Thursday, 0800 Hours

[Note: No Sex In This Chapter]

Despite the 'kick-off' meeting being held in the main conference room of Celestial Command, there were not enough chairs at the large table and several people had to stand against the wall. A folding table laden with sweet rolls, fruit, coffee, and juice had been set up in one corner of the room.

People who knew each other exchanged greetings, and for the first time since their assignments to the 5-EX, Lieutenant Hammer and Ensign Bauer got to say hello to Commander Smith. Bauer's orders had been so written to designate him as Hammer's personal assistant, which gave the Ensign access to all areas and information of the project.

When Admiral Thorndike entered the room, Port Captain Rodriguez yelled, "Attention on Deck" and everyone stood up. Half the people in attendance were civilians and of the uniformed Solar Guard personnel, only seven of them wore the distinctive FTL patch on their chests.

The meeting lasted until noon, with the project being outlined in broad-strokes and everyone given a chance to briefly introduce himself. When it broke up and people were filing out, Admiral Thorndike told Lieutenant Hammer to stay behind, but that Ensign Bauer could go on to lunch.

Captain Harold Depardieu, Chief Science Officer of Celestial Command, also stayed behind.

"Jawanza, I have a special assignment for you," Admiral Thorndike told Lieutenant Hammer. "There is this scientist that Harold is enamored with, and I want you to check out her work."

"Well, hardly enamored," Captain Depardieu replied, "Although she is an attractive woman. She has a double specialty in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. For the past ten years she has been trying to develop an all-purpose robot. One that could be used on a factory assembly line, at a construction site, or as a household domestic. She has achieved a certain degree of success, but the product is so expensive as to be prohibitive for general use."

"However," the Admiral said, "Harold has pointed out that by so drastically reducing the crew of the EX's, we are exposing the ships and crews to risk if two or more got sick or injured."

The Admiral did not mention that the recent **** of Lieutenant Faraday caused him to pay more attention to Captain Depardieu's hypotheses.

"He proposes that the Robot could perform the functions of the two Stewards we are planning on adding, thereby eliminating the need for them," the Admiral continued. "Plus . . . And here is the onion . . . The Robot could, in an emergency, help navigate the ship. And since it is a machine, it could do that for twenty-four hours at a time. Replacing two crew members if needed."

"Now I trust Harold's judgement on such matters implicitly," the Admiral said, "But I want someone with actual Hyper-Space experience to check it out."

Lieutenant Hammer's eyes flickered to Captain Depardieu's chest and noticed it was missing the FTL patch.

"Where are her laboratories?" Lieutenant Hammer asked.

"She's a bit of an eccentric," Captain Depardieu answered, scribbling on a sheet of paper. He handed it to Lieutenant Hammer. "She works out of her home. In the basement and first floor. She lives on the second."

"Professor Denise Sandstorm?" Lieutenant Hammer read the name. "Is she Martian?"

"I believe she was born there, yes," Captain Depardieu answered.

Lieutenant Hammer said no more as he folded the paper and stuck it into the breast pocket of his tunic. "When would be a good time to call for an appointment."

"Who knows?" Captain Depardieu replied. "Like I said, she's a bit of an eccentric and works all hours."

"Swing by this afternoon," the Admiral said. "Without calling."

"A surprise inspection?" Lieutenant Hammer grinned.