Secret of the Legion (41 page)

"Make it stop! It's gonna kill us!" Whit was trying to scratch a hole in the floor without success.

"Thirteen! It's Cinta! Stop shooting at us! It's Cinta and Whit! Acknowledge, over!"

Another horrific burst of x exploded off the ceiling, showering them with smoking metal and shards of glassy splinters from the tubes. Tara cringed inside her suit. "Scut. She's out of control. She's not even aiming. What the hell is wrong with her?"

"Cinta! We hate to add to its troubles," Whit said, "but have we looked at our chron lately?"

"Yes, yes—we're running out of time, we know. Thirteen! Twister! Acknowledge, damn it! What the hell is the problem?" They had zeroed Twister all right. They had first found the section of wall that she had lasered out, saving Tara and Thinker and Gildron as well as herself from a pursuing O, and then they had zeroed Twister herself. But she had zeroed them as well, and was doing her level best to blast them out of existence.

"We'd better retreat, Cinta!" Whit urged.

"No! We're not leaving here without Beta Thirteen!"

"Well, it had better think of something quick!"

"Twister! It's Cinta! I've come back for you! Do you hear me? I've come back! Answer me, damn it!"

The response was a sob, clearly audible, followed by a hopeless moan.

"Twister! We're here! Answer!"

"Liars…liars…liars. Come to me. Come to me. Embrace me."

"It's out of its head, Cinta!"

"Silence! Twister, I'm coming. I'm coming to help you right now. Don't shoot me, Twister. It's Cinta!" Tara carefully stood up, right in the center of the chamber, and stepped forward. The zero from a laser sight flashed past her faceplate and chest, danced jerkily over the floor and walls and was lost in the glassy forest dangling from the ceiling. Tara walked forward cautiously, almost paralyzed, her skin ice-cold, both arms raised, completely open to the angels of death. Whit held her breath, terrified. What would she do if Thirteen killed Cinta? She would kill Thirteen, she suddenly realized. She had never even met Beta Thirteen. Did that make it all right? Whit began trembling. She had never killed anyone before. She prayed to Deadman, Cinta's new God, for Cinta's life.

"I welcome you, O. Come. Touch me. We die together." Twister was out of her head, Tara thought, walking grimly forward to Twister's position. The laser zero flashed past her eyes again. Tara's face was covered with icy sweat. We all pay for our sins, she thought. She had abandoned Beta Thirteen to near certain death, and now she was paying. A laser burst in the heart would be merciful, she thought. Let it happen!

But it did not happen. Tara found Beta Thirteen huddled in an alcove just off the main chamber. The walls were scorched and burning. Twister's A-suit was still glowing red-hot. Her faceplate was burnt black. She was seemingly frozen behind her E. Tara knelt beside her and ran her armored fingertips over Twister's faceplate, gently.

"Twister. It's Cinta. I've come back, and you're going to be all right. What happened?"

"Cinta! Is it really…Thinker said you made it to the Ship. I thought…I can't see. I thought you were the O's."

"Thinker was wrong. I'm here, with Whit. We're here to evac you, Twister. The mission is over. Can you move?"

"Can't move. So hot! I can hardly breathe, it's so hot in here! The O…it blasted me with starmass, then moved on. It was chasing you. I fired at it; I gave it all I had. It just blasted me and went on. My suit's cooked. Can't move…I was going to shoot you, but I can't even move my fingers now."

"We've got to get going, Cinta!" Whit urged her.

"We've got a little problem, Whit. It's just as we feared. My tacmod tells me Twister's hydropak is empty. There's a big puncture in the unit itself, and all the hydro has drained out. Twister can't move her suit."

"Fine, let's carry her, drag her, now! Let's go!"

"How much time do we have to liftoff?"

"Twenty-two marks!"

"And what's the best time we ever made carrying her in sim?"

"Twenty-five marks—scut!"

"We're not going to make it. It's impossible."

"What do we do?" Whit squeaked.

"Give me a solution, Tess," Tara demanded calmly.

"Beta Thirteen will have to be fully mobile to meet the time requirement," Tara's Persist responded, with infuriating logic.

"Thank you! Implementation, please!" Tara replied through clenched teeth.

"Access Thirteen's hydropak, spotweld the damage, access your hydropak, transfer fifty percent hydro from you to her. As hydropaks contain twice what is required as a safety measure, this should allow you both to be fully functional. I can instruct you on implementing the procedure, which should not take more than six marks, assuming no interruptions. In view of the time constraints, I would suggest beginning immediately, should you agree."

"Good idea! Yes! Begin immediately! Twister, I'm going to unlink your chestplate. What the hell is the external temperature? Stand by!"

"So hot…is it really you, Cinta? Who's that with you? I'm so tired. Are we really leaving? What about the mission? We can't walk out on the mission."

"You're the mission," Tara replied throatily, as she frantically unlinked Twister's chestplate with trembling fingers. The firefight had seriously delayed them. How could they possibly make it in time? Tara did not know, but she did know she would never stop trying, as long as there was life left in her body.

***

"I'm giving her four marks," I said, "and if she doesn't show by then, I'll be going after her."

"I'll be going with you," Scrapper said.

"Me too," Priestess added. We were exhausted and hyper, our backs to the wall, gasping but totally alert, pausing in a murky corridor with a ceiling that was lost in the darkness above. It went straight up four levels and was slowly filling with smoke from the battles that had been raging in the Mound. We were only a few mikes from Reception and salvation, but I wasn't going on without Valkyrie. I knew she had to come this way. Time was flashing past too fast. If we missed the ship, I knew something terrible was going to happen to us.

"What is Valkyrie doing?" Priestess asked. She was right next to me. So close. I could only stare at her. I raised a hand and touched her armored shoulder. Her A-suit was a wreck, pitted and scorched, but still functional. The Legion built them tough, and it wasn't the lowest bidder that got the contract. She turned to me. I could barely see through her blistered faceplate, but it was Priestess all right—big dark liquid eyes, pale fragile perfect face, all covered with sweat. Vulnerable, tender lips. My God. My holy God. I could only touch her scorched faceplate with my armored fingers. My whole body was suddenly flooded with emotion. Priestess! My holy God, Deadman, I thank you, from the bottom of my immortal soul.

"Thinker," she said, raising her hands to my helmet. Just that one word, and it was all I wanted in my whole life. It wouldn't matter if we were killed in the next few fracs. It wouldn't matter. Priestess was mine, once more. I had gotten her back. Victory, I thought, just as Tara had said. Victory over everything, over everyone. Total victory, for Beta Three. Who could ask for more?

"Legion armor!" I snapped my E to my shoulder and Sweety zeroed the target for me. A little notice was flashing on the tacmap: BX11.

"Valkyrie!" I shouted. She came at us in a rush, trailing a cloud of smoke, her armor still glowing. "You made it!" I met her in a clash of armor.

"I did it, Thinker! I did it!" Her face was shining with joy. "Scrapper! Scrapper! Come here!" Scrapper fell into her arms, gasping, and I put an arm around Priestess, pulling her close. Victory, for Beta. Victory, against the curse of time. Victory, over the Gods!

"Let's go, gang," I said. "We're short on time. Move it!"

"One, Three." My voice was unmistakable, echoing in my ears. "Cinta, Gildron, Three are entering the Ship. Repeat, we're entering the Ship! Goodbye and God protect you!"

The effect was electrifying. The interior of my helmet was suddenly bathed in red. I looked over at Priestess in horror. Her E was pointed right at my faceplate, and the laser spot was crawling over my face.

"They're O's!" Priestess choked. Scrapper broke away from Valkyrie as if scorched, snapping her E up to her shoulder, and the muzzle was point-blank at Valkyrie.

"Nine is targeting you, auto canister x!" Sweety informed me briskly. "Recommend no sudden movements."

"Priestess!" I gasped.

"They're O's!" she shrieked. Her E was shaking. "They've taken our minds!"

"My God!" Scrapper gasped. "No! Val…."

"Priestess! It's me! It's Thinker! I'm real—Valkyrie is real! We're not O's! If we were O's your psybloc would have activated!"

"Scrapper—it's Valkyrie! I love you, Scrapper! I've been through Hell to get here for you! Just for you! Don't do this!"

"No!" Scrapper cried, but the E was still zeroed on Valkyrie.

"Don't you see?" Priestess shouted. "They're O's! They've taken our minds! It's not real! This is just what we'd want! Thinker for me, and Valkyrie for you! It's from our own minds, Scrapper—our own deepest desires! It's impossible! The bastards are psyching us! It's a cruel joke! Thinker just entered the Ship! You heard the transmission! He can't be here, too!"

"Priestess," I said. "I love you! My whole life has led me back here, to you. I've lost everything—except you. You can't imagine what's happened, how many years have passed, how long I've been dreaming about you and longing for you, since you and Scrapper ran into that starmass."

"Thinker!" Valkyrie cautioned me.

"No," I said. "No, I'm going to tell them."

"They won't believe it!"

"Priestess—you are everything to me. I've risked everything for you. And I'm here, only for you. It's just as Valkyrie said. We've both been through Hell. Look at me." I reached out a hand.

"Don't touch me!" Priestess shrieked. She jammed the barrel of the E right against my faceplate, and it scratched over the armored plex. My helmet was flooded with awful red light but I felt no fear.

"I'm not an O, Priestess. I'm Beta Three. I'm your eternal love, and I've returned, just for you. Look into my eyes."

"No!" Scrapper cried out in agony.

"Scrapper—it's true," Valkyrie said. "Every word is true! Long, lonely years have passed, and I've been dreaming of you, mourning for you, the whole time. And now I'm here—for you!"

"Evil lies!" Priestess choked out. "You're both O's, and you're here to kill us!"

"Priestess…" I moved forward and my faceplate was almost touching hers, and the E was still there, the laser light almost blinding me. "If we were O's, you'd both be dead by now. You may not believe what I've got to say, but I'm going to say it anyway. It's true, I did just enter the Ship. But I'm here as well. It's me, Priestess. I love you forever, and I've come back in time, to pull you free from the fires of Hell. So has Valkyrie, for Scrapper. It was the Ship, Priestess. It gave us the power to cheat time. Now look into my eyes. Can you kill me, after all we've been to each other? Do it, Priestess—if you must. I don't mind dying by your hand. My whole life has led me here. If you won't come with me, I have nowhere else to go. Kill me. Do it! But first I want you to look into my eyes and tell me you don't trust me."

Her face was twitching and her eyes were brimming with tears. I was ready for death. I had meant every word. But she only gasped and dropped the E.

"I can't do it," she choked. "I'm not strong enough. Kill me, if you're an O. Kill me!" I reached out my arms and embraced her, gently. We stood there in each other's arms and I couldn't see a thing through the tears, and I guess Valkyrie and Scrapper were doing the same.

***

"We're almost out of time!" Valkyrie was dancing in impatience. We were in Reception, in defensive positions, ready for anything. The massive main gates were frozen in the open position, a pale sky glowing in blinding contrast to the sullen, smoky interior of the great darkened hall. Redhawk crouched by the entrance with his E, kneeling next to Psycho who was lying on a field stretcher. Priestess and Scrapper were against the wall, their E's scanning for targets. I had just tossed out a deceptor and a psybloc grenade. Our tacmods were trash.

I had been overjoyed to see Psycho. I had been speechless with joy. But Valkyrie was right—we were very quickly running out of time, and there was no sign of Dragon and Snow Leopard or Tara, Whit and Twister.

"Twenty marks! Twenty marks and the ship disappears! We've got to be out that door in ten marks!"

"Redhawk, do a visual on the ship," I ordered. Redhawk leaped out the main doors and reappeared almost immediately.

"I can see it—barely. Cloaking is good. It's still there."

"Good. I want everyone to move out, right now. Get to the ship! I'll wait for the others."

"I'm not going anywhere," Psycho said.

"Neither am I," Redhawk added.

"I'm not going without the others," Priestess said.

"That's right," Scrapper said.

"I'm scared to go by myself," Valkyrie said calmly, "so I'll be staying here too, Thinker. Sorry!"

"Damn it, I'm giving you all a direct order—get to the ship! Now!"

"Huh?"

"Something's wrong with my comset. Hello? Hello?"

"Can't hear a damn thing!"

"Nineteen marks! Where the hell are they?"

"Alert! Legion armor! As marked!" A massive armored creature came staggering out of the smoky corridor that led to the interior of the Mound. It was Dragon, with Snow Leopard strapped to his back. Dragon kneeled, and we unhooked Snow Leopard and lay him on a field stretcher as Priestess examined the bloody stump of his missing leg. One! I was transfixed with joy—Beta One! Our One! I could only stare at him, in utter amazement. I had assumed he would be dead. He was alive!

"We've got to get him to the ship, now!" Priestess said.

"Go!" I ordered.

"No!" Snow Leopard gasped. "Where are the others? Who's missing?" He forced himself up on the stretcher, looking around, a pale sweaty face and hot pink eyes.

"Tara and Whit and Twister," I said.

"Where's Merlin?" One asked. "Where's Gildron?"