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Authors: Marshall S. Thomas
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serious. The tech would be here in fracs, to check on my heart attack. It was as though I’d never seen her before and I suddenly realized that I would never see her the same way again.
“Priestess...” What could I say? I wanted to tell her that we were sworn, Valkyrie and me. I wanted to tell her all about it, to explain that I could not possibly have another lover. Not after Valkyrie, not after Hell, not after all that we had meant to each other. I wanted to say it. But I could not find the words. All I could do was look into her eyes and realize that this was different.
“I don’t care, Thinker. I don’t care.”
Lord, such beauty. “Care? About what?” I could hardly breathe. Surely the tech would come soon, to rescue me.
“About her! I don’t care!”
I had never seen her like this. “What do you mean...”
“You know what I mean! I mean Valkyrie!”
I fell right into those bottomless eyes. Trapped. I wanted to tear my gaze away, but I could not. She would not release me and I began to pray that she never would. I loved Valkyrie—cherished her. We’d been through so much together and…
“I’m yours, Thinker, if you want me.” She stood up abruptly, tossing her hair back again, defiantly. I could only sit there in total amazement, gaping at her.
“Body and soul, Thinker. Body and soul!” Her eyes flashed and a bleak vision seemed to pass over them. She backed toward the door, still holding me with her eyes. I knew she meant it. “Tomorrow, Thinker. Together.” She slipped out the door.
I knew that something had changed in both of us. Suddenly I knew that I would never be a possession to her. Never a convenience when the mood struck or green jealousy reared its ugly head. I would die without hesitation for Valkyrie, but I wanted to live with sweet Priestess.
###
We went back the next day, dropping into the atmosphere in an assault craft. We sat next to each other, but an uneasy tension lingered between us. We’d crossed a line. A big one. It scared me more than the exosegs. Would we feel the same after we returned to Beta and our dance with death?
The ship bounced wildly, its skin glowing cherry-red and Andrion 2 coming at us like a heavenly vision. Great silver oceans glittered molten sunlight, soft white clouds streaked by far below, endless green forests rolled by, bursting into every color of the spectrum as we approached.
Zero Alpha had been transformed into Alpha Base, our first foothold. With countless tons of equipment and cargo flowing down from Atom , it was Andrion 2’s first starport and a growing military base. Around the raw, dusty red earth, endless rows of ugly building modules dominated a bleak landscape scarred by hastily excavated storage bunkers and pitted with construction sites, aircar parks and other Legion installations. The whole base was ringed with a heavily fortified defensive perimeter.
###
That night, I visited a small chapel at Alpha Base, open to the stars and the soft breezes of the night. A simple Godmod, as we called it, with Deadman and the cross of the Legion on the wall. A chapel, for soldiers without souls.
Several other troopers from CAT 24 had arrived, suited up with helmets off. As I knelt before Deadman, I was surprised when Priestess slipped in beside me, kneeling by my side. She set her helmet before her.
I only knew one prayer, the battle chant of the Legion. I whispered it, and Priestess joined her words to mine.
“I am a Soldier of the Legion.
I believe in Evil—
The survival of the strong—
And the death of the weak.
I am the guardian.
I am the sword of light
In the dark of the night.
I will deliver us from Evil.
“I accept life everlasting
And the death of my past.
I will trust no Earther worm
Nor any mortal man,
But only the mark of the Legion.
I have burnt the book of laws
To serve the Deadman’s cause
As a soldier of the Legion.”
Priestess gazed into the distance, innocent and vulnerable. Her lips formed the words, but
“Priestess...” What could I say? I wanted to tell her that we were sworn, Valkyrie and me. I wanted to tell her all about it, to explain that I could not possibly have another lover. Not after Valkyrie, not after Hell, not after all that we had meant to each other. I wanted to say it. But I could not find the words. All I could do was look into her eyes and realize that this was different.
“I don’t care, Thinker. I don’t care.”
Lord, such beauty. “Care? About what?” I could hardly breathe. Surely the tech would come soon, to rescue me.
“About her! I don’t care!”
I had never seen her like this. “What do you mean...”
“You know what I mean! I mean Valkyrie!”
I fell right into those bottomless eyes. Trapped. I wanted to tear my gaze away, but I could not. She would not release me and I began to pray that she never would. I loved Valkyrie—cherished her. We’d been through so much together and…
“I’m yours, Thinker, if you want me.” She stood up abruptly, tossing her hair back again, defiantly. I could only sit there in total amazement, gaping at her.
“Body and soul, Thinker. Body and soul!” Her eyes flashed and a bleak vision seemed to pass over them. She backed toward the door, still holding me with her eyes. I knew she meant it. “Tomorrow, Thinker. Together.” She slipped out the door.
I knew that something had changed in both of us. Suddenly I knew that I would never be a possession to her. Never a convenience when the mood struck or green jealousy reared its ugly head. I would die without hesitation for Valkyrie, but I wanted to live with sweet Priestess.
###
We went back the next day, dropping into the atmosphere in an assault craft. We sat next to each other, but an uneasy tension lingered between us. We’d crossed a line. A big one. It scared me more than the exosegs. Would we feel the same after we returned to Beta and our dance with death?
The ship bounced wildly, its skin glowing cherry-red and Andrion 2 coming at us like a heavenly vision. Great silver oceans glittered molten sunlight, soft white clouds streaked by far below, endless green forests rolled by, bursting into every color of the spectrum as we approached.
Zero Alpha had been transformed into Alpha Base, our first foothold. With countless tons of equipment and cargo flowing down from Atom , it was Andrion 2’s first starport and a growing military base. Around the raw, dusty red earth, endless rows of ugly building modules dominated a bleak landscape scarred by hastily excavated storage bunkers and pitted with construction sites, aircar parks and other Legion installations. The whole base was ringed with a heavily fortified defensive perimeter.
###
That night, I visited a small chapel at Alpha Base, open to the stars and the soft breezes of the night. A simple Godmod, as we called it, with Deadman and the cross of the Legion on the wall. A chapel, for soldiers without souls.
Several other troopers from CAT 24 had arrived, suited up with helmets off. As I knelt before Deadman, I was surprised when Priestess slipped in beside me, kneeling by my side. She set her helmet before her.
I only knew one prayer, the battle chant of the Legion. I whispered it, and Priestess joined her words to mine.
“I am a Soldier of the Legion.
I believe in Evil—
The survival of the strong—
And the death of the weak.
I am the guardian.
I am the sword of light
In the dark of the night.
I will deliver us from Evil.
“I accept life everlasting
And the death of my past.
I will trust no Earther worm
Nor any mortal man,
But only the mark of the Legion.
I have burnt the book of laws
To serve the Deadman’s cause
As a soldier of the Legion.”
Priestess gazed into the distance, innocent and vulnerable. Her lips formed the words, but
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