Tomys nodded. "Of course. Play the recording for your crew, by all means. I'll be contacting you before you land on Wayoff."
"Just a moment," Jirik interrupted what sounded like a dismissal. "There's something else. The reason that we're lifting so soon is to keep Cony from finding out about Telson's doublecross on his own territory. But, he's bound to find out eventually that his spy didn't spy. Do you have any suggestions?"
Tomys looked thoughtful. "I'd say play it straight. You had no idea that Telson was a spy. She was standoffish, so you don't know anything about her other than what was in her record. Be surprised if Cony, or one of his henchmen mention Telson. All you know is that she signed off on Alpha, looking for a berth headed as far from the rim as possible. I'd also suggest that you make no attempt to prevent the terrorists from finding out at your next port. What is it, by the way?"
Jirik chuckled. "If you wanted our itinerary, why didn't you just ask? Our next port is Farout, then Outback, Border, Varner's World, Beyond, Yonder, Toolie, and finally Wayoff. All Right?"
The agent nodded, and Jirik hurried back to the Lass. Less than an hour later, they lifted off.
As soon as they were safely supralight, the crew gathered on the mess deck, as was their custom. Jirik recounted the entire story for Valt's benefit. He then played the recording of his last meeting with Tomys, and asked for opinions.
Bran, as always, was cautious. "I don't know, Captain. He admitted that he can't force us to go along with this secret agent stuff. We could tell him to go do obscene things with himself."
Jirik shrugged. "That's true, Bran. If I could be sure that we could keep ourselves alive on Wayoff, that's just what I'd tell him to do. But, his story makes sense. With the weapon specs we've brought, he can arm as many Rim Tramps as he wants to. He has no shortage of fighting ships. But without a C-and-C ship, they wouldn't be coordinated. An Alliance task force could cut them to ribbons.
"Don't forget, it's over a century since Admiral Kedron defeated an Empire Battle group with rim tramps and asteroid boats. Both the Empire and Alliance militaries have been designing and refining techniques to combat those ships for all that time. Even so, with good C-and-C, a hundred or so armed Rim Tramps might still be able to give a Battle Group a good fight.
"With C-and-C and a few good strategists and tacticians, I doubt that any force that the Alliance could muster could defeat them utterly. That would take nearly the entire Alliance Navy; and if they pulled that many ships from other sectors, then those sectors would be at risk. No, I think that Tomys has figured it out, and I think that this Cony character is getting some damned good strategic and tactical advice. Tor, what do you think?"
Tor was still young enough to be impressed by intrigue and adventure. He was heartily in favor of playing along with Tomys. He was flushed with excitement.
It was Valt who surprised Jirik. Since his return to the Lass, Jirik had noticed changes in the Astrogator. His ordeal seemed to have revealed heretofore-unseen depths in Valt. His mouth had assumed a grim hardness that had been absent in the shallow hedonist that had been their shipmate. He smiled less, and had become more serious in his attitudes and outlook. Now, when Jirik asked for his opinion, the change became obvious.
"Those bastards tried to kill me," Valt replied in a tone whose viciousness shocked the others, "I want to kill them back." His formerly licentious grin was suddenly predatory. "And I won't just try," he continued. "I say let's do it. If they do try to kill me again on Wayoff, I'll be ready!"
Jirik sighed. He hoped that Valt would get over it. The old Valt was shallow and hedonistic, but this one was dangerous. He made a mental note to talk with Valt as soon as possible. He'd known a few kill-crazy men in the Navy. The Navy tried to weed them out as soon as possible, and Jirik decided that he'd have to do the same if Valt's attitude was more than surface-deep. He and the others would have to pool their resources and buy out Valt's share. It wouldn't be cheap, but it would be better than to have a crewman for whom others' lives had little value. In the meantime, he reminded himself, Valt was a voting shareholder, and had voted.
Jirik's two votes could swing the decision either way, but he preferred to have the crew reach a consensus. "Well, let's everyone think about it, and talk about it among ourselves. I doubt if Tomys will brace us for an answer on Farout, so we should have two supralight periods to decide. We'll call a vote before breakout at Outback."
"One thing we will have to deal with on Farout," Bran interjected, "is Cony and his spies. I wouldn't be surprised if Cony wasn't on his way to Farout right now. Do we follow Tomys' suggestion and let him find out about Via's double-cross, then play dumb?"
Jirik shrugged. "Does anyone have any other suggestions? I'm afraid that if we keep his agents off the Lass for too long, he'll get suspicious; and if he gets suspicious, we could get dead."
Valt grinned that predatory grin. "Or someone else could!"
Bran sighed wearily. "Give it a rest, Valt. As I recall, you're not exactly a warrior; but even if you were, the rest of us don't share your taste for blood."
Valt's unsettling grin didn't slip. "Well, you might be surprised. I had a lot of time on my hands in the hospital. I've read over fifty volumes on weapons and combat techniques. Then, for physical therapy, I studied hand-to-hand and unarmed combat techniques. I also studied armed combat. I've qualified as 'Expert' with blaster, laser and needler. I'd just started with the vibroblade when you guys came back, but I'm familiar with the principles and tactics, and I'm practicing every day. I'm not the wimp that I was before."
"Not on my ship, you're not!" Jirik thundered. His rage was obvious in his reddened features. "If you've got a vibroblade in your kit, I want it locked up with the other weapons! There's a good reason why personal weapons aren't permitted on board ship, and I'm not about to have you get pissed off at Bran, or Tor, or me, and slice one or all of us up! If that 'blade's in your kit, you get your ass to your cabin right now and bring it to me!"
Valt's bravado wilted somewhat before Jirik's rage, but he began to protest. "Hell, Captain, I . . . '
"Shut up!" Jirik roared. "I don't want to hear it. Get it. Now. Then, see me in my cabin in an hour! We've got to talk!"
Valt rose and stamped out. With a visible effort, Jirik controlled his anger. Finally, as the silence began to lengthen, he said in a normal tone, "All right. The question remains, do we hinder Cony's men on Farout, or not?"
Chapter 14
Tor was staring openmouthed, stunned. When he noticed the others looking at him, he composed himself and said, "Uh . . . I d-don't see where we have a choice, sir. I mean, They're going to find out sooner or later. It might as well be sooner."
Jirik nodded. "I agree. I think that we'll have to let them aboard on Farout. Just remember to play dumb about Via. She was nice enough, but kept to herself; that kind of stuff. They won't bother Valt, because he wasn't with us. It's the three of us that have to keep our fingers on our buttons.
"Remember, these people aren't going to be wearing signs that say 'Terrorist'. They could be anyone; even a beautiful woman. A word of advice, Tor. If some woman suddenly finds you irresistable, be suspicious. In fact, watch out for anyone who's overly friendly."
Bran sat up. "On the other hand, they may just decide that it's easier to kidnap one of us, and question him. If so, they'd probably find out everything, and we'd be in a lot of trouble."
Tor was outraged. "I wouldn't talk!"
Jirik smiled gently. "You mean that you wouldn't want to talk. Anyone can make anyone talk with the right drugs, or a brain scanner. Yes, I know, brain scanners are illegal. So are the drugs we're talking about. Do you think that that will stop Cony and his terrorists? I suggest that we all stay aboard as much as possible. If you must go into town, go in pairs, and check out a weapon before you go."