Earth Ship Protectress: Book Two in the Freddy Anderson Chronicles (19 page)

Chapter 25
ES Protectress

T
he talk around the table was about the boats. All of the manuals I had printed were at the table being studied. The ones reading them paid no attention to any of the conversations. I started giggling.

“What’s up, Freddy?” asked the lieutenant. She was the last one inside, and both of the new team members were still upstairs, trying to dry off. For some unknown reason, each had fallen in the river several times.

I said, “It’s just that these four have teased me constantly about my concentrating on my work during meals, and now they’re doing the same thing. Watch this. Patty,” Then, a little louder, I said again, “Patty.” No response. “Patricia.” Still no response. Nearly yelling, I said, “Chief Patricia Henderson.” No response whatsoever. I nearly fell out of my chair, laughing.

The admiral said, “Yes, but they’re trained SEALs. Watch this.” He whispered so low that I could hardly hear him. “Freddy’s in
…
”
I raised my hand in fear and stopped his breath so he could not say the last word.

“Admiral!” said the lieutenant as she motioned for me to let him go. “Don’t ever do that. They may kill someone.” Everyone was glaring at him except those four. Then the lieutenant made a tiny motion with her hand, and all four pulled weapons that I had no idea they had and looked at the lieutenant for orders. She made another movement, and they went back to reading. “Yes, they’re trained, but what you were about to say could have gotten everyone in this room killed if they were not on the team. I don’t want to have to send letters to all these nice civilians’ relatives.” She turned to me and said, “Thanks, Freddy.”

I looked at her with wide eyes. “Remember when I said something like that? I’ll never forget it, and I’ll never do it again. I had nightmares for a week.”

“What happened?” asked Dr. Landers.

“Let’s just say that if I had pulled that stunt in the middle of town, there would be no town.”

“I’ve always thought that the military is too zealous, and that just proves it,” the doctor said.

“I disagree,” I said. “At first I thought they were
…
what’s a good phrase? Oh yes, let’s say extremely closed-minded. I thought that they would run my life and give me no choices in what I do.”

He said, “Seems to me they’re doing just that.”

I could feel the girls getting mad. I knew that was a bad thing. “I think you’re assessing them wrong, sir. Yes, they take their jobs very seriously, and that has saved my life several times. Yes, they seem fanatical about doing their jobs. In this situation, that is exactly what I need, but they also protect me from me. They teach me, watch over me, and make sure I have manners and that I don’t use my abilities to the detriment of others. By the way, Admiral, I’m sorry for taking your breath away, even for a few seconds.”

“It’s all right, Freddy. You had a very good reason.”

“Thanks. The girls never tell me what I can or can’t do as far as work is concerned, and they would never even try to teach me about life if I didn’t allow it. Earlier today, I received a good lesson from the lieutenant. There was a good reason for it, but if I told her not to touch me, she wouldn’t. I own this base and can kick them all off in an instant.”

“You really believe that?”

The captain said, “Freddy made an agreement with me that we can raise him properly so that he does not turn out spoiled, and we help him stay alive, for which he allows us to stay here. If he said, ‘Team, pack up and leave,’ then we would go. The president would be very upset with our team and would come here begging Freddy to allow us to come back, but we would do whatever he tells us to do. If he had said, ‘Kill those generals and the president,’ we would have done so instantly. Zealousness? It may seem to be, but those are our orders. If our orders were to be wishy-washy in our duties, we would be like civilians until our orders changed.”

I think she said that as a slam to Dr. Landers. I continued. “So far, the team has treated me just like one of their own. They protect me, teach me, and help me, and I do the same for them. Can you imagine, Dr. Landers, what I would be like if I was allowed to become spoiled?”

His eyebrows shot up. “Yes. I think I can.”

“Let me make sure. The army has really upset me. Some townspeople beat me up and almost killed me. The president disappointed me greatly. Congress has its moments that really get on my nerves. Some suppliers are not worth keeping alive, some of their workers included. I completely hate the taste of garbanzo beans and think the people who sell them as food should be prosecuted, at a minimum. Some people are bigoted against me simply because I have long hair and wear earrings, and I don’t like anyone trashing my family.” I gestured to show I was talking about the girls. “How would I handle those things if I didn’t have these people to support me and teach me? How would a spoiled brat handle those things if he had the power to destroy anything and anybody he wanted, and no one would ever know? I’m personally glad that they’re here, that they do a great job, and that they’re zealous enough to be able to stop me if I go too far. It keeps me in check. So far, because of them, no one has been harmed, except maybe one army spy and fortunately, he didn’t die.”

“Putting it that way, I can see where they have their uses.”

“One more thing,” I said with a loving smile. “They love me, and they give great hugs.”

He smiled. The rest of the girls were looking fondly at me. I had just stood up for them, and that meant a lot to each and every one.

The conversation changed to what was expected of everyone tomorrow. I started to volunteer for some things, but the captain said, “Freddy, you have the biggest job. Get that destroyer ready. I’m going to give you a choice. Which girl do you want to help you?”

I looked at her in puzzlement for a second and then said, “Excuse me?”

“I want one of the girls to help you with the mechanics and generally be with you. That will be her only duty. You want us to learn how to fix that ship in an emergency? Don’t you think it would be good to have someone with you that you trained yourself?”

“Of course it would.”

“Then choose.”

Everyone looked at Marian, even the four who were reading the manuals. With a doctorate in aerospace engineering from Washington State and a doctorate in physics from Berkeley, she was the obvious first choice, but I could feel her emotions. She knew she was not the right one. Yes, she had degrees. But she was so far behind me that she couldn’t keep up. We both discovered that while moving my home here. Her training from those two top institutions was the best but not in the right fields for this project. Besides, her degrees were useful in other requirements. I looked at her and said, “Marian, you’re probably the most intelligent person here, but I need you to complete those scenarios and be the lead navigator on our destroyer. I’m sorry.” I could feel her relief. This she could do well and would love it.

Marian said, “I understand. I’ll get through those scenarios as quickly as possible, and I’ll train the rest. Thank you, Freddy.”

“Good, that’s where you’re needed the most
…
and you’re welcome.”

The admiral said, “Freddy, we were hoping to have you rename the destroyer to
Enterp
rise
.”

“Not going to happen, Admiral. I’m saving that name for my first research-class aircraft carrier. Any other suggestions?”

I watched his eyebrows go up, and interest drifted across his face in what I would consider to be a “research class aircraft carrier,” but he put that aside and said, “We also thought that the name
Protectress
would be good. ‘Destroyer’ sounds so bad to the public.”

“What do you think, Marian? Would you like to be first navigator on the USS
Protect
ress
?”

“I’d like that, Freddy. I’d like that very much.”

“Okay, then, the
Protectress
it is.”

The admiral said, “Not ‘USS,’ Freddy. ‘ES’—for Earth ship.”

I looked over at Colleen and said, “Now, I wonder who came up with that idea?”

She blushed, and everyone laughed.

“Captain, there is a person here who has three degrees in engineering.”

“Who?” the captain asked. “I know some of my team have three degrees each, and one has four, but none of the girls has three engineering degrees that I’m aware of.”

I smiled and said, “She left it off her enlistment forms, Captain. I would bet she was hiding from having to be an officer because she really wanted to be a SEAL. I think we could change her mind if there was a position open, and we asked her to fill it. Chief engineer of the fleet and the ES
Protectress
—what a job that will be. We may start calling her Scotty. What do you think”—I turned my head slowly until I could look right into her eyes—“Chief Engineering Officer of the Fleet Patricia Henderson?”

She looked at me and started crying tears of happiness. She got up, came around the table, and picked me up.

I thought her hug was going to crush me. “Hey, you’re breaking my bones, you know.”

She loosened up but didn’t let go. Finally, she held me out at arm’s length and said, “Thank you. But the first person to call me Scotty will lose teeth.”

The captain said, “Then it’s settled, Chief Engineering Officer of the Fleet. Your job is to learn everything you can without slowing Freddy down.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I added, “And to teach the others, because I expect all of you to come back with me and help me with the other ships and bases I’m building. I don’t like changing personnel. Captain, after this project is completed, let’s find a way to bring in some of the girls’ families. I would feel better if they were closer. We can’t expect them to never go home, never fall in love, or never have children of their own.”

“We’ll start planning for it. I’m sure Admiral Bates can find housing for us.”

“Great! You know, this dish is wonderful.” It was, but I was purposely changing the subject.

Cooky said, “You really like it, Freddy?”

“Yes. Can we have this one in the replicator?”

She smiled. “I’ll get on it. I will also program some high-fat, high-carb meals.”

I smiled. “Thanks.”

“Not a problem. I expect to be the chief chef on the moon or Mars someday.”

I smiled, “That’s a good possibility. No matter how good the food is in the replicators, people will want freshly prepared meals. I could set you up with the first restaurant on the moon. Or better yet, you could be my personal chef and go wherever I go.”

“Going where you go is a little too dangerous for me, but the first restaurant on the moon would be a fabulous idea.”

“Well, you’ll already be famous.”

She looked at me and asked, “Why is that?”

“An entire fleet will be eating your recipes for years to come. The food programmed into the replicators will become one of two things.”

Her eyes widened, and she said, “Famous or infamous, right?”

“Quite right, Cooky. Twenty-five recipes in only a few short hours—that’s amazing.”

“I think I’ll work a little harder on the recipes.”

“I’d suggest tasting the dishes yourself and then having others taste them. It’s going to be a matter of eating each dish over and over and still enjoying it or having an extremely large menu so that no one gets bored with it. A big challenge, isn’t it?”

“Yes, and I should be charging you extra.”

“That’s why I’m willing to put you into the first restaurant on the moon. You’re doing us this favor. Whether you’re successful or not is up to you. I doubt that people will want to flock to your restaurant if the food they eat on the way in the shuttles is second-rate or gives them intestinal problems, but we know that won’t happen, will it?”

She looked at me in total fear for her career.

“You don’t get a chance like this twice in life, Cooky. You’re a great cook. You make the comfort food that people like to eat every day. You’re going to do great. I’m just letting you know your options so that you can make informed choices. You’re in the same situation that Henry and Dorothy are. I don’t know if they will be going with us or not. That’s up to the captain. I do know that the moon is going to need people with their qualities. So is the research ship that takes us to Mars and all the new planets.”

The captain interjected, “Stick with us, ladies and gentlemen, and we’ll make you famous.”

Everyone laughed, but then Lieutenant Bergman said, “Or dead.”