There were few coherent memories of the ride. Some things stood out
sharply like the spaceship-sized lump of burning scoria that had plunged
into a lake near them, showering the line with hot drops of water. But
mostly it was just a seemingly endless ride, with Jason still too weak
to care much about it. By dawn the danger area was behind them and the
march had slowed to a walk. The animals had vanished as the quake was
left behind, going their own ways, still in silent armistice.
The peace of mutually shared danger was over, Jason found that out when
they stopped to rest and eat. He and Rhes went to sit on the soft grass,
near a fallen tree. A wild dog had arrived there first. It lay under the
log, muscles tensed, the ruddy morning light striking a red glint from
its eyes. Rhes faced it, not three meters away, without moving a muscle.
He made no attempt to reach one of his weapons or to call for help.
Jason stood still as well, hoping the Pyrran knew what he was doing.
With no warning at all the dog sprang straight at them. Jason fell
backwards as Rhes pushed him aside. The Pyrran dropped at the same
time--only now his hand held the long knife, yanked from the sheath
strapped to his thigh. With unseen speed the knife came up, the dog
twisted in midair, trying to bite it. Instead it sank in behind the
dog's forelegs, the beast's own weight tearing a deadly gaping wound the
length of its body. It was still alive when it hit the ground, but Rhes
was astraddle it, pulling back the bony-plated head to cut the soft
throat underneath.
The Pyrran carefully cleaned his knife on the dead animal's fur, then
returned it to the sheath. "They're usually no trouble," he said
quietly, "but it was excited. Probably lost the rest of the pack in the
quake." His actions were the direct opposite of the city Pyrrans. He had
not looked for trouble nor started the fight. Instead he had avoided it
as long as he could. But when the beast charged it had been neatly and
efficiently dispatched. Now, instead of gloating over his victory, he
seemed troubled over an unnecessary death.
It made sense. Everything on Pyrrus made sense. Now he knew how the
deadly planetary battle had started--and he knew how it could be ended.
All the deaths had _not_ been in vain. Each one had helped him along the
road a little more towards the final destination. There was just one
final thing to be done.
Rhes was watching him now, and he knew they shared the same thoughts.
"Explain yourself," Rhes said. "What did you mean when you said we could
wipe out the junkmen and get our freedom?"
Jason didn't bother to correct the misquote, it was best they consider
him a hundred per cent on their side.
"Get the others together and I'll tell you. I particularly want to see
Naxa and any other talkers who are here."
* * * * *
They gathered quickly when the word was passed. All of them knew that
the junkman had been killed to save this off-worlder, that their hope of
salvation lay with him. Jason looked at the crowd of faces turned
towards him and reached for the right words to tell them what had to be
done. It didn't help to know that many of them would be killed doing it.
"The small star ship can't be used," he said. "You all saw that it was
ruined beyond repair. But that was the easy way out. The hard way is
still left. Though some of you may die, in the long run it will be the
best solution.
"We are going to invade the city, break through the perimeter. I know
how it can be done ..."
[Illustration]
A mutter of sound spread across the crowd. Some of them looked excited,
happy with the thought of killing their hereditary enemies. Others
stared at Jason as if he were mad. A few were dazed at the magnitude of
the thought, this carrying of the battle to the stronghold of the
heavily armed enemy. They quieted when Jason raised his hand.
"I know it sounds impossible," he said. "But let me explain. Something
must be done--and now is the time to do it. The situation can only get
worse from now on. The city Pyrr ... the junkmen can get along without
your food, their concentrates taste awful but they sustain life. But
they are going to turn against you in every way they can. No more metals
for your tools or replacements for your electronic equipment. Their
hatred will probably make them seek out your farms and destroy them from
the ship. All of this won't be comfortable--and there will be worse to
come. In the city they are losing their war against this planet. Each
year there are less of them, and some day they will all be dead. Knowing
how they feel I am sure they will destroy their ship first, and the
entire planet as well, if that is possible."
"How can we stop them?" someone called out.
"By hitting _now_," Jason answered. "I know all the details of the city
and I know how the defenses are set up. Their perimeter is designed to
protect them from animal life, but we could break through it if we were
really determined."
"What good would that do?" Rhes snapped. "We crack the perimeter and
they draw back--then counter-attack in force. How can we stand against
their weapons?"
"We won't have to. Their spaceport touches the perimeter, and I know the
exact spot where the ship stands. That is the place where we will break
through. There is no formal guard on the ship and only a few people in
the area. We will capture the ship. Whether we can fly it or not is
unimportant. Who controls the ship controls Pyrrus. Once there we
threaten to destroy it if they don't meet our terms. They have the
choice of mass suicide or co-operation. I hope they have the brains to
co-operate."
His words shocked them into silence for an instant, then they surged
into a wave of sound. There was no agreement, just excitement, and Rhes
finally brought them to order.
"Quiet!" he shouted. "Wait until Jason finishes before you decide. We
still haven't heard how this proposed invasion is to be accomplished."
"The plan I have depends on the talkers." Jason said. "Is Naxa there?"
He waited until the fur-wrapped man had pushed to the front. "I want to
know more about the talkers, Naxa. I know you can speak to doryms and
the dogs here--but what about the wild animals? Can you make them do
what you want?"
"They're animals ... course we can talk t'them. Th'more talkers, th'more
power. Make 'em do just what we want."
"Then the attack will work," Jason said excitedly. "Could you get your
talkers all on one side of the city--the opposite side from the
spaceport--and stir the animals up? Make them attack the perimeter?"
"Could we!" Naxa shouted, carried away by the idea. "We'd bring in
animals from all over, start th'biggest attack they ev'r saw!"
"Then that's it. Your talkers will launch the attack on the far side of
the perimeter. If you keep out of sight, the guards will have no idea
that it is anything more than an animal attack. I've seen how they work.
As an attack mounts they call for reserves inside the city and drain men
away from the other parts of the perimeter. At the height of the battle,
when they have all their forces committed across the city, I'll lead the
attack that will break through and capture the ship. That's the plan and
it's going to work."
Jason sat down then, half fell down, drained of strength. He lay and
listened as the debate went back and forth, Rhes ordering it and keeping
it going. Difficulties were raised and eliminated. No one could find a
basic fault with the plan. There were plenty of flaws in it, things that
might go wrong, but Jason didn't mention them. These people wanted his
idea to work and they were going to make it work.
It finally broke up and they moved away. Rhes came over to Jason.
"The basics are settled," he said. "All here are in agreement. They are
spreading the word by messenger to all the talkers. The talkers are the
heart of the attack, and the more we have, the better it will go off. We
don't dare use the screens to call them, there is a good chance that the
junkmen can intercept our messages. It will take five days before we are
ready to go ahead."
"I'll need all of that time if I'm to be any good," Jason said. "Now
let's get some rest."