Part 27 (1/2)

'Shut up!'

'What are you doing, Ace? Don't you know what sort of a creature Legion is?'

'Well, you should know.'

'Well, there's nothing more to say, is there?' Piper took a deep but shaky breath. 'Are you going to get on with it, or what?'

'Or what,' Ace said, and fired.

Chapter Fifteen.

While the IMC troopers escorted small groups of the Project Eden team to various rooms all over Belial Base, Alex Bannen prattled excitedly to five swirling nodes of flesh which hung unsupported in the air beside him.

'We don't actually need that much technology, it's just that the production facilities on the base are so out of date. There are a few micro*components, some control circuitry but mostly we just need that dwarf*star alloy derivative IMC marketed last year. With that and a bit of thought we could design a starpod that could penetrate the atmosphere and the zelanite ocean and go all the way to the core.' Bannen drew a breath. 'What do you say, Legion? Cooperation could bring us both a fortune in marketable designs and accomplish the mission to find new stable heavy elements for Earth.'

Legion's voice trumpeted from each fleshy node in turn. 'The suggestion merits attention. Prepare your list.'

'And I'll need some of the Project Eden technicians released to help me. I can't do it all alone, and your people haven't had the five years of experience we have.'

'Piper O'Rourke provided us with a list of potential rebels amongst the staff,' Legion chorused. 'You may have access to anybody not on the list. In the meantime ' a multi*jointed limb extended towards an IMC technician manning one of the neural net stations ' if you would be so kind...'

'Of course, Legion.' The technician operated controls. There was a delicate glimmer of light in the centre of the room. A small figure formed out of the centre of the glow.

'Dad!'

'Mark! You remember me! I was afraid the systems crash would have...' The physicist stumbled to a halt, choked with emotion. 'I was just so scared you might have... might have...'

Mark grinned. 'Come off it, Dad.'

Legion spoke again. 'All memory systems were recovered intact. I return your simulated male offspring to you, Trau Bannen, in antic.i.p.ation of a fruitful working relations.h.i.+p.'

Bannen gazed in turn at each of the hovering shapes. 'I don't know what to... Thank you. Thank you!'

Bannen took his son to one side and began to talk in a low, earnest voice. As he did so, Ace, who had been waiting for an opportunity to speak, stepped forward.

'Piper O'Rourke is dead, Legion. What are your orders?'

Legion answered in chorus, 'Corporate a.s.sessors are preparing to re*initialize Project Eden. a.s.sessment and a.s.similation should take no more than three hours. I will travel to Moloch to oversee the second stage of the operation.'

Ace glanced across to where the physicist was fawning over his son. She lowered her voice. 'You'll be supplying Alex Bannen with the equipment he needs, then?'

'Naturally not.' Somehow Legion managed to convey surprise that Ace could ever have been in doubt of its intentions. 'IMC operations take precedence here. Redundant personnel are a fiscal burden on IMC operations. Alex Bannen must believe that we need him, otherwise he might become a problem. That means we must at least pretend to go along with his ludicrously primitive plan.'

'Understood. I'll supervise the takeover personally.'

'That will not be necessary. Executive staff have been fully briefed to a.s.sume control of the base; non*redundant personnel will a.s.sist as required. Take the executive transporter and join me in the flags.h.i.+p in one hour.'

As she hesitated, Legion's body extruded rose*hued filaments which formed complex symbols in the air. 'The message you delivered gives you certain powers,' it whispered. 'But remember, you still work for me.'

Legion vanished like the fabled Ches.h.i.+re Cat a piece at a time. Ace let herself relax slightly when she was sure that her line officer had gone. She wished the sick feeling in her stomach had gone with it.

Miles Engado sat on the floor in his office, his knees drawn up to his chin, his back pressed firmly into the ribbed panels which formed one corner of the room. His gaze was blank and uncomprehending, despite all attempts to get him to speak.

'Oh, this is ridiculous!' Teal Green stormed as he paced impatiently along one short wall of the Administrator's office. 'He's been out into s.p.a.ce and been brought back by an Angel. He's talked to them for chrissakes! He may have the key to getting us out of here and kicking IMC the h.e.l.l back into s.p.a.ce, and what does he do? Formulate a plan? Tell us what happened? Oh no!' Teal rushed towards Miles and thrust his face aggressively into the Administrator's. 'First of all he signs away the rest of our lives with a casual ident, and then he just sits in the corner as if he were a b.l.o.o.d.y corpse himself.' Miles showed absolutely no reaction to Teal's aggression. His face was placid, the pupils fixed. Teal turned away in disgust. 'I had a stuffed toy once that spoke more than him.'

'Violence isn't the way, Teal,' Julie Ndobe said quietly.

'It's IMC's way, Julie.'

'Miles is sick.'

'Unless we do something, he'll be worse than sick, he'll be dead, and the rest of us along with him! How the h.e.l.l does that grab you?'

Julie threw up her hands. 'What do you want me to say? Ever since they locked us in here you've done nothing but mouth off. So why don't you shut up while those of us that can, try to think of a way out of this?'

Teal was about to respond angrily when a third voice interjected, 'Ladies and gentlemen: all the time we're fighting amongst ourselves, we're not fighting IMC.'

The Doctor looked up from his place at Miles's desk. 'Not that I expect the simple truth of that statement to ameliorate your argument in the slightest.'

Teal rounded angrily on the Doctor. 'Do you think we're too stupid to recognize a sensible course of action when we hear it?'

'What I think doesn't matter. What do you think, Trau Green?'

Uncharacteristically, Teal was silent.

Julie said softly, 'What, then?'

The Doctor reached out to press a switch on Miles's desk. The interior lights came up as the office lights dimmed.

Julie and Teal both moved closer. Julie reached out to touch the gla.s.s s.h.i.+elding the disc of polished wood, the pieces of stone, sc.r.a.ps of cloth, feathers. 'It's beautiful.'

'It's a Tewa medicine wheel. And, incidentally, the key to the whole situation.'

Teal frowned. 'I don't see how '

There was a sound beyond the office door. The Doctor placed one hand on his lips in a 'shus.h.i.+ng' gesture as he flipped the switch to alter the room lighting back to normal.

The door opened and a figure was pushed inside.

'Cheryl! You okay?' Teal asked.

Cheryl just looked at Teal with no life in her eyes. A uniformed figure filled the doorway behind her. 'Ndobe, Coordinator Bannen wants you in the Operations Room.'

'Go and stick your pointy head up a '