by Jerry Boyd
“What sort of target do you have, Sir?”
“The demolition charge from that ship we brought aboard yesterday. A couple of remotes just kicked it out of the landing bay. I’d like to let it get out to about ten kilometers, and zap it with a railgun pellet.”
Sally replied, “Yes, Sir, we’re tracking it now. Do you think we should close the bay door before we shoot it?”
I said, “I believe Zoom is already working on that. You are right, wait for the door to be shut before you fire.”
Zoom said, “Closed, Boss.” Sally said, “We show the door closed, and the range is eleven kilometers. Mr. Tex, fire at will.” There was a pause, then Tex said, “Firing.” Sally said, “Good hit. I see why you didn’t want that going off close to the ship. Captain.”
“Thank you for taking care of it. Talk to you later.”
“Bye, Boss.”
I looked at Zoom. “Any more surprises like that?”
“No, Sir. Thank you for dealing with it.”
I said, “Eliminating threats to the ship and crew, that’s the biggest part of my job.”
She replied, “I’ll go back over that bucket, just to make sure vacuum exposure didn’t hurt anything, but it should be ready to fly.”
I asked, “Do you know if Scotti has a ship ready to haul this beast back home?”
Zoom said, “Last time I talked with her, she said it was handled.”
“I better get with Sally about a crew, then.”
Gene said, “I’ll get Sally back on the line for you, Boss.”
Sally answered, “Yes, Captain?”
“Sorry to bother you again so soon. Do you have a crew selected to haul the Earth ship home?”
Sally replied, “I have a pilot, a Marine, and a medbot on standby, Sir. Does that sound about right?”
“No, Ma’am. That sounds perfect. You’ve briefed them on the mission?”
Sally said, “I told them to drop the Earth ship off as close to Earth as they could without being seen, and get out of Dodge before the Earth people wake up. I wasn’t sure where you wanted them to report afterwards.”
“Charlie’s Planet, please. Good work. Hopefully, we’ll be ready to launch soon. I’ll let you know if there is a change in the mission.”
“When are you planning to leave this system, Boss?”
I said, “We need to get the Earth ship headed home, and pick up the team that put the drive in that Guide ship, and grab the power core test. After that, I think we are clear to leave.”
“The drive team has already retrieved the power core, Sir. They are just waiting for the medbot to program the countdown for the Guide crew to wake up, and they’ll be ready.”
I said, “Sounds like we’re waiting on the outcome of Diego’s meeting, then. I’ll get back to you when I know more.”
“Later, Boss.”
I asked Gene, “Can you give me a light trail to the interview room where Diego is talking to Jennie?”
“Transit would be quicker, Boss.”
I replied, “Two things, Gene. I don’t want to rush them, and I still need to get a feel for the ship.”
“Yes, Boss.” I headed out, trying to build a picture in my head of how Gene was laid out. I was nearly to the interview room when my comm rang. “Captain Wilson.”
“Bob, it’s Jane. We have some answers for you. She wants to go back to Earth because her Grandmother and Grandfather died a few days apart in a nursing home, after she was already in space. She wants to investigate their deaths, and mourn them. She would like to work in space, as long as she isn’t cooped up in a tin can with folks like that political officer.”
I asked, “Did you figure out why she wanted to talk to me so bad?”
Jane said, “It looks like to me, she wanted to see if she could make a deal to go back for a few weeks to see about her grandparents, and then join up.”
“I’m just now getting to you, why don’t she and I have a little talk and see what we can come up with.”
Jane replied, “I was hoping you would say that.”
Gene was blinking his guide light in front of a door, so I opened it. Diego said, “Captain, I’m glad you’re here. I’d like you to meet Jennie Stone, and Bill Richards. I shook hands with both of them, and said, “It’s good to meet you both.” Bill said, “You too, Sir.” Jennie said, “I’m sorry I’ve been so much trouble, Sir.” I replied, “Hmm, trouble, must be one of those days that end in Y.”
She said, “Thank you for being understanding. I should have told that nice cowboy, who talked to me first, what was going on. He tried so hard to be helpful.”
“Dingus is alright, for sure, but you might want to tone it down when you meet his wife. She considers weapons to be fashion accessories.”
Jennie looked at me questioningly. “Sir, you sound like home. Are you from Oklahoma?”
I replied, “No, Ma’am. The stork got tired of toting me, and left me in Missouri.”
“Southwest Missouri, surely. You talk too good to be from any other part.”
I said, “Guilty as charged. What part of Oklahoma?”
“South and East of Muskogee, Sir.” The light went off in my head. I asked, “If it’s not prying too much, what did your Grandparents do for a living, before they retired?”
“They ran cattle for a lot of years, Sir. Why do you ask?”
I replied, “Just a minute, let me check on something. I’ll be back.”
I stepped out in the hall, and shut the door. I pulled out my comm, and dialed Dingus’ brother Rangolus. “Mr. Wilson, it’s good to hear from you. Are you back home?”
“No, Sir, I am not, but I think I may have run into someone you know.”
Rangolus asked, “Who might that be, Mr. Wilson?”
“I just met a girl named Jennie Stone, who says her Grandparents used to run cattle in eastern Oklahoma. They both died a few days apart in a nursing home, not too long ago. She don’t believe a word of it, and she’s hot to trot, to get home and find out what happened to them.”
Rangolus replied, “Little Jennifer is out there in the wild stars? I thought she was supposed to be deployed in Iraq.”
“When was this, that the government told you the truth?”
“You’ve got a point. Could you put her on?”
“Go easy on her, she’s had a rough couple of days.”
I went back in, and handed Jennie the comm. “Somebody wants to talk to you.”
I motioned for the other fellas to follow me out, so she could have some privacy. Once we were in the hall, Bill asked, “What was all that?”
I replied, “Autodocs can cure a lot, including aging, for the most part. Her Grandparents had skills we needed, so a business associate of mine threw them in the autodoc and cooked them up some phony death certificates. He’s on the comm right now, trying to get out of the doghouse with Jennie.”
Bill looked stunned, “You mean to say that her Grandparents are young again, and working for you?”
I said, “To tell you the truth, my business manager, Max, made all those arrangements, and I haven’t seen him since. I don’t know if they’re technically working for us, or the Starfoot.”
Jennie came bursting out of the interview room, and gave me a flying hug. She started to kiss me too, but I said, “Easy there, my wife is jealous, and she’s not been real forgiving since she got pregnant.” Nikki had shown up without my noticing. She said, “Aww, go ahead, you won’t break him.”
Thanks for sticking with my books. I hope you had as much fun reading as I did writing. I sure would appreciate it if you took the time to leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or anywhere else that strikes your fancy.
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