Let's Make a Deal (Bob and Nikki Book 11), стр. 70

“So, you would have had to figure out that there were still people in his fleet who didn’t want the talks to succeed, who would be willing to plant such a thing, before you could even think to look?”

“I suppose.”

“You were supposed to deduce the existence of these folks exactly how?”

“I suppose you’re right. The only evidence I had was the slow talks, and that could have just been that Natti has the Emperor looking over his shoulder, so that he’s more cautious.”

“See, you just need to cut yourself some slack, Bob. You’re not going to get ahead of everything.”

“I know you’re right about that, but I have a lot of people depending on me. I need to get this right.”

“That’s why we all want you in the big chair. You care about the people who work for you.”

“You’re going to stand there and tell me you wouldn’t do the same?”

“Nope. Just saying you’re better at it.”

“If you say so. Most days, I’m just making it up as I go along.”

“We’d rather have your improvisations, than anybody else’s best laid plans. Deal with it, Bob. We like the way you do your job.”

“It’s nice to hear, but I’m sure something will come up tomorrow that I don’t feel competent to deal with.”

“What’s that?”

“If I knew, I’d be studying up on it, wouldn’t I?”

“You’ll do, Bob.” Realizing I wasn’t going to change his mind, I let it go. Surely somebody in the fleet would make a better Commodore, but no one seemed to be stepping up for the job. Snitz finished his business, and we went back to the cabin. Nikki roused enough to say, “Hi, Caveman.” when I went to bed, but she fell right back to sleep. I was right behind her. Way too soon, Snitz was licking my ear. Once morning things were taken care of, we were off to the grass room. Jim must have taken care of what Gene thought he needed to, last night, because he wasn’t there. Snitz did what he needed, and took off. I went to the galley. Stella met me at the door and asked, "What would you like this morning, Boss?"

I replied, "An omelet, I think."

"Have a seat and I'll bring it right out."

I sat down, and she poured me a cup of coffee. I thought about what I needed to do that day, as I peered into my coffee cup. Janet came in and sat with me.

"Hey, Dad. What are you up to today?"

"I don't have much to do until the ambassador gets back. I hope to get finished up with him today."

"Do you think you will be able to get a good deal from him?"

"I think so. Now that we can both think straight, things are going a lot easier."

"What do you think we’ll be doing next, after you get done negotiating?"

"I'm sure Murphy will find us something to do."

"Doesn't he always?"

"What are you up to today?"

"Updating more power runs with Milly."

"Are they really that much better?"

"Scotti says they'll carry about 20% more power."

"That is a sizable improvement."

"It is. She's pretty upset that she couldn't remember how to do it."

"I can see how she would be. Were there a lot of other things she wasn't remembering?"

"Nothing as big as this, I don't think."

"How long do need to you finish the power runs?"

"We may have to finish up tomorrow, but it shouldn’t go any longer than that."

"As long as you're staying busy."

"Thanks, Dad."

Janet must have called ahead with her order, because Stella brought both of our meals out together. When we finished, I headed out to the bridge. When I got there, Saucy called out, "Commodore on the bridge". I responded, "As you were". Topper asked, "What's up, Boss?"

"I'm just checking to see what's happening in our corner of the galaxy this morning."

"Nothing out of the ordinary, Boss."

"That's good, I suppose."

"Black Beauty and Midnight are keeping a watch on the Squirrel fleet to make sure nobody gets uppity. So far, they haven't seen anything untoward."

"That's good to hear. I'm getting a little tired of having to put down their mutinies for them."

Sue spoke up. "Boss, their spy ship has been poking around again, but they haven't bothered to pick up their sensor platforms."

"Maybe they don't believe we know where they are."

Topper said, "Do you really think they still don't believe that we can find their ships?"

"Some of them seem to be so hardheaded they can't believe a monkey could do anything."

"You've given them plenty of evidence to the contrary."

"They don't seem to be swayed by evidence, Topper."

"Sucks to be them then, Boss."

"I think we can arrange that, yes. Don't you, Topper?"

"Yes, Boss, I certainly do."

"It looks like you've got this under control. I'm going to go wander around for a while before the ambassador gets here. Call me if you need anything."

"Will do, Boss." I headed out, wondering what to do until Natti showed up. Nikki was just getting off the transit. She said, "Hey, Caveman, what are you up to?"

"Just trying to figure out what to do next. You have any good ideas?"

"How soon is Natti going to be here?"

"I don't know. That's why I was having trouble trying to decide what to do."

"We could go play some Frisbee, if we could find that dog of mine."

"Gene can take care of that. He'll probably be there before we are."

We got on the transit. I asked, "Gene, could you call Snitz to the Frisbee room, please."

"On it, Boss."

When the door opened, Snitz was there waiting on us wagging his tail. We grabbed a Frisbee out of the locker, and started to play. We had a good time until Gene came over the speaker. "Boss, the ambassador is arriving shortly." We put the Frisbee away, and grabbed a transit to the landing bay. We got there just before Natti showed up. Snappi parked their ship, and they both came down the ramp. I said, "Good