Joy to the Squirrels by Jerry Boyd

Author:Jerry Boyd [Boyd, Jerry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-06-26T16:00:00+00:00

I read through all of it. The scouts had followed the ships, which had emerged from FTL after a couple of light years, and seemed to be waiting. The scouts had gotten some good scans of the ships, while they were in normal space. They seemed to be tramp freighters, with no special features. After I finished, I asked, “Am I reading this correctly, Skipper? It looks to me like all the ships dropped out, and none of them continued toward the Confederation.”

“That’s what I see, too, Boss. Looks like we got lucky.”

“How long do you think they will wait before they head back to where they were?”

“I would expect them to stay where they are for another few hours, and then send one or two ships to see what is happening back in the system, probably stopping short of the system proper to observe.”

“Well, I’m going to see about some rest, and you can catch me up in the morning. Don’t hesitate to wake me, if things look worse.”

“Let you sleep unless they decide to send a messenger to the Confederation, you mean?”

“That sounds right.”

“Understood. See you in the morning.”

“See you then.”

Nikki and I got up and headed for the cabin. I took Snitz to the grass room, and Jim said, “Evenin’, Boss.”

“Evenin’, Preacher. How are things for you?”

“I’m doing alright, I suppose. Wouldn’t have minded if Janet had decided to stay a few more days, but that’s not a big thing.”

“Why is that?”

“She’s fun to have around, and she makes Juke smile.”

“I see.”

“What about you, Boss? Are you making it okay?”

“Pretty well, I’d have to say. Looks like we’re not going to have to go after those ships that took off when we got to the system to free the prisoners. They stopped a few light years out, to wait out the attack, like they’re planning to head back as soon as they can. Doesn’t look like anyone is interested in calling out the Confederation to chase us down.”

“You thought you were going to wind up going to war with them?”

“I was beginning to think I was going to have to hit them hard enough to convince them that messing with us was a bad idea. I didn’t think I could hit them hard enough to get their attention, without killing some of them. I really don’t need any more nightmares, Preacher.”

“Understandable, Boss. You really think this is going to settle down, all on its own?”

“It looks that way, right now. We should have a better idea by morning, I think. If Topper doesn’t have to wake me up before Snitz does, I think we might be able to put this mess in the rearview, and let them stew in their own juices.”

“Sounds good, at the very least. I hope you’re right, Boss.”

“Me, too. We have the best fleet in the galaxy. We don’t need to fight anybody to prove it.”

“After what I’ve seen you do in the sims, Boss, I don’t want to see what happens when you have to let it loose for real.

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