Natasha froze. She turned to face me, her cheeks red. "I didnt do that. I told you I planned to do it. That maybe there was a twin of me somewhere out-"

"No," I said, my voice becoming gentle. I took her hands in mine and looked her in the eyes. "You didnt try to do it, you did it. Della told me. She knows you very well. Thats the real reason she avoids you. She knows your twin, and everyone on Dust World is grateful to her."

I dont think Ive ever seen such an odd look on a human face before. It was full of surprise, fear, horror and wonder all at once.

"Della told you this?" she asked in a small voice. "She knows-why didnt you say something?"

"How do you feel right now?"

"Sick."

"Thats why I kept quiet," I said. "Im only telling you now because were facing that kind of situation. Were here, you and I and thousands of others. I dont want to pretend this body doesnt matter. I dont have a copy out there on Dust World who will carry on in my stead. Even if Im brought back to life some day, thats not good enough. I want this version of me to live-just like you did back aboard Corvus."

"Are you s.h.i.tting me, James? Because if you are, Im never going to forgive you."

I shook my head. While she was thinking it over, I programmed and released the drone. It flew off with a buzzing sound and vanished into the smoke and haze. A moment later, it was shot down as well.

"Im telling you the plain truth, Natasha. Ive been carrying this secret with me for weeks now. I didnt want to tell you because I knew it would freak you out. I apologize for telling you now."

"Here," she said, handing me a headset.

I looked at it and then at her. Her eyes were avoiding mine. I gave her a hug and a kiss on the top of the head.

"Just hurry up," she said. "Whatever madness youve got in mind, I want you to do it and get it over with. Now."

Oddly enough, it wasnt that hard to get ahold of Claver. I knew his private channel, and it appeared that no one else was trying to reach him right now.

"Whos this?" he demanded. "Get off the line if this isnt official business."

"Its official, all right," I said. "I want to negotiate a surrender."

"Is this McGill? Ha! No dice, moron. First off, you arent in charge of jack-squat. Secondly, youre gonna die today. Thats what every lizard wants to see, and thats what were going to give them with these rented ships. Im going to operate the broadsides myself. Im their gunner, did you know that? I dropped that first one on your head, and Im going to enjoy unloading all sixteen the next time."

"Sir," I said, "Im not going to appeal to your humanity, just to your greed."

Claver paused. "Hows that?" he asked finally.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and made my pitch. "Ive got access to something you want. Something you would do almost anything to get your hands on."

Claver was quiet for a few seconds.

"The key? Are you telling me Turov left the Galactic key in your country-b.u.mpkin, manure-stained hands, boy? Because if thats your game, Im not buying it. Turov is six kinds of a b.i.t.c.h, but shes not stupid. Shed never-"

"Sir, what I have is access to Turov, and she has the key. If you let us get off this world without operating those big guns for the saurians, Ill procure it and hand it over to you at a later date."

There was another, longer silence. Downslope, I could see the mists swirling. I knew the saurians were still embattled by the machines at the foot of the mountain, out of sight. Occasionally an explosion ripped through the air and flashes erupted in the vapors like lightning bursts inside a cloud.

"Why this? Why now?" he demanded, sounding greedy but suspicious. "Why not just take your lumps and catch a revive back home?"

"Because Turov might not come back. She might scratch this legion from her roster forever. Think of all the baggage shed relieve herself of if she left us dead and gone."

"Lets say I buy your bulls.h.i.t. Lets pretend I believe you can get the key, and that you arent just blowing smoke up my b.u.t.t in general. Why would you hand it over when you have possession? You might forget about a deal with gullible old Claver at that point."

"I gave the key up before, to Turov. That was a mistake. She hasnt bettered Earths cause with it. Shes used it for personal gain."

"And you think Im some kind of philanthropist?"

"Im not under any illusions in that regard, sir. But I think youre trying to build a trading empire while I think Turov is trying to rise to the top of Earths military. I find you dangerous, but less so than she is."

"Hmmm. Youre pulling at my heartstrings, boy. After all, Im just an old-fashioned softie underneath, and I hate to see a fellow schemer suffer."

I rolled my eyes at his words, but I managed not to laugh.

"Out of the kindness of my inner being," he continued as if he was doing me a tremendous favor, "Im inclined to accept your terms. Ill do what I can-but I cant offer any promises. These saurians dont want to operate the big guns themselves because theyre not licensed to do so, but Im not under any such proscriptions. Without my help, they may or may not decide to break the rules and do it themselves. My guess is that they wont, but..."

"Im willing to take the gamble," I said. "For one thing, its all Ive got. For another, Im betting on saurian respect for the law. They like to follow the rules strictly. They wont work the guns and violate the Galactic statutes. What I dont get is how they had the b.a.l.l.s to hire warships and fly out here in the first place."

"Havent you figured that out yet, dummy? Earth people are Enforcers now, leaving the role of provincial mercenaries open. We lost our monopoly on the mercenary service when we accepted the elevation in status. Now that the job is open in Frontier 921, the lizards are going for it all out. Its not just the metals they were after out here, they want to prove they can defeat an Earth legion on the ground."

"Sucks to be them in that case, sir."

He gave me a long, dirty chuckle that ended in a coughing fit. "You boys pretty much kicked their tails in. I had trouble not enjoying the spectacle. But lets cut the c.r.a.p. Do we have a deal?"

"Yes," I said. My heart was heavy in my chest.

"When do I take delivery of my prize?"

"You have to give me a year, sir. Shouldnt take any longer than that."

"A year? What the h.e.l.l kind of-?"

"You could speed that up," I suggested. "If you left us a deep-link by accident, the plans odds of success would be greatly enhanced. Otherwise, weve got no way to communicate with Earth. Well have to wait for Hegemony ships to scout the system again before wed be able to get off this rock."

Claver grumbled and cursed, but at last he agreed that it would speed up the process. Who knew if Turov would ever come back to see what happened on Gamma Pavonis? He couldnt take the risk that hed let us live but not get home. I couldnt give him the Galactic key if I didnt get back to Turov to take it.

He closed the channel, and I looked up at the skies. Blue-white flares of plasma burned in the upper atmosphere. The saurian lifters were coming down to pick up their troops. Hundreds of lifters for thousands of troops.

I rushed inside the caves to tell Tribune Drusus what Id done. If he shot down the saurian lifters, even one of them, the deal might fall apart.

-49-.

Ill be the first to admit my methods are unorthodox. That I frequently step on the toes of my superior officers-no, thats not right. I stomp on them. But when such actions result in miraculous improvements to the well-being of Legion Varus, one might think a little praise was in order.

Instead, when I explained what Id done, I was met with shocked silence. The silence was unfortunately brief, and was immediately followed by a tirade of swearing.

Tribune Drusus wasnt doing the swearing, however. A certain primus named Winslade was the one creating the stink.

"How dare you, McGill?" he asked as if he couldnt quite catch his breath. "How dare you?"

"Well sir," I said, "I happen to have a personal relationship with Claver, and I know how he thinks. I only appealed to his better nature and succeeded."

All the officers in the chamber eyed me with a distinct air of mistrust. I found this almost insulting. After all, we were in this together. We were going to die on this rock without help.

"So," Drusus said, stepping forward and putting up a hand to stop Winslades next outburst. "Youre saying you talked Claver into leaving without bombing us out of existence?"

"Yes sir, exactly."

"Claver is a trader, not a charity," Drusus said. "What was in it for him?"

"First off, he was their gunner," I said.

"We know that."

"And without him, its unlikely the saurians will have enough scaly b.a.l.l.s to bomb us."

"Fair enough," Drusus said. "But again, what was Clavers source of gain in this deal you arranged? He has to get something out of it."

My attempts to switch the subject had clearly failed. I looked from one of them to the next, blinking and thinking fast. They werent going to buy any kind of compa.s.sion on the part of Adjunct Claver. I couldnt blame them for that. Anyone whod met the man knew hed sell his grandma for a bent credit piece and a cup of coffee.

"He wants trading rights," I said quickly. "Not between Machine World and Earth, but between Machine World and the rest of Frontier 921."

There were murmurs and growls at this. They believed it, but they werent happy about it.

"Thats not all," I said. "He wants every ingot in this mine stacked outside for picking up later. Once weve gotten a ship here to pull us out, were to leave the t.i.tanium on the surface and not look back."

There was even more, louder grumbling at that. But eventually, they settled down and accepted the terms.

What choice did they have, really? Who would risk being permed to stop a trade deal? Not these people, and not me, either.

The following hours were tense as we waited for the saurians to withdraw and leave in their ships. They took to the air, vanishing into the sky in their lifters. I was jealous to see it. Id never watched aliens with such envy.

When they were all hanging up there over our heads, it was hard not to walk in a crouch down here on the surface. Drusus ordered us below, and most followed those orders, but not me. I wandered the rubble-filled tunnels, wondering if I was enjoying the final moments of existence that would ever be allotted to me.

Drusus himself hailed me in the upper galleries. He walked up and stared at me.

"Defiant to the last, McGill?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Sorry sir," I said. "But I figured if a mans going to be blasted to atoms, he might as well walk under an open sky under his own power."

"I can see youre still limping now that youre out of your armor," he said, looking me over. "We can fix that, you know."

"A regrow? Whats the point? Ill be dead or alive in a few hours time, and either way I wont care about my leg."

"Suit yourself," he was quiet for a second, and we both studied the skies. Finally, he had to ask what was on everyones mind. "Do you think theyll really let us go, James? You talked to Claver, not me. Can we trust him?"

"Not at all, sir. Not for a dime, a dollar or a two-penny candy, as my grandfather used to say. But we can reason through what he wants, and if he wants something we can give, h.e.l.l stick to an agreement. He couldnt be successful as a trader otherwise."

"I guess not," he said, and sighed. "Its galling to have to depend on an enemy to-"

Just then, my tapper beeped. I glanced down at it, frowning. No one should have been able to reach me here, standing in the wreckage and blasted craters of the mines upper chambers. I glanced at Tribune Drusus, who nodded with curiosity.

"Answer it," he said.

"h.e.l.lo?" I asked. The caller had no ID and no icon. "Whos there?"

"Its me, McGill," said Claver. "Im sorry to have to make this call, but Im a man of my word when a deals been struck. I thought I owed it to you to let you know what happened up here."

My heart sank. "What do you mean, sir?"

"The saurians arent going for it. Unfortunately, they arent as dumb as real lizards. They dont want to change their plans just because Ive made some kind of under-the-table deal. Im going to have to drop the hammer on you and your troops."

"Sir," I said quickly, "Ive managed to talk the tribune into sweetening the offer."

I explained we would set him up as a dealer and give him the contents of the mines that were already processed and refined.

Claver sounded truly regretful to turn me down. "That is tempting, boy," he said. "And I wish I could take it, but Ill be permed myself if I do. The saurians have a gun to my head-literally."

Throughout this exchange, Tribune Drusus watched me, frowning curiously. He could hear both ends of the conversation as I was using the speakers on my tapper and talking out loud. I might have made the call more private if Id known who was calling-but what was done was done.

I looked up at the gray clouds, expecting falling streaks of light to come down and burn me to cinder at any second.

"Stall them," I said, "stall them as long as you can, Claver."

"Whats the point?" he asked.

I told him then about the drones we were flying in every direction.

"The deal could still be on," I said. "Just give us twenty-four hours. Tell them you need to recalibrate or something. Let us spread ourselves out a little, and the odds well be permed will be much lower. If we breathe again, even in another place in another time, the deal is still on."

"Hmmm. Okay. But one more thing, I want a.s.surance from Drusus that if Im permed by these reptiles, Ill catch a revive from your people and be set free afterward."

I looked at Drusus, who appeared troubled but resigned. He leaned closer to my tapper.

"This is Tribune Drusus," he said. "Check my voiceprint. On my word, Ill revive and release you if you require the service after this disastrous campaign."

Claver chuckled. "Well, well, Tribune," he said. "I should have known you were lurking nearby and coaching McGill. Hes not smart enough to maneuver old Claver by himself. Its a deal."

The channel closed, and we were left to gaze at the skies in apprehension. Drusus studied me rather than the clouds after a minute or so.

"What did you mean when you told him youd managed to sweeten the deal by adding trading rights? Isnt that what Claver wanted in the first place?"

I straightened my shoulders, but I didnt meet his eye. "Did I say something like that? Im sorry sir, I must have been nervous and misspoke."

"Right... McGill, youre without a doubt, the most peculiar noncom Ive ever met. Just when I think I understand all your twists and turns, you spring another one on me. Sometimes, I worry that Ive got a youthful version of Claver in the midst of my own team, hiding in plain sight."

I looked at him and frowned. "I find that suggestion offensive, sir. Ive been working hard to save our collective b.u.t.ts. You may not know everything thats in my head, but Id appreciate it if youd at least recognize positive results when theyre reached."

Drusus shook his head bemusedly. "Lectured sternly by a man whos less than a third my age. I stand rebuffed. But as to recognition and grat.i.tude, remember your rapid rise in rank-despite a thousand infractions."