Chapter 27

The Dromat fleet hung silent in the lone reaches of dark space. Each ship was a dark hulk barely visible against the blackness of space. Although the ships had minimal fighting ability, all of which were basically defensive, they still looked threatening. The real danger posed by the ships was not visible. Inside each ship were ten thousand space mines.

James looked at the huge fleet and asked, "Will there be enough Dromats to staff all of those ships when the Chitiniodian fleet arrives for the big battle?"

"Yes," Cousin Itt answered feeling awed by the fleet. It was one thing to know intellectually about the fleet, but it was another to actually see it for himself.

"It is impressive," James said.

"Each ship carries three different types of mines," Cousin Itt said. The mines had been designed through collaboration among Dactites, Dromats, and Humans. They were designed using the information they had collected about the weaknesses and strengths of the Chitiniodian ships.

"Three?" James asked.

"Yes. One type is based on the geodesic sphere. It will expand when it is near a ship until it touches the shield. Shaped charges will explode to take out the shield. From the center, a laser will fire into the enemy ship," Cousin Itt said with the Dromat equivalent of a smile. He was so pleased that they would be able to use the geodesic sphere in this war.

"Interesting," James said. He hadn't known about that mine.

"It will really be effective when used against their little fighter ships," Cousin Itt added. With the geodesic sphere opening out to a range of more than ten kilometers the surprise factor was going to be very large.

"I can imagine," James said.

"One mine will be able to stop several of their fighters before it is totally expended."

"That's good," James said trying to imagine what it would look like in use.

"The other mine is a basic explosive mine with a ballistic projectile. We based it off the umbrella," Cousin Itt said. It was a good basic mine, but it didn't open up like the umbrella weapon that James had invented.

"Excellent," James said with a smile.

"The last is a nuclear explosive mine that will disable all enemy ships within range when it is tripped. We only carry a few of those on each ship," Cousin Itt said. Those were the ones that made him the most nervous.

"Those are weapons of last resort," James said noticing the unease of the Dromat. He added, "Hopefully, we won't have to use them until the final battle."

"I hope that we never have to use them. They make me very uneasy," Cousin Itt said.

James looked out the porthole and said, "It is a fine looking fleet."

"Thank you," Cousin Itt said. He was very proud of the fleet that had been assembled.

A lighted ship slowly approached from the direction of the Dromat planet. James said, "It looks like the President is coming for a visit."

"Although it is not customary for hosts and guests to exchange presents, I am sure that President Drall will enjoy the gift that you've brought us," Cousin Itt said.

James looked over at the Dromat with a smile. The bland brown hair of the Dromat had been dyed with a profusion of colors using the temporary hair dye James had ordered. Cousin Itt looked a lot like a cross between a dust mop and a psychedelic poster. James asked, "How do you like it?"

"I love it," Cousin Itt said with a little shake of his fur. The effect of the multi-colored fur shimmering was almost overwhelming. Psychedelic purple, pink, red, yellow, green, and blue swirled about with hypnotic effect.

"I'm glad. After I've given him the selection of dyes you can model the result for him. Don't come out of the shuttle until I call for you," James said.

"Yes. I'm sure that he'll love the hair dye too," Cousin Itt said. He had spent almost an hour in front of a mirror looking at his reflection.

James smiled and said, "That's great."

Leaning over to James, Cousin Itt said, "My mate thinks it is most attractive."

"That's even better," James said with a smile.

Cousin Itt looked over at Junior and, trying to remember the word for what Junior was wearing, said, "I like his — wig?"

Junior was wearing a clown wig that was bright green, red, and blue. Junior gave Cousin Itt two thumbs up and said, "Thanks. Dad has one just like it."

Cousin Itt asked, "Why aren't you wearing yours?"

James sighed and said, "Lt. Powell said that I couldn't wear it. Normally that wouldn't have stopped me, but Ken agreed with him. He said there is something in the regulations about it not being allowed."

"Pity," Cousin Itt said. He added, "It would make you look much better. Your species looks so unhealthy without hair."

"You've got to admit that I'm a great looking specimen for my species," James said with a smile.

Cousin Itt said, "There is a mechanic on the ship who has hair all over his body. I think he is much better looking than you."

"You would," James said with a laugh. The ship with the President aboard came to a stop beside the Deceiver. James said, "Let's get in the shuttle and head over for a visit with President Drall."

Ann looked over at James and said, "James, there's just one thing you should do before we leave."

"What?" James asked.

"Remove Junior's wig," Ann answered.

James could see that she was serious. He said, "He's so cute in it. If I'm not allowed to wear one, at least he should be able to wear it."

"Now," Ann said.

"Why?" James asked knowing that it was a lost cause.

"Because I don't want the rest of the universe thinking that he's a clown," Ann answered.

"I'm not a clown; I'm a chip off the old block," Junior said pointing at his father.

Nervously pacing around in the landing bay, President Drall could hardly wait to meet James. This was the most exciting event of his presidency. For a change, every major member of the press was present to observe this historic event. He leaned over to his advisor and asked, "What kind of present do you think he brought?"

"I have no idea," the advisor answered for the hundredth time that afternoon. Many members of the Dromat Press had speculated that James would bring a hat for them. Others had suggested that it would be something like the umbrella or geodesic sphere.

President Drall shivered as he looked in the direction of the shuttle. He said, "I'm so excited. I love getting presents."

"Calm down, sir," the advisor said noticing that the President's hair had become a little tangled. He gestured to a female Dromat to come over and brush President Drall's hair. He felt that it was important for the Dromats to make a good impression on their visitor.

While the female Dromat fussed over him, President Drall said, "I can't believe that I'm actually going to meet Admiral James Kamp."

The advisor gave a little shake and said, "I know what you mean, sir."

"How much longer until he's able to leave the shuttle?" President Drall asked. It was necessary for the atmosphere to be replaced in the shuttle holding area.

"It should be any time now," the advisor answered.

"The suspense is killing me. What kind of present do you think he brought?"

"I don't know, sir," the advisor answered.

The door of the shuttle opened. It was almost a full minute before James stepped out and looked around. To one side was the assembled press corps. They were hard to miss because of the abundant cameras and microphones aimed in his direction. Ahead of him was a small gathering of very important looking individuals. There was one person standing in front of all of the others. He headed in the direction of the President.

The whole audience gave a little shake of excitement. It looked like a thousand dust mops being shaken simultaneously. Lieutenant Powell, carrying Starchild in his hands, followed behind James hoping that the Dromats liked the present James was carrying.

James stopped in front of President Drall and, using the translations of Starchild and a Slathern, said, "Hello, President Drall. I know that it is not your custom to accept gifts from visitors, but I've brought one anyway. I hope that you will like it."

"Admiral Kamp. It is a pleasure to welcome you to our solar system. There has been much speculation about the present that you've brought with you," President Drall said. He looked around for a second and said, "I must admit that I'm very curious about what you have brought for us."

James held out the small box he was carrying with him. Although he was tempted to make the President wait, he said, "There's no need to wait a minute longer."

President Drall reached out and grabbed it. He opened the box and looked at the small plastic tubes that were nestled inside. He frowned and asked, "What is this?"

James smiled and said, "It might be better if I showed you."

"Yes, of course," President Drall said feeling a little underwhelmed by the contents of the box.

James turned to face the shuttle and shouted, "Cousin Itt."

There was a low murmur of noise while members of the press spouted their usual baseless speculations about what was happening to a distant audience. The noise lasted until Cousin Itt stepped out of the shuttle. Initially, his appearance was greeted with thunderous silence. All eyes took in the colors that covered Cousin Itt.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a hundred feet slamming against the floor. It repeated as everyone started marching in place. This was the Dromat equivalent of a standing ovation. The pace quickly turned from sedate march to frantic dance which was a sign of great amazement in addition to admiration.

James looked around at everyone in attendance. Smiling, he turned to the President and asked, "What do you think of it?"

"It is marvelous. Such colors as I can hardly imagine," President Drall exclaimed without pause from his foot stomping dance. He could barely keep his eyes from staring at Cousin Itt.