Then two or three days into system. Yes, my boys
and I can have some fun!"
35 "I wish I would be," sighed North.
36 For the next two days North packed the personal belongings of the
destroyer's crew, always taking another Officer with him as a witness.
Going through someone else's personal effects was something North
didn't enjoy, but he faithfully emptied every storage compartment and
packed every uniform, cataloging every item. A copy would be sent to
Command, a copy to the Officers' family so that there would be no doubt
their belongings arrived home intact.
37 In one cabin they found contraband, but North shut off his com, took
the stuff to the waste disposal unit, and destroyed it. "Why should his
family suffer?" he told the other Officer. "We never saw that stuff,
understand?"
38 "Yes, sir," the other Officer replied with a smile.
39 They got underway again, first dropping off the destroyer then
picking up their crew, and getting their beam tube fixed. No other ship
had been sent to complete their circle, and they were weeks late. They
picked up the cargo pods they had dropped and finished their run.
40 Colony Two was a welcomed sight as they finally pulled into orbit.
As much as North hated travelling by beam tube, he was glad to this
time. Colony Two was an ocean world, most of its cities were
underwater, but North's quarters were on one of the one-hundred or so
big islands that broke the water's surface. The vast oceans teamed with
life, but none of it intelligent. North had a feeling he would like
spending his off time here between patrols.
41 For every two days you were out, you got one off, and there were
three ships on each circle. So two were always in space, and one could
always get underway in a hurry, if need be. But adventures like his
first patrol were uncommon and North was the talk of the system, in
demand to visit by everyone from the governor to the lowest