VI

The ship used by Selan in her trips through the system was little

larger than the usual scout class but it had been completely refitted

for her purposes. She'd had a special acceleration couch built in to

allow her to survive the stress of space travel. And Thane noted that

the large visiscreen would be ideal for watching the battle. And the

communications system was larger than usual. It might do for his

purpose.

They stayed well back from the restricted area where the whole Onzarian

fleet was orbited. On the screen images appeared--twenty-three Class I

cruisers, each with its own fleet of cruiser escorts, scouts, disrupter

carriers, tenders and screen amplifiers. Swarms of independent tactical

squadrons. Controlling all of them, ready to put them into instant

action, was the battle-control cruiser, with its tracers, its receivers,

its computers, its nearly automatic message center--and Candar and his

staff.

Thane turned to the tracer that had been installed. Selan was by his

side. He switched on its galactic screen. The Darzent marshalling was

now almost complete. A few flashes of light still crossed the screen,

crossing countless light years at each jump, pausing, and then a vault

through more light years. As Thane and Selan watched, the flashes

changed direction. The marshalling was complete, and the assembled

might of Darzent was on its way. Thane found it hard to believe that

even the fleet waiting before him could cope with all the force of

Darzent.

The Darzent fleets had started from points spanning the whole Galaxy.

With each flash of lights they converged, arrowing toward the Onzarian

Confluence. Thane could imagine the watchers at similar screens in

each ship of the battle fleet. Eyes becoming, grimmer, nervous smiles

appearing and disappearing on faces, hands clenching on instruments.

And the waiting.

The flashing lights approached closer. The lead group of lights

appeared, ten light years from the tiny orange circle marking the

confluence. There was a pause--somewhat less than a second--and the

lights appeared on the circle. Thane spun around to the visiscreen.

The lead battle squadron of the Darzent Fleet had appeared there

simultaneously, surfaced in space. Seven of the battle cruisers fired

as one, and were joined by all the firepower of their escort ships.

The disrupter blasts, joining together, created a blinding sun in

empty space. It was there. It was gone. And then just dead, empty

space again, but without the slightest hint that the lead squadron of

the mighty Darzent Fleet had ever been there. Thane quickly looked

over at the galactic map to see if they could have managed to get back

into warp-line drive. No, there were no lights below the circle of the

confluence. But another light was approaching from above, still ten

light years away. Thane turned back to the visiscreen just as the

second division of Onzar's fleet opened fire on the surfacing Darzent

forces. Again utter annihilation.

The battle continued, with more surfacing squadrons, more eruption,

disappearing suns. Thane turned away, losing interest in the

well-planned slaughter. Here, a parsec away from the Onzar system,

they were well outside the intersystems communication jam. Selan's

horrified attention was still completely on the battle. Thane stepped

back into the communications section of the scout and flicked the

powerful space set into life. Static from the now almost constant

disrupter blasts ripped and crackled across the hum of the set. There

was just a chance, he considered, that he could get the relay station

at Kadenar.

He worked rapidly, setting the frequency, the directional beam, the

gain control. It was only a question of time before the detector would

pick up the clear beam on the Onzar fleet, even in the midst of

battle. At last it came through.

Across space, the automatic code responder finally could be heard.

Thane gave his own code and said, "A direct to Garth. Top urgent."

"That code has been changed," the mechanical voice replied at once.

"Give current code."

"But I've been out of touch," Thane said, "and this must go through."

"That code has been changed," came the same, unvarying reply. "Give

current code."

It was no use. With the mechanical monitor working he'd never get

through. And of course they would have changed his code, after his

disappearance and reported death. He began to talk rapidly giving his

instructions. He couldn't get through to Garth, but there was the

chance that someone would see the recording in time to act. Damn the

mechanical efficiency of Liaison!

Now Selan was all he had to depend on. He started back to the forward

compartment hoping that Selan had at last made her decision. The

battle was still going on and lights were still flashing down the

galactic screen to sudden, unwitting death. The bulk of the Darzent

fleet had been destroyed and Thane saw that Candar had changed his

tactics. Now, instead of disrupters, he was using concentrated,

high-power Stoltz artillery.

After destroying the mass of their power, Candar was going to bring in

the staff ships, with the fleet admirals as captives. It would

immobilize whatever power Darzent had in reserve while Candar turned

on the Allied Systems. Already, confused and blinded Darzent ships

were drifting in space, with Onzar wrecker tugs swarming in on them.

Thane turned to the old priestess Selan. "Don't you see the crisis

that is shaping? Don't you see what Candar intends? When this is done

and he has re-powered, he'll turn on the Allied Systems. They'll fight

back of course, but the war will make a shambles of the whole Galaxy.

Don't you see?"

She turned slowly and looked at him. Her eyes seemed older, much more

tired than they had before. "I have seen it, Roger Thane, and this

cannot be repeated. It will not happen again. It is against all my

training and belief and the tenets of the faith, but I, as Priestess

of Keltar, will take it on myself to attack the temporal power."

* * * * *

Thane felt the sweat on his hands, and his smile was stiff though it

was certainly heartfelt. So much depended on this woman's decision and

on her performance from now on. Without the aid of Liaison to depend

on it was up to this woman to prevent galactic war.

They started back for Onzar II and Keltar at once. They would have a

good start on Candar while he was engaged in mopping up the Darzent

fleet. Thane felt sure that Candar would stay to confront the

high-ranking captives and to gloat over them. On the other hand Candar

would not delay too long. He would be back to announce his victory and

to prepare for the attack on the Allied Systems.

At the landing port outside Keltar, Selan's automatic anti-grav was

waiting. It took them up over the outskirts of the bleak wintry city

and towards its center. As they reached the solidly built-up area

Thane could see the dim outlines of the old city wall beneath them.

Not so many years ago, as time went in the Galaxy, that wall had been

a vital protection against the spears of the hill men. And now

Onzarians were in space, blasting away the power of a third of the

Galaxy. But still, the descendents of the hill men, the descendents of

the plains dweller, the city builders, were living here, underneath

him.

In the midst of their technological revolution they were still living

in their ancient superstitions. Still the old awe of the Word of the

matriarchal, matrilineal church. Still the compulsion to have their

little gold symbols of rank sanctified and made real. Still the....

Thane paused in his thoughts as he saw flames leaping into the night

sky from a blast furnace, producing some of the finest alloys in the

Galaxy. It was still the same, he hoped.

In another moment they were over the towering white shaft of the

communications center. Then they slowly let down. Thane thought that

Candar's constant suspicion, his unending compulsion for infinite

control, direct control, was playing into their hands here. The

communications center was exactly that. It controlled all electronic

communications with the capitol system, and could easily tie in with

subject systems. But how much time did they have? Thane didn't know.

With luck, they'd have a few vital moments for the voice of the Holy

Church to go out over the planets.

The anti-grav settled gently on the upper terrace. Thane helped Selan

out into the stinging cold of the Onzar night. Just inside the gloomy

passage to the grav-well a harsh voice sounded. "Halt!"

They stopped. Thane made out a uniformed man, his hand on his holster.

"We have come at the call of Astrid Reine," Thane said. "She wishes

our assistance."

"All who come for the thirteenth level must have the code word. Give

it and you will pass."

Thane's right arm went up and the side of his stiff hand flashed down,

hitting the sentry between his neck and shoulder. The man's pistol was

almost aimed at Thane when Thane hit. The guard relaxed and gently

fell into an inert heap on the deck. Thane bent and took the blaster

from the guard's inert fingers. He looked a moment and found a Stoltz.

He took that, too. He straightened up and turned to Selan. "Sorry," he

said. "We can't risk an examination now, and there's no time to lose.

He'll be all right." Thane picked up a hand-control from the ledge in

the sentry's cubicle and led Selan to the well.

They dropped gently, interminably. At last they reached "13." From the

distance they had dropped, Thane judged they were far underground if

this grav-well was timed as most were. He held Selan's arm and stopped

their descent with his hand control.

They stepped out into a darkened corridor. A sentry was waiting. There

was no 'halt!' this time. Without a signal from the roof they were

automatically enemies. The blast echoed along the corridor. In the dim

light the sentry's aim had not been good but Thane felt the first

sting in his right arm. He aimed and fired the blaster with his left

hand, and thus solved the problem of the sentry. They went down the

corridor.

Thane pushed open the first lighted door with his foot, his right arm

hanging useless. The blaster was ready in his left. Astrid looked up,

sitting at a table. She ran to him.

"Roger, you did make it. You can't know how hard this waiting has

been. I was sure you would make it but I've gone through days without

hearing a thing."

He held her clumsily with his left arm, the hand still gripping the

blaster, and winced when she pressed against his right shoulder.

"We've made it so far, Astrid," he said, "but the biggest job is still

ahead. How long can we keep the channels open for a newscast?"

Astrid stepped back, puzzled. "As far as the power goes, indefinitely,

I believe. Of course there haven't been any newscasts since I've been

here. All the power has been used for the Tracer. But it's easy enough

to switch over. And all the other planet stations and systems stations

are primarily just amplifiers and transmitters for this one."

"If the broadcasts haven't been on the air, what about the receivers?

Will anyone be listening if we put a speech on?"

Astrid smiled. "We can take care of that. Candar installed a system

for use on his own speeches. Each receiver automatically goes on when

he is speaking."

"That's it, then," Thane said. "Switch all the power from the Tracer

to the newscast beam. Put the Priestess on the circuit and I'll try to

keep it open." He turned to Selan. "How long will you need?"

"Ten minutes will be enough," she said with determination.

"Let's make it fifteen to be sure," Thane said. "I'll be on the roof

doing what I can to hold off whoever shows up. Meet me there in

fifteen minutes if everything is all right, or come at once if

anything at all goes wrong."

Astrid noticed that he had been hurt. "Your arm, Roger! What happened?

Can I do anything for it?" The deeply concerned look in her eyes made

him feel that he was a little more to her than just a part of an

underground conspiracy.

"The arm's all right," he said. "A sentry grazed it. I'll see you." He

turned away and started back for the roof.