“Bella Senorita, Squadron, looking for Bella Actual if aboard, over.”
The sun was slowly setting in the west and Sophia was thinking about getting some more clothes on. She’d been in her usual bikini. But the temperature hadn’t really dropped, yet.
“Bella Actual,” Sophia replied. “Hi, Da.”
“You coming to the Bo, over?”
“Not today,” Sophia said. “Gave my crew some time off. Over.”
“Roger. Squadron out.”
“Well,” Sophia said. “That was abrupt. Love you, too, Da.”
Sophia had slipped into a track suit when the sun went down. She only had one Navy uniform and she saved that for when she needed it.
There were Zodiacs moving around from boat to boat all the time but one was headed her way. Since theirs was alongside it was either crew coming back early or somebody coming for a courtesy call.
“Bella Senorita, Squadron Actual, over.”
“Bella Actual, over,” Sophia replied.
“Mind if your mom and I come aboard?”
“Glad to have you,” Sophia said. “Sorry about not coming over to the Bo. I wanted to give my crew the time off.”
“Which is why you’re an ensign. We’re approaching in a Zod. Be there in a jiff.”
“I was planning on coming over tomorrow,” Sophia said, hugging her mother.
“You don’t want us on your boat?” Stacey teased. “Not keeping your room clean?”
“My boat is ready for inspection,” Sophia said. “My rack, not so much. And Batari is over on the Bo. So I’m going to have to cook.”
“I think I can remember how to find my way around a galley,” Stacey said.
“I need to head to the helm,” Sophia said. “I’d wake Thomas up but he’s been running since midwatch last night.”
“I’ll join you if you don’t mind,” Steve said.
“We see each other plenty,” Stacey said. “I think I see him more doing this than when we were home.”
Walker woke up at the sound of voices and slid his hand under the pillow. Then he heard the skipper laugh and went instantly back to sleep.
“How are things going?” Sophia asked, sitting down at the interior helm. The boat was on autopilot so all she had to do was be there for emergencies and to monitor the radio.
“As well as could be expected,” Steve said. “Better even. The night sky video has helped immensely with some building pressures from the Euro block.”
“That’s the second time I’ve heard about that video,” Sophia said. “Description?”
“Watch it,” Stacey said, laying out some sushi rolls. “It’s better if it’s not described. Then you’ll come back and watch it again.”
“We’d gotten a video from The Hole to show to our people,” Steve said. “It was powerful but I ran it past Zumwald as a cross check. He said let him have it and he’d get back to me. Came back a week later with a new one. And it was, yeah, better. But you do need to see it. I think it’s over the top. Most people don’t agree.”
“I suspect you’ll hate it,” Stacey said. “And not be able to keep from crying. Your cook left these in the fridge. What is the fish? It’s good.”
“Something we found under a raft,” Sophia said. “It looked like a triple tail but it wasn’t. I was sort of afraid of eating it but Batari just chopped it up.”
“Putting cooks on the small boats is making more sense,” Steve said. “But there’s a bunch of work to do on the large ships, too. And you really can’t have people trying to cook for themselves, there.”
“So what’s the problem with the Eurotrash?” Sophia asked, taking a sushi roll. The fish was still fresh and richer even than tuna.
“The Euros are, understandably, interested in when the squadron is going to put some ships over clearing Europe,” Steve said, shrugging. “I’m sure that when I do, Americans will ask why we’re not putting all our resources to the U.S. And China has officially requested aid.”
“Hell, we don’t even have a Pacific squadron clearing the West Coast,” Sophia said. “We’re not even clearing the East Coast.”
“We’re getting there,” Steve said. “Now that the tropical season is over we can work our way in. I’m looking at various concepts. We’ll do it. And Europe and, yeah, Asia. Somebody has to…” he added, rubbing his face.
“Da, it’s not all on you, you know,” Sophia said softly.
“No, it’s not,” Steve said. “It’s on all of us. But we’ll get it done. Well, we’ll get it more done. I want lights on. I want cities lit. Small cities, mind you. There’s not going to be many left of us on the land. But we’ll get it done. How is the clearance going?”
“We find boats, we clear boats,” Sophia said, shrugging. “Same old same old. Occasional odd items. No biggie.”
“Having any problems with your skippers?” Steve asked.
“No,” Sophia said. “They’re good and they’re getting better. Teaching them to teach their crews is the tough part. They’re learning. Thomas has been a damned blessing, I’ll tell you that.”
“The ESL teacher?” Steve said, taking a bite of sushi.
“He’s more than an ESL teacher,” Sophia said. “I don’t know what, but he’s a damned good shot. He’s covered in scars. Not like Olga; I know combat scars at this point and he’s been blown up and shot so many times he must be held together with stitching like Frankenstein’s monster. And he’s like a walking dictionary, not to mention a walking translator bot. He says he’s a man of many parts. I’m wondering how many.”
“That sounds like an issue,” Steve said, frowning. “If he’s been less than forthcoming, that’s a trust issue.”
“He’s been less than forthcoming,” Sophia said. “But I trust him. Totally. I don’t know why I do. Yes, I do know. He’s former military. U.S. He feels like Fontana, you know? He says he was a truck driver but his records got lost. Bull. He was an NCO or something. A senior one. He sort of has that feel. Not like a gunny. Army. But he doesn’t, too. Like, he has a quote for everything, like you, Da. But, I dunno. There’s more. All I know is I trust him and he’s one hell of an asset.”
“Should I look into it?” Steve asked.
“I’d prefer you didn’t,” Sophia said. “You’re the boss and it’s up to you. I don’t know why he doesn’t come out and say what he really was, but I’d hate to lose him.”
“I ever talk about the French Foreign Legion?” Steve asked.
“Not really, no,” Sophia said. “I sort of know what it is.”
“More like was,” Steve said. “Formed by Louis the Fourteenth to build up his forces. It only takes non-French volunteers as enlisted men. All the officers are French. The ‘enlisted’ over the years have included generals from other armies, usually ones that were on the run for some reason. They’re given new names and new identities and as long as they do their full term of service, with honor, they can live under them for the rest of their lives as full French citizens. After World War Two it was filled with former SS, many of them under death sentences for their actions in World War Two. You practically had to speak German to be in a French unit.”
“That’s screwy,” Sophia said.
“It worked for centuries with one notable exception,” Steve said. “A mutiny in the 1960s that was an attempted coup. Point being, I’m sure there are all sorts of people in the squadron who have taken the opportunity to become someone else. To forget what they were. As long as they don’t screw up, badly, I’ll take that. The problem being, leopards don’t usually change their spots.”