Slave of the Legion

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual persons, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.

A Ridan Publication
www.ridanpublishing.com
www.soldierofthelegion.com

Copyright © 2010 by Marshall S. Thomas

Cover Art by Michael J. Sullivan
Starcharts by Hatton Slayden
Editing by Carol Woods
Layout Design by Michael J. Sullivan

ISBN: 978-0-9829180-0-5
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES
First Printing: May 2010

To the American grunt

and to all our soldiers, sailors, marines and aviators serving around the world, and police and firefighters at home: May God walk by your side as you go in harm's way.
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." — George Orwell

Praise for the Soldier of the Legion Series

"Marshall S. Thomas excels at creating memorable characters and horrifying, realistic battles in dark territories far from home. He skillfully shows readers the physical and psychological toll taken on the warriors who sacrifice everything to keep humanity safe. Each battle fought for humanity's cause, whether won or lost, brings Beta closer to a strange salvation. These futuristic warriors, like those of their past, face horrifying violence so others can sleep peacefully in their beds at night without fear. Thomas makes it clear that war is not all guts and glory, and that's why I say his Legion series is exceptional."

— Midwest Book Review

"Though a part of a series, the author has done an excellent job of bringing the reader right into the story making it possible to enjoy without having read the previous book(s). Not always an easy task, but done marvelously well with this book.!"

— Writer's Digest

Books in the Soldier of the Legion Series

Soldier of the Legion
The Black March
Slave of the Legion
Secret of the Legion
Cross of the Legion
Curse of the Legion

For more information visit
www.soldierofthelegion.com

Table of Contents

PART I — MARCHING IN THE MUD
Chapter 1: An Island in the Vac
Chapter 2: The Wheels of History
Chapter 3: Dead Kings
Chapter 4: The Mission
Chapter 5: Deadman's Cause
Chapter 6: Messages From the Dead
Chapter 7: Slave of the Legion
PART II — HOLY GROUND
Chapter 8: The Mound
Chapter 9: The Kingdom of the Doomed
Chapter 10: Blue Jade
Chapter 11: A Fine Place to Die
PART III — BEYOND DOOM'S DRIFT
Chapter 12: The Ship
Chapter 13: Two Billion Ghosts
Chapter 14: Cross of the Legion
Chapter 15: Black Stars
Chapter 16: Last Stop
Chapter 17: Silver Bullet
PART IV — PIECES OF SOUL
Chapter 18: The Gods of the Book
Chapter 19: To Serve the Legion
Chapter 20: Fate Unknown
GLOSSARIES

Crista Cluster, 1,400 light years from Sol

When the first Outworlder refugees approached the Outvac fleeing System oppression, the Crista Cluster beckoned them onwards with a view that appeared to form a starry cross in the vac. ConFree's ancestors settled those worlds as a free people and vowed in a Constitution written in blood to uphold liberty, justice and freedom, no matter what the cost, and to remain eternally vigilant against all forms of tyranny and slavery. The ConFree Legion was formed to accomplish those objectives.

Chapter 1
An Island in the Vac

"ATTENTION UNREGISTERED STARCRAFT! YOU HAVE ENTERED A WAR ZONE! YOU ARE PRESUMED HOSTILE BY MILITARY UNITS OF THE CONFEDERATION OF FREE WORLDS! IDENTIFY YOURSELF IMMEDIATELY OR WE WILL FIRE!"

"ATTENTION STARSHIP P.S. MAIDEN! IT HAS ENTERED AN ACTIVE COMBAT ZONE WITHOUT PERMISSION, IN VIOLATION OF USICOM INTERSTELLAR SHIPPING REGULATIONS! THIS IS DEFCOM ULDO COMMAND! REQUEST AN IMMEDIATE EXPLANATION OF ITS PRESENCE!"

"ATTENTION STARSHIP P.S. MAIDEN! THIS IS DEFCOM ULDO TRAFFIC CONTROL! PROCEED IMMEDIATELY INTO THE ORBIT INDICATED AND DO NOT DEVIATE OR YOU MAY COME UNDER ATTACK BY HOSTILE OR FRIENDLY FORCES! THIS IS AN ACTIVE COMBAT ZONE AND WE CANNOT GUARANTEE ITS SAFETY! PLEASE NOTE THAT ITS ALL-THREAT INSURANCE HAS NOW BEEN CANCELLED!"

"ATTENTION!" the ship informed us briskly, "WE ARE BEING TARGETED FOR ATTACK! LEGION FIGHTERS LOCKING ON! AUTOFIRE AND ANTIMAT TORPEDOES LIVE AND LOCKED! DEFCORPS FIGHTERS ALSO LOCKING ON—LOCKED! ARMAMENT LIVE AND LOCKED! SYSTEM STARFLEET CRUISER ALSO LOCKING AND TARGETING! ULDO PORT DOWNSIDE DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS ALSO LOCKING ON AND TARGETING!"

The messages boomed through the Personal Ship
Maiden
, rattling the cenite walls; they came so fast that there was barely time to breathe, much less respond. We had just exited stardrive, quite a respectable distance from the Uldo System, but apparently not quite far enough. We had plenty of reasons to be worried about our reception, especially from the Legion. The P.S.
Maiden
was, by now, well known as a slave ship, and there was nothing the Legion liked better than killing slavers. We were hopeful we would get enough time to explain our presence in this particular ship.

"Welcome to Uldo," Dragon grinned. I could tell he was feeling at home already. Dragon was almost certainly the perfect Legion trooper. War was his natural element. I felt better when he was around, even though I knew he was a professional killer. He had curly black hair, deeply tanned skin and the look of a hungry tiger. He was practically irresistible to the ladies. Colorful tattoos decorated his knuckles and earlobes.

"Attention, Legion units," Tara called out. "Please hold its fire! This is the Personal Ship Maiden, registered with USICOM. We are a private yacht, transporting a Legion element back to its parent squad. Attention, System units, we are under Legion control and are not here voluntarily. Repeat, we are not hostile—please hold its fire. We are complying with its orbit instructions." Tara lived a dangerous life. She was on the Legion death list as a notorious slaver, but I knew she was also a secret Legion asset. She was an old friend, a stunningly beautiful, half-Assidic girl with lustrous auburn hair, pale brown flesh and mysterious Assidic eyes. I prayed for her soul, every day of my life.

"ATTENTION SYSTEM STARSHIP P.S. MAIDEN ! MAINTAIN YOUR COURSE TO THE REQUESTED ORBIT! PREPARE TO BE BOARDED BY LEGION UNITS!"

"Confirm, Legion. We are maintaining course."

"Look—there's Uldo!" Whit called out. It loomed dead ahead in the bridge viewport, a tiny, shimmering green orb, encircled by a silky, sparkling ring of cosmic dust. A lovely world, I thought—another precious haven for our fragile species in a hostile universe. Uldo—the name was familiar. They had told us about Uldo in Basic. What had they said?

"Well, we're alive so far," Whit commented. Tara's XO was a slim little blonde who had just undergone a perilous ordeal on Katag, a Systie world she recently visited due to a combination of greed and stupidity. We liberated her with duplicity, violence, murder and bribery. I hadn't enjoyed it one bit. But we owed Tara—and now Whit owed us.

"Deadman," Dragon said. "Look at all the traffic!" I glanced at the orbital readout. The screen flickered with a bewildering array of brightly-colored, multilayered orbital tracks marked with ship designations, data readouts and warning notices. I had never seen such a crowded screen. Thousands of spacecraft were circling this world like deathbirds over a corpse. A dull wave of resignation slowly washed over me. We were home at last, I knew, and this was exactly where we belonged. A world was dying, momentous events were underway below; we were to be dropped right into it. Squad Beta was down there somewhere, in the mud, and we were going to join them. Only then would I feel complete, encased in an A-suit, with an E in my arms.

"A Legion cruiser—look!" Priestess was excited, trying to decipher the layers of rapidly changing data blinking on the d-screen. Priestess was a Legion medic and my eternal love. She was a slim, lovely girl with silky black hair and limpid brown eyes. I had no defenses against her.

"Legion fighters—look at all those fighters!" Dragon sounded pleased. He was back in his element, all right.

"Deadman, look—look at that carrier!" I said. "And that's a Legion battlestar!"

"Major Systie forces as well—I don't believe this! There can't be that many ships!"

"Some of those are deceptors, guys—a lot of deceptors. Don't forget, there's a war on."

"Who are those guys?" A shower of red sparks, falling slowly down to the atmosphere.

"Those are the O's," Tara said quietly. "You remember them from Mongera."

"Look—an engagement!" The screen lit up. Antimats, winking on and off, and a ship, suddenly gone.

"Who was that?"

"I didn't see it."

"Well, they're gone—whoever they were." Cosmic junk, sparkling on the screen. Blink once and you're gone. They taught us that in Basic, too.

"Legion fighters still locked on," the ship informed us. "System forces have lifted lock-on." This was certainly a first. The United System Alliance was cooperating with the Confederation of Free Worlds to combat the Omni horde. I disapproved—I didn't trust the Systies for an instant. But I was only a Legion trooper. Nobody cared what I thought.

Uldo grew slowly in the bridge viewport as we approached. It was a galactic jewel, an icy green pearl with a ring of diamond dust. I knew nothing of Uldo at that point except that it was absolutely beautiful and had been chosen as the battleground where the Legion was going to stop the Omni advance.

"Quite a battle in deep space—look at that!" Off beyond the orbiting spacecraft the screen sparkled with antis, as hunter packs of Legion fighters darted into swarms of Omni ships. The battle for control of the vac was still underway.

Well why not, I thought. If we are to die, let it be for Uldo. I had no home except the Legion. And Uldo was so lovely—symbolic, perhaps. An island in the vac, besieged by the Horde. Fine, let us die for Uldo. Our fathers died fighting the O's—now it's our turn.

"P.S. MAIDEN, STAND BY TO BE BOARDED BY LEGION UNITS! PREP YOUR PORTS FOR DOCKING, AND UNLOCK YOUR HATCHES! IF THERE IS ANY RESISTANCE, WE WILL BOARD YOU FORCIBLY. ACKNOWLEDGE!"

"Legion, this is P.S. Maiden," Tara said silkily. "We acknowledge the message and we welcome the boarding party. Please turn down the volume; we are complying with all its instructions."

"Commander, we have a very bad feeling about this. Remember we're still on the death list." Pandaros's image appeared on the comscreen, tense and grim. He was a Cyrillian, ebony skin, sharpened white fangs and slit eyes. He was not an admirer of the Legion, and the Legion did not think highly of him, either. After the Mongera raid, the
Maiden
had been released from Legion custody with promises that the ship would no longer be actively pursued. But the names had to remain on the list to cover the
Maiden's
assistance, and it made Pandaros very nervous.

"Sub will just have to trust us, Pandaros," Tara replied coldly. "We survived the last encounter with the Legion, and we'll get through this one as well. We have made certain arrangements which shall protect us all."

"We'll lose the
Maiden
, Commander."

"We expect that, Pandaros. But we'll get it back. Stop worrying, and make the Legion welcome. We will survive."

"If it's wrong, we die."

"We're never wrong, Pandaros. Sub should know that by now." Tara cut the connection abruptly.

###

"Looks fine, troopers. We'll shuttle you downside to the milport." The Legion officer handed me back our orders. He was fully armored, gleaming black cenite and dull red faceplate, balancing an E on one hip. The boarding party was securing the ship. Pandaros and the crew were under detention, and Tara had locked the man-ape Gildron into the brig, just to avoid any misunderstanding.

"May we speak with it, sir?" Tara shook her hair away from her face. Her arms were tied behind her back. Whit was beside her, also secured, cold sweat on her brow, hardly daring to breathe. Two Legion soldiers in A-suits had taken their places on the bridge.

"Shut down, Systie," the Legion officer snapped back, then turned to me. "How did you do it, guys? That's a hot drop, showing up in a Systie slaver—these people are all in the Black Book. You've done humanity a great service."

"Do you have a few marks, sir?" I asked quietly. "We'd like to talk about that."

"Sure, boys—this is one story I'd like to hear."

"Somewhere private, sir. I'd suggest the Commander sit in as well."

"The slaver? You're joking—what for?"

"It's important, sir."

"Well…curioser and curioser. All right, sure. I guess it won't matter. She'll be dead by morning."