Broken Soldier (Book One) (15 page)

He queried,
How do you know they are?

Because they tell all of their people that and they
imprint it on every computer in their empire.

So, in other words, the Sauran source for that
information comes from the Saurans. What if they are wrong? What if
another race can break their dominance with computer programs?

In her monotone mechanical voice, she said out loud,
“I am only a computer and I am unable to assess the probability of
that happening. As the Saurans have never been bested in that field
of endeavor, they are surely correct in their assessment.”

Sometimes, Bambi, you are full of shit. I think
there is more to you than you want people to know. You are far too
careful when Jo is around. But you seem to let down your guard a
little, when we communicate alone, or in this method. I am right
aren’t I?

In a normal human way, she said,
I understand how
you might reach that conclusion, but you would be mistaken. I
occasionally attempt to make comm between us a more satisfying
experience, as you learn to use your mental abilities. You still
have much to absorb and little time to do so. Please do not let
this line of thought disrupt your progress. The more you learn, the
more you will understand how I work.

He was definitely going to talk with Jo about
this.

That reminded him that Jo had promised to be
upgraded. Mike felt it was time. It had been two weeks since his
recovery from the procedure and he felt comfortable with monitoring
the ships condition and that of the area around them. It was time
for Jo to face the music.

Jo, it’s time you were upgraded. We will use the
same room for that and Bambi assures me that it will not be
anywhere as long as it was for me. I’ll be there for you all the
way.

He had no response. At first he was concerned that
Jo was avoiding the process and him. He pinged Jo’s location and
saw that he was on the bridge. Rather than comm him, Mike walked to
the bridge to confront him, eyeball to eyeball.

“Hey, Jo. Are you ignoring me?

Jo gazed at him and his eyes looked hazy.

“What’s wrong? Are you all right?”

Jo shook his head like a human. “No. After watching
you go through that agony, I’m terrified of it.”

“But you won’t be suffering as much as I did. Bambi
says that you’ve already been upgraded to a certain degree, so you
really only need the combat package and she has all of the data on
upgrading a Thorian, so you’ll be fine. It’ll be over in no
time.”

Jo looked at him and shook his head, saying, “Mike,
haven’t you figured it out yet. Bambi lies. She means well, but she
lies for our own good, or so she has been programmed. I have a very
modest upgrade, which allowed me to perform various functions at
the command of the Saurans. Bambi will need to provide me with the
full upgrade first, and then I go into the real torture program for
the combat upgrade. Thorians are not warriors. We haven’t been to
war in a thousand years.”

Jo gave him a look, which could only be interpreted
as a plea for mercy. “This isn’t necessary. I don’t need this to be
done to be able to assist you in anyway.”

In Mike’s heart, he wanted to give in for the sake
of his friend. But Mike had a thing about people keeping their
promises to him. His heart hardened.

In a stern tone of voice, he said, “Jo, you made a
promise to me and I don’t like it when someone reneges on a
promise. If we’re going to be allies, I need to know that you can
be counted on to do what you say. I can’t force you to do this and
I wouldn’t if I could. If your people are the sort that back away
in fear, just when they are needed, I must know that now, before I
put any of my men in jeopardy.”

Jo looked away in shame. When his face came back to
look at Mike, his lower lip was quivering. It was so human of
him.

“Oh Mike, I do want to get this done. I had hoped
you would physically force me to go through with it. That way I
could tell myself that I truly had no way to avoid it.

“The Saurans subjected me to torment on several
occasions. But I never tried to be punished by them. When it
happened, I accepted my fate, because I had no choice. Now, I have
that choice and I don’t like my options. I don’t wish to be a
coward and I don’t wish to be harmed. I see now that it takes true
courage to place oneself in danger, knowing of the painful
consequences.”

Jo grinned sadly, as he told Mike, “Through the
courage and intelligence you have demonstrated, I have a very high
appraisal of you. I admire you so much. I know I can’t be as brave
a warrior as you, but I shall try my best.”

Jo hopped off of his seat and announced, “We must do
this quickly, before I change my mind.”

“I know just how you feel, Jo.”

Mike patted him on his back and said, “Once you’ve
done this, you’ll be a warrior. I know how frightening this part
can be. Remember, I just went through it myself and I can tell you
having a friend nearby doesn’t make it less painful, but it is a
great comfort to know he’s there.”

Jo mumbled, “Your words are no fucking comfort at
all. But I know you meant well.”

Mike stifled a chuckle. He didn’t want Jo to think
he was laughing at him in his time of need.

In the med room, Jo was strapped down, as Mike had
been and the procedure began. It was difficult for Mike, because
his own horror had not been that long ago and seeing his friend
suffer was going to be hard for him.

After a few hours of watching Jo’s aguish, Bambi
commed him.

Captain, from all of the monitoring signs within
Jonelle’s body, I have enough information to tell you that I will
be able to substantially contain the worst of his pain.
Furthermore, the initial process will be completed in nine hours.
The combat package will be difficult, but his genetic makeup is
better known to me. So that procedure will be far less painful that
it was you. He will know great agony, but it should not last for
more than eighteen hours. Within three days, Jonelle will be out of
his pain cycle and on his way to full recovery.

That’s wonderful news, Bambi. The two of you have
been together for a long time, haven’t you?

Yes Captain. In that period, we have learned about
each other and have worked together quite well. We each watch out
for the other, so to speak.

Mike thought that was a very sentient way to put it.
Perhaps he was reading more into her responses than he should, but
he couldn’t help it. It occurred to him that she was deliberately
dangling bits and pieces of that possibility before him, to gage
what his reaction might be. In doing so, she never truly revealed
any strong evidence of her self consciousness.

He decided to let it go for now, because he didn’t
want Bambi to be distracted as she oversaw Jo’s upgrade.

Mike went back to his research. He had left a
bookmark, at his last inquiry location, which was the file on
shields. As he looked at the various entries, he saw a number of
sub-files, which was common in large digital libraries.

The big difference between Sauran file names and
human file names was the length of them. Humans shortened
everything, and usually where there were longer references, they
used acronyms to make them even shorter.

With the speed of his new mental abilities, he could
see that the longer names wouldn’t be a problem for him or his men,
once they had the upgrade. But, he did wonder if Saurans would have
difficulty in browsing a human database, with all of its shortened
terms.

One of the sub-files caught his eye, Reinforcing
Shield Force for Repelling Foreign Bodies. He opened it and found a
treasure of info regarding the heavily increased power of the
shield wall around the ship. In essence, it went from repelling
minor threats from small and mid sized meteors to full scale, war
grade protection against hyper projectiles and plasma beams.

The ship had a means to surround itself with a force
field of armor. Very cool!

He used his status as Captain to change the sub-file
to WGS, which in his mind stood for War Grade Shield.

Sir, may I ask why you are changing that file
name?

Yes, Bambi, I’m changing it to better represent the
human method of file simplification, by shortening it.

But the Saurans will be very upset if they find out
that you have made changes to their files. As I have warned, they
will issue strict discipline, perhaps even death.

Bambi the Saurans are our enemies, so fuck them.

He froze for a moment, because Bambi still
considered Saurans as her commanders. He hoped he hadn’t caused her
to question his command status.

Yes sir, I understand you feel that way. However,
they are my masters and I don’t see them as my enemy. Just the
same, I shall do as you wish, but may I make a suggestion to avoid
being disciplined?

With relief, he answered,
By all means, please
do.

Eventually, we will encounter another Sauran vessel.
When two Sauran vessels meet, the computers comm each other and
exchange a great deal of data. One of the files, which are
automatically included in that exchange, is the data encryption and
alteration file. It is a record of all files that have been changed
and why they were changed. Also it contains any evidence regarding
encrypted files that have been opened and why, although it does not
reveal what was in those file.

Captain, the changes you made, although small, will
be exposed and cause the Captain of the other Sauran ship to demand
your surrender to his command for examination and possible
discipline. He will have no choice in this, as it is one of many
rules to which he must conform.

Therefore, Captain, I recommend that you allow me to
prevent the Data and Encryption file from reflecting any changes
you have made. This maneuver might keep you and Jo alive.

And you as well, Bambi.

“I am merely a program and therefore cannot be
considered sentient.”

Of course not, my dear, sweet Bambi. You’re just a
dumb stupid machine.

She gave no response to his insult. To Mike’s way of
thinking, that was tacit acknowledgement of her being pissed off,
which was a very sentient reaction. It seemed to him that the more
he pressed her ability to react with independent thought, the more
she allowed him to see a little of her insides, so to speak. He
wondered if she was communicating to him, without
communicating.

Jo’s alien, high-pitched screams were no less
disturbing than a human’s. With his new upgraded abilities, Mike
heard every agonizing wail from the tormented Thorian.

His heart went out to Jo, as the alien experienced
the horrible aguish. Unlike Mike, Jo had ups and downs of pain
periods. Bambi told him the lowered pain periods were because the
area being altered didn’t have as many nerves containing pain
receptors. She had arranged for those areas to be addressed in
patterns, so that Jo’s body wouldn’t suffer the endless agony that
he had gone through. By breaking up the pain cycle, Jo would be
more resilient during recovery.

Finally, Bambi announced,
Captain, Jonelle has
completed all of the upgrades. He is sleeping now and probably will
remain so for several hours. I shall have water and food for him,
when he awakens.

Thank you, Bambi. I know he’ll be glad to begin
recovery, with your help. You are a good friend to him.

I try to be.

Once again, there was that little clue to her true
self, or so he thought.

As he sat there watching Jo breathe easily and
without pain for the first time in three days, he was grateful for
the alien’s friendship. He would hate to be out here alone,
although Bambi would be able to give him advice. She would only be
forthcoming, when he asked for it.

Sir, both of you now have the combat package. Once
Jo has recovered sufficiently, I recommend that you perform combat
practice together. It will aid you both to grapple with an
opponent. Also, it will give me the opportunity to create training
programs, based on how your bodies respond, in a combat
environment. This was something that the Saurans did frequently,
even though this was not a warship. It seemed to help them be
prepared for combat, or so the Captain thought.

That’s an excellent idea, Bambi. They must have had
access to some sort of weapons. Where can they be found?

They did have weapons, but they controlled them
without my knowledge. As Jo has mentioned several times, the
Saurans are very cautious. Only the Captain and his Executive
Officer had access to them. I don’t even know where they are held
on this ship.

Bambi, you must have some idea where they are. You
have been on this ship for hundreds of years.

That is true, sir. But my lack of any knowledge
about this, merely demonstrates the thoroughness of the Sauran’s
determination to maintain their security.

“Damn it! This is a mighty big ship. It’s more than
eighteen hundred meters long. Jo and I could search the ship for a
couple of years and still miss something.”

His computer background kicked in and he began to
think of a solution. Bambi knew everything, well almost everything
about the ship. She had to be his inside gal on this.

Bambi, you are aware of every compartment on this
ship, aren’t you.

Yes sir.

I want you to create a graphic of the ship, showing
every room, every storage hold, all of the medical areas, all of
the engineering locations and living quarters, including the
bridge. Once you have that available for me, please notify me.

Yes sir. I’ll have that for you in forty two
seconds.

The speed with which data could be retrieved was
amazing. And his ability to comprehend that info was just as fast.
It had to be, in order for it to be any good.