by L. Fergus
“Pedigree? I’m not a bull, girl,” Starr sneered.
“Does the name Grabble mean anything to you?”
“That would be my mother’s maiden name. So what? Anyone can get that out of a file.”
“She had a sister, married a man named Hennessy. They left on a colony ship and were never heard from again.”
“And how do you know this?” demanded Starr, crossing her arms, but leaving her revolver in plain view.
“Because I was on that ship. You have a cousin, a man by the name of Gerald Hennessy,” Talon lifted her head so Starr could see her eyes. “He was the biggest son-of-a-bitch I’ve ever dealt with. If you’re a quarter the leader he was we’ll never lose.”
“And what did this cousin of mine do?”
“From what I’ve been told it’s better to ask, what didn’t he do?” Cinnamon replied tersely.
“He was a master strategist and scientist, responsible for starting two global wars,” said Talon. “In his last years, he served a friend of mine.”
Starr waved a hand. “I don’t believe it.”
“I was there. Far stranger things came from that world than girls with wings.” Talon produced her hand and extended her talons.
“What kind of sick science is this?” Starr demanded, jumping backward, the horror on her face showing her dislike of Talon’s transformations.
“The kind that lets you survive in a world worse than this one. A world so deadly it’s constantly a power failure away from destruction. The creatures there are engineered monsters. If that’s not enough the human next to you will kill you, if it means they get to survive another day. You think you’re surviving out here, General? I can tell you of a place that will give you a new definition of survival.”
Starr didn’t waver. “We aren’t in dire straits, but unless you’ve got a cruiser worth of Marines up top, General Franks has us pinned. He’s just letting the desert do his dirty work.”
“Do you want to stay here and survive or escape with me and do your duty and save your Emperor?” said Talon. “I assume you could do no less than your sworn duties. I help my friend Commandant Sarin because I want to, not because I have to. I am not a soldier or a Marine, but a chef. We will find a way through Franks’ defenses, General. You have more resources at your disposal than you realize. Sarin wouldn’t send us if we didn’t stand a good chance at succeeding.”
“How do we know this isn’t a trap, boss-man?” the muscular giant asked Starr.
“We don’t. At least not yet. There aren’t many Commandants in the Legion. I guess she got hers by battlefield promotion on this lost world of yours. She would have sent you down with some kind of card for me to check her serials, but that would be no good out here. So, what did she send? A handwritten letter? A patch? What makes you real, girl?” Starr demanded, grinding the heel of her boot into the dirt.
Talon reached into her cloak. She pulled out a belt with a set of revolvers in the holsters. She flipped the belt over. Hammered into the leather was an inscription, ‘For our beloved son, Gerald, Love, Mom and Dad.’ Red Legion symbols decorated the front. She handed it over to Starr.
Starr refused to take it.
“Take it,” Talon demanded with a cold fury.
Starr took the belt in disbelief as Talon stepped back next to Cinnamon.
“Damn things are almost as big a beacon of evil as Kita’s swords,” Talon whispered to Cinnamon.
“I would have carried it.”
“Better you not be soiled by it.”
“And what of her?”
“Hopefully, she’s a better girl than Cowboy was a man,” Talon said, hissing the man’s name.
Cinnamon snaked her hand into Talon’s sleeve and touched her cold hand.
“You said this belonged to my cousin?” Starr yelled at them. “What happened to him?”
“He died defending the universe against an alien race.”
“What’s that mean, boss-man?” said Starr’s lieutenant.
Cinnamon rolled her eyes in disgust. “It means Talon and I are more than human.” She drew her pistol, put it up to her hand, and fired.
“Kristi, what are you doing?” Talon cried in horror over the comm.
“Proving that when two Angels show up at your door to take you home, you shouldn’t ask stupid questions,” she snarled at the gathered legionnaires. Cinnamon heated her other hand and pressed the heel to both sides to cauterize the wound.
“What are you looking at?” She yelled at the legionnaires when she noticed them watching her. “Haven’t you ever seen someone get shot before? Find me in an hour. Then you can stand around with dumb faces.” She turned around swearing. Cinnamon felt Talon brush her wing against hers and sent a mental hug to her girlfriend. Cinnamon walked behind a boulder to heal and fix her nails.
“Well, you’ve gone to extraordinary lengths to convince me to come with you,” said Starr. “This belt was made by someone who knew what they were doing. If you say it belongs to my family, then I won’t dispute you. We’ll get your friend some aid when we get back to the ranch and get ourselves organized.”
“She won’t need aid,” Talon said with a flat tone. “How long a ride is it for you?”
“Three days if we go slow and hide our movement. We go any faster, and some lucky idiot might stumble upon us.”
“We’ll fly cover and look for anyone.”
“I don’t suggest that. Franks will know something is up, especially if the two are moving out of the canyons. I hope you girls know how to ride a horse.” Starr smiled politely.
“It’s been a while,” said Talon.
“Best we get you some practice in.”
“What type of saddle do you use?” asked Talon.
“Western, these are for punching cattle. We’re just borrowing them. Problem?” Starr asked with a sly smile.
“Not at all. I can ride Western, English, bareback, Chinza, and Arabia.”
Starr raised her eyebrows. “I, ah, ok. Bring her Silverheel. He’s a nice one.” Starr chuckled.
A legionnaire fetched the horse. When it saw Talon, it reared. Talon lifted her head and let her eyes meet the horse’s. She kept them locked as she approached. She put one hand under his chin, and the other stroked his nose. When she felt the horse was ready, she hugged the creature’s head to her. In a hushed tone, she whispered a prayer of respect and honor to the horse. She released him and took a few steps back. She knelt, bowing her head. In turn, the horse did the same to her.
“Silverheel belongs to me now, General,” Talon said as she returned to the bewildered group.
“Now, where do you reckon she learned to do that?” a legionnaire asked.
Talon stroked Silverheel’s nose. “The horse trainers of Arabia Region were very skilled in handling their mounts. They never lashed, hit, or spoke ill to a horse. A horse was allowed to find its own path. If they needed it for a reason, they would ask it. If the horse desired to help, it would. If not and you still thought you needed a horse, you went and asked another horse. If that one said no, then maybe your problem does not lie in the fact that you need a horse.”
“Do you always speak in riddles?” said the muscular giant.
“I speak how best to get the message across,” replied Talon. “General, I will trust your judgment on best course, speed, and time to break camp.”
“Glad to hear it, girl,” Starr grumbled. “I want to be out of here, and the site scrubbed in forty minutes,” she called to her legionnaires. She looked at Talon. “That’ll put us in the shadows until dark. We’ll skirt wide the rail line and follow the grass into the grazing area. We can move quickly there and then we’ll hunker down. We have fresh water nearby and can send scouts out to see who’s working the fields. If it’s a friendly face, we can give them a heads up we’re coming in. Is your friend going to be up to it?”
“She’ll be fine. I’m sure she’s not feeling a thing.”
Starr turned to walk away from Talon, the ne
w pistol belt on her shoulder. “One last thing you should know about that belt, General,” called Talon.
“What’s that?”
“It’s cursed. It causes the wearer to change into a demon. Nothing can withstand its guns or brimstone. I don’t know how true it is, but there’s a hint of truth to every legend.”
“I thought you said this belt wasn’t that old,” replied Starr.
“It’s not old to someone like me,” said Talon. “That doesn’t mean the belt couldn’t have absorbed enough evil to curse it at a rapid rate. Sometimes, so much evil at once is all you need.”
“And now you’re an expert at soothsaying?” Starr said with a vexed look.
“I’ve been around my fair share of both the supernatural and scientific. The combination of both in harmony is what you should be looking for.”
Starr waved Talon off and walked away.
Talon took Silverheel’s lead and led the horse to find Cinnamon. They found her behind a boulder. “You should leave such displays to Kita.”
“It got the point across.”
After checking the other Angel’s hand, Talon introduced Silverheel. Talon was in the middle of a riding lesson when they heard the whistle to leave.
Talon took over Silverheel and Cinnamon glided after. The other legionnaires were in a circle. One had a particularly large grin on his face.
“As you can see, fireball, we’re down a horse,” Starr waved to the gathered riders. “Jericho won the straw poll, so you’ll be riding with him.”
“What?” Cinnamon snarled as her face went red. She stormed over to a legionnaire’s mount where a horseshoe with ‘Luckiest Horseshoe in Freeze-A1’ stamped into the saddlebag hung. The shoe had a bullet mark in it. Cinnamon grabbed the trinket.
“I’ll ride with anyone who can bend this into a heart.” She waved it around at the legionnaires. “Anybody? I can even heat it up for you. It can’t be that hard for the way most of you talk. No takers? Fine, I’ll walk. And my hand is fine by the way.” She held it up and moved it so they could see.
“Do, I get a try?” Talon asked calmly from behind.
“If you think you’re up to it,” Cinnamon said, handing her the shoe.
Without much effort, Talon bent the rusty horseshoe into a heart shape.
“I knew someone around here was girl enough to do it,” Cinnamon said with an elated smile. Without any resistance from Talon, she poked her head into the large hood for a warm and playful kiss. After exchanging an affectionate nose rub, Cinnamon pulled her head back out.
“You think Mary and me do crap like that? You’re such an outer rimmer,” Talon heard a female legionnaire hiss at someone commenting.
“Talon’s my girlfriend,” Cinnamon announced. “And what do you boys do in the sack when you’re together?”
That caused most of the females to chuckle.
General Starr ordered her command onward. With Cinnamon’s arms around Talon, the Angels brought up the rear.
“I see them returning,” Talon said to Starr. The Angels floated invisibly above the legionnaires lying in the grass.
“Y’all, be on the lookout,” Starr told the legionnaires out with her.
The three riders rode toward Starr’s position unaware of the two Angels. One of the legionnaires whistled low getting the riders’ attention. The riders trotted forward. The legionnaires crept from the grass to meet with the cowboys.
“General, it’s good to see you’re still kicking dirt,” a cowboy said to Starr.
“We’re making do, Yarik. We’d have a tougher time of it without those train drops. How’s the ranch?”
“They haven’t touched it, and we've followed your orders not to cause a fuss. We keep the beef going out. Though, Jackie says we’re not getting the money back in.”
“Not surprised that bastard Franks is robbing my family blind. How are the mines?”
“He’s forcing as many claim owners out as he can. I’d say he’s got about a third of them. The ranch has taken in some of the refugees once all the other mines were full of workers. Don’t know what happened to the rest.”
Talon appeared behind the group. “General, I was under the impression the ranches didn’t provide much income for the moon and are here to feed the miners. Cinnamon couldn’t find any financial records for the ranches or most of the mines. I’m going to guess the Emperor’s tax collectors didn’t visit here very often.”
“What in the Jiminy?” Yarik exclaimed at seeing the two Angels.
“Easy, Yar. They’ve been sent by a new Commandant in the region to break the stranglehold the Political Bureau has on us. They’re some form of a super creature created by the Emperor.” Starr looked at Talon. “This moon is one of the few habitable planets in The Empire where you can ranch without major terraforming. The beef goes out to feed more than just the miners. It goes out to our parent system and neighboring systems. Everyone likes a good steak over vat meat.”
“What really leaves this moon?” said Cinnamon. “If I go to those mines and pick up a rock, what am I going to pull out of it? The buyer of the processed metal, Killam Enterprises, says they ship out heavy metals for production. I say bull. There are a lot of easier places to get production grade heavy metals.”
“Beef and metals, that’s it,” Starr retorted.
The two Angels shared a dubious look.
“We need to develop a plan to remove the Political Bureau from the ranches and the capital mining camp,” said Talon. “Have you given this any thought, General?”
“A lot, actually,” said Starr. “If we go for the ranches, they’ll alert the capital, and then we have a fortified base we’ll never penetrate, even with your help. Attacking the capital first is what we should do, but the logistical challenges of moving enough troops to surprise the capital is nearly impossible. Their scouts will spot us before we get close. So, unless you have a brilliant idea, shut it.”
Talon turned away and walked away from the group. “I think we’d do better on our own,” she said to Cinnamon when she caught up. “They’re more of a liability than a help.”
“They’ve come this far.”
“Yes, but they’re no good if they won’t act.” Talon walked back to Starr. “General, this is where we part ways. Good luck.”
“I thought you needed me,” Starr retorted.
“We would like to have you,” Talon replied. “But, I have my own legionnaires being held, and I have instructions that if your extraction is too difficult to abandon the idea. We don’t wish to waste too many resources on rescuing a single general and her command.”
“Tell the commandant, thanks anyway. We’re used to doing it on our own,” replied Starr harshly.
“All I can tell you, General, is, she who dares, wins,” said Talon with an icy voice. “The commandant and I are the types who dare.”
The Angels took off, riding the thermals high into the sky. From there they followed the legionnaires’ movements. Once the group settled for the night, the Angels landed to listen in.
“Them Angels are cowards, boss-man, not like you.”
“It’s ok, McKee. They have an agenda, so do we. They misjudged what they were getting into is all. The capital camp is better defended than any reports.”
“Are we going to take the ranches? At least keep Franks from making any more money?”
Starr looked at her hat. “Yeah, I think that’s the way to go. A stalemate is better than nothing. We’ll do it when the train is at the ranches, that way we control it, too.”
“It’s going to be good to smash those Political Bureau bastards in the mouth,” McKee said with a grin.
“We’re not going in to smash them up,” replied Starr with a firm tone. “We’ll take them prisoner and hold them like we’re supposed to. We’re legionnaires, not monsters.”
Talon tapped Cinnamon, and they backed away.
“So what do we do?” Cinnamon asked Talon.
“We’ll go back to the capital and re
scue our people. Once we have our shuttle, we’ll return and help them as best we can.”
A white cloud floated through the door into the expensive apartment. It stopped at the foot of the bed. Lying in the bed was Franks with an arm draped over some miner’s daughter.
Cinnamon appeared first from the cloud, rubbing her arms to shake away the cold. The cloud formed into Talon.
“This is way too nice for slime like him,” Cinnamon scoffed looking around at the swanky room. “And so is she, poor girl.”
“She probably thinks she’s hit the jackpot, and we’re about to take it away from her,” Talon replied. She walked around the room shutting the blinds and then returned to the bedside.
“She’ll thank us later,” Cinnamon replied in a loud voice. The decibel level was enough to turn the lights on in the room.
Franks stirred and then sat up. He blinked trying to knock the sleep from his eyes. “Becky?” He growled at the girl. Released from his grip, the girl scooted to the edge of the bed.
“Cinnamon, actually,” she replied, holding her pistols on her knee with a foot on the footboard. Franks opened his mouth to yell.
“I wouldn’t do that.” Cinnamon pointed to Talon, who clamped her hand down on his mouth. Her talons dug into his skin to hold her hand in place. “Sorry to wake you in the middle of the night, but we’re in a bit of a rush. I need you to come with us to release our men and shuttle.”
“You don’t get a choice,” Talon hissed. “You can either come with dignity, or I will drag you naked through the streets.”
Franks chose dignity. He raised his hands, and Talon let him slide his naked body out of bed. As Franks struggled to put his uniform on, Becky woke up to Cinnamon’s curious gaze. The girl saw the Angel and scooted backward across the bed until she fell off the other side. Cinnamon was there to catch her.
“Easy, child. We mean you no harm. We only want your bedmate.” From the girl’s ashamed reaction and her sleeping position, she wasn’t proud of that fact. “May I ask if you don’t like him, why are you here?”