Battle of the Planets and its characters belong to Sandy Frank. Darn it. I’m just borrowing them for a while.
In the Beginning
Anderson handed her the file of information on his fledgling team and watched silently as she flipped through photos and quickly scanned each team member’s dossier. “Well, Colonel, what do you think?”
“They look good on paper.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that you have a bunch of kids being trained as soldiers and all I’ve seen so far are two boys trying to one-up each other, a girl who’s spending most of her time trying to catch the eye of your team’s leader, another boy that doesn’t want to fight, but really wants to fly that ship of yours, and a little boy that’s just tagging along after the others so he isn’t left out of anything.” Colonel Merriwether continued to turn the pages of the file without looking up.
“That’s rather harsh.”
“You wanted to know what I thought.” She closed the file and looked at him for the first time. “You have the makings of a good team, Chief, but you have to make them pull together.”
“What would you suggest?” Anderson knew what he was in for the minute he asked the question.
Colonel Merriwether opened the file and pulled out the photographs. She placed Mark’s picture on the table. “Here’s your leader. You need someone that will be able to keep the others in line and lead them in battle.” She placed Jason’s picture on the table next to Mark’s. “This is the one that will get things done.”
“What makes you think that?”
“I’ve seen him in action, Chief Anderson. He thinks on his feet. Yes, he’s impulsive, but he’ll be balanced by Mark’s cool head.”
Anderson nodded. “What next?”
The colonel placed Princess’s picture next to Jason’s. “If you can keep her mind on her work and off of Mark, she’ll be the brains of the outfit. I’d put her in charge of demolition.”
“What about the Tiny and Keyop?”
“You’re still insisting on putting a little boy on the team?”
“He was created specifically for this team, Colonel. He’s undergone the same training as the others.”
“All right then.” Merriwether placed Keyop’s picture next to Princess’s. “Here’s your communications and reconnaissance.” She placed Tiny’s picture last. “And your pilot.”
“Let me ask you this, Colonel. Why did you put the kids in this order?”
Merriwether smiled indulgently at him. “For the past ten years all you’ve talked about was Mark, so I assumed you had planned on putting him in charge since the beginning. He’s been trained to lead and has an aptitude for it. He’ll need Jason’s brashness to keep him on his toes. That’s why I put Jason as the team’s sub-commander.”
“And the others?”
“Princess has the even temper needed for the placement of explosives and she works well under pressure. Besides, if you put her in the second-in-command position, she’d go along with whatever Mark suggested. Keyop is smart, but he’s going to need a strong leader. I’d keep an eye on him. He might give Jason a run for his money when he’s older. Tiny just wants to be a pilot. I’ve seen his simulator results. He’s good, but lacks confidence, and he really doesn’t want to hurt anyone.” She picked up the photos and placed them back in the file. “What order did you have them in, Chief?”
“Mark followed by Princess, Jason, Tiny, and Keyop, but I believe your line up would work better. I think Jason would like to lead the team though.”
“He doesn’t want to lead, he just wants to get things done.”
Anderson nodded in agreement. As Colonel Merriwether put everything back into the file, he looked out the window to see his team choosing sides for basketball. He watched as Jason picked Keyop up and placed him on his shoulders. Tiny dribbled the ball before passing it to Jason, who in turn handed the ball up to Keyop. Princess made an attempt to block the shot while Mark snuck around behind to throw the two off balance.
Merriwether walked up and stood next to Anderson at the window. “Working on their teamwork, I see.”
Anderson turned slightly. “It all starts somewhere, Colonel.”
