will act, then revert back to normal, remembering nothing. And even I cannot detect it, unless I'm around when the act is being performed. Unfortunately, I was asleep when the nova went off.'
'Those bastards!'
'But how do they do it? How do they do the initial programming?'
'Has anyone ever spent any time in the body shop?' We all had, of course. All of us.
'But why? Why should the Legion want to wreck this mission? They gave us the mission!'
'Why, indeed,' Snow Leopard said. 'Well, that's the question, isn't it? It's a critical mission. The struggle with the O's on this planet is still underway, and every Legion unit is fully engaged, but I've got a promise of strong reinforcements—very strong reinforcements—if I can confirm there's an O starship in the Mound. Makes you wonder who would oppose such a mission.'
'So who do you think is trying to stop us?'
'Well, first of all there's the Systies. That should come as no surprise. That squad that almost walked into us in the river—I'm certain they were looking for us. It wasn't a coincidence they were walking the same river as us. They knew our route—they knew we were taking the river. That's why I left the river.'
'You mean the Systies want the ship as well.'
'The word got out—somehow—about our mission. About the ship, and about our route. The Systies certainly don't want the Legion getting its hands on that ship—they want it themselves.'
'All right, but the Systies didn't mess around with our minds!'
'No, they didn't. There's somebody else that doesn't want us to do this mission. The bunch that did the autohypnotic trance on one of us, and sabotaged our power reserves so we couldn't contact Recon Control— probably hoping it would get us killed. The same bunch that sent that aircar that got blown away by the O's—the hunter-killer teams that called a nova, and told us our mission was cancelled—Blue Gold. They wanted to draw us away from the target, too. They don't want the mission to succeed, either. They're still out there right now, just like the Systies, tracking us down. Legion troopers, it appears. Whoever is behind this, they're being very cautious in the way they do it. I'm sure there's a good reason for it.'
We lay there in the snow, listening to our One and watching the Mound through our scopes. The sky was clearing rapidly, a bright, sparkling day. There was not a sign of deceptors. Our tacmods were crystal clear. It was not good, for us.
'Nobody wants us to do it,' Snow Leopard said quietly. 'Everybody is against us. We're even fighting ourselves. But none of that matters to me. As far as I'm concerned, we've got a mission from Recon Control, and until I hear directly from them that the mission has been cancelled, I'm assuming it's still on. We're going to get that ship, gang, and hold it against all comers—no matter who they are.'
'What about whoever's under that autohypnotic trance?'
'Whoever it is,' Snow Leopard said, 'will try again. Probably at a critical time. Keep alert, and listen to Cinta. She might give us a few fracs warning, when whoever it is starts to surface. It could be anybody—maybe even me. Maybe even you! Don't trust anybody! And remember, the mission is the ship. That's the only mission! Everything else is secondary.'
'Tenners.'
'Ten.'
'Does everybody agree?' There was a murmur of assent.
'Then we do it! All the way—we do it or die! Is everyone with me?'
'We're all with you, One,' Valkyrie said. 'Just give us the word!'
'This is our payback, gang,' Snow Leopard said. 'for everything! For Coldmark, for Andrion 3, for Mongera. This one's for Gamma. And Beta Two, and Six, and Seven.' I could almost feel his icy rage.
'Damned straight,' Valkyrie said. 'Payback!'
'Anything moves, it dies,' Snow Leopard said. 'I want those psybloc grenades going off like firecrackers, gang—we've got plenty!'
'You hear that, Momma?' Psycho said to his Manlink. 'Coolhand, Warhound and Ironman! They're going to be right beside us! Just like the old days! They're cutting us loose, Momma! If it moves, it dies! All right…all right! You heard the man!' Psycho was completely insane, but I was really glad he was on our side. He was the Angel of Death. Nothing ever happened to him—he was invincible. And I suddenly realized something. I went on private to One.
'One, Three.'
'Yes, Three.'
'Psycho has never spent any time in the body shop—other than routine physicals. He's never been wounded.'
'Yes, I know, Thinker.'
'The rest of us all have—except maybe Thirteen. So chances are we can trust Psycho.'
'Well, I hope you're right, Thinker. Just stay alert—we'll be all right.'
'Tenners.' Of course, Snow Leopard already knew—he knew everything.
'ALERT!' Sweety shouted in my ears. 'Systie armor, as marked! I have three A-suits! I have numerous unarmored humans—sixty…seventy…eighty-six, as marked!'
'Prep for combat,' Snow Leopard ordered. 'They'll spot us!' We were already combat dispersed. I switched my E to auto xmax. They were walking out of the east, evidently heading west, toward the Mound. We were northeast of the Mound, well hidden, but there was no way they were not going to detect us under this sky. I snapped down my visor and Sweety zoomed me in on them. They were still on the horizon, a long way off, just moving shadows against the snowy ground. They were walking slowly, trudging towards the Mound.
'Systies! Well, I'll be damned,' Dragon said. 'This can't be the bunch that was following us!'
'The walking dead,' Psycho said quietly. 'Can I use tacstars, One?'
'Nobody fires until I give the word,' Snow Leopard responded. 'Let's see what we've got first.'
The wind picked up, moaning past my armor. We watched them approach, growing slowly in our scopes. Finally I made out the first figure—a DefCorps trooper, fully armored, a camfax smock flapping around him in the rising breeze. He carried an SG, walking slowly, step by weary step. It was obvious it had been a long march. Behind him—who were they? Civilians—a long line of civilians, dressed in rags and blankets, staggering forward, exhausted. I saw men, women, and children. What the hell? Who were these people?
Snow Leopard consulted a field map. 'Massan,' he said suddenly. 'They've got to be from Massan. A big settlement, not a hundred K away. Captured some time ago by the O.'
'But what's happening?' Priestess asked. 'Are they going to the Mound? Why would Systie troopers be taking civilians to an Omni mound?'
'Don't know. Let's wait and see.'
We waited, as the ragged line of civilians drew nearer. There were only three Systies in A-suits, the one in the front and two at the rear. All three had SG's. It soon became clear that the procession was indeed headed for the Mound.
'What the hell are those Systies doing?'
'Quiet!'
'Why haven't they spotted us yet?' Valkyrie asked.
'I want auto x on the last two,' Snow Leopard said. 'Five, I want a stunstar on that first guy. Nobody fires until I give the word.'
'Tenners.'
'You got it.'
Closer. We could see the civilians clearly now—dressed in rags. Some of them didn't even have shoes. They were all starving, that much was obvious. They were stick people, blue from the cold, eyes glazed, staggering forward. An old lady stumbled and fell. An old man pulled her up, helping her on. There was a young man, a walking skeleton, carrying his wife in his arms. A young boy with hollow cheeks walked beside him, holding the hand of a little, bright-eyed toddler, bundled up in a thick red baby suit. The toddler looked up at his brother and his parents. I could see in his eyes that he did not understand. Brave little children, I thought, marching into Hell. And I was suddenly overcome with rage. My whole body began shaking with hate. I centered my E on the last two A-suits, and set it to auto xmax. The sight was shaking. I wanted to see those two Systie bastards die, I wanted them blown to shreds, I wanted to do it so bad I was shaking, I was salivating.
