SpecOps (Expeditionary Force Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

Information Center compartments, when Skippy
gave me a warning. "Uh oh, Colonel Joe, heads up. Baldilocks is on his way
to see you."
    "Baldilocks?" I laughed. "Who is
that?"
    "United States Navy Lieutenant Williams," he
explained.
    Williams commanded our four-man SEAL team, he had a
shaved head, hence Skippy's nickname for him. Also, I'd already determined
Skippy didn't like him. I knew that because Skippy told me so. Williams and I
were not best of friends so far either, my impression was he thought I was
completely unqualified for command of such an important mission, that I was
unprofessional, uncommitted, too young and inexperienced, not taking my
responsibilities seriously, and not much of a soldier. I disagreed with that
last one. "Thanks for the warning, Skippy." I straightened up in my
chair, and adjusted the iPad to the ergonomically correct position on the
table, rather than in my lap where it had been.
     
    Williams knocked on the wall beside the door a minute
later, the door was permanently recessed into the wall, I wanted to literally
have an open door policy. "Colonel Bishop?"
    At the time, I was pretending to read something on my
iPad, so he wouldn't know that Skippy had warned me he was coming.
"Lieutenant Williams. Come in, sit down. How are you finding the Flying Dutchman ?"
    "It's still a bit overwhelming," he
admitted. "When we came aboard, I thought we would have somewhat of an
advantage, because SEAL teams are accustomed to being deployed aboard ships.
I'm finding that doesn't apply much here."
    We chatted for five minutes, him talking about how
amazing it was to be in space, aboard a captured alien starship, me expressing
gratefulness for how we'd been able to modify the Dutchman before we
left Earth. Some of the ornate decoration in the bridge and CIC compartments
had been toned down, or painted over. We now had a galley; a place to cook,
serve and eat food, real food. And we had cargo holds full of food, enough to
last seventy people for years. Maybe the best modification was the beds;
sleeping compartments had been cut away so a full size bed fit inside; no more
trying to sleep curled up in a cramped Thuranin-sized bed.
    Chang was supposed to come into my office soon, for
our daily meeting, so I decided to find out that Williams wanted. "What's
the issue, Lieutenant? I assume you didn't come in here to chat about the
ship."
    "Sir, I appreciate the experience Sergeant Adams
brings," Williams said, "and I welcome her advice. However, she is
not familiar with SEAL, or Ranger, training standards. Or training methods of
the British SAS, French paratroopers-"
    "You've made your point, Lieutenant," I
interrupted him. Chang was my executive officer, second in command of the ship.
Simms was in charge of logistics, and third in command. Desai was out chief
pilot. Giraud was part of the French paratrooper team. And Adams, at Chang's
suggestion, I had assigned to be in charge of training our SpecOps people about
the ship, and the fancy new alien weapons they would be using.
    "You shouldn't be so cocky, Lieutenant Williams,"
Skippy added, "you weren't even the first choice to lead the SEAL
team."
    Williams didn't flinch. "Sir," it wasn't
clear whether he was addressing that remark to me or to the invisible Skippy,
"I know I was the second choice-"
    "Fourth choice, actually," Skippy chimed in
helpfully.
    "Fourth?" Williams asked, startled this
time.
    "Lieutenant Jerome Hansen was the first
choice," Skippy explained, "he turned down the assignment because he
did not want to serve under Colonel Bishop. Hansen felt you were too inexperienced
for such responsibility, Joe."
    "That's understandable," I responded.
Probably most of the SpecOps people felt that way. Hell, I felt that way.
    "Lieutenant Williams here agreed to serve under
your command, and was originally the second choice. However, he refused the
secret conditions your military wanted to impose."
    "What secret conditions?" I looked at
Williams