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lot more.
How do you know this?
Gwen. Remember her? The pilot s girlfriend. She found out a lot about the
people who brought us here. There s a lot going on up there. He pointed to the
bright stars and their strange constellations.
You have not told me why this surinomaz is im-portant.
I don t know that I can trust you, Rick said. It involves a lot of people.
Including some back on Earth. But assume I m lying. It s still important to you.
Without that crop, you won t be getting any juicy trade goods from the
Shalnuksis. In fact, An-dré, just what are you accomplishing with your superior
skills and experience?
Is there any point to this conversation? Parsons demanded.
Certainly. I hope to persuade you to join us, Rick said.
Parsons laughed.
Why not? Rick asked. Together we can grow those crops and trade with the
Shalnuksis. We might even be able to capture a starship and get the hell off this
planet! If we work together.
Or we can go on fighting, and no matter who wins we both lose. You aren t
going to grow that crop. Sarakos can t even feed his army! The people here will
never stop fighting as long as he s here. But you must know already that we ve
been welcomed as liberators. My alliance is with the legitimate king, and I ve got
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most of the nobility as well. I can get crops planted and harvested. You can t.
Come over to our side, and you ll have an hon-ored place. Wealth and influence,
and you won t have to fight all the time. We both win. Fight me, and we both
lose.
So, Parsons said. You are persuasive, if overconfident. And yet I wonder. I
have been thinking since I received your letter, what is it that you can do?
Gunpowder? Muskets? I thinkyou have not had enough time. Hand grenades?
Undoubtedly, and catapult bombs as well. Tell me, what range do you get with
them?
Enough. And I have a lot of them, Rick said. André, for God s sake, let s end
this damned war here and now. Can t you see it s better if we work together?
I see that you are the cause of my troubles, Parsons said. The guerrilla war
That was spontaneous, Rick said.
I do not believe you. Without you the resistance will collapse, and in the
morning we will destroy this barbarous army of yours. He smiled thinly. What
makes you think I will share power with you and your hill clans?
You share with Sarakos
For the moment. I need him. But that will not be forever.
André, you ve gone crazy, Rick said. What do you want?
What I said I wanted before we left the Moon, Parsons said. To be a king. And
I do not think you can offer that. Rick, you are a fool. Without you, your cause
collapses. I will have your army as well as my own. His hand darted under his
jacket.
It seemed to Rick that everything moved in slow motion. Parsons hand reached
his pistol, and Rick threw himself violently aside, his hand scrabbling for his own
weapon.
Then there was a shout. No! Damn it, no! Elliot s shout startled Parsons so that
he fumbled his draw, but Rick was still too slow. He had the .45 in his hand, and
the safety off, but before he could swing it around to point at Parsons, André s
own weapon was lining up with Rick s head
There were three shots very close up. Rick s ears rang with the muzzle blast. He
heard shouting, but it was incomprehensible through the ringing in his ears.
Gradually he realized that he was still alive, and that he felt no shock or pain.
André Parsons fell heavily. His face held a look of total surprise. My honorable
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young friend he gasped. Whatever else he was going to say never got out.
Take it easy, Sergeant Elliot was saying in the Tran dialect. We surrender.
Elliot held his empty hands high, and after a moment Bisso did the same.
What happened? Rick asked. Who
I tried to stop him myself, Elliot said. I already made one mistake about you,
Captain. I didn t want to let Colonel Parsons make another. But he was too fast. I
didn t even draw. It was your girlfriend there. He pointed to Tylara. She sat
motionless, still hold-ing Mason s pistol in both hands in the approved military
grip. One of the baggy sleeves of her cloak was charred, and wisps of smoke rose
from where she had shot through it.
Mason came up the hill moments later. You all right? he asked.
Yes Rick s ears still rang. Tylara had been no more than a foot behind him
when she fired. His head was clearing, but it seemed to be a long time doing it.
Tylara seemed dazed as well. And now here was Mason. Where did you come
from? Rick de-manded.
Out there, Mason said. I did a little scouting in case Parsons brought a sniper.
Nobody around just at the moment, but after those shots there will be. We d better
get going. How you doing, Sarge?
Just what is going on? Rick asked.
Hell, Cap n, I wasn t going to let you come out here by yourself, Mason said.
Figured I d be more use out where they couldn t see me. Only you had to pick a
place I couldn t get close enough to! Good thing Tylara thought of borrowing my
pistol. She s been taking lessons dry-firing that thing for weeks now. Cap n, we
really had better get going.
All right. He got up and felt himself swaying until Elliot steadied him with a
hand on his shoul-der. Tylara
She got up slowly. She kept the pistol in her hand, but she was careful not to point
it at anyone. I had not known, she said softly. I did not intend to shoot but
once.
They ll do that, Mason said. Come on, I hear people comin from both
directions. You move out I ll hang back and discourage visitors. He pat-ted the
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H&K battle rifle affectionately.
What now, Elliot? Rick asked.
We ll accept your offer, Elliot said. If it s still open.
It s open, Rick said. But it won t be for long. He looked at his watch. You
have no more than two hours to get back to the village and bring any men who
want to come. Bisso will stay with me.
Yes, sir, Elliot said. Two hours. He stood awkwardly for a moment,
obviously fumbling for words. I m not much for apologies, he said. I thought I
was doing the right thing back when we first landed. Now
You don t have to apologize, Rick said. Just get back with the men. Leave
equipment if you have to, but bring the men and what you can carry. Two hours.
Yes, sir. Two hours.
Forty minutes after Elliot brought a dozen men and the light machine gun to
Rick s pavilion, the gunpowder exploded.
EPILOGUE
Tylara looked down from the battlements of Cas-tle Dravan with satisfaction. The
last remnants of Sarakos s siege works had been removed, leveled over. They
were gone without trace. Dravan stood strong again.
It would need to be. Sarakos was dead had that been his body in the silken
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