"The I-A has no need to read minds," said Orne. "We rely on superior
mental prowess."
_"The marines are on their way,"_ hissed Stetson. _"We're coming in to
get you. I'm going to want to know how you guessed that one."_
"You are a weak fool like the others," gritted Tanub.
"It's too bad you formed your opinion of us by observing only the low
grades of the R&R," said Orne.
_"Easy, boy,"_ hissed Stetson. _"Don't pick a fight with him now.
Remember, his race is arboreal. He's probably as strong as an ape."_
"I could kill you where you sit!" grated Tanub.
"You write finish for your entire planet if you do," said Orne. "I'm not
alone. There are others listening to every word we say. There's a ship
overhead that could split open your planet with one bomb--wash it with
molten rock. It'd run like the glass you use for your buildings."
"You are lying!"
"We'll make you an offer," said Orne. "We don't really want to
exterminate you. We'll give you limited membership in the Galactic
Federation until you prove you're no menace to us."
_"Keep talking,"_ hissed Stetson. _"Keep him interested."_
"You dare insult me!" growled Tanub.
"You had better believe me," said Orne. "We--"
Stetson's voice interrupted him: _"Got it, Orne! They caught the_
Delphinus _on the ground right where you said it'd be! Blew the tubes
off it. Marines now mopping up."_
"It's like this," said Orne. "We already have recaptured the
_Delphinus_." Tanub's eyes went instinctively skyward. "Except for the
captured armament you still hold, you obviously don't have the weapons
to meet us," continued Orne. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be carrying that
rifle off the _Delphinus_."
"If you speak the truth, then we shall die bravely," said Tanub.
"No need for you to die," said Orne.
"Better to die than be slaves," said Tanub.
"We don't need slaves," said Orne. "We--"
"I cannot take the chance that you are lying," said Tanub. "I must kill
you now."
* * * * *
Orne's foot rested on the air sled control pedal. He depressed it.
Instantly, the sled shot skyward, heavy G's pressing them down into the
seats. The gun in Tanub's hands was slammed into his lap. He struggled
to raise it. To Orne, the weight was still only about twice that of his
home planet of Chargon. He reached over, took the rifle, found safety
belts, bound Tanub with them. Then he eased off the acceleration.
"We don't need slaves," said Orne. "We have machines to do our work.
We'll send experts in here, teach you people how to exploit your planet,
how to build good transportation facilities, show you how to mine your
minerals, how to--"
"And what do we do in return?" whispered Tanub.
"You could start by teaching us how you make superior glass," said Orne.
"I certainly hope you see things our way. We really don't want to have
to come down there and clean you out. It'd be a shame to have to blast
that city into little pieces."
Tanub wilted. Presently, he said: "Send me back. I will discuss this
with ... our council." He stared at Orne. "You I-A's are too strong. We
did not know."
* * * * *
In the wardroom of Stetson's scout cruiser, the lights were low, the
leather chairs comfortable, the green beige table set with a decanter of
Hochar brandy and two glasses.
Orne lifted his glass, sipped the liquor, smacked his lips. "For a while
there, I thought I'd never be tasting anything like this again."
Stetson took his own glass. "ComGO heard the whole thing over the
general monitor net," he said. "D'you know you've been breveted to
senior field man?"
"Ah, they've already recognized my sterling worth," said Orne.
The wolfish grin took over Stetson's big features. "Senior field men
last about half as long as the juniors," he said. "Mortality's
terrific?"
"I might've known," said Orne. He took another sip of the brandy.
Stetson flicked on the switch of a recorder beside him. "O.K. You can go
ahead any time."
"Where do you want me to start?"
"First, how'd you spot right away where they'd hidden the _Delphinus_?"
"Easy. Tanub's word for his people was _Grazzi_. Most races call
themselves something meaning _The People_. But in his tongue that's
_Ocheero_. _Grazzi_ wasn't on the translated list. I started working on
it. The most likely answer was that it had been adopted from another
language, and meant _enemy_."
"And _that_ told you where the _Delphinus_ was?"
"No. But it fitted my hunch about these Gienahns. I'd kind of felt from
the first minute of meeting them that they had a culture like the
Indians of ancient Terra."
"Why?"
"They came in like a primitive raiding party. The leader dropped right
onto the hood of my sled. An act of bravery, no less. Counting coup, you
see?"
"I guess so."
"Then he said he was High Path Chief. That wasn't on the language list,
either. But it was easy: _Raider Chief._ There's a word in almost every
language in history that means raider and derives from a word for road,
path or highway."
"Highwaymen," said Stetson.
"Raid itself," said Orne. "An ancient Terran language corruption of
road."
"Yeah, yeah. But where'd all this translation griff put--"
"Don't be impatient. Glass-blowing culture meant they were just out of
the primitive stage. That, we could control. Next, he said their moon
was _Chiranachuruso_, translated as _The Limb of Victory_. After that it
just fell into place."
"How?"
"The vertical-slit pupils of their eyes. Doesn't that mean anything to
you?"
"Maybe. What's it mean to you?"
"Night-hunting predator accustomed to dropping upon its victims from
above. No other type of creature ever has had the vertical slit. And
Tanub said himself that the _Delphinus_ was hidden in the best place in
all of their history. History? That'd be a high place. Dark, likewise.
Ergo: a high place on the darkside of their moon."
"I'm a pie-eyed greepus," whispered Stetson.