Legion Of The Damned - 01 - Legion of the Damned Read Online Free Page A

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    “What’s going on?” she asked.
    Baldwin tried for a nonchalant grin but wound up looking sick instead.
    “The Hudathans believe that immediate reward or punishment can alter subsequent behavior. And, since I was the one that brought you here, responsibility for your actions rests with me.”
    “What will they do?”
    “They forced me to accept an implant. Through it they can dispense pleasure or pain.”
    Norwood thought about that for a moment. “You deserve some pain.”
    Baldwin nodded understandingly. “Yes, from your perspective, I suppose I do.”
    The technician started a timer and touched one of the lights on his control panel.
    Baldwin screamed, arched his back in agony, and started to convulse.
    Norwood thought of the planet below, of the people he had killed, and tried to take pleasure in Baldwin’s pain.
    But the screams went on and on, and no matter how much she tried to do otherwise, Norwood couldn’t help but feel sorry for the man who made them.

2
    Louis Philippe, King of the French
     
To all present and to come, Greetings. In view of
the Law of 9 March 1831; On the report of our
Secretary of State at the Department of War; We
have commanded and do command as follows:
     
ARTICLE 1
There will be formed a Legion
composed of Foreigners.
This Legion will take the name of
Foreign Legion.
     
     
     
     
    Planet Algeron, the Human Empire
     
    It was a beautiful day. The sun was out, the air was crystal-clear, and the mountains seemed so close that St. James could reach out and touch them. The Towers of Algeron. That’s what the Naa called them and they deserved a majestic name. Some of the higher peaks soared 80,000 feet into the sky, higher than Everest on Earth, or Olympic Mons on Mars. So huge, and so heavy, that they would sink right through Terra’s planetary crust.
    But Algeron was different from Earth. Very different. Almost all of the differences stemmed from the fact that Algeron completed a full rotation every two hours and forty-two minutes. A rotation so fast that centrifugal force had caused a larger-than-normal bulge at the equator.
    In fact, while Algeron’s mass was virtually identical to Earth’s, it equatorial diameter of 16,220 kilometers was 27 percent larger than Earth’s. That, plus the fact that its polar diameter of only 8,720 kilometers was 32 percent smaller than Earth’s, meant that Algeron’s equatorial diameter was almost twice that of its polar diameter.
    And that’s where the Towers of Algeron came in. They were the topmost part of the world-spanning bulge, and thanks to the gravity differential that existed between the poles and the equator, weighed only half what they would on Terra.
    All of which had nothing to do with Camerone Day, or the legionnaires waiting for St. James to speak, except that it pleased him to think about it. That was one of the privileges that went with rank: long silences, and the assumption that they were in some way profound.

    Legion General Ian St. James smiled and ran his eyes over the assembled ranks. There were thousands of them, white kepis gleaming in the sun, weapons at parade rest. They were a treat to the military eye.
    There were ranks of cyborgs, “trooper Ils,” in front, each one standing eight feet tall, carrying enough armament to take on a platoon of marines. They had no need of uniforms, but many had received medals for valor, and wore them on ceremonial harnesses designed for such occasions.
    Behind them St. James could see the assault quadrupeds, or “quads,” four-legged walkers that could function as artillery, tanks, or antiaircraft batteries. They towered over the troops and provided what little shade there was.
    Then there were the “bio bods,” men and women with their hair cut so short that they were almost bald, their kepis gleaming white in the sun. Their uniforms were khaki, as they had been for thousands of years, and would be for thousands more.
    Each wore the epaulets, green shoulder