Legion Of The Damned - 01 - Legion of the Damned Read Free Page B

way through him.
    The fifteenth seat, the one that belonged to Niman Poseen-Ka himself, was empty.
    The center of the room contained a huge holo tank, presently filled with a likeness of Worber’s World and the surrounding system. The holo was at least twenty feet in diameter and looked absolutely life-like. Baldwin knew that if he watched the simulacrum closely enough, he would see tiny fighters strafe the planet’s surface, lights flash as nuclear bombs were detonated, and cities glow as they were burned to slag.
    But his eyes were focused on a far more satisfying sign of victory, a woman in the uniform of a full colonel and a man dressed in a flight suit.
    Indescribable joy filled Baldwin’s heart. This was it! The moment that he’d been waiting for, the moment when they groveled at his feet, the moment when his revenge was complete! He looked to the right and left.
    “Where are they?”
    The woman was about his age, pretty, with gray-streaked auburn hair. She was small, five-four or five-five, and very shapely. She projected an aura of strength.
    “Where is who?”
    “The admiral. The general. The officer they sent to surrender.”
    The woman shook her head sadly. “That would be me. The rest are dead.”
    Baldwin felt the joy drain away like water released from a dam. “Dead?”
    The woman frowned. “Yes, dead.” She gestured towards the holographic likeness of the planet below. The cloud cover was streaked with black smoke. “What did you expect?”
    Baldwin struggled to forget long-harbored fantasies and deal with things as they actually were. “Yes, of course. I’m Colonel Alex Baldwin. And you are?”
    “Colonel Natalie Norwood. This is Flight Lieutenant Tom Martin.”
    Baldwin nodded to Martin and turned back to Norwood. “You had a pleasant trip, I trust?”
    “No, we didn’t,” Norwood replied. “Two of your fighters jumped us in the upper atmosphere. We managed to shake them off. Now, let’s eliminatethe small talk and get down to brass tacks. You attacked and we lost. What do you want?”

    Baldwin smiled. The line came straight from his fantasies. Never mind the fact that the governor or an admiral should have uttered it, the words were perfect.
    “Nothing.”
    Norwood’s eyebrows shot up. “Nothing?”
    “That is correct,” a new voice said. It spoke standard with a hissing accent. “Colonel Baldwin desired nothing more than the satisfaction derived from your arrival.”
    Norwood turned to find herself face-to-face with a 450-pound Hudathan. He wore a belt and cross-strap. The strap bore a large green gem. It sparkled with inner light.
    Baldwin made a sign of respect. “Colonel Norwood, Lieutenant Martin, this is War Commander Niman Poseen-Ka.”
    Norwood held her hands palm-out in the universal gesture of peaceful greeting. She looked the Hudathan in the eye. She saw intelligence there, plus something else. Curiosity? Empathy? A little of both? Or were his emotions so different, so alien, that she could never understand them? But she must try. An entire world was at stake.
    “It is an honor to meet you, War Commander Poseen-Ka. Am I to understand that there will be no discussions? No opportunity for a cease-fire?”
    “That is correct,” the Hudathan replied evenly. “There is no need to negotiate for that which is already ours.”
    Norwood felt a heaviness settle into her stomach. She chose her words carefully.
    “But why? Why attack that which you have sacrificed lives to conquer?”
    Poseen-Ka blinked, and for a moment, and a moment only, she saw what looked like doubt in his eyes. But was it? There was no way to be sure. His answer was measured and seemed empty of all emotion.
    “We will attack as long as there are signs of resistance. Resistance cannot and will not be tolerated.”
    “And it’s good practice for the troops,” Baldwin put in cheerfully. “Sort of a warm-up for battles to come. We let all the message torps through, you know. Here’s hoping the Emp