by Timothy Zahn
"What?" the other demanded, sounding stunned as he looked up.
"It's a decoy," Twister said, pointing behind him. "Would you put the door to your stronghold right at the end of a long hallway, where your enemies would have a fifty-meter running start to slam a battering ram into it?"
"Or a clear shot for a missile barrage," Su-mil added, his highlights fading again to dark orange. "Of course. The real door will be concealed, and offline with any of the hallways."
Twister nodded. "So let's find it."
It didn't take long. Now that he knew what to look for, he quickly spotted the subtle cracks in the mortar between the stones a couple of meters to the side of the rightmost sniper hollow. "Here it is," he announced, gesturing to the others with his BlasTech. "We must hurry," Su-mil warned as the two stormtroopers started stuffing flash paste around the door. "There may be other ways through which they can escape."
"None that your people know about, anyway," Twister told him, focusing his attention for a moment on the streaming reports coming in through his headset. "Even if there are, it won't gain them anything. Aurek Company's just broken through both tunnels and are forming up now with Cloud and Shadow and the rest of your people. Another minute and they'll be on their way here."
"You think we should wait for them?" Watchman asked.
"No," Su-mil said firmly, his large eyes shining. "We have come this far. Let us be the ones to present to them the prize."
"Besides, they're still controlling their main defenses from in there," Twister reminded him. "The sooner we take him, the sooner we can shut them down."
Thirty seconds later, they were ready. "Stand clear," Watchman cautioned the Eickaries, who had gathered together in front of the hidden door. "When it goes, it'll go hard."
"And tell them to let us go in first," Twister added as Su-mil translated Watchman's warning. "They'll still have plenty of firepower waiting in there, and we're the only ones in armor."
Su-mil gave another order. "Do not worry," he told Twister, switching back to Basic. "We will do what is necessary."
"Okay," Twister said, taking another step back himself. "Watchman: go."
The other squeezed the detonator, and the flash paste lit up with its usual destructive brilliance. Twister checked his sensors one final time, half expecting some of the Lakra inside to have slipped out through one of the stronghold's other doors and launch a last-minute sortie. But apparently the Warlord preferred to keep all his bodyguards between him and the attackers.
The flash paste hit its final crescendo, and Twister caught a glimpse of the sudden network of stress cracks in the stone before the entire door abruptly shattered into a spray of blackened gravel. Reflexively, he winced back as the shower of rocks washed over him—
Twister was nearly knocked off his feet as the Eickaries surged past him. Screaming in defiance, they charged through the opening.
"Wait!" Twister shouted. "Su-mil—"
But Su-mil had already joined the general rush through the door. "Our world!" he called back over his shoulder. "Our ways!"
With that he was gone, vanished into the stronghold and the heavy weapons fire now coming from inside. Snarling a curse, Twister regained his balance and tried to force his way through the rear of the Eickaries' formation, listening helplessly to the sounds of gunfire and the screams of the casualties.
Then, as abruptly as it had begun, the firing ceased. Shouldering his way past the last cluster of Eickaries, Twister finally made it inside.
The stronghold was a scene of carnage. Eickarie bodies were everywhere, some still twitching, others lying motionless with the heaviness of death. Another dozen were still standing, several of them clutching painfully at torsos or limbs. Sprawled on the floor beyond them were a dozen Lakra bodies, the last of the Warlord's bodyguard. None of those bodies were twitching.
And beyond them, still wearing his fancy full-body armor, was the Warlord himself.
He was lying on his back on the floor, his dark faceplate turned upward, his arms spread to the sides. Standing over him, his feet pinning the Warlord's wrists to the floor, his projectile weapon held ready for action, was Su-mil.
But his gun wasn't pointed at the Warlord, prepared to deliver the final killing shot that Eickarie honor demanded. It was pointed instead at the semicircle of Eickaries facing him.
His eyes turned to Twister as the stormtrooper stepped through the ring of Eickaries. "I have told them," he said, his voice wheezing; and only then did Twister notice the blackened section of clothing on his left side. "We made a bargain. You freed our people; I have left the Warlord alive."
"Thank you," Twister said, touching his comm tongue switch as he stepped to Su-mil's side and turned to face the other Eickaries. Over by the main status board, he noted peripherally, the thudding of heavy circuit breakers could be heard as Watchman began closing down the fortress's defenses. "Command; Aurek-Seven," he called. "We've penetrated the stronghold, and are shutting down the remotes."
"Acknowledged, Aurek-Seven," a crisp voice came back. "What about the Warlord?"
Twister felt Su-mil sag against his side. "We have him," he told the commander. "Thanks to the Eickaries."
Su-mil was taking a rest break at the rehab room's resistance machine when Twister finally tracked him down. "There you are," he said, coming up behind the Eickarie. "You may not have heard, but the doctors say you're healthy enough to leave here."
"I have heard, thank you," Su-mil replied. "But I have chosen to stay until my injury is completely healed." His highlights turned pale blue with curiosity as he looked Twister up and down. "Even in a hospital you wear your armor?"
"Orders," Twister said. "Your new leaders aren't very happy that the Warlord hasn't been turned over to them for trial and execution. Some of the people seem inclined to take out their frustration on anyone they catch wandering out in the open."
"It is not only you who are so affected," Su-mil said ruefully. "My role in those events has also been cast in an unflattering light." He gestured around him. "One reason why I remain here instead of returning to my own home."
"Your role was to help end the war and lift the oppression of your world," Twister reminded him.
"That aspect seems unimportant to many," Su-mil said. "All they see is that I made a fool's bargain that cost the Eickarie people their right of vengeance."
"If you ask me, it's this whole right of vengeance thing that's kept your tribes tangled in wars all these centuries," Twister pointed out. "Anyway, whether or not your people understand the bigger picture right now, history will vindicate your actions. And your bargain."
"Perhaps," Su-mil said. "But history is a long way off. Until it arrives, I must endure the looks and the whispers and the faded orange of my people."
"Oh, that future might arrive sooner than you think," Twister said thoughtfully. "Your newly formed InterTribal Council has been invited to a meeting this afternoon where they'll find out why exactly we wanted the Warlord taken alive."
"And that reason is?"
"Because, just like you, we had no idea who or what he was," Twister said. "The way he walked around encased in that armor, we couldn't tell whether he was another Lakra, a rogue Eickarie, or someone from a species we hadn't run into before. And if it was the latter, we needed to find out what he was, where he came from, and whether he was an aberration or whether his whole species liked to go off conquering other planets."
"And?" Su-mil prompted.
"Box Number Three," Twister said grimly. "Brand-new species, not in any of our files. He's been pretty blustery, but we've managed to pry the location of his home system out of him, and we're putting together a task force to head over there and make contact."
"I trust you will be careful."
"Don't worry," Twister assured him. "Even the cockiest people tend to go a little quiet when they find a couple of Star Destroyers cruising by overhead. If they're a threat, we'll find out and deal with them appropriately."
"I have never se
en a Star Destroyer," Su-mil commented. "I hope to someday have that privilege."
"As a matter of fact, I think that can be arranged," Twister said, his voice studiously casual. "I've been instructed to ask whether you might be interested in applying for a commission in the Imperial Five-oh-First."
Su-mil's highlights turned dark red in surprise. "I?"
"Why not?" Twister countered. "You're intelligent, discerning, combat-skilled, and able to think on your feet. On top of that, you're willing to trust your leaders or comrades and obey orders even if you don't fully understand the reasons behind them. Put all those together and you've got a pretty rare package, one the Five-oh-First is always on the lookout for."
"And you accept nonhumans into your ranks?"
"Like I said, it's a rare combination," Twister said. "As long as your world is a member of the Empire of the Hand, you're eligible."
"You assume Kariek will join you."
Twister glanced around, making sure no one else was within earshot. "Actually, those negotiations have already started," he told Su-mil, lowering his voice. "I get the feeling your leaders would like to have a permanent Imperial presence in the system as soon as possible, just in case the Warlord's people turn out to be as unfriendly as he was."
Su-mil turned to gaze out the window. "Don't get me wrong," Twister warned. "An offer like this doesn't automatically entitle you to a commission. You'll have to work, and work hard, before you earn the right to wear the white armor."
"If I succeed, I will no doubt be perceived by some as having deserted my people," Su-mil pointed out quietly. "And if I fail, those perceptions will still be there."
"That's possible," Twister conceded. "Even if your leaders decide to join the Empire of the Hand, it may be a long time before the common people really accept that."
"And so you offer me yet another fool's bargain," Su-mil said, his highlights going pink with a wry smile.
Twister shrugged. "Sometimes those bargains work out in the end," he said. "Think about it, and let me know when you're ready."
"I am ready now," Su-mil said, standing up. "As you no doubt have already foreseen."
Twister smiled behind his faceplate. "As it happens, I have a transport waiting."
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