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“Bro, you’re so damn lucky,” said Ernie. “Boys are the worst. I swear, everyone I know with a baby girl gets to sleep.”

“Bud,” added Mike. “Let’s face it. If anyone deserves a baby girl that will wrap you around their little finger, it’s Rick the Dick.”

The men laughed as the women all piled in to hug the muscle-bound SEAL and congratulate him. Then, they headed back to the table to partake in the smorgasbord of treats.

“You OK, babe?” asked Jenny. “I know you had your heart set on a boy.”

He stopped and kissed her. “Jenny, nature got her say. Clearly, this is what’s meant to happen. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Oi, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, you better hurry. Mike’s going to eat all the donuts,” said Maria.

“Not on my watch,” said Rick as he dashed toward the table.

“Careful,” said Mike. “I put on five pounds when Ali was pregnant.”

“Ain’t gonna happen, bro,” said Rick through a mouthful of donut coated in sugar. “I’ll be smashing the gym harder than ever.”

Mike shook his head. “I said the same thing.”

“Team,” said Ali. “I want to start by congratulating Rick and Jenny on their amazing news, and I also wanted to take this moment to make another announcement.” She placed a white box on the table and flipped open the lid, revealing a tray of cupcakes adorned with little, black-nosed puppy faces made with icing and chocolate.

“We’re all getting puppies?” Rick asked, with a confused look.

“Wait… are you saying Saber is pregnant?” asked Deb.

Ali nodded. “Pups are due in about three weeks.”

“That’s great news,” said TJ.

“It gets better,” added Mike. “I’m going to pick the most promising of the pups and train them. We’ll have a new hound on the team by the end of the year.”

“What about the rest of them?” asked Rick. “Can’t we keep them all?”

Mike laughed. “Bro, something tells me you’re going to have your hands full with your own offspring. The last thing you need is a Malinois pup adding to the chaos.”

“We’re not getting a puppy,” added Jenny.

“Oh, we’re getting a dog. Mark my words,” responded Rick.

Chapter Six

“Told you we were getting a dog,” said Rick as he opened a trunk-sized equipment case and revealed the contents to the team. The machine inside did resemble a dog. Dark grey with four legs and a strange metallic coating, it lacked the head and tail of an organic hound. “This is the XRK92,” said Rick. “And, whilst it won’t replace a military working dog, it does have some pretty cool functionality.”

The team was fully geared up in an administrative hangar at the secret urban training facility on the Silver Strand Training Complex, a short drive from Coronado. Rick had put together a series of urban actions to test the robo dog’s functionality.

“How does it work?” asked Mike.

“It’s got two modes.” Rick pried a controller and pair of goggles from the case. “You can either use AI voice commands or guide it with the remote.”

“What’s the plan?” asked TJ. “How are we going to integrate it?”

“Well, Mike’s our handler. I figure he could run it. Use the AI to guide it around and then the remote for more hands-on tasks.” He passed the remote and goggles to Mike before taking the K92 from its case, placing it upright, and powering up the system. The robot emitted a series of beeps and whistles as its optical sensors swiveled back and forth.

“There’s a familiarization program. You’ll be good to go once you’ve run it. I haven’t bothered reading the manual.”

“That’s because the only reading you do is the label on your pre-workout,” quipped Ernie.