Comrades in Arms Read Online Free PDF Page A

trained to be a soldier.”
    “Not trained. I was meant to die, in service.” The alien studied him with eyes like molten pools of ink. “Why did you not kill me, Deathguard?”
    Both remained silent for a long moment in a strange standoff. A shooting star sliced across the sky, bright enough to be seen against Fixion’s amber daytime sky. “I don’t know.”
    “You are confused, your emotions in turmoil. We are each supposed to kill the other, yet neither wants to.”
    Rader stiffened. He had not moved the laser rifle. “I may kill you yet.”
    “No. You will not.”
    “How can you be so sure?”
    “I can read it in you.” The Jaxxan cocked his head. “Did you not know we are empathic?”
    “No.” Command had neglected to include that detail in their briefings.
    The Jaxxan shook his head in disappointment. “What is your name, Deathguard?”
    The question itself opened old wounds. A name signified he was somebody, an individual. A hero killed in action during the raid on the nesting asteroid. That name, that person was dead; his family had the certificate to prove it, even though Rader continued fighting for a brief period, like a mayfly in its final days.
    “My name was Rader, before I was … Now, I’m just a Deathguard.” He sounded more gruff than he wanted to. He paused, wasn’t sure why he even asked the question. “And your name?”
    The Jaxxan proceeded to make a series of unpronounceable clicks from his alien gullet. Rader knew he could never repeat the name and said with a hint of humor. “I’d better just call you Click.”
    The alien seemed satisfied with that. “Rader, I must contemplate this turn of events. I was not prepared for such an occurrence. Please let me meditate.” Still holding his laser rifle like a toy soldier positioned in place, the Deathguard regarded his enemy. Click answered the unspoken question. “I am not afraid of you. You will not harm me.”
    Rader was confused at such unwarranted trust, until he realized an empath could feel that Rader wasn’t going to harm him. But how could he be so sure about Click? Maybe this was just a ruse to get him to drop his guard.
    “You will want to bury your comrade.” Click stood and moved away from the burned soldier. “That is the tradition.”
    Rader had just left the group of Jaxxans in the trench after killing them.
    He could put the recon scout in a shallow grave, although Fixion had no known scavengers or predators that would disturb the body. He’d send a locator signal for an Earth League pickup crew to retrieve the fallen soldier. But, depending on where the fighting lines were, there was no telling when or if they would come. Due to interstellar shipping costs, bodies were never returned to Earth.
    Yes, the recon scout deserved to be buried.
    But Rader didn’t know where he would go afterward. He had never let the question trouble him before. Days of running, fighting, killing tried to catch up with him, but internal mechanisms pumped stimulants into his body. He could rest here, but he could never sleep again—not after what they had done to him.

— 5 —
    Since he already knew what Deathguards were, Rader figured out the implications even before the counselor came and rather impatiently explained his new situation. He’d had enough time in the med-center bed to draw his own conclusions.
    “Your family has been notified of your heroic death, and the Earth League gave you a funeral with full military honors.” He realized afterward that she did not use his name. “We sent home a clean packaged uniform, along with a posthumous medal of honor. The heirs designated on your enlistment form will receive a generous military combat pension.”
    His throat made noises, and he had to try several times before he could form the words. “Thank you.”
    She brushed the comment aside. She was rattling off a memorized speech and didn’t want to be interrupted. “I regret to inform you that you are a terminal case. What