The following morning, Caboose made certain Suu was tucked in securely with Papi before getting ready for the morning run. While Suu's physical construction would have caused problems for most humans as far as proper housing, Caboose was not most humans. An empty fuel tank split down the middle on struts to keep it from flipping provided the perfect watertight bed for Suu, and filling it with a special jelly that was heavier than water and did not mix with it provided the perfect mattress. A plastic sheet over top gave her a blanket, and putting it near Papi's bed let the pair of them hold hands if they desired during the night. While Suu had adapted to being part of the household rather easily, she seemed to so far have the strongest bond with Papi…aside from Caboose himself. While she hadn't said as much yet, it was plain already that she was definitely "Daddy's Little Girl".

Once she was securely tucked in, he moved to meet up with Polt and Centorea. "Ready to run?" he asked eagerly.

"I certainly am," Polt agreed eagerly. "As long as nothing comes up, I need to finish up some things with my extra-species health spa. If I'm going to get it up and running, I'm going to need to cut down on the…distractions." She blushed as she turned away from Caboose on that last word. She couldn't help it. Caboose was very distracting, especially when he scratched her behind the ear-

[Bell collars acquired,] Freckle intoned suddenly, floating up to the trio. [As per dictate by Captain Caboose, they are part of Blue Team uniforms until further notice.] Bell collars perfectly sized to each of the trio were floated over to them, Polt's and Centorea's landing in their hands while Caboose's attached to his armor. [Dispensing to other team members.] With that, Freckle floated over towards the bedrooms.

"B…bell collars?" Polt asked, half surprised and half mortified.

"Master does not react well to being startled," Centorea explained as she put hers on, Caboose having already begun playing with his bell by flicking it with one finger, becoming completely entranced by it. "And he is not the only one. It was suggested we should all wear bell collars in order to avoid catching each other off guard. Master…apparently really likes bell collars."

Polt's cheeks turned even brighter. She knew she couldn't refuse Caboose anything, no matter how mortifying it would be for anyone from her tribe to see her wearing a collar, and one with a bell on it at that. Sighing, she put the collar on. "At least it doesn't have a tag…" she murmured under her breath.

"We should put one on Suu's!" Caboose spoke up eagerly. "That way if she gets lost, everyone will know where to return her!"

"Would she even be able to wear a bell collar?" Polt asked curiously. "Her body construction…"

"I'm sure Freckles already came up with a solution!" Caboose declared with certainty. "He's smart like that."

[Collar for Suu treated with anti-water jelly from her mattress,] Freckle intoned as he floated out of Papi's room. [Will not slip off unless she shape shifts out of it.]

"See?" Caboose pointed out proudly. "Told you he was smart!" The doorbell suddenly rung. "I'll get it!" Caboose immediately rushed up to the door and opened it.

On the other side of the door were Agent Smith and a full team of construction workers. "Ambassador Caboose," Agent Smith began carefully.

"Oh, hi Scary Smith Lady!" Caboose greeted warmly. "What are you doing here?"

"I have a new friend I want to live here, but we need to make a special room for her," Agent Smith explained calmly. "You want to make a new friend, right? And she specifically requested living with you."

"New friend?" Caboose gasped eagerly. "Yes! I love making new friends!" Noticing the construction workers moving forward, he stepped in front of them. "But do it quietly! Papi, Miia, and Suu are still sleeping!"

The construction workers and Agent Smith exchanged confused glances. "How are we supposed to keep construction work quiet?" she asked finally.

[Engaging sonic suppression field,] Freckle intoned as he floated back in. [Protocols indicate that Scary Smith Lady, to have free reign to order reconstruction of Blue Base, is a member of Blue Team. Dispensing appropriate uniform.] Freckle floated a bell collar over to Agent Smith as he followed the construction crew around, suppressing the sound of their work.

Agent Smith stared down at the collar, then up at Centorea. "Is he serious?" she asked finally.

"Park bench," Polt reminded her, having heard from Miia some of the times Caboose had demonstrated his great strength and his unpleasant reaction to surprises. "Confetti gun."

Agent Smith stared at her for a time. "Point made," she allowed finally before putting the collar on. Reaching up, she flicked the bell…only for there to be no audible sound. "Eh?"

[Your bell is tuned to sub-harmonic frequencies that will only be picked up by Captain Caboose's helmet, Freckles, and this unit,] Freckle explained.

"You are super-duper useful, Freckle!" Caboose declared proudly.

[This unit functions at peak efficiency, Captain Caboose,] Freckle responded. If one listened carefully, one would think he was…pleased at the praise.

Agent Smith shook her head in wonder. "Well, that's certainly a load off my mind. I was afraid I would be hearing it ring everywhere I went, or being teased about it at work. Now, about the new friend-" She cut herself off as her phone rang to pick it up. "Hello? Yes, the room's under constru-…what do you mean you lost her?" she shrieked angrily. "Do you have any idea the kind of political fallout could happen if she comes to harm under the care of the Interspecies Commission? Find her, damn you! And if even a single hair on her head is hurt, I will personally turn you inside out and feed you to Ambassador Caboose as meatloaf!"

"I like meatloaf!" Caboose offered eagerly. "Especially with ketchup!"

Agent Smith hung up her phone. "Caboose, I need your help!" she spoke up quickly. "Your new homestay guest has somehow become separated from her escort, and she needs help desperately. Can you search around and find her? You'll probably find her much faster than we could, and I know she'll be safe with you."

"Okay!" Caboose agreed quickly. "We should split up!"

"We can't," Polt pointed out. "You and I could search in different directions, but I'm pretty sure becoming embassy staff didn't upgrade Centorea's Exchange Student ID into an Extraspecies Visa."

"It did not," Agent Smith confirmed.

"Then Freckle can-" Caboose cut himself off. "No, Freckle has to stay here and keep the construction quiet. Oh, why can't there be more of you, Freckle?"

"We can lament that terrifying mental image later," Agent Smith spoke up quickly. "For now, you need to know who you're looking for. She's a young woman – about the same age as the other girls here – with pink hair, blue eyes, wearing a black gothic lolita style dress and I hope your helmet can tell you what that means-"

"I know gothic lolita!" Caboose declared happily. "I have a sister who dresses like that!"

"With seventeen of them, I'm not surprised one does," Polt murmured softly, her voice between amused and sad.

Agent Smith blinked for a time. "Okay, as long as you know what to look for…oh! She'll also be in a wheelchair-"

Her voice was cut off by a sudden rush of wind as Caboose dashed out of the house at the mention of 'wheelchair', a nearby speed scanner clocking his foot speed at nearly double the car speed limit. A car along the road flipped from the wake of his passage.

Smith stared after him for a time before moving to smooth out her suit. "I forgot just how protective he can get…"

[Command confirmed.] With that seeming non sequitur statement given, Freckle floated off. The construction had already finished, and his sound suppression field was no longer needed.