"Really? Where is Centurion Belter?"

We both looked around then checked our tappers. She was on the dead list, waiting for revival back at base camp at the bottom of the hill. Carlos name was just two slots below hers.

"Looks like this unit needs a new commander, sir," I said. "You could appoint Adjunct Leeson."

"What? Leeson? Nonsense. That man is more than unimaginative. Hes downright slow. Turov has said it herself."

I looked around, hoping Leeson wasnt hearing this. Fortunately, I didnt see him.

"Im taking command of this unit personally," Winslade said.

Rotating my cha.s.sis, I looked him full in the face.

"You sir? An infantry unit?"

"Yes. Ill have to have a dragon of course. Id take yours, but youre too d.a.m.ned good at fighting in that thing. Which of your squad members is the least effective?"

Blinking, I couldnt believe what I was hearing. "You want to take another one of our last fighting dragons and use it for a jeep, sir?"

"Thats not how I would describe it," Winslade said with his eyes narrowing.

Trying to think fast, I came up with a dodge. "Ill come up with a name, sure. But Im surprised youre missing out on an opportunity like this."

"What do you mean?"

"Chances to stand out in front of bra.s.s and garner medals for action dont come every day for a new primus. But you know how to handle your career better than I do."

"Yes, I do. But wait a moment-are you suggesting Id do better on foot?"

"Well, not everyone is a glory hound. Not everyone wants to showcase their versatility in combat, either. No, youre probably better off staying in a dragon, sir. You just got to the rank of primus, anyway. This auxiliary cohort will probably be rebuilt to full strength when we get back home. No need to show anyone you can lead infantry as well. The conclusion will be obvious to anyone back on Earth that you can."

"Hmm," Winslade said, looking around doubtfully. A few of Belters hard-bitten group were leaning on their rifles, crouching in the snow and staring at us. They didnt say a word, but I had to wonder if a few of them might not end up hating me for this.

"McGill, Ive come to a decision," Winslade said. "Im marching with the infantry until Belter can be revived to relieve me."

"I see sir, very well."

I quickly trotted my dragon away from him before he could change his mind. I organized my cavalry squad and moved closer to Graves, fearing Belters troops might shoot me in the back.

-34-.

The ambush attack turned out to be all the squids had left in them. They didnt come at us again after that. We mopped up a few small concentrations of the enemy and chased off machines that became overly amorous toward our dragons and other equipment.

The mountain of pure t.i.tanium ore was ours for the taking-and we took it.

We found large mineshafts in the region where wed fought the squids to a halt. The enemy had been hiding in these shafts that went deep into the mountain, and the clear evidence was that theyd been here for some time.

"This was their central encampment on the planets surface," Graves said as he inspected the mining machines and piles of ore.

Small smelters were lined up for hundreds of meters. Perfectly stacked cubes of t.i.tanium stood next to every smelter. The squid miners themselves were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps theyd joined the combat ranks of the infantry and died alongside their comrades when we hit them.

"This is excellent," Winslade said, striding around the equipment and refined metals. "Weve got a ready-built mine and its fully operational. The t.i.tanium stored in these stacks is enough to form the hull of at least two ships the size of Minotaur. What a find!"

Certain things were now clear to me as well. The baby machine Id conversed with through pictures had told me the squids were already working with his kind. Now, I understood that reference. The tracks inside the mine werent all squid-tracks. They were the tracks of living machines as well. Theyd mined and refined this metal together.

The relationship struck me as both strange and equitable at the same time. The squids had gained an excellent source of raw materials for building their ships. The machines, on the other hand, had been provided a source of gourmet sustenance. For them, this mine was like a winery that produced the finest of vintages. Theyd probably been paid in metals, which helped explain how hard and light their bodily structures were. t.i.tanium was a fantastic metal. It was both light and strong and resistant to corrosion.

Winslade contacted Turov with the good news. He insisted on a video connection. He reported in alone, with a huge pile of t.i.tanium ingots as a backdrop-but without any of the rest of us in view. He even had us add a few hundred blocks of metal to the top of the stack he strutted in front of, until it swayed and stood unevenly, just to sweeten the image.

Stepping aside, I chuckled while Winslade brayed of his accomplishments to Turov.

"Hes a regular chip off the old block," I told Graves.

"Hes learned well from Turov, thats for sure," Graves said. "You know whats funny about that? Sh.e.l.l buy it. Sh.e.l.l be behind him one hundred percent, believing his bulls.h.i.t even though it sounds like an echo of her own."

"Whys that, sir?"

"Well, conmen are like that. A huckster is often a sucker for another huckster. I think theyre people who get swept up in the moment. People who can convince themselves their c.r.a.p is reality are very persuasive. Theyre also more likely to be swayed by the persuasiveness of another. Theyre people who get excited about things, and when they meet another of their own kind they like it."

His words didnt make total sense to me, but I couldnt deny what I was watching and hearing. Turov was praising him up and down for capturing the mine, as if hed killed a couple of thousand squids solo and dug this shaft into the rock with his fingernails.

"Those two are a match made in heaven," I said. "Thats for sure."

Graves looked at me sharply. "What are you suggesting?"

"Uh..." I said, wondering what Id stepped in this time. "Nothing special, sir. They just operate the same way and really seem to get each other."

"You dont know if they have an inappropriate relationship, do you?"

I stared at him for a second, then shook my head. "How would I know about that, sir?"

"Youre pretty close to both of them. I thought maybe...never mind."

"Consider it forgotten, Centurion."

But I found I couldnt forget it. Could Winslade be more to Turov than a kiss-up? Even though she looked like she was about twenty now, she was really pushing forty. I knew that she liked younger men-from personal experience. Winslade was barely thirty himself, and that technically made him the younger of the two. He probably wasnt that bad-looking of a guy, in a kind of skinny, slimy way. Of course, I was no judge of male attractiveness. Often in my life, Id figured a man was an unfortunate troll, only to be told later by various ladies he was positively dreamy.

Turov and Winslade? Could it be? Stranger things had happened-in fact, theyd happened to me. I couldnt discount anything, no matter how distasteful it might seem.

Over the next several hours we settled into the mines, making them our own. The first thing I did was work on my dragon, servicing it. The vehicle had fought well, but it had plenty of damage. There were pits and burns everywhere, and half the joints were squeaking and moving slowly due to heat-warping. Oil, nanite treatments and lots of elbow grease smoothed and resurfaced the fighting machine. I didnt know how soon Id need the dragon in top operating condition again.

All around me, my squaddies were doing the same as I was-because Id ordered them to. Our first concern was our dragons. Everything else, even eating, was secondary.

"Hey, McGill-Im back, and Im here for revenge!" called a familiar voice behind me.

I turned in surprise. It was Carlos. I shook my head in bewilderment.

"How the h.e.l.l did you catch a revive so fast?" I asked him.

"Dragon pilot," he said, stabbing his chest with his thumb. "Im marked in the book as a top priority for this push. I dont know who made that choice, but Im sure glad they did. If theyd known Id died as infantry, Id probably be stuck in the slime tanks for another week."

Grinning, I welcomed him back to the squad and shook his hand. More of my people showed up after him, including Harris and Sargon.

"Wait a minute," I asked Sargon. "Howd you guys get up here from base camp so fast?"

"They said the battle was over," Sargon explained, "so they sent a lifter down to move people uphill fast. Im sure as h.e.l.l glad I didnt have to walk up the side of this rock. Can you imagine how much that had to suck?"

He grinned at me, and I laughed.

"Youre glad you died right off," I a.s.sured him.

When we were done shining up our dragons, we found a good place to camp within the mining complex. Except for a few recon patrols, most of us were brought into the mines for shelter. That night, I was completely comfortable for the first time since Id landed on Machine World. I was even issued a cot to fold out under my sleeping bag. That was heavenly when compared to stretching out on gravel.

Besides the cushy cot, the mines were more livable than the exposed slopes. The interior of the mountain was much warmer than the surface. It had to be about minus ten degrees C in here. That was toasty when compared to what wed been enduring out in the open.

A storm blew up that night and powdered the land and all the frozen, dead bodies with fresh snow. In the morning, I stood outside on the steep mountainside and admired the view. This world had a strange, crystalline beauty all its own.

Carlos and Kivi found me out there. They had a funny look on their faces.

"What have you two done now?" I asked.

"We found something," Kivi said. She was fidgeting, excited and worried at the same time. "You want to see?"

"All right."

I followed them back into the depths of the mountain. They led me into the offices the squids maintained on the second level above the main entrance. They showed me a big mess of equipment and heated tanks of dark liquid.

"Squid beds?" I asked. "Ive seen them before. Im surprised theyre still being heated up."

"The whole thing is on automatic," Carlos said. "We could go swimming, but the water is disgusting. What kind of intelligent creatures float around in their own filth?"

"Well, they filter it and all. Its kind of like a big fish tank." I eyed the cloudy water. I wasnt impressed. "This is why you clowns brought me up here?"

"No, no, weve got a real find," Kivi a.s.sured me.

They led me to the squid computers. The cephalopods were nothing if not technologically advanced. Their tech was different than what was standardly available in the Empire, but I was no less impressed by it.

The best thing that Carlos and Kivi found was a computer display system. It looked like a big gla.s.s sphere. About two meters in diameter, it played images and sounds from what must have been fully populated squid worlds.

I had to admit after watching the vids in the globe, I was blown away. Say what you want to about the cephalopods, these creatures had an advanced civilization all their own. They had buildings, cities, starships-they were the real deal. Most of the shots were underwater and wavering, but you could still make out what was going on.

"Huh," I said, watching one vid after the next. It was hypnotic, like discovering a new full-fledged version of the internet youd never seen before. "You realize the Galactics must have planets like these. World after world full of a single proud race of beings. No wonder the squids arent knuckling under to the empire willingly. Theyve got too much to be proud of."

"We think weve made a major find, here," Carlos said. "What we want to know from you is how best to play it."

"Play it?"

"Yes, James," Kivi said. "To get rank. What did you think this was all about?"

I looked from one friend to the next and shook my head. "Thats all you guys think about. Call me old-fashioned, but I really dont work on schemes to gain promotions. I just do the job the best I can. If someone in my chain of command notices and decides to move me up a notch, well, thats good enough. But Im no expert in digging for such opportunities."

"Oh please," Carlos said. "Youre almost as bad as Winslade or Turov, the wizards of rank-climbing."

A frown formed on my face. "Well then, youd best go ask them how to do it. Ive just gotten lucky a few times."

"Hmm," Carlos said, looking at me thoughtfully. "That could be, you know. Kivi, we could be asking a dog how to wag a tail. He does it all the time, but hes clueless about how. Maybe we should talk to Winslade."

"No," she said firmly. "Were not asking anyone else. Winslade would steal the credit for this discovery. Well take this to the techs directly, with an agreement from them that were to get the credit when they report it to the bra.s.s."

"Sounds like as good a plan as any," I said.

"Thanks for all the help," Kivi said sarcastically. She walked away down the tunnels with Carlos, who put his hand on her b.u.t.t. She slapped it away playfully.

That got me to thinking. Had Carlos managed to pull off his real goal? I knew hed been actually digging for rank-but hed been digging for Kivi, too. I shook my head. Maybe he was getting a little better at achieving his goals in life. Hed failed so many times that I couldnt begrudge him a win now and then.

After they left, I hung around and kept watching squid videos. It took a while, but I found one vid that was different from the rest. It depicted a world of unrelenting splendor. Spires were thrusting up into an orange sky, coming right out of the sea.

Id figured out by now that squids built cities that were mostly underwater. In fact, they seemed to live on worlds that were largely covered by oceans. This didnt seem strange to me as Earth was mostly covered by water as well.

After watching a few dozen little movies theyd made, I became fascinated by their architecture. The cities were sitting on the bottom of the sea-almost every planet they had seemed to be covered in a lot of water, and only the tallest buildings poked out above the waves into the open air. How did they get those structures to withstand the constant storms and erosion effects?

Reviewing vid after vid, I learned quite a bit. After about an hour, Kivi and Carlos returned. They had Natasha in tow.

"This had better be good," she told them. "Ive seen tanks of sludgy wastewater before."

They a.s.sured her theyd found a gem, and when they showed her the vid-playing globe, she was impressed.

"James?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Im playing with this gizmo. Watch this one. Ive queued up the best clips for us."

Kivi and Carlos looked alarmed.

"Hold on," Carlos said, stepping between me and the console. "Ill show Natasha."

I didnt object. Hed made it plain that they wanted to grab all the glory they could from finding this device. I stepped back and let Carlos do the honors.

Kivi came alive as she narrated Carlos clips. She sounded just like a tour guide. She explained how theyd found the display system and figured out how to work it. They even knew a few tricks I hadnt figured out yet.

Staying quiet with difficulty, I let them show off the system. They ignored my queue of key videos and concentrated on system operation. They could zoom, pan and even bring out localized audio from any location on any of the three-dimensional vids. Id never seen the like of it.

They were like two computer salesmen, listing facts and figures and demonstrating the product. But they did this in a rather lackl.u.s.ter way. They were focusing completely on the machine while missing the bigger picture. Finally, Id had enough of it.

"Hold on," I said. "Let me show Natasha one more thing."

They looked at me with suspicion. A couple of times since wed gathered around the globe, Carlos had made shooing motions in my direction. I hadnt taken the hint.

"What have you got, James?" Natasha asked.