Broken Soldier (Book One) by Bruce George Page A

hundred pound monster.
    The real trouble was Mike was now in the grasp of
this ugly, smelly beast. The smell instantly got worse, as a flood
of hot goo came flowing from the creature’s mouth and nostrils. He
rolled away from the foul substance and saw Jo standing over the
Sauran, holding the very item that he had tripped over, earlier in
the fight.
    Mike laid his head back on the floor and tried to
catch his breath, as the Thorian apologized.
    “My friend, I’m so sorry. I thought I had killed him
the first time and obviously I was wrong.”
    Between rapid breaths, Mike asked, “Well,’ gasp, “is
he,” gasp, “dead yet.”
    “I’m afraid not, but that will change in a moment.
It never occurred to me that this one had the complete combat
package.”
    Jo went to a corner and picked up a strange looking
device; twisted something on the handle, and then came back over to
the alien, who certainly didn’t seem alive to Mike. Jo let out a
weird groan, as he pulled the heavy creature over onto its
back.
    He placed the odd instrument against the Sauran’s
belly and warned, “This is going to kill his combat mind, when I
hit it with this cable torch. You may wish to leave, because I fear
the stench in going to get much worse.”
    Mike struggle to his feet; went to the door and
said, “OK, go on and hit him with it. I want to watch. I guess it’s
just the veteran soldier in me. I want to be absolutely sure the
son of a bitch is dead.”
    Jo nodded like a human and fired the torch. There
was no flame, just a short ultraviolet light that sounded like a
miniature freight train. The force of it shot into the alien’s
stomach, passed through his torso and came out beneath the ugly
bastard, causing the body to jump around.
    To Mike’s amazement, Jo stuck his hand inside the
Sauran’s now open belly, felt around, and then produced a distorted
blob of something metallic. “The Sauran is dead this time. The
combat module has been destroyed.”
    A computer voice announced something, which came out
of his shoulder speakers, in English, a half second later. “I have
no Sauran Pilot and must send an alert. Signal to be assembled and
sent in one hundred and fifty seconds.”
    Jo looked horrified. “I didn’t know this would
happen. The computer must be following a preprogrammed
command.”
    Mike immediately understood what was going on. He
went to Jo and whispered, “Can the computer hear me?”
    The computer answered, “Yes, I can hear you.”
    “Then cancel the alert. You have a Pilot here
now.”
    “I am not allowed to follow the guidance of a
Thorian. With the last Sauran dead, I must send the alert and
request that a new Senior Pilot be delivered to me at the area
commanders earliest convenience.”
    Mike thought quickly. This was like some damn
computer game, except it was real.
    He said, “The Sauran and I were practicing combat,
when he was accidentally damaged. As his partner in the combat
exercise, I shall now take command as the Senior Pilot, in his
absence.”
    “You are not Sauran.”
    “Of course not. I am from the same genetic source as
the humans, but my people left this planet many thousands of years
ago. The Saurans have an agreement with my masters. We are to aid
them in retrieving humans for research. You know this to be
accurate, or did not the Sauran Senior Pilot include that in you
program?”
    “This information is doubtful. The Senior Pilot did
not add this to my memories.”
    “Did he always make you aware of all his plans.
Didn’t he have his own instructions to follow that you were not
made aware of?”
    “Yes. A computer is never told everything. The
Senior Pilot always functions according to the orders he had been
given by his superiors. But you are not Sauran, so I cannot
recognize you as the Senior Pilot. Sixty seven seconds, before the
message is sent.”
    His mind seemed to be going a million miles an hour.
This was like some logic game he had played, when he was in night
school. He