Secret of the Legion (46 page)

"Let's go, number Six! Cut the chatter!" The guard's harsh tone interrupted us.

"Goodbye, Wester—see you again!"

"Goodbye, Tara. God bless you." And she turned and hurried away through the heat haze. I shuffled slowly back to work, stunned by her news. That cursed D-neg was still with us! I had never before realized how much I hated it. I hated it just as much as I hated the Star. I had been so relieved when I thought it had been destroyed. And now…it was loose, in the wrong universe. The stuff was unnatural. We shouldn't have it. It didn't belong here, any more than the Star did. And, just like the Star, I knew that nothing but trouble would come from it. It would probably destroy us, ultimately.

I sighed as I reached the rockpile and picked up my sledge. It didn't matter, I thought. Nothing mattered except Priestess and Moontouch and Stormdawn and Beta. And they were all all right, and I was going to see them all again—whenever they released me. How could I complain? We had all survived, after all—all that was left of Beta. Even the Systies we had rescued on O-Rock had survived, along with the humanoids. They had gotten out in an escape pod.

I raised the sledge to my shoulder, standing over the latest boulder. I had already split it in two. Now I was going to smash it into tiny little pebbles for the children. A fierce sun burnt at my flesh.

I brought the sledge down and the rock exploded again, raising a white dust cloud. Granite, all around me. Priestess and Moontouch and Stormdawn and Beta. My life was complete. Who could possibly ask for more? I didn't give a damn about the D-neg, or any fancy new starship. The Legion could burn in Hell, as far as I was concerned. Bastards! They'd probably ask Tara to help, once they let her out of jail. Sure they would! Well, I didn't care. It didn't matter! There was no way Tara was going to talk me into this one.

No way!

THE SOLDIER OF THE LEGION SERIES

If you enjoyed this novel, you will be happy to learn that…
Secret of the Legion
is the fourth book in the Legion Series but not the last.
Cross of the Legion
was released in October 2009 and is available now. Look for
Curse of the Legion
in 2011.

Soldier of the Legion

The Black March

Slave of the Legion

Secret of the Legion

Cross of the Legion

Curse of the Legion*

Forthcoming*

For more information visit
www.soldierofthelegion.com

About the Author

Marshall S. Thomas is a retired Foreign Service Officer who served in East Asia for most of his career. Marshall attended the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, the University of New Mexico and the University of Miami with a major in Government/ International Affairs and a minor in History. Marshall's 35-year Foreign Service career included postings in Saigon, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Manila, Canberra and Kuala Lumpur.

Marshall currently lives in Williamsburg, Virginia with his wife Kim Lien. His youngest son Alexander, 20, is now in college studying biochemistry. His eldest son Christopher is a graduate of Radford University who studied art and graphic design. Marshall loves to write science fiction but has also written on East Asian subjects including Lotus, the story of a refugee. He was a member of Nancy Mehl's original Write Stuff Writers Forum and is a member of C.E. Winterland's Midnight Forum.