'Because that is why you are still here/ he replies. You have a lust for life that defies the odds. I knew that if I offered you the chance for freedom you would take it.'
'But Linskrug didn't accept/ crows Loron victoriously. We fall silent for a minute as we reach the end of the gantry and turn into another metal-walled corridor, a couple of scribes coming towards us, giving us suspicious looks as we pass them by.
That must have rattled you/ Lorii says when the Typhons have disappeared from view. You must have been a bit shaken up when Linskrug said no/
The Colonel stops abruptly, turning on his heel to face us.
'I did not choose to have Linskrug in the Last Chancers, he was forced upon me/ he snarls at us. The rest of you, I personally recruited. I studied your files, watched you in batde, and weighed your personalities. I did not wage war on a dozen worlds over three years for no reason. I had to be sure of you/
With that he turns and stalks away. We exchange stunned glances for a couple of seconds before hurrying after Schaeffer.
You mean you've known this is what we'd be doing all along?' I ask, amazed at the concept.
Yes/ is all he replies.
You mustered four thousand men, when you knew that only a handful would be able to get into this place?' I press on relentlessly.
Yes/ is all he says again, and I can feel the anger radiating from his body.
WTiy?' I demand. 'Vvby the hell do all that?'
'Because we needed the best, Kage/ he says through gritted teeth. 'Like it or not, the Last Chancers produce the best fighters and survivors in this part of the galaxy. You have all shown the combat skills and qualities of personality needed for this mission. I have tested you to destruction, but I have not been able to destroy you/
Tested?' I almost scream at him, curbing my anger at the last moment in case it attracts unwanted attention. It's easy to forget we're in the middle of an enemy stronghold. The off-white lighting of the glowstrips set into the ceiling flickers as we pass into another area, and the corridor seems dimmer than the others. Problems with energy distribution, I reckon. If we're successful, the Typhons' power supply problems are going to get a lot worse.
'It is true/ the Colonel admits, pinching the bridge of his nose like he's got a headache or something. 'Many of the events over the past diree years have been chosen or engineered to focus on different parts of your military ability and personality traits. They have tested your initiative and resourcefulness. They have examined your determination, sense of duty, discipline and responses to fear. I admit it is not a precise process, but I think you will agree that I have managed to turn all the situations to my advantage, and along the way we have helped win a few wars. Is that so bad?'
'Not a precise process?' I spit angrily. 'I guess the Heart of the Jungle was a little bit unexpected, wasn't it? And what about the eldar attack on the transport? Inconvenient was it? And the shuttle crashing in Hypernol?'
He doesn't reply, simply keeps marching resolutely along the corridor. Then my brain catches up with the rest of me as his earlier words sink in.
You said engineered/ I say, surprised that I can get even angrier at what this man has done to us.
Tfes/ he admits, glancing back over his shoulder at me. 'Mostly I chose situations that would provoke the required conditions, but some had to be set up deliberately. The shuttle crash was one of those situations. You cannot just hope for that sort of thing to happen, can you?'
That's the final twist, something inside me snaps. I jump forward and lay a hand on Schaeffer's shoulder and spin him around. Before I can do anything else, he slaps me backhanded across the face, almost knocking me from my feet. I'm stunned by the act as much as by the pain - I've never before seen him hit a Last Chancer who didn't attack him first.
'Maintain discipline, Lieutenant Kage/ he says coldly, staring at me with those glitters of ice he has for eyes. 'I will no longer tolerate this insubordination/
I'm half-shocked and half-not by this news. Our suspicion had been growing over the past few months in particular, but the extent to which the Colonel has created and manipulated events is almost unbelievable. I begin to wonder how often he's done this before. How many times has he killed thousands of soldiers to see who were the best, the greatest survivors? How many times more would he do it? It seems such a merciless, uncaring thing to do, but part of me can see his reasoning. It's
a merciless, uncaring galaxy we live in, and if other missions were as important as this one, to save whole worlds, I could just about forgive him. lust about. It still doesn't explain why he was still so secretive about the mission goals. Did he really think we'd back down when we realised what was at stake? Does he think so little of us he doesn't believe we have at least that much decency and courage we'd be willing to fight for the sake of a world of people, for the hundreds of thousands of guardsmen and Navy personnel who'd lose their lives trying to take the place by force? We walk on in resentful silence.
Finding what looks to be a deserted archive room, we hide out and formulate the next part of our plan. Rows and rows of parchments, dataslabs and crystal disks surround us on endless shelves. Hidden among the teetering mass of information, we cluster around a battered wooden table, looking intently at a copy of Coritanorum's innermost layout, brought forth like magic from one of Gudmanz's voluminous sleeves.
'Our benefactor have anyming lined up for this one?' asks Loron, leaning across the schematic at the far end of the table.
This will not be easy/ he says heavily, taking a deep sigh. To open the gate requires a retinal scan/
A what?' asks Lorii, looking across from where she's perched on the edge of the table, bent over the map.
'Remember at the first gate, the scanner read the skin indentations of the security officer's fingertips?' he asks, and we all nod in agreement. Who could forget that macabre episode? Well, this portal has a device that can
