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locked up and needing guards?"
"No," said Ragan. "For a long haul-yes, I'd be short. But this near to Earth,
we can manage. And we're not guarding the prisoners, you see."
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Rissa said, "I had not thought you a man to kill his captives. But if you
found it necessary-"
"If I had to do it, 1 would," said Ragan. "But I didn't. I've only one scout,
so I locked them in the extra berth, displacing cargo from it to the empty
quarters. They have water and emergency rations-a portable toilet, for that
matter-but no place to go except out, and no tools to manage that."
Tregare laughed. "It'll serve. But-you sure it was a good idea, changing your
insigne so soon?
If things go bad-"
"Melt back into UET again?" Ragan shook his head. "It's not possible, even if
I'd consider it.
Circumstances too fishy- I'd have to kill the prisoners for certain, and the
odd coincidence of all UET's prime plants being killed in action-no, it won't
wash, Tregare. And for the sake of fighting morale, I'm glad it won't."
RAGAN slept aboard Inconnu. Next morning, on squadron command broadcast,
he answered questions. To Zelde M'tana's, he answered, "UET started
playing with formations not too long ago, when the rumor came of a big
Shrakken invasion." To Tregare; "There isn't one, is there? I
mean, at Stronghold ..." Tregare shook his head and shrugged; Ragan continued.
"They had groups out maneuvering against each other-all fairly close to Earth
and at slow speeds, to keep the costs down, and of course-" Zelde said,
"So-what d'you think they'll be using!" "The argument, I'm told, was between
closed formations-spherical-and open ones like yours here. The latest
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compromise, before I left, was a sort of cone pointing forward-open, you see,
but showing closed toward the enemy. Ozzie really likes that cone, by the
way." Tregare said, "Any special reason, you know of?"
"Surely. He bunches the unarmeds and dummies, with a few real shooters for
appearance, to form his point-and himself hides behind it with a picked
escort. The bulk of his armed ships make up the rest of the cone."
"Tregare." Rissa caught at his sleeve. "Does that give you a thought?"
"Let's see if it's the same one. We take Renalie out of the middle of our
dish, put all five squadrons on the perimeter-
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still holding about the same overall shape as now. They come with the cone-we
open out, let it go through our empty center and rake hell out of it on an
outside pass. And then-"
"That is what I had thought, Tregare. But-there is more?"
"We want even slower relative speed than I'd intended- well, Ressider's plan
just might get it for us. Because-then we turn back to the cone as quick as we
can. Before they can invert it, with luck-and catch Ozzie without his screen
of unarmed expendables."
Ragan nodded. "If you're fast, you could do it. So far as I know, he maneuvers
his formations as units-which is to say, rather than invert his cone, he'd try
to turn it."
"Which will take him hell and forever!" said Zelde M'tana. "Ragan-anytime
you'd like to come have a drink here on Valkyrie, don't wait for an
invitation. You've got it!"
FOLLOWING lunch, Ragan returned to Loose Goose. In Control, after ordering max
decel, Tregare fidgeted. Rissa asked, "What is wrong, Bran? Have you thought
of something we overlooked?"
"No-no, it's just that we must be in detection range by now-from the Luna
spotters, if not from
Earth. But-nothing's happening."
He called Loose Goose and put his question. Ragan said, "What did you expect?
Ozzie to spot us and lift fleet five minutes later?"
"Peace take it, that's what we'd have done at Stronghold!"
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"Earth isn't Stronghold, Tregare-and Ozzie Newhausen isn't you. Don't worry-a
few more hours and you'll see the hornets swarming from their nest."
"Well, I wish they'd get to it. Anyway-thanks, Ragan."
The screen went dark. Rissa said, "You are so eager for the fighting?"
They walked out of the Control room, and downship. "Eager? Hell-I'm scared
enough to piddle!"
"You, Bran?" She looked at him. "When Peralta attacked, tried to cook you like
a sausage, you wasted no thought on fear. Nor at the ambush on Stronghold. I-"
"Wasn't time for it then, either case. This waiting ..."
"Is it-like Ivan, perhaps-the going back to where those who hurt you-?"
\r107
\r"No. That ghost died with Arger Korbeith-I told him it would." He frowned.
"It's-there's so damned much, riding all on this one try."
"But all along, you have known this."
"And was working for it-preparing-busy. Now it's done, all I can do is
wait-and wonder what mistakes I won't discover until too late."
His laugh carried no amusement. "Tregare the pirate, come to challenge all
Earth? Little boy grown up to tackle his wildest dreams-or did I grow up? I
wonder . . ." He shook his head. "Oh, let's go get some coffee."
She took his arm. "Not coffee-for now, wine is better. In our quarters-I will
open a fresh bottle, I think. And then, perhaps..."
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He looked down to her, and now he could smile. "Yes, Rissa-you're right."
And after the wine, after the love, he said, "You ever think you should've
been a doctor? Your prescriptions really do the job."
"You feel better now, do you, Bran?" Smiling, seeing the relaxed vigor of his
face, she said it.
"I feel so good you wouldn't believe it. Until a little later, maybe."
MORE than a day later, ships rose from Earth. No accurate count could be
made-individual blips were indistinct, fading in and out-but the screen
shimmered and the shimmer moved slowly out from the planet. Tregare watched
closely, occasionally glancing at his watch.
The crucial hour passed, then another minute, and part of another. Rissa bit
her knuckles.
"Bran! None have turned aside-has the plan failed?"
He took her hand. "Wait-we're still not down to planets' time-not quite."
Then: "There they go!
Peace under pressure, some are Escaping! Look, Rissa-can you get any idea how
many?"
"No-not really. But-another, and two more! It is not finished yet, Tregare.
And on those ships, men are dying ..."
"Have died," he said. "Minutes ago it happened, what we're seeing now." Still
they watched.
Belatedly, two blips left the shimmering cluster-and one more, and then none.
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Now they waited for sign of ships dropping behind the fleet, coasting with
drives silent. "We won't see those for a while," said Tregare. "Ozzie's coming
almost straight at us-any that stalemated are hidden behind him."
"Is it too soon to begin Ressider's plan-make them turn to chase and meet you? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]