Roland. He wants a Slick and he does not care who it is. Ah, Cheetah. That would be Mac since Fred is Nada. Nada thinks every team needs a Fred and we are never going to have one. So Moms did Know. She never wants to name anyone. As if she does not take enough responsibility.”
Kirk waited patiently as Doc unraveled the naming mystery that was only a mystery to him.
“So that leaves Eagle with Kobayashi Maru, and Ms. Jones almost always goes with him, but I do not see it this time. Kobe? Maru?”
“Kirk.”
Doc blinked, cocked his head, and then nodded. “Ah. Got it.
Star Trek
. So you are a cheater, no disrespect intended, a former Ranger, and Ms. Jones chose you. As good an intro as you can get. Welcome to the Nightstalkers.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
“Nada did get to name me. He broke his Fred rule and said every team’s medic had to be called Doc, and Ms. Jones went along with him.” Doc sighed. “I am indeed a medical doctor, by the way, so come to me with any ailments or concerns. But I also have four PhDs in—”
The door to the CP cracked open and Nada stuck his head out. “Yeah, Doc, we know you’re a multiple professor of whatever and wherever, but we need the new guy. And welcome back.”
“Thanks, Na—” But the door was shut. Doc’s shoulders slumped. “I suppose since I missed the naming ceremony I missed my two beers?”
Kirk nodded and reached into the other can, pulling out two cold ones. Doc sat down with a sigh and popped open the first. “When will these uncouth savages learn about champagne or wine?” he asked no one in particular. He then looked back at Kirk. “It is best not to keep Moms waiting.”
Kirk went to the door and knocked, barely making an audible thud in the steel. It seemed Nada had been on the other side waiting and opened it immediately, escorting him in. The walls of the CP were covered with maps, satellite imagery, and printouts of things Kirk couldn’t make sense of in his quick glance about.
Moms sat behind one desk, Nada taking his place behind the other. They were standard government-issue gray desks and they faced the door from opposite corners of the CP. Surprisingly, a plump armchair was in the center facing them.
Kirk suspected a trap, perhaps no support in the seat, and sat down gingerly. But the chair was firm. Even comfortable, which further aroused his suspicions.
Moms started. “Every unit I ever went into, when I met the CO, it was always a series of warnings. Don’t fuck up. Don’t do this. Don’t do that. Behave. And I’ve walked into a lot of units in my time. Your experience?”
Kirk ran his career reel through his head. “The same, Ms. Moms.”
“Save the Ms. shit for Ms. Jones. There’s no Ms. or Misters here. I’m Moms. That’s it. You’re Kirk. He’s Nada. I heard Doc out there. Just Doc. Got it?”
“Just Doc. Got it.”
Moms smiled slightly. Kirk noticed a bend in her nose and knew it had been broken and badly set a long time ago. Dee’s nose had the same crook. From Pads’s fist. Kirk pulled his mind back to the present as Moms continued.
“The ceremony outside is real. The people are real. We’re very happy to have you on the team.” She glanced to her left. “Right?”
“Oh, yeah.” Nada was pulling open a drawer in his desk and glanced up. “Thrilled beyond words.”
“If you notice, we don’t wear rank, we don’t have patches or tabs or badges. I know you’re proud of them, but we don’t do that stuff. We don’t do medals, we don’t do plaques or memorials or any of that. But you are still in the service, okay?”
Kirk nodded.
“We work for Ms. Jones. Who exactly she answers to, we don’t know and we don’t have a need to know. She did the ‘things that go bump in the night’ shtick, which she alternates with some other stuff for new people, but officially Nightstalkers is on call to deal with extraordinary emergencies. That includes incidents involving nuclear, chemical, and biological
Kirk waited patiently as Doc unraveled the naming mystery that was only a mystery to him.
“So that leaves Eagle with Kobayashi Maru, and Ms. Jones almost always goes with him, but I do not see it this time. Kobe? Maru?”
“Kirk.”
Doc blinked, cocked his head, and then nodded. “Ah. Got it.
Star Trek
. So you are a cheater, no disrespect intended, a former Ranger, and Ms. Jones chose you. As good an intro as you can get. Welcome to the Nightstalkers.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
“Nada did get to name me. He broke his Fred rule and said every team’s medic had to be called Doc, and Ms. Jones went along with him.” Doc sighed. “I am indeed a medical doctor, by the way, so come to me with any ailments or concerns. But I also have four PhDs in—”
The door to the CP cracked open and Nada stuck his head out. “Yeah, Doc, we know you’re a multiple professor of whatever and wherever, but we need the new guy. And welcome back.”
“Thanks, Na—” But the door was shut. Doc’s shoulders slumped. “I suppose since I missed the naming ceremony I missed my two beers?”
Kirk nodded and reached into the other can, pulling out two cold ones. Doc sat down with a sigh and popped open the first. “When will these uncouth savages learn about champagne or wine?” he asked no one in particular. He then looked back at Kirk. “It is best not to keep Moms waiting.”
Kirk went to the door and knocked, barely making an audible thud in the steel. It seemed Nada had been on the other side waiting and opened it immediately, escorting him in. The walls of the CP were covered with maps, satellite imagery, and printouts of things Kirk couldn’t make sense of in his quick glance about.
Moms sat behind one desk, Nada taking his place behind the other. They were standard government-issue gray desks and they faced the door from opposite corners of the CP. Surprisingly, a plump armchair was in the center facing them.
Kirk suspected a trap, perhaps no support in the seat, and sat down gingerly. But the chair was firm. Even comfortable, which further aroused his suspicions.
Moms started. “Every unit I ever went into, when I met the CO, it was always a series of warnings. Don’t fuck up. Don’t do this. Don’t do that. Behave. And I’ve walked into a lot of units in my time. Your experience?”
Kirk ran his career reel through his head. “The same, Ms. Moms.”
“Save the Ms. shit for Ms. Jones. There’s no Ms. or Misters here. I’m Moms. That’s it. You’re Kirk. He’s Nada. I heard Doc out there. Just Doc. Got it?”
“Just Doc. Got it.”
Moms smiled slightly. Kirk noticed a bend in her nose and knew it had been broken and badly set a long time ago. Dee’s nose had the same crook. From Pads’s fist. Kirk pulled his mind back to the present as Moms continued.
“The ceremony outside is real. The people are real. We’re very happy to have you on the team.” She glanced to her left. “Right?”
“Oh, yeah.” Nada was pulling open a drawer in his desk and glanced up. “Thrilled beyond words.”
“If you notice, we don’t wear rank, we don’t have patches or tabs or badges. I know you’re proud of them, but we don’t do that stuff. We don’t do medals, we don’t do plaques or memorials or any of that. But you are still in the service, okay?”
Kirk nodded.
“We work for Ms. Jones. Who exactly she answers to, we don’t know and we don’t have a need to know. She did the ‘things that go bump in the night’ shtick, which she alternates with some other stuff for new people, but officially Nightstalkers is on call to deal with extraordinary emergencies. That includes incidents involving nuclear, chemical, and biological
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