“I hear the lizards are trying to overthrow their emperor, and the government wants us to help ’em beat the rebels,” said Double-X, who’d been hovering around the fringes of the group. “So it’s lizard against lizard, which is why they’re having so much trouble.”
“That’d make sense,” said Spartacus. “But we should be joining on the side of the people, not of the tyrants.”
“The Alliance wouldn’t send us to take sides in a civil war,” said Super-Gnat. “That’s asking for trouble.”
“Hey, this planet right here was in the middle of a civil war when we came in, right?” said Double-X. “If the captain hadn’t got both sides interested in something other than fighting-“
“Not the same thing,” said Brandy. “The war was over when we got here, and Landoor was already part of the Alliance. The lizards just signed on. I can’t see how the government would let us be used that way.”
“I know what it is,” said Tusk-anini. “Legion headquarters don’t like Captain Jester. They try get him in trouble all the time. Maybe they trying to send us someplace where there more trouble than we can handle.”
“That’s enough of that,” said Brandy sternly. “We’re Legion. The brass aren’t going to put us in any situation we can’t handle. Don’t go asking for trouble, Tusk.”
“I never ask trouble, Sarge,” said Tusk-anini. “I get plenty without asking.” But he didn’t say anything else.
Brandy was just as glad. They’d have enough to worry about just going onto a brand-new planet-new to the Legion, anyway. It didn’t help to have the troops thinking the brass were trying to walk them out on a limb and saw it off. Even if, as Brandy suspected privately, Tusk-anini was damn likely right.