Roo the Day, page 8
part #13 of Bob and Nikki Series
“You’re not perfect. I won’t tell, Bob.”
“Okay, then, why do the bots think I’m irreplaceable, then?”
“What do you mean, Bob?”
“They think I’m the only one who can guarantee their continued freedom, so they go out of their way to protect me. Sally is trailing us with most of the fleet, right now, in case I get in trouble with the Roos.”
“That’s what we’re calling the new aliens? I sure hope they don’t have anything like a caste system.”
“Why is that, Jim?”
“I wouldn’t want to get in trouble for messing with the under Roos.”
“Ouch! I should have seen that coming.”
“I thought Dingus was the bot liberty crusader, anyhow?”
“He is. They think the Commonwealth government could get leverage over him, since he is a Commonwealth citizen, where I don’t have that problem.”
“So, you get elected ‘Savior of the Bots’?”
“So it would seem. I would think they could come up with someone better suited, but they seem to think I’m the man for the job.”
“I’ve never seen you take on a job and not do it well, Bob. I think they made a good choice.”
“So far, you’re just telling me I’m worrying about things for no good reason. Maybe I should have called in Saucy, instead. At least he would tell me I’m screwing up.”
“Well, Bob, so far you haven’t mentioned anything that I would have done any differently. You were worried about Nikki and the kids, so you let the autodoc do what it told you needed to be done. If I remember the story right, at the time, you were stuck way out in the black, between stars, with an injured pilot, and no idea what was wrong with your ship. You’re really going to sit there, and tell me you expect to be calm and collected, and study the effects of every action you take, under those circumstances?”
“Wow! When you put it like that, I guess I do have high hopes, don’t I?”
“That you do. Do you think Sally would be out here following you around, if she thought there was any chance she would be needed back at Charlie’s? Think of it as a fleet exercise, if it makes it easier to take. The crews are getting a good workout.”
“You’re right about that, too. How are you going to get me out of being responsible for Wobbles getting interrogated for two days?”
“The government decided to come after Saucer Holler?”
“Big time.”
“Let me ask you something. Did Wobbles know that was a possibility, when he agreed to be a caretaker?”
“He did.”
“So, nobody, not you, or anybody working for you, lured him into this, without telling him what the consequences might be?”
“That’s right.”
“Sounds to me like he decided to do something he knew might be risky, all on his own. He is mentally competent to make that decision, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he is.”
“So, a grown man, with full knowledge of what he’s getting into, takes a dangerous job, and it turns out to be dangerous, and somehow that’s your fault? You mind rolling me one of those? That’s some good stuff you’re smoking.”
“You always find a way to make me feel like an idiot, Jim.”
“I wouldn’t have to, if you would quit acting like one. Go ahead and spill it, you always hold the good stuff back.”
“You remember we sent the rest of Diego’s crew back to Earth system, and they managed to set off their distress beacon, so that the Patrol had to respond?”
“I remember hearing about that, yes.”
“It seems there is a Patrol regulation I wasn’t aware of, that says they are obliged to inform any natives they come into contact with, what the procedure for getting Commonwealth membership is.”
“So, the Patrol told them what they had to do, in order to join up, and sent them home?”
“They did. I doubt it will take all that long before they figure out how to cobble something together to go make the request, and then the bots won’t be welcome on Earth anymore.”
“You want to be able to go home, and if the Earth joins the Commonwealth, you won’t be able to, anymore?”
“Right, on the first guess.”
“You do realize that all those sick kids will get access to the autodoc, if that happens.”
“I hope it would happen that way. I wonder, though, if the folks who made contact would save all the cool tech for themselves and their families.”
“Like a nomenklatura, for Galactic tech?”
“Pretty much. I just can’t see security-obsessed types like that, letting all the cool stuff out on the open market.”
“That sounds like a ready-made market for somebody with some really hot, well-stealthed, ships, to smuggle into.”
“You’re saying, if they don’t distribute the tech to the people who need it, I should?”
“I think you could run back the recording, and never find a place where I suggested you should have anything to do with such an operation, Captain.”
“I knew there was a reason I liked you. You’re almost as sneaky as I am.”
“That means a lot, coming from you, Bob. Did you have anything else?”
“Not right now, anyway. I feel like there’s something else cooking, but it isn’t coming to the surface, yet. Maybe when I meet you in the grass room tonight.”
“Oh, goody. I get to live in fear the rest of the day.”
“You’re the one who took the job, when Sally asked. Changing your mind, are you?”
“Nope. It’s just amazing to me the things you find to worry about. I’ll get going. See you tonight.”
“See you then.”
Jim left, and I figured I might as well take another one of Sally’s courses, even if I wasn’t learning much. When I came out of the trance, Lilly was sitting on the table in front of me, staring at me. Velma said, “She likes to watch the funny faces you make while you’re learning something, Boss.”
“Is that right? Why is it you haven’t introduced the child to some proper recreation, like Frisbee?”
“She isn’t old enough to be that coordinated yet, Boss.”
“Should have known a good Frisbetarian like you would have to have a good reason not to evangelize.”
“I’ll teach her, if she’s around long enough.”
“The way you say that makes me think you’ve heard something, Velma.”
“I overheard Joanna and Ellie talking about Ellie joining up with Bob’s. She seemed to be seriously considering it.”
“She seems easy enough to work with, what skills does she have?”
“Joanna seemed to think her best bet would be to pitch herself as a trade rep to the Roos.”
“I can see that working. It’s a long haul out this way, I doubt many humans are going to be interested in working this far away from our stars.”
“Have you figured out what to trade them, yet?”
“The first round, probably, but after that, I’m not sure.”
“How do you mean, Boss?”
“Those survey ships we stopped to look at had some files on planets fit to live on. The Roos need some extra room. They also have, by some astronomical accident, more scandium than they can shake a stick at. If I can’t make a deal in those conditions, we need somebody else sitting in the big chair.”
Suddenly, I was glad I had gotten my reflexes bumped up in the autodoc. Lilly decided I wasn’t interesting any more, and jumped off the table. I was able to catch her in midair, and soften her landing.
Velma said, “She used one of the chairs to get up. I thought she would come down the same way.”
“I don’t have any idea how much of a fall she can take, but I sure don’t want to find out the hard way.”
Velma said something in Roo, it must have been, ‘time to go’, or something similar, because Lilly followed her out. I put away the training machine, and went to the bridge to see how things were going. Saucy called out, and I answered, and then Topper asked, “Need something, Boss?”
“Nope. Just came by to watch you run the ship so efficiently. Thought maybe I could pick up some pointers.”
“Ha ha. Everything is running normally, nothing showing on the scanners.”
Sue spoke up, “I have a glitch now, Mr. Topper.”
Topper said, “Ruth, standard approach to the unknown.”
We dropped out of FTL, and Sue started working hard, trying to figure out what she was seeing. Finally, she said, “Take us in closer, please, Ruth.”
The stars glitched, and Sue got busy on her console again. She said, “This one has power, at least. Not much, though. Not detecting any weapons. Take us closer, please.”
I could tell that Topper’s ‘standard approach’ was different than what we had been doing, but it took me a second to realize the difference. We were coming out pointed at the unknown, each jump. Tex had the mains charged, ready to fix any problems that might arise. We kept edging closer, until Sue said, “Commonwealth survey ship, just like the others. No sign of life, but there is a small power draw. Looks like this one is holding pressure, at least.”
Topper said, “Gene, please inform Andre his services are required.”
“Yes, Mr. Topper.”
“Saucy, please put the feed on screen for the Captain. He can’t access the direct stream.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Saucy split the screen, exterior view of the derelict, and Andre’s view. The Marines went aboard, not finding much. Andre said, “We’ve found your power draw. The crew left a message. Do you want me to play it, Boss?”
“Might as well. I wonder what horrors this one went through.”
Andre started the recording. The person on it said they had found that their autodocs were faulty, and they had waited for rescue till they ran out of food, at which point they had resolved to space themselves. He also said there were personal messages for their loved ones stored on the ship’s computer. When the message ended, Andre downloaded the logs, and asked, “Is the Boss there?”
I said, “Yes, Andre. You would like a few words for those poor souls?”
“I would, Boss.”
I made a little speech about the bravery and sacrifice of those who go into the black to find new places to live, and the whole bridge said, “Amen”.
Andre and his team came back aboard. I asked Topper, “Are we going to find anybody we can help, this trip? All these ghost ships are bringing me down.”
“Me too, Boss.”
Ruth was nearly ready to go back to FTL, when Sue called, “I have something. It’s weak, but I can get a direction for it.”
Topper said, “Feed your data to Ruth. We could all use some good news about now.”
He turned to me, “Do you want the conn, Boss?”
“Might be best. No telling what’s out there.”
I strapped into my chair, as Ruth was saying, “I’m going to make a short jump, this signal seems to be coming in from quite a distance.”
We came out, and Sue said, “That’s better. I can almost make out words. Sounds like they’re speaking Roo. Could we jump again, Ruth?”
Ruth jumped us, and Sue put the signal on speaker. They were talking faster than our translator could keep up. I said, “Gene, page Ellie to the bridge, please.”
“On it, Boss.”
Sue and Ruth managed to get us closer, before Ellie made it to the bridge. Joanna, Velma, and Lilly had come with her. Lilly came and jumped in my lap. Luckily, she missed everything important on the way in.
Ellie asked, “What can I do for you, Captain?”
“Can you tell us what these folks are saying? They talk too fast for our translator.”
She listened, and said, “He is very excited. I can see why your machine has trouble. He says they are marooned, and in need of aid. Their air is going bad.”
I said, “Ruth, can you slip a landing bay around those folks?”
“Right away, Boss. We’ll have them some air, pronto.”
“Ellie, do you mind going to greet them, so they know they aren’t going to be eaten by the terrible aliens?”
“Not at all, Captain, but I’d rather not take Lilly into that situation, if that’s possible.”
“Between me and Velma, surely we can keep her occupied. Go ahead.”
She took off, with Joanna trailing behind. Saucy put up a view of the bay that Ruth was putting them in. I wasn’t surprised to see Marines around the edge of the room, looking like dormant bots, but definitely powered up. The ship appeared to slide into the bay, and the force field came on behind it. Once it was down, and secured, we saw loose paper flutter, as the bay filled with air. When the fluttering stopped, Ellie appeared. I had a lap full of happy joey, as she recognized her Mommy. When Ellie convinced the crew to disembark, I was surprised to learn that nerds look more or less the same, regardless of species. She talked to them for a bit, and then got on the comm to me. “Captain, they say they were out here looking for new planets, when their drive went out.”
“Did they find any?”
“No, they didn’t.”
“How are they medically?”
“Just like any other bookworm type. Malnourished, not enough exercise. Other than needing a few hours in good atmosphere, they’ll be fine.”
“What’s their preference? Fix their ship, and send them on their way, or take them back to your part of space.”
“Their leader is pretty hardcore about staying out to look for planets, but the rest of them seem to have had enough of adventuring.”
“Do you think it’s a good idea to give them the run of the ship, or should we keep them corralled?”
“I think we should keep them somewhere we can keep an eye on them. One of these idiots might take apart something vital, just to see how it worked.”
“Not over once, I wouldn’t think. Scotti takes a dim view of such things.”
“What would she do to them?”
“I’d think they might get a thorough introduction to the use of a mop, to include frequent inspections to make sure they were doing it properly.”
“I thought this ship had automated cleaning facilities?”
“They don’t know that.”
“I’m beginning to understand what they mean when they say you are sneaky, Captain. I’ll make sure this bunch stays in the landing bay.”
“If you can’t manage, I’m sure the Marines will be more than willing to help.”
“Marines?”
“Look around you, Ma’am. Those bots along the walls aren’t for decoration.”
“Oh my! You don’t take chances, do you, Captain?”
“Not if I can get by without it. Do you have the situation in hand, down there?”
“I do. They may not think to say it, so I better. Thank you for rescuing them. They wouldn’t have lasted very long.”
“You’re welcome. We try to be good citizens of the Galaxy. I wouldn’t go so far as to say we always get it done, but we try.”
“You’re good enough for me. Talk to you later.”
“Bye.”
Velma said something to Lilly in Roo. She climbed down off me, and went to Velma. Velma said, in English, “Sorry about that, Boss. She’s lively.”
“I noticed. No harm done. Do you think you will be able to get that little package of mayhem off my bridge?”
“I think so, Boss.”
Topper said, “I went ahead and took us back into FTL, as soon as Sue couldn’t find any more signals.”
“Good work. We wouldn’t want the fleet to get there ahead of us.”
Saucy said, “Boss, you have mail again.”
“Anything hush-hush, like last time?”
“No, Boss. Everything has regular priority, this time.”
“Mr. Topper, you have the conn. I’ll be in the ready room, if you need me.”
“My ship, yes Boss. I hope it’s good news.”
“Me too.”
I went across, and started on the mail.
The first text was from Max. He said the government had finally eased off on the people we left behind, but he was pretty sure they were still watching the houses. He didn’t think it was worth the risk to do a flyby, and make sure.
Sally said she had dispatched Dingus and the Armstrong to the most likely sounding of the new planets, and Diego, with the Conrad, to the next most likely. They both had destroyer escorts, and instructions to proceed to planets on down the list, as time permitted. She had given Steve the duty of returning the derelicts we had found to the Commonwealth. She still didn’t admit that the rest of the fleet was following us, but I hadn’t really expected her to.
