smiles and chuckles
Commander Erhard was overseeing the movement of MedLab into the service quarters. Her version of that was to sit quietly in her office catching up on paperwork and staying prudently out of the way of Aggie Brooks and Lori Railsback.
A true leader knows when to stand out of the way and watch empowered women in action. Hilary was on about her 20th laugh of the last hour when the phone rang.
"Commander Erhard."
"I got somethin' for ya."
"Sorry, who is this?" Erhard knew the voice was familiar but she couldn't put the face to it.
Then she heard the low-level conflict on the other end of the line.
And she knew.
When the woman came on, Hilary said "Margie? Is he always like that?"
Margie sighed. "Pretty much, yeah. If we had Batman suits he'd be in his glory."
Erhard laughed. "So what's the package? Is it something nice?" She said the last part in a low voice. Erhard had a history with Margie Youngman.
"Apparently it's in the dirty laundry cart at the end of your hall."
Erhard's smile vanished and her nostrils flared. "Let me guess. Danger Man?"
Margie sighed again. "He's a good man, but my god, such drama about everything."
"Do we know what it is?"
"He says it's the key to the location of drugs and medical supplies." Margie was apparently engaged in negotiating for information at the other end.
"That's wonderful! But he couldn't just put it in an envelope and drop it off at my office?" Erhard was beckoning to Aggie & Rails. She covered the mouthpiece and whispered. "Dirty laundry cart at the end of the hall, key to the missing supplies!"
The two MedTechs vanished.
"He says it was too big to go in an envelope."
"Too big." Erhard grimaced a bit. "I'm guessing this is more of a symbolic key than a real actual key, right?"
Margie entered into negotiations again. "He says 'you're quite the smart one, and yes, that would be correct.'"
Erhard heard the beginnings of a commotion and a couple of screams followed by loud banging noises.
"Margie, I'm gonna have to call you back, I think they found it."
"Well, okay then." Margie hung up.
Hilary watched a stream of her personnel fly past her doorway and she began to curse Chuck Youngman under her breath.
The laundry cart was on its side, a crowd had gathered and the sounds of mayhem had turned to laughter and cheering by the time she arrived on scene.
"Make a hole for your CO!" Hilary brushed past her people, then knelt down on one knee laughing hard as Aggie held Garland Boyette, mouth taped shut, and Rails went at him hard with both fists.
She rose slowly as the crowd dispersed and moved over to them, Lori panting and winded, Aggie surveying the damage to Boyette's face and body.
"Okay, Lori, Rails, look at me, okay? We have him, it's over." "You two should go down the hall and make sure my people are setting up MedLab the way you need it."
Aggie pushed Rails in the direction of their new facility. "Thanks, Commander."
Erhard looked at her watch. "1430h, Commander Boyette. Time for some truth from you, don't you think?" To her MPs she said "Get this piece of garbage down to my office." Erhard turned and walked away.
At the cost of 2/3rds of a bottle of good scotch in her office, by mid afternoon Hilary Erhard had a list of all the locations and all the Pod Bosses involved in Boyette's scheme and had her personnel bringing it all back in for redistribution.
By 1600, Boyette was down in the brig with his local cohorts, and Erhard was nursing a headache and trying to smell her own breath on her hands.
Hilary Erhard looked wistfully at her empty gun belt. "Didn't even have my frackin' gun when I needed it." "Lucky for you Boyette!"
Her voxbox went off. She blindly picked it up and said "Commander Erhard."
"I can have a gun sent over to ya if yad like."
Erhard was through. "Chuck, why don't you just fuck off?"
She hung up.
Margie looked at Chuck in the tight confines of the kitchenette. Chuck was finishing a tub of Gvot yogurt.
"I imagine that went well."
He nodded. "Yep, I think everybody knows by now I'm a blithering idiot."
She smiled grudgingly. "Well, that's one good thing."
"It might buy us enough time."
She looked thoughtful. "When is the word?"
He shrugged. "Dunno for certain." He gave in to his own fatigue as he rinsed the tub and spoon in the sink. "Two to go."
"Any closer on Amber?"
"Three candidates, none as promising as we'd like."
"You staying up to work on it?"
"Probably a bit."
"Don't be up too late."
"I promise."
"Cross your heart and hope to die?" She smiled freely at last.
He grinned. "Oh, yeah, you got that right."
A true leader knows when to stand out of the way and watch empowered women in action. Hilary was on about her 20th laugh of the last hour when the phone rang.
"Commander Erhard."
"I got somethin' for ya."
"Sorry, who is this?" Erhard knew the voice was familiar but she couldn't put the face to it.
Then she heard the low-level conflict on the other end of the line.
And she knew.
When the woman came on, Hilary said "Margie? Is he always like that?"
Margie sighed. "Pretty much, yeah. If we had Batman suits he'd be in his glory."
Erhard laughed. "So what's the package? Is it something nice?" She said the last part in a low voice. Erhard had a history with Margie Youngman.
"Apparently it's in the dirty laundry cart at the end of your hall."
Erhard's smile vanished and her nostrils flared. "Let me guess. Danger Man?"
Margie sighed again. "He's a good man, but my god, such drama about everything."
"Do we know what it is?"
"He says it's the key to the location of drugs and medical supplies." Margie was apparently engaged in negotiating for information at the other end.
"That's wonderful! But he couldn't just put it in an envelope and drop it off at my office?" Erhard was beckoning to Aggie & Rails. She covered the mouthpiece and whispered. "Dirty laundry cart at the end of the hall, key to the missing supplies!"
The two MedTechs vanished.
"He says it was too big to go in an envelope."
"Too big." Erhard grimaced a bit. "I'm guessing this is more of a symbolic key than a real actual key, right?"
Margie entered into negotiations again. "He says 'you're quite the smart one, and yes, that would be correct.'"
Erhard heard the beginnings of a commotion and a couple of screams followed by loud banging noises.
"Margie, I'm gonna have to call you back, I think they found it."
"Well, okay then." Margie hung up.
Hilary watched a stream of her personnel fly past her doorway and she began to curse Chuck Youngman under her breath.
The laundry cart was on its side, a crowd had gathered and the sounds of mayhem had turned to laughter and cheering by the time she arrived on scene.
"Make a hole for your CO!" Hilary brushed past her people, then knelt down on one knee laughing hard as Aggie held Garland Boyette, mouth taped shut, and Rails went at him hard with both fists.
She rose slowly as the crowd dispersed and moved over to them, Lori panting and winded, Aggie surveying the damage to Boyette's face and body.
"Okay, Lori, Rails, look at me, okay? We have him, it's over." "You two should go down the hall and make sure my people are setting up MedLab the way you need it."
Aggie pushed Rails in the direction of their new facility. "Thanks, Commander."
Erhard looked at her watch. "1430h, Commander Boyette. Time for some truth from you, don't you think?" To her MPs she said "Get this piece of garbage down to my office." Erhard turned and walked away.
At the cost of 2/3rds of a bottle of good scotch in her office, by mid afternoon Hilary Erhard had a list of all the locations and all the Pod Bosses involved in Boyette's scheme and had her personnel bringing it all back in for redistribution.
By 1600, Boyette was down in the brig with his local cohorts, and Erhard was nursing a headache and trying to smell her own breath on her hands.
Hilary Erhard looked wistfully at her empty gun belt. "Didn't even have my frackin' gun when I needed it." "Lucky for you Boyette!"
Her voxbox went off. She blindly picked it up and said "Commander Erhard."
"I can have a gun sent over to ya if yad like."
Erhard was through. "Chuck, why don't you just fuck off?"
She hung up.
Margie looked at Chuck in the tight confines of the kitchenette. Chuck was finishing a tub of Gvot yogurt.
"I imagine that went well."
He nodded. "Yep, I think everybody knows by now I'm a blithering idiot."
She smiled grudgingly. "Well, that's one good thing."
"It might buy us enough time."
She looked thoughtful. "When is the word?"
He shrugged. "Dunno for certain." He gave in to his own fatigue as he rinsed the tub and spoon in the sink. "Two to go."
"Any closer on Amber?"
"Three candidates, none as promising as we'd like."
"You staying up to work on it?"
"Probably a bit."
"Don't be up too late."
"I promise."
"Cross your heart and hope to die?" She smiled freely at last.
He grinned. "Oh, yeah, you got that right."