Was Once a Hero by Edward McKeown Page A

Fenaday said.  
    “This
is my assistant team leader, Sergeant Rask,” Rigg continued, ignoring the
by-play.
    “Welcome
aboard,” Fenaday said.   “You’re a long
way from Morok, Sgt. Rask.”
    “Nah,”
the red-eyed, apish alien said.   “I’m a
local boy, born on Mars.”
    Fenaday
barked a laugh.   He took an immediate
liking to the Morok, if only because he was shorter than Fenaday.   Mmok, Rainhell, Telisan, and now Rigg made
him feel dwarfish.
    The
last to be introduced was a petite, striking woman of about twenty, with dark
red hair and an olive complexion.   She
wore a Confed flight suit, discoloration showed where the uniform insignia had
been recently cut from it.  
    “Pilot
Angelica Fury,” she said.
    “Did
your parents hate you or something?” Fenaday asked.
    Fury
glared at him.   “Fourteen combat drops in Dakota shuttles, two confirmed kills
air to air,” she replied woodenly.
    “Welcome
aboard,” Fenaday said.   “The Pooka doesn’t have a regular pilot.   She’s yours.”
    She
snapped a salute and joined the others.
    Gandhi
handed Fenaday a data chip.   “We’ve kept
this under wraps so far but the press will get wind of it shortly.   Even if they don’t learn it’s about Enshar,
which they shouldn’t, they can be trouble.   How soon can you lift?”
    “Normally,
I would have said two weeks,” Fenaday replied.   “With you footing the bill and the twenty-four hour full shifts you’ve
put on her, I can take Sidhe up in
about three to four days.”
    “That
may be too long.   There are people who
would like to stop this mission.”
    “Me
for one,” Fenaday snapped.   “How about
some details?”
    “None
to be had for now,” Gandhi lied, having the grace to look somewhat
uncomfortable about it.   “We’ll get you
what you need, when you need it.   The
disk contains a number to reach me at.   Be alert, be wary and get off Mars as soon as you can.”   The bland man turned and quickly walked away.
    Fenaday
turned to Shasti.   “Put Mmok and Rigg’s
team in separate compartments where your people can watch them.   We’ll be safer that way, I think.”
    “Yes,
then what?”
    “Then,”
he said with a smile, “get ready for dinner.”
    *****
    Belwin
Duna and Telisan waited for them at a private room in the back of the
Excalibur.   Dinner at Mars’ premier
restaurant would be staggeringly expensive, but Fenaday didn’t care.   If ever anyone was entitled to live by, “Eat,
drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die,” they were.   Fenaday decided to stick Mandela with the tab
instead of Duna in a small bit of revenge.   He also planned severe depredations on the wine cellar.  
    Fenaday
had worried about Shasti’s reaction to Telisan.   However, the tall Denlenn, still five inches below Shasti’s height,
managed to charm even her.   He held out
chairs and poured wine for her while they waited for their table in the
exclusive elfin towers the Excalibur was known for.   Fenaday was surprised by the slight stab of
jealously he felt while watching the two of them.   He began to understand why Telisan made Wing
Commander.   The alien’s natural
diplomatic skills and easy manner made Fenaday envious.
    A
waiter took them upstairs to their private table in tower with a fantastic
view.   They could see most of the Mars
colony spread beneath them.   Lights moved
everywhere in the purple-red dusk.   In
the far distance, the occasional flare of spaceship engines threw harsh glares
and shadows.
    “Beautiful,”
Duna said.   “It is good that life holds
such sights.”
    “Quite,”
Shasti added, to Fenaday’s surprise.   “A
cold beauty, but a beauty none-the-less.”
    Words that might apply to Shasti herself ,
he thought.   She looked at him and he
wondered if she had somehow divined his thoughts.
    “You
must see Denla sometime,” Telisan said.   “There you will see warmth and beauty combined.”
    They
looked out over the shrouded world in