第21节

Boss on The Lady. The guy you come to when you've got

problems. That's why I've got such wide shoulders. I've had so many

people cryin' on 'em."

His speech was punctuated by a hollow laugh from the veteran crewmen.

'Play it by The Book and you'll find me a very understanding guy. Get

on the wrong side of me -' He tapped his rank stripe with his

switch-stick. '- and you're liable to end up with a backful of

these." McDonnell paused briefly to allow this threat to sink home.

'My main job is to make sure that the orders of the wagon master and

his execs are carried out - to the letter. And aided by your section

leaders, I am also responsible for on-board discipline. Any wet-foot

who thinks he can relax because he's not shipping out on Big Red One

had better think again. You won't find a tighter train than The Lady,

so keep your noses clean and your wagons trim -' McDonnell caught a

signal from a lineman standing by the door. He snapped his feet

together, swept his switch-stick under his left arm and grasped the

gold top between the thumb and palm of his left hand, fingers extended

rigidly along the axis of the stick. 'Wagon-train... READY!" he

boomed.

Everybody jumped to their feet and braced their shoulders as Commander

Bill Hartmann, the wagon master, entered the briefing room followed by

his ten executive officers. All of them wore chrome yellow,

long-peaked command caps and, with the exception of the Flight

Operations Officer, olive drab fatigues.

As they mounted the platform and Hartmann reached the lectern,

McDonnell's voice boomed out again, 'Wagon traa-i-nn..."

'HO I I' chorussed the crew. The ground shook as the three hundred men

and women thundered to attention and punched their right arm upwards in

a clenched fist salute.

McDonnell turned smartly towards Hartmarm and brought his right arm up

with jack-knife precision to the brim of his stetson. Hartmann's

acknowledgement had a touch of CFI Carrol's famous fly-swipe about

it.

Steve felt reassured. He didn't mind drills and the attendant bullshit

as long as it was backed up by brains. It was hard to be sure at this

distance but the grey-haired Hartmann exuded an aura of thoughtful

intelligence. He was a couple of inches taller than McDonnell, with a

lean, square-jawed face whose most arresting feature was a large white

mustache. Standing alone, one would have judged him to be well-built

but juxtaposed with McDonnell's bull-necked bulk he looked positively

anaemic.

McDonnell turned to face the crew of The Lady. 'Wagon train... EASY?

The men sat down, backs upright, their faces turned towards Hartmann.

His execs formed two staggered lines behind him.

Gus leaned into Steve. 'They call him Buffalo Bill,' he whispered.

Hartmann laid his peaked cap on the lectern, placed a pocket video memo

pad next to it, ran a hand through his silver grey hair and smoothed

his mustache. 'Good morning, gentlemen." He paused and weighed up his

audience. 'I see we have what looks like a full house so it's obvious

we gave you more than enough home leave. I don't know about you, but

after two weeks I start to get the TrailBlazer blues, after three I'm

almost ready to volunteer for PD, and by the end of the fourth week I

feel like calling in the bagmen."

There was a murmur of agreement from the audience.

'Fortunately, that's when I usually get the green line from the

Tactical Plans Board. Once I get that roll-out date I'm as happy as a

wet-foot with a head in each hand. But then -' Hartmann paused and ran

his eyes over the first few rows, '- you trail-hands have heard all

this before. It's the new generation who must be wondering just what

the hell I'm talking about."

Hartmann glanced down at his video memo pad then aimed his voice

towards the back half of the room. 'I understand we have fifty

replacement linemen and four new wingmen shipping out with us on this

trip. I will have an opportunity to meet you individually later so,

for the moment, I'll just say to you all - "Welcome aboard". Even

though you've all undergone familiarisation training on simulators you

will probably find things a little strange at first. You may know how