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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/24166-h.zip b/24166-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..afe4201 --- /dev/null +++ b/24166-h.zip diff --git a/24166-h/24166-h.htm b/24166-h/24166-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1036ae6 --- /dev/null +++ b/24166-h/24166-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1746 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Destroyers, by Randall Garrett. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + } + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + .u {text-decoration: underline;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Destroyers, by Gordon Randall Garrett + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Destroyers + +Author: Gordon Randall Garrett + +Release Date: January 4, 2008 [EBook #24166] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DESTROYERS *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Geetu Melwani, Bruce Albrecht and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + + + + +<h1>THE DESTROYERS</h1> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/illus1.png" width="600" height="532" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<h2>BY RANDALL GARRETT</h2> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Any war is made up of a horde of personal tragedies—but the +greater picture is the tragedy of the death of a way of life. For a +way of life—good, bad, or indifferent—exists because it is dearly +loved....</i></p></div> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/illus2.png" width="600" height="385" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<h3>Illustrated by van Dongen</h3> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p>Anketam stretched his arms out as though he were trying to embrace the +whole world. He pushed himself up on his tiptoes, arched his back, and +gave out with a prodigious yawn that somehow managed to express all the +contentment and pleasure that filled his soul. He felt a faint twinge in +his shoulders, and there was a dull ache in the small of his back, both +of which reminded him that he was no longer the man he had been twenty +years before, but he ignored them and stretched again.</p> + +<p>He was still strong, Anketam thought; still strong enough to do his +day's work for The Chief without being too tired to relax and enjoy +himself afterwards. At forty-five, he had a good fifteen years more +before he'd be retired to minor make-work jobs, doing the small chores +as a sort of token in justification of his keep in his old age.</p> + +<p>He settled his heels back to the ground and looked around at the fields +of green shoots that surrounded him. That part of the job was done, at +least. The sun's lower edge was just barely touching the western +horizon, and all the seedlings were in. Anketam had kept his crew +sweating to get them all in, but now the greenhouses were all empty and +ready for seeding in the next crop while this one grew to maturity. But +that could wait. By working just a little harder, for just a little +longer each day, he and his crew had managed to get the transplanting +done a good four days ahead of schedule, which meant four days of +fishing or hunting or just plain loafing. The Chief didn't care how a +man spent his time, so long as the work was done.</p> + +<p>He thumbed his broad-brimmed hat back from his forehead and looked up at +the sky. There were a few thin clouds overhead, but there was no threat +of rain, which was good. In this part of Xedii, the spring rains +sometimes hit hard and washed out the transplanted seedlings before they +had a chance to take root properly. If rain would hold off for another +ten days, Anketam thought, then it could fall all it wanted. Meanwhile, +the irrigation reservoir was full to brimming, and that would supply all +the water the young shoots needed to keep them from being burnt by the +sun.</p> + +<p>He lowered his eyes again, this time to look at the next section over +toward the south, where Jacovik and his crew were still working. He +could see their bent figures outlined against the horizon, just at the +brow of the slope, and he grinned to himself. He had beaten Jacovik out +again.</p> + +<p>Anketam and Jacovik had had a friendly feud going for years, each trying +to do a better, faster job than the other. None of the other supervisors +on The Chief's land came even close to beating out Anketam or Jacovik, +so it was always between the two of them, which one came out on top. +Sometimes it was one, sometimes the other.</p> + +<p>At the last harvest, Jacovik had been very pleased with himself when +the tallies showed that he'd beaten out Anketam by a hundred kilos of +cut leaves. But The Chief had taken him down a good bit when the report +came through that Anketam's leaves had made more money because they were +better quality.</p> + +<p>He looked all around the horizon. From here, only Jacovik's section +could be seen, and only Jacovik's men could be seen moving.</p> + +<p>When Anketam's gaze touched the northern horizon, his gray eyes narrowed +a little. There was a darkness there, a faint indication of cloud +build-up. He hoped it didn't mean rain. Getting the transplants in early +was all right, but it didn't count for anything if they were washed out.</p> + +<p>He pushed the thought out of his mind. Rain or no rain, there was +nothing could be done about it except put up shelters over the rows of +plants. He'd just have to keep an eye on the northern horizon and hope +for the best. He didn't want to put up the shelters unless he absolutely +had to, because the seedlings were invariably bruised in the process and +that would cut the leaf yield way down. He remembered one year when +Jacovik had gotten panicky and put up his shelters, and the storm had +been a gentle thing that only lasted a few minutes before it blew over. +Anketam had held off, ready to make his men work in the rain if +necessary, and when the harvest had come, he'd beaten Jacovik hands +down.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>Anketam pulled his hat down again and turned to walk toward his house in +the little village that he and his crew called home. He had warned his +wife to have supper ready early. "I figure on being finished by +sundown," he'd said. "You can tell the other women I said so. But don't +say anything to them till after we've gone to the fields. I don't want +those boys thinking about the fishing they're going to do tomorrow and +then get behind in their work because they're daydreaming."</p> + +<p>The other men were already gone; they'd headed back to the village as +fast as they could move as soon as he'd told them the job was finished. +Only he had stayed to look at the fields and see them all finished, each +shoot casting long shadows in the ruddy light of the setting sun. He'd +wanted to stand there, all by himself feeling the glow of pride and +satisfaction that came over him, knowing that he was better than any +other supervisor on The Chief's vast acreage.</p> + +<p>His own shadow grew long ahead of him as he walked back, his steps still +brisk and springy, in spite of the day's hard work.</p> + +<p>The sun had set and twilight had come by the time he reached his own +home. He had glanced again toward the north, and had been relieved to +see that the stars were visible near the horizon. The clouds couldn't be +very thick.</p> + +<p>Overhead, the great, glowing cloud of the Dragon Nebula shed its soft +light. That's what made it possible to work after sundown in the +spring; at that time of year, the Dragon Nebula was at its brightest +during the early part of the evening. The tail of it didn't vanish +beneath the horizon until well after midnight. In the autumn, it wasn't +visible at all, and the nights were dark except for the stars.</p> + +<p>Anketam pushed open the door of his home and noted with satisfaction +that the warm smells of cooking filled the air, laving his nostrils and +palate with fine promises. He stopped and frowned as he heard a man's +voice speaking in low tones in the kitchen.</p> + +<p>Then Memi's voice called out: "Is that you, Ank?"</p> + +<p>"Yeah," he said, walking toward the kitchen. "It's me."</p> + +<p>"We've got company," she said. "Guess who."</p> + +<p>"I don't claim to be much good at guessing," said Anketam. "I'll have to +peek."</p> + +<p>He stopped at the door of the kitchen and grinned widely when he saw who +the man was. "Russat! Well, by heaven, it's good to see you!"</p> + +<p>There was a moment's hesitation, then a minute or two of handshaking and +backslapping as the two brothers both tried to speak at the same time. +Anketam heard himself repeating: "Yessir! By <i>heaven</i>, it's good to see +you! Real good!"</p> + +<p>And Russat was saying: "Same here, Ank! And, gee, you're looking great. +I mean, real great! Tough as ever, eh, Ank?"</p> + +<p>"Yeah, sure, tough as ever. Sit down, boy. Memi! Pour us something hot +and get that bottle out of the cupboard!"</p> + +<p>Anketam pushed his brother back towards the chair and made him sit down, +but Russat was protesting: "Now, wait a minute! Now, just you hold on, +Ank! Don't be getting out your bottle just yet. I brought some <i>real</i> +stuff! I mean, <i>expensive</i>—stuff you can't get very easy. I brought it +just for you, and you're going to have some of it before you say another +word. Show him, Memi."</p> + +<p>Memi was standing there, beaming, holding the bottle. Her blue eyes had +faded slowly in the years since she and Anketam had married, but there +was a sparkle in them now. Anketam looked at the bottle.</p> + +<p>"Bedamned," he said softly. The bottle was beautiful just as it was. It +was a work of art in itself, with designs cut all through it and pretty +tracings of what looked like gold thread laced in and out of the +surface. And it was full to the neck with a clear, red-brown liquid. +Anketam thought of the bottle in his own cupboard—plain, translucent +plastic, filled with the water-white liquor rationed out from the +commissary—and he suddenly felt very backwards and countryish. He +scratched thoughtfully at his beard and said: "Well, Well. I don't know, +Russ—I don't know. You think a plain farmer like me can take anything +that fancy?"</p> + +<p>Russat laughed, a little embarrassed. "Sure you can. You mean to say +you've never had brandy before? Why, down in Algia, our Chief—" He +stopped.</p> + +<p>Anketam didn't look at him. "Sure, Russ; sure. I'll bet Chief Samas +gives a drink to his secretary, too, now and then." He turned around and +winked. "But this stuff is for brain work, not farming."</p> + +<p>He knew Russat was embarrassed. The boy was nearly ten years younger +than Anketam, but Anketam knew that his younger brother had more brains +and ability, as far as paper work went, than he, himself, would ever +have. The boy (Anketam reminded himself that he shouldn't think of +Russat as a boy—after all, he was thirty-six now) had worked as a +special secretary for one of the important chiefs in Algia for five +years now. Anketam noticed, without criticism, that Russat had grown +soft with the years. His skin was almost pink, bleached from years of +indoor work, and looked pale and sickly, even beside Memi's sun-browned +skin—and Memi hadn't been out in the sun as much as her husband had.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>Anketam reached out and took the bottle carefully from his wife's hands. +Her eyes watched him searchingly; she had been aware of the subtleties +of the exchange between her rough, hard-working, farmer husband and his +younger, brighter, better-educated brother.</p> + +<p>Anketam said: "If this is a present, I guess I'd better open it." He +peeled off the seal, then carefully removed the glass stopper and +sniffed at the open mouth of the beautiful bottle. "Hm-m-m! Say!" Then +he set the bottle down carefully on the table. "You're the guest, Russ, +so you can pour. That tea ready yet, Memi?"</p> + +<p>"Coming right up," said his wife gratefully. "Coming right up."</p> + +<p>Anketam watched Russat carefully pour brandy into the cups of hot, spicy +tea that Memi set before them. Then he looked up, grinned at his wife, +and said: "Pour yourself a cup, honey. This is an occasion. A big +occasion."</p> + +<p>She nodded quickly, very pleased, and went over to get another cup.</p> + +<p>"What brings you up here, Russ?" Anketam asked. "I hope you didn't just +decide to pick up a bottle of your Chief's brandy and then take off." He +chuckled after he said it, but he was more serious than he let on. He +actually worried about Russat at times. The boy might just take it in +his head to do something silly.</p> + +<p>Russat laughed and shook his head. "No, no. I'm not crazy, and I'm not +stupid—at least, I think not. No; I got to go up to Chromdin. My Chief +is sending word that he's ready to supply goods for the war."</p> + +<p>Anketam frowned. He'd heard that there might be war, of course. There +had been all kinds of rumors about how some of the Chiefs were all for +fighting, but Anketam didn't pay much attention to these rumors. In the +first place, he knew that it was none of his business; in the second +place, he didn't think there would be any war. Why should anyone pick on +Xedii?</p> + +<p>What war would mean if it did come, Anketam had no idea, but he didn't +think the Chiefs would get into a war they couldn't finish. And, he +repeated to himself, he didn't believe there would be a war.</p> + +<p>He said as much to Russat.</p> + +<p>His brother looked up at him in surprise. "You mean you haven't heard?"</p> + +<p>"Heard what?"</p> + +<p>"Why, the war's already started. Sure. Five, six days ago. We're at war, +Ank."</p> + +<p>Anketam's frown grew deeper. He knew that there were other planets +besides Xedii; he had heard that some of the stars in the sky were +planets and suns. He didn't really understand how that could be, but +even The Chief had said it was true, so Anketam accepted it as he did +the truth about God. It was so, and that was enough for Anketam. Why +should he bother himself with other people's business?</p> + +<p>But—<i>war</i>?</p> + +<p>Why?</p> + +<p>"How'd it happen?" he asked.</p> + +<p>Russat sipped at his hot drink before answering. Behind him, Memi moved +slowly around the cooker, pretending to be finishing the meal, +pretending not to be listening.</p> + +<p>"Well, I don't have all the information," Russat said, pinching his +little short beard between thumb and forefinger. "But I do know that the +Chiefs didn't want the embassy in Chromdin."</p> + +<p>"No," said Anketam. "I suppose not."</p> + +<p>"I understand they have been making all kinds of threats," Russat said. +"Trying to tell everybody what to do. They think they run all of +Creation, I guess. Anyway, they were told to pull out right after the +last harvest. They refused to do it, and for a while nobody did +anything. Then, last week, the President ordered the Army to throw 'em +out—bag and baggage. There was some fighting, I understand, but they +got out finally. Now they've said they're going to smash us." He +grinned.</p> + +<p>Anketam said: "What's so funny?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, they won't do anything," said Russat. "They fume and fuss a lot, +but they won't do anything."</p> + +<p>"I hope not," said Anketam. He finished the last of his spiked tea, and +Memi poured him another one. "I don't see how they have any right to +tell us how to live or how to run our own homes. They ought to mind +their own business and leave us alone."</p> + +<p>"You two finish those drinks," said Memi, "and quit talking about wars. +The food will be ready pretty quickly."</p> + +<p>"Good," said Anketam. "I'm starved." And, he admitted to himself, the +brandy and hot tea had gone to his head. A good meal would make him feel +better.</p> + +<p>Russat said: "I don't get much of a chance to eat Memi's cooking; I'll +sure like this meal."</p> + +<p>"You can stay for breakfast in the morning, can't you?" Anketam asked.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I wouldn't want to put you to all that trouble. I have to be up to +your Chief's house before sunrise."</p> + +<p>"We get up before sunrise," Anketam said flatly. "You can stay for +breakfast."</p> + + +<h3>II</h3> + +<p>The spring planting did well. The rains didn't come until after the +seedlings had taken root and anchored themselves well into the soil, and +the rows showed no signs of heavy bruising. Anketam had been watching +one section in particular, where young Basom had planted. Basom had a +tendency to do a sloppy job, and if it had showed up as bruised or +poorly planted seedlings, Anketam would have seen to it that Basom got +what was coming to him.</p> + +<p>But the section looked as good as anyone else's, so Anketam said nothing +to Basom.</p> + +<p>Russat had come back after twenty days and reported that there was an +awful lot of fuss in Chromdin, but nothing was really developing. Then +he had gone on back home.</p> + +<p>As spring became summer, Anketam pushed the war out of his mind. +Evidently, there wasn't going to be any real shooting. Except that two +of The Chief's sons had gone off to join the Army, things remained the +same as always. Life went on as it had.</p> + +<p>The summer was hot and almost windless. Work became all but impossible, +except during the early morning and late afternoon. Fortunately, there +wasn't much that had to be done. At this stage of their growth, the +plants pretty much took care of themselves.</p> + +<p>Anketam spent most of his time fishing. He and Jacovik and some of the +others would go down to the river and sit under the shade trees, out of +the sun, and dangle their lines in the water. It really didn't matter if +they caught much or not; the purpose of fishing was to loaf and get away +from the heat, not to catch fish. Even so, they always managed to bring +home enough for a good meal at the end of the day.</p> + +<p>The day that the war intruded on Anketam's consciousness again had +started off just like any other day. Anketam got his fishing gear +together, including a lunch that Memi had packed for him, and gone over +to pick up Blejjo.</p> + +<p>Blejjo was the oldest man in the village. Some said he was over a +hundred, but Blejjo himself only admitted to eighty. He'd been retired a +long time back, and his only duties now were little odd jobs that were +easy enough, even for an old man. Not that there was anything feeble +about old Blejjo; he still looked and acted spry enough.</p> + +<p>He was sitting on his front porch, talking to young Basom, when Anketam +came up.</p> + +<p>The old man grinned. "Hello, Ank. You figure on getting a few more fish +today?"</p> + +<p>"Why not? The river's full of 'em. Come along."</p> + +<p>"Don't see why not," said Blejjo. "What do you think, Basom?"</p> + +<p>The younger man smiled and shook his head. "I'll stay around home, I +think. I'm too lazy today to go to all that effort."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/illus3.png" width="600" height="508" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>"Too lazy to loaf," said Blejjo, laughing. "That's as lazy as I ever +heard."</p> + +<p>Anketam smiled, but he didn't say anything. Basom <i>was</i> lazy, but +Anketam never mentioned it unless the boy didn't get his work done. +Leave that sort of kidding up to the others; it wasn't good for a +supervisor to ride his men unless it was necessary for discipline.</p> + +<p>Basom was a powerful young man, tall and well-proportioned. If the truth +were known, he probably had the ability to get a good job from The +Chief—become a secretary or something, like Russat. But he was sloppy +in his work, and, as Blejjo had said, lazy. His saving grace was the +fact that he took things as they came; he never showed any resentment +towards Anketam if he was rebuked for not doing his work well, and he +honestly tried to do better—for a while, at least.</p> + +<p>"Not too lazy to loaf," Basom said in self-defense. "Just too lazy to +walk four miles to loaf when I can do it here."</p> + +<p>Old Blejjo was taking his fishing gear down from the rack on the porch. +Without looking around, he said: "Cooler down by the river."</p> + +<p>"By the time I walked there," said Basom philosophically, "walking +through all that sun, I'd be so hot it would take me two hours to cool +down to where I am now, and another two hours to cool down any more. +That's four hours wasted. Now—" He looked at Anketam with a sly grin. +"Now, if you two wanted to carry me, I'd be much obliged. Anketam, you +could carry me piggyback, while Blejjo goes over to fetch my pole. If +you'd do that, I believe I could see my way clear to going fishing with +you."</p> + +<p>Anketam shook his head positively. "I'm afraid the sun would do you in, +anyway."</p> + +<p>"Maybe you'd like The Chief to carry you," said Blejjo. There was a bite +in his voice.</p> + +<p>"Now, wait," Basom said apprehensively, "I didn't say anything like +that. I didn't mean it that way."</p> + +<p>Blejjo pointed his fishing pole at the youth. "You ought to be thankful +you've got Anketam for a supervisor. There's some supers who'd boot you +good for a crack like that."</p> + +<p>Basom cast appealing eyes at Anketam. "I <i>am</i> thankful! You know I am! +Why, you're the best super in the barony! Everybody knows that. I was +only kidding. You know that."</p> + +<p>Before Anketam could say anything, the old man said: "You can bet your +life that no other super in this barony would put up with your +laziness!"</p> + +<p>"Now, Blejjo," said Anketam, "leave the boy alone. He meant no harm. If +he needs talking to, I'll do the talking."</p> + +<p>Basom looked gratefully reprieved.</p> + +<p>"Sorry, Ank," said Blejjo. "It's just that some of these young people +have no respect for their elders." He looked at Basom and smiled. +"Didn't mean to take it out on you, Bas. There's a lot worse than you." +Then, changing his tone: "Sure you don't want to come with us?"</p> + +<p>Basom looked apologetic, but he stuck to his guns. "No. Thanks again, +but—" He grinned self-consciously. "To be honest, I was thinking of +going over to see Zillia. Her dad said I could come."</p> + +<p>Anketam grinned at the boy. "Well, now, that's an excuse I'll accept. +Come on, Blejjo, this is not a sport for old men like us. Fishing is +more our speed."</p> + +<p>Chuckling, Blejjo shouldered his fishing pole, and the two men started +down the dusty village street toward the road that led to the river.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>They walked in silence for a while, trying to ignore the glaring sun +that brought the sweat out on their skins, soaking the sweatbands of +their broad-brimmed hats and running in little rivulets down their +bodies.</p> + +<p>"I kind of feel sorry for that boy," old Blejjo said at last.</p> + +<p>"Oh?" said Anketam. "How so? He'll get along. He's improving. Why, he +did as good a job of transplanting as any man this spring. Last year, he +bruised the seedlings, but I gave him a good dressing down and he +remembered it. He'll be all right."</p> + +<p>"I'm not talking about that, Ank," said the old man, "I mean him and +Zillia. He's really got a case on with that girl."</p> + +<p>"Anything wrong with that? A young fellow's got a right to fall in love, +hasn't he? And Zillia seems pretty keen on him, too. If her father +doesn't object, everything ought to go along pretty smoothly."</p> + +<p>"Her father might not object," said Blejjo, looking down at his feet as +they paced off the dusty road. "But there's others who might object."</p> + +<p>"Who, for instance?"</p> + +<p>Blejjo was silent for several steps. Then he said: "Well, Kevenoe, for +one."</p> + +<p>Anketam thought that over in silence. Kevenoe was on The Chief's staff +at the castle. Like many staff men—including, Anketam thought wryly, +his own brother Russat, on occasion—he tended to lord it over the +farmers who worked the land. "Kevenoe has an eye on Zillia?" he asked +after a moment.</p> + +<p>"I understand he's asked Chief Samas for her as soon as she's eighteen. +That would be this fall, after harvest."</p> + +<p>"I see," Anketam said thoughtfully. He didn't ask how the old man had +come about his knowledge. Old Blejjo had little to do, and on the +occasions that he had to do some work around The Chief's castle, he made +it a point to pick up gossip. But he was careful with his information; +he didn't go spreading it around for all to hear, and he made it a point +to verify his information before he passed it on. Anketam respected the +old man. He was the only one in the village who called him "Ank," +outside of Memi.</p> + +<p>"Do you think The Chief will give her to Kevenoe?" he asked.</p> + +<p>Blejjo nodded. "Looks like it. He thinks a great deal of Kevenoe."</p> + +<p>"No reason why he shouldn't," said Anketam. "Kevenoe's a good man."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I know that," said the old man. "But Basom won't like it at all. +And I don't think Zillia will, either."</p> + +<p>"That's the way things happen," said Anketam. "A man can't expect to go +through life having everything his own way. There's other girls around +for Basom. If he can't have the prettiest, he'll have to be satisfied +with someone else." He chuckled. "That's why I picked Memi. She's not +beautiful and never was, but she's a wonderful wife."</p> + +<p>"That's so," said Blejjo. "A wise man is one who only wants what he +knows he can have. Right now"—he took off his hat and wiped his bald +head—"all I want is a dip in that river."</p> + +<p>"Swim first and then fish?"</p> + +<p>"I think so, don't you? Basom was right about this hot sun."</p> + +<p>"I'll go along with you," agreed Anketam.</p> + +<p>They made their way to the river, to the shallow place at the bend where +everyone swam. There were a dozen and more kids there, having a great +time in the slow moving water, and several of the older people soaking +themselves and keeping an eye on the kids to make sure they didn't +wander out to where the water was deep and the current swift.</p> + +<p>Anketam and Blejjo took off their clothes and cooled themselves in the +water for a good half hour before they dressed again and went on upriver +to a spot where Blejjo swore the fish were biting.</p> + +<p>They were. In the next four hours, the two men had caught six fish +apiece, and Blejjo was trying for his seventh. Here, near the river, +there was a slight breeze, and it was fairly cool beneath the +overhanging branches of the closely bunched trees.</p> + +<p>Blejjo had spotted a big, red-and-yellow striped beauty loafing quietly +in a back eddy, and he was lowering his hook gently to a point just in +front of the fish when both men heard the voice calling.</p> + +<p>"Anketam! Anketam! Blejjo! Where you at?"</p> + +<p>Blejjo went on with his careful work, knowing that Anketam would take +care of whatever it was.</p> + +<p>Anketam recognized the voice. He stood up and called: "Over here, Basom! +What's the trouble?"</p> + +<p>A minute later, Basom came running through the trees, his feet crashing +through the underbrush.</p> + +<p>Blejjo sat up abruptly, an angry look on his face. "Basom, you scared my +fish away."</p> + +<p>"Fish, nothing," said Basom. "I ran all the way here to tell you!" He +was grinning widely and panting for breath at the same time.</p> + +<p>"You suddenly got an awful lot of energy," Blejjo said sourly.</p> + +<p>"What happened?" Anketam asked.</p> + +<p>"The invasion!" Basom said between breaths. "Kevenoe himself came down +to tell us! They've started the invasion! The war's on!"</p> + +<p>"Than what are you looking so happy about?" Anketam snapped.</p> + +<p>"That's what I came to tell you." Basom's grin didn't fade in the least. +"They landed up in the Frozen Country, where our missiles couldn't get +'em, according to Kevenoe. Then they started marching down on one of the +big towns. Tens of thousands of 'em! And we whipped 'em! Our army cut +'em to pieces and sent 'em running back to their base! We won! We +<i>won</i>!"</p> + + +<h3>III</h3> + +<p>The battle had been won, but the war wasn't won yet. The invaders had +managed to establish a good-sized base up in the Frozen Country. They'd +sneaked their ships in and had put up a defensive system that stopped +any high-speed missiles. Not that Xedii had many missiles. Xedii was an +agricultural planet; most manufactured articles were imported. It had +never occurred to the government of Xedii that there would be any real +need for implements of war.</p> + +<p>The invaders seemed to be limiting their use of weapons, too. They +wanted to control the planet, not destroy it. Through the summer and +into the autumn, Anketam listened to the news as it filtered down from +the battlegrounds. There were skirmishes here and there, but nothing +decisive. Xedii seemed to be holding her own against the invaders.</p> + +<p>After the first news of the big victory, things settled back pretty much +to normal.</p> + +<p>The harvest was good that year, but after the leaves were shredded and +dried, they went into storage warehouses. The invaders had set up a +patrol system around Xedii which prevented the slow cargo ships from +taking off or landing. A few adventurous space officers managed to get a +ship out now and then, but those few flights could hardly be called +regular trade shipments.</p> + +<p>The cool of winter had come when Chief Samas did something he had never +done before. He called all the men in the barony to assemble before the +main gate of the castle enclosure. He had a speech to make.</p> + +<p>For the first time, Anketam felt a touch of apprehension. He got his +crew together, and they walked to the castle in silence, wondering what +it was that The Chief had to say.</p> + +<p>All the men of the barony, except those who couldn't be spared from +their jobs, were assembled in front of Chief Samas' baronial castle.</p> + +<p>The castle itself was not a single building. Inside the four-foot-high +thorn hedge that surrounded the two-acre area, there were a dozen +buildings of hard, irridescent plastic shining in the sun. They all +looked soft and pleasant and comfortable. Even the thorn hedge, filled +as it was by the lacy leaves that concealed the hard, sharp thorns, +looked soft and inviting.</p> + +<p>Anketam listened to the soft murmur of whispered conversation from the +men around him. They stood quietly outside the main gate that led into +the castle area, waiting for The Chief to appear, and wondering among +themselves what it was that The Chief had to say.</p> + +<p>"You think the invaders have won?"</p> + +<p>Anketam recognized the hoarse whisper from the man behind him. He turned +to face the dark, squat, hard-looking man who had spoken. "It couldn't +be, Jacovik. It couldn't be."</p> + +<p>The other supervisor looked down at his big, knuckle-scarred hands +instead of looking at Anketam. He was not a handsome man, Jacovik; his +great, beaklike nose was canted to one side from a break that had come +in his teens; his left eye was squinted almost closed by the scar tissue +that surrounded it, and the right only looked better by comparison. His +eyebrows, his beard, and the fringe of hair that outlined his bald head +made an incongruous pale yellow pattern against the sunburnt darkness of +his face. In his youth, Jacovik had been almost pathologically devoted +to boxing—even to the point of picking fights with others in his +village for no reason at all, except to fight. Twice, he had been +brought up before The Chief's court because of the severe beating he had +given to men bigger than he, and he had finally killed a man with his +fists.</p> + +<p>Chief Samas had given him Special Punishment for that, and a final +warning that the next fight would be punished by death.</p> + +<p>Anketam didn't know whether it was that threat, or the emotional +reaction Jacovik had suffered from killing a man, or simply that he had +had some sense beaten into his head, but from that moment on Jacovik was +a different man. He had changed from a thug into a determined, ambitious +man. In twenty-two years, he had not used his fists except to discipline +one of his crew, and that had only happened four times that Anketam knew +of. Jacovik had shown that he had ability as well as strength, that he +could control men by words as well as by force, and The Chief had made +him a supervisor. He had proved himself worthy of the job; next to +Anketam, he was the best supervisor in the barony.</p> + +<p>Anketam had a great deal of respect for the little, wide-shouldered, +barrel-chested man who stood there looking at the scars on the backs of +his hands.</p> + +<p>Jacovik turned his hands over and looked at the calloused palms. "How do +we know? Maybe the Council of Chiefs has given up. Maybe they've +authorized the President to surrender. After all, we're not fighters; +we're farmers. The invaders outnumber us. They've got us cut off by a +blockade, to keep us from sending out the harvest. They've got machines +and weapons." He looked up suddenly, his bright blue eyes looking +straight into Anketam's. "How do we know?"</p> + +<p>Anketam's grin was hard. "Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they +intend to smash our whole society, haven't they? Haven't they?"</p> + +<p>Jacovik nodded.</p> + +<p>"And they want to break up the baronies—take everything away from the +Chiefs—force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our +lives for. That's what they've said, isn't it?"</p> + +<p>Jacovik nodded again.</p> + +<p>"Well, then," Anketam continued remorselessly, "do you think the Chiefs +would give up easily? Are they going to simply smile and shake hands +with the invaders and say: 'Go ahead, take all our property, reduce us +to poverty, smash the whole civilization we've built up, destroy the +security and peace of mind of millions of human beings, and then send +your troops in to rule us by martial law.' Are they going to do that? +Are they?"</p> + +<p>Jacovik spread his big, hard hands. "I don't know. I'm not a Chief. I +don't know how their minds work. Do you? Maybe they'll think surrender +would be better than having all of Xedii destroyed inch by inch."</p> + +<p>Anketam shook his head. "Never. The Chiefs will fight to the very end. +And they'll win in the long run because right is on their side. The +invaders have no right to change our way of living; they have no right +to impose their way of doing things on us. No, Jac—the Chiefs will +never give up. They haven't surrendered yet, and they never will. +They'll win. The invaders will be destroyed."</p> + +<p>Jacovik frowned, completely closing his left eye. "You've always been +better at thinking things out that I, Ank." He paused and looked down at +his hands again. "I hope you're right, Ank. I hope you're right."</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>In spite of his personal conviction that he was right, Anketam had to +admit that Jacovik had reason for his own opinion. He knew that many of +the farmers were uncertain about the ultimate outcome of the war.</p> + +<p>Anketam looked around him at the several hundred men who made up the +farming force of the barony. His own crew were standing nearby, mixing +with Jacovik's crew and talking in low voices. In the cool winter air, +Anketam could still detect the aroma of human bodies, the smell of sweat +that always arose when a crowd of people were grouped closely together. +And he thought he could detect a faint scent of fear and apprehension in +that atmosphere.</p> + +<p>Or was that just his imagination, brought on by Jacovik's pessimism?</p> + +<p>He opened his lips to say something to Jacovik, but his words died +unborn. The sudden silence in the throng around him, the abrupt +cessation of whispering, told him, more definitely than a chorus of +trumpets could have done, that The Chief had appeared.</p> + +<p>He turned around quickly, to face the Main Gate again.</p> + +<p>The Main Gate was no higher than the thorn-bush hedge that it pierced. +It was a heavily built, intricately decorated piece of polished +goldwood, four feet high and eight feet across, set in a sturdy goldwood +frame. The arch above the gate reached a good ten feet, giving The Chief +plenty of room to stand.</p> + +<p>He was just climbing up to stand on the gate itself as Anketam turned.</p> + +<p>Chief Samas was a tall man, lean of face and wide of brow. His +smooth-shaven chin was long and angular, and his dark eyes were deeply +imbedded beneath heavy, bushy eyebrows.</p> + +<p>And he was dressed in clothing cut in a manner that Anketam had never +seen before.</p> + +<p>He stood there, tall and proud, a half smile on his face. It was several +seconds before he spoke. During that time, there was no sound from the +assembled farmers.</p> + +<p>"Men," he said at last, "I think that none of you have seen this uniform +before. I look odd in it, do I not?"</p> + +<p>The men recognized The Chief's remark as a joke, and a ripple of +laughter ran through the crowd.</p> + +<p>The Chief's smile broadened. "Odd indeed. Yes. And do you perceive the +golden emblems, here at my throat? They, and the uniform, indicate that +I have been chosen to help lead the armed forces—a portion of them, I +should say."</p> + +<p>He smiled around at the men. "The Council of Chiefs has authorized the +President to appoint me a Colonel of Light Tank. I am expected to lead +our armored forces into battle against the damned Invaders."</p> + +<p>A cheer came from the farmers, loud and long. Anketam found himself +yelling as loud as anyone. The pronunciation and the idiom of the speech +of the Chiefs was subtly different from those of the farmers, but +Anketam could recognize the emphasis that his Chief was putting on the +words of his speech. "Invaders." With a capital "I."</p> + +<p>The Chief held up his hands, and the cheering died. At the same time, +the face of Chief Samas lost its smile.</p> + +<p>"I will be gone for some time," he said somberly. "The Council feels +that it will be two or three years before we have finally driven the +Invaders from our planet. This will not be a simple war, nor an easy +one. The blockade of orbital ships which encircle Xedii keep us from +making proper contact with any friends that we may have outside the +circle of influence of the damned Invaders. We are, at the moment, +fighting alone. And yet, in spite of that—in <i>spite</i> of that, I say—we +have thus far held the enemy at a standstill. And, in the long run, we +shall win."</p> + +<p>He took a deep breath then, and his baritone voice thundered out when he +spoke.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/ilus4.png" width="600" height="414" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>"<i>Shall</i> win? No! We <i>must</i> win! None of you want to become slaves in +the factories of the Invaders. I know that, and you know it. Who among +you would slave your life away in the sweatshops of the Invaders, +knowing that those for whom you worked might, at any time, simply +deprive you of your livelihood at their own whim, since they feel no +sense of responsibility toward you as individuals?"</p> + +<p>Again The Chief stopped, and his eyes sought out each man in turn.</p> + +<p>"If there are any such among you, I renounce you at this moment. If +there are any such, I ask ... nay, I plead ... I <i>order</i> ... I order you +to go immediately to the Invaders."</p> + +<p>Another deep breath. No one moved.</p> + +<p>"You have all heard the propaganda of the Invaders. You know that they +have offered you—well, what? Freedom? Yes, that's the way they term it. +Freedom." Another pause. "Freedom. <i>Hah!</i>"</p> + +<p>He put his hands on his hips. "None of you have ever seen a really +regimented society—and I'm thankful that you haven't. I hope that you +never will."</p> + +<p>Chief Samas twisted his lips into an expression of hatred. "Freedom? +Freedom from <i>what</i>! Freedom to <i>do</i> what?</p> + +<p>"I'll tell you. Freedom to work in their factories for twelve hours a +day! Freedom to work until you are no longer of any use to them, and +then be turned out to die—with no home, and no food to support you. +Freedom to live by yourselves, with every man's hand against you, with +every pittance that you earn taxed to support a government that has no +thought for the individual!</p> + +<p>"Is that what you want? Is that what you've worked for all your lives?"</p> + +<p>A visual chorus of shaken heads accompanied the verbal chorus of "No."</p> + +<p>Chief Samas dropped his hands to his sides. "I thought not. But I will +repeat: If any of you want to go to the Invaders, you may do so now."</p> + +<p>Anketam noticed a faint movement to his right, but it stopped before it +became decisive. He glanced over, and he noticed that young Basom was +standing there, half poised, as though unable to make up his mind.</p> + +<p>Then The Chief's voice bellowed out again. "Very well. You are with me. +I will leave the work of the barony in your hands. I ask that you +produce as much as you can. Next year—next spring—we will not plant +<i>cataca</i>."</p> + +<p>There was a low intake of breath from the assembled men. Not plant +<i>cataca</i>? That was the crop that they had grown since—well, since +<i>ever</i>. Anketam felt as though someone had jerked a rug from beneath +him.</p> + +<p>"There is a reason for this," The Chief went on. "Because of the +blockade that surrounds Xedii, we are unable to export <i>cataca</i> leaves. +The rest of the galaxy will have to do without the drug that is +extracted from the leaves. The incident of cancer will rise to the level +it reached before the discovery of <i>cataca</i>. When they understand that +we cannot ship out because of the Invader's blockade, they will force +the Invader to stop his attack on us. What we need now is not <i>cataca</i>, +but food. So, next spring, you will plant food crops.</p> + +<p>"Save aside the <i>cataca</i> seed until the war is over. The seedlings now +in the greenhouses will have to be destroyed, but that cannot be +helped."</p> + +<p>He stopped for a moment, and when he began again his voice took on a +note of sadness.</p> + +<p>"I will be away from you until the war is won. While I am gone, the +barony will be run by my wife. You will obey her as you would me. The +finances of the barony will be taken care of by my trusted man, +Kevenoe." He gestured to one side, and Kevenoe, who was standing there, +smiled quickly and then looked grim again.</p> + +<p>"As for the actual running of the barony—as far as labor is +concerned—I think I can leave that in the hands of one of my most +capable men."</p> + +<p>He raised his finger and pointed. There was a smile on his face.</p> + +<p>Anketam felt as though he had been struck an actual blow; the finger was +pointed directly at him.</p> + +<p>"Anketam," said The Chief, "I'm leaving the barony in your hands until I +return. You will supervise the labor of all the men here. Is that +understood?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," said Anketam weakly. "Yes, sir. I understand."</p> + + +<h3>IV</h3> + +<p>Never, for the rest of his life, would the sharp outlines of that moment +fade from his memory. He knew that the men of the barony were all +looking at him; he knew that The Chief went on talking afterwards. But +those things impressed themselves but lightly on his mind, and they +blurred soon afterwards. Twenty years later, in retelling the story, he +would swear that The Chief had ended his speech at that point. He would +swear that it was only seconds later that The Chief had jumped down from +the gate and motioned for him to come over; his memory simply didn't +register anything between those two points.</p> + +<p>But The Chief's words after the speech—the words spoken to him +privately—were bright and clear in his mind.</p> + +<p>The Chief was a good three inches shorter than Anketam, but Anketam +never noticed that. He just stood there in front of The Chief, wondering +what more his Chief had to say.</p> + +<p>"You've shown yourself to be a good farmer, Anketam," Chief Samas said +in a low voice. "Let's see—you're of Skebbin stock, I think?"</p> + +<p>Anketam nodded. "Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"The Skebbin family has always produced good men. You're a credit to the +Skebbins, Anketam."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, sir."</p> + +<p>"You've got a hard job ahead of you," said The Chief. "Don't fail me. +Plant plenty of staple crops, make sure there's enough food for +everyone. If you think it's profitable, add more to the animal stock. +I've authorized Kevenoe to allow money for the purchase of breeding +stock. You can draw whatever you need for that purpose.</p> + +<p>"This war shouldn't last too long. Another year, at the very most, and +we'll have forced the Invaders off Xedii. When I come back, I expect to +find the barony in good shape, d'you hear?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir. It will be."</p> + +<p>"I think it will," said The Chief. "Good luck to you, Anketam."</p> + +<p>As The Chief turned away, Anketam said: "Thank you, sir—and good luck +to you, sir."</p> + +<p>Chief Samas turned back again. "By the way," he said, "there's one more +thing. I know that men don't always agree on everything. If there is any +dispute between you and Kevenoe, submit the question to my wife for +arbitration." He hesitated. "However, I trust that there will not be +many such disputes. A woman shouldn't be bothered with such things any +more than is absolutely necessary. It upsets them. Understand?"</p> + +<p>Anketam nodded. "Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"Very well. Good-by, Anketam. I hope to see you again before the next +harvest." And with that, he turned and walked through the gate, toward +the woman who was standing anxiously on the porch of his home.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>Anketam turned away and started towards his own village. Most of the +others had already begun the trek back. But Jacovik, Blejjo, and Basom +were waiting for him. They fell into step beside him.</p> + +<p>After a while, Jacovik broke the silence. "Well, Ank, it looks like +you've got a big job on your hands."</p> + +<p>"That's for sure," said Anketam. He knew that Jacovik envied him the +job; he knew that Jacovik had only missed the appointment by a narrow +margin.</p> + +<p>"Jac," he said, "have you got a man on your crew that you can trust to +take over your job?"</p> + +<p>"Madders could do it, I think," Jacovik said cautiously. "Why?"</p> + +<p>"This is too big a job for one man," said Anketam quietly. "I'll need +help. I want you to help me, Jac."</p> + +<p>There was a long silence while the men walked six paces. Then Jacovik +said: "I'll do whatever I can, Ank. Whatever I can." There was honest +warmth in his voice.</p> + +<p>Again there was a silence.</p> + +<p>"Blejjo," Anketam said after a time, "do you mind coming out of +retirement for a while?"</p> + +<p>"Not if you need me, Ank," said the old man.</p> + +<p>"It won't be hard work," Anketam said. "I just want you to take care of +the village when I'm not there. Settle arguments, assign the village +work, give out punishment if necessary—things like that. As far as the +village is concerned, you'll be supervisor."</p> + +<p>"What about the field work, Ank?" Blejjo asked. "I'm too old to handle +that. Come spring, and—"</p> + +<p>"I said, as far as the village is concerned," Anketam said. "I've got +another man in mind for the field work."</p> + +<p>And no one was more surprised than Basom when Anketam said: "Basom, do +you think you could handle the crew in the field?"</p> + +<p>Basom couldn't even find his tongue for several more paces. When he +discovered at last that it was still in his mouth, where he'd left it, +he said: "I ... I'll try, Ank. I sure will try, if you want me to. But +... well ... I mean, why pick <i>me</i>?"</p> + +<p>Old Blejjo chuckled knowingly. Jacovik, who hardly knew the boy, just +looked puzzled.</p> + +<p>"Why not you?" Anketam countered.</p> + +<p>"Well ... you've always said I was lazy. And I am, I guess."</p> + +<p>"Sure you are," said Anketam. "So am I. Always have been. But a smart +lazy man can figure out things that a hard worker might overlook. He can +find the easy, fast way to get a job done properly. And he doesn't +overwork his men because he knows that when he's tired, the others are, +too. You want to try it, Basom?"</p> + +<p>"I'll try," said Basom earnestly. "I'll try real hard." Then, after a +moment's hesitation. "Just one thing, Anketam—"</p> + +<p>"What's that?"</p> + +<p>"Kevenoe. I don't want him coming around me. Not at all. If he ever said +one word to me, I'd probably break his neck right there."</p> + +<p>Anketam nodded. The Chief had given Zillia to Kevenoe only two months +before, and the only one who liked the situation was Kevenoe himself.</p> + +<p>"I'll deal with Kevenoe, Basom," Anketam said. "Don't you worry about +that."</p> + +<p>"All right, then," Basom said. "I'll do my best, Anketam."</p> + +<p>"You'd better," said Anketam. "If you don't, I'll just have to give the +job to someone else. You hear?"</p> + +<p>"I hear," said Basom.</p> + + +<h3>V</h3> + +<p>The war dragged on. In the spring of the following year, over a hundred +thousand Invader troops landed on the seacoast a hundred miles from +Chromdin and began a march on the capital. But somebody had forgotten to +tell the Invader general that it rained in that area in the spring and +that the mud was like glue. The Invader army bogged down, and, +floundering their way toward Chromdin, they found themselves opposed by +an army of nearly a hundred thousand Xedii troops under General Jojon, +and the invasion came to a standstill at that point.</p> + +<p>Farther to the west, another group of forty thousand Invader troops came +down from the Frozen Country, and a Xedii general named Oljek trounced +them with a mere seventeen thousand men.</p> + +<p>All in all, the Invaders were getting nowhere, but they seemed +determined to keep on plugging.</p> + +<p>The news only filtered slowly into the areas which were situated well +away from the front. A thousand miles to the west of Chief Samas' +barony, the Invaders began cutting deeply into Xedii territory, but they +were nowhere near the capital, so no one was really worried.</p> + +<p>Anketam worked hard at keeping the barony going during the absence of +The Chief. Instead of <i>cataca</i>, he and Jacovik planted food crops, +doing on a larger scale just what they had always done in the selected +sections around the villages. They had always grown their own food, and +now they were doing it on a grand scale.</p> + +<p>No news came from off-planet, except for unreliable rumors. What the +rest of the galaxy was doing about the war on Xedii, no one knew.</p> + +<p>Young Basom proved to be a reasonably competent supervisor. He was +nowhere near as good as Anketam or Jacovik, but there were worse supers +in the barony.</p> + +<p>Anketam found that the biggest worry was not in the handling of the +farmers, but in obtaining manufactured goods. The staff physician +complained to Kevenoe that drugs were getting scarce. Shoes and clothing +were almost impossible to obtain. Rumor had it that arms and ammunition +were running short in the Xedii armies. For two centuries, Xedii had +depended on other planets to provide manufactured goods for her, and now +those supplies were cut off, except for a miserably slow trickle that +came in via the daring space officers who managed to evade the orbital +forts that the Invaders had set up around the planet.</p> + +<p>Even so, Anketam's faith in the power of Xedii remained constant. The +invading armies were still being held off from Chromdin, weren't they? +The capital would not fall, of that he was sure.</p> + +<p>What Anketam did not and could not know was the fact that the Invaders +were growing tired of pussy-footing around. Instead of fighting Xedii on +Xedii's terms, the Invaders decided to fight it on their own.</p> + +<p>Everyone on Chief Samas' barony and the others around it expected +trouble to come from the north, from the Frozen Country, if and when it +came. They didn't look to the west, where the real trouble was brewing.</p> + +<p>Anketam was shocked when he heard the news that the Invaders had reached +Tana L'At, having cut down through the center of the continent, dividing +the inhabited part of Xedii into two almost equal parts. They knocked +out Tana L'At with a heavy shelling of paralysis gas, evacuated the +inhabitants, and dusted the city with radioactive powder to make it +uninhabitable for several years.</p> + +<p>Then they began to march eastward.</p> + + +<h3>VI</h3> + +<p>For the first time in his life, Anketam was feeling genuine fear. He had +feared for his life before, yes. And he had feared for his family. But +now he feared for his world, which was vaster by far.</p> + +<p>He blinked at the tall, gangling Kevenoe, who was still out of breath +from running. "Say that again."</p> + +<p>"I said that the Invader troops are crossing Benner Creek," Kevenoe said +angrily. "They'll be at the castle within an hour. We've got to do +something."</p> + +<p>"What?" Anketam asked dazedly.</p> + +<p>"Fight them? With what? We have no weapons."</p> + +<p>"I don't know," Kevenoe admitted. "I just don't know. I thought maybe +you'd know. Maybe you could think of something. What about Lady Samas?"</p> + +<p>"What about her?" Anketam still couldn't force his mind to function.</p> + +<p>"Haven't you heard? The Invaders have been looting and burning every +castle in their path! And the women—"</p> + +<p>Lady Samas in danger! Something crystallized in Anketam's mind. He +pointed in the direction of the castle. "Get back there!" he snapped. +"Get everyone out of the castle! Save all the valuables you can! Get +everyone down to the river and tell them to hide in the brush at the Big +Swamp. The Invaders won't go there. Move!"</p> + +<p>Kevenoe didn't even pause to answer. He ran back toward the saddle +animal he had tethered at the edge of the village.</p> + +<p>Anketam was running in the opposite direction, toward Basom's quarters.</p> + +<p>He didn't bother to knock. He flung open the door and yelled, "<i>Basom</i>!"</p> + +<p>Basom, who had been relaxing on his bed, leaped to his feet. "What is +it?"</p> + +<p>Anketam told him rapidly. Then he said: "Get moving! You're a fast +runner. Spread the news. Tell everyone to get to the Swamp. We have less +than an hour, so run for all you're worth!"</p> + +<p>Basom, like Kevenoe, didn't bother to ask questions. He went outside and +started running toward the south.</p> + +<p>"That's right!" Anketam called after him. "Tell Jacovik first! And get +more runners to spread the word!"</p> + +<p>And then Anketam headed for his own home. Memi had to be told. On the +way, he pounded on the doors of the houses, shouting the news and +telling the others to get to the Big Swamp.</p> + +<p>By the time the Invader troops came, they found the entire Samas barony +empty. Not a single soul opposed their march; there was no voice to +object when they leveled their beam projectors and melted the castle and +the villages into shapeless masses of blackened plastic.</p> + + +<h3>VII</h3> + +<p>The wooden shelter wasn't much of a home, but it was all Anketam could +provide. It had been difficult to cut down the trees and make a shack of +them, but at least there were four walls and a roof.</p> + +<p>Anketam stood at the door of the rude hut, looking blindly at the ruins +of the village a hundred yards away. In the past few months, weeds had +grown up around the charred blobs that had once been the homes of +Anketam's crew. Anketam stared, not at, but past and through them, +seeing the ghosts of the houses that had once been there.</p> + +<p>Behind him, Memi was speaking in soft tones to Lady Samas.</p> + +<p>"Now you go ahead and eat, Lady. You can't starve yourself to death. +Things won't always be this bad, you'll see. When that oldest boy of +yours comes back, he'll fix the barony right back up like it was. Just +you see. Now, here; try some of this soup."</p> + +<p>Lady Samas said nothing. She seemed to be entirely oblivious of her +surroundings these days. Nothing mattered to her any more. Word had come +back that Chief Samas had accompanied General Eeler in the fatal +expedition towards the Invader base, and The Chief had been buried there +in the Frozen Country.</p> + +<p>Lady Samas had nowhere else to stay. Kevenoe was dead, his skull crushed +by—by someone. Anketam refused, in his own mind, to see any connection +between Kevenoe's death and the fact that Basom and Zillia had +disappeared the same day, probably to give themselves over to the +Invader troops.</p> + +<p>A movement at the corner of his eye caught Anketam's attention. He +turned his head to look. Then he spun on his heel and went into the hut.</p> + +<p>"Lady Samas," he said quickly, "they're coming. There's a ground-car +coming down the road with four Invaders in it."</p> + +<p>Lady Samas looked up at him, her fine old face calm and emotionless. +"Let them come," she said. "We can't stop them, Anketam. And we have +nothing to lose."</p> + +<p>Three minutes later, the ground-car pulled up in front of the hut. +Anketam watched silently as one of the men got out. The other three +stayed in the car, their handguns ready.</p> + +<p>The officer, very tall and straight in his blue uniform, strode up to +the door of the hut. He stopped and addressed Anketam. "I understand +Lady Samas is living here."</p> + +<p>"That's right," Anketam said.</p> + +<p>"Would you tell her that Colonel Fayder would like to speak to her."</p> + +<p>Before Anketam could say anything, Lady Samas spoke. "Tell the colonel +to come in, Anketam."</p> + +<p>Anketam stepped aside to let the officer enter.</p> + +<p>"Lady Samas?" he asked.</p> + +<p>She nodded. "I am."</p> + +<p>The colonel removed his hat. "Madam, I am Colonel Jamik Fayder, of the +Union army. You are the owner of this land?"</p> + +<p>"Until my son returns, yes," said Lady Samas evenly.</p> + +<p>"I understand." The colonel licked his lips nervously. He was obviously +ill at ease in the presence of the Lady Samas. "Madam," he said, "it +would be useless for me to apologize for the destructions of war. +Apologies are mere words."</p> + +<p>"They are," said Lady Samas. "None the less, I accept them."</p> + +<p>"Thank you. I have come to inform you that the Xedii armies formally +surrendered near Chromdin early this morning. The war is over."</p> + +<p>"I'm glad," said Lady Samas.</p> + +<p>"So am I," said the colonel. "It has not been a pleasant war. Xedii +was—and still is—the most backward planet in the galaxy. Your Council +of Chiefs steadfastly refused to allow the"—he glanced at +Anketam—"workers of Xedii to govern their own lives. They have lived +and died without proper education, without the medical care that would +save and lengthen their lives, and without the comforts of life that any +human being deserves. That situation will be changed now, but I am +heartily sorry it took a war to do it."</p> + +<p>Anketam looked at the man. What was he talking about? He and his kind +had burned and dusted cities and villages, and had smashed the lives of +millions of human beings on the pretense that they were trying to help. +What sort of insanity was that?</p> + +<p>The colonel took a sheaf of papers from his pocket.</p> + +<p>"I have been ordered to read to you the proclamation of the Union +President."</p> + +<p>He looked down at the papers and began to read:</p> + +<p>"Henceforth, all the peoples of Xedii shall be free and equal. They +shall have the right to change their work at will, to be paid in lawful +money instead of—"</p> + +<p>Anketam just stood there, his mind glazed. He had worked hard all his +life for the security of retirement, and now all that was gone. What was +he to do? Where was he to go? If he had to be paid in money, who would +do it? Lady Samas? She had nothing. Besides, Anketam knew nothing about +the handling of money. He knew nothing about how to get along in a +society like that.</p> + +<p>He stood there in silence as his world dissolved around him. He could +hear, dimly, the voice of the blue-clad Union officer as he read off the +death warrant for Xedii. And for Anketam.</p> + + +<h3>THE END</h3> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> +<img src="images/illus5.png" width="300" height="150" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Destroyers, by Gordon Randall Garrett + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DESTROYERS *** + +***** This file should be named 24166-h.htm or 24166-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/1/6/24166/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Geetu Melwani, Bruce Albrecht and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Destroyers + +Author: Gordon Randall Garrett + +Release Date: January 4, 2008 [EBook #24166] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DESTROYERS *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Geetu Melwani, Bruce Albrecht and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +THE DESTROYERS + +[Illustration] + +BY RANDALL GARRETT + + _Any war is made up of a horde of personal tragedies--but the + greater picture is the tragedy of the death of a way of life. For a + way of life--good, bad, or indifferent--exists because it is dearly + loved...._ + +[Illustration] + +Illustrated by van Dongen + + + + +Anketam stretched his arms out as though he were trying to embrace the +whole world. He pushed himself up on his tiptoes, arched his back, and +gave out with a prodigious yawn that somehow managed to express all the +contentment and pleasure that filled his soul. He felt a faint twinge in +his shoulders, and there was a dull ache in the small of his back, both +of which reminded him that he was no longer the man he had been twenty +years before, but he ignored them and stretched again. + +He was still strong, Anketam thought; still strong enough to do his +day's work for The Chief without being too tired to relax and enjoy +himself afterwards. At forty-five, he had a good fifteen years more +before he'd be retired to minor make-work jobs, doing the small chores +as a sort of token in justification of his keep in his old age. + +He settled his heels back to the ground and looked around at the fields +of green shoots that surrounded him. That part of the job was done, at +least. The sun's lower edge was just barely touching the western +horizon, and all the seedlings were in. Anketam had kept his crew +sweating to get them all in, but now the greenhouses were all empty and +ready for seeding in the next crop while this one grew to maturity. But +that could wait. By working just a little harder, for just a little +longer each day, he and his crew had managed to get the transplanting +done a good four days ahead of schedule, which meant four days of +fishing or hunting or just plain loafing. The Chief didn't care how a +man spent his time, so long as the work was done. + +He thumbed his broad-brimmed hat back from his forehead and looked up at +the sky. There were a few thin clouds overhead, but there was no threat +of rain, which was good. In this part of Xedii, the spring rains +sometimes hit hard and washed out the transplanted seedlings before they +had a chance to take root properly. If rain would hold off for another +ten days, Anketam thought, then it could fall all it wanted. Meanwhile, +the irrigation reservoir was full to brimming, and that would supply all +the water the young shoots needed to keep them from being burnt by the +sun. + +He lowered his eyes again, this time to look at the next section over +toward the south, where Jacovik and his crew were still working. He +could see their bent figures outlined against the horizon, just at the +brow of the slope, and he grinned to himself. He had beaten Jacovik out +again. + +Anketam and Jacovik had had a friendly feud going for years, each trying +to do a better, faster job than the other. None of the other supervisors +on The Chief's land came even close to beating out Anketam or Jacovik, +so it was always between the two of them, which one came out on top. +Sometimes it was one, sometimes the other. + +At the last harvest, Jacovik had been very pleased with himself when +the tallies showed that he'd beaten out Anketam by a hundred kilos of +cut leaves. But The Chief had taken him down a good bit when the report +came through that Anketam's leaves had made more money because they were +better quality. + +He looked all around the horizon. From here, only Jacovik's section +could be seen, and only Jacovik's men could be seen moving. + +When Anketam's gaze touched the northern horizon, his gray eyes narrowed +a little. There was a darkness there, a faint indication of cloud +build-up. He hoped it didn't mean rain. Getting the transplants in early +was all right, but it didn't count for anything if they were washed out. + +He pushed the thought out of his mind. Rain or no rain, there was +nothing could be done about it except put up shelters over the rows of +plants. He'd just have to keep an eye on the northern horizon and hope +for the best. He didn't want to put up the shelters unless he absolutely +had to, because the seedlings were invariably bruised in the process and +that would cut the leaf yield way down. He remembered one year when +Jacovik had gotten panicky and put up his shelters, and the storm had +been a gentle thing that only lasted a few minutes before it blew over. +Anketam had held off, ready to make his men work in the rain if +necessary, and when the harvest had come, he'd beaten Jacovik hands +down. + + * * * * * + +Anketam pulled his hat down again and turned to walk toward his house in +the little village that he and his crew called home. He had warned his +wife to have supper ready early. "I figure on being finished by +sundown," he'd said. "You can tell the other women I said so. But don't +say anything to them till after we've gone to the fields. I don't want +those boys thinking about the fishing they're going to do tomorrow and +then get behind in their work because they're daydreaming." + +The other men were already gone; they'd headed back to the village as +fast as they could move as soon as he'd told them the job was finished. +Only he had stayed to look at the fields and see them all finished, each +shoot casting long shadows in the ruddy light of the setting sun. He'd +wanted to stand there, all by himself feeling the glow of pride and +satisfaction that came over him, knowing that he was better than any +other supervisor on The Chief's vast acreage. + +His own shadow grew long ahead of him as he walked back, his steps still +brisk and springy, in spite of the day's hard work. + +The sun had set and twilight had come by the time he reached his own +home. He had glanced again toward the north, and had been relieved to +see that the stars were visible near the horizon. The clouds couldn't be +very thick. + +Overhead, the great, glowing cloud of the Dragon Nebula shed its soft +light. That's what made it possible to work after sundown in the +spring; at that time of year, the Dragon Nebula was at its brightest +during the early part of the evening. The tail of it didn't vanish +beneath the horizon until well after midnight. In the autumn, it wasn't +visible at all, and the nights were dark except for the stars. + +Anketam pushed open the door of his home and noted with satisfaction +that the warm smells of cooking filled the air, laving his nostrils and +palate with fine promises. He stopped and frowned as he heard a man's +voice speaking in low tones in the kitchen. + +Then Memi's voice called out: "Is that you, Ank?" + +"Yeah," he said, walking toward the kitchen. "It's me." + +"We've got company," she said. "Guess who." + +"I don't claim to be much good at guessing," said Anketam. "I'll have to +peek." + +He stopped at the door of the kitchen and grinned widely when he saw who +the man was. "Russat! Well, by heaven, it's good to see you!" + +There was a moment's hesitation, then a minute or two of handshaking and +backslapping as the two brothers both tried to speak at the same time. +Anketam heard himself repeating: "Yessir! By _heaven_, it's good to see +you! Real good!" + +And Russat was saying: "Same here, Ank! And, gee, you're looking great. +I mean, real great! Tough as ever, eh, Ank?" + +"Yeah, sure, tough as ever. Sit down, boy. Memi! Pour us something hot +and get that bottle out of the cupboard!" + +Anketam pushed his brother back towards the chair and made him sit down, +but Russat was protesting: "Now, wait a minute! Now, just you hold on, +Ank! Don't be getting out your bottle just yet. I brought some _real_ +stuff! I mean, _expensive_--stuff you can't get very easy. I brought it +just for you, and you're going to have some of it before you say another +word. Show him, Memi." + +Memi was standing there, beaming, holding the bottle. Her blue eyes had +faded slowly in the years since she and Anketam had married, but there +was a sparkle in them now. Anketam looked at the bottle. + +"Bedamned," he said softly. The bottle was beautiful just as it was. It +was a work of art in itself, with designs cut all through it and pretty +tracings of what looked like gold thread laced in and out of the +surface. And it was full to the neck with a clear, red-brown liquid. +Anketam thought of the bottle in his own cupboard--plain, translucent +plastic, filled with the water-white liquor rationed out from the +commissary--and he suddenly felt very backwards and countryish. He +scratched thoughtfully at his beard and said: "Well, Well. I don't know, +Russ--I don't know. You think a plain farmer like me can take anything +that fancy?" + +Russat laughed, a little embarrassed. "Sure you can. You mean to say +you've never had brandy before? Why, down in Algia, our Chief--" He +stopped. + +Anketam didn't look at him. "Sure, Russ; sure. I'll bet Chief Samas +gives a drink to his secretary, too, now and then." He turned around and +winked. "But this stuff is for brain work, not farming." + +He knew Russat was embarrassed. The boy was nearly ten years younger +than Anketam, but Anketam knew that his younger brother had more brains +and ability, as far as paper work went, than he, himself, would ever +have. The boy (Anketam reminded himself that he shouldn't think of +Russat as a boy--after all, he was thirty-six now) had worked as a +special secretary for one of the important chiefs in Algia for five +years now. Anketam noticed, without criticism, that Russat had grown +soft with the years. His skin was almost pink, bleached from years of +indoor work, and looked pale and sickly, even beside Memi's sun-browned +skin--and Memi hadn't been out in the sun as much as her husband had. + + * * * * * + +Anketam reached out and took the bottle carefully from his wife's hands. +Her eyes watched him searchingly; she had been aware of the subtleties +of the exchange between her rough, hard-working, farmer husband and his +younger, brighter, better-educated brother. + +Anketam said: "If this is a present, I guess I'd better open it." He +peeled off the seal, then carefully removed the glass stopper and +sniffed at the open mouth of the beautiful bottle. "Hm-m-m! Say!" Then +he set the bottle down carefully on the table. "You're the guest, Russ, +so you can pour. That tea ready yet, Memi?" + +"Coming right up," said his wife gratefully. "Coming right up." + +Anketam watched Russat carefully pour brandy into the cups of hot, spicy +tea that Memi set before them. Then he looked up, grinned at his wife, +and said: "Pour yourself a cup, honey. This is an occasion. A big +occasion." + +She nodded quickly, very pleased, and went over to get another cup. + +"What brings you up here, Russ?" Anketam asked. "I hope you didn't just +decide to pick up a bottle of your Chief's brandy and then take off." He +chuckled after he said it, but he was more serious than he let on. He +actually worried about Russat at times. The boy might just take it in +his head to do something silly. + +Russat laughed and shook his head. "No, no. I'm not crazy, and I'm not +stupid--at least, I think not. No; I got to go up to Chromdin. My Chief +is sending word that he's ready to supply goods for the war." + +Anketam frowned. He'd heard that there might be war, of course. There +had been all kinds of rumors about how some of the Chiefs were all for +fighting, but Anketam didn't pay much attention to these rumors. In the +first place, he knew that it was none of his business; in the second +place, he didn't think there would be any war. Why should anyone pick on +Xedii? + +What war would mean if it did come, Anketam had no idea, but he didn't +think the Chiefs would get into a war they couldn't finish. And, he +repeated to himself, he didn't believe there would be a war. + +He said as much to Russat. + +His brother looked up at him in surprise. "You mean you haven't heard?" + +"Heard what?" + +"Why, the war's already started. Sure. Five, six days ago. We're at war, +Ank." + +Anketam's frown grew deeper. He knew that there were other planets +besides Xedii; he had heard that some of the stars in the sky were +planets and suns. He didn't really understand how that could be, but +even The Chief had said it was true, so Anketam accepted it as he did +the truth about God. It was so, and that was enough for Anketam. Why +should he bother himself with other people's business? + +But--_war_? + +Why? + +"How'd it happen?" he asked. + +Russat sipped at his hot drink before answering. Behind him, Memi moved +slowly around the cooker, pretending to be finishing the meal, +pretending not to be listening. + +"Well, I don't have all the information," Russat said, pinching his +little short beard between thumb and forefinger. "But I do know that the +Chiefs didn't want the embassy in Chromdin." + +"No," said Anketam. "I suppose not." + +"I understand they have been making all kinds of threats," Russat said. +"Trying to tell everybody what to do. They think they run all of +Creation, I guess. Anyway, they were told to pull out right after the +last harvest. They refused to do it, and for a while nobody did +anything. Then, last week, the President ordered the Army to throw 'em +out--bag and baggage. There was some fighting, I understand, but they +got out finally. Now they've said they're going to smash us." He +grinned. + +Anketam said: "What's so funny?" + +"Oh, they won't do anything," said Russat. "They fume and fuss a lot, +but they won't do anything." + +"I hope not," said Anketam. He finished the last of his spiked tea, and +Memi poured him another one. "I don't see how they have any right to +tell us how to live or how to run our own homes. They ought to mind +their own business and leave us alone." + +"You two finish those drinks," said Memi, "and quit talking about wars. +The food will be ready pretty quickly." + +"Good," said Anketam. "I'm starved." And, he admitted to himself, the +brandy and hot tea had gone to his head. A good meal would make him feel +better. + +Russat said: "I don't get much of a chance to eat Memi's cooking; I'll +sure like this meal." + +"You can stay for breakfast in the morning, can't you?" Anketam asked. + +"Oh, I wouldn't want to put you to all that trouble. I have to be up to +your Chief's house before sunrise." + +"We get up before sunrise," Anketam said flatly. "You can stay for +breakfast." + + +II + +The spring planting did well. The rains didn't come until after the +seedlings had taken root and anchored themselves well into the soil, and +the rows showed no signs of heavy bruising. Anketam had been watching +one section in particular, where young Basom had planted. Basom had a +tendency to do a sloppy job, and if it had showed up as bruised or +poorly planted seedlings, Anketam would have seen to it that Basom got +what was coming to him. + +But the section looked as good as anyone else's, so Anketam said nothing +to Basom. + +Russat had come back after twenty days and reported that there was an +awful lot of fuss in Chromdin, but nothing was really developing. Then +he had gone on back home. + +As spring became summer, Anketam pushed the war out of his mind. +Evidently, there wasn't going to be any real shooting. Except that two +of The Chief's sons had gone off to join the Army, things remained the +same as always. Life went on as it had. + +The summer was hot and almost windless. Work became all but impossible, +except during the early morning and late afternoon. Fortunately, there +wasn't much that had to be done. At this stage of their growth, the +plants pretty much took care of themselves. + +Anketam spent most of his time fishing. He and Jacovik and some of the +others would go down to the river and sit under the shade trees, out of +the sun, and dangle their lines in the water. It really didn't matter if +they caught much or not; the purpose of fishing was to loaf and get away +from the heat, not to catch fish. Even so, they always managed to bring +home enough for a good meal at the end of the day. + +The day that the war intruded on Anketam's consciousness again had +started off just like any other day. Anketam got his fishing gear +together, including a lunch that Memi had packed for him, and gone over +to pick up Blejjo. + +Blejjo was the oldest man in the village. Some said he was over a +hundred, but Blejjo himself only admitted to eighty. He'd been retired a +long time back, and his only duties now were little odd jobs that were +easy enough, even for an old man. Not that there was anything feeble +about old Blejjo; he still looked and acted spry enough. + +He was sitting on his front porch, talking to young Basom, when Anketam +came up. + +The old man grinned. "Hello, Ank. You figure on getting a few more fish +today?" + +"Why not? The river's full of 'em. Come along." + +"Don't see why not," said Blejjo. "What do you think, Basom?" + +The younger man smiled and shook his head. "I'll stay around home, I +think. I'm too lazy today to go to all that effort." + +[Illustration] + +"Too lazy to loaf," said Blejjo, laughing. "That's as lazy as I ever +heard." + +Anketam smiled, but he didn't say anything. Basom _was_ lazy, but +Anketam never mentioned it unless the boy didn't get his work done. +Leave that sort of kidding up to the others; it wasn't good for a +supervisor to ride his men unless it was necessary for discipline. + +Basom was a powerful young man, tall and well-proportioned. If the truth +were known, he probably had the ability to get a good job from The +Chief--become a secretary or something, like Russat. But he was sloppy +in his work, and, as Blejjo had said, lazy. His saving grace was the +fact that he took things as they came; he never showed any resentment +towards Anketam if he was rebuked for not doing his work well, and he +honestly tried to do better--for a while, at least. + +"Not too lazy to loaf," Basom said in self-defense. "Just too lazy to +walk four miles to loaf when I can do it here." + +Old Blejjo was taking his fishing gear down from the rack on the porch. +Without looking around, he said: "Cooler down by the river." + +"By the time I walked there," said Basom philosophically, "walking +through all that sun, I'd be so hot it would take me two hours to cool +down to where I am now, and another two hours to cool down any more. +That's four hours wasted. Now--" He looked at Anketam with a sly grin. +"Now, if you two wanted to carry me, I'd be much obliged. Anketam, you +could carry me piggyback, while Blejjo goes over to fetch my pole. If +you'd do that, I believe I could see my way clear to going fishing with +you." + +Anketam shook his head positively. "I'm afraid the sun would do you in, +anyway." + +"Maybe you'd like The Chief to carry you," said Blejjo. There was a bite +in his voice. + +"Now, wait," Basom said apprehensively, "I didn't say anything like +that. I didn't mean it that way." + +Blejjo pointed his fishing pole at the youth. "You ought to be thankful +you've got Anketam for a supervisor. There's some supers who'd boot you +good for a crack like that." + +Basom cast appealing eyes at Anketam. "I _am_ thankful! You know I am! +Why, you're the best super in the barony! Everybody knows that. I was +only kidding. You know that." + +Before Anketam could say anything, the old man said: "You can bet your +life that no other super in this barony would put up with your +laziness!" + +"Now, Blejjo," said Anketam, "leave the boy alone. He meant no harm. If +he needs talking to, I'll do the talking." + +Basom looked gratefully reprieved. + +"Sorry, Ank," said Blejjo. "It's just that some of these young people +have no respect for their elders." He looked at Basom and smiled. +"Didn't mean to take it out on you, Bas. There's a lot worse than you." +Then, changing his tone: "Sure you don't want to come with us?" + +Basom looked apologetic, but he stuck to his guns. "No. Thanks again, +but--" He grinned self-consciously. "To be honest, I was thinking of +going over to see Zillia. Her dad said I could come." + +Anketam grinned at the boy. "Well, now, that's an excuse I'll accept. +Come on, Blejjo, this is not a sport for old men like us. Fishing is +more our speed." + +Chuckling, Blejjo shouldered his fishing pole, and the two men started +down the dusty village street toward the road that led to the river. + + * * * * * + +They walked in silence for a while, trying to ignore the glaring sun +that brought the sweat out on their skins, soaking the sweatbands of +their broad-brimmed hats and running in little rivulets down their +bodies. + +"I kind of feel sorry for that boy," old Blejjo said at last. + +"Oh?" said Anketam. "How so? He'll get along. He's improving. Why, he +did as good a job of transplanting as any man this spring. Last year, he +bruised the seedlings, but I gave him a good dressing down and he +remembered it. He'll be all right." + +"I'm not talking about that, Ank," said the old man, "I mean him and +Zillia. He's really got a case on with that girl." + +"Anything wrong with that? A young fellow's got a right to fall in love, +hasn't he? And Zillia seems pretty keen on him, too. If her father +doesn't object, everything ought to go along pretty smoothly." + +"Her father might not object," said Blejjo, looking down at his feet as +they paced off the dusty road. "But there's others who might object." + +"Who, for instance?" + +Blejjo was silent for several steps. Then he said: "Well, Kevenoe, for +one." + +Anketam thought that over in silence. Kevenoe was on The Chief's staff +at the castle. Like many staff men--including, Anketam thought wryly, +his own brother Russat, on occasion--he tended to lord it over the +farmers who worked the land. "Kevenoe has an eye on Zillia?" he asked +after a moment. + +"I understand he's asked Chief Samas for her as soon as she's eighteen. +That would be this fall, after harvest." + +"I see," Anketam said thoughtfully. He didn't ask how the old man had +come about his knowledge. Old Blejjo had little to do, and on the +occasions that he had to do some work around The Chief's castle, he made +it a point to pick up gossip. But he was careful with his information; +he didn't go spreading it around for all to hear, and he made it a point +to verify his information before he passed it on. Anketam respected the +old man. He was the only one in the village who called him "Ank," +outside of Memi. + +"Do you think The Chief will give her to Kevenoe?" he asked. + +Blejjo nodded. "Looks like it. He thinks a great deal of Kevenoe." + +"No reason why he shouldn't," said Anketam. "Kevenoe's a good man." + +"Oh, I know that," said the old man. "But Basom won't like it at all. +And I don't think Zillia will, either." + +"That's the way things happen," said Anketam. "A man can't expect to go +through life having everything his own way. There's other girls around +for Basom. If he can't have the prettiest, he'll have to be satisfied +with someone else." He chuckled. "That's why I picked Memi. She's not +beautiful and never was, but she's a wonderful wife." + +"That's so," said Blejjo. "A wise man is one who only wants what he +knows he can have. Right now"--he took off his hat and wiped his bald +head--"all I want is a dip in that river." + +"Swim first and then fish?" + +"I think so, don't you? Basom was right about this hot sun." + +"I'll go along with you," agreed Anketam. + +They made their way to the river, to the shallow place at the bend where +everyone swam. There were a dozen and more kids there, having a great +time in the slow moving water, and several of the older people soaking +themselves and keeping an eye on the kids to make sure they didn't +wander out to where the water was deep and the current swift. + +Anketam and Blejjo took off their clothes and cooled themselves in the +water for a good half hour before they dressed again and went on upriver +to a spot where Blejjo swore the fish were biting. + +They were. In the next four hours, the two men had caught six fish +apiece, and Blejjo was trying for his seventh. Here, near the river, +there was a slight breeze, and it was fairly cool beneath the +overhanging branches of the closely bunched trees. + +Blejjo had spotted a big, red-and-yellow striped beauty loafing quietly +in a back eddy, and he was lowering his hook gently to a point just in +front of the fish when both men heard the voice calling. + +"Anketam! Anketam! Blejjo! Where you at?" + +Blejjo went on with his careful work, knowing that Anketam would take +care of whatever it was. + +Anketam recognized the voice. He stood up and called: "Over here, Basom! +What's the trouble?" + +A minute later, Basom came running through the trees, his feet crashing +through the underbrush. + +Blejjo sat up abruptly, an angry look on his face. "Basom, you scared my +fish away." + +"Fish, nothing," said Basom. "I ran all the way here to tell you!" He +was grinning widely and panting for breath at the same time. + +"You suddenly got an awful lot of energy," Blejjo said sourly. + +"What happened?" Anketam asked. + +"The invasion!" Basom said between breaths. "Kevenoe himself came down +to tell us! They've started the invasion! The war's on!" + +"Than what are you looking so happy about?" Anketam snapped. + +"That's what I came to tell you." Basom's grin didn't fade in the least. +"They landed up in the Frozen Country, where our missiles couldn't get +'em, according to Kevenoe. Then they started marching down on one of the +big towns. Tens of thousands of 'em! And we whipped 'em! Our army cut +'em to pieces and sent 'em running back to their base! We won! We +_won_!" + + +III + +The battle had been won, but the war wasn't won yet. The invaders had +managed to establish a good-sized base up in the Frozen Country. They'd +sneaked their ships in and had put up a defensive system that stopped +any high-speed missiles. Not that Xedii had many missiles. Xedii was an +agricultural planet; most manufactured articles were imported. It had +never occurred to the government of Xedii that there would be any real +need for implements of war. + +The invaders seemed to be limiting their use of weapons, too. They +wanted to control the planet, not destroy it. Through the summer and +into the autumn, Anketam listened to the news as it filtered down from +the battlegrounds. There were skirmishes here and there, but nothing +decisive. Xedii seemed to be holding her own against the invaders. + +After the first news of the big victory, things settled back pretty much +to normal. + +The harvest was good that year, but after the leaves were shredded and +dried, they went into storage warehouses. The invaders had set up a +patrol system around Xedii which prevented the slow cargo ships from +taking off or landing. A few adventurous space officers managed to get a +ship out now and then, but those few flights could hardly be called +regular trade shipments. + +The cool of winter had come when Chief Samas did something he had never +done before. He called all the men in the barony to assemble before the +main gate of the castle enclosure. He had a speech to make. + +For the first time, Anketam felt a touch of apprehension. He got his +crew together, and they walked to the castle in silence, wondering what +it was that The Chief had to say. + +All the men of the barony, except those who couldn't be spared from +their jobs, were assembled in front of Chief Samas' baronial castle. + +The castle itself was not a single building. Inside the four-foot-high +thorn hedge that surrounded the two-acre area, there were a dozen +buildings of hard, irridescent plastic shining in the sun. They all +looked soft and pleasant and comfortable. Even the thorn hedge, filled +as it was by the lacy leaves that concealed the hard, sharp thorns, +looked soft and inviting. + +Anketam listened to the soft murmur of whispered conversation from the +men around him. They stood quietly outside the main gate that led into +the castle area, waiting for The Chief to appear, and wondering among +themselves what it was that The Chief had to say. + +"You think the invaders have won?" + +Anketam recognized the hoarse whisper from the man behind him. He turned +to face the dark, squat, hard-looking man who had spoken. "It couldn't +be, Jacovik. It couldn't be." + +The other supervisor looked down at his big, knuckle-scarred hands +instead of looking at Anketam. He was not a handsome man, Jacovik; his +great, beaklike nose was canted to one side from a break that had come +in his teens; his left eye was squinted almost closed by the scar tissue +that surrounded it, and the right only looked better by comparison. His +eyebrows, his beard, and the fringe of hair that outlined his bald head +made an incongruous pale yellow pattern against the sunburnt darkness of +his face. In his youth, Jacovik had been almost pathologically devoted +to boxing--even to the point of picking fights with others in his +village for no reason at all, except to fight. Twice, he had been +brought up before The Chief's court because of the severe beating he had +given to men bigger than he, and he had finally killed a man with his +fists. + +Chief Samas had given him Special Punishment for that, and a final +warning that the next fight would be punished by death. + +Anketam didn't know whether it was that threat, or the emotional +reaction Jacovik had suffered from killing a man, or simply that he had +had some sense beaten into his head, but from that moment on Jacovik was +a different man. He had changed from a thug into a determined, ambitious +man. In twenty-two years, he had not used his fists except to discipline +one of his crew, and that had only happened four times that Anketam knew +of. Jacovik had shown that he had ability as well as strength, that he +could control men by words as well as by force, and The Chief had made +him a supervisor. He had proved himself worthy of the job; next to +Anketam, he was the best supervisor in the barony. + +Anketam had a great deal of respect for the little, wide-shouldered, +barrel-chested man who stood there looking at the scars on the backs of +his hands. + +Jacovik turned his hands over and looked at the calloused palms. "How do +we know? Maybe the Council of Chiefs has given up. Maybe they've +authorized the President to surrender. After all, we're not fighters; +we're farmers. The invaders outnumber us. They've got us cut off by a +blockade, to keep us from sending out the harvest. They've got machines +and weapons." He looked up suddenly, his bright blue eyes looking +straight into Anketam's. "How do we know?" + +Anketam's grin was hard. "Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they +intend to smash our whole society, haven't they? Haven't they?" + +Jacovik nodded. + +"And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the +Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our +lives for. That's what they've said, isn't it?" + +Jacovik nodded again. + +"Well, then," Anketam continued remorselessly, "do you think the Chiefs +would give up easily? Are they going to simply smile and shake hands +with the invaders and say: 'Go ahead, take all our property, reduce us +to poverty, smash the whole civilization we've built up, destroy the +security and peace of mind of millions of human beings, and then send +your troops in to rule us by martial law.' Are they going to do that? +Are they?" + +Jacovik spread his big, hard hands. "I don't know. I'm not a Chief. I +don't know how their minds work. Do you? Maybe they'll think surrender +would be better than having all of Xedii destroyed inch by inch." + +Anketam shook his head. "Never. The Chiefs will fight to the very end. +And they'll win in the long run because right is on their side. The +invaders have no right to change our way of living; they have no right +to impose their way of doing things on us. No, Jac--the Chiefs will +never give up. They haven't surrendered yet, and they never will. +They'll win. The invaders will be destroyed." + +Jacovik frowned, completely closing his left eye. "You've always been +better at thinking things out that I, Ank." He paused and looked down at +his hands again. "I hope you're right, Ank. I hope you're right." + + * * * * * + +In spite of his personal conviction that he was right, Anketam had to +admit that Jacovik had reason for his own opinion. He knew that many of +the farmers were uncertain about the ultimate outcome of the war. + +Anketam looked around him at the several hundred men who made up the +farming force of the barony. His own crew were standing nearby, mixing +with Jacovik's crew and talking in low voices. In the cool winter air, +Anketam could still detect the aroma of human bodies, the smell of sweat +that always arose when a crowd of people were grouped closely together. +And he thought he could detect a faint scent of fear and apprehension in +that atmosphere. + +Or was that just his imagination, brought on by Jacovik's pessimism? + +He opened his lips to say something to Jacovik, but his words died +unborn. The sudden silence in the throng around him, the abrupt +cessation of whispering, told him, more definitely than a chorus of +trumpets could have done, that The Chief had appeared. + +He turned around quickly, to face the Main Gate again. + +The Main Gate was no higher than the thorn-bush hedge that it pierced. +It was a heavily built, intricately decorated piece of polished +goldwood, four feet high and eight feet across, set in a sturdy goldwood +frame. The arch above the gate reached a good ten feet, giving The Chief +plenty of room to stand. + +He was just climbing up to stand on the gate itself as Anketam turned. + +Chief Samas was a tall man, lean of face and wide of brow. His +smooth-shaven chin was long and angular, and his dark eyes were deeply +imbedded beneath heavy, bushy eyebrows. + +And he was dressed in clothing cut in a manner that Anketam had never +seen before. + +He stood there, tall and proud, a half smile on his face. It was several +seconds before he spoke. During that time, there was no sound from the +assembled farmers. + +"Men," he said at last, "I think that none of you have seen this uniform +before. I look odd in it, do I not?" + +The men recognized The Chief's remark as a joke, and a ripple of +laughter ran through the crowd. + +The Chief's smile broadened. "Odd indeed. Yes. And do you perceive the +golden emblems, here at my throat? They, and the uniform, indicate that +I have been chosen to help lead the armed forces--a portion of them, I +should say." + +He smiled around at the men. "The Council of Chiefs has authorized the +President to appoint me a Colonel of Light Tank. I am expected to lead +our armored forces into battle against the damned Invaders." + +A cheer came from the farmers, loud and long. Anketam found himself +yelling as loud as anyone. The pronunciation and the idiom of the speech +of the Chiefs was subtly different from those of the farmers, but +Anketam could recognize the emphasis that his Chief was putting on the +words of his speech. "Invaders." With a capital "I." + +The Chief held up his hands, and the cheering died. At the same time, +the face of Chief Samas lost its smile. + +"I will be gone for some time," he said somberly. "The Council feels +that it will be two or three years before we have finally driven the +Invaders from our planet. This will not be a simple war, nor an easy +one. The blockade of orbital ships which encircle Xedii keep us from +making proper contact with any friends that we may have outside the +circle of influence of the damned Invaders. We are, at the moment, +fighting alone. And yet, in spite of that--in _spite_ of that, I say--we +have thus far held the enemy at a standstill. And, in the long run, we +shall win." + +He took a deep breath then, and his baritone voice thundered out when he +spoke. + +[Illustration] + +"_Shall_ win? No! We _must_ win! None of you want to become slaves in +the factories of the Invaders. I know that, and you know it. Who among +you would slave your life away in the sweatshops of the Invaders, +knowing that those for whom you worked might, at any time, simply +deprive you of your livelihood at their own whim, since they feel no +sense of responsibility toward you as individuals?" + +Again The Chief stopped, and his eyes sought out each man in turn. + +"If there are any such among you, I renounce you at this moment. If +there are any such, I ask ... nay, I plead ... I _order_ ... I order you +to go immediately to the Invaders." + +Another deep breath. No one moved. + +"You have all heard the propaganda of the Invaders. You know that they +have offered you--well, what? Freedom? Yes, that's the way they term it. +Freedom." Another pause. "Freedom. _Hah!_" + +He put his hands on his hips. "None of you have ever seen a really +regimented society--and I'm thankful that you haven't. I hope that you +never will." + +Chief Samas twisted his lips into an expression of hatred. "Freedom? +Freedom from _what_! Freedom to _do_ what? + +"I'll tell you. Freedom to work in their factories for twelve hours a +day! Freedom to work until you are no longer of any use to them, and +then be turned out to die--with no home, and no food to support you. +Freedom to live by yourselves, with every man's hand against you, with +every pittance that you earn taxed to support a government that has no +thought for the individual! + +"Is that what you want? Is that what you've worked for all your lives?" + +A visual chorus of shaken heads accompanied the verbal chorus of "No." + +Chief Samas dropped his hands to his sides. "I thought not. But I will +repeat: If any of you want to go to the Invaders, you may do so now." + +Anketam noticed a faint movement to his right, but it stopped before it +became decisive. He glanced over, and he noticed that young Basom was +standing there, half poised, as though unable to make up his mind. + +Then The Chief's voice bellowed out again. "Very well. You are with me. +I will leave the work of the barony in your hands. I ask that you +produce as much as you can. Next year--next spring--we will not plant +_cataca_." + +There was a low intake of breath from the assembled men. Not plant +_cataca_? That was the crop that they had grown since--well, since +_ever_. Anketam felt as though someone had jerked a rug from beneath +him. + +"There is a reason for this," The Chief went on. "Because of the +blockade that surrounds Xedii, we are unable to export _cataca_ leaves. +The rest of the galaxy will have to do without the drug that is +extracted from the leaves. The incident of cancer will rise to the level +it reached before the discovery of _cataca_. When they understand that +we cannot ship out because of the Invader's blockade, they will force +the Invader to stop his attack on us. What we need now is not _cataca_, +but food. So, next spring, you will plant food crops. + +"Save aside the _cataca_ seed until the war is over. The seedlings now +in the greenhouses will have to be destroyed, but that cannot be +helped." + +He stopped for a moment, and when he began again his voice took on a +note of sadness. + +"I will be away from you until the war is won. While I am gone, the +barony will be run by my wife. You will obey her as you would me. The +finances of the barony will be taken care of by my trusted man, +Kevenoe." He gestured to one side, and Kevenoe, who was standing there, +smiled quickly and then looked grim again. + +"As for the actual running of the barony--as far as labor is +concerned--I think I can leave that in the hands of one of my most +capable men." + +He raised his finger and pointed. There was a smile on his face. + +Anketam felt as though he had been struck an actual blow; the finger was +pointed directly at him. + +"Anketam," said The Chief, "I'm leaving the barony in your hands until I +return. You will supervise the labor of all the men here. Is that +understood?" + +"Yes, sir," said Anketam weakly. "Yes, sir. I understand." + + +IV + +Never, for the rest of his life, would the sharp outlines of that moment +fade from his memory. He knew that the men of the barony were all +looking at him; he knew that The Chief went on talking afterwards. But +those things impressed themselves but lightly on his mind, and they +blurred soon afterwards. Twenty years later, in retelling the story, he +would swear that The Chief had ended his speech at that point. He would +swear that it was only seconds later that The Chief had jumped down from +the gate and motioned for him to come over; his memory simply didn't +register anything between those two points. + +But The Chief's words after the speech--the words spoken to him +privately--were bright and clear in his mind. + +The Chief was a good three inches shorter than Anketam, but Anketam +never noticed that. He just stood there in front of The Chief, wondering +what more his Chief had to say. + +"You've shown yourself to be a good farmer, Anketam," Chief Samas said +in a low voice. "Let's see--you're of Skebbin stock, I think?" + +Anketam nodded. "Yes, sir." + +"The Skebbin family has always produced good men. You're a credit to the +Skebbins, Anketam." + +"Thank you, sir." + +"You've got a hard job ahead of you," said The Chief. "Don't fail me. +Plant plenty of staple crops, make sure there's enough food for +everyone. If you think it's profitable, add more to the animal stock. +I've authorized Kevenoe to allow money for the purchase of breeding +stock. You can draw whatever you need for that purpose. + +"This war shouldn't last too long. Another year, at the very most, and +we'll have forced the Invaders off Xedii. When I come back, I expect to +find the barony in good shape, d'you hear?" + +"Yes, sir. It will be." + +"I think it will," said The Chief. "Good luck to you, Anketam." + +As The Chief turned away, Anketam said: "Thank you, sir--and good luck +to you, sir." + +Chief Samas turned back again. "By the way," he said, "there's one more +thing. I know that men don't always agree on everything. If there is any +dispute between you and Kevenoe, submit the question to my wife for +arbitration." He hesitated. "However, I trust that there will not be +many such disputes. A woman shouldn't be bothered with such things any +more than is absolutely necessary. It upsets them. Understand?" + +Anketam nodded. "Yes, sir." + +"Very well. Good-by, Anketam. I hope to see you again before the next +harvest." And with that, he turned and walked through the gate, toward +the woman who was standing anxiously on the porch of his home. + + * * * * * + +Anketam turned away and started towards his own village. Most of the +others had already begun the trek back. But Jacovik, Blejjo, and Basom +were waiting for him. They fell into step beside him. + +After a while, Jacovik broke the silence. "Well, Ank, it looks like +you've got a big job on your hands." + +"That's for sure," said Anketam. He knew that Jacovik envied him the +job; he knew that Jacovik had only missed the appointment by a narrow +margin. + +"Jac," he said, "have you got a man on your crew that you can trust to +take over your job?" + +"Madders could do it, I think," Jacovik said cautiously. "Why?" + +"This is too big a job for one man," said Anketam quietly. "I'll need +help. I want you to help me, Jac." + +There was a long silence while the men walked six paces. Then Jacovik +said: "I'll do whatever I can, Ank. Whatever I can." There was honest +warmth in his voice. + +Again there was a silence. + +"Blejjo," Anketam said after a time, "do you mind coming out of +retirement for a while?" + +"Not if you need me, Ank," said the old man. + +"It won't be hard work," Anketam said. "I just want you to take care of +the village when I'm not there. Settle arguments, assign the village +work, give out punishment if necessary--things like that. As far as the +village is concerned, you'll be supervisor." + +"What about the field work, Ank?" Blejjo asked. "I'm too old to handle +that. Come spring, and--" + +"I said, as far as the village is concerned," Anketam said. "I've got +another man in mind for the field work." + +And no one was more surprised than Basom when Anketam said: "Basom, do +you think you could handle the crew in the field?" + +Basom couldn't even find his tongue for several more paces. When he +discovered at last that it was still in his mouth, where he'd left it, +he said: "I ... I'll try, Ank. I sure will try, if you want me to. But +... well ... I mean, why pick _me_?" + +Old Blejjo chuckled knowingly. Jacovik, who hardly knew the boy, just +looked puzzled. + +"Why not you?" Anketam countered. + +"Well ... you've always said I was lazy. And I am, I guess." + +"Sure you are," said Anketam. "So am I. Always have been. But a smart +lazy man can figure out things that a hard worker might overlook. He can +find the easy, fast way to get a job done properly. And he doesn't +overwork his men because he knows that when he's tired, the others are, +too. You want to try it, Basom?" + +"I'll try," said Basom earnestly. "I'll try real hard." Then, after a +moment's hesitation. "Just one thing, Anketam--" + +"What's that?" + +"Kevenoe. I don't want him coming around me. Not at all. If he ever said +one word to me, I'd probably break his neck right there." + +Anketam nodded. The Chief had given Zillia to Kevenoe only two months +before, and the only one who liked the situation was Kevenoe himself. + +"I'll deal with Kevenoe, Basom," Anketam said. "Don't you worry about +that." + +"All right, then," Basom said. "I'll do my best, Anketam." + +"You'd better," said Anketam. "If you don't, I'll just have to give the +job to someone else. You hear?" + +"I hear," said Basom. + + +V + +The war dragged on. In the spring of the following year, over a hundred +thousand Invader troops landed on the seacoast a hundred miles from +Chromdin and began a march on the capital. But somebody had forgotten to +tell the Invader general that it rained in that area in the spring and +that the mud was like glue. The Invader army bogged down, and, +floundering their way toward Chromdin, they found themselves opposed by +an army of nearly a hundred thousand Xedii troops under General Jojon, +and the invasion came to a standstill at that point. + +Farther to the west, another group of forty thousand Invader troops came +down from the Frozen Country, and a Xedii general named Oljek trounced +them with a mere seventeen thousand men. + +All in all, the Invaders were getting nowhere, but they seemed +determined to keep on plugging. + +The news only filtered slowly into the areas which were situated well +away from the front. A thousand miles to the west of Chief Samas' +barony, the Invaders began cutting deeply into Xedii territory, but they +were nowhere near the capital, so no one was really worried. + +Anketam worked hard at keeping the barony going during the absence of +The Chief. Instead of _cataca_, he and Jacovik planted food crops, +doing on a larger scale just what they had always done in the selected +sections around the villages. They had always grown their own food, and +now they were doing it on a grand scale. + +No news came from off-planet, except for unreliable rumors. What the +rest of the galaxy was doing about the war on Xedii, no one knew. + +Young Basom proved to be a reasonably competent supervisor. He was +nowhere near as good as Anketam or Jacovik, but there were worse supers +in the barony. + +Anketam found that the biggest worry was not in the handling of the +farmers, but in obtaining manufactured goods. The staff physician +complained to Kevenoe that drugs were getting scarce. Shoes and clothing +were almost impossible to obtain. Rumor had it that arms and ammunition +were running short in the Xedii armies. For two centuries, Xedii had +depended on other planets to provide manufactured goods for her, and now +those supplies were cut off, except for a miserably slow trickle that +came in via the daring space officers who managed to evade the orbital +forts that the Invaders had set up around the planet. + +Even so, Anketam's faith in the power of Xedii remained constant. The +invading armies were still being held off from Chromdin, weren't they? +The capital would not fall, of that he was sure. + +What Anketam did not and could not know was the fact that the Invaders +were growing tired of pussy-footing around. Instead of fighting Xedii on +Xedii's terms, the Invaders decided to fight it on their own. + +Everyone on Chief Samas' barony and the others around it expected +trouble to come from the north, from the Frozen Country, if and when it +came. They didn't look to the west, where the real trouble was brewing. + +Anketam was shocked when he heard the news that the Invaders had reached +Tana L'At, having cut down through the center of the continent, dividing +the inhabited part of Xedii into two almost equal parts. They knocked +out Tana L'At with a heavy shelling of paralysis gas, evacuated the +inhabitants, and dusted the city with radioactive powder to make it +uninhabitable for several years. + +Then they began to march eastward. + + +VI + +For the first time in his life, Anketam was feeling genuine fear. He had +feared for his life before, yes. And he had feared for his family. But +now he feared for his world, which was vaster by far. + +He blinked at the tall, gangling Kevenoe, who was still out of breath +from running. "Say that again." + +"I said that the Invader troops are crossing Benner Creek," Kevenoe said +angrily. "They'll be at the castle within an hour. We've got to do +something." + +"What?" Anketam asked dazedly. + +"Fight them? With what? We have no weapons." + +"I don't know," Kevenoe admitted. "I just don't know. I thought maybe +you'd know. Maybe you could think of something. What about Lady Samas?" + +"What about her?" Anketam still couldn't force his mind to function. + +"Haven't you heard? The Invaders have been looting and burning every +castle in their path! And the women--" + +Lady Samas in danger! Something crystallized in Anketam's mind. He +pointed in the direction of the castle. "Get back there!" he snapped. +"Get everyone out of the castle! Save all the valuables you can! Get +everyone down to the river and tell them to hide in the brush at the Big +Swamp. The Invaders won't go there. Move!" + +Kevenoe didn't even pause to answer. He ran back toward the saddle +animal he had tethered at the edge of the village. + +Anketam was running in the opposite direction, toward Basom's quarters. + +He didn't bother to knock. He flung open the door and yelled, "_Basom_!" + +Basom, who had been relaxing on his bed, leaped to his feet. "What is +it?" + +Anketam told him rapidly. Then he said: "Get moving! You're a fast +runner. Spread the news. Tell everyone to get to the Swamp. We have less +than an hour, so run for all you're worth!" + +Basom, like Kevenoe, didn't bother to ask questions. He went outside and +started running toward the south. + +"That's right!" Anketam called after him. "Tell Jacovik first! And get +more runners to spread the word!" + +And then Anketam headed for his own home. Memi had to be told. On the +way, he pounded on the doors of the houses, shouting the news and +telling the others to get to the Big Swamp. + +By the time the Invader troops came, they found the entire Samas barony +empty. Not a single soul opposed their march; there was no voice to +object when they leveled their beam projectors and melted the castle and +the villages into shapeless masses of blackened plastic. + + +VII + +The wooden shelter wasn't much of a home, but it was all Anketam could +provide. It had been difficult to cut down the trees and make a shack of +them, but at least there were four walls and a roof. + +Anketam stood at the door of the rude hut, looking blindly at the ruins +of the village a hundred yards away. In the past few months, weeds had +grown up around the charred blobs that had once been the homes of +Anketam's crew. Anketam stared, not at, but past and through them, +seeing the ghosts of the houses that had once been there. + +Behind him, Memi was speaking in soft tones to Lady Samas. + +"Now you go ahead and eat, Lady. You can't starve yourself to death. +Things won't always be this bad, you'll see. When that oldest boy of +yours comes back, he'll fix the barony right back up like it was. Just +you see. Now, here; try some of this soup." + +Lady Samas said nothing. She seemed to be entirely oblivious of her +surroundings these days. Nothing mattered to her any more. Word had come +back that Chief Samas had accompanied General Eeler in the fatal +expedition towards the Invader base, and The Chief had been buried there +in the Frozen Country. + +Lady Samas had nowhere else to stay. Kevenoe was dead, his skull crushed +by--by someone. Anketam refused, in his own mind, to see any connection +between Kevenoe's death and the fact that Basom and Zillia had +disappeared the same day, probably to give themselves over to the +Invader troops. + +A movement at the corner of his eye caught Anketam's attention. He +turned his head to look. Then he spun on his heel and went into the hut. + +"Lady Samas," he said quickly, "they're coming. There's a ground-car +coming down the road with four Invaders in it." + +Lady Samas looked up at him, her fine old face calm and emotionless. +"Let them come," she said. "We can't stop them, Anketam. And we have +nothing to lose." + +Three minutes later, the ground-car pulled up in front of the hut. +Anketam watched silently as one of the men got out. The other three +stayed in the car, their handguns ready. + +The officer, very tall and straight in his blue uniform, strode up to +the door of the hut. He stopped and addressed Anketam. "I understand +Lady Samas is living here." + +"That's right," Anketam said. + +"Would you tell her that Colonel Fayder would like to speak to her." + +Before Anketam could say anything, Lady Samas spoke. "Tell the colonel +to come in, Anketam." + +Anketam stepped aside to let the officer enter. + +"Lady Samas?" he asked. + +She nodded. "I am." + +The colonel removed his hat. "Madam, I am Colonel Jamik Fayder, of the +Union army. You are the owner of this land?" + +"Until my son returns, yes," said Lady Samas evenly. + +"I understand." The colonel licked his lips nervously. He was obviously +ill at ease in the presence of the Lady Samas. "Madam," he said, "it +would be useless for me to apologize for the destructions of war. +Apologies are mere words." + +"They are," said Lady Samas. "None the less, I accept them." + +"Thank you. I have come to inform you that the Xedii armies formally +surrendered near Chromdin early this morning. The war is over." + +"I'm glad," said Lady Samas. + +"So am I," said the colonel. "It has not been a pleasant war. Xedii +was--and still is--the most backward planet in the galaxy. Your Council +of Chiefs steadfastly refused to allow the"--he glanced at +Anketam--"workers of Xedii to govern their own lives. They have lived +and died without proper education, without the medical care that would +save and lengthen their lives, and without the comforts of life that any +human being deserves. That situation will be changed now, but I am +heartily sorry it took a war to do it." + +Anketam looked at the man. What was he talking about? He and his kind +had burned and dusted cities and villages, and had smashed the lives of +millions of human beings on the pretense that they were trying to help. +What sort of insanity was that? + +The colonel took a sheaf of papers from his pocket. + +"I have been ordered to read to you the proclamation of the Union +President." + +He looked down at the papers and began to read: + +"Henceforth, all the peoples of Xedii shall be free and equal. They +shall have the right to change their work at will, to be paid in lawful +money instead of--" + +Anketam just stood there, his mind glazed. He had worked hard all his +life for the security of retirement, and now all that was gone. What was +he to do? Where was he to go? If he had to be paid in money, who would +do it? Lady Samas? She had nothing. Besides, Anketam knew nothing about +the handling of money. He knew nothing about how to get along in a +society like that. + +He stood there in silence as his world dissolved around him. He could +hear, dimly, the voice of the blue-clad Union officer as he read off the +death warrant for Xedii. And for Anketam. + + +THE END + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Destroyers, by Gordon Randall Garrett + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DESTROYERS *** + +***** This file should be named 24166.txt or 24166.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/1/6/24166/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Geetu Melwani, Bruce Albrecht and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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