Humiliated Ios vow retaliation
for fifty-ship sneak attack
We were received as heroes by our gang. Even the inaccuracies in the news story contributed to our glory—the Ios being ashamed to admit all the havoc was the result of only one solitary girl ship. Our hussies and aides greeted us in the First Hall with a wild cheer, crowding around us to beg for details.
"Later," said Naomi, flushed with triumph, "we'll call a formation later. We'll tell our story to the entire gang."
"Back to your posts, now!" I shouted. "You hussies get your girls ready for battle. We can expect the boys to counterattack at any time."
The First Hall cleared rapidly of all except a few of our top officers.
"Confidentially," I said, "I won't go for any more of this shared leadership stuff. This gang can only be run by one boss at a time. It's going to be either me or Naomi, but not both of us."
"Those are my sentiments exactly," said Naomi. "Let's get this fight over with once and for all."
Jeanette, always the reasonable one, stepped forth quietly. "Look, this is a very bad time to hold a duel, just when we're waiting for the Ios to appear."
"Yeah, you two, you're spoiling our victory celebration."