"Medics…we need…" A medteam burst in the door, swarming around us to get at One and Five, hauling life support stretchers. Priestess rose from Snow Leopard, unlinking her helmet. When she got it off, she stood there as the medics pushed past her and her eyes turned to me. She was still panting in exhaustion. Her flesh was scorched pink and white blisters were forming on her neck. Icy sweat was dripping from soaking black hair and her big brown eyes were focused right on me. An angel. She was a holy angel, dropped right from heaven. I walked to her as if in a dream and everything around us became an indistinct blur of moving figures. She opened her mouth, trying to say something, but nothing came out. I cradled her head in my hands and pulled her to me and we stood there, heart to heart, after all that time. A silent wave of prickly heat crawled over my body and I crushed her armor in mine, and I closed my eyes and thanked the Gods, and vowed I would never leave her again.
"Thinker! We did it!" It was Dragon and he was dancing, crashing from one person to another, delirious with joy. I had never seen him so happy.
"We did it! We did it!" Redhawk and Dragon were bashing at each others' armor and Redhawk was beaming, overjoyed, his eyes glazed, breaking away from Dragon to approach a dazed Whit, snatching her up and pulling her along with him in a strangely graceful dance, swirling all around us, circling the airlock. The medics had Snow Leopard and Psycho plugged into the life support stretchers and they were taking them away and Psycho shouted something at me but I could not hear him.
Twister removed her helmet. Her ruddy dark hair was curled and smoking, her heavily freckled skin was raw and pink and her big brown eyes were blinking back tears of pain.
"Twister!" I exclaimed. She was just a kid. On Uldo, on our way to the Mound, I had promised her it would be all right. And now, at last, it was. I pulled her over and Priestess and I embraced her together. Valkyrie and Scrapper were kissing passionately against one wall, and it didn't look like they were planning on coming up for air for some time. Beta was together again, at last.
"Wester!" Tara pawed at me with Gildron in the background. "How did you know it? How did you know the ship was going to come back? The plan was for the ship to launch into time drive at 0940 exact, to avoid that Legion fighter. There were no plans to come back! The whole op was predicated on our making it back on time!"
"That Recon Control desk jockey," I replied. "I remembered what he had said when we were interrogating him. The ghost ship disappeared, and when the Legion fighter passed over there was nothing there. But then…he said there was another reading shortly afterwards and it looked like it had returned, for just a frac. Then it was gone again. That was all I had—that, and the realization that Gildron was not going to abandon us. After all, he was in a time machine. I figured he had all the time in the world to get it right, and come after us at exactly the right instant after the fighter had left the scene."
"I would never have left you, Three," Gildron rumbled. "I just wanted to avoid that fighter. I knew you would understand."
I breathed out heavily. Gildron's confidence in me was satisfying, but it had been a lot closer than he realized. After all, he was dealing with an inferior species.
***
The time drive functioned perfectly. We powered back into the vac shortly after we had left, out in the Gassies, and we were back in the future. I'm convinced my heartbeat slowed down just a little when they announced that. The mission had been totally successful. We had spirited our missing troopers out of the past directly into the future. We had shaped the future, without changing the past. My heart grieved for Merlin, but there was nothing that could be done for him—Deadman knows I tried. Now he had joined our other missing squadies—Coolhand, Warhound and Ironman. I knew the four of them were awaiting us in another world, and we, temporarily missing in action, would be joining them soon enough.
We all gathered in the body shop. Snow Leopard and Psycho were in the same bay, floating in separate recovery tanks on cushions of warm air. The Legion was growing them new legs and the new ones would be better than the originals, I knew. They were just getting started in their Legion careers. Eventually, their entire bodies might become artificial. The Legion was working on biogenning entire brains and transferring all your memories from one to the other. They were already storehousing individual memories, just like a ship's database. That way, even if your brain was destroyed you could continue. The big problem was the spirit. That was the essence of life, and even the Legion had not yet been able to contain it. Once we did that, we could really start to play God.
"I'd like some explanations," Snow Leopard said. He lay there in the tank, seemingly relaxed, a deathly pale face with hot pink eyes and white-blond hair combed straight back. Nobody outside Beta could possibly understand how we felt about him. To us, he was the Prince of Darkness, our guide to Hell. He always knew the road, and we knew all we had to do was follow him and all would be well. I knew the back of his helmet better than the front, for that's the view we had of him in combat. He led from the front, always.
"Five and I have been talking it over," he continued. "And we've noticed everything is wrong, starting with the date. The date is very wrong. This ship is wrong, too. And you're wrong, Thinker. You and Tara and Gildron and Dragon and Redhawk and Valkyrie. You're not the same as before. You've all changed, a great deal. I want an explanation, right now."
We were all gathered around them, against the walls. I had one arm over Priestess's shoulder, Valkyrie was with Scrapper, Tara and Gildron were by the door, Redhawk was with Whit, and Dragon was standing by Psycho's tank with Twister. We all looked considerably better after the opportunity to wash up and have our wounds tended.
"You're right, One," I said. "You're absolutely right. Things are not exactly as they seem. Years have passed since we entered the Mound with you. Long, lonely years in exile for all of us, for Eight and Ten and Eleven and me, for Tara and Gildron. Years of regret and hopelessness, years of mourning, for you and our missing comrades. It's a long story. I'll try to keep it brief, but I'll warn you in advance—you're in for a big surprise."
"Let's hear it," Snow Leopard said. And I told him what had happened to me, since the mission, and Redhawk and Valkyrie and Dragon told him what had happened to them, and Tara and Gildron and Whit told their stories. When we were finished there was a long, long silence. Nothing more needed to be said. The mission was over, at last. Beta was victorious.
***
A blinding white sun gently toasted my flesh as I lay on my back in the warm sands, my eyes closed, the sun burning a white glow right through my eyelids. I could hear a soothing rush as the surf broke gently against the beach. I was maxing out, floating away on pure sensory overload, pure pleasure. A faint breeze touched my skin and it was like ice. Priestess stirred in my arms.
"This is incredible!" she whispered. I opened my eyes. She was sitting up, looking around. The sky was a blinding blue, except for that one glittering white star. We were facing a great ocean that receded into the distance, possibly forever. Gentle swells were rolling in from the horizon, breaking softly onto a deserted beach of blinding pink coral sand as fine as powder that stretched away as far as we could see. Behind us a thick, cool forest of tropical palms offered shelter from the heat.
I sat up, and my eyes were only for Priestess. She had flesh patches on her neck and arms and legs and she was still slimy with medgel, but I hardly saw that. I saw only Priestess, inky hair like wet silk, faintly alive in the soft breeze, a perfect child's face sculpted by the Gods, soulful liquid eyes of deep, dark chocolate, small tender lips like ripe cherries, a slim, supple body with long, luscious legs. She was looking out at the ocean, far away. My voice was paralyzed. I couldn't reply. I could only look, worshipping her, numb with love. We had been swimming and the water was warm and salty. Her light skin had tanned to a pale brown, now powdered with sand. She had on a sleeveless top, wet and clinging to her breasts, but her panties were long gone, somewhere out in the ocean. We had been making l
ove on the beach in that glorious sunlight for hours, totally shameless. We had been starved for each other, and now we were making up for our time apart. For Priestess, it had been just one terrifying day, but for me it had been years. I thanked Deadman and all the Gods for bringing her back to me.
"I heard you calling me, Priestess, even when they took my memory. Even when I didn't know who I was, I could hear you calling me."
"Good! I'll never leave you, Thinker. They can kill me—whatever. It won't matter. We'll meet in Heaven." I knew she meant every word.
"Give me a kiss." I pulled her to me, and we floated away again, lost in love. I knew it wouldn't do any good to try and get her top off. She had taken x-max in the chest on Mongera, and they had to rebuild her chest and ribs and breasts. There had not been time to properly heal the wounds, and the scars were extensive. She wouldn't let me see it.
"I want you inside me," she hissed in my ear. "Again!"
"Turn over," I said. She stretched out on the sand on her flat belly and I let a hand roam down her back to her lovely, dimpled little rear. Long, long legs, toasting in the sun—Deadman save us!
"This place is amazing," she said. "Are you sure nobody can see us?"
"This is state of the art," I replied. "You won't find better than this anywhere. We trained for the Mound here. And nobody can see us. This room is ours. Nobody can see what goes on in here except the techs."
"What!" She scrambled to her knees instantly, enraged, whipping a towel around her hips, spraying sand. "The techs!"
I was on my back, howling in glee. "Only kidding! Kidding! Calm down, Priestess, Deadman, what a prude! The techs can't see us—relax!"
"Are you sure?" She was not amused.
"Priestess, nobody can see us except Tara—it's all right."
"What! Tara!"
I collapsed again, rolling in the sand. She threw the towel at me. I tackled her, pinioning her against the sand.
"Nobody can see us, Priestess. Not even Tara."
"If you do that again, I'm going to pinch you where it hurts!"
"Priestess, the only record of what goes on in this sim room is the program disk, and I've arranged to purchase a copy from the girl who's in charge of…" Nine lunged for my most vulnerable part.
"Priestess! Don't you want a record of our most intimate moments? Don't you care?"
She stopped struggling, and looked up dreamily into my eyes. "You're treading on thin ice, buster," she said weakly.
"I love you forever, Priestess," I said. "I'll never leave you."
"Really?" She was looking into my eyes, sadly.
"Really."
"And what about Moontouch and your son?" My heart gave a little jolt. She was still looking at me. She was incredibly beautiful. How could I possibly live without her? Impossible!
"You know about Moontouch?"
"I've known about her from the beginning. Did you think it was a secret? There are no secrets in Beta."
No secrets—yes. She was certainly right. I had been deceiving only myself all along, trying to avoid this very moment.
"I'm sorry, Priestess. I know it's stupid to say it, but I'm sorry. I was afraid to tell you. I couldn't face the thought of losing you."
"So you thought you'd keep us both." She was looking down, running a finger idly through the sand.
"It wasn't that way at first with Moontouch. I was weak, I'll admit it. But I thought I'd never see her again. I thought I had no choice, that the Legion would make it impossible. But then she had my baby. Good Lord. I wasn't ready for that. It certainly made a difference. I guess it changed my life."
"Do you love her?"
"Yes."
"And your son?"
"Yes—I love him, too."
"And me?"
"Yes! More than ever! Stronger than ever! I sacrificed everything for you, Priestess. I travelled into another universe for you. I leaped time for you. I left Moontouch and my son behind, maybe forever, for you. It was all for you. You were calling to me all those years, from the starmass. Instants, years, it's the same. You can't question my love for you, Priestess. I've given you everything I have. I'm your love slave. You own my soul."
"You're going back to her, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"And what about me?"
"You're coming with me. I told you. I can't leave you, Priestess. It would kill me. I won't leave you. And I can't abandon my family. You'll have to come with me."
"You've got it all figured out, haven't you?"
"Do you want me to beg you? I'll do it. What else must I do to prove my love? Haven't I done enough?"
"So what's my position in Moontouch's court—royal concubine? How does she feel about that? Or have you forgotten to tell her about me?" She was glaring down at the sand again.
"Moontouch knows all about you. I showed her your picture. She said you're beautiful. She doesn't mind. She agrees I can take you as Second Wife. But she ruled out a Third Wife. She was very insistent about that."
"I don't believe it! I was right—I'm to be your concubine!" A flash of anger smouldered in her eyes.
"No! Don't you say it! You'll be my wife, Priestess. My eternal love. I'll stay with you forever—I'll never leave you!"
"Except for every other day. Is that how it'll work? Or do I get alternate weeks?" She shook her hair back and blinked those big brown eyes at me. I think she knew it made me dizzy. "Or do all three of us share a bed? You really are something, Thinker. I've never met anyone like you."
"I'm going to kill myself if you leave me, Priestess. I'll shoot myself right through the head." I meant every word.
She looked away, out over the artificial sea, then turned back. A faint breeze toyed with her silky hair. Her tender skin was turning a toasty brown.
"Can we have a baby?" she asked me. I leaned over and kissed her, passionately. My heart was thumping. I felt an overwhelming gratitude and love for Beta Nine. I knew living with the two of them was going to approach the level of tension we had felt in the Mound, but nothing scared me any more.
"Tell Moontouch she's going to have to be Second Wife, not me," Priestess said. "I found you first."
I was supremely confident. Tara's words were still ringing in my ears—"Victory, Wester. Total victory! " Yes, I thought. Total victory, for Beta Three. I thanked Deadman and the Gods of War.
***
I tapped on the door to Tara's cube. It slid open. She was sitting at a small conference table, alone under a wall full of d-screens. Her face was deathly pale and her eyes were far away. She had never before invited me to her cube. It was about four times the size of mine.
"Nice cube," I said.
"I didn't want it," she replied quietly. "I wanted one the same size as everybody else's. They said as Commander I needed the extra space."
"You don't look so good. What's up?" I joined her at the table.
"I just spoke with Two Two One. The link is working perfectly. I told him exactly what we had done."
"I see."
"It's not good, Wester."
"I didn't think it would be."
"We're in deep trouble."
"It doesn't matter. It's done. It's over."
"He was actually quite understanding. He was pleased that the mission was successful. He was pleased that we got our missing squadies back."
"And?"
"We deliberately disobeyed a direct order, Wester. In time of war. We risked the entire ship and the crew and the D-neg and the time drive and the Legion's future. We risked everything. We gambled with the future of all mankind, for Beta."
"I'd do it again."
"So would I. That's the problem." She sighed, and her eyes went to one of the wall screens. "It's a shame. My greatest triumph will also be the end of my Legion career."
"We were totally successful. You've got nothing to regret. You'll go down in history as the greatest Legionnaire of all time. Besides, what are you worried about? I was in command, not you. I gave the orders, not you. That
's what I'll tell them."
"No, Wester. Nothing we say will make any difference. I was the overall Mission Commander. We're both responsible."
"Wonderful. We return with all the secrets of the Cosmos plus a missing squad and they're not happy. Fine. What are they going to do to us?"
"You know the penalty for disobeying orders in wartime."
"Court martial and execution."
"Correct."
"It doesn't matter," I said. "I really don't care, Tara. We were successful—totally successful. We did their mission and we did ours. I don't care. I'll die happy. I really will! If you want to look at the big picture, you can say we made a difference. To the galaxy, to Beta, to those we love. You and I weren't just along for the ride, Tara. They can execute us, but it won't change history. Everyone is going to remember us!"
"You're right there, Wester. But the picture is not quite that gloomy. As I said, Two Two One was sympathetic, although he did point out the seriousness of our situation. We'll certainly be arrested upon arrival at Dindabai, and relieved of our duties and imprisoned. But it won't be that easy for the Command to decide what to do with us. There are provisions for people who display initiative by disobeying orders that are rendered unrealistic by a rapidly changing combat situation—assuming that disobeying the orders leads to victory and not defeat. It's hard to tell if we can use that argument in our case, but it's one possibility. Another problem facing the Command is that it's going to be very, very difficult to execute us for rescuing Legion troopers. This is a very emotional issue with the Legion. The Legion risks everything for its troops—just as we did. We disobeyed orders in order to rescue Legion troopers. I don't think the Legion has ever grappled with an issue quite like this one. They're going to think long and hard before executing us."
"What do you think is going to happen?"
"We're going to be facing some serious stockade time at a minimum. How are you at breaking rocks?"
"Never really tried it."
"I think we'll both get a chance. I understand it builds character."
Secret of the Legion Page 41