Starting from Scratch (23 page)

Wow! That girl is amazing.

Bambi commed,
Ain’t it the truth.

Wayne contacted Mike to say that he had been in
communication with a high priced Mexican real estate broker who
thinks he has just the right place for the other industrial sight.
The man told him that he would need to have a substantial retainer,
in order to share the wealth with the appropriate representatives
for that area. In other words, bribes.

Mike thanked him and asked,
I assume you have
checked this guy out.

Yes sir. He’s just what we’re looking for. He has a
stellar reputation for love of money. Once he gets his fee up
front, he operates with the highest integrity and he always
delivers the goods.

That’s great, Wayne. Good work.

Mike wanted to talk with Bet and he was a little
disappointed that she hadn’t contacted him, after his speech to the
men.

So, he commed her.
Bet I have a few questions for
you and I want honest answers.

Well that’s insulting. You make it sound as though I
would lie to you.

Bet, I just don’t want you to sugar coat it. How did
the men act, after I left?

I would say…grim. I overheard a few of them say that
you may be the first officer who didn’t blow smoke up their ass.
They appreciated your honesty.

Mike, I thought it was a great speech. Of course,
I’m used to the long boring technical speeches of college
professors; so I might not be the best person to judge.

He sighed and told her,
Thanks, I think.

She changed her tone of voice and asked,
Mike, is
there any chance of getting together with you later? Just for
dinner or something. I want to get to know you better. No fooling
around, I promise.

Yes, Bet. I’d like that. Say around eight
tonight?

That’s perfect. See you then.

Mike wasn’t sure about his feelings for her. As she
pointed out, they really didn’t know each other. It would be wise
to learn each other’s foibles before pursuing a more intimate
relationship. Still, he had to admit his disappointment at being
told there would be no fooling around.

As the day wore on, he found himself delving deeper
into every detail, which was readily available. Even with his
extraordinarily quick mind, he felt on the verge of being
overwhelmed with the volume of info he had to process.

At one point he commed Mary.
Hi, sweetheart, how
you doing?

I’m fine. What’s wrong? You seem down in the
dumps.

It always surprised him whenever he commed someone.
He didn’t actually hear them their voice, yet they broadcast an
emotion within their comm, revealing a little about their mental
status.

You noticed, huh? I guess I am a little down. I
thought having a faster thought process would make things easier.
Instead, I see even more that I could be doing. As a result, I
continue to build files that need to be addressed.

Have you asked Bambi for help?

No. She has plenty to do already.

No I don’t, boss.

Then why haven’t you offered to help me?

Two reasons, General. First, you need the practice
of balancing events, the worst of which is the volume of activity
that comes at you. Second, you never asked.

Bambi, what if we were in an emergency situation?
Would you wait for me to politely beg you to save our collective
asses?

General, in a legitimate crisis, I would offer any
suggestions immediately. I don’t want to get blowed up, as Al would
say.

He asked, politely,
Well, can you give me a
hand?

Certainly. I’ve noticed that you’re bad about
delegating. Dump some of this on the appropriate staff members and
some on me. These Navy guys are going to be staff, all three of
them. It’s time you began to use them and they need the practice,
just as you do.

Mike was embarrassed, because he knew she was right.
He was trying to do it all himself. All of his experience was being
wasted, because he wasn’t performing as he had been trained, years
ago.

You’re right, Bambi. Please look over my shoulder
and feel free to make suggestions, if you see me hoarding all of
the work.

Will do, Boss.

After taking a look at the files he had designated
for future review, he categorized them by department, and then
commed each of his staff, including the Navy men, assigning the
appropriate concerns to them. None of them complained. In fact, the
naval officers seemed pleased to be included in more of the running
of the organization that he was building. He encouraged each man to
handle problems in his own way, but to make concise periodic
reports on their progress.

He commed Al Benson and asked if the warriors were
ready to begin their arms training.

Yes sir. They aren’t ready to do any physical
running around, but they can lie in bed and use their minds to
learn how to aim and shoot with the new weapons, Bambi designed.
They’re easier to hold and aim for a human. We are just about to go
into our first training scenario with Bambi. Care to join us.

Mike knew that Al’s offer was given as a courtesy and
that Al didn’t expect Mike to accept. He had made the same offer
many times, as a young Sergeant.

He answered,
Yes, Major Benson, I would love
to.

Mike couldn’t see Al’s grin, but he could imagine it
on the large man’s face, as his wide mouth exposed the white teeth
in the middle of his dark skinned face.

Al had been caught off guard by Mike’s use of
rank.

Major? When did I become a Major?

A little while ago, Al. Oh, and please ask your men
not to shoot me by accident.

Hell no, I will not. You’ve got to learn to duck,
just like the rest of us.

The beginning of the exercise was a disaster.
Following a brief critique, they went after it again. It took four
attempts to accomplish what should have been a simple task.

Mike told Bambi,
I’m afraid these men just aren’t
up to it. We could be in deep do-do here.

Boss, let me talk to them. I think I can help.

Go for it.

On a unit wide broadcast, she explained to the new
warriors,
Hey guys, you’re spending too much time trying to
analyze everything your doing, by sorting through various files,
one at a time. You’re losing the benefit of your natural instincts.
Just do what seems right. Each of you is a combat veteran and you
know you’re going to make mistakes. But, with practice, you’ll find
that you’re succeeding far better at this than you might
think.

Also, you’re not using all of the info you can get
from the other men in your units. Your minds are so fast now you
can scan the bigger picture in a microsecond, and then bounce back
to your current situation. Try it on this next exercise. I’ve made
it different, but no harder than the other one you’ve been fucking
up.

Mike felt several of the men chuckle at her use of
vulgarity. She had come a long way in just a few weeks. She knew
just when to drop the f-bomb, for effect.

The men did better, but still needed to make drastic
improvements, in coordination and the application of firepower.

A few more trials and Al called a break in the work,
to have the men eat. As Bambi had warned Mike, in his earliest
days, they needed to consume a lot of liquids and food to help
build up their strength and to maintain it. He was glad to see that
Al was on top of it.

When they went back to work, things began to fall
into place for them. Bambi began throwing them some mean curveballs
and the old vet’s instincts came into play very quickly, as they
dealt with completely unknown scenarios. Mike was with them, every
inch of the way and he was proud of the old guard, as they began
calling themselves.

At the end of the day, Mike told Al, “These men
should be ready to begin using their bodies for these exercises in
two more days. We’re going to need a real playground for that.”

He commed Bambi, including Al on his query.
Bambi,
can you build some large area on board the Independence, where we
can begin to have some realistic war games?

Yes sir. I suggest that we close off the largest
part of the hanger deck. We only have three shuttles and the two
space fighters to park in there right now. We can place them near
the hanger portals and use the rest of the space for training the
men. Once we have cleared out enough room on the asteroid, we will
have much larger areas in which to train.

That’s wonderful, Bambi. Thank you.

He had been on the bridge, as he mentally worked out
with the Old Guard. He wasn’t physically tired, but he felt the
need to calm down from the war game.

He went back to his quarters, took a shower and
relaxed, as the time grew closer for his late dinner with Bet
Fulwiler.

At eight o’clock sharp, she pinged him, requesting
entrance to his domain. When the door slid open for her, she stood
in the entrance, looking taller than he remembered.

“Welcome, Bet. You look amazing.”

She did too, and she knew it. Bet wore a thin filmy
dress that clung to her incredible curves. It was somewhat old
style, yet Mike liked what he saw. It was a look closer to the
women of his generation. The bodice showed a hint of cleavage and
the skirt stopped just short of her knees. Perhaps most amazing,
was that she wore stockings and heels. So few women did these
days.

His eyes couldn’t stop gazing at her, as she
continued to pose, until it became awkward for him.

“Well, Mike, is this what you wanted?”

He detected a bit of anger in her tone.

“Bet, I’m not sure what you’re referring to. I do
think you look beautiful…sexy as hell, actually.”

She placed her hands beneath her breasts and lifted
them. They were larger than her pre-upgraded mammary had been, and
she harshly asked, “What in the hell am I doing with these things.
I certainly didn’t order them. Be honest with me, Mike; did you
tell Bambi to put these on me? And this outfit…I found it lying on
my bed, when I went back to my room. I assume you sent it to me for
tonight.”

Mike looked at her, pleading for forgiveness, even
though he had no idea what was going on here.

“Bet, I swear to God almighty I had nothing to do
with any of this. I won’t deny that I’m attracted to the new you,
but as for the alterations, it wasn’t me.”

There was a long drawn out silence, as she glared at
him, before yelling, “Bambi, explain.”

There was no answer.

Mike added his anger to Bet’s, as he said, “Damn it,
Bambi. What did you do and why did you do it?”

After a long pause, she began her explanation.

“Well, I knew what Mike liked and I knew how Bet
wanted to be appreciated for the beautiful woman she hadn’t been
credited for being, in her youth. So, I combined both of your wants
and here we are.”

“Damn it, Bambi, you can’t mess with people’s private
worries and desires. It isn’t ethical and it demonstrates a failing
on your part, when you intrude on peoples private lives.” His voice
became louder, as he spoke, clearly exposing his anger and it
showed.

To his shock, Bet scolded, “Oh, get off her back. She
thought she was doing us both a favor. We can’t take it back now.
So, I’m stuck with this hot body and you’re stuck with that hot
body. We’re just going to have to make the best of it. We’re tough
people, Mike, we’ll survive this horrible tragedy.” And then she
grinned with rapacious lust in her eyes.

It was obvious to them both that her promise of no
fooling around wasn’t going to fly. Mike had difficulty taking his
eyes off of her and she delighted in his attention. All through
dinner, they spoke of their work and family histories. Much of it
was exchanged rapidly, thanks to their ability to comm the info at
amazing speeds.

After dinner, they moved to a sofa, where he embraced
her and asked, “May I kiss you?”

She nearly laughed at him, as she told him, “I don’t
believe anyone has ever asked me that before. It’s rather unusual,
but I like it. When you want to be a gentleman, you always seem to
get it right. Yes, please kiss me.”

Mike felt relief at her easy acceptance, as he
passionately kissed her. Bet reminded him that he no longer had to
be cautious, because she had been upgraded, too. That night, both
of them revealed a surprising degree of primitive lust, as they
shared an ardent passion that neither had known for many years.

Chapter
13

The following morning, Bambi let them sleep in. When
they were fully awake, she sent them breakfast with coffee, without
saying a word to either Mike or Bet. They had a lovely chat, as
they complimented each other on their respective skills beneath the
sheets.

Bet broke the mood, when she stood up and announced,
“I really need to get to work. I need to see Charu and Horace about
blocking that damn alert. If we can’t pull that off, we’re
screwed.”

Mike bit his tongue, before saying something crude
about getting screwed. It occurred to him that he had gone so many
years without a woman around that he had developed some very bad
habits; and casual vulgarity was one of the worst. He quietly
commed Bambi and asked her to help him improve in that area.

OK, boss. Just don’t chop my head for making those
little reminders.

Bet gave him a loving kiss before departing.

As soon as Bet was gone, Mike was just about to check
in with Jim Atteberry, when Bambi commed nervously.

Ah, boss? We just got the ping from the other ship.
They want to talk with the Senior Pilot. I responded with a short
exchange to the other computer, but I did not give out the normal
amount of information that usually accompanies that handshake, and
it did not give me any info either. That’s a little unusual.