by Ward Wagher
Yasmin Gris raised a finger.
"Yes, Mayor Gris?" Franklin said.
"What if you don't come back?"
There was an intake of breath in the room, though Franklin couldn't tell who it was. He snorted. "As usual, you drive straight through to the heart of the issue. I won't lie to you. There is a chance something like that might happen. Most of you have been involved in the discussions over the past few weeks and know we have little choice in how to deal with the situation. If the worst happens, get word to my dad."
"And the business?" Blakeley said.
Franklin looked over at Marple. "Modest knows the business. I expect it to be run just as it was before. As you know there is another Woogie coming in to cover the Cambridge Inn while Louie is gone. I'd like you to do your part to help Brigitte get up to speed."
Marple nodded. "That I can do. Louie has told me several times Brigitte is a sharp operator. I'm looking forward to picking her... its... brain." He looked puzzled. "How many sexes do Woogies have?"
"Three, I think," Gris said.
"How do you know which..." Marple trailed off, looking confused again. "Maybe I just don't want to go there."
Everyone in the room chuckled.
"Just put that on your list of things to do, Modest," Franklin said.
“Huh?”
"Figuring out the sex life of Woogies," he said. "And now, is there anything else?"
"Let's just forget I said anything," Marple said.
"Thank you, once again, for all you have done," Franklin said. "Hopefully we will be back in six weeks to two months. If you need to get any messages to me, I'd suggest using CourierNet. They usually do a good job of tracking people down."
"Maybe you should use them to track down the Foxworths," Alex said.
"No joke." Franklin nodded at the group and then stepped from the room.
chapter twelve
"The shuttle port is as busy as I've ever seen it," Franklin said as he and Alex Nesmith drove up the road from the village in one of the electric trucklets.
In addition to the normal evening lighting at the port, Major Boodles had set up portable lighting as a way to reduce confusion.
"Aye, sir, and there's a lot that has to get done in a hurry too," the guard captain said. "Do you expect to have everything loaded in time to meet your departure time?"
"I don't know. It's going to be close."
A long queue of crew members and their luggage lined up to board the shuttle to orbit. Members of the Baltic Regiment moved about with purpose, checking off group members and lining up cargo. One of the sergeants strode over to the vehicle as they came to a halt.
"Captain, we're holding a seat for you on the shuttle, but you'll have to hurry if we want to stay on schedule."
Franklin leaned over and shook the guard captain's hand. "Take care of things for me, Alex."
"God be with you, sir."
Franklin shrugged and climbed out of the cab. He reached into the bed and grabbed a carry bag, and then trotted across the tarmac to the shuttle. The sergeant trotted along beside him. The turbines on the shuttle began spooling up.
"About fifteen seconds, Sir."
Franklin responded by breaking into a run. He maintained his pace up the ramp and into the shuttle. A petty officer waited at the hatch.
"Where is my seat?"
The petty officer punched a button and the ramp started to retract. He pointed to a seat in the front row on the aisle.
"Right there, Sir. Please buckle in as quick as you like."
Franklin dropped into the seat and shoved the bag underneath. "Sorry about that, P.O. I didn't realize we were running that tight," he said as he fastened his seatbelt.
The Petty Officer looked at the telltales on the hatch after it closed, then leaned into the cockpit. "Clear board, Sir."
There was a surge as the shuttle lifted off before the artificial gravity caught up with it. The sound of the turbines rose to a scream as the pilot lifted the nose of the shuttle and headed for orbit. The Petty Officer slid a computing tablet from a slot in the bulkhead and begin checking off items on it.
"Is the crew showing up on time?" Franklin asked.
The petty officer looked up. "By and large, Skipper. Because the schedule is tight, we can fill any open seats from the people waiting for the next flight. We've only had two or three miss their schedule, though, actually, Sir."
"Who were they?"
"Uh, the Chief Engineer didn't get here on time. He was supposed to be on this flight. One rating was simply late, another one fell and broke his arm this morning. Everyone is accounted for, though, Sir."
"Did the CHENG call in?”
"Yes, sir. He'll be on the next flight."
Frank leaned back in the seat and watched the azure sky turn to a deep purple. As the shuttle climbed the horizon took on a pronounced curve. The background chatter of the crew members on board quieted as they watched the growing darkness of space. The barbed arrow shape of Canopus grew quickly in the viewport as the shuttle pilots drove hard to match orbits.
"Amazing how the ship was right here, Sir," the rating next to Franklin spoke.
Franklin turned his head to see a youthful face and the bright eyes of excitement. He glanced down to take in the name tag before speaking. "It is actually planned that way, Swenson. The Canopus is in low planetary orbit, and the Exec has planned each trip up from the surface to coincide with the arrival of the ship overhead."
"Is that why there was such a hustle to get everyone aboard, Sir?"
"That is it exactly. You may notice I nearly missed this trip myself. Our executive officer has decreed that no shuttle run will be held for anyone, including the Skipper."
"Is that all right, sir?" The excitement on the young face turned to concern. "I mean, it would be a bad thing to leave the captain ground-side."
"Not to worry, Swenson. I would get up to the ship eventually. Right now the schedule is more important than the Skipper. For all practical purposes if we miss a launch window, we lose 90 minutes. That is time which will never be recovered."
"But couldn't we go faster, Sir?"
"Where do you work, Swenson?"
"In the galley, Sir."
Franklin nodded. "It's like this: in addition to the orbital mechanics, which get really messy when you try to catch up, we would get pinched on the other end because we would not be done unloading the shuttle when it was time to break free and drop back down to Montora village. It's usually better just to wait for the next window and accept the loss of the time. Invariably you end up losing more time trying to catch up."
"Thank you, Sir." The rating leaned back in his seat and appeared to be thinking seriously.
“Where are you from?”
“Montora Village, Sir. I do the short order cooking at the Village Inn.”
“I'll bet Marple was happy when you told him you were shipping out.”
The rating laughed nervously. “Not so much, Sir.”
Franklin leaned forward to watch out the viewport as the shuttle matched orbits with the destroyer. The large door to the docking bay was open and the shuttle eased through it into the cradle. The slight jolt and a clunk indicated the shuttle was docked. Through the viewport he could watch as the passageway collar extended itself and attached to the shuttle.
"Greenlight," the Petty Officer said. "Equalizing pressure."
He studied his instruments and then hit the button to open the hatch. Franklin unhooked his seatbelt and pulled himself to his feet. As he walked towards the hatchway he worked his jaw to adjust the pressure in his ears.
He leaned into the cockpit. Two Baltic Regimental officers handled the piloting. “Nice flight, Gentlemen.”
“Thank-you, Sir.”
Behind him he heard the Petty Officer bawling.
"Awwright ladies and laddies, we have ten minutes to offload the shuttle and I would be very unhappy if any of you got in the way of the cargo. So, I suggest you move with alacrity."
Franklin smiled at the universality of noncommissioned officers getting their work done. As he stepped onto the hangar deck he was reminded of another tradition as an old-fashioned pair of lung-powered pipes sounded.
"Canopus arriving!" Barked the leather-lunged chief.
Everyone in the hangar deck jumped to attention. "As you were," Franklin said loudly. "We have a shuttle to unload."
Franklin walked quickly across the hangar deck to the opposite side. He stepped into the intra-ship transport car, which for some reason was called an elevator even though its movement was largely horizontal. Next to the door was a skeletal schematic of the ship with buttons for each car stop. He pushed the button marked Bridge. The car accelerated smoothly and did not halt until it arrived at the bridge.
"Captain on the bridge!" The watch officer jumped to his feet as Franklin strode out of the elevator.
"As you were. Where's the Exec?"
"In the ready room, Sir."
Franklin walked over to another door exiting the bridge. He knocked, then hit the button to open the door. Daphne Locke sat at the desk and looked to be sorting stacks of paper. She jumped up when she saw Franklin.
"Ah, Skipper. Glad you made it. The shuttle runs are getting really tight, plus I just got some bad news."
Franklin eased into a chair across from Daphne. "What's going on?"
"Louie was in an air car accident on his way to Montora."
Franklin was back on its feet again. "Not Louie! I can't keep losing friends like this."
Daphne held up her hands, palm out, in front of her. "He still alive, Franklin. We don't know yet if he was hurt or how badly. We've got the ship to think of, too."
Franklin shook his head and sat down again. "You’re right, of course. Do you have a replacement for Louie ready to go?"
She shook her head. "We were able to keep an engineering chief and an ensign who arrived with the ship, but neither of them have the experience to run the engine room."
"I'm going to have to go back down there," he said.
"We don't have time."
"We can't leave orbit without a qualified engineer," the corner of Franklin's mouth quirked. "So, I guess that means we have all the time we need."
Franklin stood up again and leaned over the desk to punch a couple of buttons on the desktop communicator.
"Shuttle bay, Lieutenant Strange."
"Lieutenant, this is the Captain. How long till the shuttle undocks again?"
"Five minutes, sir."
"I plan to be on it."
Franklin hit the button to close the connection and quickly moved toward the door. "See you later, Daff."
Once he was in the elevator car and it was moving, he pulled out his hand comm.
"Communications, Chief Barrett."
"This is the Skipper, Chief. Please connect me to the Montora shuttle port."
A moment later Franklin heard the click of a connection. "This is Harmon Eckert. Is that you, Margrave?"
"Yes, Harmon. What happened to Louie?"
"It was a midair, Sir. Louie managed to set it down in one piece, but he and the other Woogie were injured. I don't think anyone got out of the other car alive."
"How badly injured, Harmon?”
"Unknown, Sir. We're trying to get a team to them now."
"I'm on my way back down, Harmon. Have somebody waiting for me when I arrive. I want you to take charge of retrieving the Woogies."
"Right, Sir."
Franklin snapped his hand comm closed as the elevator door opened. The petty officer on the shuttle was watching for him and shouted, "Twenty seconds, Sir."
Franklin sprinted across the hangar deck to the shuttle. "Gangway!" he shouted.
The crew members on the shuttle deck quickly stepped out of the way of his headlong rush. As soon as he was through the opening the Petty Officer hit the button to close the hatch.
"Clear board, Sir," he called into the cockpit.
With a lurch the shuttle jumped free from the docking arms and slipped through the shuttle bay door into space. It then shot away towards the planet below.
# # #
Guard Captain Nesmith was waiting for Franklin Nyman when the shuttle landed. As soon as Franklin cleared the door, the process of reloading the shuttle began. He spotted Nesmith and walked over to him.
"Talk to me, Alex."
"Over here to the air car, please, Sir. Major Boodles has them in the Baltic Regiment infirmary."
"How bad is it?" Franklin said as they walked quickly towards the air car.
"The Baltic doc thinks both Woogies have minor injuries only, but the vocoders were smashed, so we can't talk to them."
"Who was in the other air car, Alex?"
"It wasn't any of our people, Sir. We don't have IDs on them yet, but the air car was registered to Cambridge News."
"Well that just puts a cap on the whole day. Cambridge News doesn't like me, so therefore they will be out for blood. I really hope it wasn't those two girls that cornered me in Cambridge. They were idiots, but I hate seeing young people killed like that."
Alex started up the air car for the quick hop up to the regimental camp. "Major Boodles' folks got a radar track. It was not Louie's fault. The news car traveled across Louie’s flight path at high speed and ran right into them. Louie’s transponder was on. He was doing everything right."
"Make sure Mayor Gris has access to those radar logs. She's the one who is going to have to deal with it."
"Of course, Margrave," Nesmith said.
Franklin was once again struck by the neatness of the Baltic Regiment camp. It was arranged in a careful grid with graveled streets bisecting it. There was no trash or litter to be seen.
The Baltic Regiment infirmary was a cacophony of gurgles, squeals, and dysfunctional plumbing noises. The air was full of the vanilla aroma of highly stressed Woogies. The two alien creatures were in the center of the room, each waving their arms/tentacles wildly as they tried and failed to communicate with the doctors.
"Get something with a keyboard on it over here," Franklin said. "Louie knows enough Anglo to type."
One of the corpsmen moved a diagnostic computer over on a cart. Louie spun around and fastened his large single blue eye on the keyboard. Two of his arms / tentacles moved gracefully over the keyboard. The words appeared on the screen.
"Louie, are you okay?" Franklin said.
"You're talking about the other air car, Louie?"
"I heard about it, Louie. It wasn't your fault."
"Louie, listen to me," Franklin said. "Is Brigitte injured?"
Franklin turned to the doctor. "I think you're just going to have to let them settle down before they'll start making sense. I need to know if he is capable of going aboard ship, and I need to know quickly. I don't have another chief engineer in the wings."
The doctor nodded. "I'll do the best I can, Sir."
Franklin turned toward the door just as Martin Boodles strode in to the infirmary.
"I really don't need another day like this, Margrave.”
"You and me both. If we don't regain some momentum our schedule will be shot.”
“Are the Woogies all right?"
"Your doc thinks they’ll be okay. I thought I'd get out of here and give him a chance to settle them down. I can't break orbit until Louie is running my engine room. And Louie won't be aboard ship until he's sure Brigitte can run his hotel."
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see."
"That’s easy for you to say, Martin.”
“I'm sorry, Franklin. That didn't come out right.”
Franklin waved a hand. “Don't worry about it. I'm just concerned that if we wait too long
we won’t find any trace of the Foxworths."
chapter thirteen
"Do you know anybody who can build a vocoder for a Woogie?"
Franklin Nyman was standing outside the Baltic Regiment infirmary talking to Harmon Eckert.
Eckert scratched his head and looked around the compound. He looked up at the mountains, and then down at the starport.
"Gee, I don't know, Margrave. I'm pretty good with the mechanical stuff and construction. I don't know diddly about molecular circuitry. Right offhand I would maybe check with the Major and see if someone in the Regiment can do it, or perhaps talk to Justin Voss in Cambridge. I don't think there's anybody in the village with that kind of skill."
"So you can't just slap together some components, and download code for it then?"
Eckert shrugged his shoulders and raised his hands palm upward. "I really don't have the foggiest, Margrave. I hate to disappoint you..." he lapsed into silence.
"Well, can you ask around?"
"I can ask around, but I don't know the right questions to ask. I think the silly vocoder uses a neural interface. I've noticed a lot of times Louie makes it talk when he is not physically making any noise. Here comes the Major. Why don't you ask him?"
Boodles stepped out of the infirmary shaking his head. "I don't think I've ever seen a Woogie that rattled. They are still bouncing off the walls in there. I realized you were the smart one, Franklin, so I came out too."
"If you had just fallen out of the sky in an air car, you would be rattled too," Eckert said.
Boodles snorted. "I guess you are right. I imagine the poor things thought they were getting ready to meet whatever Woogie God they happen to believe in."
"They worship the same God we do," Eckert said.
Franklin rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Major, do you have anybody up here who knows how to make a vocoder?"
Boodles looked back and forth at the other two men. "May I assume you have run through your other sources and come up dry?"
