“Well, you know how the Old Man would answer that. It was fine to let mankind take off in all directions back when we had no reason to believe there was other intelligent life in the galaxy. But when we ran into those little fellows, then we had to get underway.”
Ronny’s expression was strange. “But underway where? A comparatively small group of men, of Ross Metaxa’s type, decided it was up to them to steer. But of what are they composed that they should know best? Why should Ross Metaxa, and his various supervisors such as Sid Jakes and Lee Chang Chu, be allowed to decide that the government of this planet Amazonia, for instance, should be overthrown and a bi-sexual regime encouraged? Perhaps the matriarchy they’re experimenting with is superior.”
“Yeah.” Phil grinned. “And perhaps not. Especially for me .”
“Yes, but my point is, who is Metaxa to decide? There are tens of billions of members of the race. What makes him so special that he can throw Section G into a local situation on some planet colonized by this opinion group, or that, of their own free will and conscious of what they were going into?”
At long last, Phil Birdman turned throughful. “Maybe I don’t know the answer,” he admitted. “And maybe my decision was a wrong one. But I’m in my mid-forties now and I took my stand quite a time ago. I’m not going to change it now.” He looked at Ronny. “Are you?”
Ronny grunted self-deprecation. “I wouldn’t know what to change it to.”
Ronny Bronston came up behind Captain Volos, who was standing watch in the Pisa’s control compartment. He said, “What’s wrong?”
The skipper was bug-eying into a zoom-screen. “A spacecraft! I’ve never seen another ship in underspace before. But…but that’s not it. It’s the size. It’s as large as a medium-sized satellite.”
Ronny said, “Let me see.”
The captain grudgingly made room for him.
“I don’t see anything,” Ronny said.
The captain scowled at him and bent over the horizon* tal screen again. “It’s gone!” he blurted. “It can’t be gone!”
“We seem to be approaching the Dawnworlds,” Ronny said dryly. “From what little I know about the Dawnmen, shortly, we’re going to be witnessing a good many things that simply can’t be.”
Gary Volos was still gaping into the zoom-screen.
Ronny said, “How far out are we?”
The captain at last stood erect. “Not very far,” he said. ” I can’t be too sure. I have no references except that chart you gave me. Possibly the coordinates are off. However, we should be coming out of underspace before long.”
He looked at Ronny Bronston with puzzlement in his face, and also a touch of accusation. He said, “That craft I just saw was far and beyond anything that could be built on any United Planet’s world.”
Ronny said mildly, “I told you that the Dawnworlds are evidently fantastically beyond us, technically.”
Volos shook his head. “I didn’t believe your story. I didn’t know what your game was, but I didn’t believe this tale about other intelligent life forms.”
“Well, Captain, you’d better start thinking about it. The more cool minds we’ve got around, when we come out of underspace, the better off we’re going to be. We have only one small bit of evidence that these critters won’t crisp us immediately upon our materializing.”
“What’s that?” Volos asked, a shade of apprehension in his tone now.
“Those little aliens had photographs, both still and movies, on them. That would indicate that the little fellows actually landed on at least one of the Dawnworlds and were allowed to use whatever camera devices they had and then leave again.”
He indicated the chart on the navigation table. “And that star chart. It shows hundreds of star systems in red. I’ve assumed that those are all Dawnman settled. The little fellas must have sent out various expeditions to compile that extensive a chart. Which means, in turn, that the Dawnmen allowed them to do it.”
“Didn’t you say that the atmosphere of the planets the little aliens were on was changed to what was poison for them?”
“That’s right. Eventually, they must have done something to irritate these Dawnmen; but before they did, they must have done considerable exploring about the Dawnmen domains.”
Ronny thought for a moment, then said, “I suppose you might as well start the process of reviving Rita Daniels and young Richardson. We’re not going to be in any position to remain divided among ourselves after breakout from underspace.”
“All right,” the captain said nervously. He spoke into an order box.
Ronny said, “Look. This trip hasn’t been any too happy, thus far, which isn’t surprising. But now that we’re here, I want to let you know that so far as the operation of the Pisa is concerned, Agent Birdman and I want to cooperate. You’re the captain. We’ll follow orders.”
Volos looked shamefaced. “My instructions were to put myself and command under your orders. I’m sorry I got around to following them so tardily. Very well. I captain the Pisa , but the overall decisions are yours.”
His eyes flicked to the control panels. “We’re coming out.” He reached over and threw an alarm.
Within moments, Birdman and Lieutenant Takashi hurried into the compartment.
Takashi, his characteristically bland face showing un-oriental-like excitement, said, “Mendlesohn’s bringing the others out of the cold.”
The captain said, “We’re emerging.”
They came out in the planetary system of a sun remarkably like Sol, and within reasonable distance of a planet most remarkably similar to Earth.
The captain muttered, “The coordinates were as perfect as any I’ve ever seen. Much better, in fact.”
Phil Birdman said, “We told you, those little aliens were far and gone in advance of us. Evidently in interplanetary navigation as well as elsewhere.”
Rita Daniels and Ensign Richardson, both looking a bit green about the gills, came into the compartment, cups of some steaming broth in hand.
The captain, his eyes magnetized to the large screen whiph took up a full half of one control compartment wall, threw a lever. Richardson put down his cup and slid into a control chair, so did Takashi.
The captain said to Ronny Bronston, “Well?” Ronny shrugged. “Why put it off? Let’s go closer.” He had an afterthought and said, “You people have some method of detecting any craft down below using nuclear propulsion, haven’t you?”
“Of course. It’s part of the equipment utilized to locate possible wrecks of spacecraft, which have crashed.”
“Could you locate the Baron’s ship, or fleet, as the case may be?”
Volos frowned. “Why do you think he’s here? There are hundreds of star systems on that chart.”
“I’m not sure he is,” Ronny told him. “But this is the nearest of them all. Why should he go further, if he’s in a hurry?”
Rita snapped, “I demand to be put in instant communication with my uncle!”
She was universally ignored, even by young Richardson.
“We can detect him easy enough,” Volos said. “But how can we tell if it’s him, rather than one of these Dawnworld craft? Although I suppose it’s possible that they no longer use nuclear power.”
Richardson turned and stared at him. “Has he talked you into believing that jetsam, sir?”
“I saw a starship at least a thousand times larger than anything in United Planets,” his skipper told him without inflection. “Mr. Richardson, and you others, consider yourselves under the command of Citizens Bronston and Birdman. Countess Wyler, if that is your correct name, you attempted to confound me. Please keep in mind that I am captain of this vessel, no matter who your uncle may be. I expect the respect and cooperation of everyone aboard.”