Chapter Six
Two days
Cruise ship
Hud
“Why are we staying longer?” I clench my jaw so nothing else spills out.
We were leaving this afternoon. I haven’t been doing laps because I don’t have my flipper here but that is not coming out of my mouth.
I’m walking fine and, at this point, therapy is maintenance but it’s part of my days like riding.
Her eye roll is predictable but I focus on her annoyance more than the crystal blue color that looks more striking when her hair is down like last night for the musical.
“The Purser told Alder the passengers aren’t paying attention to the splashy robots anymore.
He set a meet for the afternoon on Lido to walk the deck with the Hotel GM and tonight a dinner meet in the dining room with the captain. ”
Great. “Which one do you want?”
She doesn’t look happy. “Alder has me in the dining room, you got the Lido, it will end your shift.” The Pacific gets a look as she talks.
I think she’s sick of the ship and ask, “Done with the ship?” That gets her eyes on mine. I’m not telling her I am.
“Yeah. Asa is being transported in. I hoped to be going back with him. I was never enamored with being on a cruise, once I did the activities, I was done. Flying or driving is my thing. Being transported was always temporary and never more than two or three days on ships and once a submarine.” The nuclear sub, I bet.
I smile at that. “Aurora got bored too?”
“Yeah, her job is more exciting than standing around the lab waiting for Mucimi and Alder. She works with the elders and has a million stories. She read at the pool.”
I thought she liked the lab. “You worked in the lab?” I should have said liked in there but it’s out now.
“Yeah, but here with Aurora, I wasn’t in the meets or helping with work.
I took the shift with Aurora while Mucimi was in the Lab with Alder.
Asa balances his work with daily outings like riding, the horses, hiking, zorbing, flying in the suit, he’s always doing something different and loves any help to get there.
He uses the new drones now that we coded them with alert settings in AI.
Aurora says Alder will work straight out for weeks then take weird vacations to work at new shit or crazy shit. ”
I blink stunned. “This is the vacation, Michadeau.” How’d she miss that?
Finally, her smile shows. “And Asa is here later today.”
That brings a smile up. “Yeah. Why is Asa coming?”
“Don’t know. All I know is he’s on his way and my chance of getting off this floating tub is higher when he gets here.” Yep, she’s had enough of vacation LP style.
Thinking of him conjures him up. “Boss Sophie, you schedule to dinner, use card, buy you clothes. Boss Natalia say business meet use expense account. All cost to meet I expense same to Pres Jordan.” The little President’s voice has my eyes closing for a split second.
The look on her face, before she turns, reminds me of the teeth gritting I’d do and how that must have looked. “Roger, Boss.”
I nod to Lemon and Moss who are standing behind him while thinking I even answered with the same monotone pitch that she used.
Higher officers were usually clueless because I talked so little.
It was purposeful and probably saved my skin quite a bit.
Sometimes the shit they had me doing was fuckin’ stupid and I knew it wouldn’t work, but orders are orders.
“You, ‘Roger, Boss,’ show no happy. Order clothes to app?”
I turn fast and see LP’s head tilted to the side. He’s so smart but doesn’t get a lot. “Confinement, even on a boat this size, doesn’t work for everyone,” I tell him.
His head tilts straight, then right back to the side. “Claustrophobia?”
Charlie’s Angel’s crystal blue eyes shine a little brighter.
“Nope. You knew the bots weren’t going to dazzle everyone forever.
Once you’ve seen a bot make your drink, it loses its pizzaz.
On a ship with all the glitz, you’re back to looking for your friends and family.
Tell the Purser, Manager and captain that’s the reason for hiding the money savers so ticket prices don’t go up.
The glitz wears off and passengers look for connections with people and real-life entertainment.
You have a whole section in the manuals and a booklet on merging people and technology in a way that will keep people paying for the experience of a robot making drinks or shooting lasers on beat to the music shows.
All the rest is behind the scenes and if they’d read the information, they’d get it and I can go back to my shifts with Asa. ”
“Ha…” Shit! I slap my hand over my mouth as they both look my way. Shit. I shrug and give the only thing I can. “She’s right. They don’t need more than a wow on the first day. The delivery bots get them more.”
Charlie’s Angel nods. “Change the drink to ice cream duty, then cake, or bread or whatever. Every day the bot does a new job but it’s one bot and one job.
It doesn’t need to be in the dining room, there’s a whole deck of restaurants that would love the draw of the bot once a week.
The worker can change out parts and push buttons for what job they’re doing. ”
LP is frozen and I know his head is spinning with new shit. When he nods once, I breathe normally, getting a smile from Moss. He loves the LP.
“I get IT on code. We use one server, code to different job. Same to flight simulator.” He would know, I’m not that kind of IT.
“We’re here. Let’s get this done so I can get home. The boys are sick of the room. No Brex and Budgie do not make happy cruisers.” We all turn toward Stella and Jordan.”
“All sick to cruise?” The little President looks stricken.
Jordan smiles with his answer. “I can work anywhere but they like their creature comforts. Stella’s are different than mine.
A laptop and clothes that I can pick up anywhere works for me.
I don’t mind playing anywhere with anything the twins have.
Stella likes her lab work, bathtub and morning runs over the bridges with her dogs. ”
Alder nods. “We work today, leave tonight?” He looks each one of us in the eye getting a nod with the relief I’m sure we all convey. A single nod with, “Conference room, thirty-minute.”
I turn to Charlie’s Angel. “You working today?”
She looks at Stella for an answer. “Basic code for ice cream? Or the parameters for me to just keep working?”
“Yeah, I can do ice cream and the burger or fry guy we did for the kitchen.”
Stella gives me a nod. “Get food and drinks up to the conference room. The boys will need to see us…”
I nod. “I got it. We’ll keep them busy, lunch with you, nap then the kite on a drone. We can use the seconds and K9’s.”
Jordan laughs. “Let’s get this done. Japanese Kobe chef guy sounds like fun. I got that one, then we’ll work on the changeable parts with Alder and Asa.”
Charlie’s Angel Sophia laughs.
I follow the little President at a slow jog back to the navigation deck with Moss and Lemon tailing us. He just finished hooking up the new sales system at the four shops that closed while he was working, but this deck is getting busy. Charlie’s Angel Sophia sounds happy to get out of the crowd.
I’m out of ear shot before she tells why but I can guess.
She feels trapped and more people make that trapped long and hard.
She’s from an orphanage that she called a group home.
No one took her so she went from one orphanage to another until she aged out.
Kids shied away, adults wanted a kid they could hand a plush toy or phone to for hours.
Those crystal blue eyes showed the want of a real family that I bet she watched on TV.
She wanted a chemistry set and schedules that didn’t change daily.
New parents wanted a needy kid that wanted to learn to ride a bike.
Different expectations that had no middle ground when she wasn’t allowed to tell the parents until she was away from caseworker ears.
That was usually a four hour visit that never led to a second visit with the parental wannabes.
The drink we had last night was good. She had eight lines added to the sheet we use to keep up with Alder.
Explaining it over a drink was quicker than questions back and forth on the sheet.
The talk changed and we spent two hours on anything but real personal shit that had nothing to do with work, the cruise or the little President.
Hearing how she grew up makes me more appreciative of the mom who doted on me and dad who taught me how to be a man.
According to Badass, they did a great job.
According to my heart rate, I miss them more than I admit, even to myself.
I send a heartfelt thanks up to them like the Indians send to their ancestors.
I’m smiling as we get to LP’s room because I’d guess it’s the same thing.
§*§*§
Chopper home
Sophie
Peggy has the biggest smile on when her head turns my way. Jordan wants her as Lead for their boys. They’ll be learning new this year and need someone willing to jump when they move and that may be as they’re grabbing for a chute.
It’s how I felt on the shift I took for Brex and Budgie when Troy went away with Banks one weekend. I needed a nap at the end of the shift. Brex and Budgie are not as young as the Bit twins from Bravo but they’re training the Driver-Solaita twins well.
“Congratulations.” There is no way I’d say anything but that.
The glint in her eye tells me she knows what I’m thinking. “I loved the Banks Bits and the Alpha D-S twins are easier. I had them while you were working today.” She’s a little crazy so I believe it.
“I’ll take your word for it. I was run ragged with the Banks boys and took an Anton shift instead of the Graywolf Bits. The Bailey twins aren’t as active as those boys.” While she nods, I look toward Hud. “I thought you had help today?”