Secret of the Legion (23 page)

"Gildron!" Redhawk shouted. "Get in the car! Where's Valkyrie?" He went hurtling into the aircar, fighting his way into the bloody pilot's seat. The car was on fire but he ignored it. Gildron pulled me into the aircar. I was looking around wildly, ready to fire. I guess I was pretty much out of action by then. Gildron seized a fire extinguisher and blasted the flames with vac. I was on my knees in the aisle, twitching. I raised my arms. They were covered with blood and tiny little flecks of bone and brains and cenite shrapnel. My E was still at my chest. I couldn't stop shaking. I stood up.

"Valkyrie's dead," I said shakily. "I'm going after her body. You go ahead if you want. Don't wait for us. You've got to get the Star away from here."

"Thinker!" Valkyrie came charging in from the burning forest, weaponless, vaulting into the aircar right into my arms. I could only gape at her. "Thinker!" she repeated, "Are you all right?"

"Liftoff!" Redhawk shouted from the cockpit. The two Taka warriors raised their arms in farewell and Gildron returned the gesture. The assault doors slammed shut and we burst through the forest roof and shot down off Mount Light, falling like a brick for the forest below, then levelling off at the last possible frac and rocketing along like a shooting star, max speed, just above the treetops. I could see ConFree aircars wheeling in the dirty sky, but I wasn't worried. I knew Redhawk was the best aircar pilot in the galaxy.

"
Tempest
, Supply Alpha," Redhawk said. "Your aircar has been lost. We're on our way in an enemy car. Please note our zero. Request intercept and recovery, respond."

"When the
Tempest's
car went, the blast blew that micronuke right out of my hand," Valkyrie said. "Lucky for us it didn't land anywhere near us."

"Legion troopers," I said. "They were Legion troopers!" Soldiers of the Legion, I thought, doing their duty. Just like us! I had known it was eventually going to come to this, but it didn't make it any easier. KCA, I thought, and Lowdrop. ConFree. Criminals! Traitors! And soldiers of the Legion were their pawns.

"I'm not going to rest," I told Valkyrie, "until they're dead!"

"It's all right, Thinker. We're all alive. Please calm down. It's all right."

"It's not all right! And we're not alive! They're going to pay, Valkyrie! They're going to pay!"

"Calm down, Thinker. Please. Calm down."

"They're going to pay!" I was crying with rage.

Chapter 11
Lost Souls

Green eyes. Icy, empty green eyes, melting me slowly. Another heart, beating against mine. Soft pale lips against my chest. A face like a tormented child, and hair like golden flax. Slim pale satin arms, gliding over my body.

We floated away in her bunk, lost and lonely, clutching each other for solace. She was as lovely as an angel, I thought—a naked angel. How long had we avoided each other, and to what end? I had never lost my longing for her. My heart beat faster whenever I neared her. And now she was back, just as she had promised—despite all I had done to avoid it.

I had always known I could never resist her. I was not that strong. There had been reasons, before, but the reasons were all gone now. It all seemed suddenly so foolish.

"Kiss me," she whispered. Sharp fingernails sliced into the back of my neck. I cupped her head in my hands, and looked into those emerald eyes. How could any human be this fortunate? I tried to think of Moontouch, of Priestess, but it hurt. It was so much easier to just lie there, in Valkyrie's arms, and dream of what might have been.

We were on the starship C.S.
Tempest
on vac run red in the eye of the hole, on our way back to Dindabai. Tara had been absolutely right about the
Tempest
. The instant our nova had appeared they had broken with ConFree. But breaking with ConFree is not easy. They had launched four aircars to pick us up, but only one had gotten through—and that one had been destroyed on the ground.

A lot of troopers had died for us.

We mated like a couple of crazed alley cats, totally without shame, grappling with each other on Eleven's bunk under a blazing ceiling light, riding to an explosive climax, then crashing to the deck with the bedding, laughing, delirious with joy and relief.

We lay there in each other's arms under the lights, spent, sticky with semen and sweat, tangled up in damp sheets.

"Again," she said.

"Good plan," I responded. "I always missed you…Valkyrie. I never forgot you. I was so happy when we got you back on Coldmark."

"Do you miss Priestess?" She looked into my eyes calmly. I looked away, up to the ceiling.

"Of course."

"I know. I miss Scrapper, too. I think of her all the time. Every day. Every night. She's like a ghost, haunting me. Do you think of Priestess that way, too?" Scrapper was Beta Twelve, Valkyrie's girlfriend. They had become very close, after Mongera. I brought my gaze back to meet hers.

"Yes. That's exactly the way it is with Priestess. She's just like a ghost…as you said. I wake in the night and I can still see her face. It's almost like she's calling out to me, from somewhere."

"They can't still be alive, can they?"

"I…I don't know. I don't think so. Of course not. Where could they be? They've got to be dead. There's not a trace of them—Snow Leopard, Psycho, Priestess, Scrapper, Twister. Not a trace. Chances are they were all vaporized in the starmass. We left Psycho and Twister to face the O's. Priestess and Scrapper were last seen in a bust of starmass. And Snow Leopard was near you—and that O."

"He was the bravest man I ever knew."

"You were just as brave as he was, " I said. "You saved us from that O."

"I was terrified. Look—we were all listed as dead. How do you know the others aren't out there somewhere as well?"

"Redhawk found Dragon, and you. He saw how they covered his disappearance, accessed the personnel lists, and ran his programs. They worked. He found Dragon, and he found you. He even found that A-suit girl and the fellow from Recon Control, with help from Tara. But he didn't find anybody else. He thinks it's because they're not alive."

"He didn't find you, did he?"

"No. My disappearance was handled a little differently. I didn't continue in the Legion. They wrote me off as dead on Uldo, and didn't have to worry about disguising me as anybody else. They actually made me into someone else. Even I didn't know who I was."

"Do you think they're all dead?"

"Probably."

"If they're dead, they should leave us alone. We can't help them. I loved Scrapper—I still do. But I can't help her if she's dead."

"Yes. That's true."

"I can see her face, even now." She bit her lip, and turned away. I pulled her closer.

"We're all that's left, Eleven. Don't you leave me."

"I know you're going back to your sorceress, Thinker. But until that day, I'll not leave your side. You'll have to shoot me dead to get rid of me. We've been through too damned much, Beta Three. I have no more pride, no more vanity. You hurt me so much, with Priestess, and it hurts still, but somehow it's not important any more. We've each had our lovers torn from our arms, and our oldest comrades lost in battle. And here we are again, together again. It's a miracle, a holy, obscene miracle!" She buried her face in my chest, and could not say any more.

A holy, obscene miracle, I thought, looking up at the lights. It's the story of my life.

***

When the
Tempest's
shuttle entered Dinda Port's ground traffic system, it glided gently over the hardsite toward the main milport personnel terminal. We were getting door-to-door service. I was impressed. I was sitting next to Valkyrie as we peered out a viewport. The entire panorama of Dinda Port was all around us. There appeared to be a great deal of military traffic—more than I remembered. Redhawk and Gildron were in the seats behind us, chatting excitedly. The shuttle was full of Fleetcom officers and techs from the
Tempest
, and Legion soldiers from the strike force.

I was not happy about returning to Dindabai. It beat Bobo's cage, but that was about all I could say for it. I felt totally helpless, a grain of dust in space rushing headlong to destruction. I had lost everything on Andrion. Moontouch and Stormdawn were beyond my reach now. They were so far away they may as well have been in another galaxy. Valkyrie's thigh was pressing close against mine, and one hand was resting gently in my lap. We had taken each other without a word, for the moment, and as long as the moment would last. It didn't even require any thought. It seemed as natural as breathing and as inevitable as death. I think we would have gone crazy if we hadn't each been there, for each other. I thanked the Gods of Hell for sending her to me, but it didn't mean I was happy.

"Check out the crowd," Valkyrie said. There were, indeed, a whole lot of people swarming around the terminal as the shuttle glided to a halt directly in front of it and gently touched down. A flicker of color caught my eyes—flags, unfurling. The Legion war flag, the ConFree banner. A squad of Legion troopers in formal blacks snapped to attention. A nervous crowd of officials peered expectantly at our shuttle.

"Look at that," I said. "There must be some VIP's on board." I looked around, scanning the passengers in our shuttle. I didn't see anyone who looked even remotely important. What the hell?

"It's us!" Valkyrie exclaimed. "We're the VIP's, you dummy!"

Gildron laughed, delighted. "Of course we are! Cinta is greeting us! You do not realize the historical importance of this moment, Three. You do not realize the historical significance of our mission. The balance of power in the galaxy has just shifted, decisively. Because of us!" He stood up, smiling. "Of course it is us."

"Oh no," I said. I just sat there, my head in my hands. I felt terrible. And this welcoming committee was not going to help.

"Thinker, Gildron is right," Valkyrie said. "Look at all those scanners! They're going to record it all! Generations of schoolchildren will see us just as we are, right now. Don't you dare look gloomy! You cheer up right now, soldier!"

"Damn," I said miserably. "I hate this."

"Come on, Thinker," Redhawk said. "The whole planet's out there! Cheer up! Give 'em a smile! Tell 'em there was nothing to it. KCA will hate it."

If you view the official recordings of that event, you'll note that I'm not smiling, but I'm not frowning either. Perhaps paralyzed is the word. What a day! Brisk, clean, biting air. The flags flapped in a gusty wind. The ConFree anthem, "The Black March," blasted away as we all stood there like statues. Then the Legion chant, "Soldier of the Legion," crawled over my skin. Tara, pale and imperial, all in black, speaking—I didn't hear a word. Dragon and Whit and the brain police, Lock and Varna and the whole gang—they were all there, along with a brace of Legion brass I had never seen before. Some of them spoke, too.

Then we all saluted each other and the nonsense was over and Gildron stood before Tara, looking down at her tentatively. She raised her head and stretched out one arm and touched him lightly on a shoulder, as if to confirm that he was really there. Then he opened his massive arms and gently embraced her, just as if he was gathering in a particularly delicate bouquet of flowers. And Tara put her head right down on his chest and closed her eyes and just stood there in his grasp, almost floating away. I could hardly believe it. That certainly wasn't the Tara I knew. But before I could get over my amazement, Whit came rocketing out of the crowd and jumped right into Redhawk's arms. He howled with delight and I thought he was going to rip her clothes off her right there but she whispered in his ear and I guess she must have persuaded him to hold off, because he did. Dragon came out of the crowd, grinning. He had just lost Whit, but he had not seen Valkyrie since that fatal day in the Mound. They embraced, fiercely. I didn't mind. I knew exactly how they felt.

***

I had my appointment with Tara a few days later. Her offices were near the top of a rather busy cube hive that functioned as the brains of the Lost Command. The plaque over the main entrance downstairs read GALACTIC INFORMATION. Tara's outer office was full of people waiting to see her. She was a popular kid. An intense girl with very short blonde hair showed me into a quiet little alcove, and then the doors slid open to Tara's inner sanctum. She sat at a large shiny desk littered with plastic printouts and holos and solids. One side of the desk glowed with d-screens and comsets and starlinks. A low murmur from the screens sounded like waves washing peacefully onto a distant beach. A sheet of polarized plex formed one entire wall, lighting the room up to a suppressed white glow. Tara rose from her chair, tossed back her hair, and came forward to greet me. She was looking considerably better than the last time I'd seen her.

"Hello, Wester. Lori, freeze the calls. I want a little peace and quiet."

"Yes sir," the blonde said as the doors slid shut behind her.

"Have a seat, Wester. How are you? How are you all? Are Ten and Eleven settling in all right?" She gestured to a leatherette air sofa in one corner. It was yielding and comfortable. We had a spectacular view of the lake.

"They're fine," I said. "This is a nice office. I guess you're more important than ever now."

"The office doesn't mean anything to me, Wester. I'd work in a tent if I had to, you know me. But I guess…in one sense, you're right. Your mission was completely successful—you gave us the Star. I feel as if a great, suffocating weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I feel so much better, Wester, you have no idea how my health has improved."

"You look a lot better." Her pale brown skin was glowing with health, her auburn hair was shining, and her eyes were sparkling.

"Wester, I'd like to thank you. Not just on behalf of the Legion, and the Lost Command, and ConFree—the real ConFree—and all our descendants, but I'd also like to thank you personally. You've certainly saved my life. Those witch doctors said I was dying, and I don't doubt them. The Star was killing me, but it's not, not any more. Now that we've actually got it, I can slow down. Gildron understands it better than I. The science freaks are all over him now. He's stronger than I am—mentally stronger. I can think on a different level now, back in the psycher's world, and let Gildron communicate with the demons from the Star. Yes—you've certainly saved my life."

"You're using him, aren't you?"

"What?"

"You're using Gildron. You…"

"Don't bother saying it! I see what you think. You've always had a low opinion of me, haven't you, Wester? You think of me as some kind of cold, calculating biogen. Well, I'm not. I'm a psycher, yes, but I'm human, too. All I've wanted for years is to be human. You think I was lying to Gildron, about my love for him? Fine, think it—I don't care. The truth will out, in the end. Truth always triumphs, Wester. You'll see!"

"Yes, sir," I said sarcastically.

"You doubt your own role, too—don't bother saying it! You're a damned hero, Three. A hero! Don't deny it—the truth will out!"

"A hero? You're joking! What did I do?"

"You brought us the Star!"

"I did nothing. I'm no hero. I botched everything I touched. I got my element captured by a gang of stone-age soldiers, then to top that I got myself and Valkyrie captured by ConFree, almost as soon as they dropped. I spilled my guts to Two Four One immediately; I led him right to the Star, just as he had planned. Then I slaughtered a whole aircar full of Legion soldiers and abandoned my wife and son to the mercy of a vengeful enemy after vowing never to leave them again. It's a holy miracle I didn't deliver the Star right to ConFree. I didn't get you the Star; Gildron did. You want to thank somebody, thank him. Hero? I feel like a coward. I'd like to crawl in a hole and die."

"You need some rest, Wester," she said, looking at me with some concern. "Your mind is in turmoil. It's understandable. You're concerned about your wife and son. I'm not going to lie to you, Wester. The situation on Andrion is not good, but we're monitoring it closely. You will learn everything that we know about Andrion, I promise you that."

"I feel better already," I said gloomily. I was getting a headache, a dull ache behind my eyeballs. "Any idea when Andrion will be ours again?"

"It's too early to tell. But we expect the ConFree Council to oust KCA and come to terms with the LC once it sinks in that we have the Star."

"Why should they do that? What's the alternative?"

"The alternative is war," she said. "Civil war, among the Confederation of Free Worlds. It can only strengthen the System. KCA would like that, except he must know it would cost him his job—maybe his life."