Broken Soldier (Book One) (6 page)

Jo had been watching him closely and a tiny grin
made its appearance at the edge of his lips. He said, “It’s
tempting, isn’t it. For a while, you would feel like a God, with
that sort of strength. But, other than using it in direct combat,
it doesn’t solve any problems. It won’t make you smarter. It won’t
make you better looking and it won’t make anyone love you.”

Mike laughed. “You’re right, of course. Still, it
would have come in handy, when I was under fire.”

Jo remained silent and continued to watch Mike, as
he ran the possibilities through his mind.

He still had questions. “Do these upgrades have to
be on my neck?”

Jo’s eyes opened wide and he responded, “That’s an
interesting question. Actually I don’t believe so, but I’ll have to
check, once we’re back on the Mother Ship. I think we may be able
to put them in a combat leader shroud, within your torso.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“A combat leader shroud is a protective device that
is resistant to many forms of assault. It would fit deeply inside
your abdomen and behind several thin layers of protective material.
I doubt that your people have discovered the substance yet. Also,
that package could be adjusted to provided limited protection to
the rest of your body.”

“Jo, I’m not sure what that would do for me, or to
me.”

“Well, let me think for a moment, as I search for an
appropriate term.”

He closed his eyes and Mike realized that he was
communicating with a computer.

Jo opened his eyes and said, “Bullet proof. Your
protective shroud would be bullet proof and your skin would
probably provide you with substantial protection, although I
couldn’t say for certain that your entire body would be bullet
proof.”

Mike looked suspiciously at Jo and asked, “Why
haven’t you taken the upgrade?”

He smiled and said, “I fully intend to. But, it
takes days to recover and I was alone. Once you have been upgraded
and have received the mental download regarding the Mother Ship,
I’ll be free to take some time off and have it done, as well. I
fear we’re both going to need it.”

“Will it affect our appearance? I mean will my skin
look different?”

“I don’t believe so. The process is a combination of
genetic alteration, supplemented with nanites. I believe you know
what those are?”

“Yes, I think so. Is there more you can tell me
about all of this?”

“Let’s see. Nanite reserves will be positioned
throughout your body, in the legs, the arms, the torso and the
head. If you were ever injured, they would immediately go to the
damaged area and begin aiding in the repair, along with natural
genetic material, which will begin regenerating as soon as the
injury is realized. However, that doesn’t mean instant repair. But
it will speed the process along and quite possibly save your
life.”

“That’s a pretty attractive offer, Jo. What’s the
down side?”

Jo raised his head. “Oh, you mean what’s bad about
it. Well, I believe it’s very painful for a few days and it won’t
work when you’re in stasis. You have to remain conscious, although
you can be treated with a mild painkiller.”

Jo put his finger down on the table and emphatically
told Mike, “And you have to promise to help me raise an army.
Perhaps you can identify some of your old friends and we can
recruit them.”

“Look Jo, I’m old as the damn hills and won’t be
much good in a fight, even with the upgrades. All of my buddies are
as old, or older than I am. They won’t be any good to you.”

Jo straightened up, grinning from ear to ear, as he
announced, “Oh, I am sorry. You don’t realize what has already
begun to happen to you. You’re just beginning to recover from the
regeneration process. In the next few days, as the gene therapy
continues to works on you, your body will become a little
younger.

“I forgot to mention that the full upgrade process
would make you look and feel as you once did many years ago. You
will have the body of a human approximately twenty five years of
age. You’ll need the youthful vigor in order to survive the
upgrade. So you see, your old friends would be young like you.
Truly old warriors would do us no good.”

Mike couldn’t contain the huge smile, as he mumbled,
“Oh this just keeps getting better and better.”

Chapter
4

The Thorian told him that the trip out to the Mother
Ship would take eight more days. The time dragged by slowly,
although every waking moment Jo filled Mike’s head with tidbits of
random info; like how to use a null gravity toilet.

When Mike asked why he needed to know that, he was
told, “There could be a time when you may be riding in a craft that
doesn’t have a gravity compensator. You’ll be glad to have this
knowledge then.”

To Mike’s considerable discomfort, Jo reset the
gravity to twice that of Earth. It was nearly as bad for the
Thorian, because his body was used to 1.1g of Earth. The alien
informed him that was the normal gravity for Saurans and was used
on all of their ships. Of course, Jo wasn’t recovering from having
his legs regrown like Mike. So, while the alien was inconvenienced,
Mike was in mild pain much of the time. As his recovery improved,
Mike’s legs grew stronger and Jo insisted that he move around and
do exercises. It was as though Sherry was pushing him all over
again.

There was a lot to learn; for instance, food from
the processor. The device was able to reproduce his oat bars, and
they were all right. But the taste of them grew old very quickly.
He had Jo direct the machine to offer him something else. Some of
it was edible and some nearly made him puke. But, he learned
quickly what was likable and what was revolting. Jo assured him
that the only way to know what he liked was to continue to try
something new. Water was nice, but he really missed coffee.

Jo introduced him to the morning drink of Thorians.
To Mike, it was horrible. Nothing could replace coffee.

“Mike, once we have reached the Mother Ship, you
will have a wider range of choices. Furthermore, when we go back to
Earth, we can bring back samples for the food replicator. Then the
food processor will duplicate their preparation. It really does do
a good job of it.”

Mike could only hope that was true.

At Mike’s insistence, Jo gave him a tour of the
small spacecraft. There wasn’t much to be seen, as most of it was
behind walls or in unpressurized areas. The med unit was actually a
module that could be removed. It reminded Mike somewhat of Earth’s
intermodal cargo containers, only much smaller. But the concept was
the same. One could quickly change the module to match the
mission.

The control room, which Mike thought of as the
bridge, was slightly smaller in size compared to the other
compartments. There were four other rooms, all the same as the one
in which he and Jo had their first discussion. Apparently, on the
Mother Ship, there were a wide variety of other modules, which
could be changed out for different purpose driven missions.

Jo showed him the list of potential warriors he had
assembled. The complete list contained more than fifty thousand
names. Mike had the time, so he looked over many of them and saw a
few names he knew.

Finally, he asked Jo, “Why me? I mean, I was just a
lowly sergeant. There are names on this list of some really smart,
high-ranking officers. I would gladly serve under most any of them.
You have to know you could have done better than me to start
with.”

Jo flipped his hand back and forth in a twisting
motion, which Mike had learned was his way of indicating
disagreement.

“Mike, I’m over three hundred years old. I’ve worked
for a few powerful Saurans, so I speak from experience. None of
these senior officers would have been as ideal as you have proven
to be. It’s not just about intelligence, or rank, or success,
although that is important. It’s about leadership, honor, and
trust.

“Thorians marry for life, Mike. The Saurans murdered
my wife and I was never the same person, after that. But, in some
ways, I became a better person. I’ve never forgotten her; and I see
that you also have not allowed the memory of your wife to fade
away. I didn’t just look up your record; I researched all that I
could find out about you, your wife, your son and your friends.

“A General has been living a life of privilege. He
has men running around at his command and he enjoys it. That
doesn’t make him a bad man or a bad leader. But a man like you
appreciates every man in the chain of command.

“I read what you wrote about a few of your
superiors. You showed genuine appreciation for their capabilities.
Even when they made unpopular decision, you gave them your support
because you knew they were doing what was necessary.

“A high ranking man will tend to be overbearing and
out here that will get you killed. I’m going to put you in command.
You chose the men you like, including senior officers. But
ultimately, they will answer to you.”

Mike disagreed. “Jo, that’s crazy. I don’t have the
talent or the education that these guys do. It would be a crime not
to give one of them command.”

Jo stood tall and spoke to Mike as though he was a
youngster. “Mike, they will exercise command, but you must over see
their decisions. If you think they’re making the wrong decisions
then your will must prevail.

“As for your education, that will be upgraded on the
Mother Ship. No one will have more knowledge of space and politics
in this arm of the galaxy than you.”

He asked, “Why not you, Jo. Why don’t you lead? You
have far more knowledge than I do about all of this.

“Because humans will instinctively refuse to follow
an alien being. It will be difficult enough to recruit on Earth.
Why make it more so, by having the leader an alien being so
completely different in appearance from their own.”

“Well if I’m going to be in charge, that shit’s got
to change. Your knowledge is too valuable to ignore. They will
eventually learn to follow your lead, as long as you’re honest with
them.”

Then Mike glared at Jo and warned, “The first time
anyone catches you in a lie they will turn on you.”

Jo looked at him for a moment, and then said, “That
was a warning to me, wasn’t it Mike. You don’t have faith in my
honor and that’s good, I suppose. I will try to do better at
earning your trust.”

He nodded and coldly admitted, “Yes, it was a
warning. You’d do well to remember that.”

Jo leaned toward him and Mike wondered about body
language. If a human did that, it generally indicated that they
were about to confide in someone. But, what did it mean for a
Thorian. For all he knew, it was the alien’s way of saying “Fuck
You.”

Jo said, “Mike, there is much for you to learn about
life beyond your planet. I know there is much I need to learn about
humans. Certainly you can see there is great danger out here, for
you and for your people. Together we must make the effort to learn
from each other and perhaps we can save a great number of souls
through that effort. Is it not a worthy endeavor?”

“Of course it is. But you’ve thrown a lot at me.
You’re asking me to sacrifice my new body, after a miraculous
recovery. Just because the cause is noble, doesn’t mean it’s the
smart move at the time. Maybe this isn’t the right time and maybe
I’m not the right guy to help.”

Mike scrunched his face into a grimace; it was
something he did when he was frustrated. “Look Jo, there are plenty
of well qualified men on earth who are far better for this than I
am. I’ll help you find them.”

Jo smiled sadly. “I want you to do that. I want you
to find as many smart men as possible. I understand that you would
feel awkward about being their superior. I can assure you that they
will accept your guidance. After having done so much research on
you and finally talking with you, I am convinced that you are the
one to lead our fight.”

“Jo you don’t know these people like I do. They
won’t settle for an old enlisted man as their superior. The best of
them spent their entire lives growing into the job of handling
enormously complicated battle preparations and tactics. I’m good,
maybe even great at small unit tactics. But I could never juggle
all of the balls these men have been dealing with for years.”

To Mike’s surprise, Jo shot to his feet and
announced, “They will follow you, because I will program them to do
so. You should allow them to give their opinion. But once you have
made up your mind to do something, none of them will defy you.”

Then Mike angrily shot to his feet and said, “Is
that how you will rule us, by programming our minds to do whatever
you wish. Well you can forget it, buster. Count me out.”

Jo sat down and said, “I see that I have angered
you. For that I am sorry. I suppose you fear that I would program
your mind somehow, in order to have you obey me. Please allow me to
explain.” He pointed to the chair Mike had been sitting in and
softly asked, “Would you please allow me to explain?”

With a sigh, Mike sat, but he was on the edge of the
chair and his back was ramrod straight.

“Your fear of being programmed is legitimate and I
can understand that better than you can imagine. For more than two
hundred of your years, I have been a slave who was programmed to
obey my masters, the Saurans. If the lowest Sauran gave me an
order, I had to obey and I did so without question. Somewhere, in
the back of my mind, I knew what I was doing, but I couldn’t stop
myself from following their commands.

“When the Mother Ship approached your solar system,
it was time for me to be rejuvenated with new mind programs for
processing humans for research. That programming would take two
days and a Sauran must be present the entire time to oversee the
implanting of those programs.