Chapter 13
Urgent Consultation
As Rossi had predicted, the Fleet did not return, and everyone began to relax. The following day, the rescue ship Captain Shilling had promised finally arrived. Captain Levitur and Commander General Lavendar, who were leading the mission, were shocked to learn Rossi and his friends had managed to hijack an attack cruiser. Rossi told them the story as they relaxed in one of the rescue ships. They laughed heartily.
“That was very courageous of all of you,” Red said. “It’s too bad we can’t bring Earth’s Destiny with us tomorrow when we leave for Earth.”
“Why can’t we?” Rossi asked.
“Well, didn’t you say it would take five days to repair? There’s no way we can wait that long. The war would likely be over by the time we got there.”
“We could leave right now and repair the ship on the way to Earth. She’s fully stocked and ready to go. We’ll have plenty of time to do the repairs later.”
Tam leaned forward. “Are you serious? Is that possible?”
“I think so,” Rossi replied. “We’d need a captain, and a few crew members to operate and maintain critical systems. I could supervise the repairs myself. I’ll have to seal off about twenty percent of the ship until they’re completed.”
“I volunteer to go along,” Paalo said.
“Me too,” Rep added. “I’m sure we could recruit a repair crew from among our men to join us.”
Tam looked at them thoughtfully. “There’s no way we’d have time to find a captain quickly enough for this to work.”
Red turned to him. “Well, how about you?”
Tam laughed. “Me? I know nothing about the operation of an attack cruiser.”
“I’ll teach you everything I know,” Rossi said. “You’ll be an expert by the time we get to Earth.”
Tam laughed. “I don’t know. . . .”
“Come on,” Red urged. “You’re not going to like sitting behind a desk while Leek and I are kicking Purist ass on Earth.”
Tam raised his eyebrows and nodded. “That’s true. You two might blow the mission without my guidance.”
“That’s right,” Red agreed, smiling.
“Okay, let’s do it,” Tam said. “Commanding an attack cruiser might be fun. I’ll have to check with Lorin and Threebeard first, but I doubt they’ll have a problem with it.”
“It will be like old times—you, me, and Leek against Rupra Bruda and his goons,” Red said excitedly. “This will be fun.”
With that, Tam stood up and grinned. “Okay, so who’s going to give me a tour of my new ship?”
Tarizon, Conquest Earth, Tarizon Trilogy Vol 3 Page 15
