Quite awhile later, Kris awoke to find the clock across the room smiling at her as it told her it was eight o'clock. Having slept six hours solid, Kris hurriedly pulled on a shipsuit and shoes and headed out to look in on the Command Center.
''What're you doing here this early?'' Kris asked Ramirez.
''I'm not the one that's early. You're the one that's late. Steve called to ask if I minded taking an extra half watch so he could go back to sleep.''
Kris glanced at the duty board. ''Oh lord, it's not eight p.m., it's eight a.m.! Where's Hank?''
''Still got his duckies in a row, following the leader right out of my, now quiet, system. Long may we never see him again.''
''Which jump?''
''He's going for Alpha. Strange that. I'd have expected him to head home by Beta.''
Kris slid into a seat next to the old chief. For a moment she studied the board. Yep, Hank's squadron had done a flip over and now decelerated toward Jump Point Alpha. ''That is strange. Any idea where he's headed?''
''Nope, and no way am I calling that bunch of hooligans and asking. You want to?''
''No,'' Kris said. ''Anyone else up?''
''We've got a full crew working. I'm powering down the laser capacitors; feeding their charge into the main power grid. We've got the reactor dialed down. They're doing maintenance they put off while that wild bunch was here. We're also policing up all the ammunition we signed out, getting it back under lock and key.'' Ramirez smiled. ''We've got a couple of extra boxes of grenades. I understand they're from your personal reserve?''
''Give them back to Abby, my ofttime maid. Let her see if any are missing.''
''Will do. You hungry?''
''Starving.''
''Well, someone declared chow free yesterday, and I didn't get my meal. I don't think you did either. And, since, if the budget don't cover all the free food, Tony Chang says you get the bill, you might as well enjoy one.'' Kris laughed, and followed the chief down to a rather scrumptious breakfast buffet that did its best to make up for the last couple of days.
Stuffed to the gills, Kris did a friendly walk around the station, recognizing jobs well done, hearty efforts and, in general, letting all hands see that the boss was very grateful. Kris also did her own check that stairwells were no longer booby-trapped and auto guns had no belts. She eyeballed all the things that told her the station was back to normal and wouldn't give some unsuspecting kid a 4-millimeter buzz cut when someone leaned on the wrong section of board.
And there were plenty of kids underfoot. The Patton was booked solid for the next month with high school and junior high school classes doing sleepovers. The oldsters… and the high schoolers that had been working with them… put the final touches on everything before putting ''their'' ship up for viewing. Penny was up to her ears in that.
Kris corralled her for supper that evening.
''You should see what they've done with the old boat,'' Penny said, ignoring the menu. Kris told her of Captain Slovo's shock at being scanned by a fully commissioned if somewhat long-in-the-tooth light cruiser.
''I've got to tell the crew that. No, Your Highness, you have to tell the crew. Coming firsthand from you, they'll be good for another thousand hours of volunteer service.''
''Don't they have lives?''
''I thought you were pretty happy with your Navy life?''
''Yes, but it's not like they can join up with Wardhaven or United Sentients. Chance is for Chance.''
''Maybe things are changing. I know these folks have helped me change… see things…'' Penny glanced away. ''See that there is life after your heart's been ripped out of you.''
Penny scanned the menu for a second. ''You know that half of the old ladies working on the Patton are widows. About half of the old men are widowers. Despite all the hell we were in, two of them got married a couple, three days ago. Life goes on, Kris. It goes on and we might as well go along with it. Cause, kicking and screaming or willingly, we're going. It's either that… or get off. Tommy'd kick my butt if I did that.''
''Both of ours,'' Kris said. She put her menu down. ''You like these folks. I figured that you'd be concentrating on the Wasp, not the Patton.''
''Oh, I've shanghaied a few folks from the Patton to get the Wasp good to go. And I've stolen a few hours out of Captain Drago's crew to get both of the other ships up. Fact is, Drago wants to swap me Resolute for the Wasp.''
''I'm the one he has to talk to about that and there is no way I'm trading him even. He'll owe me if he wants my hot rod.''
And that was the way the dinner went, half banter, half serious, half something far deeper than that. Right up to the time when both women refused the dessert tray and Penny got ready to go. ''Oh, wasn't there something you were excited about when you came back from your vacation? You were going to tell me about it, but Hank jumped in.''
''Right,'' Kris said, and leaned back in her chair, checked that they were pretty much alone, and said, ''You're a very wealthy woman, or likely to be.''
''Not from the last pay stub I looked at.''
So Kris told Penny how she'd sworn the crew of the Resolute and her team to secrecy and what she was paying them to keep quiet about. ''I guess I'm glad you included me in that, whatever it is, but since I don't know what you found, I don't really feel like I deserve being a part of it.''
''Penny, if you hadn't been holding the fort back here, there's no way I could have gone off,'' Kris leaned forward and reduced her voice to a whisper ''and found the biggest alien treasure chest since my Grampa Ray stumbled onto Santa Maria.''
''Aliens!'' Penny said, leaning forward herself and, if anything, getting out an even softer whisper.
Kris nodded. ''A planet full of the stuff. Actually, two, but one of them's kind of gone back to nature. The other one is in pristine condition.''
''Pristine condition?''
''Too pristine. The defensive gear is still on-line. Almost reduced us to dust. Getting there is just a start. Staying alive while we figure out the stuff will be a huge challenge.''
''You've been sitting on this the whole time Hank was here!''
''Not exactly the thing I'd tell him. ‘Pardon me while I run back to Wardhaven and give them the greatest news since humans first went into space. Oh, and by the way, don't bother anything here.' '' Kris snorted. ''No. I sat on it. But as soon as Hank jumps out of this system, the Resolute and I are headed back to Wardhaven, fast as we can go. You up to holding the fort again?''
''I'm getting good at that.'' Penny glanced at her wrist. ''About time for Hank to make his jump out. Come watch it from the Patton.''
So Kris found herself aboard Grampa Trouble's old ship, making nice noises to some very eager high schoolers and older folks. The kids were delighted to show Kris just what they could do with the ship's sensors. She was watching Hank's ships on their main screen as he came up to the jump.
The Incredible slowed to a crawl, taking the jump even more carefully than Kris would have, but there was no accounting for just what risks Hank was willing to take.
Then the Incredible flipped, goosed itself away from the jump and blew the jump buoy to bits.
''There is a call for you at the Command Center,'' Nelly said.
''No surprise,'' Kris muttered. Into the murmuring of the bridge, she said loudly, ''Let's pipe down folks. We're about to face that gun-happy nut. Let's look professional here.''
She stood, knowing her game face was back on. Beside her, Penny eyes had narrowed; her lips were thin. Game time. Kris glanced around the bridge; young faces eyed her, swallowed their shock, and put on the bland, if not deadly, face she showed them.
''They've seen what the Patton can do. You worry them. Let them stay worried. Okay, Nelly, tell the Command Center to pipe it through to the bridge of the Patton.''