VII
Bismillah! How Dumb Can We Get?
The lights had come on inside the semicircular and now open storm-porch of Company House, but it was still daylight outside. The sky above the mountain to the west was fading from crimson to burnt-orange, and a couple of the brighter stars were winking into visibility. Von Schlichten and the sergeant hurried a hundred yards down the street between low, thick-walled office buildings to the telecast station, next to the Administration Building.
A woman captain met him just inside the door of the big soundproofed room.
тАЬWe have a wavelength open to Konkrook, general,тАЭ she said. тАЬIn booth three.тАЭ
He nodded. тАЬThank you, captain.тБатАКтБатАж WeтАЩve all lost a true friend, havenтАЩt we?тАЭ
Another girl, a tech-sergeant, was in the booth; on the screen was the image of a third young woman, a lieutenant, at Konkrook station. The sergeant rose and started to leave the booth.
тАЬStick around, sergeant,тАЭ von Schlichten told her. тАЬIтАЩll want you to take over when IтАЩm through.тАЭ He sat down in front of the combination visiscreen and pickup. тАЬNow, lieutenant, just what happened?тАЭ he asked. тАЬHow did he die?тАЭ
тАЬWe think it was poison, general. General MтАЩzangwe has ordered autopsy and chemical analysis. If you can wait about ten minutes, heтАЩll be able to talk to you, himself.тАЭ
тАЬCall him. In the meantime, give me everything you know.тАЭ
тАЬWell, the governor decided to go to bed early; he was going hunting in the morning. I suppose you know his usual routine?тАЭ
Von Schlichten nodded. Harrington would have taken a shower, put on his dressing-gown, and then sat down at his desk, lighted his pipe, poured a drink of Terran bourbon, and begun to write his diary.
тАЬWell, at 22:10, give or take a couple of minutes, the Kragan guard-sergeant on that floor heard ten pistol-shots, as fast as they could be fired semi-auto, in the governorтАЩs room. The door was locked, but he shot it off with his own pistol and went in. He found Governor Harrington on the floor, wearing only his gown, holding an empty pistol. He was in convulsions, frothing at the mouth, in horrible pain. Evidently heтАЩd fired his pistol, which he kept on his desk, to call help; all the bullets had gone into the ceiling. The sergeant punched the emergency button, beside the bed, and reported, then tried to help the governor, but it was too late. One of the medics got there in five minutes, just as he was dying. HeтАЩd written his diary up to noon of today, and broken off in the middle of a word. There was a bottle and an overturned glass on his desk. The Constabulary got there a few minutes later, and then Brigadier-General MтАЩzangwe took charge. A white rat, given fifteen drops from the whiskey-bottle, died with the same symptoms in about ninety seconds.тАЭ
тАЬWho had access to the whiskey-bottle?тАЭ
тАЬA geek servant, who takes care of the room. He was caught, an hour earlier, trying to slip off the island without a pass; they were holding him at the guardhouse when Governor Harrington died. HeтАЩs now being questioned by the Kragans.тАЭ The girlтАЩs face was bleakly remorseless. тАЬI hope they do plenty to him!тАЭ
тАЬI hope they donтАЩt kill him before he talks.тАЭ
тАЬWait a moment, general; we have General MтАЩzangwe, now,тАЭ the girl said. тАЬIтАЩll switch you over.тАЭ
The screen broke into a kaleidoscopic jumble of color, then cleared; the chocolate-brown face of Themistocles MтАЩzangwe was looking out of it.
тАЬI heard what happened, how they found him, and about that geek chamber-valet being arrested,тАЭ von Schlichten said. тАЬDid you get anything out of him?тАЭ
тАЬHeтАЩs admitted putting poison in the bottle, but he claims it was his own idea. But heтАЩs one of Father KeelukтАЩs parishioners, so.тБатАКтБатАжтАЭ
тАЬKeeluk! God damn, so that was it!тАЭ von Schlichten almost shouted. тАЬNow I know what he wanted with Stalin, and that goat, and those rabbits!тАЭ
Five thousand miles away, in Konkrook, Themistocles MтАЩzangwe whistled.
тАЬBismillah! How dumb can we get?тАЭ he cried. тАЬOf course theyтАЩd need terrestrial animals, to find out what would poison a Terran! Wait a minute; IтАЩll make a note of that, to spring on this geek, if the Kragans havenтАЩt finished him by now.тАЭ Von Schlichten watched MтАЩzangwe pick up a stenophone and whisper into it for a moment. тАЬAll right, Carlos, what else?тАЭ
тАЬHas Eric been notified?тАЭ
тАЬWe called Keegark, but heтАЩs in audience with King Orgzild, and we canтАЩt reach him.тАЭ
тАЬWell, whoтАЩs in charge at Konkrook, now?тАЭ
тАЬNot much of anybody. Laviola, the Fiscal Secretary, and Hans Meyerstein, the Banking CartelтАЩs lawyer, and Howlett, the Personnel Chief, and Buhrmann, the Commercial Secretary, have made up a sort of quadrumvirate and are trying to run things. I donтАЩt know what would happen if anything came up suddenly.тБатАКтБатАжтАЭ A blue-gray uniformed arm, with a majorтАЩs cuff-braid, came into the screen, handing a slip of paper to MтАЩzangwe; he took it, glanced at it, and swore. Von Schlichten waited until he had read it through.
тАЬWell, something has, all right,тАЭ the African said. тАЬWe just got a call from JaikarkтАЩs PalaceтБатАФa revoltтАЩs broken out, presumably headed by Gurgurk; Household Guards either mutinied or wiped out by the mutineers, all but those twenty Kragan Rifles we loaned Jaikark. They, and about a dozen of JaikarkтАЩs courtiers and their personal retainers, are holding the approaches to the KingтАЩs apartments. The native-lieutenant in charge of the Kragans just radioed in; says the situation is desperate.тАЭ
тАЬWhen a Kragan says that, he means damn near hopeless. Is this being recorded?тАЭ When MтАЩzangwe nodded, he continued: тАЬAll right. Use the recording for your authority and take charge. IтАЩm declaring martial rule at Konkrook, as of now, 22:53. Tell Eric Blount whatтАЩs happened, and what youтАЩve done, as soon as you can get in touch with him. IтАЩm leaving for Konkrook at once; I ought to get in by 08:00.
тАЬNow, as to the trouble at the Palace. DonтАЩt commit more than one company of Kragans and ten airjeeps and four combat-cars, and tell them to evacuate Jaikark and his followers and our Kragans to Gongonk Island. And alert your whole force. These geek palace revolutions are always synchronized with street-rioting, and this thing seems to have been synchronized with Sid HarringtonтАЩs death, too. Get our Kragans out if you canтАЩt save anybody else from the Palace, but sacrificing thirty or forty men to save twenty is no kind of business. And keep sending reports; I can pick them up on my car radio as I come down.тАЭ He turned to the girl sergeant. тАЬKeep on this; thereтАЩll be more coming in.тАЭ
He rose and left the booth. If we can pull JaikarkтАЩs bacon off the fire, he was thinking, the Company can dictate its own terms to him afterward; if JaikarkтАЩs killed, weтАЩll have GurgurkтАЩs head off for it, and then take over Konkrook. In either case, itтАЩll be a long step toward getting rid of all these geek despots. And with Eric Blount as Governor-General.тБатАКтБатАж
The girl captain in charge of the station met him as he came out.
тАЬPoison,тАЭ he told her. тАЬA geek servant did the job, on orders from Gurgurk and possibly Rakkeed. GurgurkтАЩs started a putsch against King Jaikark; IтАЩm going to Konkrook at once. Call the military airport and have my command-car brought to Company House.тАЭ
Harry Quong and Hassan Bogdanoff had been at the banquet, too; on a world of lizard-faced silicate-eaters, the social difference between a human general and a human aircar-driver was almost infinitesimal. HeтАЩd have to talk to Barney Mordkovitz, too; when word of events at Konkrook got out among the local geeks, as it probably had already.тБатАКтБатАж
The inner door of the soundproofed telecast-room burst open, three men hurried inside, and it slammed shut behind them. In the brief interval, there had been firing audible from outside. One of the men had a pistol in his right hand, and with his left arm he supported a companion, whose shoulder was mangled and dripped blood. The third man had a burp-gun in his hands. All were in civilian dress-shorts and light jackets. The man with the pistol holstered it and helped his injured companion into a chair. The burp-gunner advanced into the room, looked around, saw von Schlichten, and addressed him.
тАЬGeneral! The geeks turned on us!тАЭ he cried. тАЬThe Tenth North UllerтАЩs mutinied; theyтАЩre running wild all over the place. TheyтАЩve taken their barracks and supply-buildings, and the lorry-hangars and the maintenance-yard; theyтАЩre headed this way in a mob. Some of the Zirk CavalryтАЩs joined them.тАЭ
тАЬHow about the Kragans?тАЭ
тАЬThe Eighteenth Rifles? TheyтАЩre with us. I saw a party of them firing into the mob; I saw some of the Tenth N.U.N.I. tossing a dead Kragan on their bayonets.тБатАКтБатАжтАЭ
тАЬHave any ammo left for that burp-gun? Come on, then; letтАЩs see what itтАЩs like at Company House,тАЭ von Schlichten said. тАЬCaptain Malavez, you know what to do about defending this station. Get busy doing it. And have that girl in booth three tell Konkrook whatтАЩs happened here, and say that I wonтАЩt be coming down, as planned, just yet.тАЭ
He opened the door, and the rattle of shots outside became audible again. The civilian with the burp-gun knew better than to let a general go out first; elbowing von Schlichten out of the way, he crouched over his weapon and dashed outside. Drawing his pistol, von Schlichten followed, pulling the door shut after him.
Darkness had fallen, while he had been inside; now the whole Company Reservation was ablaze with electric lights. Somebody at the power-plantтБатАФeither the regular staff, if they were still holding, or the mutineers, if they had taken itтБатАФhad thrown on the emergency lights. There was a confused mass of gray-skinned figures in front of Company House, reflected light twinkling on steel over them; from the direction of the native-troops barracks more natives were coming on the run. On the roof of a building across the street, two machine-guns were already firing into the mob. A group of Terrans came running out of a roadway between two buildings, from the direction of the repair-shops; several of them paused to fire behind them with pistols. They started toward Company House, saw what was going on there, and veered, darting into the door of the building from which the auto-weapons were firing. From up the street, a hundred-odd saurian-faced native soldiers were coming at the double, bayonets fixed and rifles at high port; with them ran several Terrans. Motioning his companion to follow, von Schlichten ran to meet them, falling in beside a Terran captain who ran in front.
тАЬWhatтАЩs the score, captain?тАЭ he asked.
тАЬTenth North Uller and the Fifth Cavalry have mutinied; so have these ragtag Auxiliaries. That mob down thereтАЩs part of them.тАЭ He was puffing under the double effort of running and talking. тАЬWhole thing blew up in seconds; no chance to communicate with anybody.тБатАКтБатАжтАЭ
A Terran woman, in black slacks and an orange sweater, ran across the street in front of them, pursued by a group of enlisted тАЬmenтАЭ of the Tenth North Uller Native Infantry, all shrieking тАЬZnidd suddabit!тАЭ The fugitive ran into a doorway across the street; before her pursuers were aware of their danger, the Kragans had swept over them. There was no shooting; the slim, cruel-bladed bayonets did the work. From behind him, as he ran, von Schlichten could hear Kragan voices in a new cry: тАЬZnidd geek! Znidd geek!тАЭ
The mob were swarming up onto the steps and into the semi-rotunda of the storm-porch. There was shooting, which told him that some of the humans who had been at the banquet were still alive. He wondered, half-sick, how many, and whether they could hold out till he could clear the doorway, and, most of all, he found himself thinking of Paula Quinton. Skidding to a stop within fifty yards of the mob, he flung out his arms crucifix-wise to halt the Kragans. Behind, he could hear the Terrans and native-officers shouting commands to form front.
тАЬGive them one clip, reload, and then give them the bayonet!тАЭ he ordered. тАЬShove them off the steps and then clear the porch!тАЭ
тАЬOne clip, fire, and reload, at will!тАЭ somebody passed it on in Kragan.
The hundred rifles let go all at once, and for five seconds they poured a deafening two thousand rounds into the mutineers. There was some fire in reply; a Zirk corporal narrowly missed him with a pistol, he saw the captainтАЩs head fly apart when an explosive rifle-bullet hit him, and half a dozen Kragans went down.
тАЬReload! Set your safeties!тАЭ von Schlichten bellowed. тАЬCharge!тАЭ
Under human officers, the North Uller Native Infantry would have stood firm. Even under their native-officers and sergeants, they should not have broken as they did, but the best of these had paid for their loyalty to the Company with their lives, and the rest had destroyed their authority by revolting against the source from which it was derived. At that, the Skilkan peasantry who made up the Tenth Infantry and the Zirk cavalrymen tried briefly to fight as individuals, shrieking тАЬZnidd suddabit!тАЭ until the Kragans were upon them, stabbing and shooting. They drove the rioters from the steps or killed them there, they wiped out those who had gotten into the semicircle of the storm-porch. The inside doors, von Schlichten saw, were open, but beyond them were Terrans and a dozen or so Kragans. Hideyoshi OтАЩLeary and Barney Mordkovitz seemed to be in command of these.
тАЬWe had about thirty secondsтАЩ warning,тАЭ Mordkovitz reported, тАЬand the Kragans in the hall bought us another sixty seconds. Of course, we all had our pistols.тБатАКтБатАжтАЭ
тАЬHey! These storm-doors are wedged!тАЭ somebody discovered. тАЬThose goddam geek servantsтБатАКтБатАжтАК!тАЭ
тАЬYeah, kill any of them you catch,тАЭ somebody else advised. тАЬIf we could have gotten these doors closed.тБатАКтБатАжтАЭ
The mob, driven from the steps, was trying to reform and renew the attack. From up the street, the machine-guns, silent during the bayonet-fight, began hammering again. The mob surged forward to get out of their fire, and were met by a rifle-blast and a hedge of bayonets at the steps; they surged back, and the machine-guns flailed them again. They started to rush the building from whence the automatic-fire came, and there was a fusillade and a shriek of тАЬZnidd geek!тАЭ from up the street. They turned and fled in the direction from whence they had come, bullets scourging them from three directions at once.
For a moment, von Schlichten and the three Terrans and eighty-odd Kragans who had survived the fight stood on the steps, weapons poised, seeking more enemies. The machine-guns up the street stuttered a few short bursts and were silent. From behind, the beleaguered Terrans and their Kragan guards were emerging. He saw Jules Keaveney and his wife, Commander Prinsloo of the Aldebaran, Harry Quong and Bogdanoff. Ah, there she was! He heaved a breath of relief and waved to her.
The Kragans were already setting about their after-battle chores. About twenty of them spread out on guard; the others, by fours, went into the street, one covering with his rifle while the other three checked on their own casualties, used the short, leaf-shaped swords they carried to slash off the heads of enemy wounded, and collected weapons and ammunition. A couple of hundred more Kragans, led by Native-Major Kormork, the co-parent of young with King Kankad, came up at the double and stopped in front of Company House.
тАЬWe were in quarters, aboard the Aldebaran and in the guesthouse at the airport,тАЭ Kormork reported. тАЬWe were attacked, fifteen minutes ago, by a mob. We took ten minutes beating them off, and five more getting here. I sent Native-Captain Zeerjeek and the rest of the force to retake the supply-depot and the shops and lorry hangars, which had been taken, and relieve the military airport, which is under attack.тАЭ
There was still firing from the commercial airport and the smaller military airfield. Once there was a string of heavy explosions that sounded like 80┬аmm rockets.
тАЬGood enough. I hope you didnтАЩt spread yourself out too thin. WhatтАЩs the situation at the commercial airport?тАЭ
тАЬThe two ships, the Aldebaran and the freighter Northern Star, are both safe,тАЭ Kormork replied. тАЬI saw them go on contragravity and rise to about a hundred feet.тАЭ
тАЬWhose crowd is that you have?тАЭ he asked the Terran lieutenant who had taken over command of the first force of Kragans.
тАЬCompany 6, Eighteenth Rifles, sir. We were on duty at the guardhouse; fighting broke out in the direction of the native barracks. A couple of runners from Captain Retief of Company 4 came in with word that he was being attacked by mutineers from the Tenth N.U.N.I. but that he was holding them back. So Captain Charbonneau, who was killed a few minutes ago, left a Terran lieutenant and a Kragan native-lieutenant and a couple of native-sergeants and thirty Kragans to hold the guardhouse, and brought the rest of us here.тАЭ
Von Schlichten nodded. тАЬYouтАЩd pass the military airport and the power-plant, wouldnтАЩt you?тАЭ he asked.
тАЬYes, sir. The military airportтАЩs holding out, and I saw the red-and-yellow danger-lights on the fence around the power-plant.тАЭ
That meant the power-plant was, for the time, safe; somebodyтАЩd turned twenty thousand volts into the fence.
тАЬAll right. IтАЩm setting up my command post at the telecast station, where the communication equipment is.тАЭ He turned to the crowd that had come out onto the porch from inside. тАЬWhereтАЩs Colonel Cheng-Li?тАЭ
тАЬHere, general.тАЭ The Intelligence and Constabulary officer pushed through the crowd. тАЬI was on the phone, talking to the military airport, the commercial airport, ordnance depot, spaceport, ship-docks and power-plant. All answer. IтАЩm afraid Pop Goode, at the city power-plant, is done for; nobody answers there, but the TV-pickup is still on in the load-dispatcherтАЩs room, and the place is full of geeks. Colonel JarmanтАЩs coming here with a lorry to get combat-car crews; heтАЩs short-handed. Port-Captain Leavitt has all the native labor at the airport and spaceport herded into a repair dock; heтАЩs keeping them covered with the forward 90┬аmm gun of the Northern Star. Lorry-hangars, repair-shops and maintenance-yards donтАЩt answer.тАЭ
тАЬThatтАЩs what I was going to ask you. Good enough. Harry Quong, Hassan Bogdanoff!тАЭ
His command-car crew front-and-centered.
тАЬI want you to take Colonel OтАЩLeary up, as soon as my carтАЩs brought here.тБатАКтБатАж Hid, you go up and see whatтАЩs going on. Drop flares where there isnтАЩt any light. And take a look at the native-labor camp and the equipment-park, south of the reservation.тБатАКтБатАж Kormork, you take all your gang, and half these soldiers from the Eighteenth, here, and help clear the native-troops barracks. And donтАЩt bother taking any prisoners; we canтАЩt spare personnel to guard them.тАЭ
Kormork grinned. The taking of prisoners had always been one of those irrational Terran customs which no Ulleran regarded with favor, or even comprehension.