“General, you’re going to do it one play at a time. The Saurans are a huge military force, but I doubt they’ve ever faced an enemy as implacable as humans. You are very rough around the edges, but you are fighters and the Saurans aren’t used to facing an enemy that keeps coming at them with such a strong commitment to victory.”

  She switched back to comm mode. So quit your fucking whining and lead us. Don’t go limp dick on me now. I want to see you fuck those bastards.

  Mike laughed harder than he had in a while. He had just been given a slap in the face and a pep talk by a computer and she was right. He had better get his sorry moaning head out of his ass and lead.

  “Bambi, as soon as the volunteers are loaded into the med units, have the robots load them onto the shuttles. We’re taking all three shuttles and I want everything we can take to Earth that will aid them in manufacturing items for space warfare.”

  “Sir, what about the scientists; are we taking them also?”

  “No. Well, maybe we’ll take Bet Fulwiler. Her God-daughter will be there and that relationship might prove to be helpful in smoothing out a few of the ruffled feathers.”

  Funny you should mention her, General. She has asked Mary for a private meeting with you, in your quarters.

  Mike was pleased at the thought of seeing her again and also concerned about his mildly salacious interest in her. Regardless, if she wanted to see him, it must be important.

  “Tell Mary…oh never mind, I can do it.”

  He commed his daughter-in-law, Mary, I’ll be in my quarters in two minutes. Please tell Bet she can meet me there. By the way, do you have any idea what this is about?

  No sir, I don’t. She mentioned that she was to have dinner with you later, but she needed to see you now. That’s all I know.

  Mike was in his quarters, when Bet knocked on the huge door. He pinged it open for her and she walked in. He couldn’t avoid a quick sweep up and down her frame. Although he had a twenty something body, he still thought like a much older man. For an eighty six year old woman, who appeared to be in her fifties, she looked damn good to him.

  She noticed his brief leer and told him, “Mike, it’s been a long time since a man gave me that kind of look. I like it. It feels good. I can’t wait to join the young as hell club.”

  He chuckled. Just her presence had cheered him up. “You’ll get there soon enough, Bet. What’s up? Why did you want to see me?”

  “Well, there are several reasons. We have initially broken up into groups, based on our primary areas of interest. My people, the scientists, have pointed out a need for additional experts in astrophysics, celestial mechanics, metallurgy and a host of other scientific regimens. I’ll be submitting a list of people we recommend that you to pursue. I want you to approach these people delicately. By that I mean, don’t kidnap them.”

  After a brief pause to gage his reaction to her subtle warning, she told him, “I believe all of my people are committed to the rebellion, as Bambi calls it. None of us enjoyed the emotional shock of being taken forcefully and put in this situation. It’s frightening. However, we are intelligent and can see the logic behind proceeding the way you did. We think you’ll get just as many willing people, if you give them the facts and allow them to make their own decision”

  Bet didn’t pause for effect, as some people did. She expected people to pay attention to her, as she moved her thoughts along at a pace most people would find difficult to keep up with.

  “Charu thinks there may be a way to disrupt the alert signal. She ran her idea for a possible way to achieve that, by Bambi. Charu’s main concern was that as soon as we turn off the jamming, the signal would be sent out anyway.”

  Mike told her, “So, don’t turn it off.”

  Bet shook her head, “Bambi said that when we block the signal, we will also be blocking all comm. Not only would you lose the ability to comm one another, but Bambi would lose all use of it, as well. Mike, there’s a possibility she might not be able to run the ship. Everything she does is through the comm system. Furthermore, we would lose contact with her. She’s terrified of being left alone with her thoughts and nothing else. Basically, she would be paralyzed.”

  He put both hands face down on the table and ordered, “Then figure out a way to block that signal, without messing with Bambi’s head. I’ll never approve of such a thing.”

  She didn’t seem upset by his harsh determination to protect his friend Bambi. “Mike, there may be an awkward alternative. We might be able to hardwire the most critical components of the ship. In other words, we give Bambi a way to run the ship and to communicate by running fiber optic cables all over the place. We would need to be able to literally plug into the ship’s system, which would give us direct communication to each other. But, we would need to have a physical plug in our head or somewhere on our bodies to do that.”

  He tried to imagine the enormity of that task and a troubling thought struck him.

  “Bambi, will the jamming affect our ability to work within our own minds?”

  “No sir. But, all of you have been working to improve your use of the comm system. Jumping back out of comm ability for you guys will be disappointing to say the least. I believe you would lose the ability to reference through me. You’d lose those areas of interest that you wished to investigate. In other words, what is already in your brains would be all that you had available, until that jamming was discontinued, or you plugged into me through a hardwire.”

  Mike chuckled and said, “In other words, we would just be normal humans. Using our own brains won’t be new for us. It’s our natural state of mental processing; so we should be able to handle it. Furthermore, our minds will still retain their new speed and improved organization, which should help.”

  Bet asked, “But couldn’t we use standard Earth methods of computer access. We could put a thousand laptops on board and create a separate network that wasn’t affected by the comm jamming. It would be a much slower way to access info, but it could work.”

  Bambi told her, “I wouldn’t recommend laptops. They’re archaic. I can have a fabricator manufacture a few advanced computers and place one in each of the three critical locations, the bridge, the back up bridge and engineering. We would still need to shield them from outside jamming efforts, but it could work. I could connect to them as well, and I’d be able to direct the flow of information on them, although with less speed. But, we’d still be able to comm with each other.”

  Mike asked her, “Do you really think hard wiring is going to be worth the effort?”

  Bambi showed some enthusiasm for the idea. “Yes sir, we should probably do it now anyway. The next group of Saurans to enter our solar system might be able to jam our comm. We can’t be certain, but it’s a possibility we must be prepared for; so we’ll need to be able to counter it. I don’t believe they’d pick up on it very quickly and while they’re trying to figure out how we’re communicating, we could hit them with everything we’ve got, which isn’t much by the way.”

  Bet announced, “That might be about to change. Dr. Frankenberger, that’s the tall gentleman in our group, thinks we can produce a giant plasma rifle that shoots the equivalent of an ionic sabot round, or bolt. He was going to explain his idea to Bambi, but he got sidetracked.”

  “A sabot round, “ Mike huffed in disbelief. “I thought the plasma guns of the Saurans only shot bolts of ions.”

  Bet explained, “Basically, they do. What he suggested was to build twenty small plasma barrels around the main gun. They would fire a few microseconds before the real weapon. That would create a channel of magnetically charged ions, which would reach out approximately four thousand meters.

  “When the big gun fires it’s ionic bolt, the ions from the smaller guns would help hold the bigger blast of ions to move in the proper direction, giving it far greater accuracy and range. The weakening balloon effect, which happens with all laser and plasma shots, wouldn’t happen until much further down the shot line. It should extend the effective range by over 400%. Basically, you’d be firing a gun with a four thousand meter barrel.”

  Mike whistled and asked, “What sort of range will this thing have?”

  “Dr, Frankenberger wasn’t sure, but he felt that it might be effective to a range of fifty thousand miles. Also, he thinks we can mount two of them on a small shuttle.”

  “What about mounting them on the Sauran fighters we have?”

  Bet looked puzzled, then said, “I vaguely remember those being mention by Mary, but I don’t think Dr, Frankenberger was present at the time. In other words, I don’t know if they could be placed there or not.”

  Bambi offered, “I can place anything on anything. But how is that going to affect the performance of the fighters. It would be nice to have some powerful weapons on them, but if they can’t maneuver, then they’re dead meat.”

  Mike raised his eyebrows and said, “Well, it is food for thought. What else do you have for me?”

  Bet stood up and stretched, arching her back as she did so. Mike couldn’t keep his eyes off of her svelte figure and the alluring bulge of her breasts. He thought, “This is ridiculous. I really have to get a handle on my libido.”

  Then he got the shock of his life. Bet looked into his eyes and said, “I’ve always been kind of a loose woman, although it was only in my thoughts. I like sex and, in my youth, fooling around cost me two husbands. My new healthy body is horny.”

  Her expression changed to one of fear. “Mike, I’m afraid of being upgraded and afraid of what’s going on out here and I’m very afraid for my grandchildren. In spite of all that, I want a man. I’ve always been attracted to a man who is strong in heart and just plain strong. On this tub, you’re it. I know I ain’t much, when compared to a twenty five year old hard body like you, but if you want me, I’m yours.”

  “Damn it, Bet, you don’t even give a man a chance to seduce you. Honestly, I…I have thought of you in that way. Don’t forget, being young is still new to me. So when I saw you, after you had undergone the initial med unit treatment, I found you very attractive. But, it’s more than that; you have a way of putting me on edge and also at ease. I like you Bet, but it wouldn’t be right for me to be intimate with a subordinate.”

  “Oh screw that crap, Mike. Either take me or tell me to go. I’ll never bother you again, I promise.”

  He rose, moved toward her, and as he grinned he said, “Now that would be a damn shame.”

  Bambi had to remind him privately. Be gentle with her, Mike. She hasn’t been upgraded yet and you’re much more powerful than Bet can imagine.

  Yeah, yeah, I know.

  For the next hour, Bambi observed with great interest from every possible angle.

  For Mike it was an awkward experience, of trial and error. He was terrified that he would become overwhelmed by his first intimacy in many years and do serious harm to Bet.

  She, on the other hand, proved to be a completely uninhibited lover, who was quite skilled. She wasn’t Sherry, who was loving and considerate. Yet, she was determined to give as well as receive, without being too demanding.

  Afterward, as they lay in the dim light, he confessed, “That was rather awkward. I was so afraid of harming you and maybe even more afraid of not pleasing you.”

  She ran her fingers through the light hairs of his chest and told him, “You were perfect, Mike. I was so needy. I was attracted to you, when first we met and I’m ashamed at being so forward with you. I hungered so badly to be wanted by a man. In my youth, when those needs built up to a fever pitch, I would go after the nearest man available.

  “I’ve spent most of my later life in the world of science, pretty much ignoring my baser needs. I know I told you I was a loose woman; but I’m really not the sort of dame who comes on so strong. I don’t regret throwing myself at you, but I’m still ashamed. I acted like a whore.”

  He gently shook her shoulder, as he said, “I think we both suffered from the same problem. We’re scared and now that we have younger bodies, we used them to explore an area of human intimacy that neither of us had enjoyed for many years. Honestly, it was a great way to lessen the burden of fear that I’ve had and I suspect it was the same for you.”

  “Is that what it was, Mike? Did we just screw to deal with our fears? That’s terribly sad, if you’re right. Didn’t it have any meaning for you at all?”

  “Yes, it certainly did. I was attracted to your old bones, when I first saw you. But, what really grabbed me was the way you fired off at me, even though you were dead wrong. And then you came to me and admitted you were wrong. That’s rare for anyone, especially someone who is so accomplished and respected in her field.”

  He caressed her neck and told her, “I admired the way you handled it, although I realized you were using your considerable charms to get your way. I loved it.”

  She pulled back from him, raised her head and glared at him, saying, “My old bones…really. You certainly are a charmer, Mike Hurst.”

  He laughed and she joined him, as he hugged her carefully.

  Bet suddenly sat up and called out, “Bambi, I suppose you’re there, watching us.”

  There was no response. Mike said, “Bambi, you can’t very well hide from us. We know you’re there.”

  Bambi responded sweetly. “I was reluctant to interrupt a special moment for both of you. What can I do for you, Dr. Fulwiler?”

  “You can start by calling me Bet. I know this is a stupid question, but once I’ve been upgraded, will I look as I did in my youth. You see, I had some work done when I was in my twenties. I had my weak chin extended, my nose adjusted and” she looked at Mike with embarrassment as she admitted, “I had my tiny breast augmented. Bambi, I don’t want to look like I did as young woman. Can you fix that?”

  Bambi asked, “Bet, should I have Mike look through some old girlie magazines and pick one out. I can make you look like any one you wish.”

  Mike exploded, “Damn it, Bambi, that’s enough. You and Bet can discuss this, in private. I don’t want to know. I’m sure I’ll like what I see, once Bet has been upgraded. Just pay attention to her wishes and keep it quiet, just between the two of you.”

  “Yes General.” Bambi sounded a bit peevish at his admonition.

  Chapter 11

  A few hours later the ship was abuzz with activity, most of it by robots of various sizes and shapes. The med units had been filled with men and, of course, the scientists, including Bet. None of them had begun the painful transition yet. That would start after their bodies had been strengthened. All of those people had been loaded on the large shuttle, where Mike, Max, Jo and Mary would ride with them to provide comfort, during the worst of the procedure.

  Huge robots, the likes of which Mike had never seen, were attached to the outside of each shuttle. Bambi assured him their presence wouldn’t effect the movement of the shuttles. Once they headed for Earth in the shuttles, the giant mining robots could be dropped off on the asteroid that Bambi had selected as the sight of the new base. The huge machines would begin the process of hollowing out the asteroid for their new home.

  The smaller robots that had been left in the asteroid belt, back when they made their first trip to Earth, had been mining for precious metals and they’d been quite successful at it. There were now sizable loads of gold, platinum, iron, nickel, manganese, titanium, zinc and aluminum. A good variety of other rare metals were being collected and set aside for future use a well.

  Bambi commed Mike. Sir, I’m about to try and take over the beacons. I’ve already prepped them for this, but I haven’t attempted to place any new instructions, as yet. I’m waiting for your order.

  Bambi, I told you to just do it and tell me if it goes haywire.

  I know sir. But, it just didn’t feel right to chance it, without having you with me, as I try it out.

  “OK, Bambi. You’ve got as much riding on this as we do. Go ahead and do it. And let me see what’s happening as you do.

  In his mind, she sent him a trigger on his MCP, which blinked for him. When he mentally touched it, he felt, rather than saw the beacons. She had them all connected through her, so she wouldn’t have to go to each one separately.

  Here goes, General.

  She sent a complete series of new instructions, which would allow the shuttles to pass through the solar system, unnoticed. He waited for the beacons to respond, but felt nothing and that frightened him.

  Bambi, what’s happening?

  The absolute best thing that could happen, nothing. They’ve accepted my control. You don’t notice anything, because they haven’t seen anything to be alarmed about. The real test will be in a few hours, when we move the Mother ship to the Asteroid belt.

  Mike was surprised by this idea. We never discussed moving right now.

  Oops. My bad. It does make sense though, sir. We can go to and from the Earth much faster and the Mother Ship will provide an enormous boost to the robots ability to hollow out the asteroid. With the high powered mining laser on board, it will shave off months of work to prepare the new base for habitation. The first section should be ready to occupy in a few weeks.

  So fast?

  Yes sir. Now that the beacons are ours, I’ve told them to ignore all shuttle traffic and to pay no attention to activity in this region of the Belt. Pretty cool, don’t ya think?

  He laughed and said, “Yeah, very cool. So when do we make this move?’

  “Sir, I’ve taken the liberty of starting the intersolar drive engines. We will need a few more hours, as I check out the entirety of the engineering section. Once that’s done, we will be able to begin movement. It shouldn’t take more than six to eight days to reach our first destination.

  “One more thing, General. Do you think we should notify the Earth? This movement will probably be noticed by a few of their telescopes.”

  He let out a huge sigh and told her, “Yes, Bambi, we should. Get Todd Pierpoint on the line for me and have Max listen in, but tell him to remain silent.”