“You would steal everything, then, through the whole cycle, as always you have done,” said he who spoke for them. “It shall not be. We must have those resources, when great toil is coming upon us. Do not forget, we keep our guns.”
The record included the back-and-forth interpretation of Ridenour’s men at either end, so Flandry followed the bitter argument in Kursovikian. Hauksberg could not, and grew restless. After a few minutes, he said, “Most int’restin’, but s’pose you tell me what’s goin’ on.”
“A summary was prepared by our station in the Chain,” Ridenour said. He nicked a switch. In the screen appeared a lagoon where sunlight glittered on wavelets and trees rustled behind a wide white beach: heartbreakingly beautiful. It was seen from the cabin of a waterboat, where a man with dark-rimmed eyes sat. He gave date and topic, and stated:
“Both factions continue to assert exclusive rights to the archipelago fishing grounds. Largely by shading their translations, our teams have managed to prevent irrevocable loss of temper, but no compromise is yet in sight. We shall continue to press for an equitable arrangement. Success is anticipated, though not for a considerable time.”
Ridenour switched off. “You see, my lord?” he said. “We can’t simply load these people aboard spaceships. We have to determine which of several possible planets are most suitable for them; and we have to prepare them, both in organization and education. Under ideal conditions, the psychic and cultural shock will still be terrible. Groundlaying will take years. Meanwhile, both races have to maintain themselves.”
“Squabblin’ over somethin’ that’ll be a whiff of gas in half a decade? Are such idiots worth savin’?”
“They’re not idiots, my lord. But our news, that their world is under a death sentence, has been shattering. Most of them will need a long while to adapt, to heal the wound, before they can think about it rationally. Many never will. And my lord, no matter how logical one believes he is, no matter how sophisticated he claims to be, he stays an animal. His forebrain is nothing but the handmaiden of instinct. Let’s not look down on these Starkadians. If we and the Merseians, we big flashy space-conquering races, had any better sense, there’d be no war between us.”
“There isn’t,” Hauksberg said.
“That remains to be seen, my lord.”
Hauksberg flushed. “Thank you for your show,” he said coldly. “I’ll mention it in my report.”
Ridenour pleaded. “If your Lordship would stress the need for more trained personnel here—You’ve seen a little bit of what needs doing in this little bit of the planet. Ahead of us is the whole sphere, millions of individuals, thousands of societies. Many aren’t even known to us, not so much as names, only blank spots on the map. But those blank spots are filled with living, thinking, feeling beings. We have to reach them, save them. We won’t get them all, we can’t, but each that we do rescue is one more justification for mankind’s existence. Which God knows, my lord, needs every justification it can find.”
“Eloquent,” Hauksberg said. “His Majesty’s government’ll have to decide how big a bureaucratic empire it wants to create for the benefit of some primitives. Out o’ my department.” He got up. Ridenour did too. “Good day.”
“Good day, my lord,” the xenologist said. “Thank you for calling. Oh. Ensign Flandry. What’d you want?”
“I came to say good-bye, sir.” Flandry stood at attention. “My transport leaves in a few hours.”
“Well, good-bye, then. Good luck.” Ridenour went so far as to come shake hands. But even before Hauksberg, with Flandry behind, was out the door, Ridenour was back at his desk.
“Let’s take a stroll beyond town,” Hauksberg said. “Want to stretch my legs. No, beside me. We’ve things to discuss boy.”
“Yes, sir.”
Nothing further was said until they halted in a meadow of long silvery quasigrass. A breeze slid from the glaciers where mountains dreamed. A pair of wings cruised overhead. Were every last sentient Starkadian rescued, Flandry thought, they would be no more than the tiniest fraction of the life which joyed on this world.
Hauksberg’s cloak flapped. He drew it about him. “Well,” he said, looking steadily at the other. “We meet again, eh?”
Flandry made himself give stare for stare. “Yes sir I trust the remainder of my lord’s stay on Merseia was pleasant.”
Hauksberg uttered a laugh. “You are shameless! Will go far indeed, if no one shoots you first. Yes, I may say Councillor Brechdan and I had some rather int’restin’ talks after the word came from here.”
“I … I understand you agreed to, uh, say the space battle was only due to both commanders mistaking their orders.”
“Right. Merseia was astonished as us to learn about the rogue after our forces found it by accident.” Hauksberg’s geniality vanished. He seized Flandry’s arm with unexpected force and said sternly: “Any information to the contrary is a secret of state. Revealin’ it to anyone, ever so much as hintin’ at it, will be high treason. Is that clear?”
“Yes, my lord. I’ve been briefed.”
“And’s to your benefit, too,” Hauksberg said in a milder voice. “Keepin’ the secret necessarily involves quashin’ the charges against you. The very fact that they were ever brought, that anything very special happened after we reached Merseia, goes in the ultrasecret file also. You’re safe, my boy.”
Flandry put his hands behind his back, to hide how they doubled into fists. He’d have given ten years, off this end of his life, to smash that smiling face. Instead he must say, “Is my lord so kind as to add his personal pardon?”
“Oh, my, yes!” Hauksberg beamed and clapped his shoulder. “You did absolutely right. For absolutely the wrong reasons, to be sure, but by pure luck you accomplished my purpose for me, peace with Merseia. Why should I carry a grudge?” He winked. “Regardin” a certain lady, nothin’ between friends, eh? Forgotten.”
Flandry could not play along. “But we have no peace!” he exploded.
“Hey? Now, now, realize you’ve been under strain and so forth, but—”
“My lord, they were planning to destroy us. How can we let them go without even a scolding?”
“Ease down. I’m sure they’d no such intention. It was a weapon to use against us if we forced ’em to. Nothin’ else. If we’d shown a genuine desire to cooperate, they’d’ve warned us in ample time.”
“How can you say that?” Flandry choked. “Haven’t you read any history? Haven’t you listened to Merseian speeches, looked at Merseian books, seen our dead and wounded come back from meeting Merseians in space? They want us out of the universe!”
Hauksberg’s nostrils dilated. “That will do, Ensign. Don’t get above yourself. And spare me the spewed-back propaganda. The full story of this incident is bein’ suppressed precisely because it’d be subject to your kind of misinterpretation and so embarrass future relations between the governments. Brechdan’s already shown his desire for peace, by withdrawin’ his forces in toto from Starkad.”
“Throwing the whole expensive job of rescue onto us. Sure.”
“I told you to control yourself, Ensign. You’re not quite old enough to set Imperial policy.”
Flandry swallowed a foul taste. “Apologies, my lord.”
Hauksberg regarded him for a minute. Abruptly the viscount smiled. “No. Now I was gloatin’. Apologies to you. Really, I’m not a bad sort. And you mean well too. One day you’ll be wiser. Let’s shake on that.”
Flandry saw no choice.
Hauksberg winked again. “B’lieve I’ll continue my stroll alone. If you’d like to say good-bye to Donna d’Io, she’s in the guest suite.”