When Mary tossed the bridal bouquet over her shoulder there was a mad scramble among the young ladies to snatch it. But it was Carol, the Prof's long-limbed daughter, who caught it, to the delight of the crowd. She was only sixteen, a bit young for marriage, but we were all happy for her.
"She'll be a good catch for anybody some day," Honeyhair said. "She's really been applying herself in her studies. She knows how lucky she is." We joined Arie and Blondie and Smiley and Doggie at a festively decorated table and I poured wine for everybody. We had rescued the Prof's daughter – or rather, the Prof had rescued her, with a little help from Delta – in 381 in a raid on Quatar. We had killed a whole lot of slavers and liberated a whole lot of slave girls – not just the Prof's daughter. The original plan had been to pay the slavers to get his daughter back – a peaceful transaction. But he had changed the plan when he saw all the other slave girls. From that moment on I fully recognized what a complex person the Professor was, and how totally moral he was, and how totally courageous and dedicated he was. I was in awe of the man. It was almost as if he existed in a different plane of reality than the rest of us.
"Well, with Bird captured, that leaves only you two and the Prof still on the loose," Arie said to Smiley and Doggie.
"I'm happy being single," Doggie said. "There's plenty of babes out there who are out for a good time. They keep me busy."
"You just haven’t been effectively targeted yet," Honeyhair said. "You're a good man, Doggie, and one of these days one of your babes is going to see through your gruff exterior and capture your heart."
"Ha!" he laughed. "I doubt it." Blackie came up to Doggie and laid his head on Doggie's knee.
"Besides, I've got Blackie to keep me company if I get lonely," Doggie said, pouring some wine into a saucer and placing it on the deck for Blackie.
"The Prof is always so busy, I don't think he's even thought about a new wife," I said. "How about you, Smiley? You must have a few groupies among all these ladies." Smiley was young and handsome and I'm sure the girls had their eyes on him.
"No," he said. "I joined the Legion to do the right thing. ConFree took us in as refugees. My family was enslaved on Katag, and I know how fortunate I am to be here. I promised my family I would join the Legion and fight for ConFree – and I would do it as long as I was needed."
"That doesn't mean you have to give up on love," I said.
"Yes, it does," he replied softly.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing." He lowered his head, toying with his wine glass. He was clearly upset. I had never seen him that way before.
"What’s her name?" Blondie asked, softly. At first Smiley did not respond. Then he spoke.
"Christine."
"Where is she?"
"She's on Lotus. That's where we settled after Katag. That's where I enlisted."
"Do you love her?"
"Yes."
"Then there's no problem. What's the problem?"
"When I walked through the Legion gate, I told her it was like dying. I said I'd never see her again and I wanted her to forget me. To get another boy friend, and get on with her life. Because I would not be coming back."
"And what did she say?"
"She said she was not going to do that. She said she was going to wait for me. No matter how long it took. I told her not to do that. I told her we were parting now, and we were each going to just fade away, and forget each other. Then I walked through the gate. She was crying."
"It doesn't sound like you've forgotten her. Has she forgotten you?"
"I don't know."
"Don't you want to find out?"
"After all this time? Are you serious? It's been five years since I enlisted. She's forgotten me. I told her to forget me. She's probably married by now. Why should she still remember me? Who the hell am I?"
"You're the person who she said she would wait for, no matter how long it would take. That's who. You said you love her?"
"Yes. I can't forget her. I dream about her all night." He was looking down at the table again. It was as if there were only the two of them, Blondie and Smiley, in a private conversation. "It's crazy. I can't get her out of my head. I really did think she was just going to fade away. But she didn't. As time went on I thought about her more. And more. It's my fault. My fault." Finally Smiley looked up and smiled, back to his regular self. "Guess I've had too much wine," he said. "Sorry to bother you with my fantasies. Let's enjoy the wedding."
Blondie didn't respond, but I was pretty sure she was not going to let it end there. Honeyhair had told me all about Blondie, and Blondie was an exceptional person. Give her a problem and she’ll resolve it. Whether or not it should be resolved.
"Cheers! Hello, friends!" It was Bird, with Mary at his side. He looked excited. She looked good enough to eat, and she was glowing, ecstatic. Bird raised a glass on high. "To our friends! Friends and comrades! Drink! Drink!" We all drank. Bird emptied his glass. "What! Empty! Again! This glass must have a hole in it." Bird was looking a bit unsteady on his feet. "Any advice for the groom?" he asked.
"Yeah," I replied. "Just do whatever she says."
"Fred! Fred! More wine!" Bird called out.
"Right away, sir!" Fred said, refilling Bird's glass.
"No more alcohol for him," Fred confided in me. "But you can't tell the difference. It tastes the same."
"Thanks, Fred. You're a good man."
"I wouldn't want him to be unable to do his husbandly duties on his wedding night," Fred said.
"Good thinking. I'm sure he'd thank you if he knew."
Δ
"FLASH CRASH! NOW! ALL DELTA, NOW!" The announcement echoed through the base. Again? What the hell? It was mid-morning the day after the wedding. I ran to the Prof's office where we all gathered, breathless from the run. The Prof was reading a print-out.
"All right, here it is," he said quietly, not even looking up. "Twoday last week the eyemotes and probes around Pacifica started going out. One by one. Autoefforts to revive them failed. The techs went to work, concerned that their babies had failed them. They were unable to raise any of the units. That was so unusual that they examined their options and sent another probe to the target. But before the probe was even halfway there it was noted that Pacifica was on the move."
"On the move!" somebody exclaimed.
"On the move. It has exited its former orbit and is now on a new course. They double-checked it and confirmed it and some genius decided it might be nice to let us know. So here we are. Remind me not to depend on Tech Central to monitor our devices any more. They have not yet been able to determine the asteroid's new course but we’ll get that shortly. Here's the plan. We depart today. The mission is to locate and destroy the deflection device as soon as we get there. Assuming it is there this time. That's likely because otherwise the asteroid would not be moving. We will do this by entering the device, planting an antimat charge, and destroying it. At the same time we will be installing our own impulse plasma deflection device, not far off. We considered a gravity tractor but we decided against that as the B's might decide to attack the tractor – our ship. With an impulse plasma deflection device we drill our own pit, install the device, and activate it, at max power. Then we disappear and monitor what happens, controlling it from a distance."
"We blow up their device," Nan said. "What if the B's take that as an act of war? They've activated the thing. They may be there, waiting for us to show up. How are we going to accomplish our mission if they oppose us?"
"Our mission – straight from the Director-General of ConFree – is to destroy that device, install our own device, and nudge Pacifica away from Earth. And this time we are going to be armed, and prepared to defend ourselves. How the Brights react should be a secondary concern. All of Delta is going as this is our mission, and we must be able to communicate with the B's if they do appear. The deflection device is being loaded into the Vampire even as we speak. Soldiers, do your duty. I'll see you in the boarding dock. Say your
goodbyes and keep it brief."
Δ
Believe it or not, being back in the Vampire and into vac run red on our way to a dangerous mission calmed me down. Facing death always seemed to have a soothing effect on me. It concentrates my mind on the important things, and all the crap just fades away. I guess I had changed a lot. But the Vampire – somehow – gave me a lot of confidence. It was a miraculous creation, and was staffed by wonderful Fleetcom vacheads – people who would fly right into the gates of hell for us, and pick us up again when we were through.
It was over one thousand, four hundred light years from Quaba to the asteroid belt in the Terran system. It would take us a few ship’s days to get there. I didn't understand why, but that's what they told us. It gave us enough time to prepare ourselves.
"Doesn't sound good," Arie said. We were at a table in a small lounge with Doggie, Scout, Bird and Smiley, sipping dox to calm our nerves.
"No, it doesn't," I said.
"It's nuts," Scout said. "If it's moving, it means the B's are there. Either right there on the asteroid, or close by, watching over their baby. A secondary concern, the Prof said. How are we supposed to just land there and go to work?"
"They'll defend the installation," Arie said. "What are we supposed to do if we approach and there they are, Bright ships and soldiers, swarming over the place? We'll be in a shooting war right away."
"Well, that's why Delta is here. We can communicate with them," Smiley said.
"And what will we say," Bird asked. "Stand aside? I agree this is crazy. Have we asked the B's about this? The Prof didn't say."
"Let's ask these questions after the brief, if the Prof doesn't answer them," Doggie said. "But you know he's got the answers. He always does."
"Well, it's almost time for the brief. Let's go," I said.
Δ
The brief was in the conmod. We crowded in there and sat in rows of comfy airchairs like in a theater. There were a lot of people I didn't know in there, shoulder to shoulder with us. They had engineer patches on their fatigues. The Prof and Nan the Man and the Vampire's captain and one of the engineer officers faced us on the briefing stage.
"Greetings, all," the Prof said. "This is an historic occasion. But for us it is just another mission. And we are going to do it, or die. Get that clear. Pacifica is not going to crash into Earth, not as long as one of us is still alive. Clear? Good. Here's the mission. Captain Dash will transport us to the vicinity in the Vampire, fully cloaked, and sweep the area for any hostile presence. If the area appears secure, we will launch our squad phantom, the Mary, and a second shuttle, Fang One, and two more phantoms to cover us, all cloaked. Delta will be in the Mary, piloted by Bird. Our engineers, led by Captain Moodie here, will be in Fang One along with all the equipment they will need to drill a blast pit and install our plasma pulse deflectors. They have their own security. They will install our own deflector, and activate it, to bypass Earth. While they're doing that, Delta will enter the hostile deflector unit, and install antimat charges inside. Doggie, you will lead our security unit consisting of Scout, Nitro, and Smiley. You will secure the area so that Prophet, Ice, Saka and Bees can make the installation. Once the antimat is ready we will evac the device, and detonate the antimat. Our security team will remain on site until the engineers declare their unit is operational. At that point, all concerned will evac back to the Vampire on the Mary and the Fang One.
"That's the plan. And it will likely change the instant we arrive at the target. There's a lot that can go wrong. This time we're pretty sure that the deflection device that Saka saw in his DX dream will be there. Otherwise the asteroid would not have moved out of orbit. Oh, by the way, we now do have confirmation that the Pacifica is headed for Earth. If we don't deflect it further it will intersect with Terra, with catastrophic results.
"Now our main problem is the likely presence of the Brights. Presumably they disabled all our eyemotes and then installed the deflection device, and they have activated it and so they should be watching over it. We're hoping they have set it to auto and are not onsite. Ideally, they will have set it on course and departed, and will not return until they discover that someone has altered Pacifica's course. Worst case, they are in the vicinity, maybe even at the site, and prepared to defend it. What do we do then?
"Well, we talk. In that case Bees, Ice, Prophet and Saka will assist us in communicating with the B's and persuading them to let us turn the device away from Earth. If the talks fail, we will continue our attempts to accomplish our mission. And remember, we're not leaving until Pacifica changes course, or we're all dead.
"Why haven’t we contacted the B's already, and sought cooperation? Because we are hoping we can do this on our own, without Bright interference. A fiat accompli. I believe it will be difficult and maybe impossible for us to persuade the B's to turn Pacifica away from Earth if they are determined to strike Earth. But who knows? We all wear the white hand, and Bees is a knight – and very persuasive. Maybe we can do it. "
I raised my hand.
"Yes, Prophet."
"Even if all is well and the Brights are not there and we successfully turn the device away from Earth, the Brights will certainly detect the change in course and return to investigate and reset the course. Right?"
"Right. But by then their device is destroyed, ours is active, and ours is defended by a heavy Fleetcom and Legion task force, which will arrive in Pacifica's vicinity once we report success in our mission."
"So then all we will have to worry about is a galactic war with the Brights."
"We're just soldiers, Prophet. We follow orders. We don't have to worry about a galactic war with the Brights. All we have to do is what we are told. Die for ConFree, die for Terra, it doesn't matter. We do our part. And let the Director General of ConFree worry about a galactic war with the Brights."
Terrific, I thought. It's just as I feared. We're going to die for the PJ's. Fine, I thought. We can do that. But – what had I just thought? Strange. I hadn't thought "I'm going to die," but "we're going to die." We, not I. Maybe that's a sign of something. Maturity, maybe. I've arrived. We've arrived. And we've transformed ourselves, all of us, from raw recruits to seasoned warriors, ready to die for the cause. Transformations – yes. We, Delta Research, are going to die. But it's all right. We'll die for the right reasons, and we'll die together. Fine. Bring it on! We're ready. I could only feel an icy cold determination.
Δ
The Director of Galactic Information and the Director of the ConFree Legion were already there when Ambassador Wester arrived in the spacious office of the Director-General of ConFree. The Director, Antara Tarantos-Hannah, was clad in Legion black and was just as stunningly beautiful as she had been the last time Wester had seen her. She approached Wester and embraced him.
They stood that way for quite awhile, heart to heart, as all the ghosts from the past floated around them. Wester's eyes were closed. It was magical. All those people from the past! Sacrificed, so we may live.
"Should we leave the room for awhile, Tara?" Dragon asked.
"It’s quite all right, Dragon," she replied. "We're just saying hello."
"You don't say hello to me like that," Snow Leopard objected.
"Sorry. Let's sit down. There are some serious issues. And it's about Delta Research. That's why Wester is here."
"Mister Ambassador?" Snow Leopard grinned at Wester. "So good to see you, sir."
"Oh, shut down, will you?"
They sat at Tara's long conference desk, with Tara picking a chair at random between Wester to one side and Dragon and Snow Leopard on the other.
"The latest, please, Wester," she asked.
"Yes, Pacifica is headed for Earth. Dead-on. Our latest probes have not yet arrived there, but should get there about the same time the Delta task force arrives. Delta is all set to destroy the current plasma deflector, presumably installed by the Brights, and to install our own device to deflect it from Earth. They're in the tacship Vampire but
a cruiser from the Atom's Road is set to deploy a task force to support them if needed."
"Atom's Road! I thought it was to be retired."
"No, it's still active. This may be its last deployment." The Atom's Road was an old friend to all four of those present.
"And the Delta Research force – what is their mission?"
"I just told you. They will destroy the enemy deflector, install our own and activate it, to bypass Earth."
"And what happens if the Brights attempt to stop them? What will be their mission then?"
"Again – I told you. They will destroy the enemy deflector. They will install our deflector. They will activate the deflector. It will bypass Earth."
"And if they can't do it?"
"If they are all killed in action, the Atom's Road task force will attack the Brights and the war will be on. And the task force's engineers will try to do the same thing that Delta failed to do."
Tara's face was pale, and her jaw muscles were twitching. "Wester, do you think the Brights will be there when Delta arrives?"
"Yes, I do."
"Dragon?"
"Sure. There, or in the immediate vicinity."
"Snow Leopard?"
"I think chances are high the Brights will be there."
"War with the Brights. This is insane. Yes?"
"Yes," Dragon said.
"So what do we do?"
"Let the Brights target Earth, and kill a couple billion Earthers?" Dragon suggested.
"No. Impossible."
"If you want Delta to do something other than what you've ordered them to do, you'd better countermand those orders right quick, because they'll be on target very soon," Wester said. "And they’re going to do exactly what you ordered. Without worrying about the consequences."
"Why in hell are the Brights doing this?" Tara asked. "It's been driving me crazy."
"Well, Earth just declared war on them," Dragon said. "Maybe that's it."
"I don't believe that for an instant. If I was a Bright I might laugh at that, but I certainly wouldn't give it another thought."
"Maybe we don't think the way they do. Maybe it's a combination of things."
Prophet and the Blood March (Prophet of ConFree) Page 24
