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someone might get
any sort of employment. After tomorrow, one more big sweep. Then we
head out of town.”
    They would do a tour of nearby villages
as there was a kind of direct route between them, almost like a
ring route around a major city, with one big gap in the southeast.
No one really lived there. Going by the map, it was all marsh and
then the river delta.
    It was named Capital River. Newton had
the impression Burke was suppressing a grin, but he couldn’t be
quite certain. There was television noise in the background, so
that might account for it.
    “ That seems adequate. Word
will get around.”
    “ As far as I can tell, the
shuttle is secure enough, or as secure as it’s going to get with
none of our own people guarding it.”
    “ Yes, we’ll monitor it.
Anything else?”
    “ No, sir.” He wondered if he
was missing anything, hopefully not.
    “ That will be all,
Lieutenant.” The skipper’s image blanked out and Newton shut his
end down.
    It was ten to twelve p.m. and time to
check on the men. He wondered where he could get a can of cold pop
around there, at this time of the night.
    He needn’t have bothered.
     
     
     

Chapter Five
     
    Trooper Hernandez Was Clad
in Clingy Pajamas
     
     
    He came out of his door just in time to
see Trooper Hernandez, clad in clingy pajamas, white with something
in red, perhaps little red teddy bears all over them, come out of
her room and go scooting off up the hall away from him.
    Newton stood bemused, as she turned and
quickly entered another room with something in her hand…it looked
like liquor.
    Closing his own door, he went down
there, not quite sure which door it was, but the buzz of talk
behind the door of room 509 meant this one almost had to be
it.
    He momentarily considered what to do,
and he was about to turn away when the door snapped open, another
young female trooper came out, bumped into him, and then stepped
back with a gasp and a fearful look on her face. What he saw over
her shoulder was a room full of people.
    The door clicked into place behind her,
but it was a bit late for that.
    “ Trooper.”
    “ Sir?”
    “ What’s going on in
there?”
    Trooper Khan snapped a perfect salute,
straightening up with a visible gulp.
     
    ***
     
    It was a scene reminiscent of a college
dorm party or a senior class trip Newton had once been
on.
    A haze of blue smoke hung in the air.
There were bodies and faces everywhere. He wondered who was
missing, but there were near a dozen, male and female. Bottles and
cheap plastic glasses stood everywhere. The wastebasket was full of
ice. A little beer wouldn’t have been a problem and they were off
duty until oh-six-hundred the next morning. This was just a little
bit different.
    They wouldn’t be in much of a shape for
their patrols, and they really should have taken it a little more
seriously.
    In some ways, he couldn’t blame them.
They were off the ship, and in different circumstances he might
have overlooked it. The trouble was that it was his
mission.
    It was a poor reflection on
him. The truth was
that he hadn’t issued orders specifically against it.
    That was obviously his fault. Although
fraternization between officers and men was officially frowned
upon, they appeared to be all enlisted personnel.
    He looked around, standing just inside
the door as they ignored his presence. It was a strange moment, to
see them like this. They had no idea he was in the room.
    “ Where’s the controller?” He
wanted to turn the music down so he could talk to them.
    “ Huh? Oh, shit!” Someone
turned the noise down and faces swung towards him in
shock.
    A couple of them stood up abruptly, but
he waved them off.
    “ It’s all right.” He looked
around the room. “Where are the others?”
    There were shrugs and blank
looks.
    “ Who else is here?” No one
answered.
    The bathroom door opened and a
different smell came out in dribs and drabs.
    “ Hey! What happened to the
music?”
    Newton spun.
    “ Mister