Bill 7 - the Galactic Hero by Harry Harrison Read Free Book Online Page B

battle against the godless heathen who are threatening the very basis of our civilization, who are attempting to undermine the moral and religious principles that are the core of the Empire and of all humanity, who are an embodiment of evil unknown since the days of fabled Earth itself...”
    Bill's eyes started to close again.
    “...destroy the enemy in our midst in order to destroy the atheistic Chingers...”
    His eyes closed fully, and his breathing got deeper and steadier.
    “...the glories of heaven to our victorious troops...”
    The next thing Bill knew, the general was shouting at him again through the video screen.
    “Wake up, Bill! As I was saying, only through your eternal vigilance, and the Lord's hand on your guidance and targeting computer, can we save the galaxy from atheistic totalitarianism.”
    Automatically, Bill said, “Yes, sir,” but he did wonder idly how atheistic totalitarianism differed from being in the Space Troopers. Probably had fewer chaplains. But of course, the Chingers and the Eyerackians didn't believe in the Emperor, the hand of whose own, personal, stand-in Bill had once slobbered over, when he was getting his medal that certified him as an official Galactic Hero. That kind of personal contact tended to reinforce a naive farm boy's loyalty, and Bill had always been intensely loyal to the Emperor, even if he couldn't quite remember the Emperor's name.
    While Bill was thinking about all this, General Weissearse finished his pep talk. “So, Tail Gunner Bill, are you ready to go?”
    “Yes, sir. I've been practicing for weeks.”
    "Excellent! Remember, we're not actually going to be killing any people in this attack, because all human life is sacred, even that of godless traitors who deserve to be tortured to death. Just blow up the buildings that are marked in red on your screen.
    “And here's a little something to show my confidence in you. We attack in five minutes. The Lord, the Emperor, and I are all counting on you. Good luck and God bless!”
    The general disappeared from the video display before Bill could react. Bill was more interested in what was happening at the change machine anyway. Coins were pouring out of it, and its display was blinking NO CHARGE! NO CHARGE! NO CHARGE! Five credits worth of quarters! Bill wiped away a tear at this sign of his commander's faith in him.
    He gathered the fallen coins and stacked them neatly on the little shelf above the controls. The first coin went into the slot, and for the first time Bill pressed the red button for live fire.
    The target screen wasn't the same as the one he'd been training on, but that was fine. Bill had learned to expect surprises in combat.
    The Heavenly Peace's artificial gravity held everything steady, but Bill's chair swiveled and swooped and twisted so he could get fully nauseated by the dive through the atmosphere toward the Eyerackian defenses.
    There! A small dot on the screen glowed red! All that time and all those quarters spent in training were not wasted. Bill waited until he was in range, then launched a smart missile.
    They were called smart missiles, but in fact they were even dumber as Bill himself, which was pretty dumb. It wasn't enough to show them the target; Bill had to steer them in to the target by the TV pictures they sent back from their nose cameras. The experience was very much like a roller coaster ride in which you got blown up at the end, or like being a commando, except that you didn't actually die.
    There were explosions all around, but Bill ignored them. He concentrated on guiding his missile straight into the gun emplacement. At the last second, he could see the Eyerackian gunners running away from their posts, and then the screen went blank. At the top, it said GUN EMPLACEMENT: 50 POINTS, and the score total went to 50, and then there was another dot of red set up for him.
    The great battle had begun.

CHAPTER 6
    It was not the mother of all battles. But at least it was the second