“That’s why I’ve decided that, for this assignment, some of you will be working under cover, independently and out of uniform, infiltrating the normal hotel and casino staff to gather intelligence for the rest, of us. In fact, I’ll be calling for volunteers for this duty as soon as the meeting breaks up.”
His eyes sought out the tall Voltron, easily spotted in the assemblage.
“Tusk-anini, you’re exempt from this duty … as are the Sinthians, Louie and Spartacus. It’s my understanding that nonhumans are still a rarity on Lorelei, so you’d be too obvious in any capacity other than as a part of our open presence. Any of the rest of you who are willing to apply for this special assignment, report to me in my office when we’re done here.”
“How many are you looking for, Captain?”
Phule didn’t even bother to look for the originator of the question.
“I figure that for an effective intelligence network, we’ll need about forty or fifty spread through the various hotel areas and shifts.”
The Legionnaires began to glance back and forth among themselves. Forty or fifty Legionnaires meant about one in four of them would not be serving with the rest of the team this assignment.
“That’s a fair-sized hunk of our force, sir,” Brandy observed loudly from her front-row seat. “Aren’t you afraid someone will notice if we show up that much understaffed?”
“They would … if we showed up in partial strength,” the commander confirmed. “That’s why we’re going to have to hire some `ringers’ to substitute for the Legionnaires working under cover. I’ve given Lieutenant Rembrandt the assignment of recruiting-or should I say, auditioning-the necessary number of actors and actresses to bring our uniformed body count up to the required level.”