Secret of the Legion (24 page)

I sighed. "I guess I'm just tired, Tara. I'm sorry. I don't mean to be so negative. It's just that…I haven't got much left."

"You may have prevented a galactic war, Wester. Please don't doubt the value of what you've done. We know…it was done at considerable personal sacrifice. That's why I called you a hero. Not just because your mission was successful. I know what it meant to you, leaving your family behind on Andrion."

"Yeah, sure. I'm a hero. Whatever you say. Let's not talk about it any more, all right?" I looked out over the lake. It seemed so peaceful. I was getting a headache, all right—the damned thing just wouldn't go away.

"One? Tara. Do you have a spare frac?" She was standing by her desk, speaking into a darkened d-screen.

"No," the response came. A wise answer, I thought—Tara was nothing but trouble.

"See you in five," Tara retorted casually. "Let's go, Wester. There's someone I'd like you to meet."

"He didn't sound too anxious to see you," I said, rising from the sofa.

"He was only kidding. He's always got time for me—and you."

We took an elevator that shot downwards so fast it left me slightly dizzy.

"Your friend lives in the basement?"

"No, Wester. The War Room's down here."

The door snapped open to a small airlock where several alert Legion soldiers in blacks and A-vests and E's strapped to their chests scanned our ID's before activating another door. We strolled through a spotless corridor full of Legion desk jockeys hurrying importantly from door to door.

"Who are we going to see," I asked. "Info One?" I figured she was taking me to see her superior, the Lost Command's Galactic Information chief.

"No," she replied. "It's Two Two One." Two Two One! I froze, as she triggered a vault door open. Two Two One was LC One, the Commander of the 22nd Legion, the Rimguard, the Black Legion. He was the Lost Command's maximum leader, the man who had led the 22nd Legion and half of Outvac Fleet Command into outright rebellion against Kenton Cotter-Arc's ConFree leadership. He had seized the far outvac for the Legion, defying the entire galaxy. He was the Lost Command, all by himself. I had heard a lot about him, but had never met him.

We stepped into a hushed twilight world glowing with blacklights of phospho violet. It was a huge room, full of silvery dust, hanging in the air—stars! The space between the stars was dotted with glowing specks and airy highways, and it was all labelled, tiny icy letters and symbols, floating beside each display. A shadowy group of officers stood around the controls in the center of the floor, manipulating the display, reaching up into the dark with thin pink laser pointers. This was the War Room, displaying the entire Outvac. All of Fleetcom was up there, I knew, and all of ConFree's forces as well. It was in this impregnable fortress, far below the ground, that the Lost Command would direct the war against ConFree, should it ever come to that.

A figure detached itself from the group around the controls. It was hard to make him out in the dark. "Tara!" he said. "Good. Follow me."

He led us into a quiet little room dominated by a large conference table lit up by soft white lights under walls covered with darkened d-screens.

"Can I get you something?" He asked us, fussing over a snackmod set up on a side table. He was in his blacks—his back was to me. Tara did not respond.

"No, thanks," I said, settling into an airchair. I couldn't quite picture LC One getting me anything at all.

"Try one of these," he said, ignoring my comment and handing me a cup of hot dox. "Rose Mountain Supreme. It's strong and sweet." He was slim and fit, but the slightly yellowish skin on his face appeared to be stretched tightly over the bones. His eyes glinted like black opal. A single lock of straight black hair hung loosely over one eye. I popped my dox open, conscious of his eyes peering right at me. He seemed strangely fragile. They said LC One was hundreds of years old. They said he was the ultimate warrior, and that he had been wounded so many times that most of his body was now artificial.

"One, this is Beta Three," Tara said. "Warname Thinker. " She had also accepted a dox, and was holding it delicately with both hands. "In the flesh. Beta Three, Two Two One." She raised her cup, and took a sip.

"Tara has told me a great deal about you, trooper," he said. "I told her I wanted to meet you. You've changed history, you know. I want to thank you—personally—for what you've done."

"I haven't done anything, sir." I kept my eyes focused on the table. "I already told Tara. Gildron is your man—not me. He kept the Star for us, and brought it back. Not me."

"You were in command, trooper. Tell me…why did you do it?"

"I'm a soldier, sir. A soldier of the Legion."

"Any doubts—now?"

"Yes sir. I think we should destroy it."

He laughed, easily. "Well, you may be right. That's still under discussion. How's the dox?"

"Good, sir. Very good."

"I understand you and Beta Eleven had a little run-in with Lowdrop."

"Yes sir."

"I have the greatest sympathy for him. He was a good trooper. I knew him in the Plague Wars. He lost everything there was to lose. Finally he lost his soul. He's an evil man, now. He's obsessed with his career but he's chosen the wrong side. It's a shame. Rest assured, justice will be done. He's a vile traitor, and we'll track him down and execute him, sooner or later. Justice will always be done, as long as there's life in my body."

I didn't say anything. The Plague Wars—that was several centuries ago. I wondered how tired Two Two One was. I was just out of Hell, it seemed like only a few years ago, and I was exhausted already.

"Trooper, you know the Legion doesn't give out awards or medals or ribbons. We figure every soldier is a hero, or he wouldn't be here in the first place. And your recognition comes when your name shows up on the Monument to the Dead. However, in my position I can occasionally reward people for exceptional deeds. You're qualified and I'd like to reward you. Tell me—is there anything I could do for you that you would appreciate? What do you want? What do you need?"

I stared at him blankly.

"Take your time, trooper. There's no rush."

"There is something I want," I said. "An assignment to Andrion Two—as soon as it's possible. Yes—that's what I want. That's all I want."

"That's easily done. See to it, Tara."

"Sure," she said casually.

"What kind of position did you have in mind?" LC One asked.

"It doesn't matter," I replied. "Anything. I can wash the dishes. Whatever."

He turned in surprise to Tara. She smiled. "The Systies had him washing dishes on Nimbos," she explained.

He laughed, delighted. "Well, I think we can come up with something better than that! We'll surprise you. Of course, we've got to get Andrion back first. I'd like you to see something, trooper. You too, Tara." He touched a control on the arm of his chair and one of the wall screens came alive. A slight, dark, sallow man dressed in ConFree's formal dark plum uniform was looking thoughtfully out of the screen from behind a gleaming desk.

"It won't work, Pointman," he said. "You're a fool if you think it will make any difference at all. You know ConFree even better than I. Ask yourself what their reaction will be."

"I received this shortly after you lifted off from Andrion, trooper," LC One said. "KCA is an old acquaintance. He took an instant dislike to me when we first met, but that was his reaction to most people."

"You're doomed, Pointman," KCA said. "You and your whole damned Command. You
are
lost—it's a good name. The Lost Command. You've led them astray, Pointman. Far, far astray. Do you really think the Star will make any difference? You were always a hopeless romantic. I must say I'm not surprised to see you in this dilemma. And I don't have any sympathy. But think of your Command!"

He sighed, and looked away. He was absentmindedly tapping a light pen against his desk. "Doomed," he said again. "The ConFree Council and the Legion High Command have sworn out a warrant for your arrest and execution on charges of high treason, mutiny, rebellion, sabotage, piracy, aiding the enemy, multiple murder, and a host of lesser charges. Think about it, Pointman! You've lost! It doesn't matter about the Star. Let's say, for the sake of argument, that I disappear tomorrow. Does that solve your problem? What do you really think will happen to you and your Command? You're rebels. You, personally, have led a mutiny, the first mutiny ever for the ConFree Legion. You're a blot in Legion history, Pointman. You have defied the Confederation of Free Worlds and all it stands for. You're supposed to be a soldier, not a politician. You're supposed to defend ConFree, not attack it—or defy it." He leaned forward eagerly, looking into the screen.

"The terms will be unconditional surrender. You know that—it has to be! You and your officers will be executed. And your Legion will be disbanded. The old Twenty-Second, the proud old Rimguard, the invincible Black Legion, ConFree's sword, with its ancient war flags lowered to the dust, for the last time—you will have accomplished all that, Pointman." KCA was faintly smiling, and LC One was pale and bristling—I could almost feel the hate radiating from him.

"So you see, Pointman, you've lost—no matter what. So don't get so cocky about your latest little caper. And don't think it's over! You can tell all the stories you want, about what I allegedly planned to do with the Star, but the fact is you've got the Star, not me. And you're not giving it to ConFree, are you? That's the way ConFree sees it, Pointman. Have a pleasant day. I'll see you next through the plex of your execution chamber." The screen faded to black.

"What a snake!" Tara remarked.

"He's crazier than Lowdrop," I said. The man looked like a clerk but talked like a dangerous psychotic.

"He's frightened," LC One said, "with good reason. He failed in his mission to seize the Star. If he had the Star, he could claim success, and the LC would be a mere annoyance, to be neutralized at ConFree's leisure. His personal position in ConFree would be assured, and our future would be bleak. But he's failed. We have the Star. The ConFree Council will be annoyed at his failure, especially when they learn the Star was in their grasp on Andrion all the time, and not on Dindabai, as they had thought. There will be consequences. What they will be, I don't know. Perhaps they'll actually decide to attack us. I've provided full documentation to the Council of KCA's attempt to seize the Omni ship for the System on Uldo, and their first try to take the Star on Andrion Two. Whether the Council will believe it is an open question."

"Why not just give the Star to ConFree?" I asked. "That would solve the problem, wouldn't it?"

"No, it wouldn't. KCA
is
ConFree—I'd be giving it to him. No, he's got to go first. Once he's gone, we'll get back together with ConFree—once I know the Star is safe. He's the traitor, not me—not us. He's the one who wanted to weaken the Legion by passing vital military secrets to the enemy, the System. Once ConFree realizes that, we'll work it out."

"He didn't make it sound as if there was much to work out."

"He's absolutely right, about what will happen to me. I am a rebel, and the leader of a mutiny. But I'm not a traitor. When I walked under the Legion gate that first time I swore an oath to trust no Earther worm, nor any mortal man, but only the mark of the Legion. You remember it…'I have burnt the book of laws, to serve the Deadman's cause, as a soldier of the Legion.' They made me put a hand on our only sacred trust, the ConFree Constitution. It was a single page, written in blood by free men, and I swore to defend it against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I still remember that last paragraph. It said a free people are duty bound to overthrow a tyrannical government, and if they do not do so, they deserve to be slaves. I still remember that." He paused, and seemed to be looking into the past.

"I'll tell you one thing," he resumed. "The Twenty-Second is not going to be lowering its flags to the dust for anyone." I could see the rage again, flowing over him. "The Twenty-Second is not going to be disbanded. KCA is right, I'll be executed for sure—but that's not important. I'm going to leave behind a strong, united Legion, and it's going to have the full confidence of ConFree. I'm going to show them what that bastard tried to do, and how we stopped him by remaining faithful to our oath and to the Constitution, when nobody else did."

He stood up. "I just wanted you to know what we're up against. My personal thanks, Beta Three, Tara. It was a magnificent mission! Trooper, you are assigned to Galactic Information for now—Tara will give you the details. I've got to get back to the war room. It's one damned thing after another."

***

I surfaced to a thunderous roar that continued, drowning out all else. The water was icy cold and bitter in my mouth. I reached a large boulder near the edge of the pool and turned, shaking water from my hair. My eyes stung. The waterfall crashed straight down a vertical cliff that was covered with tropical foliage, a sheer white cascade, a mighty, foaming river falling past an emerald jungle through low clouds into a great, hissing mist that hung over a wide, brown, boulder-strewn pool of swirling mountain water. The jungle arose on all sides, around the waterfall and the pool and the rocks and the river. It was a vertical chasm of ancient trees and tangled vines and splashes of brilliantly colored flowers. It was totally wild and totally peaceful. We had found it by chance cruising the forest in an aircar. For all I knew, we might have been the first people to ever set foot here. Dindabai was a newly occupied world.

A lovely naked girl was poised on a rock by the side of the waterfall, almost lost in the spray. She raised her arms, all set to dive. She was absolutely beautiful, I thought, slender and lithe with long legs and arms and pale, faintly ruddy skin, short white-blonde hair and shapely, firm breasts with rosy nipples. A water nymph, I thought, from some childhood fantasy.

"It's too high!" I shouted. She could not hear me above the roar of the waterfall. She smiled, a white flash, and dived.