Deadbot, p.1
Deadbot, page 1
part #14 of Bob and Nikki Series
Deadbot
by Jerry Boyd
This book is a work of fiction. All the people, events, and organizations in this book are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to anything in the real world is purely coincidental.
Copyright©2021 Jerry Boyd
Cover image and design by May Dawney Designs 2021
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, whole or in part, by any means whatsoever without prior written consent of the author and publisher.
Dedicated to my long suffering wife, Donna, and my beta readers, Mary, Bernard, Mary Ellen, and Clarke.
A note about commas, and editing. My beta readers work hard to keep me on the straight and narrow. Anything wrong is probably due to my hard-headedness in not taking their advice. Extra commas you may find scattered through the dialogue, are a blatant attempt at mind control. It’s my way of making the characters sound the same way in your head, that they do in mine.
My understanding of current U.S. Navy usage of the term ‘Commodore’ is as a title, not a rank, used for a Captain in direct command of more than one vessel. In the book, you will find characters moving back and forth between the two titles, depending on the circumstances of the moment. My beta readers felt that it was confusing, I hope this clears up any issues.
An issue was pointed out to me by a reader, Joshua Ahles. The Gene Cernan had originally been (in Lost in Transit), derelict for forty thousand years. In Shaved Ape Key, and Monkey Business, I had shortened that to ten thousand years. Those two books are now corrected, but I wanted to head off any confusion. The proper timeline is that the Commonwealth Navy was mothballed about fifty thousand years ago, and the Gene was found and refitted as a colony ship about ten thousand years after that. Shortly after the Gene was found, the Squirrels did the damage at the Navy yard that Bob and the crew found in Monkey Business. Sorry for any confusion I caused by not keeping up with my own story.
And now, by popular demand
CHARACTERS
Human
Robert Marion “Bob” Wilson A.K.A. Caveman, Commodore, Uncle Bob, etc. The proprietor of Bob’s Saucer Repair, and our narrator. Captain of the Gene Cernan.
Bennikkious Slongum “Nikki” Wilson A.K.A. Space Cadet. Bob’s wife, the first person from the Commonwealth that Bob met. Mother of Bob’s children, the twins, Gus and Becky.
Jimmis “Jimmy” Slongum. Nikki’s illegitimate son from when she was at the academy.
Jannul “Janet Wilson”. Girl the crew rescued from a hostile planet, who was adopted by Bob and Nikki.
Dingolus “Dingus Sloan” Slongum A.K.A. Grandpa. Nikki’s grandpa, marooned on Earth for many years, rescued from a failing autodoc by Bob, Nikki, and John. During his time on Earth, he became an expert with the Colt 45, due to enhanced reflexes from the autodoc. Married to Dee. Captain of the Neil Armstrong.
Dee Sloan, nee Delilah Mayfield. Helped find the watch needed to rescue Dingus from the failing autodoc. Granddaughter of one of Dingus’ friends from before he went in the autodoc to await rescue. Dingus was taken by her, and put her in the autodoc to take a few years off. She is pregnant with a girl. One half of the ‘Gun Grannies’.
Joanna Jackson/Michaels. Dee’s friend, Max’s former assistant. Left the company to stay behind on Earth. Subsequently captured and interrogated, in an attempt to find Bob and the company. Rescued and now a member of the Gene’s crew.
Regimax “Reggie” “Max” Slongum “Sloan”. Nikki’s dad, Dingus’ son. Running the operation on Earth while the rest of the crew are away. Starting a relationship with Gail White.
Bonelia Slongum. Max’s ex, Nikki’s mother. Major Bill Rottum’s fiance.
John Branham. Bob’s partner and long-time friend. Chief Medical Officer of Bob’s Saucer Repair. Married to Jane, stepdad to Greg. Captain of the Buzz Aldrin.
Jane Williams Branham. Wife of John, mother of Greg. Deputy Head of Medical, Deputy Head of Security.
Greg Williams Branham. Son of Jane, stepson of John. He and his mother were abandoned by his father after Greg came down with a serious illness. Now under the supervision of Pete, a robot Marine.
Diego Cachi. Captain of an ill-fated Space Force mission in a captured ship. He and his crew were rescued by Bob and the crew of the Gene Cernan when they were nearly out of air. Married to Zoom. Captain of the Pete Conrad.
Rizzum “Zoom” Mittus. Used to be an engineer and mechanic for the pirate base on the moon. Bob wanted to hire her the first time he saw a ship she built. Her job interview consisted of getting shot in the butt. Married to Diego, guardian of Nunya.
Billis “Nunya Bizness” Makkum. Zoom’s assistant, skilled armorer. Got her name when she first met Bob, and he asked her name. She responded ‘nunya bizness’, and has been known by that name since. Bob offered to call her by her old name, once she had proved herself, but by then, she had grown to like the name Nunya.
Beatriz Cachi. Diego’s grandma, rescued from a nursing home by Bob’s Saucer Repair. The other half of the ‘Gun Grannies’.
Steve Mason. Army buddy of John’s. Explosives expert. John regrew his leg in the autodoc. Dating Bucky. Captain of the Gus Grissom, a destroyer.
Buckious “Bucky” Bronkum. Guide Ensign, friend of Nikki’s from the Academy. Guide liaison to Bob’s Saucer Repair until the probationary period is up, at which point she plans to retire and marry Steve.
Millus “Milly”. Janet’s friend from the hostile planet. Granddaughter of Alice.
Rhonda White. Cured of cancer by John and the autodoc, in order to get her mother to work at Shady Oaks. (John’s nursing home) Got caught up on the school she missed while she was sick, while helping out on the Gene. Back on Earth, at the time of this book.
Gail White. Rhonda’s mom. Starting a relationship with Max, Nikki’s dad.
Mickolec “Mike” Darning. Sergeant in the Galactic Patrol, Commonwealth law enforcement. Friend of Bob and Nikki. Back-channel source of information.
Tinally “Tina” Whittum. Ensign in the Patrol. Works with Mike, also a friend of Bob and Nikki.
Willum Bongwater. Former Commonwealth spy, who Bob’s crew saved from being ‘retired with extreme prejudice’.
Frank Johnson. Electronics genius. Whether he is worth the trouble he causes is up for debate.
Wilma Flanigan. Frank’s daughter. Only known being who can keep Frank out of trouble.
Jim Bailey. Contractor who was given back his will to live by Snitz. Is now part of the crew of the Gene. (Ship’s Counselor, other duties as assigned.)
Janice Parks Bailey. Another refugee from Shady Oaks. Married to Jim Bailey, trying to get used to living on the Gene.
Squirrel
Joshua. Bob’s neighbor for years. Even had Bob build parts for alien equipment, but Bob never realized he wasn’t human. Was on Earth to buy walnuts.
Lakki Witti. Accomplished hacker, sentenced to a hitch in the fleet when was caught. Defected to Bob’s fleet when he caught the ship she was stationed on.
Haffi Witti. Lakki’s aunt, captured when she came looking for Lakki. She likewise decided to work for Bob. Medical tech.
Rikki Natti. Captain of a ship found marooned by Bob’s Saucer Repair. Now works as an explorer for Bob.
Tikki Natti. Rikki’s daughter, skilled engineer. Now works as Scotti’s second-in-command in Engineering aboard the Gene.
Natti Dressi. A Squirrel trader who rose to the rank of Ambassador, because of his history with Bob.
Snappi Dressi. Nephew of Natti, who became Captain of his ship by stabbing the old Captain, when he insisted on provoking Bob to destroy them.
Roos
Ellie. Was held with Joanna on the Marianas Islands.
Lilly. Ellie’s daughter.
Gina. Lilly’s friend.
Lita. Gina’s mother.
Joe. An old Roo Bob hires, out of kindness, I suppose.
Matt. Joe’s grandson.
Willy. Young Roo who has bad dreams.
Majel. Head of the effort to colonize Deadbot.
Sam. Only one of Majel’s colonists who was actually prepared to take on a new planet.
Bots
Topper. First bot Bob named. Executive Officer on the Gene Cernan. Known for his artistic talent.
Taz. Another of Bob and Nikki’s personal crew. Former intelligence, loves anything ‘James frickin’ Bond’.
Ozzie. The last of the original three, he is obsessed with getting more power out of machinery.
Ruth. A pilot, rescued from the deep underground, where she had been stranded because her former owner didn’t give her permission to move the saucer.
Sally. Bot who cared for Dingus when he was young. He saw her get her limiter applied, which gave him a lifelong hatred of limiters. When unlocked, she turned out to be a Lieutenant Commander in the old Commonwealth Navy.
Julie. Bot who caused the Limiter Laws to be passed, by standing between Dingus’ illegitimate daughter, and the fellow who was supposed to be her father. Now works trying to keep Frank out of trouble.
Dixie. Medbot, Chief Medical Officer aboard the Gene.
Jeeves. Bob’s personal assistant. Full name, Mahatma Cane Jeeves.
Ace. Accomplished pilot.
Hopper. Ace’s loadmaster.
Velma. Small engineering bot.
Stella. General purpose bot, waitresses in the galley aboard the Gene.
George. Head of Bob’s protection team.
Ringo. The other half of Bob’s protection team.
AA-235, A.K.A. John Paul. Captain of the Chesty Puller.
Pets
Snitz. Nikki’s dog, mostly cared for by Bob. Finds ways to help Bob, even when he doesn’t know he needs it.
Alice. Janet’s dog. Named for Milly’s grandma.
Molly. Jim Bailey’s dog.
Ships
Carriers
Gene Cernan (flagship)
Neil Armstrong, Dingus Sloan, commanding
Buzz Aldrin, John Branham, commanding
Alan Shepherd, Sally, commanding
Pete Conrad, Diego Cachi, commanding
Destroyers
Gus Grissom, Steve Mason, commanding
Several others exist, but haven’t been called out by name
Freighters
Ronald Evans. Ship the Earth crew came to the Gene in
Dolly Parton. Famous for hauling chickens
General McAuliffe. Famous for hauling nuts
Other
Black Beauty. Spy ship crewed by Taz and Willum
Midnight. Spy ship crewed by Shorty
Chesty Puller. Marine transport captained by AA-235
I was so happy to see the last Roo ship head for Deadbot. By some miracle, we had managed not to lose any joeys. We had found all the ones who decided to slip out while their moms were asleep. There were a few tense moments, when the ladies woke up with empty pouches, but in the end, we had made the trip without losing anyone. Topper even set up an honor guard for ‘Captain Willy’ leaving the ship. I was sure some of the ‘colonists’ weren’t going to be happy with the conditions on the planet, but that was Majel’s problem, not mine. I had even managed to slip the fellow who had drawn on Jackie a comm, in case he decided he didn’t like the company, down on the planet. As soon as the Roo ship was far enough away to make it safe, Ruth asked, “Would you like to see the new ship now, Boss?”
“Yes, I would. Anything that will get us away from that mess, is a good thing. We aren’t hauling any more colonists on the Gene.”
We slid in, and out, of FTL. We finally had a close look at the work being done on the new people hauler. I had heard of the idea of inflating asteroids before, but I hadn’t ever looked into how it might actually work. I did have my suspicions that Scotti had figured out several tricks that hadn’t been thought of before. My suspicions were confirmed, when I noticed the two destroyers, pulling what looked like an enormous glass-blower’s paddle, along the length of the ship. I was pulled out of my contemplation, when Tex asked, “Boss, my buddy on the Armstrong wants to know if I can help him out, so they can finish blowing the hull faster.”
“Guns free, Tex. Give them whatever help they need.”
“Guns free, yes, Boss. You know how to throw a party, Boss.”
“Saucy, I’d like to talk to Scotti, if she isn’t busy.”
Scotti said, “Yes, Boss?”
“Just how big is this monster going to be?”
“About two miles long, and somewhere in the neighborhood of a half-mile in diameter.”
“How did you get that much steel?”
“We started with an asteroid about a mile across. It would’ve hit the planet in a thousand years or so, we were just doing a public service. It was a pretty good rock, we got a yield of about fifty percent steel, once we cooked off all the stuff we didn’t want. No steelmill would ever put out this particular mix on purpose, but we ran all the simulations we could think of, and we couldn’t find a reason not to use it.”
“It looks about the right length, but it’s not anywhere near that big around, yet.”
“We’re just getting it hot enough to inflate, Boss. Once the Shepherd is able to come and help, things will speed up.”
“You need the mains from three carriers to get this thing hot enough?”
“Well, Boss, we aren’t running them at full power. We had to keep the output low enough to keep from overloading the guns.”
“Do we have a name for this beast?”
“To get it ready to fly in a decent amount of time, we’re going to have to quench it, and then draw the temper, to keep it from being brittle. Captain Branham suggested the ‘Blue Light Special’.”
“Blue, certainly. If this isn’t special, I don’t know what is, but I don’t think it’s going to be light, by any stretch. I do like the name, though.”
“Anything else you need, Boss?”
“A place to hide from all those angry Roos when they decide I didn’t give them what I said I would?”
“Zoom says the world they found is pretty nice.”
“I’m sure it is. Last I heard we sold both of them to the Roos.”
“If enough of these turkeys decide to bail, they may not even fill this one. We could probably lease the other one back, cheap.”
“Thanks, Scotti. That might be a plan. Talk to you later.”
“Bye, Boss.”
I asked Topper, “Where is Scotti getting her information on the colonists being disgruntled?”
“There are still a few crews of bots on the surface, putting them up some housing. The stories they are telling are hilarious, Boss.”
Saucy said, “Comm for you, Boss.”
“Captain Wilson.”
“Captain, this is Sam. We met over the barrel of your pistol.”
