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his forces throughout the solar system, he will be
weaker everywhere. Even his strong points will be weaker, as
well.”
    Wayne, mumbled, “Yeah, he’ll be trembling in his
boots. And don’t forget, we’ll be spread out too.”
    Mike scolded him. “You can knock that shit off right
now, Wayne. As leaders we have to present a united front to the
men. That front has to seem solid and confident and you know it. So
buck up, sonny boy. Win, or lose, we go after this as though
victory is inevitable, because there won’t be any draw in this
fight. It’s all or nothing for the human race.”
    “I know. I just wish you wouldn’t give me a speech
every time I voice my doubts. If I can’t reveal my concerns in
private with my commanding officer then who can I vent them
to?”
    Max demonstrated his wisdom, born from years of
experience as a senior commander. “He’s right, Mike. We have to
allow our immediate staff the luxury of being honest about their
worries. If we shut them down, then we’re going to miss some flaw
in a plan or within our ranks. We don’t want to engage the enemy
without knowing the negative possibilities as well as positive.
Damn it, Sergeant Hurst, you know that.”
    Mike smiled and said, “You right, Max. And it’s
Sergeant First Class Hurst. I worked damn hard to make E-7.”
    “Bambi, are you taking notes?”
    “Yes sir. Send one small and one large fabricator to
Earth on the next trip.
    “By the way, Sir. I have those videos for the newbies
ready to go. We can begin waking them any time you want.”
    “Great! Start right now and notify Mary, Al and Jo
that we’ll be along shortly.”
    He turned to the other two men and said, “We have a
major problem in intelligence. We ain’t got none.”
    Max grinned, but it was not a happy grin. “True
enough. We talk about defending Earth and the solar system, but we
have no idea what kind of weapons the Saurans will bring, or what
sort of weapons would be effective against their ships.”
    Wayne offered some hope to them. “That’s not entirely
true, sir. Mary and I were discussing this last night and we think
it is reasonable to assume the Saurans are using the same sort of
drive this ship uses. They are almost certainly more powerful and
agile, but maybe Bambi could shed some light on how they work and
these scientists could review the design for it and come up with a
way to counter its performance.
    “As for any weapons they might have, you can bet they
have at least something along the lines of the plasma guns we’ve
been toying with.”
    Bambi jumped in. “I am beginning a search of my files
for any reference to engines other than the type on this vessel. If
there were any such info, it would indicate that the Saurans use a
different drive for warships. If not, then it is reasonable to make
the assumption Colonel Hurst has suggested.
    “Also, as I have indicated before, I do not possess a
complete set of plans for the engines on board, just a set of
maintenance guidelines, although they are extensive and precise.
That may help in determining a greater potential from larger
engines, or variations of them. I suppose there is even the
possibility of learning enough from the guidelines to build a
prototype. If it works, we may be able to fabricate our own
spaceships.”
    Everyone smiled and Mike gushed, “Now you
talking.”
    In a very mechanical voice, Bambi responded, “Yes
sir, I was talking.”
    “Don’t pull that dumb computer shit on me now,
Bambi.”
    Contritely she answered, “OK.”
    Other than Mary, Al and Jo, no one else had been to
sickbay since their return to the Mother Ship. So when the three
men walked down to that area, they were amazed to see that it had
undergone extensive alterations. Bambi and her robots had been
busy. There were now large recovery wards, spreading out from the
main sickbay, holding twenty beds each, much like a hospital’s
wings.
    Each recovery room was playing a video to the people
who were just