Wayne walked toward him slowly, still watching the robots.
Slowly, Steve drew his sword from his belt and shifted his shield on his arm to make it more comfortable. He doubted that Wayne would be any match for him in hand-to-hand combat; after all, Wayne worked in offices and laboratories as a roboticist. Steve was younger, in better shape, and had practiced with his sword and shield in Lucius’s troop.
Wayne had not taken a helmet. His head remained bare. As he approached, a light breeze tossed his hair slightly.
Seeing that Wayne had neither a helmet nor any armor, Steve realized his own disadvantage. He really did not want to hurt Wayne. That did not mean he could expect the same consideration in return.
Wayne stopped about three meters away. He watched Steve silently for a moment. Then he glanced again at the motionless robots.
“Hi, Wayne.” Steve grinned and spoke casually, as though nothing unusual was about to happen.
Wayne scowled. “Are they really going to let us fight? I see Hunter can’t help you, but what about MC 6?”
“I told MC 6 to shut down his sight and hearing so I could talk to Hunter. And that’s the way we want it. If he interfered with us, he might also get away again. But we don’t have to fight. Let’s talk about this for a change.”
“Forget it. Step aside and let me have my own creation.”
“You know I can’t. Why don’t you and Jane help me take care of Hunter? I don’t think anybody wants to ruin your career. Hunter can help you work out the situation with the Oversight Committee,”
Wayne’s face contorted with anger. He raised his sword and ran at Steve.
Startled by the suddenness of Wayne’s mood shift, Steve raised his shield just in time to take a hard sword blow. The power of it hurt his arm and he felt a surge of excitement. In return, he swung his own sword in a high, downward slash.
Wayne blocked the swing with his own shield, shifting to Steve’s left. They exchanged rhythmic blows, each one catching the other’s sword on his shield. Wayne kept moving to one side, toward MC 6, and Steve shuffled laterally to stay between them.
Steve realized that this could go on for a long time. Wayne would eventually tire before he would, but Steve did not want to wait. If anyone else came back this way, most likely Artorius’s riders, the entire situation would become harder to handle.
Wayne swung his sword another time, the same way he had done before. Steve caught it on his shield again. Instead of just swinging his own, however, Steve planted his feet and took another step forward, shoving his shield outward like a weapon itself.
Caught by surprise, Wayne stumbled backward. His arms flailed out to each side as he tried to get his balance. He was momentarily exposed.
Steve raised his sword high, but brought it down with the butt end of the handle first. He hit Wayne on the top of the head with the pommel, as hard as he dared. Then he dropped his sword and pushed Wayne with his free hand.
Wayne fell onto his back. Steve wrenched the sword out of his hand and tossed it away. Then he made a fist, ready to punch Wayne if necessary.
When Steve saw Wayne lying limply on the grass, he relaxed slightly.
“How’s your head?” Steve asked cautiously.
“Leave me alone,” Wayne muttered, wincing. He made no move to get up.
Steve decided Wayne was not seriously injured. He stood up and dropped his shield on the ground. Then he picked up both swords and jogged back to Hunter so that Wayne could not reach the swords by a sudden move. Steve dropped the swords on the ground and tapped Hunter on the arm three times.
“I have turned on my hearing and vision again,” said Hunter. “What has transpired?”
“Good news,” said Steve. “Wayne is lying nearby with a minor headache. MC 6 remains in custody; instruct him to turn on his senses again.”
“I am fully functional again,” MC 6 said almost immediately.
“Listen carefully,” said Steve. “Hunter, explain to him all the First Law imperatives involved in the danger of changing history. Do it fast, by radio again.”
“Done,” said Hunter.
“You agree this is a serious First Law problem?” Steve asked MC 6.
“Yes.”
“Then I instruct you, with that First Law imperative in mind, to help me gather everyone who has come to this time from our own and take them back safely. Acknowledge.”
“Acknowledged.”
“Go see if Wayne Nystrom, over there, needs any first aid. Don’t let him get away, though. Keep him here with us.”
MC 6 jogged over to Wayne.
“Hunter, call Ishihara. If he answers, tell him that Wayne has been slightly hurt and that he and MC 6 are both in our custody. Wayne’s mission has ended, so Ishihara’s First Law imperative now is to bring Jane back to us.”
“Ishihara has responded. I am conveying your mission as I speak to you. He agrees, pending his judgment that we have told the truth.”
“What’s he going to do?”
“He will approach cautiously. Once he sees that we have Wayne and MC 6 with us, he will be convinced.”
Steve could not hear any more sounds from the battle. “Hunter, can you hear the battle? Is it still going on?”
“I hear distant hoofbeats, most of them still scattering away from us. Most of the riders are pursuing their fleeing enemy. A few have regrouped. Artorius clearly won another victory. No one is near except for the footsteps of Ishihara and the hoofbeats of the mule, about ten meters behind you.”
Steve turned and saw Jane riding the mule next to Ishihara. Deciding that Hunter was safe for the moment, Steve ran toward Jane. She slipped off the mule, landing on her feet in front of him. He started to throw his arms around her, but was not sure he should, so he stopped.
“So, you’re safe,” he said, feeling awkward.
“Yeah.” She laughed, looking at him expectantly for a moment. Then she looked past him to Hunter. “Ishihara relayed Hunter’s report of his condition.”
“MC 6 says he can shield the problem area, whatever it is.” Steve glanced over her shoulder at Ishihara. “Are you sure of Ishihara’s loyalty now?”
“Yes. I grilled him on the subject when he told me that you and Hunter had Wayne and MC 6.”
“Okay. You’d know better than I would.”
“I will help everyone return safely,” said Ishihara. “However, I hope that Wayne’s career is not destroyed. That would harm him.”
“No one has ever wanted that to happen,” said Jane.
Wayne pushed himself up to a sitting position, rubbing the top of his head where Steve had hit him. MC 6 stood over him. They both looked at Ishihara and Jane.
“Ishihara, MC 6 must make a repair for Hunter,” said Jane. “If we can trust you not to accept any arguments from Wayne about the First Law, then I can allow you to watch over him.”
“Aw, shut up,” Wayne muttered. “I’ve had enough. You got MC 6 and all the rest of them. I just want to go home.”
“Well, Ishihara?” Jane demanded. “Acknowledge that our First Law arguments supersede anything Wayne has ever told you.”
“Under the new conditions that pertain, I acknowledge this.”
“Good.”
“You stay with Wayne, then,” said Steve. “MC 6, tome over to Hunter and make the repairs in communication with him.”
“Yes,” said MC 6, joining them.
“Are you going to need tools of any kind?” Jane asked.
“I will have to fashion some sort of precision tools,” said MC 6. He knelt by Hunter and moved aside a fold of Hunter’s tunic to examine the damage to Hunter’s shoulder. “I can use some material from Hunter’s body that has already been rendered waste matter by the damage.”
“Go ahead,” said Jane. “On your own judgment.”
“We will confer by radio link,” said Hunter.
Steve sat down next to MC 6, giving him plenty of room to move his arms as necessary. Jane sat down on his other side. They watched in silence as MC 6 carefully drew out a very thin piece of wire from Hunter’s wound and shaped it with his fingers. Then he picked up a slightly heavier piece of wire and shaped it, also. After that, he used them to manipulate tiny components inside Hunter’s shoulder; Steve did not know what any of them were.