The Captain - Part Two
There was silence in the room as diplomats whispered among themselves. Van Horn had crossed swords before with the famous Doctor Morgan and come off second best. “Your candidate is a deserter from the US Air Force, graduated near the bottom of her class at UTEP, was a barely adequate navigator and, Jesus, Doctor Morgan, how the hell can you expect this totally inexperienced little girl to lead a mission of this magnitude? For gods sake, be reasonable. We don’t need another Banner, who I believe that your candidate knows.”
“Debbie Rickman flew the mission in Peru, the protection mission on arrival day. She has more space time than all American astronauts in history combined. She led the mission to establish outposts on Deimos, Phobos and just last week Neptune’s moon Triton. She has gone further into space than any human on earth. Debbie worked on the design, construction and testing of the deep space ship which she knows well.” He had prepared her for this mission since his gut told him that she was the one four years ago and the angry young woman had not disappointed. “And, she has spent the last year learning interstellar law and first contact protocols from the Ilarians themselves. Debbie has their approval already.”
Van Horn shuffled his papers. “We are uncomfortable using so many machines on a human mission to the cosmos, Doctor Morgan.”
“Droids don’t have to eat, are super qualified in all ship positions, are radiation tolerant, intelligent and dependable.”
“Like the Pink Flamingo?” Van Horn smiled as the rest of the room snickered. “Defender of Niceness, with the secret identity that we all know.”
He was wondering when Van Horn would bring up Margarita. Scratching his forehead, that one crazy droid had caused him more problems than the entire android race combined. “As I understand it, New York City has seen a ninety five percent drop in crime in the last three years and no cops have been killed since the Pink Flamingo has been on the job. They tell me that her action figure sales are through the roof. She is not part of the deep space mission.”
“So you are comfortable with dozens of Margarita’s with so much control in the most important mission of human history.”
“Margarita has a very special soul and is quite unique. There are more than a million androids today. Just remember that Margarita in her mild mannered mode is a world class physician that has saved dozens of lives and at least two world leaders with her medical skills. I would only trust the mission to androids whose only purpose is to save mankind. I leave controlling Margarita to Tony Banner.”
“Peterson or the deal is off. Plus ditch the droids. It’s a human mission. That puts you back, what, a year?”
“I can launch the ‘Nim’ tomorrow with the crew that we’ve already trained. The Mission Commander is Debbie Rickman, thank you for playing the game, Mister Van Horn.”
“You can’t do that!”
“Why not? Ship is complete, crew is complete, droids are already on board and we can launch from Mars. Without the Americans to slow us down with your antiquated technology and lack of experience, we are good to go this very minute. George, you always overplay your hand. America could have been a player. Now, it’s a wannabe that never was. Explain that to your new boss, George. Good day.” Standing, he smiled as turned toward the door. It had gone as he expected. Now, the real negotiations could begin.
“WAIT!” Van Horn was now standing his staff in a panic. “Wait, Doctor Morgan. Maybe we can compromise.”
“Excellent. Choose ten astronauts or scientist and have them Bernhardt City in five days for training. Exo-biologists and astrophysicists are in greatest demand. We can talk about the name of the ship later. Rickman is my MC.”
“You said that an American would command the mission.”
“Rickmen is an American. An American is commanding the mission. If Peterson wants to participate, he’s got a year of work ahead of him. I believe that we are done here.”
Always leave them laughing was a phrase that came to Jacks mind as he left the room and entered the guarded portal that would take him back to Bernhardt City and dinner with his daughter Karma.
The Captain - Part Two
There was silence in the room as diplomats whispered among themselves. Van Horn had crossed swords before with the famous Doctor Morgan and come off second best. “Your candidate is a deserter from the US Air Force, graduated near the bottom of her class at UTEP, was a barely adequate navigator and, Jesus, Doctor Morgan, how the hell can you expect this totally inexperienced little girl to lead a mission of this magnitude? For gods sake, be reasonable. We don’t need another Banner, who I believe that your candidate knows.”
“Debbie Rickman flew the mission in Peru, the protection mission on arrival day. She has more space time than all American astronauts in history combined. She led the mission to establish outposts on Deimos, Phobos and just last week Neptune’s moon Triton. She has gone further into space than any human on earth. Debbie worked on the design, construction and testing of the deep space ship which she knows well.” He had prepared her for this mission since his gut told him that she was the one four years ago and the angry young woman had not disappointed. “And, she has spent the last year learning interstellar law and first contact protocols from the Ilarians themselves. Debbie has their approval already.”
Van Horn shuffled his papers. “We are uncomfortable using so many machines on a human mission to the cosmos, Doctor Morgan.”
“Droids don’t have to eat, are super qualified in all ship positions, are radiation tolerant, intelligent and dependable.”
“Like the Pink Flamingo?” Van Horn smiled as the rest of the room snickered. “Defender of Niceness, with the secret identity that we all know.”
He was wondering when Van Horn would bring up Margarita. Scratching his forehead, that one crazy droid had caused him more problems than the entire android race combined. “As I understand it, New York City has seen a ninety five percent drop in crime in the last three years and no cops have been killed since the Pink Flamingo has been on the job. They tell me that her action figure sales are through the roof. She is not part of the deep space mission.”
“So you are comfortable with dozens of Margarita’s with so much control in the most important mission of human history.”
“Margarita has a very special soul and is quite unique. There are more than a million androids today. Just remember that Margarita in her mild mannered mode is a world class physician that has saved dozens of lives and at least two world leaders with her medical skills. I would only trust the mission to androids whose only purpose is to save mankind. I leave controlling Margarita to Tony Banner.”
“Peterson or the deal is off. Plus ditch the droids. It’s a human mission. That puts you back, what, a year?”
“I can launch the ‘Nim’ tomorrow with the crew that we’ve already trained. The Mission Commander is Debbie Rickman, thank you for playing the game, Mister Van Horn.”
“You can’t do that!”
“Why not? Ship is complete, crew is complete, droids are already on board and we can launch from Mars. Without the Americans to slow us down with your antiquated technology and lack of experience, we are good to go this very minute. George, you always overplay your hand. America could have been a player. Now, it’s a wannabe that never was. Explain that to your new boss, George. Good day.” Standing, he smiled as turned toward the door. It had gone as he expected. Now, the real negotiations could begin.
“WAIT!” Van Horn was now standing his staff in a panic. “Wait, Doctor Morgan. Maybe we can compromise.”
“Excellent. Choose ten astronauts or scientist and have them Bernhardt City in five days for training. Exo-biologists and astrophysicists are in greatest demand. We can talk about the name of the ship later. Rickman is my MC.”
“You said that an American would command the mission.”
“Rickmen is an American. An American is commanding the mission. If Peterson wants to participate, he’s got a year of work ahead of him. I believe that we are done here.”
Always leave them laughing was a phrase that came to Jacks mind as he left the room and entered the guarded portal that would take him back to Bernhardt City and dinner with his daughter Karma.
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