The surviving angels in Haven were exhausted from the struggle, but learned that Satan had chosen a world called Terra for his refuge. Terra was inhabited by a primitive, innocent people. Our leader was a fearless warrior, scientist, philosopher and holy man who led us with courage and mercy and wisdom to enlightenment. His calm, insightful logic and astounding miracles won millions of converts. He could cure the sick and raise the dead and change your life just by touching you. This was Godfrey of Bright Haven. He told us we had to help the innocents on Terra.
He led our exhausted knights to the Others and attacked Satan and his allies and after another protracted struggle, smashed their armies and chased them out of the Others. They fled back to Haven and hid in Mid Haven, which was inhabited by their allies, the Demons.
Many of our best knights died in the struggle for Earth. Godfrey was killed. And Satan – he was also killed.
Godfrey reappeared to us, as a powerful spirit, and promised he would always be with us. And he has kept that promise. He is God. He is all-powerful. We consult with him on everything. His views do not change. We do what is right, and just. Always. He rules from the dimension you call Dimension X. We have a strong spiritual connection with this dimension, which we call Paradise.
Satan also reappeared to his evil minions. And his views have not changed either. He also appears to be very powerful.
And now, the struggle is to continue, Breakblade said. Let us go inside. It is raining.
Bees came out of her trance, and blinked. Indeed it was raining, raindrops stinging her face. She had not even noticed, she had been so caught up in the story.
Δ
"Attention to Orders!" We snapped to attention as Ambassador Wester addressed us in the large conference room of Delta Research. Everybody was there, including a brace of Legion and civilian brass up front surrounding Wester. Everybody was in clad in formals, Legion and Fleetcom black and civilian grey. Kwan and Lan Hwa were in Assidic forest green and Nan the Man was in his plum-colored UMC formals with a chest full of medals. We had no idea what was up but knew it was important.
"Good morning, Delta," Wester said. "As you know the Legion does not hand out medals, or commendations. You have earned your combat crosses and blood badges by your deeds but there are no other awards for our soldiers. Our belief is that you are all heroes, and your recognition comes when your name shows up on the Legion Monument to the Dead. Delta Research has been exceptionally busy serving the people of ConFree. However, there is one way we can demonstrate our appreciation for your accomplishments. Professor, front and center!"
The Prof hustled up there to face Wester. The Prof seemed a bit surprised, which was itself surprising since it was the Prof who called the meeting. Wester picked up a d-card and read from it: "Headquarters, Ministry of War, Quaba City, dated 385/10/02. The Director-General of the Confederation of Free Worlds has reposed special trust and confidence in the patriotism, valor, fidelity and abilities of Commander Jarleman Surinto, warname Professor. In view of these qualities and his demonstrated potential for increased responsibility he is therefore promoted to Brigadier General with a date of rank of 385/08/03. By order of the Minister of War, James A. Seddon."
Wester pinned a silver general's star to the Prof's left collar, another to the right, then took one step back and saluted. The audience erupted. We shook the roof with wild, deafening applause, shouts, screams, howls. Those stars were for us – for all of us. The Confederation of Free Worlds was recognizing Delta Research, for all we had done. I felt so damned good.
But it wasn't over. When the applause finally slowed down, Wester addressed us again. "General Prof, please remain where you are. And please read the following." He slid another d-card over the wide podium to the Prof. The Prof picked it up and spoke.
"Attention to Orders! Bird, front and center!" Bird charged up there. And when the Prof finished reading the orders he pinned two stars to Bird's collar. Bird was also promoted to Brigadier General! There was no doubt he deserved it. Between them, Prof and Bird had cracked the secrets of the Demon starship and weapons systems. They were both geniuses. Everything Delta Research had accomplished flowed directly from those two. They may even have won the war against the Demons for us. This recognition was long overdue. We raised the roof again with our applause.
"Attention to Orders!" the Prof called again. "Bees, front and center!" It was just wonderful. Bees, Ice, Saka and I were all promoted to Commander. From enlisted to Commander, quite a jump. I was so proud and excited when the Prof pinned the commander bar to my blouse I was almost shaking.
Doggie was promoted to Major. Smiley, Arie and Scout all became Captains. I think they would have probably promoted Blackie if they could have figured out how to do it. We all deserve it, I thought. We sure as hell deserve it!
Nan the Man received the Legion Cross. That was something we presented to foreign soldiers or civilians who stood with us in battle. It was a Legion Cross in gold, a stunning design. The Prof pinned it to Nan's chest. Nan sure deserved it, for his actions on Bliss. He was the first UMC citizen to receive that award.
General Huynh of the Assidic Starforce also received a Legion Cross, we heard, although he was still on Pandaravos so the presentation was made by our embassy there. General Huynh was head of the Assidic Starforce. He had personally awarded me Assidic Starforce pilot wings after I learned how to fly the Demon saucer they had captured. It was good to know we were finally recognizing him. He had led our raid on Kratar. I had not expected to survive that one, but I did. Thanks to him.
And maybe best of all, the civilians Doctor Dimension, Paula Deep and Doctor Dorak all received Legion Crosses for their part in educating Delta research and – in Dorak's case – heroism in battle.
"What the hell did I tell you?" Arie asked me, with a giant grin.
"That's what the hell did I tell you, sir," I replied.
Δ
When Smiley and his lovely new bride arrived at Delta Research, we ambushed them. General Prof and Captain Nitro picked them up at the starport and walked them through the Delta Research main entrance. Delta was all there, in the main hall, and we burst into applause when they appeared.
"Welcome to Delta Research." The Prof smiled at Christine. "Smiley may be a little slow sometimes, but he's a good man. I promise we are all going to take good care of you." Christine appeared overwhelmed, hanging onto Smiley's arm, taking us all in.
"Hello," Blondie said, taking Christine by the hand.
"Oh! It’s you!" Christine said in surprise.
"Blondie, remember? Smiley was worried that you might be married. I did a little recon just to ensure you were still available. He didn't know about it. But he was glad to hear what I had to say when I got back. You're a good girl, Christine Morrison. And we are, indeed, going to take good care of you. We all love Smiley. And we're going to love you, too. Now tell me, did you slap him, like you said you would if he ever showed up?"
Christine smiled sadly, and lowered her voice. "No. It was very strange. When I saw him standing there, everything else all around me just slowly faded away and blacked out. The office was full of people, but they were suddenly invisible. There was only him, standing there. I could see every detail – crystal clear. My entire being was focused on him. Nothing else existed. It was tunnel vision. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before. Then he slowly raised his arms – as if reaching out to me. Not a word. I approached him, as if in a dream. And walked into his arms. And I didn't let go for a very, very long time."
"That's right," Smiley confirmed. "She cried like a baby. Everyone in the office was gaping at us. But we ignored them completely. When I took her away, they all cheered. I don't know if it was because they were glad to get rid of her, or they thought it was terrific that I had gotten down on one knee and showed her the ring and proposed to her, right there in the office. Anyway, they all cheered."
Christine became the girls' fourth musketeer. Honeyhair, Blondie, Mary and Christine. They w
ere a formidable gang, and you didn't want to get on their wrong side. Lan Hwa wasn't a member of the gang, as she stayed very close to her husband Saka, but she was friendly with all the other girls and was always there, along with Bees and Ice, when the Delta Wives Politburo was in formal session to map out the future for their husbands.
Δ
"So how is the occupation going?" I asked Nan the Man. We were sipping beer in the Viking. Doggie and Arie were with us.
"We call it the restoration, not occupation. Terra is ours by law and you're not occupiers if you're on your own property. That's the official line."
"All right, how is the restoration going?"
"Just fine. There was hardly any opposition. We had some casualties but it was mostly accidents and friendly fire. Nothing real serious, unless you were one of the unfortunates who were killed."
"How are you dealing with the PJ's?" Doggie asked.
"We try to keep it simple. We toss everybody into the camps – all suspects, that is – then see what we've got. It's execution for the leaders, activists and high-ranking government officials. We free anyone who appears to have been a dupe, a casual opportunist, or a mindless camp follower of one type or another. They have to sign a loyalty document in which they promise not to be stupid any more, or something like that. It's a nonsense document but if they're picked up for cause again, they die. And we make sure they know it."
"Are there a lot of executions?"
"Thousands. We publicize them. I don't have the latest figures."
"Is life getting back to normal again?"
"Yes. We've opened up feeding centers everywhere, to stop the starvation deaths. Everyone who shows up there has to register for work. Anyone who refuses to work is executed on the spot. We don't have time to screw around with these people. If you don’t work, you die. These parasites killed our country and now we're going to kill them. We're encouraging private business and getting the economy back on-track. Accepting public assistance without contributing to society is now treason – instead of government policy. And treason carries the death penalty. We're hoping to clean out the gene pool of all the deadwood."
"Who's running the government now?" Arie asked.
"It's martial law. Military rule, until things stabilize. We've divided the Aztlan continent into Military Districts. The rest of the planet is keeping real quiet, and the PJ elements overseas are bailing out and disappearing. A wise move. Because we know who they are."
"I suppose you heard the asteroid Pacifica rocketed past Earth with plenty of room to spare."
"Yes. I feel good to have been a part of that. You Delta people are saints."
No, I thought. We're not saints. We're just soldiers.
Δ
"No decisions have yet been made," the Prof said. "That's the first thing I wish to stress. We've sent a very detailed report to Galactic Info and on to the DG and everybody else that has the need to know. This is cosmic secret, so not a word outside this room, folks." We were standing around a large circular holo starmap generator in a briefing room. All of Delta was there and Ambassador Wester was standing by the Prof. The Prof activated the device and the lights cut out in the room and a huge glowing ball of light formed over the unit. Hundreds of silvery stars glowed in the vac, floating in a violet haze. Tendrils of glowing golden gas were coiled around the stars, embedded with tiny colorful jewels.
"I recently received a most interesting briefing from His Excellency Martial Breakblade. Bees interpreted for me." The Prof appeared to be very serious. "Breakblade gave us a glimpse of what is coming. And I want to share it with you all, now that we've sent our report off." He raised a laser pointer and poked it into the holo.
"As you can see, this is the Gulf. You are all familiar with this pestilential slice of the galaxy. First, the Asumara Holy Commune, and the capital world Asumara. More than fifty years ago, ConFree punished Asumara severely for their terrorism against our nationals. It doesn't seem to have made much difference. Next we have the Gulf Union – the two principal worlds are Nimbos and Yidah. And finally, the Pegal Stelcom, the People's Egalitarian Stellar Commune, principal worlds of Angaroth and Kotazh. All three of these Gulf slave states are totalitarian dictatorships in which their populations have no rights and are kept alive solely to serve the state. Some of them are so brainwashed that they believe they are working for a benevolent government, but some of them are so hopelessly oppressed and ground down and sedated and starved that they must realize – in the backs of their brains – that they are slaves and are doomed to die an early death. Out in the Gulf frontier, free of slave state control, we have the world Galinta, where we all successfully repulsed a Demon invasion."
The Prof paused, as if choosing his words carefully, then resumed. "Breakblade told me that the recent Demon attacks on Galinta, Traunair, Dajusdevon and Veda were just the first wave of attacks planned by Satan into our universe and galaxy. He states that Satan is the leader of the dark forces that control and animate the Demons and the other alien races that will be arrayed against us, and against God and the forces of light. Now, whether or not you believe in Satan or even God, you'd best pay attention because, whether or not Satan and God are real or spirits, or imaginary, the Brights and the Darks both believe in them and that's important.
"Yes, I said Darks. We have not met these creatures yet. These are the angels that were tossed out of Haven by the Brights. They follow Satan, and control the Demons. They instructed the Demons to flee into our universe, the Others as they call it, and it appears they let the Demons do this on their own. The first wave was like a test – a sacrifice – to see what they were dealing with. And our strong response, and the Brights' intervention, must have been a nasty surprise to them. But the Darks did not interfere.
"All right, back to the Gulf. ConFree policy has been to ignore these subhuman slave states, so long as they do not turn their attention to us. We'd love to wipe them from the map, to sanitize the galaxy and exterminate the oppressors like vermin, but we are not the galaxy's police force and we don't think those bastards are worth the life of a single Legion trooper. So we've left them alone. This may be changing.
"Those of you who have studied the Gulf may have wondered how such evil can be perpetrated by a government on its own people. I thought it was because mankind is capable of great evil. But the Brights have another answer for us. Breakblade says all three governments are now effectively controlled by Satan and his minions. Bright agents have confirmed that most upper-level government officers in all three regimes are possessed by Satanic spirits. That does not mean that the targets are even aware of what has happened, but it does mean they can be easily manipulated by the parasite spirits that possess them. Especially if the spirits are just reinforcing the natural inclinations of the subhuman target.
"Breakblade says that Satan has always specialized in subverting people internally and then having them do his will in all things. He is patient and resolute. The patient subversion of the Gulf states was his first step to cement his new foothold in the Others. The demon invasion was the next step, but it failed. The next invasion will be launched from within the Others, and will involve the Darks, the Demons, human armies from the slave states and a host of other evil forces, including phantom spirits from other dimensions.
"Oh man!" Arie broke in. "What do we know about the Darks?"
"All we know so far is that there is not much difference between Brights and Darks except the Darks have lost that skin glow that the Brights have. But they used to be angels. So they can do whatever the Brights can."
"Oh man."
"We'll get a full briefing before the action starts, don't worry."
If the Darks have all the power that the Brights have, how the hell are we going to fight them? I thought.
"All right. Again, the Gulf. Should our policy change? What are the Brights planning? The Brights are planning to attack the Satanic forces before they launch their next attack against us. Because the Dark objective is
to control the entire inhabited galaxy, for Satan. And we have no idea where the next attack or series of attacks will be targeted. It could be anywhere. ConFree, the AC, the UMC – anywhere. The Brights want to hit the Darks before they can organize their attack. And they told us Satan's base is right here, in the Gulf. Breakblade did not tell us exactly where the main base is, but he said they would welcome assistance in taking on the human armies that will be arrayed against them – and us.
"That means Asumara, the Gulf Union and the Pegal Stelcom. All of them."
"None of those states are militarily powerful, are they?" Doggie asked.
"No, they're not. Their military is focused on crushing any opposition from the population. But if the Darks are going to be participating in the campaign, it is not going to be a walk-over, that's for sure.
"Now, as I said when I began, no decisions have yet been made regarding anything. If ConFree does ally us with the Brights in the upcoming bloodfest, the B's are probably going to want to use Delta Research as interpreters with their human allies, so I imagine we'll be pretty close to the Bright knight leadership and not just kicking in doors and gunning down Demons like the last time, but – well, that's speculation."
"Assuming all this is true," Scout said, "the B's are right. We should certainly attack the enemy first – before they attack us. Put them on the defensive. And keep attacking."
Δ
We soon had evidence that Satan had been hard at work, and his efforts were paying off. Galactic Info intercepted a Pegal Stelcom propaganda broadcast presumably designed to terrorize their citizens as well as galactic neighbors, and we watched it on a panoramic d-screen on the wall of Conference Room A. The view showed a massive wave of A-suited troopers, armored and armed, stomping past a reviewing stand in the heart of some bleak smoky industrial city, under dark grey skies. The troopers were eight abreast, rolling past the reviewing stand like some unstoppable armored tidal wave. We could practically feel the earth shaking. The A-suits were a dark grey with dull green faceplates. They carried weapons I had never seen before, battle rifles of a strange design. Up on the reviewing stand, the merciless despots in charge of life and death watched the show impassively, except for the occasional grim smirk of satisfaction. The roadway was lined with civilian spectators clad in dull colors. It was cold – they were all bundled up. Screeching martial music filled the air, punctuated with deep bass booms that were synchronized with the troopers' footsteps.
Prophet and the Blood March (Prophet of ConFree) Page 30