Legion Of The Damned - 06 - For Those Who Fell by William C. Dietz Page A

Kuga-Ka, saw the noncom turn to look into his eyes, and felt the full impact of the Hudathan’s hatred. That was when he realized it wasn’t over, and wouldn’t be, not so long as both of them were alive.
ABOARD THE MOTHRI SUN
    In spite of the fact that the freighter was relatively small as transports go, the number two cargo hold looked huge as Calvo stepped down onto a catwalk, and peered into the dimly lit durasteel cavern below. The liftoff had gone without a hitch from the maintenance officer’s perspective, since all the war forms, munitions, and spares had been loaded aboard the Mothri Sun on time and stored in a manner that would allow her technicians to access them during the trip. Something they needed to do since the days prior to departurehad been spent rounding up spares rather than performing precombat maintenance checks.
    Lights appeared in the murk below as the MO’s crew of twenty-four maintenance techs entered the hold. Though normally embedded in the four companies that went together to comprise the battalion, the “gear heads” as they were sometimes known, had been stripped out of their units and put aboard the Sun. Sixteen members of her crew were bio bods and eight were borgs. They “wore” specially equipped six-legged spider forms.
    Owing to a shortage of space on the Spirit of Natu, a lieutenant and two squads of infantry had boarded the Mothri Sun as well. Though normally charged with providing security for battalion HQ, the ground pounders had been put to work humping tools and diagnostic equipment.
    Metal clanged on metal as the first transit container was breached and the technicians entered. Each war form in that particular module would be checked, serviced, and rechecked. Once that was accomplished the durasteel box would be resealed and the four-person team would move on. Meanwhile, other teams, each working under the supervision of a noncom, were following the same process. It represented a great deal of work, but that didn’t trouble Calvo, who relished such activity.
    A power wrench chattered as a spider form made use of one of a tool arm to remove the bolts on an inspection plate. Calvo grinned, made her way to the far side of the hold, and descended a ladder. There, down in the gloom, was the world that she loved best.
ABOARD THE SPIRIT OF NATU
    The Spirit of Natu was and always had been a military vessel, which meant that as Santana made his way down the ship’s main passageways there was nothing to see beyond overheadcable trays, regularly spaced lights, bare bulkheads, directional signs, side corridors, and the gray nonslip matting that covered the decks. The cavalry officer was furious, and at least some of that must have been apparent, because those coming from the opposite direction were careful to stay out of his way.
    Once Santana arrived in the section of the ship where Alpha Company personnel were quartered, he followed a narrow passageway inward and stopped in front of an open hatch. The compartment was tiny, but private, a fact for which Captain Gaphy was grateful. The officer heard a couple of dull thumps and looked up to find Santana framed by the hatchway. He had been expecting the visit but saw no reason to signal the fact. “Yes? What is it?”
    The platoon leader stood at attention, but rather than staring at a point over Gaphy’s head, he looked the officer in the eye. “Lieutenant Antonio Santana, requesting permission to speak with the captain, sir. ”
    â€œEnter.”
    Santana took two steps forward. Gaphy was seated on the opposite side of a fold-down worktable. He sat very straight so as to maintain at least three inches of space between his body and the metal bulkhead. An important precaution lest the officer lean backward, apply pressure to the leech that had taken up residence in the cleft between his shoulder blades, and suffer the painful consequences. “Yes?” the company commander