GALAXY AT WAR - Book 3 - The Seeds Of Discord

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - November 2172 - Anthera

CHAPTER THIRTEEN 

November 2172 

Anthera

The Arrant-Scour fighter moved slowly fifty feet above the surface with it's sensors probing. The search for any useful elements was a long, slow process. Andrew yawned as he adjusted his heading slightly. 

"Don't fall asleep Andy," called his copilot from behind him. 

"Ha ha," Andrew closed his eyes as he laughed. "I'll be glad when we're done here François. This is so boring. It kinda makes you wish for some action." 

Andrew Bolgon had always been the kind of person who had to be doing something. He was thirty-one, had a beautiful girlfriend and a healthy appetite for life. He was flying his brother's Arrant-Scour fighter 'Tanya's Trust' because Neil was part of the envoy team sent to negotiate with the Tranchillions. 

"It's alright for Neil. He's off discovering new worlds; having the time of his life, no doubt, while we're stuck here watching a radar screen for any signs of minerals or other elements hidden beneath the surface." 

"He's only been gone six weeks. They'll still be travelling. He's probably pacing around the starship waiting for it to arrive on Tranchilite. At least you're flying and able to get out and stretch your legs," François Frey said with a smile on his face. 

"I wonder whether he and Rebecca have got it on yet," said Andrew. 

"Is she hot?" 

"Oh yes. But Neil has only just lost his wife. Knowing him - it'll be a while before he gets intimate with another woman." 

"What's Neil like?" 

"Why?" 

"I've heard so much about him. It sounds like he could take on an entire army single handed." 

"Don't be fooled by the stories François. He is just a man. Talented and deadly - but just a man." 

'Recon One - come in please,' the radio operator interrupted them. 

Andrew answered, "This is Recon One - over." 

'Corporal Bolgon. The satellites have picked up an anomaly in sector D7 of your patrol area. Could you check it out for us before you return to base - over.' 

"Will do Home Base - over," Andrew switched back to internal comms. "Mark our position François. We'll start from here on our next patrol." 

"Shouldn't we finish the patrol first Andy?" 

"Have you ever wondered why a Lance Corporal is addressed as 'Corporal' even though it's the next rank up?" Andrew wondered out loud. 

"Because it's easier maybe. About the patrol?" 

"D7 is twenty-eight miles behind us. By the time we finish our patrol we could have already been there. I've got a lovely, warm, cuddly black-assed girl waiting for me when I get back." 

"How do you get away with calling her that?" 

"What - black-assed?" 

"Yes. My girlfriend would flip if I referred to her as my bitch or something similar." 

"Because I say the same things to her face and she's not an uptight ass-hole." 

"Really? You call her black-assed to her face?"