"'Yes, I do. I love them.'
"'That's wonderful!' she exclaimed, with a brilliant smile. 'I'm so happy I discovered you, Sheila. You can call me Trina. Welcome to the real world!' And she reached out and embraced me, squeezing me tightly. 'Let's be friends!' she said. 'I'm so glad I found you! Let's terrorize those stupid Innies!'"
"That's a wonderful story," I said to Honeyhair, drawing her closer to me in the bed.
"It’s true! Of course I wasn't confident enough to join Trina in terrorizing the Innies, but she kept my secrets and we became very close friends. As we became closer, I drew away from those Innies. By the time we left the planet, I believe I had been excommunicated by the Innie politburo or whoever made decisions about insincere girls. And I didn't miss them at all. Trina and I became inseparable. I admired her so much. She taught me so much! She was always courageous and forthright and direct. All those things I never was."
"She's quite a girl, all right."
"Is Nitro really serious about marrying her?"
"He's never been more serious about anything in his life."
"Oh! That's wonderful!"
We lay there in holy silence, looking up at the stars.
"I've got a secret," she said.
"What's that?"
"When I first saw you on the Bold Lady, I was utterly stunned. Of course, I went into my Innie act right away, but I was so startled that I almost fell down. It was like a bolt of lightning, right through my heart. I had never seen anything more wonderful than you. And it wasn't just visual. There was something physical that emanated from your body to mine, a physical force. I could feel it, tingling on my skin. I had never felt anything else like that before. And when you never showed up at the pool, I was devastated. I thought my nasty Innie act had scared you away. I blamed myself. Forgetting about you was the hardest thing I ever had to do – but of course, I never thought I'd see you again. And then when Nitro and you showed up in Providence in your uniforms, and I realized it really was you, it happened again. A physical force. I can feel it now," she said, touching my chest with a hand.
"I feel that every time I touch you, Honeyhair. I want to ensure you understand. I married you because I love you and I don't want to lose you. You're mine now, and I'm yours. Forever. But we're both facing years of loneliness. I'm a Legion trooper, a grunt, in the front lines. I am not authorized to have my wife join me in a combat zone. And combat zones are all I'm likely to be seeing – for years. Once I can land an accompanied tour, anywhere, I'll send for you. But if I ever have a chance to request an accompanied tour, I'm going to request Veltros. Is that all right with you?"
"Anywhere we can be together is all right with me, Prophet. Anywhere."
"Good. Good. We'll just have to be patient. And don't lose faith in me."
"Never!"
"How is life here, for you, in Providence?"
"I am very busy – and I am very satisfied with what I am doing. The Civilian Support Corps takes up almost all my time. And Trina is there, too. We help each other. When I'm down, she cheers me up. And when she's down, I cheer her up. We're both preparing for Armageddon. We know how important the work is. I'm not a stupid Innie anymore. I'm a CSC emergency nurse, and I help people. That's what I do. Your girl's mission is to save lives and help the helpless. I'm part of ConFree now, an important part. We are all united to prepare for the coming attack. You know we’ve all been issued E's? I'm becoming a damned good shot. Any Demons that aim to attack the women and kids in our air raid shelter are going to have to get past me to get to them. And I'm not going to move from my post – no matter what!" Her green eyes blazed defiance.
"I'm sorry, Honeyhair. I'm so sorry about the war. I'm sorry you have to experience it."
"It's not your fault. It's nobody's fault. It's just history. And the strong are going to survive. Isn’t that right?"
"That's exactly right."
Δ
I returned to Quaba the following day, Space-A on the star carrier Infinity, after a tearful goodbye with Honeyhair. Sitting motionless in the ship's main passenger cabin, I closed my eyes and thought about the dream. All right, I had seen into the future, again. Twice. With astounding accuracy. But this time it had nothing to do with the Demons, or the war. What did it all mean? First, it was certain that whatever the Brights had done to my brain allowed me to see that little glimpse into the future. No doubt about that. But why did it happen? The Brights were certainly not interested in my personal life. It was certainly not a message of any kind from the Brights. All right, but it was a capability they had given me, whether deliberate or accidentally. It was a capability to see into the future that had flown into my body when I touched that dying Bright soldier. And now I was doing it. I'm not a messenger from the Brights. But I can see into the future, from time to time, because of whatever had happened to my brain. I can't control it. But I can evidently do it.
Should I tell Doctor Well and the gang? Good lord, they'd make me their prize specimen. I'd never get back to Delta. But they'd probably keep me in some fat rear-echelon place – like Quaba - where I could get an accompanied tour. Don't I owe that to Honeyhair? But the squad – that's my squad! I've got to get back there, into the mud. Or it'll never happen. I belong with them. But I belong with Honeyhair, too! Good lord!
I decided to tell Saka and Ice. Together we'll work it out. Yes, that's it. Together.
Δ
Because I'm a suspicious son of a bitch, I decided not to raise the subject until Ice and Saka and I were strolling through the nearby Martyrs' Park, which was dedicated to the Founders. The Founders were all the common – and uncommon – Legion and Fleetcom soldiers who had chased the System right out of the Outvac. It was a beautiful park, almost like a forest, plunked down near the most prominent government buildings of the capital.
We were in our blacks. To the casual observer, Saka and Ice must have been a scary sight. Their skulls and faces and necks were still covered by ugly purple bruises and criss-crossed by deep nasty red scars, and despite the field caps, you could see that clumps of hair were missing from their scalps. They looked like a couple of zombies who had just crawled out of the grave. Actually, that would have been an accurate conclusion. They had returned from the dead, it's true. But I wasn't a casual observer. To me, they were both beautiful. They were awesome. They were miraculous.
"I thought we'd best discuss this out here," I said. "After all, our cube is right in Galactic Info Hqs. They're professional spies. For all we know, every room is wired for sound."
"Sure. What are we going to talk about?" Saka asked.
"The question is, how much do we tell the white coats. I've had another dream, and I haven't told them about it. This dream predicted the future. It didn't have anything to do with the Demons or ConFree. It was personal. But it was amazingly accurate. I've concluded that I have this gift of prediction because of whatever the Brights did to my brain. And the Brights are not directing these dreams or predictions. My brain is doing it, by itself. Because of our past contacts with the Brights and what happened when I contacted that dying Bright soldier. See, the problem is if I tell the docs about this, I'm afraid I'll never get out of here. I want to get back to Delta. How about you two? Do you want to hang around here any longer, or get back to Delta?"
"Back to Delta!" Ice said, instantly.
"Absolutely," Saka said. "Let's get the hell out of here."
"All right, so we're agreed our personal goal is to leave here. Now, let's complicate things. Have either of you experienced any dreams, or visions, where you dreamt something that later came true?"
"Aw crap," Saka said. "Sure have!"
"Yeah, me too," Ice said.
"Damn," I said. "All right, let's hear it, gang. First, did either of you tell the white coats about it?"
"No," Ice said. "My goal was to be left alone."
"It slipped my mind to tell them," Saka said. "I guess my memory is worse since I came back from the dead. I told them all about the s
trange dreams I had been having, but not about the one that came true."
We paused before a dead black statue of a couple of A-suited Legion soldiers. One of them was down, the other was kneeling by his side, helping his comrade take a sip of water from a canteen. It was almost an exact copy of the scene when I had helped that Bright soldier take his last sip of water. I looked away. We sat on a stone bench nearby.
"What was your vision, Saka?"
"I saw you and Ice walk into my room at the hospital and approach my bed, with Doctors Wellesley and Graham looking in from the doorway. I dreamt that three times, exactly the same each time. It seemed so real! Then when it happened for real, I was stunned. And overjoyed!"
I reached out and touched his shoulder. I couldn't help it.
"All right, Ice. What about you?"
"I also gave them lots of info about the murky, strange dreams that I'm convinced came as a result of the Brights intervention to bring me back from the dead. But I didn't tell them about the one dream I had that came true. Because I didn't want to give them an excuse to hold me here forever."
"Fair enough. What did you dream that came true?"
"I've got a theory," she said.
"A theory? What's that?"
"First, tell me what your second vision was," Ice said.
I told her.
"Perfect!" she said, laughing at my dream. "My theory is, we sometimes get these glimpses into the future if the subject of the vision is really important to us. If it's of great importance, our brains will let us see what's awaiting us. Your vision of Demon Hill was of great importance. And your vision of a half-naked guy answering Honeyhair's door was of great importance to you. Even if it gave you the wrong impression. And Saka's vision was the most important thing that could happen to him in our miserable situation in that hospital. Mine was the same."
"What did you see?"
"I dreamed Nurse Twit came into my room to stick more medication down my throat. I had just about had it by then. I told her I'd not be taking any more medication. She insisted. Then I snatched the medication out of her hand, leaped out of bed and grabbed her by her blouse, informing her that I was going to stick that medication right up her ass. That's when she ran for the door. I ripped the stabilization helmet off and threw it at her, screaming 'Get out of here, you bitch!' Unfortunately I missed, the helmet hit the corridor wall and exploded. Somebody entered the door, I turned to smash him in the face, and it was you, Prophet. I almost melted with joy. I grabbed you and held on for dear life. That was my dream. And that's exactly what happened in real life later. I wasn't thinking about the dream when it was actually happening. It all happened so fast!"
I took her hand. My holy God, how could I be any closer to these two? We are bonded for life, I thought. For life.
"All right," I said. "Here comes the hard part. You remember what Nurse Grim said – I mean Doctor Graham. The observations they're making on us and the questions they're asking us have a lofty goal. They want to revive dead soldiers. Revive the dead and cure the mortally wounded. You two will certainly agree that's a noble goal."
"No argument here," Saka said.
"And anything we have to tell them could conceivably assist in that goal," I said.
"Agreed," Ice said, glumly.
"And as for glimpses into the future – our enemies would pay billions for that. Can you imagine how many lives will be saved if we can accurately predict one surprise attack, one offensive, one tragedy that we can avert? We've already seen that in Demon Hill. All those dead saucers we can study, all those secrets, and all those Legion and Assidic and Biogen troopers who are now alive and might be dead had Arie and I and Blackie not done that recon – based on a dream?"
"What do you propose we do?"
"I propose we tell them about the dreams we've had that have come true."
"We may never get out of here," Saka said. "They may even order us back to the hospital."
"I know that. I know that," I said. "You think I don't want to get back to Delta? At first, I was thinking maybe we just tell them about the dreams if they’re important. But who are we to say what's important and what's not? Our personal visions might provide the key to the puzzle. Who knows? I sure don't. So – like the Professor said on Drusweaven – do we just snatch at what we want and hightail it back to Delta, where our hearts are? And spend the rest of our lives wondering if we did the right thing? Or do we resist that – and do the right thing?"
They were silent.
"My friends, we are all together on this one. I'm certainly not going to tell anyone what to do and, like the Prof said, I will do whatever you say. But we have to consider the consequences. For ourselves – and for everybody else as well."
"If we don't get back there, they'll be understrength. They may disband the squad," Saka said. "And disperse everyone. It may be the end of Squad Delta. "
"Yes. They might," I said.
Ice raised her chin, and looked up to the sky. "We do the right thing," she whispered, with a little catch in her voice. I reached over and embraced them both and we did not move for some time.
Chapter 14
Dreamtime
"Here comes the interesting part," Snow Leopard said. "Listen carefully." The Director General of ConFree was seated close beside him on the sofa. She leaned in closer to get a good look at the d-screen on the table, casually resting a forearm on his upper leg. The little screen showed two males and one female trooper clad in Legion black, sitting on a park bench. One of the males, an Outworlder, was speaking.
"…so – like the Professor said on Drusweaven – do we just snatch at what we want and hightail it back to Delta, where our hearts are? And spend the rest of our lives wondering if we did the right thing? Or do we resist that – and do the right thing?"
The other two were silent. The male was an Assidic and the female was a little blonde Outworlder but both of them had faces that were covered with bruises and scars.
"My friends, we are all together on this one," the speaker continued. "I'm certainly not going to tell anyone what to do and, like the Prof said, I will do whatever you say. But we have to consider the consequences. For ourselves – and for everybody else as well."
"If we don't get back there, they'll be understrength. They may disband the squad," the Assidic male said. "And disperse everyone. It may be the end of Squad Delta."
"Yes. They might," the first male said.
The little blonde raised her chin, and looked up to the sky. "We do the right thing," she whispered, with a little catch in her voice. The Outworlder reached over and embraced the other two and they did not move for some time.
Snow Leopard deactivated the d-screen. "The more I see of these guys, the more I like them," he said.
"So," Tara said. "They're going to grit their teeth and cooperate with the hospital."
"They're soldiers. They'll do what they're ordered to do. And, as you just saw, they'll do the right thing, even if it's not in their own interests. But speaking of the hospital. You know Galactic Information has the lead on this op."
"Yes. Agreed."
"I want to pull these folks from the Recovery Hospital. Permanently. These three are a national asset – or will be if handled properly. The hospital docs have bungled this one badly. They treated their own patients so poorly that they alienated them. It's not that the docs' hearts are not in the right place; it's not that they are unskilled or unmotivated. But I think they're used to dealing with patients who are unconscious. I plan to transfer these three troopers to Galactic Info. We will handle them from now on. We'll take real good care of them. We want them highly motivated and highly cooperative – not reluctant and wishing they were someplace else. I plan to nurture these three. And start getting little glimpses of the future. How's that for a goal?"
"It sounds good to me. Approved. Tell me, do you always target your TDY guests with eyemotes?"
"Only if they can read the future. Or something equally spectacular."
"You know, I agree with you. These are extraordinary troopers. Where do they come from?"
"They're just ordinary troopers. Just kids. Nothing special about them, except what happened to them on Galinta. The Outworlder is the one who had the vision about Demon Hill, and turned a potentially disastrous Legion defeat into a spectacular victory. The other two were killed in action – and revived by the Brights."
"Just ordinary troopers."
"That's right! Our ordinary troopers are all heroes. I looked up their squad. Their Phantom driver is a spaceflight engineer, test pilot and the head of Matheson Engineering. He designs spacecraft, he's a millionaire, and he enlisted in the Legion just to help. To do the right thing. He's been working on the IDAG saucer at Site S, and doing wonderful things. Another ordinary squad member is a PhD who transformed one of those captured Demons into a personal friend. He got the D to open the ship for us."
"With personnel like these, my faith in the Legion is renewed, I can tell you. I am always humbled when I hear about people like that."
"Tara. I'm sure Dragon has told you the A's have started flight-testing the Demons' IDAG saucer."
"Yes! It’s thrilling, isn't it?"
"It's not only thrilling, it's spectacular and wonderful. The D saucers were kicking our asses on Galinta. But now we've got all their secrets. And plenty of spare parts as well. The antimat generators and fuel and weapons systems. The antigravity flight systems. The autocombat flight controls. The Dimension X stardrive mechanism. Although we've still got a lot of research to do on the DX. The damned thing is flying! The A's are sharing everything with us. The PhD I told you about and the spacecraft engineer pilot are with the A's in the exploitation and flight testing phases."
"For Deadman's sake, don’t let them both on board at the same time! We can't afford to lose either of them, but certainly not both."
"I'd like Thinker to continue in charge of the IDAG exploitation. And I'd like him to head up the remote viewing project – or chronological viewing, or whatever we end up calling it."
Prophet of ConFree (The Prophet of ConFree) Page 34
