She was quiet for a time. I made no moves on her, other than to get comfortable.

"Am I bothering you?" she asked.

"You sure are. I was sleeping-and youre kind of freaking me out."

"Why?"

"Because youre married to someone else!"

"Oh. We colonists dont operate that way. Jealousy is a primitive thing. Weve moved past it in our culture."

I chuckled, not believing her for one second. From what Id seen on Dust World, people were just as jealous as anywhere else. h.e.l.l, one little weasel named Stott had killed me over jealousy.

An unexpected full-moon face appeared above us in the gloom of the large tent. It was Carlos, and he was frowning down on us like the face of the Almighty himself.

"Could you two keep it down?" he asked.

The truth was, there was very little privacy at night in a tent full of your entire squad. Often on Machine World, there had been a screeching wind that covered up any noises people made at night. But tonight, it was dead calm outside.

"Youre just as annoying as people say you are," Della marveled at Carlos.

"Look, McGill," he whispered. "Just screw her and get it over with. Weve only got about four hours until dawn."

He went away at last. I hadnt made a single move on Della all this time. I had my arm around her, and I was thinking about doing more-but it just didnt feel right. A marriage was a marriage where I came from.

She grabbed my arm, lifted it up to her face, and activated my tapper.

Curious, I let her do it and looked on. She paged to my photos and vids section. She quickly found the shots of our daughter.

"Youve looked at them, at least. Several times, in fact. I can see the date-marks on the files. Id half-expected to find them all erased."

"Della, why did you come over here and climb into my bag with me?"

She put her head on my shoulder. "Im not entirely sure. I just do what I feel like in these situations."

I could understand that, so I relaxed and tried to sleep, because thats what I felt like doing. I actually managed it for a few minutes before she started talking again and woke me up.

"This bag really is luxuriously warm," she said.

"Yes, it is. Now why dont you pipe down and let me sleep?"

She fell silent for a time, but it didnt last.

"Dont you want to have s.e.x?" she asked finally.

There it was, out in the open.

"Not if youre still married."

She sat up and looked me over curiously in the dim light. "You really are a strange one, James McGill."

"You dont know the half of it, lady," Carlos said. His froggy voice came out of the darkness nearby, alarmingly close.

That kind of killed her mood at last. Della crawled out of my bag, gave me a tiny kiss on the forehead, and left. She went back to her own bed, and I sighed tiredly. I was out like a light after that, but I had troubled dreams for the few hours that remained of the night.

-32-.

The gray stillness of dawn was split open by the roar of incoming fire. A bombardment began, one that consisted of green-lit falling objects. They reminded me of the globes theyd dropped on us back on Dust World. Those had been gas attacks. These globes couldnt be gas-we were all enclosed in vac suits so gas was pointless.

I made my way out of my tent into the cold of early morning. I could feel that cold, even through my suit. It cut lines across my body wherever my suit folded up and allowed me to sense what it was really like outside my tiny enclosure.

"What do the squids think theyre doing?" Kivi demanded, coming up to stand next to me.

We watched as the green b.a.l.l.s popped and liquid splashed the rocky walls of our shelter. They smoked there, melting the methane snow.

"I dont know what that stuff is," I said, "but I doubt its meant to refresh us. Everyone saddle-up! Get inside your dragons, now!"

This announcement was met with a general chorus of grumbling.

"I havent even taken a p.i.s.s yet, Vet," Carlos said.

My people scrambled to obey quickly enough, however, when they saw one of the green globes wobble into our sheltered area and touch our big tent.

The material smoked for a moment, then the tent disintegrated. It sagged like a popped balloon.

We climbed into our machines and got them moving. All around us, the infantry were ducking for whatever cover they could find in the cracks and crannies of the gully we were hiding in. I pitied the poor b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. They didnt have a nice temperature-controlled vehicle to hide inside of. They had to live like c.o.c.kroaches exposed on the surface.

The genius of the squid attack became obvious when a rivulet of the green stuff ran down under the b.u.t.ts of a half-dozen crouching soldiers. There they were, one minute trying to look in every direction at once, then in the next, their suits were unraveling, exposing them to the brutal elements of Machine World.

People howled and hobbled. Their boots burned away, their legs smoked white. Any exposed skin quickly blistered due to the acidic liquid then froze to a purplish-gray as the frost had its way with them.

Before I could request orders from Centurion Graves, he gave them to me.

"McGill, its time to advance again. The enemy has zeroed our position and theyll burn us out of here one way or another. I think its time we took the fight to them."

"Right sir-which way?"

"Check your HUD map. Follow the tactical display. Youll move straight upslope with Belters unit behind you. The rest of the cavalry will flank."

"Uh...thanks, sir."

I checked on my orders. There was no clear endpoint to our advance. If I was a betting man, Id say Graves had tapped a likely spot for the enemy position then just ordered me to attack it, hoping thered be someone to kill when I got there.

"What kind of intel have we got on the enemy positions?" I asked.

"Precious little. Natasha and about a dozen other techs flew buzzers uphill last night, but they were all knocked out before they were a kilometer out. We should have at least that far to go before we encounter serious resistance. Its my opinion that the squids have retreated farther upslope and are bombarding us now to keep us pinned, stalling for time."

"Your opinion, sir?"

"Thats right. Have you got a problem with your orders, McGill?"

"Not at all, sir. Ill let you know when I find the slimy b.a.s.t.a.r.ds."

I closed the channel and sighed. I decided to relay our waypoint to the squad, but not to pa.s.s on the rest of Graves vague ideas. It was best if the squad believed we knew where the h.e.l.l we were going.

This march was different. The enemy didnt fire at us with small arms. Maybe theyd realized those attacks hadnt been all that effective yesterday. In fact, theyd only served to pinpoint their locations for the bombardment Turov had launched at the end.

Instead, we marched into the bl.u.s.tery frozen silence of Machine World without facing resistance. It was eerie not knowing what might be a hundred meters ahead. The dragons to either of my flanks were churning uphill, scrabbling on the slippery rock. They were like dark shadows shrouded by mist.

Behind each dragon marched a dozen or more foot-soldiers. Now and then one fell and had to be helped up. I knew some were already injured but terrified to tell their commanders. Under these circ.u.mstances, a lame soldier was a liability that would best be put down to start over again at the legion bases at the bottom of this endless mountain.

"Vet?" called Kivi, who was on point. "Theres something-come look at this."

I goaded my machines legs into a faster step. Soon, I was at her position.

What I noticed immediately was the mist. It was thinning out. There were gaps in the white sheets of stuff, like drifting breaks in a thick fog.

Not since Id landed on this world had I found conditions so clear. I immediately communicated this fact to Graves.

"Thats only to be expected," he said gruffly. "Youre in a high-alt.i.tude zone. Youve pa.s.sed beyond the fog layer, thats all. Now, advance to your a.s.signed coordinates and report in."

Ordering my squad to hold their positions and to be ready for anything, I advanced into the open alone.

It was a strange feeling, walking out of a fog bank that covered most of a planet. For the first time since Id set foot on Machine World, I saw the sky itself.

The heavens were blue-white. Another cloud-layer, higher than the one that wed walked up out of, hung overhead. Those clouds looked fluffy and white. I found them strangely normal and inviting. After getting a good look, I retreated back into the mists.

"McGill?" Belter called. "Im getting reports of the mist breaking up."

"Thats right, Centurion. Were getting up out of the fog layer at last."

"Thats not good. Not good at all. Hold your position, please."

"Ive been ordered to advance to the point on your tactical display, sir. My orders are from Centurion Graves."

"Hold your position, please," she repeated crisply.

I hesitated then did as she asked. I ordered my squad to hunker down in the last shreds of mist.

After about a minute, Centurion Belter got back to me. "Do you know that your centurion is a callous p.r.i.c.k?" she asked me.

"You must be talking about Graves," I said. "And yes sir, thats a fair a.s.sessment by any measure."

"Were going to do this, but were going to do this our way," she said. "I want you to charge to the designated coordinates. My infantry will follow as fast as they can."

"Uh...why the change of plan, sir?"

"Because I think the enemy is in the clear up there, waiting to ambush us. Theyll cut my unit to pieces in the open air."

"Your people did all right when we advanced on forces at the foot of this molehill. You can hide behind our hulls, just like before."

"Listen McGill," she said seriously. "They couldnt see us before. Now, theyll be able to use their scopes. Were walking over bare rock and most of my people are wearing the equivalent of pajamas. Theyll shoot right through your legs and take my troops out, shields or no."

"In that case why do you think Graves gave us these orders? Doesnt he understand the danger?"

"Of course he does. He thought of this long ago-I think his techs knew about the break in the fog. The sensors from the ships overhead should have given him a warning. He wants us to attack so well hold the enemys attention while the bulk of his force comes around a spur of rock and flanks."

Thinking about it and looking over the maps in my c.o.c.kpit, I had to admit she was probably right. We were decoys, distractions.

"Youre saying as long as we attack," I said thoughtfully, "were doing our part of this mission for Graves-just not exactly how hes ordered us to do it."

"Thats right."

I thought about it, but after about ten seconds of thinking, my com light was blinking again. It was Graves.

"McGill, what the h.e.l.l are you doing up there? Get off your a.s.s and get moving!"

"Yes, Centurion. Moving out now."

After closing the channel, I opened my squad channel and added Belter to the list.

"Cavalry, its time to charge," I said. "The enemy might not be exactly where the map indicates they are. When we take fire, well veer toward that fire, and well destroy the enemy when we meet them."

Della spoke up. "Permission to engage shields, sir."

"Denied. Theyll slow you down too much. Youre going to be left in the dust as it is with your heavier load-out. If you get in close enough to engage, you can turn the shields on at that time, at your discretion. Sound off, squad! This is it!"

They sounded off. No one seemed happy, but they were grimly determined. That was good enough for me.

We transferred power to the legs of our machines and switched off everything else except for basic sensors and weapons. Charging in a dragon was really a matter of resource management. You had to put as much power into the legs as you could without crippling the machines effectiveness when you reached the target.

"CHARGE!" I roared, my voice distorting over the com-link.

My dragons legs began to pump and all around me more than a dozen other vehicles did the same. We thundered about ten sweeping strides upslope before we were out of the fog and in the open.

How we must have looked to the enemy. Lumbering like giant predatory animals of metal, we tore up the slope with abandon. t.i.tanium claws sparked and screeched on stone. Inside my c.o.c.kpit, my vision bounced and lurched as we crossed uneven ground.

The infantry were racing behind us, but they were lost in the dust almost immediately. My lighter cavalry moved directly upslope at about sixty kilometers an hour over rough ground. This fact gave me a surge of pride. I wasnt aware of any ground force in history that could advance faster under these conditions.

Some small part of me had been holding out hope that the officers were wrong. That the enemy wasnt waiting for us to break out of the fog and become instant targets for everything on the mountain. I dared to think that the green acid-globes hadnt been dropped on us to goad us into attacking. But these faint hopes were shattered almost immediately upon exiting the roiling fog.

"Incoming fire!" shouted one of my squad mates. I didnt have time to look over my displays and identify him.

A storm of small-arms fire swept over my vehicle a second later. At first, it was all snap-rifles, I was pretty sure of that. They splattered us, pitting our armor, but they didnt know enough to concentrate and penetrate-not yet at least.

More green acid-b.a.l.l.s arced and fell. They had little effect on my cavalry, but I knew that the infantry in our wake would suffer. We charged on.

Inside my c.o.c.kpit, it began to feel a little warm. The engine was revving and had gone from a purr to a steady roar.