"We should thank that Warden fellow, don't you think?" Priestess asked.
"The Mask? Why thank him—he's getting a half million credits. He'd have happily popped us into a cell if somebody paid him more."
"I suppose you're right."
"Thank the Sandman, if you want to thank anyone. He found Whit for us."
"He should get the half-million—not The Mask."
"What did you give him?"
"Twenty thousand."
"Maybe Tara can come up with something extra for him."
"Did you make that call?" Priestess asked.
"I sent the message," I replied. "She'll know we're out, and headed for Monaro. Hopefully she can arrange a welcome, just in case the authorities have any reason to harass us."
"I must admit she was right. In the System, money talks."
"That's all that got us out. Tara's money—slave money."
"It's strange how things work," Priestess said sadly.
"All I want is to get back to Beta and have somebody hand me an E and point out the target," I said. "That's all I want. This civilian world is filthy. I feel unclean."
"I feel the same, Thinker. It's too complex out there. Our world is simpler."
"Yes—we're innocents, aren't we? Innocents." Professional killers, I thought, in the service of the unborn.
###
Tara didn't even meet us at the door when we finally made it back to her residence on Mica 3. The ape-man Gildron showed us into the sunny study overlooking the pool. Tara was there, poised by a comdesk, totally stunning and totally at ease, warm sunlight glowing off pale brown skin, lustrous auburn hair cascading down to her shoulders, a faint smile playing at her wide mouth, a warm light in her Assidic eyes.
"Well, well," she said calmly. "Welcome back, guys. Is this anyone we know?" Whit was still in her Ala-Ka-Sakara getup, olive skin, curly black hair and dark eyes.
"Hello, Cinta," Whit said timidly.
"That's a new look for Sub, isn't it?"
"We're so glad to see it, Cinta…we thought we'd never see it again."
"You've caused us a lot of trouble, Sub," Tara replied coldly.
"We're sorry, Cinta." Whit was trembling, her eyes blinking rapidly. "Did it…really pay a half million credits to get us back?"
"That will come out of your earnings, Sub. You can depend on that."
"We were foolish not to listen to it, Cinta." Tears, a river of tears, suddenly running down Whit's cheeks.
"The word is stupid. Now get to your quarters and clean up. We can talk later." Tara's face was cold and hard. Whit turned and left the room, crying silently. She looked back once at Cinta, then stumbled away.
"Weren't you a little hard on her, Tara?" I asked. "I thought you wanted her back."
Tara turned her face away from us. "Gildron," she said throatily, "bring dox."
"Are duance," Gildron replied, leaving the room. Tara turned back to face us, bravely, but she was blinking her eyes, and I could see they were wet.
"I wish to thank you all," she said. "You have restored my faith in humanity. I can't tell you how much this means to me. I thought I was completely alone. I asked for help and you came, without question, from across the galaxy. Yes, I wanted her back. When I saw her just now, I wanted to reach out and kiss her. But I don't want her to know that. I am in your debt, Beta Three. I am in debt to all of you. This kind of debt can never be repaid. The three of you have a claim on me, forever. If you ever need help, just call me. I'll come—you can bet your life on it!" A shudder ran over her slim body.
I was exhausted. Gildron came back with hot dox. My hands trembled as I opened the top. I could still see Biergart, sweating in the dark.
###
"This is hopeless! There's nothing going there!" I was at the comdesk in my room, scanning for a fast route back to Veda 6. It was another hazy golden summer day outside the window for Mica 3.
"There has to be something!" Priestess said. "We've got to get back to Beta."
"There's a lot of activity out there, but nothing seems to be going near Veda 6. There's a routine supply run, but that's not for another two weeks—we can't wait that long!"
"That's a ten," Priestess said.
"Alert, Gang," Dragon said, popping into the doorway. "Check out the local infonet on Fourteen. Ask for the news."
I hit the tab and the wall screen flashed and revealed a female news announcer, the background showing a pale, icy green planet girdled with a series of sparkling silvery rings. It was so utterly lovely and captivating that the words she was saying did not at first make any sense.
"First in the news, the Confederation has announced a major new military offensive against the Omni horde. According to a Starcom information bulletin released today, strong Legion units have dropped onto Uldo 4, a System world under Omni attack, to counter the Omni advance into Systie vac. The ConFree announcement stated that the Legion offensive was a joint operation in cooperation with Systie DefCorps units. This is the first joint Legion-DefCorps operation against the Omni threat, and may mark a significant new chapter in humanity's response to the alien challenge."
"Deadman!" I was transfixed before the screen.
"That's it," Dragon said from the doorway. "That's the offensive Snow Leopard was waiting for."
"We've got to get out of here—now!" Priestess stood up.
"Uldo," I said. "You can bet we're bound for Uldo."
"Maybe or maybe not," Dragon said, "but Beta's on Veda 6, and we'd better get our asses back there on antimat drive, or Snow Leopard's going to feed us to the bloodcats."
"What are we going to do, Thinker?" Priestess asked.
###
I found Tara that evening outside in the flowerhouse. It was almost midnight, and I hadn't found a ride to Veda 6. The night was soft and warm and the sky was full of stars. The flowerhouse was a wooden pavilion, heavy with exotic blooms, a rich musk saturating the air. Tara was a shadow, alone with the flowers, looking into the dark.
"Hello, Wester." She didn't even look at me, but she knew it was me. She always knew.
"Tara—what are you doing?"
"I'm thinking, Wester."
"You obviously work for a different Legion than I do. We're not encouraged to think. How's Whit doing?"
"She's fine. She'll be all right."
"We're having a little trouble getting transportation back to the Veda System," I said. "You know, our status limits what we can do on our own. I was wondering if you had any Legion contacts who could get us a non-sked to Veda, or anywhere nearby."
Tara didn't answer at first. She just continued gazing out into the night. Finally she spoke. "You know what I was thinking?"
"No—what were you thinking?"
"I was thinking that I have absolutely no control over my own destiny. Do you remember when I was your girl?"
Memories from another world, another time, light-years in the past. I had tried hard to forget her but had never succeeded. "Yes," I said. "I remember."
"We were so innocent, weren't we? We were children, playing at life. None of it was real, was it?"
"Maybe not to you—it seemed pretty real to me."
"Do you love Priestess?"
"Is this some kind of trick question?"
"No, I was just wondering."
"How about you, Tara? Don't you have a lover? You're certainly not alone in this world—I can't imagine that."
She smiled. Still not looking at me. "Sure—I've got Gildron. He's my live-in."
"Gildron! You're not serious. You can't be serious!"
"He's a real man," Tara said dreamily, "and he knows how to treat a woman. I feel so helpless when I'm in his arms."
"You must be insane! You mean you let that ape…"
A little-girl laugh, a squeal of pure delight, and it was the Tara I had known all those years ago. "He fell for it! I always could rattle your cage, couldn't I, Wester? You still believe everything I say!"
"All right, you got me aga
in." I was positively relieved. Gildron! Idiocy.
"My work keeps me very busy, Wester. I have no time for nonsense. But even if it were true about Gildron, who are you to object? You have an alien lover, don't you?"
Tara always took my breath away. I knew she was psychic, but I was always surprised when she demonstrated it. "She's not an alien," I replied quietly. "Moontouch is as human as we are." I was always on the defensive with Tara. Moontouch was an ache in my heart. You can't have lovers in the Legion—they are torn right from your arms.
"And she's had your baby—hasn't she?"
"That's right." I looked around nervously.
"That's a big responsibility, Wester. I'd be disappointed in you if you didn't do what was right."
"It's not always clear what's right."
"On the contrary, I've found that the most important issues are rarely that complicated."
"I'm glad everything is so clear to you. It must be a great comfort when you're delivering a cargo of slaves to some Systie rat-hole."
At first she did not respond. Then she sighed. "We all serve the same master, Wester, according to our abilities. My doubts are long gone. I'm on a mission from God." She sounded deadly serious, but with Tara I never knew.
"Well, could you ask God to get us to Veda 6?"
She turned to look at me, soft liquid eyes and a cascade of silky hair. "Sure." She picked up a starlink and activated it. Only Tara would be contemplating flowers in the night with a starlink by her side. The d-screen flickered and a face appeared. It was her Cyrillian security chief, jet black skin, cold slit eyes and sharpened white teeth.
"Pandaros, how's it going up there?" Tara asked.
"Fine, Commander. All quiet."
"Well, get the Maiden warmed up. Recall the crew—now. We're going on a little trip."
"Right away, Commander! When do we leave?"
"Can it get the crew back in four hours?"
"Whatever it says, Commander! We are all anxious to leave!" The Maiden's crew was on the Legion death list, I recalled. A visit to a Legion planet was probably not their idea of a good time.
"All right, do it. We leave in four hours."
"Done!" Tara broke the connection, and the screen faded. A soft, warm breeze washed over us. It was a spectacular night.
"I can't ask you to do that, Tara."
"You didn't ask."
"It's not your ship, Tara—I know that much. You can't just take off on a joy-ride to Veda 6 because we want to go there."
"You just watch me."
"But what about your responsibilities? What about that mission from God?"
"Pack your bags. I'm taking you to Veda 6." She stood up, looking past me, somewhere off in space.
"The Legion will have your head."
"They can burn in hell!" Her eyes were blazing.
###
"God! This is incredible!" I exclaimed. Stars, wheeling slowly overhead. A frozen night of icy stars, glowing red and golden nebulae, blue hot supernovas crackling a million light years away—an infinity of green gas and silver dust. Starstuff, awesome, magnificent. Meteors, streaking down from the heavens. The music of the stars rumbled away in the background, an awesome symphony, hot young stars screeching in agony, black holes booming out their deadly heartbeats, the voice of the cosmos, popping and snapping and whistling, running over my flesh with a little chill.
"It's beautiful!" Priestess whispered. We were together in the pleasure palace, floating on an airbed in one of Tara's sex cubes, going first class all the way to Veda 6 on the starship Maiden. We could do anything we wanted in that cube, but I liked the stars best of all.
The meteor shower continued. It put a chill to my flesh. I was naked, feverish and dizzy. We had been making love for hours. We could not stop. Priestess was so slim and lovely and vulnerable I could not keep my hands off her. She was a sex child, all long legs and arms and tousled dark hair and limpid eyes and yielding lips.
"Will you take off that thing?" I pleaded again. Priestess was naked except for a loose sleeveless top that she refused to remove.
"Kiss me," she whispered. I lost myself again in her sweet mouth. Starstuff, we were starstuff, floating in space.
"Come on, take it off," I insisted, caressing her breasts under the shirt.
"No. It's ugly. I want you to remember me the way I was before." Priestess had been hit on Mongera, point-blank auto x, and almost died. They had rebuilt her breasts, but the scars were extensive.
"I told you, Priestess—it's the mark of the Legion. It shows what you gave for humanity. It's something holy and beautiful. You shouldn't be ashamed to show your wounds. It's a badge of honor."
"No—it's ugly."
"It doesn't bother me! If it bothers you so much, why didn't you have it done back on Atom?"
"There was no time. Beta was off to Veda, and I didn't want to be left behind."
"Then it wasn't that important, was it?"
"Bet you can't make love again."
"Oh yeah? Well, that's up to you."
"To me? Me? Really? What do I have to do?" Another burst of silver meteors, shooting down from a starry sky. It was like a dream—a wonderful dream.
###
Veda 6 appeared on screen, a heavenly orb, phospho blue, brilliant polar ice caps glowing white, the filmy skin of atmosphere showing clearly against the black of space. I had to turn my eyes away—it was simply too much. When you saw it from space, it became awesomely clear just how fragile was our position in the universe. We were pond scum, wriggling in a thin sheet of life. Every inhabitable world was precious, as our race exploded into the dark. I knew it could all end in a cosmic instant, unless we were stronger and faster than everything else that was out there.
We contacted Veda Station as soon as we exited stardrive. A very young Legionnaire appeared on the screen as we watched behind Tara and Whit in the command chairs. We had never seen him before.
"This is Veda Station," the kid said. "Repeat your call sign please."
"This is the Personal Ship Maiden," I said. "Can you patch us through to Beta One, please."
"Who?"
"Beta One of CAT Two Four, Second of Atom's Road, Twelfth of the Twenty-second. Say, what's the story there? We've got three Beta troopers who want to rejoin their squad."
"Atom's Road! Sorry, guys, your squad is long gone, and so is your ship. Hold on, though, we've got a message for you somewhere."
"A message. Terrific." We were stunned by the news.
"We are in deep fecmat, guys," Dragon said.
"Something wrong?" Whit leaned back over the exec's chair. Her skin was its natural pale color again, and her own blonde hair was starting to grow back. It was still so short she looked like a boy.
"Yeah, I knew it was here. Stand by," the kid said. The screen flashed and Snow Leopard appeared suddenly, his pale face expressionless, his pink eyes focused right on us.
"Nice of you to drop by," he said quietly. "If you're listening to me now, it means you've made it back to Veda 6. That's good, but not as good as it could be. Our new mission is Uldo 4. Beta is under strength and we need you as soon as you can get there. I don't care how you do it—just get there! We'll be waiting. Your mission orders are attached. Beta One signing off."
The mission orders materialized in the doc tray. I called the young Legionnaire right back. "We need fast transportation to Uldo, trooper," I said. "What's available?"
"Sorry, Beta, there's nothing at all. Everything that could move is already on the way there. We're pretty much marooned here until the sit changes. Let's see…there's a supply run due here in two weeks—they're going on to the Meco Sector. That would put you in the general vicinity."
"Thanks—it won't do."
"We could use some extra help down here, guys—it's a bit quiet, but it's honest work."
"We'll let you know." I cut the transmission.
"Do we need another taxi ride?" Whit asked brightly.
Tara turned, and looked back
over her shoulder. "We'll set a course for Uldo."
"Wait a frac, Cinta," I said. "We certainly appreciate your help, but you'll lose your ship if you show up at Uldo. A major Legion op is like a black hole—it sucks up everything around it. They'll confiscate the Maiden, and you'll be lucky to ever get it back."
"We know all about the Legion," Tara replied. "And we assure you we always know exactly what we're doing."
"Goodness gracious," Whit smiled, "So our guests are staying! That's nice!" She shot a knowing glance at Eight. He gave her a wolfish grin.
Uldo, I thought—we're bound for Uldo. They had mentioned Uldo in Basic, but I couldn't remember what they had said. Something historical—what was it? I knew nothing about Uldo.
"Set course for Uldo," Tara instructed the ship.
Uldo 4, I thought—a System world, under attack by the O's. And the Legion was intervening, with the System's open agreement. That was a first. Hadn't the Legion learned yet that Systies are not to be trusted? They had betrayed us on Mongera!
"This is the big one," Dragon said. "This is where we stop the O's—or they stop us."
A historical mission. The survival, or the end, of humanity. That's what was at stake, I knew, on Uldo. But I didn't care about history any more—I cared only about Beta. How many dead so far? And how many more dead, for Uldo? I felt trapped and doomed and helpless, rushing onward to certain destruction, caught up in a cosmic typhoon, a galactic maelstrom of catastrophic, uncontrollable events. We were just like ants, fighting for our nests. Will it really make any difference to the galaxy, who wins and who loses? No. But it will make a difference to us.
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