“A hundred and twenty Sewer rats,” Rogers said. He should have known better than to trust Tunger to convince Suresh to give him supplies. “It’s for a special mission for Admiral Klein. Top secret stuff.”

“Do you have orders?”

“I can’t supply you with orders,” Rogers said. He leaned in for special emphasis on just how secret all of this secret stuff was. “If I were to show you orders, there would be evidence that I was going on a top secret mission. There can be no trace.”

“Where are you going?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“How long will you be gone?”

“I can’t tell you that, either.”

“What can you tell me?”

Rogers took a deep breath, glanced around again to imply that he was suspicious of spies in the ranks, and whispered. “It’s a Foxtrot Alpha Kilo Echo mission.”

Suresh’s eyes widened. “A Foxtrot Alpha Kilo Echo mission?”

“That’s right. You understand the gravity of the situation now, don’t you, Corporal?”

“Not even a little, sir.”

“Good. If you did, Admiral Klein has given me strict orders to kill you. That’s why I have to use all these code words. Now, you’re aware that every position is critical to the war effort, aren’t you?”

Suresh straightened, looking proud—except that the ribbons on his uniform vibrated with his post-cryo tremors. “Of course! All the posters say so.”

“Good. Then you understand that I need those Sewer rats.”

The supply chief hesitated for a moment, frowning. “I’m not sure that makes any sense.”

Rogers banged his hand on the counter, causing Suresh to completely stop moving for the first time since they’d been speaking.

“Sierra Hotel India Tango!” Rogers screamed. “Operation COMPLACENT PLATYPUS commences at twenty-eight hundred hours sharp!”

“I don’t know what you’re saying!” Suresh cried, his face twisting into a mask of horror, confusion, and perhaps a little bit of excitement.

“That’s because it’s classified,” Rogers said again. “I’m running out of time, Suresh. Are you going to give me the foodstuffs I need for a long and arduous journey through enemy territory, from which I may never return, during which my only solace may be that I have standard rations to chew?” Rogers leaned in close. “If not, we all might be slurping our soup someday soon.”

Suresh’s face hardened. He leaned over, held an arm in the air, and ceremoniously pressed a single key on the keyboard in front of him.

“The STEWs will be delivered to your stateroom. Godspeed, sir.”

“You want me to do what with the targeting computer?” Lieutenant Commander Belgrave, the Flagship’s helmsman, said.

“I want you to shut it down at 1500 hours today for a half hour,” Rogers said. “I need to clean it.”

The targeting computer would have to be shut down if Rogers was going to get out of here without being traced. If they kept the computer on, it wouldn’t matter where he entered Un-Space; they’d calculate his trajectory and send a patrol to meet him at his destination. He couldn’t have that.