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I took off my helmet, wondering just what Kwon planned to cook underground. Already,
I was figuring it would be best not to ask. Whatever it was, it would probably taste
good.

Sandra was delighted when she realized she’d gotten her way. She was already talking
about towels and picnics and which suit looked best on her. She saw my stubborn expression
and came to warm up against me. Ever since I’d undergone microbial baths similar to
the ones she had, we’d become close again. I supposed she now considered me to be
as big a freak as she was, and that was some kind of turn-on.

“We need a break, Kyle,” she said softly. “We aren’t ready to go on the offensive.
The factories in the inner planets are building more ships to replace the ones we
lost against the Macros months ago, and the rest are rebuilding the battle station.
They need time to finish.”

I sighed, considering her points. She was right, even though the time to go on the
offensive was now, we really needed to get organized first.

“All right,” I said, “let’s go see what they’ve done down there on the islands.”

-11-

Kwon greeted us in a brightly colored sarong of orange, form-hugging nanocloth. I
was alarmed, while Sandra twittered. She looked embarrassed for the big man, a response
I’d rarely seen in her. For his part, Kwon seemed oblivious. I soon found out why:
everyone here wore paper-thin clothing, if they wore anything at all. It was just
too damned hot to wear anything else.

“The best plan is to set the nanites so they form a sun-blocking screen,” he explained
enthusiastically. “That way, air and moisture can still travel through the cloth.
It’s like you are wearing a net made of tiny mesh. If you hold the cloth up close
to your eye, you’ll see right through it!”

I held up my hand, warding him off. “That’s great Kwon, but I’ll pass on looking through
your bathing suit.”

Kwon shrugged. “As you say, sir.”

Sandra scoffed and immediately began stripping down. She’d never been a shy person,
but being on a tropical beach of pink sand had turned her into an exhibitionist. Before
she was done reprogramming her remaining wisps of nanocloth, Kwon was embarrassed
and gazing down the beach, while I was staring at her.

When she was done, I stood in the shade of the ship we’d come down on, still wearing
my battle armor. I didn’t trust any planet when I first landed there, but I felt somewhat
ridiculous clanking and buzzing around on grav-lifters while these two wore gauze.
Finally, I climbed out of the armor and left it aboard the destroyer that had brought
us down. I didn’t reduce my undergarments to paper-thin wisps, but I did order them
to transition into their lightest state, which essentially made them into pajamas.

The other two smirked at me, but I ignored them and headed for the base buildings.
Oddly, I felt immediately at home on Eden-6. It was a lot like being on a hotter version
of Andros Island. The water was a bit more green and the beach was the color of seashells,
but I liked the place immediately.

One thing was missing: trees. There weren’t any. No palms, no pines—not even squatty,
fungal growths. What there were I would classify as giant, complex grasses. They looked
like ferns, but grew in clumps with intertwined roots—reminding me of a huge unmowed
lawn. The overall effect wasn’t unpleasant, however. The green blades rippled and
rustled in the sea breezes. The foliage was shiny and almost hurt the eyes when the
sun came out, because the reflections were so intense.

That was another odd thing about this world: direct sunshine was rather rare. As the
world was mostly covered in water, the skies were affected. The sky was usually overcast,
but you could still see the sun. Hanging up there on the far side of the clouds, the
star was so huge and intense that it could be seen as a pale disk of light in the
sky at all times. I’d seen a similar look on Earth, with a low-lying fog and the sun
on the far side of a layer of mist, penetrating the gloom. But on Earth, usually such
foggy days were cold and dreary. On Eden-6, the mood wasn’t glum when the sky was
overcast. The local star still sent through enough light to make the landscape feel
cheery.

Kwon walked with me to the base, a structure of dull concrete that looked like a pillbox
set on a hillock over the beach. “The glum times are different here, sir,” he said
seriously. “When the star burns through every persistent layer of mist and scorches
the land underneath—that is when we are sorry.”

“Is it that bright?” Sandra asked.

Kwon nodded vigorously. “The ocean steams, and the sands become so burning hot they
are unbearable to walk upon.”

“You mean with bare feet, right?” I asked.

“Of
course
, Colonel,” Kwon said. His tone and expression indicated the idea of wearing shoes
on Eden-6 was absurd. I noticed he was indeed barefoot, and his big toes slapped on
the moist sand with every step, leaving deep impressions. Next to his tracks, Sandra
and I made relatively small divots on the beach.

“You’ve gone native very quickly here, Kwon.”

“What, sir?”

“I mean you seem to like this place. You’ve changed your habits.”

“Ah, yes. I agree. It is very pleasant. Quite a break from killing machines in cold
space…but I’m getting bored.”

I smiled. Here, at last, was the Kwon I knew and understood.

“Well, I’m here to un-bore you,” I said. I proceeded to explain that I intended to
gather my fleet and head toward Earth, to recon the situation back home.

Kwon looked worried. “But…we aren’t going back
permanently
—are we sir?”

I frowned and looked at both of them. To my surprise, neither showed any eagerness
to go back home. I wondered about that. I supposed that recent events had changed
things. Out here, we were free. We didn’t have to worry about the combined thumbs
of Crow and Earth’s governments. We were living on the edge. It was exhilarating,
but dangerous. Apparently, my companions loved it.

“I have to admit this makes Andros Island look a little dull. I just want to see what
Crow is up to.”

“Is that all you want?” Kwon asked. “I have a better way than flying all the way back
to Earth.”

I looked at him with raised eyebrows. Sandra mirrored my expression.

Kwon smiled and lifted a thick-fingered hand to indicate the bunker, where we had
now arrived. The bunker, unlike everything else on the island, was functional and
ugly. It was squat and made of gray-lines of concrete-like substance. I knew the walls
were essentially nanites organized into interlocking structures with grains of sand
making up the bulk of the material. Building with nanites was very similar to using
concrete, but a lot faster and more malleable.

The entrance was a simple rectangle, half-buried in the ground with a set of wide
steps leading down into it. Sandra and I followed Kwon’s finger, which pointed into
the cave-like mouth of the bunker. We had no idea what to expect.

“I’ve got a surprise, sir,” he said. “You have a visitor.”

I frowned immediately. I’d never been a man who liked surprises. “Who?” I demanded.

Sandra sucked in her breath. “It’s not Crow, is it?” she whispered.

Kwon shook his head and laughed. “No, no. The Admiral didn’t fly all the way out here
to surprise you. It’s someone else, someone who wants
very much
to meet you.”

He opened the door by touching it. The nanites that formed the surface fled obediently.
The effect was rather similar to that of sand melting away under the force of a powerful
wave, except there wasn’t a wave of seawater, only a slight contact. I reached out
to touch the melting door and felt the grains retreating, almost scurrying away from
my hand.

The passage into the gloomy bunker opened, and I saw a stranger standing at the bottom
of the steps. She had a shape that was definitely feminine, and as she advanced up
the stairs into the light, my eyes widened as I took in the sight. She was tall, blonde,
and overtly female. Unlike Sandra, who was built on a lithe frame with dark, straight
hair, this woman was curvaceous. Her hair was like a halo around her head and fell
on her shoulders in a mass of loose curls.

She smiled at me, and I smiled back reflexively. I liked what I was seeing—I couldn’t
help myself. Not only was she a voluptuous woman, she was half-naked. Not even Sandra’s
edited outfit could compete. The stranger had left very little to the imagination.
What cloth she did have covering her amounted to a shred of fabric around her waist
and another two loops of gauze tucked under her breasts.

It was about then that I noticed several things. For one, the woman had said something
to me which I’d missed, and for another, Sandra and Kwon were both staring at me.
Kwon was smirking, while Sandra looked pissed.

I forced my mind to tune in to the conversation. “Nice to meet you,” I managed to
get out.

“Yes, Colonel,” she said, “as I was saying, I’m at your disposal. Just name the time
and the place where we can get together.”

“Excuse me?”

“For the interview,” she said.

I realized then that she must have opened up with her name and a request for an interview.
Somehow, I’d missed both those details. I’d been too busy staring.

I took pains to avoid looking at Sandra, who was now giving me the evil eye. I could
see she had her fists on her hips, but I forced a smile.

“That’s why Marvelena came all this way out from Earth, sir. To interview the famous
renegade, the leader of Riggs’ Pigs!”

I glanced at him, then back to the blonde. “An interview? Of course. Let’s do it on
the beach, right now. There’s a condition, however.”

“Name it,” the woman said. She took a step toward me, and I realized I recognized
her face from somewhere. I could not recall where.

“You have to tell me what the hell is going on back on Earth, first,” I said.

Marvelena blinked and licked her lips. She nodded then, and slowly her smile returned
to her face. “Okay, let’s go for a walk.”

She moved away, rolling her hips as she crossed the sand in front of me. It wasn’t
an affectation, I could tell. She was simply built in a fashion that required a bit
of hip-rolling to take a step.

I turned and took a step after her, but felt a thin, iron-hard hand restraining me.
I looked down to see Sandra holding onto my arm. She was shockingly strong for her
size and weight. I knew I could break away if I wanted to, after having taken Marvin’s
baths. I was powerful as well, and I outweighed her. But I also knew instinctively
that jerking my arm out of her grasp would be a bad move right now.

“I’ll be right there,” I called after Marvelena.

The woman treated me with a glance back and another of those smiles.

“What is it?” I asked Sandra, trying not to show any emotion.

“I don’t want you walking the beach with her alone,” Sandra said, scowling. “I brought
you down here to spend time with
me
.”

Unhelpfully, Kwon sighed as he stared after the blonde. “She’s got a butt like a
real
woman. Doesn’t she, sir?”

“Who the hell is she?” Sandra demanded.

“Marvelena Hellsen,” Kwon said.

“Sounds like a made-up name. Where is she from?”

“Don’t you know her?” Kwon said. “She’s from GNN. She’s on the net news all the time
back home.”

I frowned, finally realizing where I’d seen Marvelena before. She was a reporter for
the Global News Network. GNN had never liked Star Force. They’d always done stories
designed to make us look foolish and irresponsible. After we won a battle or perfected
a new weapon, they would broadcast video of the trees that we’d burned down, or masses
of dead, floating fish. Instead of cheering us on, they complained whenever we were
successful against the Macros. Some Star Force officers whispered that GNN favored
the Macros over humanity. It was hard to believe any human could favor the machines,
but I’d often wondered whose side they were on.

“She can’t be all that bad in person,” I said, looking after her.

“Please look at
me
when we’re talking,” Sandra snapped.

I did as she asked with some reluctance.

She studied me, squinting into my face. “Your pupils are dilated. You really liked
what you were looking at.”

I blinked and attempted a smile. “I always like looking at you.”

She crossed her arms and tilted her head toward the beach. “Go on. Take your little
date for a stroll. But hands off.”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “She has a nice walk, but I know she’s a viper.”

I walked away before Sandra could change her mind and followed the path down to the
beach. I met Marvelena there. She stood pensively on the edge of the crashing waves.

“The waves are just like those back on Earth,” she said. “I never thought I’d see
a place like this. Not unless I died and went to heaven.”

I smiled at her. “How long have you been here?”

“Just a few hours. Kwon tells me you aren’t getting any more reports from the Admiralty
back home. Is that true?”