Mack Reynolds - Dawnman Planet

Phil, from the controls, laughed. “Touché. She’s got you there, Ronny.” He looked into a zoom-screen. “Hey, I think our Space Forces cruiser is coming in.”

They considered, briefly, releasing the girl and allowing her to return to Phrygia in the small spacecraft they had taken over from the UP, which had been their home for the past week.

In fact, they called the UP Building with the intention of discussing her release, in return for leniency toward the United Planets personnel.

The only response was from a uniformed Phrygia security police colonel, who informed them coldly that there were no longer any UP personnel in the building and that he was not free to discuss the situation. He inquired after the health of their prisoner, but showed no emotion when he was told that it was excellent.

Phil Birdman looked at his colleague. “We’d better take her.”

Ronny didn’t like it, but he had no valid argument against continuing to keep an obviously valuable hostage. Whatever force the Baron had taken to the Dawnworld’s with him, always assuming that their guess was correct and he actually was on his way, was most certainly more than this tiny space Cruiser with its crew of four.

He said unhappily, “There’ll be six of us in that small ship as it is… She’d make it seven. Besides, who knows what trouble she might kick up? She’s fanatically for her Uncle Max and might try to blow us all up, just on the off chance that it might help him.”

Phil Birdman looked at him questioningly.

Ronny said, “We’d have to have her under guard for the whole trip.”

Phil said reasonably, “Why not put her into cold for the duration? We can arouse her as soon as we want her awake. It won’t hurt her.”

Ronny said grudgingly, “I suppose we could do that.”

The skipper and the three junior Space Forces officers of the little cruiser were taken aback by the fact that they were to have a feminine fellow passenger, and a pretty one. And not to speak of the fact that she was the kidnapped member of the royal family of Phrygia.

This particular vessel, the Space Cruiser Pisa , had been the nearest to Phrygia when the crisis arose. Ross Metaxa had thrown his weight around and quickly had the Pisa diverted to the trouble spot. The instructions were to put ship and crew at the service of the two Section G operatives. Captain Gary Volos and his three juniors hadn’t the vaguest idea of what the assignment was to be.

Rita Daniels didn’t help matters any.

At the first opportunity, and before Ronny could hardly more than begin his explanations to the Space Forces skipper, she had yelped, “I am being detained illegally. I am the Countess Rita Daniels Wyler, niece of the Supreme Commandant of the member planet Phrygia of the United Planets, and these criminals are violating Article One of the United Planets Charter. I demand to be returned to my uncle’s palace on Phrygia immediately.”

Captain Volos was shocked. His eyes went from her to the two Section G agents in disbelief.

“Some squaw,” Birdman muttered.

Only then did it come to Ronny Bronston that he had been concentrating so long on the present emergency that he had forgotten that not one person in a billion, in the overall population of the United Planets, knew that the emergency existed. The average member of the human race had no knowledge of the existence of the original little intelligent alien life form, not to speak of the Dawnworlds and the Dawnmen.

He rapped, “Captain, your orders are to place your ship and yourself and men under the command of Agent Birdman and myself. We’ll hold you to that.”

Volos, staring, retorted, “My superiors made no mention of my condoning the breaking of the United Planets Charter. Do you deny this citizeness’ words?”

Ronny shook his head wearily. “Substantially, she is telling the truth. However, the circumstances are drastic.”

“Drastic!” one of the junior officers retorted. “How can anything be so drastic that the UP Charter be violated? Why, that’s the reason for the existence of the Space Forces. That’s why I joined it. To preserve the United Planets Charter—with my life, if necessary.”

“Oh fine,” Phil muttered. “A flag waver. Just what we need.”

“You’re going to have your chance to die for United Planets,” Ronny snapped back, impatiently. “This young lady’s uncle is attempting to subvert it. Right now, he’s on his way to some newly discovered planets with a type of man far in advance of the… well, the human race. He hopes to get ultra weapons and techniques that will enable him to take over complete control of every planet, United Planets members and otherwise, which our species has colonized. That’s why you were sent out here: To help us stop him.”

The four spacemen were staring at him as though he had gone completely around the bend.

Rita saw her opportunity. “See?” she demanded. “He’s out of his mind.”

“Obviously,” the flag waver said, his eyes wide.

“Knock it, Richardson,” his captain ordered. “I’ll take care of this.” He turned back to the two Section G agents. “I don’t know what’s doing on here, but I’m going to land and check with the local delegation of United Planets.”

“That’ll be a neat trick, as Sid Jakes would say,” Birdman muttered. “The local delegation of UP has either been shot or thrown into the cooler.”

“I keep telling you,” Ronny said, trying to maintain reasonableness in his tone, “Phrygia is in a condition of armed aggression against her fellow members of UP and in revolt against the UP as a whole.”

“You mean to tell me,” Captain Volos demanded unbelievingly, “that this planet wants to take on all three thousand worlds of the UP and conquer them?”

Rita laughed mockingly.

Ronny Bronston closed his eyes in pain. He opened them again.

He said, “Phil, cover them!” A Model H gun flowed into Phil Birdman’s hand.

“Captain,” Ronny said mildly, “your orders are to put yourselves and your cruiser under the command of Agent Birdman and myself. We are going to insist you observe them.”

The skipper’s eyes went down to the gun. He recognized the competent manner in which it was being handled. He also recognized the weapon and its potentialities. He checked his three juniors with his eyes. Even Richardson avoided the question in his commanding officer’s face.

Captain Volos said coldly, “I am acting under coercion, Citizen Bronston, and wish the fact to be entered into the Pisa’s log.”

“Very well. Within a short time, I’m going to prove to you what we’ve tried to put over. You don’t seem to be a flat. When the proof is obvious, then Citizen Birdman and I will expect more hearty cooperation on the part of you and your men. Meanwhile, here is a chart. We are to head for the first of these sun systems marked in red.”

The four hesitated for a long moment.

Birdman jiggled his gun, meaningfully.

The captain took the torn chart, scowled at it, took it over to his navigating table.

“Where’d you get this?” he asked grudgingly.

“It’s a long story,” Ronny told him. “Once we get underway, I’ll tell you at least part of it. Suffice to say, for the moment, that I liberated it from our friends on Phrygia, who are trying to take over control of every human being alive.”

The captain looked with continued disbelief at him, then turned down to the chart.

Phil Birdman said cheerfully, “I think we’d better chill the squaw here, like I suggested. She’s already caused enough trouble in just these past few minutes. What could she accomplish working on our cloddy friends, here, over a period of a couple of Earth weeks, or so.”