"Beta, Gamma, welcome." Cubes spoke, his icy eyes flickering over us all. "Have some dox. This is highly informal. Two Four and I wanted to brief you all personally on your mission. It's an important mission. It's a very important mission. A mission which we believe can best be accomplished by Two Four Beta and Gamma."
The dox was good. Boudicca was sullen, staring into space. Valkyrie was beside her, cold and empty. I could still hardly believe she had burnt that Legion cross into her forehead. It was a sign of insanity. I knew she was lost to us all—not all of Gamma's fatalities died on Andrion 3.
"Beta and Gamma—especially Gamma—gave more than anyone could ever ask on Andrion 3," Cubes said. "Don't think we don't know it. I know every trooper in the Second. I knew all those who died. They weren't numbers to me. I see their faces every night. And a lot of others as well. Hundreds of them…" He faded for a moment, and a cold hush fell over the capmod. Then he resumed.
"The Legion knows you've given enough. But we're asking for more. As you know, the Systie frontier has collapsed under a massive assault from the Omnis. All of the Gassies worlds are falling, one by one. At latest count, nineteen inhabited Systie worlds have been over-run. And it's only the beginning. The Systies are paying for their legacy of treason to humanity. Unfortunately it's not as simple as that. We can't just laugh as the Systies get what's coming to them. Every new planet the O's seize is a direct threat to us. The Confederation has to get involved. The O's are a plague—a galactic disease—fatal to humanity—and we must exterminate them all. We must!" The Second's eyes blazed.
"We must—and so we're asking for more. More from Beta—and more from Gamma. Beta—are your troops ready for combat?"
"Yes sir," Snow Leopard responded quickly. "We're ready."
"Any problems?"
"No sir!"
"Good. Gamma—how about you?"
She gave him a cold, dead stare. "We're ready."
"Gamma Two—how do you feel?"
"Will we be fighting the Omnis?" Valkyrie asked quietly. She was a pale angel, branded with the Legion cross. It was like a curse.
"That's a ten, trooper."
"Good. I want to fight the O. I'm happy to hear it."
Insane. My lovely girl was quite insane.
"Gamma Five—what do you say?" He was hitting every Gamma trooper. He must have been worried about them.
"It's fine with me," Scrapper said quietly. "I don't like the O's. Fighting them sounds good to me." It was as if she had been asked whether she wanted her dox sweet or bitter. Scrapper had always been eminently sensible. Now even she sounded as if she had lost it.
"Seven? Any comments?"
"Why don't you just tell us the mission?" Sassin growled. "There's nobody from Gamma going to walk out on the mission."
Gamma Seven was more quiet and reserved than most professional assassins. I could hardly believe he had spoken to the Second that way. Cubes stared at him for just a frac, and then a slow, somewhat sad little smile appeared.
"Good." Cubes said. "Good. Lowdrop, you were right. Beta and Gamma can do it. Give them the briefing. Give them whatever they need. Beta—Gamma—may the Gods be with you." Cubes got up and left the room, off to brief another unit.
I felt sorry for him; I'm not sure why. The man had simply seen too much. But I knew it was ourselves for whom I should really feel sorry.
"Right, troopers—listen up." Lowdrop was always all business, harsh and demanding. "This is your target—Mongera." It appeared on a large wall screen, a pale blue world laced with soft white clouds, icy phospho polar caps glowing against the vac.
What a beautiful world, I thought.
"As you all know," Lowdrop continued, "we did a job on the O ships in the Andrion engagement, and we believe this was what prompted their retreat from Confederation vac and their subsequent attack on the Systies. We were pleased to discover that we are still technically superior to the O in ship-to-ship engagements. Otherwise we'd all be dead. Unfortunately we did not do that good on the ground. We took unacceptable casualties on Andrion 3. We have no counter to their psypower. Everywhere we met the O face to face, we lost. With one exception—Beta Two Four. Beta, you managed—somehow—to force an Omni to retreat. You've all been exhaustively debriefed on this, but the hard truth is we still don't understand what it is that caused that behavior on the part of the O. We have some ideas, however. Some good ideas. The purpose of your mission is to test these ideas. We want to duplicate the conditions you were facing on Andrion 3 and test our theories."
"Test your theories." Snow Leopard remarked coldly.
"That's correct. You'll be in a better position this time than last. You'll have some new weapons as well, weapons designed specifically to zero in on the O's weak link, and then exploit it. The tissue and blood samples you brought back from Andrion 3 were invaluable."
I wondered if they were planning on issuing us new, improved cold knives. Duplicate the conditions! Terrific—as if once wasn't enough, now we're going to have to do it again! Only in the Legion. A wave of despair rolled over me.
"…on Mongera." Lowdrop said. "The sit is total chaos. The planet is heavily populated, the O put down a major expeditionary force, and the Systies have committed major fleet units. The engagement is still underway. However, it appears clear that the O are taking the planet. Most of the population is being slaughtered. The remainder are desperate to escape. The O are running around loose on the ground—no effective opposition. But we estimate it will be some time before they seize the port. It's perfect for our sit. You shouldn't have any trouble zeroing a single O to work on."
We were all silent, listening to Lowdrop without comment. A single O to work on—right. Trouble is, he would probably object strenuously to our working on him.
"Beta One, you are in command of a reinforced squad for this mission, to consist of Beta at full strength and Gamma at current strength. Your call sign will be Badboy. Gamma One, you are to retain command of your element, but take your orders from Beta One. Beta, I'd suggest Beta Two take command of your second element as usual, but that's up to you. Your aircar driver will be Beta Ten."
An almost audible sigh of relief rippled through Beta. Boudicca was not to command us—some good news at least! And Redhawk would be our air jock—couldn't complain on that!
"Badboy." Psycho leaned over to me and whispered. "Deadman! How do they come up with these names?"
The screen flashed. Mongera disappeared, replaced by a skeletal black city enveloped in flames, burning brightly under a glowing orange night sky.
"Century City," Lowdrop said quietly. "A few days ago it was a prosperous, modern settlement. Millions are now attempting to flee via the starport. The O are closing in. You will be dropped in here. Your mission is to kill an O—any O—survive, and return to tell us about it. If you get one it will be a first, and could change the outcome of the conflict."
We thought about that. Heavy duty.
"Do you all understand the mission?"
"Does ConFree know about this mission?" Boudicca asked suddenly.
Lowdrop looked at her sharply. "The highest levels of ConFree have been briefed on this mission."
"Well then, screw 'em!" Boudicca snapped. "Why should we die for ConFree? Let those Inners drop in to Mongera themselves and kill an O, if they think it's so important!"
Lowdrop paled with rage, then turned to Snow Leopard. "What the hell is this?" he demanded.
Snow Leopard gazed back at Lowdrop, a trifle uneasily. "I told you what that Systie dip said about ConFree. You didn't respond. Everyone in my squad knows about it. Perhaps an explanation might be in order."
Lowdrop stared at Snow Leopard, then turned away. One hand went to his comset, then hesitated. Finally he turned his gaze back to us.
"All right. I suppose you deserve to know, if anyone does. This information is not to go outside this room. It's true, ConFree did learn about Oplan Gold, about ten stellar years ago. What they learned was that the Systies had a
sustained, continuing contact with the Omnis. That was about the most important news we'd ever had. Can you imagine the implications of a Systie alliance with the Omnis? It would have meant System supremacy, and the death of ConFree and the Legion. And you know what that would have meant for humanity."
The capmod was as still as a tomb as Lowdrop continued. "The trouble was, we did not know where the contact was taking place, and we also had no details about it. We did not, for example, know about the unitium. And we had no idea that the contact was taking place in ConFree vac. We naturally assumed that it was somewhere in Systie vac. ConFree has been searching for the zero for ten years.
"When we first learned about the contact, from a highly reliable source, we approached the System, and threatened to publicize it. That got instant cooperation. They promised information about the O's, in return for silence. ConFree couldn't turn that down—reliable information on the O's was hard to come by, and in great demand. Naturally, the Systies told ConFree as little as possible over the next ten years—but what they did tell was totally accurate. ConFree was disappointed in the product, but it was always just enough so we'd want a little bit more. It was certainly better than nothing."
"And the original mission to Andrion 2," Snow Leopard asked, "did anyone know the Systie star track was associated with Oplan Gold?"
"No. ConFree had no idea Andrion was the site they had been looking for. They regarded it as just another Systie intrusion."
"When did the Legion learn about all this?" Boudicca asked.
"We weren't briefed on Oplan Gold until we reported what Gravelight had seen in that Mocain's mind. It was only then that they told us."
"So ConFree approved the attack on Andrion 3?"
"Of course they did! Locating and destroying the site was the ConFree objective all along."
"I don't believe a word you're saying," Boudicca declared calmly. "Cubes told us that ConFree resisted the decision to attack Andrion 3. And ConFree was in bed with the Systies all along! That Systie dip said he briefed a ConFree rep, in STRATCOM Hqs! I'll bet ConFree even knew the location!"
"You shut your mouth!" Lowdrop leaped to his feet and leaned forward toward Boudicca menacingly. "Shut down and listen! ConFree urged caution, but did not call off our attack. I believe that Systie dip was lying to you, but the Legion is investigating your story…"
"It's not my story!"
"Shut down! We are investigating! It's ludicrous to think ConFree is cooperating with the System to protect their contact with the O's. But if there is any truth to it, we will discover it; and there will be serious consequences. And in the meantime, you keep your big yap shut! If this story leaks, I will personally throw your ass into the brig!"
We were quiet. Lowdrop's explanation did not ease my doubts about ConFree. ConFree was a civilian outfit, and they were Inners. Who knew what went on in their minds? I certainly didn't. It didn't seem right to me.
"All right," Lowdrop resumed. "If there are no further hysterical outbursts, let's get back to the mission. With luck, you might not even be downside longer than a few hours. You all now have access to the complete mission orders and ops plans. I'd suggest each of you start on them as soon as you hit your cubes, but I'll leave that up to your One." He paused and took a sip of dox. Calmly, as if he were discussing the weather.
"There are two more details—equally important. As you know, we are in a state of undeclared war with the Systies. However, both the System and ConFree are somewhat busy lately—the Systies are dealing with a full-scale Omni invasion, and ConFree is gathering its strength to defend our own vac from the O's. Neither ConFree nor the System has much energy to devote to another human civil war. Despite this, a Legion warship will not be welcome in the skies over Century City. They're shooting anything that doesn't have port clearance, no questions asked. So you're not going in on one of our ships." Lowdrop smiled, a cold grimace.
I had never seen that before—it was kind of scary.
"Secondly, you won't be going in alone. You're going to have some help, people who know the O's a lot better than we do. They will brief you during your journey to Mongera. I'd advise you to listen to them carefully. They will also be accompanying you downside on your mission. These are VIPs—Very Important People. I expect you to keep them alive during the mission, and return with their hides intact."
"Can't these people take care of themselves?" Boudicca asked, cold and expressionless.
"No, they can't. There are fourteen of you. I'm sure you can handle it. Beta One knows the problem, and he will give you a detailed briefing. So—to summarize: Your mission is to proceed to Mongera, drop in covertly, zero and kill an O, and return—with your VIPs—and report on the results of your mission. Beta One will tell you how this is to be done." Lowdrop glanced at his wristmod. "I've got to go. Badboy, it's quite a mission. I wish I was coming with you, but they've got other plans for me. Beta, it's yours. I know you can do it. It's tricky, but you can do it. Make them understand—tenners?"
"Tenners." Snow Leopard was pale and tense. He rose as Lowdrop left the room. Then he slowly resumed his seat.
Silence settled over the capmod.
"That was fun," Dragon declared.
"The dox is not bad," Psycho observed with a wry smile. The others were silent.
"Well, let's hear it, Snow Leopard," Dragon said calmly. "Don't keep us in suspense."
"We're not going to like this, are we, One?" Merlin had probably already figured it out.
"Make them understand…" Warhound repeated. "I liked that part. He was talking about us, wasn't he?"
"If it involves killing O's, you won't get any problems from Gamma," Boudicca observed quietly. "So let's hear it, Beta."
"Right, listen up." Snow Leopard let his gaze wander over us all. "You're right, Merlin. Nobody's going to like it. But that doesn't matter. This mission is of critical importance to the entire war. This is the most important mission that has ever been entrusted to us. And we are going to accomplish it or die—it's that simple. We're not going back without killing an O. You can all just make up your minds about that—there's only one way back. And I don't want any bitching and whining along the way. We're not going to argue with any aspect of the ops plan—even if it upsets us a great deal. We're just going to keep our mouths shut, and follow orders, and do our best to survive, and accomplish the mission." One was really working himself up. His hot pink eyes were almost spitting sparks, and his pale face was starting to glow red.
"You understand that, Gamma?" Snow Leopard glared at Boudicca.
"I speak Inter!" Boudicca snapped back, the color rushing to her face.
"Good—because these orders are in Inter, and they are perfectly clear."
"You don't have any right to question Gamma's loyalty!" Boudicca objected. The Legion cross on her forehead was throbbing.
"I just want to make it clear—to everyone in this room—that we are going to follow our orders, to the letter. These orders are NOT open to debate. With that clearly understood, I will now inform you of a few details which Two Four One did not mention."
I could hardly wait. Snow Leopard had our respect and he knew it. He was not in the habit of lecturing us on the necessity of following orders. Whatever he had to tell us had to be very shaky.
Snow Leopard slowly took a sip of dox. He carefully put his cup down, and spoke. "We're going in on a Systie-registered private freighter. It will have a crew of Systie civs, but they'll be under Legion control. There'll be a Legion half-squad on the ship for security—they'll be topside when we drop. The ship will have port clearance—it's a profiteer, dropping in to make a fast fortune evacing refugees. We'll drop in a Systie aircar. Some of you are familiar with the aircar. It's the same girl who took us off Andrion 3. Redhawk assures me it's now a very hot ship."
"That's a big ten, sir." Redhawk lit up like a lamp. "She's panting on the sheets."
It didn't sound so bad to me. A Systie ship, but under Legion control. We could do that.
"Who's the half-squad?" Boudicca asked.
"Two-Three Delta. They're a good bunch. They were on the Andrion 3 drop with us."
"And the Systie crew—they're with us?" Coolhand wanted to know.
"That's a ten. They're under Legion control."
"What does that mean?" Boudicca interrupted.
"It means they'll be there when we ask for extract," Snow Leopard replied. "That's what it means."
"We can do it, One," Dragon concluded. "It's a bit unorthodox, but we can handle it. What's the problem?"
"The problem," Snow Leopard said, "is the VIPs who will be accompanying us, and who will be teaching us about the O's, prior to our arrival. The people we are going to be keeping alive. They're Systies, too."
"What?" Boudicca looked as if she was about to explode.
"You heard me."
"Systies?" Boudicca snarled, "Systies! Systies are going to be telling us what to do? Systies are going to accompany us on the drop?"
"That's a ten—three of them. They are official reps of the United System Alliance, and they are just as interested in the success of this mission as we are."
"Deto!" Boudicca exploded. "Who cares what the System wants? They caused this mess! Official reps? Are you crazy? Is the Legion crazy? We're going to teach the System how to kill O's? Who's the lunatic who thought that one up?"
"The Systies know all about the O's, trooper! Or at least they know a lot more than we do. They are going to share this knowledge with us—knowledge that could keep us alive! And we, in return, are going to share with them what we learn about killing O's. That's the deal! The orders are coming at you from the highest levels, but they're coming through me. You have a problem with your orders, you see me, trooper—but I wouldn't advise it!"
Laughter. Evil, guttural laughter, from Sassin the Assassin, Gamma Seven. His sharpened white teeth flashed as he spoke. "Dead meat. They're dead meat." Valkyrie raised a fist in agreement.
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