Voyagers: SS Robert Heinlein

CHAPTER 3

“WELCOME TO THE HEINLEIN FAMILY”

 

MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2122

 

1715

 

 

Under previous instructions from Kyle, the Heinlein’s officers waited for the workers and crew to disembark from the Capricorn. After all, they were the ones who had been working all day while the incoming officers spent their time touring, meeting, and, of course, eating.

 

As soon as the last crew member exited the shuttle, Steve was the first incoming senior officer to disembark. Kyle, as befitting a captain, was the last. The officers entered the terminal, said their good-byes, and went their own way to wherever it was they were staying. They would all be meeting at Space Fleet Headquarters at 0800 the next morning to discuss their day on the Heinlein with Hal.

 

The three Robinsons, along with Jesse Gross, headed for the terminal pickup area where a Space Fleet van carrying Greg, Alicia, Koji, and Duskin would be waiting for them. The family would ride to McArthur’s Steakhouse for dinner. The van was the first vehicle in line ahead of a sedan that Steve and Brad would be taking to the house where Steve’s parents lived. Behind them were three buses waiting for passengers who would be arriving on the first shuttle coming from meeting with the space transport Galaxy Pride arriving from the Perseus Three colony.

 

The three boys climbed into the van, with Kyle sitting next to his father and Danny sitting on the other side of Kyle. Koji and Duskin, who were sitting together in the seat behind them hollered and waved to get their dads’ attention. “Opsola Danny, Opsola Kyle, sit next to us at dinner,” they yelled almost in unison, using the Darastixian word for father.

 

“Calm down, kids, we’ll deal with it when we get to the restaurant and see how our table is laid out,” Kyle chided his sons.

 

“We can’t wait. We want to know now,” Koji insisted.

 

“And what is it that your Opsola Danny and I tell you when you have to wait for an answer to a question?”

 

“Be quiet and live with it and more shall be revealed,” Duskin recited.

 

“Exactly. Good boys.”

 

“I second that,” Danny said.

 

“You and Danny are doing a great job with those two,” Greg told Kyle. “I wasn’t that good a father as a forty-year-old and you guys are outshining me as thirteen-year-olds.”

 

Kyle laid a hand on his dad’s shoulder. “You just waited until you got broken in to become a great dad.”

 

Greg patted Kyle’s hand and grinned. “Thanks, son. That means a lot. I’d like to think I had a little bit of influence in the making of Captain Robinson.”

 

“Trust me, it was more than a little. While we have a moment, what have you been able to find out about the mystery man in the stairwell at H.Q.?”

 

“How about we talk about that when we get home after dinner. The urchins behind us are dying to get our attention.”

 

“You’re right. Good call, Dad.”

 

Kyle turned around and felt a surge of love as he looked at his cute little sons. “How was your day, droit?” he asked using the Darastixian word for boys.

 

“It was super-duper shasva for me,” Koji grinned as he mixed his languages as well.

 

“Shasva?” Danny asked.

 

“Awesome,” Kyle translated.

 

“Tell us about it,” Danny said.

 

Koji talked about what he and Duskin learned from their teacher. “Tell the opsolas about what Mr. Pearson said, little brother.” Mr. Pearson was Duskin’s piano teacher.         

 

 “He said I get to play Mozart’s tinkle star at the recipe before we go into space,” Duskin grinned.

 

“Translate please,” Greg pleaded.

 

Kyle grinned and did his translation of what Duskin had said, which was even more convoluted than Koji’s malaprops, hard as that was to believe. “What he said was that at the Fall Recital he will be playing the Mozart music he’s been working on with Dr. Pearson. From what mom told me Mozart wrote the ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ melody and wrote twelve variations on it.”

 

“Wow, sounds like he is quite the musician,” Jesse said.

 

“That he is,” Greg said. “Listening to him play and practice at home has been quite a delight. Maybe recipe wasn’t such a bad replacement for recital, since his playing is a recipe for enjoyment.”  

 

“I second it,” Kyle said.

 

“I third it because my little isthasy (brother) is the bestest there is,” Koji added.

 

Alicia, who enjoyed playing the piano, kept the one she’d had in the house she’d owned before marrying Greg and had it moved to Greg’s house with the possessions she’d kept after selling her house. Duskin showed an instant interest in the piano and displayed a great deal of aptitude on it. Alicia did what she could to teach him to play, but quickly saw that the boy needed a professional teacher. Roland Pearson was a professor in the music department at the University of Nevada and played professionally.

 

While Dr. Pearson often taught elementary school aged students, he was reluctant to work with someone as young as Duskin but agreed to meet him as a favor to a one-time fellow faculty member. He quickly saw the young boy’s talent and agreed to give him lessons. When the time came for Duskin to return to the Sooloo for his next voyage with his fathers and brother, Pearson made arrangements to teach Duskin remotely. He was assured that an electric piano could be constructed by the holodeck program and made available to Duskin.

 

Pearson knew that as Duskin grew, in particular his hands and fingers, to match the size of his talent, he could become a top performer. Duskin would be playing the piano at the Festival’s Youth Recital.

 

When Duskin returned home after Kyle’s being given command of the Heinlein, everyone was amazed by how much he blossomed under live teaching by Dr. Pearson. Duskin could play all twelve variations from memory, although he would only be playing half of them at the recital for time reasons. Since the recital would be the Monday before the Heinlein left on its first mission, the entire Robinson family would be there cheering on the youngest member of the family.

 

“What else can you play other than Mozart?” Jesse asked.

 

“I have a book with lots of things to play. But that Mozart is my favorite,” Duskin replied, pleased that the big boy took an interest in what he was doing.

 

“Duskin’s book is ‘Classics for Young Adults’,” Alicia pointed out.

 

“Aren’t young adults kind of like our age?” Jesse asked.

 

“They are, but Duskin can play almost everything in the book. The ones he can’t play are because his hands aren’t big enough. Professor Pearson has transcribed some of them so that Duskin can play them.”

 

“What’s your favorite in the book?”

 

Duskin was getting to like Jesse a lot. “It’s the dances by Arthur Hoffman because I get to play them fast.”

 

“I never heard of him.”

 

“He’s German and a living composer,” Alicia said. “He’s written a lot of music younger musicians can play but is still challenging to their brains. I enjoy playing his adult works, but there are works in that book that are simply fun and challenging to play no matter what your age and ability.”

 

The music conversation came to a stop as the van pulled into the McArthur Steakhouse driveway and stopped in front of the door. One of the doormen opened the sliding door to the van and it quickly emptied out.

 

Dinner was enjoyable for all. Jesse had been nervous about eating with the Admiral in charge of the Explorer Program, but he found him to be a friendly and interesting person. He behaved more like a dad than like Jesse had imagined an Admiral to behave around a mere ‘Ensign…oops, make that a mere Lieutenant J G.’

 

The talk covered many topics and eased some after the food was served. But Koji and Duskin made sure any silences didn’t last long, bringing more than one “shush” from their dads and grandparents.

 

After a long, delightful dinner, the group rode in the van to the Robinson residence. It didn’t take long for Koji and Duskin to hit the pool. They were a bit put out that they couldn’t skinny dip because, as Alicia put it, “we have company.” Not that Jesse would have objected to the tykes skinny dipping, but he wasn’t asked and had no intention of interfering.

 

While the munchkins played in the pool, Danny and Jesse sat on the patio and talked about flying, Greg and Kyle went into the house to talk about the investigation into Kyle’s morning incident, and Alicia sat on the patio reading while also keeping a close eye on Koji and Duskin.

 

“What did you find out from security about that man in the stairwell?” Kyle asked his father.

 

“Well, Captain Youngman put two of his investigators to work on the issue as soon as we told him about it,” Greg replied. Captain Youngman was the head of security for Space Fleet Headquarters. “They haven’t found much but will be getting back to work on it tomorrow.”

 

“So, what did they find out?” Even though Kyle worked hard to hide it, Greg could sense his son’s impatience.

 

“First, the man is not an admiral. All admirals in the building during that time were accounted for. Same with Commodores. They will be looking at captains and commanders tomorrow. Their feeling is that he is an officer working in Information Systems, Operations, or something of the like. They will be keeping an eye on for you from the time you enter the building. They ask that until the issue is resolved you use the elevators and avoid the stairs.”

 

“There goes my exercise program,” Kyle grinned. Greg was pleased that Kyle could show some humor in the situation. “Thanks for the report, dad. And I’ll thank Captain Youngman for looking into this right away.”

 

“Well, it is his job.”

 

“I know, but saying thanks never hurt anybody. And I bet doing it captain to captain can only help things.”

 

“You’re learning quick, son. Now, go out on the patio and enjoy the others.”

 

“What are we going to do with Jesse?”

 

“I’ll give him a ride to his dorm in about an hour. You made a good choice putting him on your crew. He’s a nice kid and seems plenty smart. I’ve read his history at the Academy and in the Explorer Program. The kid’s come a long way—kind of like his captain,” Greg grinned.

 

An hour later, Greg told Jesse that it was time for his ride. Jesse said his good-byes to the five Robinson boys and got into the passenger side of Greg’s car. The Robinsons went upstairs to get ready for bed. It had been a long day for them, and the alarm was set early for Kyle, Danny, and Ronnie.

 

After eating dinner with Greg and spending an enjoyable dinner at his home, Jesse felt much more relaxed around him. He still thought of Greg as Admiral Robinson, however.

 

As soon as he and Jesse buckled in, Greg set the car on auto-drive and let the AI take over the driving. He immediately started a conversation with the young lieutenant because he wanted to learn a few things about the interesting teen. “I hope you enjoyed your evening with the Robinsons.”

 

“It was great,” Jesse responded. “Thanks for having me over—I felt right at home. My family lives in Illinois and with all of the work we’re doing here on getting our ship ready, I haven’t had much time to see them. In fact, I, with one exception, haven’t seen all that much of mom and dad since I started at the Academy.”

 

“I’ve looked at your Academy and Explorer personnel files. They’re pretty impressive.”

 

“They are?” Jesse asked with genuine surprise.

 

“You were near the top of your class in engineering, planetology, and leadership. But you suddenly stopped attending class and didn’t complete your last spring quarter. Instead, since you met the minimum qualifications, you signed up for the Explorer program as a crewman. What happened? And please, don’t think you have to answer my questions. It’s just that meeting you has made me curious about you.”

 

“I broke my right leg in a soccer game and fell too far behind. I know, I know, I could have received tutoring, but I just didn’t feel like continuing.” Jesse was a bit surprised how he was opening up to this important man, but he was friendly and seemed genuinely interested in his past. “As soon as I was mobile enough, I returned to Illinois to be with my family as I healed. My copies of the Academy Bulletin were forwarded to me and I read them out of habit I guess. That’s where I saw that the Explorer Program was looking for students to be crewmen.

 

“Since I went to the Academy so I could go into space, I thought why not. I wasn’t that interested in doing the work to be an officer, I signed up and was accepted as soon as I was healthy enough to pass the physical. The next thing I knew I was on the Sooloo working as a jack of all trades crewman in the shuttle bay. I surprised myself by loving it there.” Jesse looked directly at Greg. “Am I talking too much?”

 

“Not at all. I am the one who asked you to tell me about yourself after all. I am more than pleased to be getting an articulate answer instead of teenage grunts and ‘I don’t knows.’”

 

“Excuse me, Admiral, but teenagers really can do more than grunt and say I don’t know, especially the ones in the Explorer Program,” Jesse said defensively.

 

“I know that to be the case with you and the three Robinson boys you enjoyed the day with. But back to you, from what I read in your records, you virtually took over the shuttle bay. You didn’t have an officers’ rank, but you knew more about how the bay and the shuttles worked than anybody, except maybe Danny, yet you got everyone to listen to you and to follow the protocols you laid out. On top of that, you started taking virtual classes in order to pass the Ensign exam, which you ended up passing with flying colors.

 

“Which brings me to my next question, what inspired you to go back to your academic work? And not only get back to work, but to work at a very high level?” The car pulled up to Jesse’s dormitory and parked itself. Greg instructed it to keep the AC running.

 

“Two things turned me around. One was Danny Robinson and the other was Kyle Robinson. They believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. They led the way to my working my way to commissioned officer status. Oh, and speaking of Danny, I know more than he does about shuttles and the shuttle bay. He may know more than me about flying, but when it comes to shuttle operation and shuttle bay protocols he listens to me.”

 

“I suspected as much. And to add to all that, his first act as Chief Pilot of the Heinlein was to bring you on as Head Shuttle Bay Officer and the next thing you know, you’re promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade. So, before you leave for your dorm room, I’ll reiterate what I said when we first started this conversation.

 

“Your files are impressive. You went from a crewman happy with mediocrity to a crewman driven to be the best, to an officer with a crucial post on a new starship. To me, that’s impressive.”

 

Jesse was quite pleased, if a bit embarrassed, by Admiral Robinson’s praise. “Sir, like I said, Kyle and Danny had a lot to do with it.”

 

“At ease, Lieutenant, this isn’t a formal discussion in my Admiral’s office. This is me, Greg Robinson, trying to get to know a successful young officer better. You can give Kyle and Danny all of the credit you want, and I know they deserve it, but they couldn’t have accomplished anything without a willing audience. Congratulations on bringing yourself out of mediocrity. Keep doing what you need to do to reach your potential as an officer and as a growing human being.”

 

After that came handshakes and an effusive thanks from Jesse, who left the car for his dorm room. “Home, Jeeves,” Greg told the car, which pulled out of the driveway and headed for the Robinson home. Greg hoped he didn’t embarrass the personable young lieutenant. He had a feeling if he did, the young man would talk to Kyle and Danny to get the straight scoop on how he operated.

 

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2122

 

0800

 

 

Kyle and the Heinlein senior officers sat in the conference room at 0800 ready for the meeting. Hal, who would be moderating the meeting, made sure it started on time. He knew that Kyle and his officers would expect nothing less.

 

One of the purposes of the meeting was to discuss how the ship tour played out and what each officer’s plans were as far as when they went to the ship when it was in orbit and what they hoped to accomplish.

 

The other purpose was to discuss staffing. “You all have interviews scheduled today,” Hal said. “I expect to have your choices for assistant department chiefs, or department chiefs in Kyle’s case, by no later than Friday and earlier if possible. I know you’ve been doing your homework on your applicants, and I expect to see some great picks.

 

“Personnel informed me this morning that most of the crew has been assigned, so what we’re really down to are the crew members who have to pass muster with you senior officers.” Most of the crew was assigned by personnel or by Hal or Admiral Crusoe. The ship’s officers had very little input, although they did have the power to turn down, with cause, someone assigned to the Heinlein or they felt should not serve on board. That power had been used five times by Kyle and three other times by a senior officer. The Heinlein had space for a crew of 120 but would probably have a few less than that.

 

Hal adjourned the meeting at 0845. The senior officers left for one of the meeting rooms to conduct either a virtual or a live interview. Kyle would be interviewing the three finalists he’d chosen for the Chief Science Officer position. Two of the interviews would be virtual and the other would be face-to-face.

 

Kyle’s first interview was scheduled for 0915 with Lieutenant Dansby Weathers. Fourteen-year-old Dansby was currently serving on the Intrepid as their Assistant Chief Science Officer. He was impressed with Dansby’s service record from the Space Academy through his time on the Intrepid. He definitely knew his stuff, but his personality was stiff. He didn’t display the pizzaz Kyle was looking for in his senior officers.

 

Dansby was too quiet and laid back for Kyle. He was looking for more of a take-charge personality in his officers. He made an exception with Tudupe Mituti because he had shown himself to be an amazing astrogator. Plus, he was full of energy and goal oriented on any project he took on or was assigned. One other strength was how easy he had been for Kyle to work with and how well he fit in with the others in the Sooloo’s Navigation Department.

 

Like Kyle had been when he became the Chief Astrogator on the Sooloo, Mituti was young, but he was intelligent and hardworking and had been a huge asset on the Sooloo. But Kyle knew Mituti and what he could do, whereas Dansby was an enigma who did little to reveal a ‘go get ‘em’ personality.

 

His second interview was Alec Lynn, who was currently the Chief Science Officer on the Yuri Gagarin. Kyle found Alec to be bright and articulate. After reading the files on all three finalists, Alec was, without question, the most qualified. Captain Lewis Martin did wave a yellow flag in Alec’s report, however, saying there were times he needed to work at being a better team player.

 

Still, Kyle liked the fifteen-year-old Commander until he stuck his foot in his mouth in his answer to a key interview question. When Kyle asked him why he wanted to transfer from the Gagarin to the Heinlein his answer was that he wanted to work with a different group of officers.

 

“Most of the officers want to do things their way instead of the right way,” Alec groused.

 

“And what would the right way be?” Kyle asked.

 

“My way. I have science behind me and all they have is their opinions. And Captain Martin won’t listen at all. Already in our interview I can see you would be much easier to work with. For one thing, as a former astrogator you understand science.”

 

While the interview went on for a few more minutes, Kyle cut it short in a diplomatic fashion. Kyle decided that the yellow flag from Captain Martin was more like a red flag.

 

He pulled the folder for his next interview, Logan Wilson, out of his satchel and reviewed the candidate’s credentials. They were almost as impressive as Alec Lynn’s had been. What Logan lacked was Alex’s experience. Logan was twelve, barely out of the Explorer program at the Space Academy. He’d flown through the academic rigors of the Academy with flying colors.

 

In his first six months of service on the Olympic he had jumped from an incoming raw ensign learning a position on the star ship to the Assistant Chief Science Officer, to the Chief Science Officer. Kyle knew that some of the quick rise was because of the frequent turnover on many of the Explorer ships, but he could also see that Logan’s abilities and hard work were a big factor in his jumping ahead of other officers on the ship to taking charge of the Science Department. The writeups in his file were impressive.

 

The one concern he saw was the special note saying, “Lieutenant Wilson is on leave of absence for family reasons.” Kyle would love to know what that was about, but he knew from his instructions that Space Fleet protocols stated he could not inquire into family matters except in a couple of very specific exceptions. The comment in Logan’s file did not fall into that list of exceptions. Kyle could only hope that Logan brought up the topic himself, in which case he would be free to ask away.

 

Since Kyle had a few extra minutes, he decided to go down to the cafeteria and get a cold soda. When he stepped out into the foyer, he saw an Explorer officer he recognized as Logan Wilson, his next interview, sitting in one of the chairs. He noted with pleasure that Logan had arrived at least fifteen minutes early for the interview.

 

“Good morning, Lieutenant Wilson,” Kyle grinned.

 

“Good morning, Captain Robinson,” Logan returned. “You must have just finished a virtual interview.” Logan was surprised at how young Kyle was—he looked even younger than in the pictures Logan had looked at. His captain on the Olympic had been seventeen. He knew Kyle was thirteen, but he was a really young looking thirteen.

 

“Yes, I did and now I have a live interview. Would you like to start early?” Logan noted that Kyle’s voice hadn’t broken yet, which put them on equal ground.

 

“Well, you looked like you were going somewhere.”

 

“I was heading to the cafeteria to grab a soda, but it can wait.”

 

“It’s okay, I can do the waiting. I like being early because it makes it harder to be late,” Logan grinned.

 

“Well, that just happens to be my philosophy. If you show up on time, it means you’re ten minutes late.”

 

“That sounds just like Captain Henry. Which is a good thing.” Captain Oliver Henry commanded the Olympic.

 

“Would you like a soda?” Kyle asked.

 

Logan paused for a moment, wondering if he was being asked a trick question. He decided that Kyle looked to be about the same age he was, and it was unlikely he was trying to trick him into the wrong answer, so he took the question at face value. “I’d love a root beer, please.”

 

“Root beer it will be. Take a seat in the chair next to the desk and I’ll be right back.”

 

“Oh, by the way, somebody taped an envelope to the door.”

 

Kyle closed the door halfway and saw the envelope, which was addressed to him. He took it off the door, went back into the office, dropped the envelope on his desk, and headed for the cafeteria. When he boarded the elevator, he was relieved to be the sole passenger. He ordered two root beers at the counter and handed the cashier his Explorer payment card knowing that Explorer Program protocols stated that his card could be used for payment in this situation.

 

The server placed the two root beers in a carrier which she set on the counter. Kyle thanked her and walked back to the elevator.

 

“Was that, like, a play uniform he was wearing?” the server asked the cashier.

 

“It had to be,” the cashier replied. “He looked way too young to be a real captain.”

 

When Kyle arrived at the door, he saw that the elevator was a floor away. He pushed the up button, looking nervously around him as he waited for the elevator to open. He didn’t see anything or anyone that looked out of place, entered the elevator, and told it which floor he wanted.

 

When he entered the office, Kyle found Logan waiting patiently for him in his chair. He set the carrier on his desk. “There you go. One ice cold root beer for you and one for me. Nothing like a cold drink to lubricate the mouth and throat for an interview.” He took out his root beer and set it next to his computer. Logan grabbed his and set it in front of himself.

 

“Thank you, Captain Robinson. That was very kind of you,” Logan said. He took the cover off of his straw and sucked out a swallow of root beer. “That makes me feel much more relaxed,” he grinned.

 

“You can feel even more relaxed by calling me Kyle. I’ll call you Logan and we’ll be even.”

 

“I like the sound of that.”

 

“Then let’s get started.”

 

Kyle opened up the interview with the standard questions about the candidate’s background and interests. Kyle was told by Hal and his father that most of that information could be found in the candidate’s file, but asking the candidate to relate the information himself was one way to get a good feel of him.

 

After getting his feel of Logan, Kyle asked about his rapid move up the ladder on the Olympic. “I see you and then Ensign Ramos moved into your leadership positions rather quickly. What caused the openings?”

 

“A couple of months after I joined the crew, we had a layover at the Tyson colony. Both our Chief and Assistant Chief Science officers decided living on a star ship wasn’t their thing and requested transfers to Earth. Calvin, the Chief, told me just before he left the ship that his plan was to resign from the Explorer Program. Lyle, the assistant, said he wanted to stay in the program and would look into doing something Earth based. Both of them had been in space for over a year. And from there Felix and I moved up. The move up was pretty radical.”

 

“And all of that changed just a few months later when you suddenly left the Olympic.” Kyle was certain he could make a general statement like that since he did not ask a question or make a statement about the “family issue.”

 

Logan paused for close to thirty seconds before commenting on what Kyle had said. Kyle could sense that Logan was fighting strong emotions. He waited patiently for his interviewee to gather himself.  Logan finally took a deep breath and said, “I knew I would have to tell you about my leaving the Olympic and I probably should have brought it up at the start of the interview.”

 

“Don’t worry yourself about it. I gather whatever it is you have to say won’t be easy for you to say. As I’m sure you know, you do not have to give me the reason in order for me to choose you as my science chief unless the reason affects your job performance.”

 

“You don’t understand. When I said I know I had to tell you about the reasons I took that leave of absence, I totally meant that. I have to tell you and you’ll understand why. I just need a few seconds to get my thoughts together.” Kyle sat with his hands folded on his lap as Logan paused again. Kyle waited patiently for Logan to resume.

 

“What happened was my parents took a day off.  I have nine-year-old twin brothers who attend the Academy Prep School and school would be in session that day, so my parents took their boat out on Lake Mead.” Logan took another deep breath and took a swipe at his eyes with his open right hand. “Two guys who were apparently drunk and high on drugs crashed into the side of my parent’s boat.” He fought back a sob. “It killed them both. The two assholes were badly hurt but lived.”

 

The room turned dead silent as Logan wiped the tears away. He emitted a loud sob before regaining control. Kyle found himself speechless, so he got up, and in a typical Kyle move, knelt next to Logan and placed his arm around his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “I’m so sorry, Logan.”

 

“Thanks a zillion, Kyle. And thanks for being so nice to me. It just happened a few weeks ago and is still hard for me to talk about or even think about. And yes, I have been seeing a counselor about my grief.”

 

Kyle then stood up and returned to his seat. “I’ll wait until you’re ready before I ask my next question.”

 

“I’m ready,” Logan said. Kyle detected an air of confidence returning to Logan’s voice. “I appreciate what you just did.” Kyle’s gesture of kindness erased many of Logan’s doubts about changing ships. He wanted on the this ship in the worst way, not only because of Kyle’s gesture, but also because of his main reason for wanting to transfer from the Olympic to the Heinlein. As much as he liked serving under Captain Henry, Logan knew Kyle was closer to his age plus he had two adopted boys which Logan was sure made him somebody he could relate to as he battled his grief.

 

He wasn’t surprised when Kyle’s next question addressed that reason. “So, why did you decide to apply for a transfer to the Heinlein instead of returning to the Olympic after your leave was over?”

 

“It’s because of my brothers,” Logan replied with a calm intensity. “They have no one in Las Vegas to take care of them. My dad’s parents are both dead and my mom’s parents live in Montana. They would be the twins’ foster parents, but the twins love going to the Space Academy Prep School. They want to do well there and go on to the Academy when they’re old enough and then follow me into space as Explorers. That pretty much made moving to Montana out of the question. We have two uncles and three aunts all out of state. The twins want to be with me because I’m their family, and I want them to be with me.”

 

“I think I see where this is going,” Kyle said, “but I’ll let you confirm it.”

 

“When Captain Henry and I talked about my returning to the Olympic, I asked him about the twins coming with me and living on board the ship. The rules say it’s okay because they’re family. And while he didn’t say no, he did say that being on the Olympic would be extra hard for them and for me. While they could attend prep school classes virtually, there was not much else for them to do outside of setting up games and entertainment in the holodeck for them and for me. And because of that I would be spending a lot of time away from my job and dealing with a pair of unhappy boys.

 

“Anyway, he said he can’t forbid me from bringing Mark and Matthew although he strongly suggested I don’t. He also said I probably should step down and become assistant science chief and let Felix take over. But he also told me something I missed because I was away. I got all the Explorer bulletins, but I didn’t read everything because I didn’t see what they had to do with me, and that included the announcement of the openings on the Heinlein.”

 

“And, being the good captain he is, Captain Henry suggested you apply here,” Kyle grinned, “because we would have families on board with boys who probably would be around the same age as your brothers.”

 

“Just so you know, Matthew and Mark are good kids. They’re a little lost right now, but they’re good kids, and they’ve been getting counseling too.” Logan pulled his communicator out of his tunic pocket and showed Kyle a picture of two gorgeous blond nine-year-olds flashing wide smiles.

 

Logan replaced his communicator and eyed Kyle, hoping the captain would answer his question before he had to ask it. As if he read Logan’s mind, Kyle nodded and said, “We will have five boys on board, including my two sons, Koji and Duskin.”

 

“Captain Henry mentioned you had two sons,” Logan said. “It was a big reason I wanted to try to get a transfer here. But how did you end up with two sons when you’re just thirteen?

 

Kyle nodded. “Danny and I adopted two Darastixian orphans at different times. Since they are Darastixian under Darastix law we could adopt them because we were considered adults when we turned thirteen and under Earth law we were both granted full adult rights when we applied to be granted emancipation because of our status as officers in the Explorer program. Anyway, with Matthew and Mark the number of boys on the Heinlein now becomes seven. Crew members not included, of course.”

 

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

 

“If you’re thinking I’m congratulating you on becoming the first Chief Science Officer of the SS Robert Heinlein, then the answer is yes I am.”

 

Logan jumped out of his seat, pumped his right fist, and shouted a loud, “YESSSSSSSSSSSS!”

 

Kyle walked up to him and gave him his second hug of the interview, except this one was a full body hug. After letting go and sitting back down, Kyle said, “Just remember, you are being given the job because of your impeccable qualifications, not because your brothers have a nice smile.”

 

“I will be doing my very best for my brothers, for you, for the Heinlein, Captain Kyle. I promise you that. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this happy.”

 

“I think we’re ready to head to Hal’s office.”

 

“Who’s Hal?”

 

“Oops, sorry. Hal is Commodore Tietokone, who has to give the final approval for your transfer to be official, which I’m positive he will do. I’ll give him a buzz and let him know we’re coming.”

 

As Kyle pulled out his communicator, Logan thought about how he couldn’t have asked for things to turn out better. He would be getting the position he wanted and would be able to bring his brothers with him. Plus, Kyle seemed to be a super great captain.

 

“Got it,” Logan heard Kyle say. “We’ll see you at 1230.” Kyle disconnected and said, “He’s having lunch with the bigwig Explorer admirals.”

 

“Isn’t your father one of those admirals?”

 

“He is, but that doesn't keep him from being a bigwig. If they’re eating lunch, we may as well head for the cafeteria for our own lunch.”

 

“I’m good with that.”

 

As he stood up, Kyle looked at the mystery envelope still sitting unopened on the desk. He picked it up and placed it in his satchel. He had a pretty good idea of who it was from and decided whatever it said would wait until his time with Logan was finished.

 

When they got to the cafeteria, they secured a booth and got into the lunch line. There was a special dining room in the C Wing cafeteria for officers who were ranked captain or higher, but Kyle was fine with the regular cafeteria. When he got out his Explorer card to pay for the lunch, Logan said, “You don’t need to pay for my lunch.”

 

“I’m not paying for it; the Explorer program is. Since we’re having this lunch together because we need to wait for the last phase of your interview process, I can charge the lunch on my Explorer card.”

 

They returned to their booth and dug into the meals they’d selected. “I need to tell you that you’ll have to select your Assistant Chief by Friday,” Kyle told Logan.

 

“Yikes! That’s not much time.”

 

“Hal will have a list of candidates. And you could pick your current assistant on the Olympic.”

 

“No, I can’t do that. From what I’ve heard from the Olympic crew members I’ve been in contact with, Felix is doing a kick ass job. I’m willing to bet he’ll be taking my place permanently and that’s where he belongs.”

 

Kyle was pleased at getting the perfect answer from Logan. It solidified his opinion that he’d picked the best candidate of the three as Science Chief. Kyle would have loved to see Ali Bakabazi, who had transferred from the Sooloo to the Heinlein apply for Science Chief or Assistant Chief and had asked him about the possibility. Ali said that while he might be interested sometime in the future he wasn’t at the moment. He was more interested in being the ship’s teacher and in doing his research.

 

“We’ll talk to Hal about this. It’s time to meet with him.

 

1215

 

 

Kyle and Logan stood at attention in front of Hal’s desk. Introductions were made, Hal told them to relax and sit down. The three dug right into the meeting. Hal quickly relieved any stress that Logan might have had by telling him he was impressed with his file and had heard great things about him from Captain Henry.

 

Hal and Kyle stood up and signaled for Logan to do the same. “Congratulations, Lieutenant Wilson, on being named the Chief Science Officer of the SS Robert Heinlein.”

 

Kyle then pinned the Heinlein’s emblem to the left breast of Logan’s tunic. “Welcome to the Heinlein family,” he told his new Chief Science Officer.

 

“You will start your duties tomorrow. Kyle and I will present you with a schedule for the rest of the week. The first thing we will be doing is introducing you to your fellow Senior Officers. I will also tell you that one thing on the schedule will be for you to bring your brothers with you on Thursday. You and the twins will be meeting Ali, our teacher. He also works in the Science department as a researcher,” Hal said. “Plus, a big part of your week will be to pick an Assistant Science Chief. I will help you with that since you won’t have near enough time to do all the proper research.”

 

“Thank you, Commodore…er…Hal.” Logan was still getting used to the informality of the command officers. Captain Henry had been big on formality. Logan knew Hal, Kyle, and the rest were big on it too when formality was necessary. Hal had given him the Explorer protocols on the subject to study. He was also amazed at how helpful everyone was. He could tell it would be a pleasure to serve under them—as long as he followed the proper protocols, of course. “Thank you both for making my life and the lives of my brothers better. This is the best possible news we could have had to help us through the family’s tragedy.” Logan    left the office a very happy boy.

 

“You made the absolute right choice, Kyle,” Hal said. “He’s going to fit right in with your Senior Officers and do a great job.”

 

Hal and Kyle went through a few items, especially the selection of assistant chiefs by those Senior Officers. When the meeting finished, Kyle pulled the mystery envelope out of his satchel. “This was taped to the meeting room door this morning. I think we both know who it’s from.”

 

“I wondered if we would hear from him again,” Hal said. “Whoever it is either knew you had a meeting scheduled in that meeting room or followed you there.”

 

“I figured the same thing. I don’t remember anyone following me, but whoever it was could be good at stalking.”

 

“Let’s see what’s inside.”

 

Kyle ripped open the envelope. There was a standard size white sheet of paper folded inside of it. Kyle unfolded the sheet and read the typewritten words.

 

He shook his head and handed the sheet to Hal, who read it out loud. “So, it’s Captain Kyle now, is it? An ill-deserved promotion. I see my son was not named a senior officer and is not on the short list for an assistant. You have been told this is WRONG and yet you persist in ignoring someone with his qualifications. I will say what I said before. WATCH YOUR BACK, Commander (or should you be called ensign?)”.

 

“This dude is one sick puppy,” Hal said. “I’ll send this to Space Fleet Security, although I don’t know how much they can do. Admiral Crusoe and your father will get copies.”

 

“Weird as it sounds, I just want to know who it is so I can make sure that his son DOES NOT become a member of my crew.”

 

“I’m with you on that. I’m definitely with you on that,” Hal said.

 

Kyle left Hal’s office wondering who he could have pissed off that badly. He didn’t have a clue who it could have been, but he felt he needed to know before the Heinlein was launched on its first deep space mission.

 

Next: The Making of a Crew