As we filed into the wardroom of the Spawn, Cubes awaited us on the stage, a solitary figure, his hands clasped behind his back. He wore his blacks. He appeared to be gazing past us, somewhere out in space, somewhere out in time. The others sat behind him on the stage, talking quietly, all the Second’s CAT commanders.
I wondered what Cubes thought, as I found a seat. Cold waves from the far past, washing over dead sands. Lost worlds, lost races, lost wars. The Black March, opening up the Cosmos. The Omni’s, suddenly there. Black swarms, exiting star drive, alien ships filling evil skies.
Most civilizations never learned from the past. Doomed to repeat history, they don’t survive. The Legion doesn’t have that problem. We are immortals. We carry our history with us. We try not to make the same mistake twice. Everyone on that stage had lived through the Race Wars and some had seen the Yellow Wars. Even though I did not know what Cubes thought, I knew I would accept his orders, without question. I certainly wouldn’t have any better ideas. But whatever they announced would be bad news, I knew that much. More dead immortals, we could count on it. I felt powerless, powerless to object, powerless to even complain. We were in the grip of history, I knew, in the hands of the Gods.
“At ease, troopers.” The wardroom overflowed. The aisles were full of standees and the whole ship listened over the SA system. Cubes still stood, hands behind his back. He did not have to raise his voice. The mikes picked it up and magnified it, a steely whisper. We settled down. Beta sat together, but only six of us remained. Merlin and Dragon were still in the body shop, and Ironman was back in Atom. It did not seem right.
“Attention the ship,” Cubes began. “We have called this meeting to brief all hands on the current sit.” He paused and looked out past us, over our heads and into some unknown space. Then he took a breath, and resumed.
“We have just taken some casualties…too many. We’ve had wounded and dead. The full stats will be out shortly. Some of our closest comrades are gone. We grieve for them. They all died in the best traditions of the Legion, fighting for the future. They did not die in vain. Nobody here dies in vain! Nobody!”
Cubes paused for an instant, regained his composure, and continued, calmly. “We accomplished all our missions. Valkyrie of CAT 24 is back with us, and her captors are dead. My personal congratulations to everyone who participated in that op, the 24th and the 21st and everyone who supported them. That is exactly what the Legion means by ‘instant reaction’. The Legion thanks you. ConFree thanks you. Your descendants thank you.
“The System Ship Preference is now space junk. The monastery no longer exists. We dropped an antimat on it, once we were sure all our people were out. And the whole inhabited galaxy is going to learn about that.”
I wondered about the philosophy behind our actions. It sounded like a good incentive not to take any Legion prisoners. Perhaps it was just as well.
“That was the first mission. The second mission was unitium. Well, we’ve done that, too. With the help of some outside assistance…which we still can’t talk about…and with some brilliant and daring work from our own Gravelight, we now have the explanation for the unitium mine on Andrion 2. The mission which Gravelight led in conjunction with the recovery of Valkyrie was absolutely vital to our understanding of the purpose of the mine. The objective was to recover a Mocain officer who had knowledge of the mine. This mission was also conceived and executed on an instant reaction basis under the leadership of Lowdrop. Although we failed to recover the officer, Gravelight got close enough to the target to obtain the information we needed.
“The information we got from our secret source-and other data we got from a Systie informant-revealed a major covert starport hidden under a lava lake beside an active volcano on Andrion 3. It revealed that the Systies had been exploiting the unitium mines on Andrion 2 for close to a hundred stellar years, and carrying the product to the starport on Andrion 3. The starport in question proved to be far in advance of Legion technology. It was a major, long-term, covert installation, constructed in a star system in ConFree vac, in direct violation of treaty.
“At that point, we were very concerned about the apparent Systie technical superiority which enabled them to build the advanced starport on Andrion 3. And we did not understand why they needed two starports, one on Andrion 2 and one on Andrion 3. We also had no explanation for the use to which the unitium was being put. It took Gravelight to answer that. She became aware of the Systie officer-the Mocain-during the negotiations, and she was able to locate her when we raided the monastery to recover Valkyrie.”
Cubes had not moved. It seemed he was speaking to himself, lost to us all. “You may have wondered why we got such a hot reception at the monastery. The Spawn learned why, from Systie commo picked up during the engagement. Valkyrie and the Systie officer, Millina, were hiding out from us in the monastery. The Systie troopers had two missions, both equally important. Kill Valkyrie, and recover or kill the Mocain officer in whom Gravelight was interested. Recover or kill her. Either was acceptable to the System. It made us wonder what it was that made Valkyrie such a hot property. And we wondered what was in the Mocain’s mind that we were not supposed to find out. Well, it turns out that Valkyrie had overheard some conversations which didn’t make sense to us until Gravelight told us what was in the Mocain’s mind. Then it all came together.”
The Second slipped a datapak from a pocket and placed it on his lectern. “I’ve read Gravelight’s report. I’d like to give you a few quotes. Our psychers have a way of crystallizing issues in understandable, if somewhat emotional, terms. I quote: ‘It’s too late for us, too late for us all. I can tell you we’re all bound for perdition, we’re all falling together, psychers and deadheads, Legion and Systies, Outers and Inners. I’ve seen her mind, Deadhead! Say your prayers! We’re falling, like motes of dust, into a star. An endless line of starships, orbiting a world of fire. And a lake of lava, opening to draw them in…Death is all around them, an evil presence. Millina prays to God in the dark. She is afraid she will die of fear.
“ ‘They deal with Satan. A black ship, blotting out cold stars. Satan’s skin is black leather, an evil scratching and slithering in the dark. He radiates power and hate. His will cuts like a knife. You cannot resist. His power is total. He can stop your heart, He can stop your star. A generation of slaves, doomed, disappearing into the dark. Cowards, selling out humanity for little slices of life.
“ ‘Star carriers full of unitium for the ovens of Satan. Food for his metal mouth, tribute to stay his awful hand. Messages for Satan, from the System, delivered in the dark.’ Millina is giddy with relief, and later she is convulsed with guilt. She sees a galaxy of peaceful worlds, glowing in space. ‘Then something stirs, out in the space between the stars. A black cloak approaches, irresistible, falling silently over star after star. Blotting them out. Forever. A starry sky full of black ships, alien ships, hovering like ghouls. No…no. It’s not just one. It’s a migration, it’s a fleet, it’s the whole race…I don’t know.’ Millina doesn’t know. She only knows there are many, many of them, and it is impossible to resist, and the horde has paused, briefly, because the System is giving them something they want.
“We are fortunate,” Cubes continued quietly, “to be able to participate in events which will be remembered by our descendants. What Gravelight found was Omnis, on Andrion 3.”
Gasps and curses filled the air. Cubes paused and waited for the commotion to die down. “The starport on Andrion 3 was not constructed by the System, but by the O’s. The unitium was being mined by the System on Andrion 2, transported by Systie ships to the Omni starport on Andrion 3, and then transferred to the alien ships. Command believes the O’s use the unitium in the containment systems of their antimat drives. It appears to be vital to their efforts. And the exosegs were not placed on Andrion 2 by the System, but by the O’s. You see, the O’s are meat-eaters. They’ve acquired a taste for human flesh and use the captured Taka as food.”
He paused again, but this time absolute silence filled the room. “With their starport on Andrion 3, they needed a nearby source of food. They introduced the exosegs to Andrion 2 to harvest the Taka for them, and bring the victims to the Systies-programming the exosegs was no problem for powerful psychers like the O’s. The System then transported the Taka to Andrion 3 for consumption by their partners, the O’s. In addition, the exosegs ensured that the natives kept their distance from the unitium mines and never learned about the presence of the Systies. I’m sure it made perfect sense to the O’s. And it worked fine, until we showed up.”
The revelation stunned us all. I felt sick to my stomach. We all knew what it meant. The Omnis were an alien scourge, totally evil, totally merciless, responsible for the annihilation of billions of humans. We felt only hatred for them. War with the O’s was total war, war to the death, war without mercy, war without conscience, remorse or pity. Some ignorant Inner once said that if the Omnis did not exist the Legion would have had to invent them. But the Omnis did exist, and our fathers had fought them, and died by the billions, and for any Soldier of the Legion they were the ultimate mission.
“It tells us exactly what the System is,” Cubes said, quietly. “It’s been quiet in the Outers for many years, ever since the end of the Race Wars. And now we know why. The System has been providing the O’s, all these years, with something they want-unitium-in return for a temporary peace, a cessation of hostilities against System worlds. There aren’t really any words to describe this kind of treason. Species autogenocide…perhaps we could call it that. Or generational genocide…making your children die for your sins. Perhaps that’s what the System will be charged with, when accounts are settled. And I can assure you accounts will be settled, for this one. This is the most important secret the Legion has ever uncovered, and it is the System’s greatest crime against humanity. Against life itself.
“It appears, from what we’ve learned, that the O’s are now more powerful than they were before.” For the first time he turned, and glanced over at the other officers sitting on the stage. “They were bad enough before. Bad enough.”
He turned back to face us. “We are currently on our way to Andrion 3. We will be joined there by Atom’s entire strike force. The 12th Colonial Expeditionary Regiment is no longer an expeditionary force. We are now a recon element. The entire 22nd Legion is on vac run red at this moment. ConFree is resisting us on this, but we have no time to quibble with them. All of Fleetcom is on antimat drive, bound for the Andrion System. But it’s doubtful we’ll ever see them.”
He paused, and looked up. “Our mission is to recon Andrion 3, discover and identify all enemy units and their capabilities in the Andrion System, and report back. We are also going to penetrate their starport-if we can-and exploit it. In practical terms-since we’re dealing with the Omnis-this means we will be engaging in combat all enemy units we discover. Not to mention those that discover us first. This is the only way to learn about their capabilities. And you can bet your next watch that they’re not going to hide from us this time. Especially after we antimat their base.”
The Second appeared proud, head up, supremely confident. “For those of you who do not yet understand, I’ll make it clear. Our mission is to die, for the Legion. And we’re going to accomplish this mission, in the tradition of the Black 12th, in exemplary fashion. I am proud to be serving with every one of you. The CAT team leaders will now brief their units.”
With the briefings over, we filed out of the room, numb and dizzy. I found myself next to Warhound, in the corridor.
“You know,” Warhound reflected, “I just realized. Cubes didn’t say if we were at war with the System or not.”
“He probably didn’t think it was important.”
“He didn’t think a galactic war was important?”
“Right. What’s important is that we’re at war with the O’s, again. The rest is all nonsense. It’s just trivia.”
“Trivia. A galactic war.”
“Right. Trivia. What’s important is whether or not humanity survives. That’s what’s at stake with the O’s. If we survive the O’s, we can resume our silly little squabbles with the Systies.”
“Yeah? Well, Cubes didn’t sound too confident we were going to survive.”
“Maybe that’s why he wasn’t worried about a galactic war with the Systies. Let’s hit the lounge.”
###
I tapped at Priestess’s door. It slid open. She was lovely, innocent big brown eyes and a small, vulnerable mouth and fresh, gleaming silky black hair. She wore loose camfax fatigues, a souvenir from Planet Hell.
“Thinker here.”
“Hello, Thinker.” She smiled, faintly. “You’re always so formal. Take five, Trooper.”
“Tenners, Priestess. Actually, I was hoping for a little medical care.” I closed the door behind me and unfolded a chair from the bulkhead. She sat opposite me on the bunk. The cube was so small we almost touched.
“How are your hands? Can I do anything?”
“It’s not my hands. It’s my heart. I’m lovesick. It’s serious…maybe critical.”
“A common ailment, Trooper. I think we can fix you up.”
“What is that weird smell?”
Another faint smile. “I’m cooking some Korkush flanpies. For you and me.” She took my hands, and looked into my eyes. “We can pretend we’re back in Korkush.”
“But I’ve never been on Korkush.” Korkush was Priestess’s home planet, a Legion world.
“Yes…I know. But we can pretend. It’s a beautiful place. It’s so peaceful. If you get up early, you can see the mist rolling in from the forests. There’s no pollution at all. I used to get up before sunrise, and go out into the fields and look up at the stars, clear and cold and lovely…billions of stars, glittering in the silence. Sometimes there would be a meteor shower. My skin would crawl, it was so beautiful.”
Strange, I thought, how she always tries to make a home. Even in her little cube on the Spawn, she had put a miniature Legion cross on one wall, and a solid of her bioparents in the corner. Light, emotionless music played in the background.
“You still listening to that stuff, Priestess?”
“I listen to your music, too, Thinker. The stars. It’s kind of lonely, and scary. But it grows on you. I see why you like it.”
“I brought you something,” I said.
“Oh? What’s that?”
I handed her a small package, the size of a minicard, wrapped in bright plastic. She opened it slowly and found a miniature certificate, topped with the Legion cross. She read the text. “Where did you get this?” she asked.
“I reserved it-for us. For you.” The certificate guaranteed that our names would be together, on the Legion Monument to the Dead. Side by side, forever, upon our deaths.
“You did this for me?”
“Yes. Don’t you like it? It means…”
“I know what it means. You’re saying we’ll be together forever.” She was blinking back the tears.
“Yes.”
“Hold me.” We embraced, cheek to cheek. “Oh, no!” She pulled away from me.
“What?”
“The flanpie! I’m overcooking it!” She lunged for the cooker and popped it open. A rich odor filled the cube. “Oh, no! It’s burnt! I’m such an earther!” She pulled out two steaming cookpacks.
“It looks all right to me,” I ventured.
“No, no. It has to be just right. Oh, this is awful!” She dabbed at her eyes with one hand and peeled back the foil with the other. “I’m sorry, Thinker. I wanted this to be perfect.”
“It is perfect, Priestess.”
“No it isn’t…it’s overdone!”
“It’s perfect, Priestess. Perfect! It doesn’t matter if it’s overdone or not. Did you make this for me?”
“Yes. Yes, for you.”
“Then it’s perfect, Priestess. Now open the wine.”
We drank Veltros wine and ate Korkush flanpie on a little table that folded down from the wall. The flanpie was not so bad. I don’t really like Korkush food, but I knew Priestess liked it.
“Those are the last two flanpies I had. Is it good?”
“It’s wonderful, Priestess.”
“Not too burnt?”
“It’s fine.”
“I was saving them for a special occasion. I know I’ll never taste Korkush food again.”
“Well, you can never tell.”
“You know I never will. It’s a shame. It was a wonderful world.”
“Perhaps you shouldn’t have left.”
“Then I’d not have met you. No, I have no regrets. Thanks for the certificate, Thinker. Do you think we’re all going to die?”
I took another sip of wine. Veltros wine is vastly under-rated. I really thought it the best I’d ever tasted.
“Priestess, I think whatever happens is going to happen to both of us. We’ll be together, no matter what.”
“Do you believe in life after death?”
“I don’t know, Priestess…I don’t know.”
“Do you believe in God? Do you think Deadman is really watching over us?”
“I believe in love. Give me your hands.”
Hand in hand, I could feel her soul. I closed my eyes, and waves of love overwhelmed me. It felt as if we were one person. I opened my eyes.
“Do you feel it, Priestess?”
“Yes. It’s like…something magnetic.”
“It’s love. I didn’t used to believe in it.”
“Is it God?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t used to believe in Him, either.”
“Is He real? Will He protect the Legion?”
“I don’t know if His Area of Responsibility includes the Legion. But I think He’s real. Can’t you feel Him? He’s right here, right in this cube. He’s all around us. I think we make Him ourselves. I think He’s a God of Love. That’s what He is. A God of Love. And if we love each other, He’ll be with us, always.”
“I’ll never stop loving you, Thinker. It’s a shame we have to fight the Omnis. I wanted to live with you somewhere, like Korkush, and have your baby. Do you remember that baby on Coldmark?”
“You changed his life, Priestess.”
“I’d like to have a baby like that. Your baby.”
“I’m not sure the Legion would approve.”
“No, I suppose not…but I can dream.”
I pulled her to me. Sweet silky hair, her warm body close to mine.
“Dream on, Priestess. I promise I’ll be beside you, whatever happens. I’ll be there.”
“I love you, Thinker.”
“I love you, Priestess. Forever.”
Andrion 3, I thought. Every frac brought us closer to Andrion 3. I knew what a hellhole it was. And that’s where we were bound. The mission wasn’t complex. We were going to kill the O’s, or the O’s were going to kill us. But there was one big problem-nobody had ever killed an O before. Your mission is to die for the Legion, the Second had said. Well, that wasn’t my plan. My plan was survival. I wanted to get through this, with Priestess, and live with her forever. I squeezed her hand. She squeezed back.
I prayed to Deadman. What else could I do? I knew there was no turning back.