Let's Make a Deal (Bob and Nikki Book 11), стр. 43

“Are you sure you came to the right place for that?”

“Sure am. Things go to crap, Dad fixes them. Same old thing, every day.”

“Thanks, I think.”

I took Snitz to do his business. Jim and Molly were at the grass room. I said, “I know it isn’t Sally anymore, what’s the story now?”

Jim said, “Before she left, Sally told Gene to send me a text whenever he sees you head this way.”

“I’m not sure how much I like the idea that I need someone looking after me.”

“Just think of me as a ship’s counselor.”

“No offense, Jim, but you’re gonna need a long time in the ‘doc to be as pretty as Troi.”

“I guess you’re right about that. How are things going?”

“Mostly, I’m just worried that all this time I’m spending, working things out with Natti and Snappi, isn’t going to amount to a hill of beans, because the Emperor isn’t going to stand behind the agreements.”

“I can see how going to all that work, when you can’t tell if you’re doing any good or not, would wear on you. What makes you think the Emperor won’t honor the agreements?”

“When I talked to him today, he didn’t sound like he had any idea what had gone on out this way. I’m beginning to think he’s just a figurehead, and people behind the scenes are actually running the Empire. Since I don’t know who those folks are, I don’t even know where to start to get an agreement I can depend on.”

“How does their system of government work, anyhow?”

“Danged if I know. I know they have an Emperor, but I don’t even know how he gets the job.”

“Don’t we have a bunch of training material we captured off Squirrel ships?”

“Now you’re talking nasty. Trying to think like a Squirrel makes my head hurt. Besides, how would I know if the course was the real deal, or just obfuscation to keep the junior Squirrels from getting ahead?”

“Look at you, using the big words. You mean some of the courses you already took were sabotaged, to keep people from getting ahead?”

“Yep, but it isn’t just the Squirrels that do that sort of thing. The Navy courses on fleet tactics are the same way. You have to know the right courses to take, to actually learn anything.”

“Do you suppose Lakki and Tikki could help you figure out which courses have the real info?”

“You might have something there, Jim. I’ll look into it in the morning,”

“Just trying to help, Boss.”

“Thanks. See you tomorrow.”

“Night, Boss.” I made it back to the cabin without any excitement. Nikki felt the need for practice, so it took a while to get to sleep. Janet woke me in the middle of the night, saying, “I’m sorry. Is it okay if I come and snuggle?”

“Sure. Try not to wake your Mother.” I got back to sleep, and it seemed like only a minute or two before Snitz was licking my ear. I got up, and took care of my morning stuff, and headed out to the grass room. Alice was happy to wait for Janet, so Snitz and I went ahead. I guess Jim had taken care of his duty to the ship the night before, since he didn’t make an appearance. We headed on down to the galley. Snitz posted himself beside the door, and I went on in. Stella brought me some coffee, and asked, “What would you like to eat?”

Not ready for the question, I went with an old standard. “Ham and cheese omelet, with wheat toast, and hash browns.”

“Sorry, Boss. We don’t have any wheat bread today. Will white toast be okay?”

“Sure.” I thought about how long it would take me to eat, and called Lakki. “Morning, Boss. What can I do for you today?”

“Could you meet me at my ready room in about twenty minutes? I have some questions about the Squirrel government I’d like to run by you.”

“Sure, Boss. I’ll meet you there.”

“Thanks, bye.”

I called Tikki next. “Morning, Boss. What do you need? We’re fresh out of quantum drives that let you be in two places at once, before you ask.”

“Aw, dang! That’s just the thing I need, too.”

“Seriously, what can I do for you?”

“Could you meet me in the ready room in about twenty minutes? I need some Squirrel input on a few things I’ve been pondering.”

“No problem. See you there.”

“See you.” Stella brought out my breakfast, and I dug for China. All that negotiating must have given me an appetite. I finished up, and Snitz followed me to the transit. We met Mingus and Rangolus on the way. Mingus said, “Boss, we’ve got something we need to talk to you about.”

I said, “Walk with me, I have people waiting on me.”

They fell in with us, and Rangolus said, “We got way ahead on picking out planets to check into, and we decided to work on something else until the survey crews caught up. We decided to look at old reports of strange craft being sighted, to see if we could get a better idea of when and where the Squirrels have been.”

Mingus continued, “We found something we didn’t expect, Boss. We were able to match over eighty-five percent of the reported incidents to known types of Squirrel ships, and Squirrel flight patterns. Some were obviously misidentification of human vessels, but there remain a few that can’t be explained by anything we’re aware of.”

“You’re trying not to tell me you’ve found evidence of another non-human race?”

“I wouldn’t have put it quite like that, but that’s the gist of it, yes.”

“Do you have any idea what part of the galaxy we should start looking for them in?”

“No, we don’t.”

“Go back and see if