Chapter 21. Addition.

When Jack arrived at the command center, his crew was already there, and it was obvious that they were agitated.

"I have detected a rescue pod twenty-five-hundred kilometers ahead of us," Tog told him. "It contains a female that is barely alive. I have adjusted our speed to intercept it."

Jack stared at him with his mouth agape before reacting. "Is there any indication as to what ship it came from?"

"Yes. It is the Valiant 7000. I have not been able to determine why it released a rescue pod."

"I'm not familiar with that vessel," Jack said. He turned to his crew. "Are you?"

"Maybe that's the ship that the commander and his cronies used to escape Earth's problems," Jessica said.

"Were you able to get any information about the women in the pod?" Jack asked Tog.

"Her designation is Roxie Janus. She is twenty-one and has similar training that you have."

"Was there any indication of the vessel's status?"

"No, but reason would suggest that it met with a calamity."

"Do you have any indication where this . . . this calamity occurred?"

"The pod's data indicate that it was near Jupiter."

Jack turned to his crew. "Good thing we didn't hang around there."

"Maybe we can get more information from this female," Jessica said.

"Hopefully," Jack said, not sure if that would matter.

Later that day robotic arms grabbed the rescue pod and pulled it into the hanger deck. After the deck was brought up to the required pressure, Jack and his crew went up there and began the process of opening the pod.

The female had curly raven hair, a very unusual physical characteristic. Her face suggested a more playful demure.
However, it appeared that she was under stress. Lorrie injected her with a stimulant that awakened her. She looked up at the faces staring at her and blinked.

"Welcome to the Ship of Fools," Jack told her.

She stared at him and opened her mouth for a few seconds before she began to cry.

"We'll have to get her down to the crew deck," Jack said. "We can run a health scan on her to see if she needs any drugs."

"We don't know how to use the robot doctor system," Natalie said.

"I can handle that," Jessica said. "I had some training on space medicine."

"Good!" Jack exclaimed. "You are in charge of returning her to health. I'm going to go see what Tog's going to do now."

They watched Jack go to the shaft that leads down to the crew deck.

"Well," Jessica said after a sigh. "It looks like he's definitely in charge."

"Now that his crew is larger, we hope that he won't be as depressed," Lorrie said.

Jesica smiled. "Yes, I hope so."

Jack decided to pump Tog for more details on the latest addition while the women were properly reviving her.

"How were you able to detect a small pod like that?"

"Rescue pods broadcast their status to make it easier to find them."

"Do you have any information as to what happened to the Valiant 7000?"

"I have not been able to detect its presence."

Jack sighed. He realized that it probably was destroyed, a fate that his vessel could suffer.

It wasn't until several hours later that Jack would be able to question his new crew member. She was attired in his crew's uniform of shorts and a tee. The interrogation took place at the food station.

"How many crew members were on your ship?"

"Eighteen , including the Commander Madison and his assistant."

"Were there any other females?"

"No, I was the only one."

That caused Jack to look at his crew members before continuing. "What happened to your ship?"

"I'm not sure. A terrible explosion caused severe damage. Air was leaking out and there were multiple fires."

"Were there any other rescue pods released?"

"I don't think so. I was ordered to get in the pod and launch it."

"What was your ship's mission?"

"We were sent out to install a new nuclear battery in the Galactic-One probe. We did that at the edge of the Ort cloud and were returning when the . . . our vessel was attacked."

"Attacked by whom?"

"We were unsure. It was an unfamiliar craft."

''Did it resemble a flying saucer?"

He eyes momentarily grew larger before she replied. "Yes."

Jack turned to his crew. "That could have been our fate, but something was different in our case."

"It still could be our fate," Jessica said. "We have no way to anticipate their actions."

Roxie looked at both Jessica and Jack, cycling back and forth. "Have you seen the vessel that attacked us?"

"We're not sure it's the same vessel, but it could be."

Jack looked at Roxie for a moment before continuing. "We aren't sure why we rookies were sent out on a dangerous mission, a mission that might be the reason that Earth is in serious danger. We were headed there but told that they have no way to service our ship. They told us to stay out here in the asteroid belt where we can obtain more water from Icey objects."

"How long can this vessel support us?" Roxie asked.

"We have adequate supplies to survive for several years, assuming we don't die from boredom."

"I guess I got lucky," she said. "You just happened to detect my pod before I died."

"You can thank Tog, our pilot, for that. We believe that he's achieved sentiency."

Roxie smiled, but her expression changed to surprise when she saw Jack's cat come in the food station. "You have a cat on this vessel! I didn't know that they were on spaceships."

"We didn't either," Jack said. "There three more of them down on the agricultural deck. This one has adopted me."

She laughed. "You must be a good person to have a cat adopt you."

He smiled not only for what she said but for the fact that he was able to help save a life.