“Sergeant, aren’t you forgetting something?” said Snipe, frowning. He drew himself up to his full height, still nearly a foot shorter than the supply sergeant and not even in the same arm of the bell curve in terms of sheer bulk.
“No, man, it’s cool. I got it all,” said Chocolate Harry, paying about as much deference to the lieutenant as a battle cruiser would to a garbage scow. “Now listen, Mother, here’s the deal-“
“Sergeant, this base is in a state of emergency,” Snipe said, in a nagging tone of voice. “The equipment has to be reserved for essential military communications, and as officer on duty, that is my decision to make.”
“Look here, the cap’n told me to send this,” said Harry, turning for the first time to face Snipe. “You got a problem, go talk to him, OK? Better yet, go-“
Before Harry could complete the sentence, the door burst open again, and in came Jennie Higgins and her holocam operator. “Hi!” said Jennie, with her best professional smile. “Can anybody tell me whether this is a drill or not? If it’s the real thing, I’ve got to put together a story.”
“Honey, this is some serious shit goin’ down,” said Chocolate Harry with a wink. “I can’t tell you nothin’ now, but you come talk to me when it’s over, and I’ll tell you stuff make your hair curl.”
“Her hair already curling,” said Tusk-anini, looking up from his book.
Lieutenant Snipe raised his voice. “I want this area cleared at once,” he shouted. “The major has put the base on full alert status-“
“He didn’t do that,” interrupted Tusk-anini. “You do that, just a few minutes ago.”