"Whats up?" I asked.

"I dont know if allowing it to escape was a good idea," Natasha said. "Ive been examining the vids of the communication attempts made by Carlos and Kivi. At the end of them, the machine clearly understood something they said. Thats when it ran off."

"So, something you communicated made it flee?"

"We think so," Kivi admitted.

"Whatever it was," Natasha said, "Im certain Carlos and Kivi managed to give the machine a coherent message. But Im not sure what was said."

"Thats just grand," I said, giving Kivi a scowl. "Lets hope you didnt tell them they could all go to h.e.l.l in a hand-basket."

"It could have been anything," Kivi said defensively. "Why are you two a.s.suming the worst?"

"Whatever the message was, it cant be good," Natasha said. "It clearly triggered aggression."

Kivi looked worried, but she shrugged rather than apologizing.

"Do you need to keep working here, Natasha?" I asked.

"No. Without the machine, this particular spot has no special significance. I can take the device with me and review the data anywhere."

"Then lets get back up to the main camp. I need to report Carlos death, anyway."

We trudged up the tunnels, dragging Carlos body the whole way. It occurred to me that in times past, a fallen soldier had been treated with great respect and honor. Those days were gone. A body was just a body in my time. We recycled them as fast as possible, sometimes burying them in ma.s.s graves or even burning a stack to get rid of them physically. The equipment was what we really needed. The dead were only useful as raw materials for a new body if supplies were short and the corpse was fresh enough.

After delivering Carlos body to the bio people, who wrinkled their noses and hauled it dutifully away, I returned to my units camp. I relayed my findings to Graves, including our previous discoveries of oversized squids and the data-globe. He ordered me to talk to Winslade about everything.

Sighing, I walked up gritty ramps and tunnels to the lofty caverns high up in the mountains guts. I hadnt wanted to do this. Id planned to let Kivi and Carlos get their act together and make the report themselves, thus garnering the credit. But in my opinion the situation had changed. We were encircled by enemies and in danger. Secrets withheld from our commanders might get us all permed. I had the duty to report everything wed found.

In Mount t.i.tans highest chambers I found Winslades makeshift office. Thats where all the officers held court. Winslade had chosen a pretty spot, complete with a trickling fall of silvery liquid methane and stalagmites that resembled dragon fangs coming up from the floor.

Hed pressurized the entire chamber and warmed it up, so we didnt have to wear helmets in here. Thats why the methane was melting. Despite Winslades efforts, it still smelled too farty for my taste, so I kept my faceplate closed.

"Nice quarters, sir," I commented.

Winslade turned to look at me. He didnt have a smile on his face, he rarely did.

"Veteran, whats this I hear from Graves about you performing unauthorized diplomatic negotiations-again?"

I was taken aback. Winslade was referring to certain activities Id performed years ago on Dust World, when Id tried to communicate with the local population of colonists. "I dont know about any negotiations, sir," I said. "We found one of the machines chained up in a lower tunnel along with a lot of unknown squid equipment. We fooled around with it a bit, but we didnt get very far. The machine ran off."

Winslade narrowed his eyes. He was a cagey one, as slime-b.a.l.l.s go. I had to wonder what he was thinking. The question I was hoping he didnt ask was who the "we" in my statement might consist of. I knew Carlos and Kivi were trying hard to get some positive recognition, and I didnt want to take that from them, but I also didnt want to involve them unless things went the right way. At the moment, the whole thing looked like a disaster so I figured I might as well take the blame myself. People expected this kind of thing from James McGill.

"Up to your usual tricks," Winslade said at last. "This is my first time playing the role of your commander, and I must say Im sympathizing with all those whove done so before me. You even managed to get one of your troops killed, correct?"

"Not exactly, sir. In any case, we did recover his full kit. h.e.l.l pop right out of the revival machine as fit as a fiddle in an hour or so."

Winslade nodded. "I would seek disciplinary action, but your fighting skills are desperately needed at this time. When the saurians first attacked you did well, by every report."

"Thank you, Primus."

Winslade gave me a wry look, indicating he hadnt intended to praise me.

"Dismissed," he said.

I hesitated until he looked up at me with his eyebrows raised. Then I asked another question. "Sir? Is Drusus up and walking around yet?"

"Yes. The Tribunes revival has finally been achieved. Whatever technical difficulty kept him from returning to us has been solved."

I almost laughed at that. Winslade knew full well that Turov had ordered Drusus to be kept on ice until she said otherwise. Now that she had dumped the legion on this rock and fled the star system, sure, it was time to revive poor old Drusus. Why not let him die again down here like the rest of us?

"You mind if I give my report to him, sir?" I asked.

"I dont see why it would be necessary."

"Uh...you may not be aware that Drusus and I have a standing arrangement when special circ.u.mstances like this come up. He wants a full report from the man in the field when matters go beyond the norm and enter the political arena."

Winslades frown was back. "Is this some kind of threat, Veteran?"

"Not at all, sir. You misunderstand. Im informing you of a special relationship between myself and the tribune, thats all. Its similar in nature to the relationship youve enjoyed for years with Imperator Turov. Your permission, sir?"

Winslade huffed. "Sounds like you dont need my permission, but I suppose it was courteous to ask. Suddenly, your rapid rise in rank is less surprising to me."

"Thank you sir," I said and left.

I could have said a lot more, and I wanted to. Right off, Winslade had a.s.sumed my promotions were illegitimate since his were. I resented that. Hed been flying a desk for the last decade, ha.s.sling attractive underlings and kissing Turovs shapely b.u.t.t. Hed leapt to the conclusion that I was doing the same thing with Drusus as my patron. It wasnt true, but I knew it wouldnt do any good to try to defend myself in the eyes of this man.

Drusus office was less secluded and more utilitarian. He was just outside the general officers camp with a standard-issue computer desk and displays encircling the small chamber. He was studying three-dimensional tactical grids that presented the enemy positions around the mountain outside.

"Ah, McGill," he said, glancing at me. "I was wondering when you would come to haunt me again."

"Sorry sir," I said. "Its just my way."

"Understood. What alarming news do you have for me today?"

Drusus had a lot of catching up to do so I started at the beginning. I told him about my first contact with the native machine life. I also discussed and displayed vids of the dead giant squid, and the data-globe wed discovered. He expressed mild interest in all these things and promised hed have teams of techs go over them.

Then I brought him up to speed on each of the incidents of communication with the machine-creatures up to the present time. As I explained this, I made an effort to play up the efforts of Kivi and Carlos in the best possible light.

"Im unsurprised about Kivis contribution-but Carlos Ortiz?" he asked, as if unfamiliar with the name. He frowned and worked his tapper. "Oh yes, a regular with behavioral problems."

"Same as I used to be, sir," I said. "A few years back."

Drusus laughed. "According to your superiors, little about your apt.i.tude for getting into trouble has changed."

"If you say so, sir. But Carlos does deserve credit for getting the machines to talk using the alien translating equipment. He also discovered and did the initial work with the data-globe."

Drusus made a dismissive wave. "Thats not how these things look to me, McGill. Let me explain how an officer of many years sees these reports. The regular known as Kivi accompanied Ortiz on every occasion. When breakthroughs were recently made, you and Natasha-a very capable tech-were both on hand. Even so, disaster occurred, and Carlos managed to get himself killed by an unarmed native youth. As I read this-is this correct? The machine-creature ate him?"

"Not exactly, sir," I said, feeling my sympathy for Carlos rising. Sure, I liked to beat on him as much as the next guy, but he was my friend. "The machine wanted the metal in his kit."

"I see, yes... Then you apprehended the creature and destroyed it?"

"No, sir. I let it go."

He eyed me for a moment. "An interesting choice. Most troops would have dispatched an alien after it killed their friend."

"I suppose thats right, sir. But I believed the killing of Carlos to be accidental. Carlos couldnt breathe with his faceplate broken. Thats what killed him. And anyway, killing the machine for taking advantage of his death to eat his kit would erase any goodwill we might have developed with our communication attempts. After all, the machine might not understand that breaking a faceplate would result in death. How would it know we couldnt breathe their air?"

He nodded. "A mature response. As to your friends, however...I could see putting Kivi into tech specialist training. Carlos Ortiz...hes a problem. Hes definitely senior enough to warrant training. His fighting skills are adequate. But a tech? The idea is absurd."

"Agreed, sir," I said. "Hes not a tech. But I think hes ready for a more advanced a.s.signment of some kind. Hes been a regular for a lot of years now. He recently reenlisted, in fact."

"A stroke of good fortune for the legion, Im sure. Let me ask you, McGill, where would you place him? If hes not a tech...then should he perhaps be given a larger, more powerful weapon with greater destructive capacity?"

"Uh...maybe not, sir," I admitted. The idea of Carlos as a weaponeer-it was enough to make a man shudder.

"Then perhaps you see him as a leader of men? An inspiration to his cadre of troops? Perhaps a replacement for Sargon, or yourself in the future?"

The look on my face told the story. Drusus read it and nodded.

"Thats what I thought," he said. "A leader must have a clear eye. He must not allow his judgment to be clouded by friendship or sympathy. He must only promote those that deserve it, or the legion will suffer for his mistakes."

"I understand, sir. Maybe Carlos isnt ready."

"I have an idea," Drusus said. "Ill make a note of it. After this campaign is over, a.s.suming we see Earth again, well speak further on the matter."

"About that, sir? Have we got a chance to win against sixty thousand saurian troops?"

Drusus turned back to his tactical displays. "Probably not," he admitted. "But that isnt our only purpose for being here. Were to mark a legitimate claim on this world. If Earth is to expand, to become a three-star civilization, we need this planet. It has all the resources that we lack, which is precisely why the saurians are here. They see this world as a threat to their monopoly on heavy metals."

I examined the maps alongside him. The data displayed there was both intriguing and alarming. There were indeed seven Imperial ships parked in orbit and numerous red blocks representing troop formations all over the mountain. In the center was a single large blue block-Legion Varus.

"Theyll have to wipe us out soon," I said. "They cant wait around."

"Agreed," Drusus said, "but Id like to hear your reasoning."

"Well sir, first off theres the matter of those seven Imperial ships parked in orbit. Those dont come cheap. Every day theyre out here in the field represents a lot of credits for the saurians."

"Very good. I agree. They have to attack soon. They cant maintain a siege due to the cost, and theres also the threat of reinforcements from a variety of directions. The squids could come back. Earth could deploy more legions-or the Empire itself might send forces."

"The Empire?" I asked, encouraged. "Do you think that could happen?"

"Its unlikely but possible."

"What I dont understand is what the saurians were thinking by coming here at all," I said.

"Are you talking about their motivations?"

"No, sir. Those are clear to me. Theyre obviously here to maintain their local monopoly on heavy metals, preventing us from gaining a new internal supply. What I dont understand is why they think they can get away with it."

Drusus nodded. "You believe our claim is more legitimate than theirs?"

"Yes. Were the enforcers in Frontier 921. Were fighting a legitimate war against an aggressor species."

Drusus pointed a finger at me. "Thats where youre wrong. Were outside the borders of the Empire right now. What happens out here isnt subject to Galactic prohibitions other than directly attacking their a.s.sets-such as that Nairb ship you blew up."

I scratched myself through my thin suit and squinted at him. "You heard about that, did you?"

"How could I not have? But thats a topic for another conversation, McGill, should the Nairbs ever figure out that the cephalopods didnt do it."

"So...we reported to the Empire that the squids attacked the Nairb ship?"

"What choice did we have? You engineered the matter masterfully."

"Claver did that, really. I was just caught in the middle."

"As always," Drusus said with more than a hint of sarcasm. "That brings us back to the saurians and their next move-or should I say, Clavers next move?"

I opened my mouth and my jaw just hung there for a time. "Are you saying Claver brought the saurian ships here?"

"Of course he did," Drusus said. "Havent you figured that out yet? Clavers not done with Gamma Pavonis. He wont stop until either hes permed-or we are."

I thought about that as Drusus continued to go over his strategies with me. Id had the opportunity to perm Claver back onboard the Nairb ship. Maybe I should have permed Claver instead of perming that Solstice legionnaire, Randy, who enjoyed torturing people.

In comparison to Claver, that s.a.d.i.s.t had been small potatoes.

-46-.

The saurian a.s.sault began three days later. They started off by withdrawing and hunkering down at the foot of the mountain. The alien troops that were posted above our elevation retreated to the snowy heights. Knowing these signs couldnt be good, we took shelter ourselves, keeping well back from the entrance but for a small contingent of troops on lookout duty.

It just so happened that Winslade ordered me and my squad to stand duty at the entrance. To add insult to injury, he ordered us to do it without our dragons.

"But sir," I argued when I received the orders from Leeson, "What good is a cavalry unit without our mounts?"

"You ask yourself that the next time you go off somewhere to play G.o.d, McGill!" he shouted back. He was red-faced and p.i.s.sed-off, and I had trouble blaming him.

"Are you suggesting, sir, that-" I began "Shut up, McGill. Just shut the h.e.l.l up. My platoon has been ordered to stand out here in our underwear with beamers in our hands due to your constant meddling. I swear, if I survive this day, Im going to remember this, Veteran. Graves shouldnt have judged you the winner of that contest back on Green Deck. Thats what I know for sure now."

With a sigh, I retreated. Leeson wasnt a bad officer, but he was as emotional as Graves was stern and unflappable. I knew hed cool off later on-probably.

Going over the chain of command, it made sense to me that Winslade had given the grim orders. Turov might have done it-but she had retreated from the system, safe in her two ships. Tribune Drusus was aware of my extracurricular activities, but hadnt seemed overly upset by them. In fact, hed given me a modic.u.m of faint praise for my part in discovering various squid artifacts in the mines.

No, it had to be Winslade. Of the group, hed been the one most in favor of perming me the moment the Nairbs had shown up. Maybe this was his way of getting the job done. Better late than never, I guess.

Harris greeted me next with a personal visit, and he wasnt any more pleasant than Leeson had been. Possibly, he was even more hostile.

His big brown finger jabbed me in the chest. As I wasnt wearing anything thicker than smart-cloth, that finger sunk in and grated on my sternum.