"Im surprised you survived."

We demonstrated our spinal cannons. She looked them over appreciatively. "We dont have much in the way of heavy weaponry. A few specialists with belchers that still operate, thats it. Snap rifles dont even get their attention."

I nodded, thinking it over. Light troops would be hard pressed to damage this enemy. The machines were just too big and too tough.

"My apologies for taking so long to get here, sir," I told the Centurion.

She looked at me for a second. "We didnt honestly think anyone would come. Im Centurion Belter."

"Veteran McGill." I introduced my specialists, Natasha and Sargon. We checked on the status of the surviving group. It was pretty good, all things considered. They had supplies and weapons. The injured had already died out, which made things simpler.

"Do you have a confirmation list?" Natasha asked.

Grim-faced, Centurion Belter touched her tapper to Natashas. "Thats it. Weve lost a lot more however, Im sure of it."

"How many people do you have hiding down here?" I asked.

"There are a few other groups like this one. Altogether, I would say theres more than a full cohort. Fortunately, the caverns are huge. We think smaller machines burrowed these tunnels years back."

I whistled. Somewhere between eighty and ninety percent casualties. Solstice hadnt been wiped, but it had been a d.a.m.ned close thing.

"Weve been trying to tunnel our way out," Belter explained. "Thats been the survival plan all along. The trouble is the ground is full of metals and hard to dig through. We managed to connect tunnels with some the other survivors in these caverns, but thats all we could do."

I thought about the surrounding cliffs of metallic ore. There wasnt much chance the legionnaires could dig through the walls of the valley to safety. It was too far, and the earth was too dense.

"We killed most of the machines," I said. "I suggest you get your people together and follow us out. Our dragons can kill these machines with focused fire."

She shook her head. "Its too late for that tonight," she said. "Nightfall is coming soon. Thats when most of them show up."

Staring at her for a few seconds, I blinked, then narrowed my eyes. "Are you saying the thirty-odd machines we encountered isnt all of them?"

Centurion Belter laughed. "Thirty machines? No, thats like low-tide around here. Tonight, there will be three hundred. Maybe more after the word gets out that there are freshly dead machine carca.s.ses to feed on. You see, weve managed to make small breakout attacks before, but its always caused more machines to show up."

"Uh...maybe we should get out of here right now."

She checked her tapper. "Too late for that. In fact, youd better warn the rest of your unit to come down here to hide. Theyll be all around us in these spikes, crawling in to feed at this spot. Its like a watering hole for them-high grade ore walls and all. Thats why weve been trapped here, not daring to leave."

Without jawing anymore about it, I retreated to the surface. Sure enough, I could see fresh machines coming in over the lips of the valley walls. Racing my dragon up to where Graves waited, I informed him personally.

"Weve got to tell Winslade about this, sir," I said.

"What the h.e.l.l have you gotten us into now, McGill?"

"I didnt make these crazy machines, Centurion."

"No, but you helped ring the dinner bell! Yes, I heard about that, never mind from who." He sighed and tried to think. "All right," he said after a moment. "Im sending a courier now. Stand by."

In the end, Winslade arrived to see the enemy ma.s.sing all around us. There were twenty machines roaming the valley, gorging themselves on refined metals. I could tell from the look in his eye that he was worried. He was a hog, not a true fighting man. Death wasnt a normal part of existence to his desk-flying kind.

"How many did Centurion Belter say were coming?" he asked me.

"Hundreds, sir."

"We cant rescue the Solstice troopers," he said decisively. "We dont have time, and we cant outrun these machines if were babysitting troops."

"Your orders, Primus?" Graves asked.

"Get ready to pull out," Winslade replied.

We did as he ordered-but we didnt make it. The machines had been gathering slowly and steadily, but as darkness fell over the badlands, they came on in a surge. They were all around us in the gullies and slithering over the hills, moving in from every direction toward our location. They were coming home to sleep, or feed, or mate, or whatever. It didnt really matter. We were surrounded.

In the end, we had to race down into the valley and stash ourselves in the caverns. The machines gave chase, but after we blasted a few and closed the polymer domes, they gave up. To them, plastic was a strange, possibly nasty-tasting material. They avoided it, and we were left in peace.

Except that we were trapped underground, along with the survivors of Legion Solstice.

-20-.

Winslade chanced a powerful transmission up into s.p.a.ce the next morning when most of the machines had retreated. Wed hooked up a transceiver just outside of a tunnel mouth and blasted a high-powered compressed message up into s.p.a.ce. The message reported our situation to Turov, who had left the surface and returned to her ships.

A fair-sized group of officers and noncoms had gathered in one of the central chambers. Overhead, the roof of the place glittered with nodules of ore and embedded crystals. We hadnt really gathered for any formal purpose. Leaders tended to clump up together to plan and talk. We hadnt known what else to do. For the most part, we were waiting on the word from above.

Winslade was out of his depth, I think. He hadnt put forward any comprehensible plans of his own other than to guard the entrances and wait out the night.

Winslade and Turov conversed privately. He was the only one who could hear what she said. When Winslade closed the com channel, his face was even whiter than usual.

"Theyre going to use the broadsides," he told us with a flickering smile. "Theyre going to smash these machines all at once!"

I knew right off why he was sweating. A murmur swept the room. Overhead, the ceiling sent spills of dust down into our faces. The machines, stirred up by his transmission, were rioting, tearing at the ground. I hoped they couldnt get through, or at least that they would get bored and give up before they managed to dig deeply enough. There were, by reported count, more than a hundred of them hanging around today.

"The big guns?" asked Graves. "Fusion-powered sh.e.l.ls landing right here, on top of us?"

"Thats exactly what I mean," Winslade said.

"Primus?" I said, speaking up in the stunned silence that followed Winslades announcement.

"What is it, McGill?" Winslade asked with a resigned voice. He was tapping at his tablet.

"Sir, such a move might well kill everyone in this room."

Winslades eyeb.a.l.l.s slid sideways from his tablet to look at me. "That is supposition, Veteran. This is an officers meeting, and I would appreciate it if-"

"Sir?" I asked, interrupting him again. I was going for broke, but h.e.l.l, I figured we were all about to die anyway. "Can you and I have a private word, sir? I might be able to help."

Winslade eyed me quietly. I stared back.

He had to know what I was thinking. I had a special connection with Turov. He knew that-everyone did.

"Dismissed!" he said, waving us away.

I hung around as the officers filtered out. Graves pa.s.sed me and gave me a flat frown. He shook his head slightly, discouragingly. In return, I gave him a smile and a bright nod. Sighing, he left.

Winslades eyeb.a.l.l.s slid to me again when the last man had vacated the chamber. "I meant you too, Veteran," he said.

"Sorry Primus, I misunderstood. But can I say one thing?"

"If you must."

"Those broadsides-have you seen them fire on a planet before, sir? I was in Minotaurs tactical fire control center when we bombarded Tech World, and do you know what? If those sh.e.l.ls come arcing down into this general vicinity, were all paste."

"You may be correct, but thats not our decision to make."

"Oh sure," I said, "the fleet people might get around to reviving all of us eventually. But what do you think will happen to your auxiliary cohort if all the dragons are destroyed? Do you think theyll give you a budget to buy a hundred new ones? Might it not be easier-and much cheaper-to disband your command and call it a bad idea?"

Winslade grimly watched me as I mouthed these d.a.m.ning words. Hed never been a man with a pleasant expression, but if looks could kill, I would have been struck dead.

"Dont you think I know that, McGill?" he hissed. "Is this private discussion just an excuse for you to gloat before were all blown to atoms?"

"No sir, Im trying to solve our mutual problem."

"Which is?"

"Turov, of course. Are you aware I have a special relationship with her? I might be able to put in a good word."

He chewed his lower lip for a second. It was an ugly thing to watch a man do.

"Why not?" he said. "It will stir up the machines, but theyre tearing up the landscape anyway. Lets call her."

He used his private com unit to contact Turov, then handed me the headset.

She didnt answer right off-but I let the channel request continue beeping in her ear. If any other noncom had pulled this stunt, theyd have been up for a court martial by the end of the day. But Turov and I had a connection that I was willing to gamble on.

"What is it, Winslade?" she answered finally. "I have command preparations to make. You cant simply contact me whenever you wish-its unseemly."

"Uh...yes, Imperator. This is Veteran James McGill, sir. I apologize, sir, but this is quite literally a matter of life and death."

"McGill?" she asked incredulously. "What are you talking about?"

"Have you ever seen the impact point of a barrage from one of these warships, Imperator? Well I have-three times in fact, if you include the bombardment of the squid moon base in this system. In fact, Ive aimed and fired them myself more than once. I think Im the only human in existence who can make that claim."

She was silent for a second. I figured she was probably seething.

"Thats not officially acceptable information, Veteran," she said. It sounded like her words were coming out between clenched teeth.

The "officially acceptable information" she was referring to was a lie she and I had cooked up back on Tech World. It was generally known Id been involved in the firing of Minotaurs broadsides-but Turovs official story to the bra.s.s had left my significant role out. She liked to pretend it was all her idea to fire the big guns.

Actually, our arrangement had been more of a mutually beneficial bargain than a plan. A plan, to my way of thinking, required forethought and...well, planning. Wed made our deal in the heat of desperation.

For all its flaws, the arrangement had kept me from being permed for misconduct while it gave her the Galactic key. Almost as important, it misled everyone who cared into believing Id fired Minotaurs big guns under her orders.

It was a fiction that had benefited us both for over a year now. If it ever got out that a minor subordinate under her command had changed the course of a battle-and possibly all human history-her career wouldve been toast. She and I had always pretended my firing of the broadsides at the squid ship was part of her grand scheme-part of her innovative boldness.

"How did you get Winslades com-set, anyway?" she demanded.

"I borrowed it, sir. Anyway, back to the broadsides-Im telling the truth, and we both know it. Weve seen what these weapons can do. You have to know that the two surviving cohorts down here will die in the blast along with the enemy machines."

"Youre correct," she said after a quiet pause. "Well wait until tonight when all the machines show up. Well even send back and forth some radio signals to get them stirred up. I admit that some damage may be sustained due to friendly fire. The machines are so well stacked up, however, we cant afford to miss this opportunity to wipe them all out."

"But you cant use those weapons here, sir. Theyll destroy everything. I dont think Winslades cohort would even survive."

"Youre wrong. Our techs have done the math. Youre sheltering at a considerable depth."

"Sir, were underground. This land is highly metallic and will carry a seismic disturbance a long way. A cave-in is guaranteed. Well be crushed."

She was silent again for a second. I had the feeling she was consulting with someone else. "Why are you bringing this to me now?" she demanded. "Is Winslade behind your complaints? Is he hiding in that hole with you?"

I glanced at Winslade. He slowly shook his head.

"This is all me, sir," I told Turov. "Hold your fire. We think we can break out of this mess."

"How?"

"Commit the lifters, sir. We only need three of them. Just think, if the dragons are all wiped out-d.a.m.n, thats a lot of expensive hardware destroyed. Youll have to explain the loss to Hegemony. After losing Pegasus, the bill for this campaign must be pretty high already."

"You want me to risk three lifters to save your sorry a.s.s a death, is that it?"

"It would be the considerate thing to do, sir."

"Do I hear a threat?" she asked suddenly. "Youre implying youll talk about our prior dealings if I dont comply, correct?"

This turn in the conversation startled me. I hadnt been implying anything of the kind. Id been more hoping to persuade her to see reason than trying to apply pressure.

"No sir, I-"

"That wont work, McGill. All I have to do is withhold your revival indefinitely. After a week, your data could be quietly lost. Regrettable, but its happened before."

"Told you it wouldnt work," Winslade said quietly.

I glanced at him. Hed either been listening in on my conversation, or he was pretty good at reading my disappointed facial expressions.

I was finally getting mad at Turov. This woman suspected everyone of skullduggery just because she was so good at it herself.

"Listen Imperator," I said, "Im not threatening you with anything. Our secrets are safe. What Im suggesting is a way out of this. Dont risk the bombardment. Those broadsides will tear a hole in this planets crust. You might lose everything. What if the squids show up again after that?"

She was quiet again.

"I get it," she said. "I understand your confidence now. You would not dare to threaten me if you didnt have an ace in the hole, as they say. I havent forgotten your maneuvering during the elections last year. You must have friends in Varus and aboard my ships. People who will blackmail me to get you revived. I hadnt thought you would-never mind."

I hardly knew what she was talking about. People often attributed near G.o.d-like powers to me, but honestly, I only half knew what the heck I was doing most of the time.