Roo the Day, page 28
part #13 of Bob and Nikki Series
“Even the Marines wouldn’t have room?”
“They might. Scotti is still looking at that.”
“Who does she have working on stuffing a more powerful actuator in a small space?”
“She’s put out a request to all the engineers in the fleet, in case anybody has any ideas they haven’t brought up yet.”
“I’ll be interested to see what they come up with.”
“As will I.”
“Is everything ready to load up the colonists in the morning?”
“It is. The destroyers just finished their modifications. They won’t be able to haul a lot, but it beats not taking those people.”
“Indeed it does. Were you able to give Majel a final count, on how many we can haul?”
“I was. I left it five percent low, because I expected last minute additions.”
“You’re really getting the hang of working with organics, Sally.”
“You were a good teacher, Boss.”
“If you say so. The factions on the planet giving you much grief?”
“Once I explained that if I launched a fire mission on one of their headquarters, I would be obliged to take out all of them, they calmed right down.”
“Nicely done.”
“We’ve also been running a propaganda broadcast, to keep them from being able to portray us as evil aliens, out to take over their planet. Our viewership is running at about thirty percent of the population, so I would say our message is getting out.”
“Good idea. Anything else I should be aware of?”
“I don’t think so, Boss.”
“That answer doesn’t fill me with confidence, Sally. Is nothing else going on, or is it something you would rather keep to yourself for some reason?”
“The latter, Boss. It’s for the good of the fleet. Can we leave it at that?”
“I think so. One thing I know for sure is that I can trust you, Sally. Are we done?”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Talk to you later, then.”
“Later, Boss.”
I thought back over my conversation with Sally, and it finally hit me. I was talking about carrying huge numbers of sleeping Roos, who would dearly love to steal the Gene, aboard ship, and I hadn’t made any arrangements for security. I said, “Saucy, get me Sally again. I finally woke up.”
“Forget something, Boss?”
“More like my slow organic brain finally caught up. We need security on the holds these Roos are going to be sleeping in, don’t we?”
“Yes, Boss. And yes, that was what I didn’t tell you before. I needed to make sure you would figure it out yourself, if I gave you a minute.”
“So, did you win the pool on this one?”
“No, Boss. That would be Topper. He said you would figure it out, as soon as you weren’t actively thinking about it anymore.”
“It’s annoying, but that’s the way organic brains work. What do you have cooking for security?”
“All the ships are stocking up on exterior locks, to lock down the compartments, once they are full. The Marines will be standing guard, until the ship is unloaded.”
“I can’t think of anything else we could do to keep things under control, unless it would be to split up Majel’s crew onto all of the ships, so there aren’t enough of them on any one ship to cause trouble.”
“You don’t trust Majel?”
“I do, but I’m not that well acquainted with her crew. Besides, none of the truth detecting technology we have seems to work with Roos. I’d like to know why that is, but we have to go with what we have, at this point.”
“Dixie has been working on it, she tells me, but she has yet to come up with any useful answers.”
“Knowing this crew, we’ll figure it out. I just hope it’s in time to avoid trouble with them.”
“As long as we don’t give them opportunities to mess with us, we should be fine.”
“I have a question, while I’ve got you on the line. How much scandium do you think that colonizing equipment we have in the lower holds is worth?”
“Given that it isn’t actually designed for Roos to use, and it is a little past its sell-by date, I would think you could throw it in as a sweetener, and never feel the hit.”
“Leave most of it at Dingus’ planet, since the other bunch are probably going to wind up hiring those bots Diego found to do the work for them?”
“That sounds about right.”
“Did you hear about Scotti’s plan to build people haulers?”
“I did. I have to say, I like that idea better than hauling people on the carriers.”
“Me too. I’m assuming you had a word with her about security for those?”
“We had a chat, yes. All the passages between the passenger area and the crew compartment, will be exposed to vacuum, during flight. The airlocks on the crew end of the passage will only take one person at a time.”
“So, they would have to suit up, and assault one at a time? That doesn’t sound too promising for them.”
“It was the best we could come up with. Of course, the Marines can assault across vacuum without any problem.”
“Knowing you two, there are going to be massive airlocks for loading and unloading, which the Marines will have access to.”
“Right on the first guess, Boss. I’ll have to speak to Scotti. She seems to have completely forgotten to put any interior controls on those locks.”
“That is a shame. At her age, I suppose we’ll have to make some allowances.”
“I thought you would see it that way, Boss. You need anything else?”
“Not until I remember the other thing I forgot. Talk to you later.”
“Later, Boss.”
I looked at Topper. “We’re taking this first load to Dingus’ planet, aren’t we?”
“I spoke with him, and he said he didn’t see any reason not to. Captain Cachi is still working out the final details with the bots, and would like a few more days, if it can be arranged.”
“That should all work out well. I doubt we will be ready to take any colonists to his planet before Scotti has the new ships ready, anyhow.”
“It’s amazing that she will be able to get those ships ready for the black, that quickly.”
“Yes, Topper, it is. If it was anybody but Scotti, I would be down in Engineering, checking her numbers. She’s proved herself, time and again, so I’m not too worried, but it still amazes me.”
Saucy said, “Boss, the amount of message traffic when she and Sally were finalizing the design was amazing. They tied up a good portion of the fleet with the simulations. If there’s a weakness in those ships, there was no way to foresee it.”
“Like I said, Saucy. I trust Scotti.”
Topper said, “We all do, Boss. She kept Gene alive for a lot of years.”
“That she did. Let’s change the subject, we’ve established that we all think the sun shines out Scotti’s heinie. Ruth, how long will it take us to get to this planet Dingus has found?”
“About thirty-six hours, Boss.”
“Topper, what are we looking at for loading and unloading?”
“It will take all day tomorrow to load up, but unloading should be quicker, once we get there.”
“Considering how much we’re hauling, that sounds pretty good. If you don’t have anything else, I’m going to go find something to eat, and rest up for our busy day.”
“Sounds good, I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”
I headed out, and got a transit to the galley. When I got there, I found Nikki and Janet waiting on me. Janet said, “Jimmy and Milly will be here in a minute, they had to shower.”
When I raised an eyebrow, she said, “Not together, silly.”
We went in to find a table. Ellie and Lilly were there. Lilly said, “Hi, Uncle Bob!”
“Hi, Lilly. How are you?”
“Fine. Are we really taking a bunch of Roos to a new home tomorrow?”
“That’s the plan, little one. We’ll see how it turns out.”
“You think there will be problems, Uncle Bob?”
“There are always problems, Lilly, no matter what we do. The trick is to make the best of what happens, and get through to where we’re going.”
“I’m not sure I want to grow up. It sounds like a lot of work.”
“I don’t either, but they don’t give me much choice.”
“You’re silly.”
“That could be. Are you busy after supper?”
“I have a little while before bedtime, don’t I, Mom?”
“A little while. What were you thinking, Captain?”
“I owe her some more Frisbee, I think. Tonight is the best chance I’m going to get to pay up, until we get these colonies up and running, unless I miss my guess.”
Ellie said, “I think we could do that, since it’s for the Captain’s state of mind, and all.”
“Thank you for being so understanding, Ma’am.”
I saw her tail twitch, and said, “Don’t you start that, too. I wouldn’t be qualified to judge how much of a tip it was worth, anyhow. Wait till Joe gets out of the autodoc, and try it on him.”
She looked a little embarrassed. “I just saw it, looking through some of the historical records, and I was curious. I didn’t mean to offend.”
“Well, you didn’t offend, I just don’t think it would be fair for you to go to all that effort, with an audience who can’t appreciate your skill.”
She looked at Nikki. “He can wiggle out of anything, can’t he?”
“Pretty much.”
Nikki wrapped her arm around my waist. “He hasn’t gotten out of this one, yet.”
I said, “If I have anything to say about it, I won’t, either.”
Ellie said, “There he goes again. If Roo men were this full of it, we might be monogamous, too.”
I said, “Maybe you’ve yet to find the right one.”
“Could be, I guess.”
Stella came out, and asked, “You folks want your usual drinks?”
Nikki said, “Yes, Jimmy and Milly will be joining us, you might as well set them up, too.”
“Got it. Thanks.”
“We better find a seat, Bob.”
“That we had.”
I turned around, and found that Janet already had that taken care of, so we went and sat down.
Janet said, “Frisbee before a difficult mission. Not quite samurai, but close.”
Nikki hit her watch, and I asked, “Where did you find out about samurai?”
“You make so many jokes and references to Earth, I thought it counted as self-preservation to learn about it. I stumbled onto the samurai, and the ninja, and it caught my attention.”
“You need to be careful, studying about that stuff. There’s an awful lot of crap out there about both of them.”
“Dad, that’s one thing I have learned about your internet. There’s an awful lot of crap out there about almost anything. At least I figured that out before I started looking at Japanese history.”
“Every time you talk to me, I’m more amazed. You will help me with the big words, when you get to the hard stuff, won’t you?”
“Aw, Dad. I’m just studying a lot to get caught up with what everybody else already knows.”
“If you say so. Sounds to me like you’re a freakin’ genius, to be picking it all up that fast.”
Janet looked at Nikki. “How do you put up with his crap?”
“I just hand him some right back, and fly on.”
“Sounds like a plan, Mom. I’m just not quite that good yet.”
“You’ll get it. He’ll give you plenty of practice.”
“I’m afraid you’re right.”
Jimmy and Milly came in about then. I waved them over. Once they were seated, Stella came out to get our orders. I asked, “Are you two tired, or do you want to play Frisbee with us after supper?”
Milly replied, “I’m fine, but Commonwealth here may need to go lay down.”
I looked at Jimmy. “Commonwealth, huh? What do you say, Jimmy?”
“I’m good, if she is. Can’t let some hick from a lost colony get ahead of me, can I?”
I almost said something, but I caught myself. Niner-Deuce had a reason for getting them competing with one another, it wasn’t my place to screw up his hard work.
Stella brought out our meals, and we dug in. When we finished, we all grabbed a transit for the Frisbee bay. Why the crew putting bunks in surprised me, I don’t know, but they were happy enough to go work in another bay until we were through playing. I commed Scotti. “Yes, Boss. I already heard. I didn’t know you wanted that bay this evening, or I would have saved it for later.”
“No problem. I was afraid we were in your way.”
“Not at all. All the bunks go in the same way. Doesn’t matter at all which bay we do first.”
“Glad to hear it. I’m supposed to be making things go smoother, not making problems.”
“After you found me all that scandium? You’ve got a brownie point or two built up, Boss. Don’t let it bother you.”
“Alright, then. Everything progressing like you want it to?”
“We’ll be done with at least two hours to spare.”
“And the rest of the fleet?”
“They’re not far behind.”
“Sounds good, then. I’ll be glad when we have this trip behind us.”
“Me too, Boss.”
“Talk to you later.”
“Later, Boss.”
We had a lot of fun, playing Frisbee, until Ellie said, “Lilly, we better get you to bed. Tomorrow will be a big day.”
“Aw, Mom!”
They took off, and we put the discs away. Nikki asked, “Are you headed to the cabin, Bob?”
“I have a couple of things I want to check on, before I head that way. I know how much my walks scare you, I’ll meet you there, if you want.”
“That might be best. I don’t think I need any adventures tonight. The next couple of days are going to be busy enough.”
They caught a transit back to the cabin, and I took off for medbay. On the way, I ran into the crew that had been working in the bay we used for Frisbee, and told them we were done, and thanks for letting us interrupt their work. When I got to medbay, Dixie greeted me. “What’s up, Boss? You manage to hurt yourself?”
“Nope. I just wanted to check on a couple of things. Are you up to speed on Roo anatomy, if we have trouble?”
“Ellie helped me translate their training material, so I’m in pretty good shape, Boss.”
“Good, I hope we don’t need it, but it’s better to be prepared.”
“Yes, it is. You said a couple of things?”
“Jimmy and Milly seem to be getting friendly, since they are training together.”
“Yes, Boss. I gave her a contraceptive implant, while she was in for PTSD.”
“That’s a load off my mind. I still need to have ‘the talk’ with the boy, but at least the stakes aren’t as high.”
“Oh, and just in case you were worried, I’ve started testing people’s implants after they get stunned, just to be sure. I know that we’ve only had trouble with the illegal high-powered jobs, so far, but there’s always the chance of a defective part.”
“Don’t let Scotti hear that. We’ll both be in the doghouse.”
“You’re probably right. Still, it’s better to be safe.”
“That’s for sure. I better get going, I have another stop to make, and then I’m sure Snitz will need to go check out the grass room.”
“See you later, Boss.”
I wandered on to the armory. Jackie greeted me. “Hi, Boss. Here for some range time, before things get weird?”
“I wish. I just wanted to make sure you had enough security, in case our passengers get uppity.”
Jackie pointed behind me. “Scotti upgraded the door, so that even with tools, it would take a while to get through it. Two Marines will be posted outside, and two more in here with me. The door will be closed at all times, unless an authorized person is coming in, or going out. That was as good as we could come up with, Boss. You have any ideas?”
