Junkyard Dogs 1: The Scrapyard Incident Read Free Page B

silicon-fluoride nanite reaction fluid for their ion drives onboard! Because
it's all in a great big deep freeze, most of the stuff is still quite useable.
One more added benefit is that all of this material is made even more valuable
because you don't have to boost it up out of a gravity well. Most material goes to the Federation for military and other applications,
but quite a lot of it is sold to private interests as well."
    Another student
raised his hand, and Harris nodded towards him. "Ensign Skillings ?"
    "Sir, what
about used parts? I saw a whole row of Mark III Bombardier cargo hulls on the
way in. Must've been a dozen of them."
    Harris replied,
"Fourteen, to be exact. But you bring up a good point. The center is the
Federation's major source for used and rebuildable spacecraft parts, and we make decent money at it. Good quality used parts can
keep an otherwise perfectly good old ship going and do so without breaking the
bank. Just another service provided to you by the Federation Navy!"
    Several members
of the group cracked a smile.
    "Time to
wrap this up," said Kresge , coming to his feet.
"You'll have to do better, all of you. Thank you, Lieutenant Harris,"
he said, with a nod in the young officer's direction, "See me after the
recruits have left, if you would." He then addressed the group,
"Gentlemen and ladies, I advise you to make good use of your time at this
facility! Study up! You've all got several hours tonight! Don't waste them!
You'll need to know the material in the first five chapters of the manual by
the end of the week! Now let's get to the evening mess. Tomorrow's duty rosters
are posted on the board. Check them on the way out! Dismissed!"
    The recruits
filed in an orderly fashion up past the duty board. There were a few groans and
other comments regarding the next day's tasks, but they all seemed pretty
good-natured. Harris waited until the last two recruits had filed out before
speaking to the Commander. "You wanted to see me, Sir?"
    "Yes,
Harris. I have to go planetside for a while. The
Meridian ambassador is coming to negotiate the pending trade agreement with the
New Ceylon President, and his entourage is due in a few days. Since our
military presence in this sector is so small to begin with, they need all the
uniforms they can get. Especially the ones with lots of
bright, shiny brass on them." He mock-brushed an imaginary fleck of
dust off from the Commander's insignia on his collar with the cuff of his
sleeve.
    "I'll be
leaving Lieutenant Perkins in charge."
    Harris gave him a
slightly puzzled look.
    "I know
you're senior to him and the responsibility should fall to you, but I have a
special assignment for you... I need you to do some babysitting duty for a few
days."
    "Babysitting
duty, Sir?"
    "Ensign
Carlisle needs close-quarter pilot verification and a guide to help her inspect
some of the old military craft in our collection."
    "That's a
bit unusual, Sir."
    "I know, but
so is she. You will have noted that she's a hefty cut above the usual recruits
we get out here."
    "Yes, Sir. She seems pretty sharp."
    "Graduated second in her class at the Academy. You saw
the pilot's wings. She's not training for supply and transport like the rest of
our group."
    "Headed for
high command?"
    "Well... maybe.
She's smart -- no, make that damned smart -- but she's got some personality
quirks and... other issues...that could keep her out.
The Brass at the academy aren't quite sure what to do
with her."
    "Personality quirks?"
    "Yeah, she's
very impulsive and she has some odd speech habits -- the Academy psychologists
describe it as 'thinking verbally'-- and she can display a really bad temper,
especially if she's convinced that she's right. As smart as she is, that's most
of the time."
    Harris nodded in
acknowledgement. "Now that you mention it, the way she began her answer to
your question was a little unorthodox. That and I noticed her lips were moving
during my lecture. I thought that was a little strange,