Roo the Day, page 24
part #13 of Bob and Nikki Series
I held my hand out, and the old codger studied it, and then grabbed it and shook. He asked, “Like that?”
“Just like that.” Of course, then I had to shake with the young fella. I said, “I’m Captain Bob Wilson, and this is the Gene Cernan.”
The old fella asked, “Gene Cernan? Does that name have some significance?”
“She’s named after a brave explorer from my homeworld.”
We were interrupted by Janet and the new Roo engineer arriving on a hall cart, modified to be comfortable for Roo passengers. Janet said, “Hi, Dad. Have you met Wanda?”
“Not in person, at any rate.”
Wanda looked from me to Janet and back. Then she asked Janet, “You are the Captain’s daughter?”
“I am, and proud to be.”
“But, you work like any of the rest of us.”
“I’m his daughter, not his pet.”
I asked, “How do you like the Gene so far, Wanda?”
“It is different than anything I have seen before, but I think I will come to like it very much. I do have one question, Captain.”
“Yes?”
“When will I get to meet this Zoom, who people keep comparing me to?”
“I’m not sure. Her husband’s ship is busy looking at some new planets we found out about. The fleet will gather again at some point, but I don’t know when that will be, just yet.”
“Is it true that you shot her, to get her to listen to your job offer?”
“It is. It seemed to work better than what I tried with you. I think I may have to go back to that, as policy.”
She grabbed her heinie. “Ah, Boss, I’m learning to get along, you don’t need to do that, really.”
“You’re already part of the company. You’re safe, unless you try mutiny, or something stupid like that. Is this cart for us?”
“Yes, we thought our visitors might not be used to walking that far.”
“You two did a good job on the seats.”
Janet said, “Scotti did all the hard work, figuring out what we needed to do for the galley. We just copied that.”
The old fella said, “Excuse me, Wanda, did you say? You work here?”
“Yes, Sir. I just started today, as a matter of fact. The Boss decided he liked my work, and didn’t want to take no for an answer.”
He looked at me, questioningly. I said, “I saw a ship she built out of junk and hope. I figured she could do fine things, if I gave her some decent tools and parts.”
“You hire people who aren’t even your species?”
“If I find people who can do a good job, and be loyal to the company, I hire them. Don’t much worry about where they’re from.”
“Sounds like a good deal, Captain. Don’t suppose you’d have any work for a broken-down old Roo?”
“You haven’t got anything a day or two in the autodoc wouldn’t fix, have you?”
“I don’t know, for sure. Haven’t had money to go in the box for several years, now.”
“We’ll find you something to do. Call me Boss. Ellie, the ‘doc in your ship is working, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Would you mind if we put him in there, since the ones in medbay aren’t set up for you folks yet?”
“That would be fine. Lilly and I have already moved our stuff to our cabin.”
“Sounds good, but I owe these two a tour, before we can do anything like that.”
We loaded up on the cart, and I showed them the ship. Not the mains, or Launch Bay 4, but a nice tour, all the same. Majel had tagged along, so I asked her, “Is anyone on your crew medically trained? Dixie is good, but she’s not familiar with your equipment.”
“Well, Captain, I usually handle that sort of thing. I can get your friend set up, when we get back.”
That reminded me of something. “I don’t believe I caught your names.”
The older fellow said, “I’m Joe, and this is Matt. At least that’s what your translator wants to call us.”
“We can override that, if there’s something you’d like better.”
“Thanks, but those will do just fine.”
We got back to the bay, and Joe made sure that Matt knew he was to obey whoever was taking care of him, while Joe was in the autodoc. Majel got him squared away, and said, “He sure hasn’t been in the box in a while. It should be able to fix most of his problems. It wants a day and a half.”
“The progress bars on yours can be trusted? That’s some tech we need to trade for.”
“No, Captain. It could be anywhere from a day to three days.”
“Curses, foiled again!”
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry, an expression from back home. Just means I thought I was on to something, and reality smacked me upside the head.”
Some of Scotti’s crew came through, carrying parts for one of the ships we had salvaged. Matt said, “Are those people mechanical?”
“Yep. You don’t have people like that?”
“No, Sir. We have some robots, but they aren’t smart like those. What are they doing?”
“We salvaged some ships on the way in. They are fixing them up to sell.”
“You sell ships?”
“When we have more than we need, we do. Sometimes we just fix them up better than what people can get other places, and sell them.”
“How do you mean, better?”
“Faster, mostly.”
“How do you do that?”
“I have a fellow who works for me, who likes to make things go faster. His name is Ozzie.”
Ozzie must have heard me mention him, because he came running up. “Did you need something, Boss?”
“About a million answers, for young Matt, here. Other than that, I don’t know of anything.”
Ozzie took a play swing at Matt. It took a moment for him to realize what was going on, and then they greeted one another. When they finished, Ozzie said, “So, you are interested in things that go fast?”
Matt replied, “Right now, I’m interested in everything about the Gene Cernan. I think we’re going to stay here.”
Ozzie turned to me. “Boss, if he’s going to be aboard, he needs instruction.”
“The Way of the Disc?”
“Indeed.”
“Would you have time to take care of that?”
“I think so. Scotti didn’t want me working on those junkers you brought aboard, for fear I might give them more power than you wanted us to.”
“Smart Boss, you have there.”
“What do you mean, Boss?”
“Give you my truck overnight, to patch some rust, and it comes back with three or four times the horsepower? Does that sound familiar?”
“No hablo ingles, Boss.”
“You may have been an undocumented alien at the time, but you weren’t that kind.”
“Was worth a shot, wasn’t it?”
“I guess. You know where the Frisbee bay is, don’t you?”
“Of course, Boss.”
I turned to Matt. “Ozzie here thinks there are things you need to learn, if you’re going to be aboard the Gene Cernan. Do you mind going with him, so he can show you?”
“No, Captain. He seems like fun.”
I turned to Ozzie. “Don’t forget, he’s organic. Needs to eat and drink, and get rid of what’s left.”
“Yes, Boss. I’ll take care of his organic needs. Where should I bring him when he gets tired?”
Majel spoke up. “I’ll take care of him, till his Grandpa wakes up. Did I hear you say you were going to teach him to play Frisbee?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Do you mind if I tag along?”
“Not at all. If we can find a canine, we’ll have enough to have a really good time.”
They headed off. Nikki asked, “Do you think it’s a good idea to hire Roos, when we don’t have any way to tell if they’re telling the truth?”
“I really don’t know, but they surely do seem like nice folks, and I like having them around.”
“That’s a Bob answer, right there.”
“Sorry, Ma’am, that’s all we have in stock.”
She shook her behind at me. I said, “That won’t get you a dollar, and we’ve got all the kids we can handle right now.”
“You don’t think mine is as nice as Dee’s?”
“Nope. I think yours is way better.”
“Just when I think I’ve got you cornered, you slip out again.”
“Wouldn’t want to be too easy on you, you might lose your edge.”
“Not with you around, that’s for sure.”
Janet and Wanda came back after the cart we had used for the tour. Janet said, “Get a room, you two.”
Wanda looked confused. I said, “It embarrasses her, for us to flirt in public.”
“Oh! I didn’t realize that was what you were doing. Now it makes sense.”
Janet said, “We need this cart, it’s our prototype.”
“We’re done giving tours, I think.”
Wanda said, “It mustn’t have gone well, they left.”
Janet said, “No, silly. That’s their ship, right there. Where did they get off to, Dad?”
“Joe is in Ellie’s autodoc, and Matt is with Ozzie, learning Frisbee.”
Wanda asked, “Frisbee?”
“Janet, I thought you were in charge of her orientation?”
“I am, well, both of us are, but she’s only been aboard since this morning. We can’t teach her everything at once, Dad.”
“Just make sure you get that done. Very important for crew morale, don’t you know?”
“Yes, Dad. All crew members must be proficient with the Frisbee. That comes right after Murphy is our shepherd, doesn’t it?”
I looked at Nikki. “Your daughter is catching on fast.”
Janet said, “I thought I was your daughter, too.”
“You are. Do you think that is going to get you out of being teased?”
“No. Is there anything you need, before we leave?”
“Not unless you have a spare hug.”
“Always, Dad.”
I hugged her, and they went back to work. Nikki said, “You’re pretty slick, Caveman. This Dad stuff seems to come natural to you.”
“Just doing what seems right, and hoping for the best.”
“So, it’s one of those days that end in y?”
I pretended to think a minute. “Yep, I think you’re right.”
“What are you up to next?”
“Do you suppose we ought to go by and see how Ozzie and Matt are doing?”
“If you didn’t have a whole new species waiting to meet you, that would be an excellent idea. I think you better head back to the bridge, and act like a grown-up, at least for a while.”
“I better? Does that mean you’re going to play Frisbee with Ozzie?”
“No, I’ll come with you. You’ll need some moral support, before it’s over, I have no doubt.”
“Thanks.”
We caught a transit, and headed back to the bridge. Saucy announced me, and I responded. Topper said, “Good to see you, Boss. You have a few messages.”
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to leave you with a mess. I wasn’t thinking.”
“It may be worth it, Boss. Ellie helped me access Joe’s records, and he sounds like a good hire.”
“Glad you understand. I’m more worried about Matt. He impresses me as Charlie with a tail.”
“Well, there’s no doubt things will be hopping around here, Boss.”
Nikki said, “Ouch, Topper! You’ve been hanging out with him too long. That stunk from here to Earth.”
I said, “Good one. Who do I need to talk to first?”
“There’s a fellow who claims to be the Head Roo In Charge of the whole planet, who seems to think you should have been here when he called.”
“Better not answer him first, he’ll think I’m under his command.”
“There are 11,478 offers to buy the Gene, and going up by the minute.”
“Delete those.”
“Yes, Boss. I also have a large number of business offers, of various types.”
“Send those to Majel, she’ll be handling our local business affairs.”
“Requests for personal appearances?”
“Ellie. She’ll be able to figure out which ones are worth fooling with.”
“That only leaves one, Boss.”
“This ought to be good. What is it, Topper?”
“A little girl called, claiming to be Lilly’s friend, asking if she could speak to Lilly.”
“Page Ellie and Lilly to the bridge, if you would.”
“On it, Boss.”
It wasn’t long before Velma and Lilly made it to the bridge. Lilly came bouncing into my lap. “What do you need, Uncle Bob?”
“One of your friends called, wanting to talk to you.”
“Really? Which one?”
Topper said, “She didn’t leave her name, I’m sorry.”
Ellie came hopping onto the bridge. “Yes, Boss?”
“A little girl called, claiming to be a friend of Lilly’s. Is it okay if I let her call back?”
“Is there a recording I could look at, to make sure who it is?”
Topper said, “Main screen, Ma’am.”
Ellie and Lilly both got excited when the girl came on the screen. Ellie said, “That is Lilly’s best friend. It will be fine for Lilly to call her back.”
“Hook us up, Saucy.”
Shortly, the little girl was live on the screen. It took her a second to figure out what she was looking at. Then she asked, “Lilly, why are you sitting on that alien?”
“He’s my Uncle Bob. He’s fun!”
“Why are there so many robots there?”
“They all work for my Uncle. They’re nice people.”
“People?”
“They’re not like our robots. They have personalities, and make jokes, and everything. They’re people.”
“If you say so. Where have you been all this time?”
“Mom and I got caught by some mean natives. Uncle Bob came and got us out, and then he brought us home.”
A female Roo, apparently her Mother, came into the room and asked, “Gina, sweetie, who are you talking to?”
She looked at the screen, and froze. I said, “Captain Bob Wilson, of the starship Gene Cernan, at your service, Ma’am.”
It took a moment for the shock to wear off. Then she asked, “And you’re talking to my daughter, because?”
I picked up Lilly, and held her toward the camera. “Lilly here wanted to say ‘hi’ to her friend. We didn’t mean to offend.”
Ellie spoke up. “Lita, it’s okay. These people have been nothing but nice to Lilly and me.”
The lady on the screen responded, “Sorry, Ellie. I wasn’t expecting this. I heard about the big ship arriving, but I really didn’t pay that much attention. You mean to say you are aboard that huge ship?”
“We are. It’s a nice place.”
“So, Captain, you’ve just entered a whole new system, and you don’t have anything better to do than play with little girls?”
“Well, the head of your planet wants to talk to me, but I didn’t want him to get the idea I’m at his beck and call.”
She looked stunned again. “You put off talking to the Leader of Homeworld, to talk to my daughter?”
“Yes, Ma’am. A little girl doesn’t have much patience. A grown man ought to, whether he does, or not.”
“Contrary to my better judgment, I’m beginning to like you, Captain.”
“Glad to hear it. You seem like a pretty nice lady, yourself.”
The door behind her flew open. A squad of uniformed Roos entered, weapons at the ready. Two of them grabbed Lita, and the officer in charge moved Lilly’s friend away from the camera, and said, “What is the meaning of insulting our leader by calling these people before returning his call?”
