March of the Legion

'He's not breathing!'

'Sassin! He's alive!'

'The charger! Quick!'

'Deadman! Hold still!'

I forced myself over to Priestess's prone A-suit, the car whirling around me, cold sweat on my brow, acid burning in my mouth.

'Priestess—Priestess!' Her visor was open. Her eyes were open. She gasped for air. Valkyrie was unlinking Nine's armor—she had been hit in the chest. Blood oozed out of the armor. My crude medpads fell away, soaked in blood.

Another scream. This time it was not me. Dragon tossed Valkyrie a bloody biotic charger. She pressed it onto Priestess's scarlet chest. Priestess's eyes flickered and closed. She breathed deeply and shuddered.

'Don't let her die!'

'Get out of the way, Thinker—you can't help. I need a cyro!'

'Deadman! Sassin is in bad shape!'

'What about Coolhand?'

'He's dying, Gamma! Gimme the charger!'

'Unlink, unlink!'

'Ohhh no—no!'

'Stop the bleeding!'

'Coolhand, Coolhand, can you hear me?'

'He's not breathing!'

'No! No! God no!'

'Biotic charge! Quick!'

Valkyrie bent over Coolhand, frantically working to unlink his bloody armor. Blood was splattered everywhere. It was a charnel house, a butcher shop. I struggled to retain consciousness. It whirled around me. I found Priestess's hand and took it in mine and closed my eyes and prayed. Just let her live, I thought. Just let her live! I'll do your will, I'll kill Systies the rest of my life, whatever you want! Just let her live.

'Sassin! Critical! Now!' Another mad scramble.

Shattered, scarred armor, black blood on the deck, a massive, alien limb, burnt to a crisp—the O! Its head was at my feet, encased in melted armor deformed by plasma.

The humanoid sat beside me, cradling Tara in his arms. She was pale and still, her eyes closed. Lord, she was just like an angel, a wounded angel. The humanoid was crying, running his blunt, hairy fingers through her silken hair.

'DefCorps aircars closing!' Whit shouted. 'What do we do?'

Millina scrambled up to the cockpit, sliding on the blood, tearing at her visor. 'Is it on Mongeran freaks?' Millina asked.

'Affirmative—two of them!'

'ATTENTION! WE ARE BEING TARGETED FOR ATTACK! HOSTILE LOCK-ON!' The aircar boomed out the warning. Millina hit the transmit tab.

'DefCorps aircars, attention! This is Millina, repeat, Millina! Hold its fire! We have seized control of the aircar! Repeat, the System has control of this aircar! Enemy units all terminated! Acknowledge!'

'Acknowledge it has control of the aircar. Slow down and land, Millina. Does it need assistance?'

'Negative. Negative, we have seriously wounded here, please escort us back to Mongera Port, acknowledge.'

'They're still locked on!' Whit reported.

'Lock on lifted,' the ship corrected her.

'Slow down, Millina! We're coming alongside. Who is on board? Report!'

'DefCorps, our comrades are dying! Escort us in! Alert the port!' Millina took her hand off the transmit tab. 'Don't slow down! Fast as it can! The bastard is coming alongside us.'

'Psycho,' Dragon said cautiously, 'take position by the door. Pilot, you do exactly as I say. Be prepared to take evasive action.'

'Affirmative! Do it quick, whatever it is!'

An enemy aircar slid close in behind us, easing in to our left.

'Nobody move! Heads down! Millina, wave at him or something.'

Right alongside us now, an ugly wedge of burnt black armor ramming its way through the air, hot cenite death, all the power and pain of the System, functional and deadly and excruciatingly lovely, so lovely I could hardly believe it. Millina waved from the cockpit. The Systie pilot could see her and Whit sitting together up front.

'Millina, report its status and casualties immediately!'

'He's not buying it!'

'Whit, open the door! Psycho, chainlink! Hold on, gang!' The door snapped open suddenly, a great roar as a typhoon of air rushed in, loose gear exploding all around us. The Systie pilot's eyes widened as Five fired full auto tacstar, and the enemy aircar exploded, a blinding nuclear flash; and our own aircar was blown aside like a leaf in a storm, falling, rolling, chaos, everyone screaming, upside down, then back again, crashing down towards the deck in a wild pile of bodies. Whit regained control of the car. Dragon landed on top of me. He scrambled off, stunned.

'Deadman! Is everyone still here?'

'The door! The door!'

The door slid shut. Chaos reigned.

'Help me! It's Sassin!'

'Oh no! Where's the medkit?'

'Where's the other aircar?'

'Badboy, Big Kid! We've got a distress beacon—it's your aircar jock, Beta Ten. Badboy, Big Kid, repeat, distress beacon from your aircar jock—do you read it, acknowledge?'

'Oh, Deadman!'

'Aircar closing—this is…'

'Evade, evade!'

'That's Ten! Beta Ten! Are you getting that signal?'

'Badboy, Big Kid—we've got you on scope, one Systie aircar behind you, closing fast. What's your status, over?'

'Oh, we're fine—SCUT!'

'No life signs from Coolhand!'

'Mag charge! Keep him alive, Valkyrie!'

'Sassin—critical!'

'Oh damn! Damn damn damn damn!'

'Deadman, don't let him die!'

'Deceptors!' Whit slammed a tiny fist down on the controls and the sky exploded all around us and we were in a hot drop to the deck and suddenly in a forest, crashing through the underbrush, a leafy green cathedral all around us, black tree trunks flashing past like ancient stone columns. Whit took us to a faint stream and we followed it into the woods, mikes above the water, trailing a shock wave of water vapor and shredded leaves.

'We've got to pick up Redhawk.'

'Keep going, pilot! You're leaving him behind!'

'Coolhand, Coolhand! Please! Live, damn you, live! Coolhand!'

'We go to pick up Redhawk, now! Do you have the beacon on scope?'

'No response! There's no response! Hit it again!'

'Affirmative. Just let us shake this aircar.' Whit's face was beaded with cold sweat. The deceptors had done the trick. The DefCorps aircar was wasting time dealing with phantoms.

I could taste the mags on my tongue—it was all that was keeping me conscious. Priestess was curled in a foetal ball under a tangle of equipment. I tore it away, frantic. Bloody fleshpads, all over her chest. Her eyes were open—she was breathing!

'Priestess, Priestess—answer me!' Her eyes focused on me. Her mouth opened.