"I'm going to close my eyes for a bit, Tech Halliday, which means that you are on watch. Don't touch anything or do anything because you are just a totally incompetent reservist amateur. The machines will do all the things you are incapable of doing. If there is a little red warning light or a little beeping warning sound, you are to awaken me at once. Understood?"

"Yes, sir. But I am capable of monitoring the equip-ment because I know "Did I ask for your opinion? Did I order you to talk? Anything you have to say is just s.h.i.t to me, mister.

Under-stood? If you answer anything more than yessir that will be disobeying orders, and that will go into the charges against you. Now, what do you say?"

Jan was tired, getting angrier with every pa.s.sing mo-ment. He said nothing and he enjoyed the red glow that suffused the officer's skin with every pa.s.sing silent second.

"I order you to speak!"

Jan slowly counted to five before he said "Yes, sir?'

It was very small revenge for the verbal abuse he was taking. But it was enough for the moment. Jan took an Awake pill and tried not to rub at his sore and grainy eyes. Only the softest red glow illuminated the control room. Stars filled the viewport ahead; flickering readouts and displays from the detection apparatus monitored s.p.a.ce in all directions. They were pa.s.sing through the outer web now, and very soon their reports would be the only early warning in this particular portion of s.p.a.ce. Although he had received no instructions from Thurgood-Smythe, Jan knew exactly what to do in this situation.

They were heading away from Earth, at full accelera-tion, into s.p.a.ce, in the direction of the attacking fleet. The orbiting radio telescopes had detected objects out here, at maximum range, in a portion of s.p.a.ce where nothing should be. The IP-256 was on its way to scout what could only be the rebel s.p.a.ce fleet. Jan would control his anger and do nothing to irritate Captain Lastrup any further. He regretted losing his temper and speaking out of turn, then aggravating the offense by adding dumb insolence to it as well. As soo~ as the Captain came on duty he would apologize to him. After that Jan would do his best to be a good s.p.a.ceman, and would work as hard as he could to do exactly as he was told. He would do this with all the effort of will that he could muster. He would keep doing this until they had pinpointed the attackers and were absolutely certain of their identification and position.

At that time Jan was going to use a one-meter length of thick electrical wire, he had it cut and ready, and would then experience the sweet and satisfying pleasure of stran-gling the military son of a b.i.t.c.h.

Fifteen.

"Got them, look at the size of that fleet-is this going into memory, Tech? If it's not I'll...

"Going in fine, sir," Jan said. "Onto disc storage with a backup on molecular wafer. I've replayed both and they're perfect."

"They better be, they had better be," Captain Lastrup muttered savagely. "I'm setting up a return course now. As soon as the main dish bears on Earth, squirt out the readings with maximum watts. Got that?"

'Absolutely, sir. This is the moment I have been wait-ing for."

There was true joy in Jan's voice. As he spoke he was carefully wrapping the ends of the thick wire around and around each of his hands. He snapped it tight and looked at it thoughtfully. About seventy centimeters in length; that should do nicely. Without releasing his grip on the wire he unclipped from his seat and kicked off toward the pilot, twisting neatly in midfiight to approach head first with his arms extended before him.

Lastrup had a glimpse of the moving figure out of the corner of his eye. He turned and had just enough time for a look of shocked amazement before the stretched wire dropped beneath his chin and was locked into place by the swift crossing of Jan's arms.

Jan had given careful thought to this operation for a long time, planned every part of it precisely. A steady tightening now of the wire, not a sharp snap that might crush the man's throat. He did not want to kill him, just secure him. It was a silent struggle, punctuated only by Jan's heavy breathing. The Captain was of course not breathing at all. He struggled a bit but could do nothing. His eyes closed and his body went limp very quickly. Jan loosened the wire, ready to tighten it instantly if the man was shamming. He wasn't; he was deeply unconscious, breathing hoa.r.s.ely but regularly, with a strong pulse in his neck.

Perfect. Jan used the wire to lash the officer's hands securely behind his back, and then tied another length about his ankles. There was more than enough trailing wire from his wrists to secure the unconscious officer to the rear bulkhead out of harm's way.

First step done. Jan did not bother to waste a glance at the ship's controls. He had examined them closely during his time on watch alone and had very quickly determined that he was not going to become a deep s.p.a.ce pilot by calling up the instruction manuals from memory. They took for granted too much previous knowledge. Therefore he had relied on the simple and archaic state-ment by Newton that any object in motion tends to remain in motion, in a straight line and at a constant velocity. That object now was the IP-256 and the straight line was pointed rather accurately at the approaching rebel ships. It was the pilot's decision to alter that course that had produced his abrupt lapse into unconsciousness. The course change he wanted had been computed and was ready for implementation. Which was the last thing that Jan had in mind. With the pilot secured and forgotten, he turned to his equipment panels.

It was too much to expect that' their two courses would coincide and that this ship would meet the attackers head on. This did not matter at all if Jan could establish contact with them. He switched on the power and swung the largest dish antenna so it pointed at the fleet. Exact alignment would not be necessary; even the tightest signal he could broadcast would be far greater in diameter than the fleet by the time it reached them. He cranked the power to maximum, hooked a recorder into the line, then swung the bead microphone into position before his mouth.

"This is Jan Kulozik calling, from Earth scout ship IP-256 now closing upon your position. This signal is highly directional and beamed at you. Don't, repeat don't, make any attempt~to answer at this time.

Please record this message. Message follows.

"I was resident on Halvmo~rk and left that planet with a food ship commanded by a man named Debhu.

We were captured in orbit by Earth forces and made prisoner. Later all the prisoners were killed; I'm the only survivor. I will give you all the details later but tell you this now so you will understand who I am.

Please do not fire on this ship when we get within range. This is a two-man scout and I have secured the commander. I do not know how to pilot this vessel nor do I intend to learn at the present time. The ship is not armed. Here is what I suggest you do.

"As soon as you have computed my course and veloci-ty, dispatch one of your s.p.a.cers on a closing course to match my speed. I will do nothing to alter any vectors, but I will open the airlock. I am familiar with s.p.a.cesuit opera-tion and will transfer to your ship. I suggest sending a pilot to take over this scout since it contains highly sophis-ticated detection gear.

"You have no reason to believe me, but also have no reason not to capture this scout. I also have information of highest priority about Earth defenses and coming opera-tions there.

"I am broadcasting now on the emergency frequency. I am recording and this message will automatically repeat on the two main communication frequencies, then the emergency frequency again. It will be continuous until we meet. Message ends."

After this Jan could only wait. And begin to worry. Re kept his receivers on and picked up a number of coded messages from Earth fleet command directed at the IP-256, all of which he cheerfully ignored. It would be best if the enemy forces thought that the scout ship had vanished completely. This could only cause dismay, and hopefully a good bit of confusion, perhaps even make them think about possible secret weapons that the rebels might possess. Yet Jan was still worried. His plan was a good one, the only possible one, but it required a great deal of patience. Since he had received no communica-tions from the attacking fleet it could mean that his message had been received and that the instructions were being carried out. Or that everything had gone wrong, and they were heading swiftly into interstellar s.p.a.ce. Or even worse, that there had been a mistaken identification of the ships approaching Earth, that they were defending, not attacking, forces. Once he had started to worry, he found a great deal to worry about.

Captain Lastrup did not make life any easier. As soon as he had regained consciousness he began a continuous and high-pitched description of what would happen to Jan after he had been returned to justice. Saliva ran down his chin, unnoticed by him in the intensity of his feelings, while his voice grew hoa.r.s.e and rasping. Jan tried to stem the flow by threatening to get the throttling wire out again, but this had no effect. Then he warned that he would gag the Captain, and when this made not the slightest difference he actually put the threat into practice. But the sight of the bulging eyes, the face gradually turning from red to purple as Lastrup swung and writhed and bounced off of the bulkhead was too much, too inhumane. He ungagged the man and turned the radio on loud to roar counterpoint to the ravings.

Two days went by like this, with the Captain dozing off for blessed minutes in his bindings, only to awake and resume the tirade again. He would not eat, spat out the food that Jan tried to feed him, but did drink some water. Undoubtedly to keep his voice in good operating order. When Jan let him use the sanitary facilities he fought to escape and in the end Jan had to wire him to the appara-tus. It was very uncomfortable for both of them. Therefore it was a tremendous relief for Jan on the third day when he found a weak blip at the outermost edge of the low-power radar screen he was broadcasting. It was approaching on what very well might be a converging course. He killed the recorded broadcast, dropped the power down to the weakest signal possible. And crossed his fingers.

"This is Kulozik on IP-256. I have a blip on my radar. I)o you read me?"

The radio frequency rustle of the stars was all he heard. He sent the signal again, stepped up the gain on his receiver-then heard it, weak but there.

"Do not alter course, IP-256. Do not attempt to start your engines for any reason. Do not attempt any more broadcasts. If you do we will fire. Open your outer port but do not attempt to leave your ship or we will fire. Out?'

Definitely warlike, Jan thought. But he would proba-bly be doing the same thing if he were in their place.

He killed his radar transmitter, but left the receiver on, since it was well shielded and produced no detectable emissions. After that all he could do was evacuate the airlock and open the outer hatch. And wait.

"My friends are coming," he said, with more a.s.sur-ance than he really felt. This had not the slightest effect on his captive who described Jan's tortured future for the thousandth time. It was not pleasurable to hear and hav-ing the Captain removed from his earshot would be one of the major pleasures that would come with the end of this trip.

Something clattered in the airlock.

A moment later the cycling light flashed on and Jan could hear the air pumps laboring. He swung about to face the lock, floating there, waiting expectantly as the green light blinked and the inner door opened.

"Raise the hands. Don't move."

Jan did as he was ordered and two armed men kicked in from the lock chamber. One of them ignored Jan and swung on by him toward the Captain who turned his abuse in the newcomer's direction. The other man, his face obscured by the gold sputtering of his helmet, waved his gun toward the airlock.

"Get into one of those suits," he said.

While Jan was putting it on the first man came down from the control room. "Just the two of them," he said.

'And maybe a bomb wired to go off. This still could be a trap."

"Well, you volunteered for this mission?'

"Don't remind me. Stay with the tied-up one, don't release him, while I shuttle this one over."

Jan was only happy to obey. Once outside the lock he saw the spidery form of a medium-sized deep s.p.a.cer in orbit to the rear of the scout. His captor, with a jet pack on his suit, grabbed Jan by the arm and towed him over to the open airlock of the waiting ship. There were {wo other gunmen watching him as he came out of the airlock and stripped off his suit. A large man in a black uniform was looking at him closely. His hair was blond, melding into gray, his jaw large and pugnacious and thrust in Jan's direction.

"I am Admiral Skougaard," he said. "Now tell me what all this is about."

Jan was unable to talk, speechless, overwhelmed by a sense of deepest despair.

Because the Admiral was wearing the same s.p.a.ce Forces uniform that he was.

Sixteen.

Jan fell back, as though struck a physical blow. The guns followed him and the Admiral frowned at the movement-then nodded understandingly.

"The uniform, is that it?" Jan could only nod wordlessly in return. The iron face cracked into a grim smile. "Per-haps I wear it as you d~~if you are what you say you are. Not all men of Earth are traitors to mankind. Some of us helped, or there would have been no rebellion from the stars. Now I am going to have you searched, Kulozik, and then you will tell me your entire story in the finest detail that you can.

The Admiral was no fool and made Jan repeat the details over and over, checking on names and dates and many precise points that he seemed familiar with. They were interrupted just once when a report came in that the IP-256 had been searched for bombs and other devices and was clear. A pilot would take her to join the fleet. Finally the Admiral raised his hand and cut Jan short.

"Niels," he ordered. "Get us some coffee." He turned back to Jan. "I am going to accept your story-for the time being. All of your details about the food expedition are correct, including some that I doubt the Earth forces could know. I am aware of the true facts because I was the one who gathered the ships and arranged all the organiza-tion of the expedition."

"Did any of them get through?"

"Over half. Not as many as we hoped, but enough to ward starvation off for awhile longer. Now we come to the new and interesting part of your story and frankly, I have just no way to evaluate it. You know this Thurgood-Smythe well?"

"Far too well. My brother-in-law as I said. He is a monster of cunning."

'And treachery. We can be absolutely sure of that. He is either betraying his trust and aiding the rebellion. Or has laid a complex and treacherous trap to destroy us. So it must be treachery either way."

Jan sipped the strong, black coffee and nodded agree-ment. "I know. But what can we do? At least one part is certain, the Israeli partic.i.p.ation."

"Which could simply be a more deadly part of the trap. To lure us in and destroy us. The Israelis could very well be helpless p.a.w.ns, doomed to destruction to further his ends."

"They might very well be. It is the sort of thing that would appeal to him. I hadn't thought about that. But what of his plan to seize the Moj ave base? That sounded reasonable. It certainly would affect the outcome of the war.

The Admiral laughed, then blew on his coffee to cool it. "Not only reasonable, but the only possibility of victory for either side. We know it and they know it. We could capture the Lunar bases, the satellites, even all of the Lagrange colonies, and Earth could survive. Her fleet would be as strong. And we would grow weaker with every pa.s.sing moment. Mojave is the key. The other shuttle bases are merely landing strips. Whoever controls Mojave controls s.p.a.ce operations-and wins this war.

"Then it's that vital?"

"It ~5?'

"What do you plan to do?"

'a.n.a.lyze it and sleep on it before I see you again. In any case there is nothing to be done yet, not until we are closer to Earth's...o...b..t. I'm going to lock you in a cell for awhile. Sorry."

"Don't be. After Captain Lastrup's company I'll enjoy the solitude. How is he?"

"Under sedation. He is in a bad way mentally and will need treatment."

"I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be. This is war. In the same situation he would undoubtedly have killed you."

An aide interrupted with a printout which he handed to the Admiral, who read it slowly, then raised his eyes to Jan. And smiled as he extended his hand.

"Welcome aboard, Jan Kulozik. This is~the confirma-tion that I was waiting for. One of our ships is in orbit around Halvm6rk, uns.p.a.ceworthy after the fighting. But its communication apparatus is operational and they are hooked into the Foscolo net. They have checked your story out with the people there. What you have told us is the truth. There is an additional message here that they confirmed all of the personal parts of your story with your wife. She sends her love."

Jan seized the Admiral's outstretched hand. "It's my pleasure to serve with you, sir. I've had no part in the rebellion up until now...

"You have done more than most people. You are the one who saw to it that the corn was waiting when the ships arrived-it would have burned except for your leadership. Do you realize how many lives that food saved?"

"I know, I realize that it was important. But it was a pa.s.sive action that's over and done with now. The reason that I was arrested and transported in the first place was because of my activities in the resistance.

Now that the planets are free, and the last battle is about to begin, you must understand, I want to take a part in that."

'And so you shall. Just as long as you make yourself available at all times for our intelligence people.

They'll want to pick your brain. Then we may need you as well for liaison with the Israelis once the fighting starts. Satisfactory?"

"Yes, of course. I'll do w~atever is asked of me. By training I'm an electronic engineer and I used to special-ize in microcircuitry design. But it has been mostly me-chanical maintenance the last years.

"That is first cla.s.s-and there is a very good chance that you are just the man we need. I want you to meet another technician, Vittono Curtoni. He is in charge of our armament, and has designed most of our defenses, including what evervone refers to as the secret weapon. I understand there are still some teething troubles with it, so perhaps you could be of help."

"That would be ideal."

"Good. I'll arrange transport to the Leoizardo." The Admiral raised his hand and an aide came hurrying over.

One of the scouts vectored to the flagship while Jan suited up again, then transferred to it. He stayed in the open airlock so he would not waste any time pressurizing and depressurizing. Through the open hatch he could see the arc of deep s.p.a.cers that spread out and away on both sides. One of the ships was coming close, growing larger and larger until they killed their momentum just a few meters away. Jan kicked out and drifted across the gap to the waiting and open airlock of the Leonardo.

A lean, black-haired man with a great brush of a moustache was waiting for him inside.

'Are you Kulozik, the one who is supposed to help me?" he asked, with more suspicion than enthusiasm in his voice.

"lf you're Vittono Curtoni, then I'm the one. Yes, I hope that I can help. I know I can if you can use the services of an experienced microelectronic engineer."

Curtoni's wariness vanished instantly. "Can I use you? Can a starving man use a grilled pig? Let me show you what we have been doing." He led Jan deep into the ship, talking rapidly and scarcely stopping for breath.

"Jury-rigged, all of it, invented, manufactured and tested all on the same day. Sometimes. Admiral Skougaard, of course, a great help. Would have taken years instead of months if he hadn't turned over all the s.p.a.ce Forces I blueprints and specs to us. He had been collecting them for a very long time, both the successful weapons and the proposals that were never carried through. What do you know about s.p.a.ce warfare?" He lifted one quizzical eye-brow as he turned to face Jan.

"I've been in a s.p.a.ce battle, but that was personal contact and hand to hand fighting. About battles between opposing force~about all I know is what I see in the films."

"Exactly! Films like this, I imagine."

They entered a workshop, but Curtoni led Jan away from the machines and instruments to an ordinary TV set with a row of chairs before it. Curtoni keyed in a code and turned the set on.

"Sit, enjoy," he said. "This is an archaic film from the dawn of history that I found buried in the memory files. It is about a war among the stars, there-see!"