Prophet and the Blood March (Prophet of ConFree) (58 page)

"I don’t know, Arie. I sure don’t know, but I wish them the best. And if they follow our guidelines, it might really work out. Dangerous subversives – and now they're in charge. They must be tough people. I'd bet they don't want to relive the past. But I guess we'll see."

Δ

The Confederation Ship
Infinity
was a lovely ship. It was a star carrier and when Arie and I first glimpsed it through a shuttle simport, it looked absolutely heavenly – as white as snow, spangled with lovely colored lights. The war was over and she was lighting herself up to celebrate. I had actually been on this ship before, returning to Quaba alone after marrying Honeyhair on Providence. At that time, there were sections of the ship that were off-limits to Legion troopers – as if we might infect the swimming pool where the civilians played. But this time it was different. The entire ship was open to us – and there were thousands of us, Legion troopers returning home from Vulcan. Many of us were walking wounded, like Arie and me. As we walked through the docklock
en masse
, we passed under a giant sign that read: WELCOME HEROES! WELCOME LEGION AND FLEETCOM! THE SHIP IS YOURS! A GRATEFUL NATION WELCOMES YOU HOME!

When I was a kid I was captivated by the ancient poetry of Rudyard Kipling, a warrior-poet who celebrated the common soldier of the vanished British Empire. I read him so often his words were carved into my brain. And now, passing under that amazing sign, I heard his words again, a ghostly whisper from the distant past:

"For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' 'Tommy, wait outside,'

But it's 'Special train for Atkins' when the trooper's on the tide –

The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,

O it's 'Special train for Atkins' when the trooper's on the tide.

"While it's Tommy this, an Tommy that, an' 'Tommy, fall be'ind,'

But it's 'Please to walk in front, sir,' when there's trouble in the wind –

There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind.

O it's 'Please to walk in front, sir,' when there's trouble in the wind."

The entire ship's officer compliment was right at the boarding port to greet us – I hadn’t seen so much brass in quite awhile. And they were all saluting us, standing ramrod straight. Some of our wounded were on airglide chairs or stretchers, and the
Infinity
's officers took over the task of guiding them into the ship. We had admirals and commodores and ship's captains helping out our enlisted wounded. I was very pleased to see that. I wondered if the ConFree public really appreciated what we had done.

Δ

"We're going home," Arie said. "We're really going home." We were sitting at a little plex table beside the giant swimming pool, which was flooded with artificial sunlight. It was crowded with Legion troopers, shouting and carousing, leaping into the pool and clowning around. Arie and I were both in swim trunks and Arie had finally gotten rid of that armorite chest protector. His chest was covered with deep, nasty red scars. My face was gleaming with medgel because I had just had a session at the hospital. "Look at this," Arie said, showing me the little plastic printout. "It says right here our assignment is Galactic Info, Delta Research. It's official!"

"Life is good," I replied.

"Of course it would be even better if Blondie and Honeyhair could join us, but they'll join us later, right?"

"Absolutely. Don't worry."

"What did the docs say about your scars?"

"They said my scars are healing rapidly. And what about you?"

"They told me to take it easy for awhile. We'll see."

"Home," I said, sipping lazily on an icy blossom tea.

"Home," Arie repeated. "You know, Delta Research is the only home I have."

"Yeah, same here."

"It's like a dream."

"Fred will be taking care of it. It's waiting for us. Our quarters. The Viking. The garden. Standing under the overhang watching the rain. Feeling the warmth on your skin."

"Doctor Dimension will be there. And Paula Deep. And the Prof and Ice and Saka should be there by now."

"Yeah. Maybe," I said. "Or maybe not."

"What do you mean?"

"Things change. Don't be surprised if things are not the same."

"Why do you say that?"

"How many useful visions did we have in the months leading up to the war?"

"Well, let's see…Bees had the best one. It was pretty spectacular, no?"

"And singularly lacking in things that we didn't already know. It just confirmed what we knew was already coming. And how many other visions did Delta Research come up with?"

"Well…I heard Ice came up with one. But it was evidently so cosmic secret that nobody would even admit to it. I asked her about it, when I first heard about it, and she turned pale and just walked away from me. Weird!"

"Well, even if Ice's was a real one, two visions are not much in comparison to all those tax credits that were flowing into Delta Research."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I expect Delta Research to change. The emphasis may change from prophecy to something else. Like raising the dead."

"I see. You don't think they'd close down Delta Research?"

"Let's wait for everybody to return, then see how many Deltas have new DX brains – and how many can bring the dead back to life. No, with a gang like ours, I think it would be difficult to argue that we don't have a lot of promise. Telepathy, prophecy, and bringing the dead back to life. Even our pet wolf has remarkable powers. No, I don’t think they'll close down Delta Research. I think it will likely become more important than ever."

"Well, I hope you're right. Are you ready for another swim?"

"Sure. Let's do it."

Δ

The next startracer came when Arie and I were in the gym, testing out our new muscles in the weight room. We hurried out of the weight room to the changing room and I set my tacmod on a table and the star tracer appeared. I was always afraid when star tracers appeared. It was normally bad news.

UNCLASS PERS ST 9921614405 – GALACTIC INFO QUABA DELTA RESEARCH TO CS INFINITY LEGION PERS PROPHET 7789732039 OR NITRO 7789732018. PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM PROFESSOR 6045889580.

My dear Prophet and Nitro, We are now back in Delta and I have some sad news to relay. I received a telepathed transmission via our DX neural comset from Willow, that brave young Bright knight who marched with us on Vulcan. He informs me that our beloved Breakblade was killed in action in the last phases of the campaign on Vulcan. Of course he was leading his troops into battle when he was hit. Regrettably he was hit by multiple tacstars and there was not enough of him left for the B's to resurrect him. Willow says he will always be remembered as a hero and a patriot, who died fighting Satan. You will remember that was his goal, to emulate his grandfather. Willow says Breakblade is now within the ranks of Heaven's Army under Saint Michael the Archangel. Pray to him when you go into battle, Willow said. He was a great warrior. So, for Breakblade, the mission is finally accomplished.

That's all I have for now. Return here as soon as you can. Prof.

UNCLASS PERS ST 9921614405 END.

Δ

It was a dark, cold and rainy day when Arie and I disembarked from the
Infinity
's shuttle and walked into Quaba Starport's main terminal with a host of other returning veterans. We were greeted with an honor guard from Quaba Military Academy – it looked like the whole damned school, immaculately uniformed kids all the way from grammar school to midschool, too young to serve in Vulcan but not too young to learn about it. We had to walk in between two long columns of kids, braced at attention, saluting us as a big band blasted away with the national anthem, "The Black March". The terminal was full – a mass of humanity, it looked like thousands of random civilians. They burst into applause as soon as we appeared, and did not stop. There were plenty of kids clumped in groups under signs identifying their schools. They must have been air-bussed in from the schools to greet us. Everybody was waving miniature ConFree flags. A giant sign hung overhead:

WELCOME HOME.
THE PEOPLE OF CONFREE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SACRIFICES.

The applause was deafening.

And now the little yellow caution tapes that had separated the incoming troops from the people were suddenly torn to shreds as anxious onlookers spotted their loved ones in the crowd of troopers and broke into a disorderly charge in what can only be described as a holy reunion of lovers and families and friends, troops and civilians reuniting, at last, at last, at last.

The Prof and Saka and Ice were there. We all embraced, without shame. This was my family. It was so damned good to be home.

Δ

We regouped in Delta Lounge, sprawling in airchairs, sipping dox around a low table covered with doxcups and snacks. It was so wonderful to be there. I had first visited my quarters, my home, after all that time. The place was so inviting it was like a physical force. I could smell Honeyhair's scent in the air, a faint musky perfume. My heart sped up, then. Peace, heart. Peace.

The Prof addressed Arie and me while Saka and Ice sat in. Blackie was there too, panting happily by the Prof's side. He had greeted us excitedly. This was all of Delta that had so far returned home. Each one of us had DX brain structures, four of us had been killed in action and survived, and all five of us were now Bright Knights, pledged to protect the innocent, fight evil and spread the faith. And any one of us, maybe all of us, might have the ability to raise the dead from the battlefield. What were we to accomplish in the future?

"All right, boys and girls," the Prof said, "this is one happy moment, and there are going to be more joyous reunions, as more of our scattered flock return from the war. Prophet, Nitro, you may not have the full picture of the war and how it ended. Yes, it was a great victory and we all sacrificed plenty to bring that about, but let's not kid ourselves. It was the Brights that defeated the Darks. The B's gave it all they had, and they were successful. The Darks realized they were losing, and made the decision to flee the scene. A lot of Darks were killed in the vac while fleeing Vulcan. Many, many of them. But the survivors returned to Mid Haven, abandoning this universe. Their Demon allies did their best to escape as well, but it was like a shooting gallery. A whole generation of Darks and Demons were killed. That's the good news. But the bad news is that many of them escaped. And Satan has a long memory."

"Well, don't stop there, Prof," I said. "What’s going to happen?"

"You're the prophet, Prophet. You tell me. We can use some good prophesies, to read our future."

"I'll try to do that."

"You may have noticed some construction activity outside."

"Sure did," Arie said. "It looks like they're planning on doubling the size of Delta Research."

"Yes. We have some changes. The Ministry of Science and a whole host of medical research organizations are setting up shop in Delta Research. Don't worry, we are still firmly under the control of Galactic Information. But we are going to be working closely with ConFree's cutting-edge science institutions."

"We're the cutting edge," Ice said. "Not them."

"That's right. They're going to be working with us, but not telling us what to do. Perhaps we'll call our new section Delta Med – I haven’t decided yet. Ambassador Wester will be leading our effort for Galactic Info, and I will report directly to him. The new science people will report to me. Doctor Dimension will continue as our lead scientist, with able assistance from Doctor Dorak and Paula Deep. Now this is not to be repeated, but I will tell you that Doctor Dimension has made some very impressive research discoveries regarding Dimension X while we were in Vulcan. Very impressive. And we are all going to be deeply involved exploiting this new information."

"So it looks like there's no danger of Delta Research being closed down?" I asked.

"Closed down? Why would you think that?"

"It seemed to me that Delta Research provided no exploitable prophesies in advance of the war."

The Prof was quiet for awhile, then spoke. "Well, you're right, Prophet. Don't think I wasn't concerned about that. However, the situation has changed greatly. And Delta Research is more important than ever. No, there's no danger of Delta Research being closed down. Quite the contrary. I'll wait until our team is complete before I explain exactly what we'll be doing. Here's a rundown on our missing personnel. Nan the Man was recalled to the UMC about the same time we all left for the war. He was later sent to Vulcan to lead the UMC's effort there. I have had no news from him. Kwan was recalled to the AC around the same time, and last we heard he was also on his way to Vulcan. Is that right, Ice?"

"That's the last I heard," Ice said. "I pray for him every day."

"Lan Hwa proved useful here while we were gone, and was quite happy to see her husband again, that right, Saka?"

"Happy is an understatement," Saka said. "We burnt the past and dedicated the future to Saka the Invincible. I could hear him whispering to me in the dark. It was inspiring, it was incredible." Lan Hwa was an officer in the AC military but had been ordered to remain at Delta Research when the war began. Her colleague Kwan had been recalled to the AC.

"Doctor Dorak is on duty here, along with Doctor Dimension and Paula Deep. They are our scientific hard core. Smiley's wife, Christine, is also here, awaiting the return of her beloved husband. I think you already know that Honeyhair, Blondie and Mary are still in the war zone, caring for our wounded. Bird should be showing up here soon, as soon as I can wrench him away from his current assignment with Fleetcom in Vulcan.

"You know that Doggie, Scout and Smiley have all been recovering with the Brights. Communication is always difficult with the Brights, especially since we lost Breakblade. But I'm optimistic that they will return to us soon. And I've been waging a monumental battle with the Ministry of Science for possession of Bees. There was never any doubt about the outcome, but the Ministry of Science didn't know that. She belongs to Galactic Information and they are never going to give her up. So she'll be showing up here shortly."