Broken Soldier (Book One) by Bruce George Page A

devoted to it. And the bed, it was enormous. Jo
had not bothered to have it sized for human use. It must have been
ten feet square. There were murals on the wall of Saurans chasing
odd looking animals. The one over the bed showed one of the evil
bastards ripping the throat out of some poor creature, while it was
still alive.
    “Bambi, can you change the pictures on the walls
please. Just leave them blank for now.”
    “I can do that Captain, but a robot will have to
remove then. They are not projections and must have the proper
chemicals to eliminate those images. I shall have a robot sent to
your quarters immediately.”
    “No, hold off on that. Wait until I get some sleep.
Once I’m out of the bedroom, you can send in the robot. By the way,
how many robots are there on board?”
    “There are currently one hundred and twelve robots
actively working, another five hundred on standby and two thousand
three hundred eighty eight robots in storage, for a total of three
thousand robots, which is the standard number issued to this design
of transport.
    “If you would like, I can give you the complete list
of which type robots there are on board, by task assignment, or
peculiar specialty.”
    Mike told her, “I’m sure I’ll want to review that,
but not now. Remind me later.”
    “Yes sir.”
    “Bambi, also remind me to work with you on your
voice inflection. I think it needs some improvement.”
    “Yes sir.”
    He removed his clothes and looked into the bathroom.
He saw what looked to be a huge shower stall, but there was no
showerhead or spigots to turn on the water.
    With a sigh of exasperation, he said, “Bambi, how do
I turn on the shower?”
    “Just ask, Captain.”
    “Do it and don’t make it too hot, about one hundred
degrees Fahrenheit should be good.”
    There was a brief pause, and then water began
falling from the ceiling of the stall. He looked around for soap,
but saw none. This was getting frustrating.
    “Bambi, could you get me some soap.”
    “Sir, the cleansing material is in the liquid. When
you are clean, say so and I will change it to pure H2O for you to
rinse. Also, as you exit the stall, warm air will remove the excess
water and your new clothes will be on your bed.”
    “Thank you Bambi. You are very efficient.”
    “I know, sir. I was designed that way.”
    The computer’s responses seemed to possess boarder
line sentient intelligence; although Jo had assured him that she
was merely a programmed computer. Still, Mike liked speaking with
her. It had a calming effect on him and he knew that would be the
general response of the men he intended to recruit.
    He stopped for a moment, because he realized that he
was thinking seriously about accepting Jo’s offer. He was
considering men he would recruit and how they should be brought on
board. He mentally scolded himself, because he was falling prey to
Jo’s cleverness. He must be wary, as things progressed, and be
aware of anything that might suggest Jo was not what he claimed to
be.
    After a long shower and dry off, he walked back into
the bedroom to see a platform disappearing into the ceiling, above
the bed. A new uniform was waiting for him beneath it, neatly
folded in the center of the huge sleeping area.
    He placed the uniform on the far side of the bed.
Then, naked, he slipped under the sheet-like material, placed his
head on an oversized pillow and thought, ‘Damn pillows were meant
for a blasted Sauran. I’ll have Bambi change them later.’ Then he
quickly dozed off.
     
     
    Chapter
7
     
     
    When Mike awoke, he had Bambi send in some food. She
asked if he had a preference, but not knowing how to describe the
taste, he told her, “Just send something that Jo would like. If I
don’t like it, we’ll scratch it off the list and move on to
something else.”
    The first two items were quickly removed.
Fortunately, the third tasted a little like black beans, which he
could live with.
    After eating and dressing, he asked to speak