Tedric watched as a brilliant yellow bolt of fire burst from the side of the Wy@zl cruiser.

  Seeing this and knowing it represented only the opening volley in a concentrated heatray assault, Tedric commanded, "Return their fire." He knew full well the relatively impotent weapons of the Eagleseye had no chance of penetrating the sophisticated Wykzl shields. Still, it was necessary, for his own

  men as well as the enemy, to keep up the pretense of trying. "Hit them with everything we've got."

  "Bow and stern, as before, sir?" asked the technician who controlled the guns.

  "No," Tedric said. In the initial engagement, he had directed his beams without effect at the most at-, vulnerable points of the Wykzl's shields. "Run a sweep. Hit everywhere."

  "We'll never break through that way," Nolan said.

  Tedric shook his head. "I'm more concerned with keeping them busy."

  The viewscreens showed a stunning display of brilliant color. There were white stars, blue tractor beams, yellow heatrays, black space, scarlet shields.

  "The hull is heating up already," Nolan said, pointing to the center screen. "The shields must have been damaged during the first attack."

  Tedric asked the technicians, "Can either of you men give me a reading on how long we can last without burning up?"

  "I'll get it," said the technician. Tedric made an effort to recall their names. The astrogator was Essell. The other was Deekay. This was Deekay. The names of creatures with identical features were difficult to remember.

  Deekay punched some buttons on the panel in front of him. "Sixteen point fourteen common minutes. Barring further deterioration in the shields."

  Tedric felt no hope on that point: the shields, now that they had been penetrated, would surely continue to weaken progressively. The sixteen

  minutes, in practice, could not be much more than another ten. He turned to the astrogator, Essell. "What about 2X49? When will we reach our locking point?"

  "Fifteen point twenty-seven at our present rate. I activated the lock as soon as the first tractor beam caught us.

  "We'll have to increase power and hope they don't catch on to the maneuver."

  "I have increased power. We're at maximum thrust now."

  "And that's as fast as we can go?@l

  "The Wykzl tractor beams are stronger than they ought to be. They've had a hundred years to work on them. We can't expect all our facts to be up to date."

  Tedric frowned and looked back at the center screen. He studied the rippling red hot surface of the hull and thought it might be best to surrender now. The technicians couldn't be wrong. Figures did not lie. The Scientists' plan had fallen short because of a single miscalculation: the Wykzl were stronger than anyone had known.

  A hand touched his shoulder. Tedric turned and found himself staring eye-to-eye with, of all people, Captain Maillard. "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation with the technician."

  "Well, it is your ship, sir."

  "That's not what's important now. I just had a thought. AmI correct in deducing that it's your desire to lure the Wykzl into a certain sector of space and that because of the deterioration of the shields you will be unable to do so?"

  Tedric nodded. "You see, I thought we'd be able

  to do it quicker, pull them through space on their own tractor beams. I was wrong. I'm not only a mutineer, I'm a failure at it." He didn't know why he felt the need to justify himself to this man, but maybe that wasn't the point. He was justifying himself to himself and that was still important to him.

  But Maillard seemed less concerned with Tedric's mistakes and more interested in his facts. "But the difference is only a few minutes, correct?" "A few minutes or a few centuries. If the shields fall and the hull is burned, it doesn't matter what time the calendar says."

  "I think it does matter."

  "Just what are you getting at?"

  "Simply this. I'm an officer in the Imperial Navy. I've made a study of past battles, participated in a few of my own, and learned something of the tactics of space warfare. And there is a certain maneuver. It was used during the war for just the purpose you envision: to draw another ship through space by its tractor beams without severing the connection."

  "Well, what is it?"

  "A spin. Turn the ship over and over, bow to stern. The motion weakens the tractors and allows an increase in mutual velocity. If you can spin the Eagleseye as I've described, you ought to reach your locking point before the shields fall."

  Tedric looked at the technicians. "Well, is it possible?"

  Deekay was already punching his control panel. He looked up at Tedric. "It may be."

  "Then let's do it. Let's spin."

  "What about the gunners? Should we continue to fire our heatrays?"

  "Yes. It'll have to be a diversion. I still can't afford for the Wykzl to guess what we're doing. We have to keep them busy."

  "Firing during a spin can be dangerous," Maillard said. "You may end up slicing your own ship in half."

  "We'll have to risk it."

  "I can't delay another minute," Deekay said. "I have to know your decision now."

  Tedric consulted only with Nolan. When Nolan finally nodded his assent, Tedric said,

  "Give the orders. We're going to try a spin."

  There was no doubt inanyone's mind when the maneuver began. Even here in the core of the great ship, Tedric felt the change. Normally, the Eagleseye rotated along its horizontal axis at a velocity designed to create a feeling of Earth standard gravity aboard ship. Now, spinning vertically as well as horizontally, the ship lost this artificial restraint. Objects floated through the air. Captain Maillard lost his balance and sprawled on the floor. In two of the viewscreens, the blanket of surrounding stars whirled madly past. Tedric gripped the wall in front of him and held firm. It had to work-it must.

  "Are we maintaining our lock?" he asked the astrogator.

  "It's firm, sir," said Essell.

  "And our rate."

  "It's increasing."

  "Can you give me an estimate?"

  "Six point fifteen."

  "Till locking point?"

  "Yes, sir."

  Tedric refused to feel any measure of triumph. There was a possibility now, a chance of winning out, but it was far from settled. Would they figure out now what was happening?

  He had counted on the heat of battle to distract the Wykzl, but the spinning maneuver had surely confused them. Tedric realized all it took was a ship's astrogator bright enough to take a look at the character of the surrounding stars. Once they realized the true nature of 2X49, that it was a black hole, they would never come near it. Still, he experienceda deep renewal of faith. The Scientists once again had not failed him. Of course, they could not possibly have known in advance that Maillard would step forward to save everything. Or could they? Tedrir, tried to remind himself that the Scientists were not magicians or prophets. They were men, wise men, but merely human. They were not infallible. Only very close to it.

  Tedric never took his eyes away from the view-screens during the entirety of the Eagleseye's tumbling flight through the void. Everyone else in the control room, excepting of course the technicians, remained similarly transfixed. Because of the spin, the screens could only show the Wykzl cruiser for brief, flashing moments. But it was still coming, still attacking, still firing. Essell, from his panel, confirmed that the vessel had in no way altered its course. Tedric crossed his first two fingers. The gesture was an odd, silly thing he had picked up from someone at the Academy. He glanced at Nolan and saw that his fingers, too, were crossed.

  Then it happened. The Eagleseye righted itself and the spinning stopped. Floating objects dropped to the floor with a loud clatter. Tedric felt a sudden lessening of tension in his stomach. "Locking point, Sir," said Essell.

  "And the Wykzl ship?"

  "I'm trying to locate it now. It seems. .

  "Are we still being hit?"

  "Yes, Sir."

  "What about the shields?"

  "Less than two minutes," said Deekay, who Seemed to have that figure close to the top of his mind.

  "Wait-there it is!" cried Nolan. Tedric looked up at the screens an nally @oun what he wanted on the left. It was the Wykzl ship, but something was wrong. Even as Tedric watched, the ship seemed to be getting smaller.

  "It's pulling away," Nolan said.

  "No." This was Essell, from his controls. "It's being pulled away."

  "Pulled?"

  Essell nodded. "By 2X49."

  "This soon?" asked Tedric.

  "If we were a thousand kilometers closer, we would be, too."

  Tedric watched the viewscreen with a feeling that approached awe. Somewhere in that picture, he knew, lay the invisible star 2X49, a black hole, an object so massive and so shrunken that even light could no longer escape its surface. And the Wykzl ship was being drawn down into that. The Wykzl captive, also understanding, let loose a choked sob,

  as if 'from pain, the first sound Tedric had heard him utter.

  "Attack has ceased," Deekay reported. Tedric could see that on the screen. Still visible and within easy firing range, the Wykzl had withdrawn their weapons. He had to admire that. It was quite possible the Wykzl could have doomed the Eagleseye along with themselves. They had not done that. "Tractor beams?"

  "Only weakly. I think the Wykzl are clinging. We're the only thing keeping them free."

  "They can't possibly draw us in with them?" "Not now, no."

  "But they could have, at one time?"

  "At the very beginning, when they were close to us, yes, it was possible."

  "But they didn't."

  "By the time they realized what was occurring, they were too far away.

  ho could ever Tedric wasn't sure that was true. W

  hope to read the alien mind of a Wykzl? Not a robot technician, that much was sure.

  What if they had known, in time? They had still not chosen to act. The Scientists must have known, too. They had said nothing to Tedric about this final danger. Maybe the Scientists knew how the Wykzl thought. Maybe they knew that these creatures, even when they were vicious, could never be cruel.

  "We'd better get out of here," Tedric said softly. He told his technicians: "Fix a lock on Evron Eleven. Align the screens for a sub-space run. There's nothing else here for us to see."

  But there was one other thing-whether Tedric

  wanted to see it or not. Even as he spoke, in the corner of one eye, he saw the left viewscreen. The Wykzl ship, like a weak flame, suddenly disappeared. One moment it was there, a gleam of light against the background of stars, and the next it was not. The Wykzl ship had been swallowed up. And the crew? Were they dead or still living, transformed into some entirely new state of being? No one knew the answer to that. There was onlv one way of finding out-by entering the black hole. And no one had ever done that and returned to speak of it.

  "Hit it," Tedric murmured. "Get us out of here." The others had seen, too. "That was awful," Nolan said.

  "Yes, but it had to be done. They would have fried us to death without a second thought."

  "I suppose so, but that's war-that's expected. What we did to them was different somehow. Worse."

  "I know what you mean," Tedric said, though he wished that he did not. Turning, he faced the figures behind him. The Wykzl had recovered from its momentary anguish and the others seemed simply stunned, as if awaiting further directions. Tedric knew he had nothing more to provide them. "We've won," he told them as calmly as he could.

  The others responded with nods, if even that. There was no joy in the room, no exultation in victory. Tedric understood the impact his words must bear: for the first time in a century, ships belonging to the Empire of Man and the Wykzl had met in battle; the imperia ship had won.

  Now Tedric came forward. He approached Cap-tain Maillard and raised a hand to his forehead, saluting. "Sir," he said, "I am your prisoner."

  Nolan came forward, too, though he seemed less eager than Tedric. He reached for his holster, removed the heatgun, and, with a sigh, handed it to Maillard. "Me, too," he said softly.

  Across the room, Keller's gun clattered to the floor. "I'm with the lieutenants," he said.

  At first Maillard made no move. He seemed taken by surprise. Tedric knew he had underestimated this man. Maillard was certainly no fool. I accept your weapons, gentlemen, andI return them." With a sweep, he held out Nolan's heatgun, forcing him to take it back. "I also assign you to immediate duty. Lieutenant Tedric, Lieutenant Nolan, Steward Keller, until further notice to the contrary, you will serve here in the control room as my special assistants."

  "Thank you, sir," Tedric said, as surprised as he was pleased.

  "What for?" Maillard said. "After what you've done, no matter how you've done it, I can't very well lock you in the brig."

  "Not you, maybe," Nolan said. "But Matthew Carey can. And he will. You don't know him the way I do. Once he has the excuse, it'll be the discorporation room for us for sure."

  "Not if he doesn't find out. Not if he knows nothing."

  "But how can ou keep that from him? What happened out here was pretty obvious."

  "To us, perhaps, but not to him. I'm willing to take all the responsibility for the attack.

  The re-

  sponsibility and, I'm sorry to say, the glory. Carey may be angry for a time, but I am especially adept at playing the part of the fool. Carey may guess the truth but he will be able to prove nothing."

  "What about those other fellows out there?" Keller asked. "The guards saw us. What's to prevent them from telling Carey?"

  "And what's to prevent me from saying it was all a vast misunderstanding? I'll ask that you men be disciplined-two weeks apiece confined to quarters. No man has yet been discorporated for a mere misunderstanding."

  Nolan was shaking his head. "Captain Maillard, I fear I've made a mistake about you."

  "Most men do." Maillard winked. "But that's what I want them to do." Turning, Maillard went over and stood behind his technicians. "When we've reached our locking point at Evron Eleven, I want you to locate the lifeboat with Matthew Carey aboard. Let me know when you have a lock on that."

  "Yes, sir," said Essell and Deekay, as if they were one.

  Maillard put an arm around Tedric's shoulders and steered him toward the viewscreens.

  "Maybe we ought to rehearse the story we're going to tell. Any ideas?"

  "No, not really."

  "Well, good. Because I have some. I have plen-ty." And Maillard laughed.

  CHAPTER 9

  Mo-leete's Story

  When Tedric reaches the top of the wide, winding staircase, the space in front of him dissolves into a bottomless pit inhabited by formless shapes thatlunge at his eyes and tear at his flesh.

  Ignoring these unreal things, he trudges forward. Lifting his sword high above his head, he speaks boldly: "Sarpedium, black wizard, I am Tedric, Lord of the Marshes, the ironmaster of Lomarr. Do you

  -think your magic will conceal you from me forever? Come out from wherever you hide and prepare to meet your end."

  There is a wall of orangefire that washes over him like a great wave.

  Tedric laughs. "Your magic cannot harm me, sorcerer. I dare you to come forward.

  Standfor your I ife.

  There is a scaly dragon as big as a mountain that lumbers forward on clawed feet.

  Tedric smiles.

  There are women more beautiful than any he has known who dance, whirling naked, tempting him to follow.

  Tedric grins.

  There is a serpent coiled in a circle, endlessly swallowing its own tail.

  ere are devils.

  Demons that shriek.

  Vampires that howl.

  To all these things, Tedric shakes his head and laughs.

  Then he strides toward them.

  Methodically, brandishing his sword, Tedric chases each spirit away.

  Until, finally, he is alone with one other thing. It bears the shifting shape of a human being. "You are Sarpedium, " says Tedric.

  "I am he," says the shape, without pride. "I am Tedric.

  " Yes.

  " You fear me.

  "No." But the shape trembles-it is a lie. " YoufearmebecauseIwillkill ou,andiwillkill you because you are evil."

  "I, Tedric, or you," says Sarpedium. "Perhaps neither of us, wizard. The true evil may lie only in what has spawned you: fear, superstition, uncertainty. When you are dead, when magic is at last banishedfrom this world, then men may livefree once again and lift their eyes boldly to the sun."

  The shape-Sarpedium-lets out an awful howl and tries to rush past Tedric. The ironmaster is too quick. His sword rises, and it descends.

  After much discussion aboard the Eagieseye and, the exchange of several heated messages with the imperial court on Earth, a select party was finally formed to go down to the surface of Evron Eleven and accept the official surrender of Moleete, the surviving commander of the Wykzl cruiser.

  Mo-leete himself, who had been permitted to go below to supervise the robot rescue operation, was the primary reason behind all this bitter discussion. The Wykzl had been quite specific concerning the make-up of any surrender party. He wished to meet with Tedric, Phillip Nolan, Keller and Captain Maillard.

  He did not wish to meet with Matthew Carey. "The Wykzl area very ritualistic species,"

  said Captain Maillard, in an attempt at mollifying Carey. "I have no more idea than you why Moteete wants to meet with who he does. We were aboard the Eagleseye. You weren't. Perhaps, in terms of his beliefs, that's all that's really signifi cant."

  "But he's the one who's surrendering," Carey said. "What makes him think he can get away with dictating the terms?"

  "Apparently the Emperor agrees he should be granted that right," Maillard said. "We did receive a message to that effect transcribed in his private code."

  "The Emperor wasn't aboard the Eagleseye, either," said Carey, who clearly put little store in what the Emperor did or did not want.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15