Read On Distant Shores (Exiles Triology Book 1) for Free Online

“Well Chief, this isn’t exactly dodge ball.”
                  Mike smiled and said, “Well, if you can dodge a bullet, you can dodge a ball.”
                  SSG Cooper shook his head, “you’re so lucky that you’re married, because most women can’t stand that level of geek.”
                  Mike chuckled, “That’s nerd to you, brother.”
                  “What are you here for, Chief?” SSG Cooper asked.
                  “I got a message from the XO to see him.  Is he in?” Mike asked.
                  “Yeah, I think he’s still in.  Let me check.”
                  SSG Cooper walked back to the office.  “Sir, Chief Duggins is here to see you.”
                  Mike heard a muffled reply.  SSG Cooper waved him back to the office.  As he walked by he said, “Yeah, go on in Chief, he’s waiting for you.”
                  Mike walked back to the XO’s office.  It was filled with pictures of Major Salk’s family, and men that the Major had worked with throughout his career.  There were small mementoes from the various parts of the world that he had worked in.  There were a lot of challenge coins displayed on his desk as well.  The Major was sitting, looking at paperwork on his desk.  Evidently he was satisfied with what he saw.  He put his signature on the paper and then set it aside.
                  “Hey Mike, how’s it going?”  Major Gary Salk waved Mike into the office and motioned to one of the chairs.
                  “It’s going pretty good, Sir, how are you doing?  How’s Rose doing?” Mike asked.
                  “She’s doing fairly well.  She took the news about her mom pretty hard.  Judy was a young woman.” CPT Salk replied.
                  Rose was Major Salk’s wife.  Her mother passed away suddenly, and sheflew home two days ago.  Major Salk was going to fly to Minnesota tomorrow to help his wife and her family.  He had to wait three extra days because LTC Bretscif, the Squadron Commander, had been at a conference in Washington D.C., and was returning tomorrow.
                  Rose called Jo when it happened, and Jo went over to talk to her.  Judy was fifty-nine years old when she passed, and Rose had taken it pretty hard.  Jo and Rose were really good friends, which ensured that Rose and Gary were often guests over at Mike’s house and Mike and Jo were often guests over at their house, despite the rank difference. 
                  “How’s Jo doing?” Major Salk asked.
                  Mike nodded, “She’s doing great.  The first trimester was rough, with the morning sickness, but she’s doing better now.  We have the first ultra sound in two weeks.”
                  Major Salk winced, then sighed, knowing that Mike would like what he was going to say, “I hate to tell you this, but you may not be there for the ultra sound.  I hope the Geek Squad is good for a quick mission.”
                  He used that nickname because of their special assignment.  Mike’s team worked with the Western Zone Nuclear Emergency Support Teams.  Technically, they were black ops for the Special Operations Command.His team, and this entire flight, had special skills, when compared to the other Spec Ops teams.  Captain Bostak had a BS in Physics.  SSG Torres had a BS in structural engineering, and was a member of Mensa.  SSG Shawn Phillips, the other explosives expert on the team, had a BS in electronics.  Mike had a Master’s degree in mathematics.  Mickey had a BS in biochemistry.  Most of the guys on the team scored extremely high on their Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB.  Their scores on the General Test grade were anywhere from 135 to 146, the highest you could get on the GT score.  While they couldn’t