|
Previous: Fluffy Goes Hunting
|
Shortest Distance
Lori knocked on Erhard's glass door. "It's MedTech Railsback, may I talk with you a moment, please, Commander?"
Erhard nodded & gave her the wide Erhard grin. "Take a seat."
Lori smiled and sat. "I have no idea how to do this, so I'm just going to lay it out straight, ok?"
Hilary Erhard relaxed her face a bit. "Sure, it's always the best way."
"Aggie and I want four EVA suits. We want to exit 320, go in through the outer bulkhead into Little Gvotia, and find Leon Freedman & Suzanne Devereaux before PlanetFall and before they get killed."
Hilary Erhard rose to her elegant 5'8", went around the front of the desk, crossed her arms and took up almost all of Rails' visual space.
"You've never done an EVA in your life right?"
"That's correct, neither of us."
Erhard pulled out her voxbox. "Aggie, Hilary Erhard. Would you come down to my office, please? Thanks."
"Did I violate a regulation?" Lori's confidence flagged a bit.
Erhard shook her head. "No, but we're all about to."
Rails realized what had happened. "Really?"
Aggie arrived, knocked, was waved in and sat down. "What's up?"
"Time." Erhard wasn't smiling.
Lori looked at the wall. "We have more than enough, don't we?"
Erhard sat again. "Nobody knows. Do you know precisely where Devereaux & Freedman are? No, I imagine not. Do you know that the Gvot have military personnel at the top of the ramp in the laundry room? I'm guessing 'no'. Why is that important? It's important because our agreement is we treat their population as if it were another country. You cannot get Leon & Suzanne out the front door."
"Crap." Lori looked a little concerned. "We're getting the green light because nobody else volunteered, huh?"
The Erhard grin resurfaced. "A big hand for Rails, yes, the same two yahoos who have failed on two occasions to get even down the damned ramp when it was *open* are the ones who volunteered. So your good news is yep, you're going, your bad news is you can't have four suits."
Lori looked at her. "Why?"
"I have a team of six adjusting the solar mirrors already. You'll get two."
"Crap!"
"We don't get them off the rack." Once more Erhard wasn't smiling.
Aggie thought a moment. "Farmer, boat, goat, cabbage."
Erhard finally cracked a grim smile. "Exactly."
"In ingles, por favor?" Lori looked confused.
Aggie gave her the short version. "Four people, two suits, six trips."
Lori had a sudden urge to pee.
Erhard rose. "Get into comfortable clothes & trainers, you'll be glad you did, come right back here."
The two MedTechs nodded in unison and turned for the door.
"And guys?" Erhard didn't sound particularly happy.
They turned back to face her. Erhard pointed up at the monitor above the door with a black remote in her hand.
Suzanne's suite, audio & video.
"Don't ever walk in here to try and run a game down on me."
"No, ma'am."
Erhard was satisfied she'd made her point. She looked at Lori.
"Courage is what got you what you wanted here, Fluffy. Now, go."
Erhard nodded & gave her the wide Erhard grin. "Take a seat."
Lori smiled and sat. "I have no idea how to do this, so I'm just going to lay it out straight, ok?"
Hilary Erhard relaxed her face a bit. "Sure, it's always the best way."
"Aggie and I want four EVA suits. We want to exit 320, go in through the outer bulkhead into Little Gvotia, and find Leon Freedman & Suzanne Devereaux before PlanetFall and before they get killed."
Hilary Erhard rose to her elegant 5'8", went around the front of the desk, crossed her arms and took up almost all of Rails' visual space.
"You've never done an EVA in your life right?"
"That's correct, neither of us."
Erhard pulled out her voxbox. "Aggie, Hilary Erhard. Would you come down to my office, please? Thanks."
"Did I violate a regulation?" Lori's confidence flagged a bit.
Erhard shook her head. "No, but we're all about to."
Rails realized what had happened. "Really?"
Aggie arrived, knocked, was waved in and sat down. "What's up?"
"Time." Erhard wasn't smiling.
Lori looked at the wall. "We have more than enough, don't we?"
Erhard sat again. "Nobody knows. Do you know precisely where Devereaux & Freedman are? No, I imagine not. Do you know that the Gvot have military personnel at the top of the ramp in the laundry room? I'm guessing 'no'. Why is that important? It's important because our agreement is we treat their population as if it were another country. You cannot get Leon & Suzanne out the front door."
"Crap." Lori looked a little concerned. "We're getting the green light because nobody else volunteered, huh?"
The Erhard grin resurfaced. "A big hand for Rails, yes, the same two yahoos who have failed on two occasions to get even down the damned ramp when it was *open* are the ones who volunteered. So your good news is yep, you're going, your bad news is you can't have four suits."
Lori looked at her. "Why?"
"I have a team of six adjusting the solar mirrors already. You'll get two."
"Crap!"
"We don't get them off the rack." Once more Erhard wasn't smiling.
Aggie thought a moment. "Farmer, boat, goat, cabbage."
Erhard finally cracked a grim smile. "Exactly."
"In ingles, por favor?" Lori looked confused.
Aggie gave her the short version. "Four people, two suits, six trips."
Lori had a sudden urge to pee.
Erhard rose. "Get into comfortable clothes & trainers, you'll be glad you did, come right back here."
The two MedTechs nodded in unison and turned for the door.
"And guys?" Erhard didn't sound particularly happy.
They turned back to face her. Erhard pointed up at the monitor above the door with a black remote in her hand.
Suzanne's suite, audio & video.
"Don't ever walk in here to try and run a game down on me."
"No, ma'am."
Erhard was satisfied she'd made her point. She looked at Lori.
"Courage is what got you what you wanted here, Fluffy. Now, go."
