Broken Soldier (Book One) by Bruce George Page B

with
Jo. One minute later, Bambi announced that the Thorian was seeking
entry.
    “Let him in, Bambi.”
    Jo walked into the room and greeted him, “Mike, you
look much refreshed, I’m happy to see. Shall we get to work.”
    “I haven’t made my decision yet.”
    “Oh. I wasn’t referring to that. I want to make you
aware of the current situation. I have been checking the beacons
for evidence of other Sauran ships.”
    Mike’s heartbeat picked up immediately.
    “There have been none.”
    “That’s good news. Tell me about these beacons.”
    “When the first Saurans arrived here, they placed
six beacons around your solar system. A beacon can track
transmissions of various sorts, most types of radiation that would
be produced by a spaceship and large gravity variations, which
would indicate the unfolding of a ship.”
    Before Mike could ask what unfolding meant, Jo held
up his hands and said, “I mean no offense, but the archaic fossil
fuel transports that are used to put satellites in orbit around
your planet and other close in celestial bodies, are easily tracked
and not worth worrying about.”
    Mike wasn’t thinking of Earth satellites. Jo had
misjudged what Mike was going to ask about. He wanted to know what
it meant when a ship unfolded. But, he didn’t wish to seem
ungrateful for Jo’s concern about other matters. So, he remained
silent, as Jo continued, although he intended to bring up the
subject of unfolding later.
    “If a Sauran vessel or any other interstellar
spacecraft were to appear within a hundred million kilometers of a
beacon, it would probably be noticed. The beacons retain all such
information, until they have been queried by the Mother Ship. Then
they download the information and Bambi analyzes it. If anything of
interest were discovered, she would notify the Captain. Because you
have not officially accepted the job, I had her report to me. I
hope that was acceptable.”
    Mike pandered to Jo for the moment. “No, that’s
perfect, Jo. Technically, you are the Senior Pilot and the
Executive Officer of the rebellion and as second in command, you
need to be privy to the same info that I have. If something happens
to the Captain, the XO must be prepared to take over
immediately.”
    He could have kicked himself. He kept talking as
though it was a foregone conclusion that he would accept Jo’s offer
and become the leader of this cluster fuck operation. Why he did so
was merely his life long habit of interjecting his thoughts about
the best way for a military organization to function.
    He told the tall alien, “Jo, I don’t want you to get
the wrong idea. I’m not going to take the job. However, I do want
you to be successful, in your fight against the Saurans. You have
already given a great deal of thought to what must be done. I’ll
help you find someone to guide you; but you are the one to direct
this group of warriors you wish to build.”
    Jo twisted his hand, indicating dissatisfaction and
disagreement. “I am not a leader like you, Mike. I have never led
and have no wish to. As soon as you have your upgrade and select my
replacement, I will be greatly relieved.”
    “Jo, have you ever seen a Sauran make a
mistake?”
    “Of course, many times.”
    “How did you know it was wrong.”
    “Well, I just knew. The obvious choice was not made
properly and when it was not, I was always surprised, because the
correct choice was so simple to see. Of course, I should note that
the Saurans who staff transports and retrieval ships are not the
best of their race. If anything, they are the worst and most
foolish. Naturally, I kept my opinions to myself.”
    Mike smiled and told him, “You have learned much, my
friend. You know a mistake when you see it. That’s more than some
commanders I’ve known.”
    “Nonsense! I am an old slave and should not be the
one to make important decisions.”
    Somewhat angrily, Mike told him, “Nonsense, right
back at you. In this solar system, no one knows