be turning in bounties to a new organization. Page me if I don’t show up when you think I should.”
“Sure thing, Boss. See you then.”
Ellie and I walked across to the ready room. Once we were inside, I said, “Gene, tile the lodge, and leave us alone.”
“The lodge is tiled. Bye, Boss.”
I turned to Ellie. “What did you need to talk about?”
“What was all that?”
“I was just getting us some privacy. I thought you wanted to speak privately, was I mistaken?”
“Not at all. I just didn’t anticipate you being so serious about it. I wanted to ask if the offer was still open to remain aboard?”
“It seems we are going to be doing some business with your people, having someone on staff who understands the culture would definitely be a plus. Do you have a problem with negotiating against people from your home planet, in service of an alien?”
“You may be shaped differently than we are, Captain. I don’t really think you’re all that alien.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear a yes or a no in there.”
“I have no problem helping you negotiate with people from my planet, Captain. I will be loyal to Bob’s Saucer Repair.”
“Joanna coached you.”
“A little, but the sentiment is mine.”
“Good enough. Was that all you needed?”
“For now. Lilly would like another play date with her Uncle Bob, though.”
“I’ll see how soon I can arrange that. I can’t make any promises right now, a lot depends on how the next day or so plays out.”
“Understood.”
“I want to grab a snack before we emerge again. You hungry?”
“No, thanks. I better go tell Joanna I’m on the team. She was really hoping you would let me stay.”
“Best take care of that.”
I grabbed a transit to the galley, since I didn’t have time to find anything today. Stella asked, “What would you like, Boss?”
“Just a glass of tea and a sandwich, thanks.”
“You don’t like tomatoes on your sandwich, do you, Boss?”
“Not really, but if that’s all you’ve got, that’s fine. I’m in a hurry to get back.”
“No problem. Bone can hook you up.”
“Bone’s cooking?”
“Andre taught him, since he was going to be away, on one of the prize crews.”
“Good thinking. I’ll grab a seat.”
I sat in a booth, against the wall. I was drifting off, trying to get an idea of how to deal with turning in alien bounties, when I felt an impact beside me. I turned to look, and Lilly gave me the flying hug. I said, “Hi, little girl. What are you up to today?”
“Not much, Uncle Bob. Frisbee?”
“I wish. I have to go back to the bridge and act grown-up for a while.”
She looked disappointed. I said, “Your Mommy asked if you two could stay aboard, so we’ll have lots more chances to play Frisbee. Just not today.”
“We are going to stay on the Gene? Oh boy!”
“You like it here?”
“Yes, I do.”
“There are lots of things you will have to learn, so you can be safe.”
“Velma said that, too.”
“Where is Velma?”
She came rolling up. “Here I am, Boss. Lilly is quick.”
“Hmm, maybe she can be on my team, if we ever get to play paintball again.”
Lilly asked, “Paintball? What is that?”
“It’s a game where you have to be sneaky, and make marks on one another.”
Stella came out with my food. “You draw a crowd wherever you go, don’t you, Boss?”
“Beats drawing flies, I suppose.”
Lilly asked, “What do you mean, draw flies?”
I knew right then I had stepped in it, and Dee wasn’t handy to bail me out. I thought for a second, about how she would go about it, and said, “Where I come from, we have little bugs, called flies. They eat poop, among other things. If you draw flies, it means you smell like poop.”
Her eyes got big. “That would be bad.”
“Yes, it would.” Joanna walked up. “There you two are. Bothering the Captain again, Lilly?”
I said, “She’s no bother. Took my mind off my problems for a little bit. Good for me, I think.”
“Either way, you have more important things to do today than take care of wayward Roos. Come on, Lilly.”
Joanna held out her arms, and I handed Lilly to her. “Bye, Lilly. See you another day, okay?”
“Bye, Uncle Bob.”
As they walked away, I noticed Stella was waiting. “Yes, Stella?”
“You need to try your sandwich, Captain. If you like the bacon, we can start using it. We’re nearly out of bacon from Earth.”
I bit into it. The flavor brought back memories. A buddy of mine had given me some bacon out of a feral hog, once. This was like that, only with a better cure on it. I said, “Anybody who doesn’t like that bacon isn’t right in the head, Stella. Product of Charlie’s, I assume?”
“Yes, it is. The recipe for the cure is from Susie Collins.”
“I figured that. Good stuff. Hope we have plenty.”
“Andre thinks we have enough to last till we get back to Charlie’s, if we don’t take too many detours.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I finished my snack, and headed back to work. Saucy announced me, and I answered. Topper asked, “Do you want the conn, Boss?”
“Want, no. Should I be in the big chair for this, I think so, don’t you?”
“Your ship, Boss.”
I sat down, and strapped in. “How far out are we, Ruth?”
“Twenty minutes, Boss.”
“What are you seeing, Sue?”
“Roo ships, going about normal Roo business. Nothing noteworthy, Boss.”
“Are you learning much about how they build ships?”
“They seem to be roughly at the same level as the Commonwealth. There are some differences, of course, but on the whole, their superiority in one area seem to be offset by shortcomings in others.”
“Note the superiorities. That’s the tech we will want to trade for, once we have enough scandium to make Scotti happy.”
“On it, Boss.”
Saucy said, “Ellie on the comm for you, Boss.”
“Put her through.”
“Boss, I’m at the brig. The Marines asked me to deal with a prisoner who is raising a fuss. It’s the engineer you asked to have kept separate. She’s demanding to know why she is being held, and who thinks he has the authority to do so.”
“Put me on with her, please.”
“You’re on, Boss.”
“I’m Bob Wilson, the Captain of this vessel. Who might you be, to be causing my Marines so much trouble?”
“I might be lots of people. Which one I am, isn’t particularly any of your business, Captain.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I like to know who I’m hiring.”
“Hiring? What are you talking about?”
“You built that ship you were on, didn’t you?”
“I did. What does that have to do with anything?”
I looked at Topper. “This way may be safer for the Captain, but shooting them in the butt gets their attention a lot faster.”
“As much as I hate to say so, I think you’re right, Boss.”
I turned back to the comm. “Young lady, I like the looks of your work, and I want to hire you for my engineering department. If you have a bounty, I would be willing to get that settled, in order to have you work for me. Is there something offensive to you in that offer?”
“Well, I don’t have any bounties, so you don’t need to worry about that. Why would I want to work for you?”
“New parts, instead of junk, good tools, free time to work on your side projects, and not having to live among pirates. Is that enough?”
“What about money to buy parts for my stuff?”
“The printers on this ship can put out just about anything you might need. The company would be willing to fund anything you can’t print, as long as it isn’t too extravagant.”
“What about sidearms?”
“None of our truth-detecting methods seem to work on your species. You’ll have to earn trust the old-fashioned way.”
“You’re not going to claim to trust me, and give me a defective weapon?”
“Nope. So, what’s it going to be? We’re almost to the base where we’re going to turn in the bounties. I’m reasonably certain they could cook up an accessory-before-the-fact charge, if you want to stay with your old outfit.”
“Anybody ever tell you you’re an asshole, Captain?”
“Regularly. That’s not an answer.”
“Alright, I’ll work for you. I don’t have to like it, do I?”
“Don’t suppose you do. Could you put me back on with the lady who called me?”
Ellie said, “Yes, Boss?”
“Have a couple of the Marines make sure she doesn’t trip over anything, on her way to Engineering. You might want to warn Scotti she has a new recruit incoming.”
“On it, Boss. Do you need anything else?”
“If you can wrap it up down there in the next few minutes, I could use you on the bridge.”
“I’ll be there, Boss.”
The connection went dead. I turned to Topper. “What do you think, old friend?”
“I surely don’t trust her like I do Zoom, but then I don’t know her as well, either.”
“Janet is going to be cussing me tonight, I’m sure of that.”
“Why do you say that, Boss?”
“Scotti is going to want to impress on the new hire that she has to work her way up. She’s most likely going to assign her to help the two girls. So, Janet is going to have to try to get through her thick head all day long. She won’t be happy about it, and I’m the one who caused the problem, aren’t I?”
“I see what you mean, Boss. Do you think she’ll be worth the trouble, once Scotti gets through to her?”
“I don’t have any way to be sure, at this point, but you saw that ship she built, same as me.”
“It did have that Zoom vibe to it, didn’t it?”
“It surely did. The question isn’t if she has the skills. The question is whether we can get her to use them for the company.”
“Ah, gee, Boss. That sounds like an organic question. I think that’s above my pay grade.”
“Oh, but there’s where you’re wrong, Topper old buddy. You’re the XO of this vessel, are you not?”
“I am. I’m about to be schooled, aren’t I?”
“You are. This crew contains organics, does it not?”
“It does.”
“You are expected to command the whole crew, if I’m not present, or not able, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Boss, I am.”
“Counseling, motivation, and crew morale are part of that duty, correct?”
“Yes, Boss. So I need to be able to understand and predict the motivation of the organic members of the crew in order to do my job, as assigned. That doesn’t mean that’s it’s easy, for a bot that just got his emotions back a few months ago.”
“Heck, Topper, if it was easy, they wouldn’t need fellas like us to do it, would they?”
“Boss, you can turn anything around. I truly do understand why they call you asshole, so much.”
“You’re just out of sorts because you haven’t had an excuse to do any art or music for a while.”
“You could be right about that, Boss.”
Ruth said, “Two minutes out.”
I said, “Okay. Everybody look sharp.” I looked around to make sure Majel was on the bridge, and found her and Ellie strapped into two of the observer chairs. I said, “Thank you both for being here. Hopefully, we can make this handover smoothly, but they’re armed, we’re armed, and we don’t know one another. There’s a lot of places for this to go sideways.”
Majel said, “We will get this taken care of, Captain. Did you have any luck with the prisoner you took for yourself?”
“That remains to be seen. I expect to have a few disciplinary problems, over the next week or so, but I think in the end, we’ll come to an understanding.”
Ruth said, “Ten seconds.”
I turned my attention to my job. We eased out of FTL. Sue said, “The prizes will be emerging shortly, Boss. Their drives aren’t quite up to our standards.”
It wasn’t all that long, before a cluster of drive flares went off around us. Majel must have seen my surprise. “What’s wrong, Captain?”
“I just expected your drives to be tuned better than that, I suppose. Could you get on the comm, and tell the base we are coming in, with prizes?”
“Yes, Captain.”
I turned to Tex. “Nothing fancy for this greeting. Just tap them, about the same power level they use on us.”
“Understood, Boss. Don’t do anything to excite them.”
I turned to Ruth. “Ruth, can you give the prizes a little headstart, so we all come out together?”
“Sure, Boss. You’re trying to look competent, without being threatening?”
“Exactly. Impress, don’t scare.”
I turned to Topper. “Mr. Topper, a normal drive flare, if you please?”
“Normal drive flare, aye.”
