Secret of the Legion (19 page)

***

"There's a couple of them over there," Redhawk said. We were picking our way through the underbrush on one of Stonehall's thickly forested hills. It was a hot oppressive day, and the trees seemed to amplify the heat. Over to our left a group of Taka were slicing down trees with bioaxes, a little contribution from the Star. Up ahead we could see two male Outworlders stripped to the waist, hauling away some downed timber from a rough clearing.

"Imagine getting captured by Taka!" Valkyrie exclaimed. "What a bunch of clowns!"

"Very funny," I replied.

They paused as we approached, looking us over. They were both young and fit, deeply tanned and well-muscled. One of them was a big blond, the other was smaller, darker, and wiry.

"Morning," I said. "Are you the ConFree Special Mission fellows we've been hearing about?"

"That's us," the blond responded. "And who's asking?"

"Lost Command," I said. "How long have you been here?"

"Lost Command! Scut! How did
you
get here?"

"Well, it's kind of a long story. But we'd like to ask about you first. Would you like some dox?"

"Dox? Dox?" The little guy lit up. "You're kidding, right?"

Ten popped a couple of dox and handed them over. They savoured it with their eyes closed, sipping it carefully.

"We've got plenty more."

"Trooper, you don't know how good that is!" the little guy said.

"It's definitely been awhile!" his companion commented.

We settled down in the debris of the clearing. A tree came crashing down not too far away, raising a cloud of dust.

"How many of you are there?" I asked.

"Three squads, altogether," the big one replied. "We were the last of three. There were three separate missions into Taka country."

"What happened?"

"The same thing happened to every squad. The drop, aircar power lost, commo lost, then silence. What happened was the Taka captured us—every squad."

"How did they do that?"

"We didn't even see them. We're tiptoeing along in the forest as quiet as a little mousie and bang! We're all down, zapped like bugs, our hair standing on end and our muscles short-circuiting—as weak as babies. Then the Taka show up and secure us. Nobody hurt—no mess, no fuss. Simple."

"Bang?"

"Bang."

"What was your mission?" Valkyrie asked.

"The mission was the Star," the big guy replied, running his gaze hungrily over Eleven. "Secure the Star, and signal for evac."

"So ConFree believes the Star is here?"

"They weren't sure before. They're sure now. It's obvious, isn't it?" He downed the last of his dox and Redhawk tossed him another.

"How do the Taka treat you?"

"Fine. We eat well. There's not much to do in detention. That's why we volunteered for the work parties. They know we're not going anywhere, with these on." He held up an arm to reveal a thin wrist bracelet with a filmy black square set in the center. "They can track us everywhere with these. And they don't come off."

I thought back to our own encounter with Deadeye and his troops. How wrong I had been. I had thought we had the power to annihilate all those Taka, but in reality all Deadeye would have had to do was drop his arm and we would have been zapped and helpless. I had gotten a better look at those little devices the Taka carried at their waists. They were deadly accurate nerve guns, and they scrambled the voluntary muscles just like a stunstar, but with a lot less noise.

"Where do they think they're going to find the Star?" Redhawk asked.

"Gildron. That's what they said. And they weren't wrong, were they?"

They know everything, I thought. ConFree knows everything.

"We won't be the last," the blond said. "And the next time it won't be a squad. I'm afraid of what might happen next time. The orders are coming direct from the Ministry. They're going to get the Star, make no mistake about it. The situation has changed, Andrion isn't garrisoned like before, and ConFree is deadly serious. The Twenty-Third is irrelevant. They won't help us, they won't hinder us. Mark my words, one of these days a ConFree starship is going to show up here, and it's going to be full of Legion troopers, and nobody's going to stop it, and the Taka's neat little world is going to end rather violently. And ConFree is going to take the Star."

"You don't know that."

"No. But you can bet your next watch on it. This is great dox—thanks!"

"Did they tell you why they want the Star?"

"No. I'm just a soldier. We follow orders. The word is the Star is an alien artifact, and it contains a lot of valuable technical information. You know, I feel kind of sorry for the Taka, now that I've gotten to know them a little better. There's this one girl…well, that doesn't matter. Anyway…the Taka are doomed. They've got some clever tricks, but that's all they are. They don't have the technological base to fully take advantage of whatever's in the Star. When ConFree arrives, they're dead. And ConFree is coming. You can bet on it. It's a shame. It really is. All these people want is to be left alone. But as long as they've got the Star, every crazy bastard in the galaxy is going to be showing up here. Uhh…no offense."

Every crazy bastard, I thought. He's absolutely right. That's exactly what we are. We're totally out of our minds, and the Angel of Death is riding along right beside us. The Taka don't deserve this. They're complete innocents. Why should we bring them down with us?

Chapter 10
Evil Gods

"It's green!" Redhawk grinned, hovering over his toy, Tara's wild realtime sectoral comlink. The d-screen was up, and the channel was indeed open. It had been red ever since our arrival on Andrion, allowing only that one text alert from Tara. But all that was about to change. Redhawk and Valkyrie and Gildron and Deadeye and I were gathered around the table in anticipation, anxious for news from Tara. We were in a large, cool room in the palace. The scent of perfumed incense hung in the air. A white sky glowed outside and brilliant sunbeams cut into the room from the breezeway above.

The d-screen flickered and filled with light. Tara peered anxiously out at us, her concern evident in her first words. "Wester! Report! Do you have the Star?"

"We've got it, Tara," I replied. "Gildron's right here, he's still got it."

"Gildron!" she cut in, "Speak to me, Gildron! How are you?"

"My darling Cinta," Gildron said, elbowing me roughly aside, "You have known my love for you in your heart and in your mind. Now I can confirm it in your own language. My life is yours, as it has been since we met. I live only to serve you. I have the Star, and it too exists only to serve you."

"Gildron!" A girlish laugh, a delighted twinkle in her eyes. "I knew the Star would change you! I'm pleased to see your Inter has improved. It's wonderful to see you! And you have the Star. Let me see it."

Gildron pulled back his cloak and the Star floated out of an inside pocket and hovered before the screen, dazzling us with its light. Tara's eyes were burning and her features were briefly transformed into a frightening mask. With a visible effort she regained control of her emotions.

"Good," she said. "Good! Now don't say a word! I don't know how long this link will stay open. It could close again at any time, so listen carefully. ConFree is prepping a full-scale attack on Andrion Two. Their mission is to seize the Star. They know it's there now, and they know you're there as well. If there's any resistance from Alpha Station or Farside Base, they will be destroyed. And if the Star is with the Taka, the Taka will be destroyed as well. ConFree is determined to take the Star, and if that means laying waste to all Andrion to do it, that's precisely what they'll do."

"Wester, Ten, Eleven, Gildron, you've got to get off Andrion immediately and bring the Star. Andrion's only hope is for you all to leave, with the Star. Once the Star is gone there will be no further threat to Andrion."

"How do we do that?" I asked.

"Don't interrupt! I'm about to tell you. As soon as we finish talking I'm going to send a Legion CRITIC star tracer to the CSS
Tempest
, now in orbit around Andrion Two. It will take thirteen galactic hours for them to receive it."

"Thirteen hours! When is the ConFree attack scheduled?"

"I don't know, Wester. They're being annoyingly secretive about it. I'm sorry about the thirteen hours but it can't be helped. The instant that message is received, however, the CSS
Tempest
will defect to the Lost Command. All you have to do is pop those nova beacons I gave you, and you'll be picked up by a shuttle that will take you to the
Tempest
. The shuttle will not be affected by that interference that's grounding your aircars. Wait thirteen hours, fifteen marks, then do it! One area beacon, one zero beacon. Your call sign is Supply Alpha. Don't forget it!"

"Are you sure about this, Tara?"

"Yes! It's the only way; we're running out of time. The
Tempest
will bring you here to Dindabai. When the
Tempest
goes stardrive, the balance of power in the galaxy is going to shift decisively and when it does I'll be gleefully informing Kenton Cotter-Arc that the Star is no longer on Andrion Two. That should ensure that the attack is cancelled and the planet is not destroyed. I repeat. A shuttle from the Confederation starship
Tempest
will pick you up. You must be ready when the shuttle appears. Wester, Gildron, don't fail me! You can trust the crew of the
Tempest
with everything but the Star. Keep the Star to yourself, Gildron! Don't show it to anyone! You must bring it to me, on Dindabai. Only on Dindabai will it be safe from ConFree. Promise me, Gildron—on our love!"

Gildron gently plucked the Star from the air and returned it to his pocket. "I pledge my life," he said simply.

"What happens if the shuttle doesn't show up as scheduled?" I asked.

"Then you'll have to get off Andrion by yourself, and make it to the
Tempest
if at all possible. If not, you'll have to find another method of getting to Dindabai."

"What would you suggest?"

"Try piracy. Use your imagination. It will depend on the situation. I'm a psycher, not a fortuneteller! Just lift—don't let anything stop you!"

"You don't need me!" I exclaimed. It was all closing in on me. Moontouch, Stormdawn, my new life on Andrion, where I belonged. Peace, freedom, love, happiness. It was rushing right through my fingers like sand, with Tara's every word. I would stay! What the hell did she need me for? I sure didn't need her!

"Don't deceive yourself, Wester," she replied, her face hardening. "ConFree knows you're after the Star. They'll be after you—and everyone around you is going to die. Stay on Andrion, and Andrion dies. Come home to me. Bring your family, if you want. I need you, Wester. You're crazy brave, and I've got lots of crazy brave positions to fill. Don't kill those you love, Wester—come home!"

The d-screen flashed once and abruptly turned black. The little green light snapped to red.

"We've lost the link," Redhawk said. "That's it! No telling when the channel will open again."

"I will alert my warriors," Deadeye said.

"Don't bother," I said. "It won't make any difference." I was stunned by Tara's news. It was tearing me apart.

"Fine," said Valkyrie quietly. "Let them come. It was all coming to this. I knew we'd end up fighting ourselves, sooner or later. Fine. Let it happen."

"Thirteen hours," Gildron rumbled.

Thirteen hours, I thought, thirteen hours to live.

***

That night the clouds vanished and it was crisp and clear and the stars filled the sky, magnificent, blazing, a silent symphony to stir my blood. Moontouch and Stormdawn and I lay on our backs on a mound of pillows on a terrace high atop the palace, trying to sleep but still awake. I ran a finger down Moontouch's face, past dark liquid eyes over velvet skin. She blinked and touched her tongue to her lips and my heart gave me a jolt. I had never seen anything more beautiful in my life—she was truly captivating, and she had enchanted me.

"When I grow up, I'm going to marry Mommy," Stormdawn whispered. I smiled. He was just as beautiful as his mother, with fine features and long silky hair and slender limbs that promised Southmark's future King would be tall and strong.

"She's already taken, Stormdawn," I said. "You'll find someone else."

"Nobody is as beautiful as Mommy," he said.

"We must leave," I told Moontouch. "You and Stormdawn and I. My enemies are coming—they are looking for the Star. They will kill everyone they see until they find the Star. We must leave this world. We must take the Star far away, to prevent them from destroying Southmark."

She looked up at the heavens, starlight on her lovely flesh. "I know," she said. "You must go." And my heart was aching, already. I knew it. I knew it!

"I cannot leave you," I said.

"You must leave us, Slayer," she replied calmly. "If you love us, you must leave us. You know I cannot leave. You know Stormdawn cannot leave. Should a Queen and a Prince abandon their people? It is impossible, my love. We will stay. We will die, if we must, with our people. There is nothing to fear. The Taka know how to die. We will meet in Heaven, my only love." And she looked right into my eyes and placed a finger on my lips and kissed me on the forehead. I was speechless. I knew I didn't have that kind of courage. She was tough as cenite armor, and I knew Stormdawn would grow up lean and hard, and would probably hate his father forever. I had been forced to leave them, twice, and fought my way back with all my strength, through impossible obstacles. Was I now to abandon them again, voluntarily? My world was ending. Was despair to be my only companion, forever? Was happiness to be denied me, forever? What evil Gods had I offended?

***

When it happened I awoke instinctively. There had been no sound, but a glance at the night sky told me all I had to know. I was immediately awake but surprisingly calm. I got to my feet and looked up from the terrace to a soft night, full of stars—and something else. A swarm of silvery meteors falling silently, tracing glowing tracks against the dark as the ships entered the atmosphere. A gentle hail of starstuff, filling the sky. Even as I stood there, more of them appeared. It was beautiful, like some mad cosmic artist's ultimate canvas. It thrilled me to the marrow, just watching it. It was the power of the Legion, and they were bracketing us, falling right down onto us, all around us. And this time the Legion was the enemy. I looked at my chron. Almost eight hours had passed—there was no sense in popping the nova, I knew. The
Tempest
had not yet received Tara's star tracer.

I tore my eyes away from the sky, back to my family. Moontouch was awake, standing as still as a statue, wrapped in a black cloak, gazing calmly at me from a bloodless face. She did not appear to even notice the sky. Stormdawn was stirring at her feet, awakening.

"It is time, again," she breathed. "Time to lose you." A deep roll of thunder began, and did not end. I knew it was not thunder. I could see the ships now, glowing cherry-red in hot combat drops, falling almost straight down. They would be here in fracs—it was time to get moving. Deadeye burst onto the terrace with Moontouch's guard, a gang of fierce-looking Taka youth, armed with spears and shields and nerve guns.

"They are here, Slayer," he warned us. "Time to go!"

"I know, Deadeye. You know the time. Follow the plan exactly! We must survive for five hours, at all costs!"

"The Taka nation stands between you and your foes, Slayer!"

***

We hurried into the underground, through ancient escape tunnels rotting with the weight of history, breathing air charged with the dust of the dead. The only light was from the torches carried by the Taka soldiers. Deadeye and I were on point. He had a nerve gun and I had an E set on auto xmax. Moontouch and Stormdawn were directly behind us, surrounded by a reinforced squad of warriors clad in armor from the past, hauling spears and tridents and shields marked with the sign of the Book. We were sliding through that tunnel like a great metal snake with scales of burnished red gold, glinting in torchlight, slithering deeper and deeper into the dark.

"Gildron, where are you? Answer!" I was on the comset, frantic. We slid to a stop in a desolate chamber where several tunnels merged. This was where we were to meet Gildron, but he was nowhere to be seen. Moontouch drew her cloak closer around Stormdawn. It was cold. Deadeye and the guards were looking around nervously. I knew we could not stay here long—every instant was precious.

The earth shuddered. A sharp explosion echoed down the tunnel, and the air quivered around us. Two more tremendous bangs, shaking the walls. Deadeye grinned like a wolf.

"We have said hello, Slayer," he said.

"They won't be happy, Deadeye. Ten, Eleven, Three, respond!" I snapped into the comset. We had left a whole lot of very nasty biomines above. We had been tiptoeing around the damned things for weeks in the palace, in anticipation of just what Tara had confirmed, but they were finally coming in handy. Chances are the ConFree assault was about to slow down.

"Three, Ten, we're on the way!" My comset sputtered.

"Where the hell is Gildron?"

"On the way, on the way, wait one!"

"We must go, Slayer!" Deadeye was getting nervous.

"Just a few more fracs, Deadeye!" We had to link up with Gildron! I hit the Legion channel for Alpha Station. A spattering roar shrieked from the comset. Then a metallic voice cut through the static. "…authorized by Fleetcom, Starcom and the Ministry of War. All Legion units are to remain in place. This is a classified mission authorized at the highest levels of ConFree. Alpha Station, Farside Base and other Legion installations are not affected. We repeat, any movement by downside Legion units may result in friendly fire. Starcom has ordered all Legion units on Andrion Two to remain in place for their own safety…"

Movement, down-tunnel. I raised the E, slipping the laser sight up to my eye. Deadeye and the others threw themselves into defensive positions instantly, shielding Moontouch and Stormdawn. I knew ConFree would meet no effective opposition on Andrion. The planet had been stripped of Legion forces because of the war. It had been a political hotspot before, because of the earlier ConFree assault, but the time was now right, at last, for ConFree and the System.

Gildron and a small army of warriors came charging out of the shadows, disorganized, excited and sweaty, torches dancing. Another series of sharp explosions rolled along the tunnel behind them.

"Three!" Gildron shouted joyously, "They are right behind us! Standfast, why do you delay! Take the Queen and the Prince to safety, immediately!"

Deadeye scrambled to obey, urging Moontouch and Stormdawn on. We all burst into a run, down a long straight tunnel that led to our escape.

"Do you have the Star, Gildron?" I shouted.

"It is safe!" he bellowed. I caught a glimpse of Redhawk and Valkyrie, sprinting along with Gildron's group.

"Stay close, guys!" I called out. "Gildron, is the Star with you now?" There was a flash of light up ahead and we skidded to a sudden stop. Someone was standing in our way, a male clad in an A-vest and camfax litesuit, no comtop, cradling an E casually in his arms. He was peering at us with some interest. I recognized him immediately as Lowdrop—Two Four One. My adrenalin exploded as I slipped the E up to my shoulder, centered on his chest, and fired auto x. The tunnel exploded in a terrific multiple bang, then flashed and cracked viciously as Deadeye's warriors let loose with their nerve guns.