Lee Carter sighed heavily and slumped back in her chair. She craned her neck back and rubbed her tired eyes with the heels of her palms. The chrono on the wall of her office read 0120. "How in the world did it get this late?" she wondered wearily out load.
< Please restate the last request. >
Carter frowned at the desktop computer terminal, thinking that it was about time the eggheads who designed these things added a subroutine to distinguish between an actual query and just idle chatter. "Never mind," she muttered to the machine. Kim could probably tweak this thing for me..., she mused, but then remembered with a start that that wouldn't be happening any time soon. Kim Tycho had transferred out of Banshee Squadron, and it was that exact vacancy that had Carter sitting at her computer terminal at one in the morning looking for a replacement.
"Resume scanning," she instructed the terminal. Obediently, the list of candidates she'd been reading for the last three hours recommenced their slow parade across the small screen, each entry extolling the virtues and brilliant careers of the next pilot in the endless list.
The trouble wasn't that none of the pilots were adequate. On the contrary, all the contenders had the highest marks and commendations from old commanding officers all the way back to their Academy days, and from their mothers before that! Still, for some reason, Carter passed them all by. There was just something missing from all their dossiers -- Carter couldn't quite put a word to it -- "pizzazz", maybe.
She was just about to switch off the terminal and call it a night when one entry caught her eye. She paused the scrolling display and began reading the details of this pilot's file, and as she read she slowly began to realize that she'd found a suitable replacement for Kimmie. A smile slowly grew on her tired face. "Yeah, I think you'll do nicely...."
< Please restate the last request. >
First thing the next morning, Carter was standing across the desk from Commodore Wallace in his ready room. He had listened to her proposal and now sat with his fingers steepled in front of him thinking. Finally, he said, "I don't see anything wrong with getting a replacement for Lieutenant Tycho. You've been shorthanded since she left, and in a battle situation that's not good. I'm just wondering though...."
Carter knew exactly what was causing the Commodore to hesitate. She said, "I realize that the pilot I've chosen might seem a little raw, Commodore, but--"
"There's no 'seems to' about it Commander," interrupted Wallace. "This Ensign Alex Dawson is straight out of the Academy. No combat experience whatsoever. I'm not sure having a rookie out here on the frontier -- especially with the Mullurans still rattling their sabers and now with the missing Morristown colonists and their body-snatchers -- I'm not sure that's the best idea you've ever had."
"I realize she's young and inexperienced--" pressed Carter.
"Barely twenty-one," interjected Wallace.
"Yes sir. But there's something about her record that really impressed me -- the incident out at the Academy's Saturn flight range.... That's the kind of person I'd want on my wing. And as for her age.... We were all that young when we started flying, sir." Carter smiled at the memory of those days.
Wallace noted her smile and seemed to come to a decision. He unsteepled his fingers and tapped a few keys on the terminal on the desk. Looking back up at Carter he said, "Very well, Commander. You've got your new team member. I'll have the request for Alex Dawson transmitted at the earliest opportunity. It'll take a month for the Ensign to get here from Earth, so you'll have to make due until then."
"Thank you, Commodore," said Carter.
"Dismissed."
Wallace watched Carter retreat smartly from his ready room. After the door slid shut, he smiled. He always enjoyed the Commander's enthusiasm for her job, but at the same time hoped he hadn't let her talk him into something they'd all regret the first time the Mullurans attacked....