Zach Hughes - For Texas and Zed

allowing only a glimpse of her trim ankles. "It's been a long time, Lexington Burns," said the Lady Gwyn. He had half expected her. It made sense to send her. They would use her to probe his weakness, for she

knew him. He had not bothered to rise. "Please have a seat," he said. He was in the uniform of a Texas

Fleet General, minus insignia. "You have come a long way," Lady Gwyn said, seating herself and allowing the official robe to part, showing one lovely leg.

Lex nodded. "Are you determined, then, to destroy all of the Empire?" she asked, with a half smile. She had intended

the remark to be sarcastic, half joking. It came out flat. There in the midst of the Texican fleet, seeing its power firsthand, she could not bring it off. "That would be a large undertaking, wouldn't it?" Lex answered. "Truly large," she said. "Can even a Texican do it? Ten million warships? Millions of planets? Billions of

people?" "We won't know for a while, will we?" Lex asked. Gwyn used her nicest smile. "You don't have to try, you know. There are other ways. The Emperor—" "—ordered the use of population reducers on Texas," Lex said, dropping his booted feet from the top of

his desk. "Are your hands completely clean of blood?" asked Gwyn.

"My hands show only blood I'm forced to spill."

She had come expecting to see an overgrown boy in a man's neatly pressed uniform, but, looking into

his cold eyes, she was unsure of herself. "The benevolent conqueror?" she asked, hating herself for having been forced into trying to reach him through the cold shell. She regained control. "When it comes to administering what you've taken, do you think you could use a little bit of help?"

"Maybe," Lex said.

"The Emperor has asked me to offer a truce. We would leave the lines as they are now. You would have your planets for your needed metals. We would work together to restore order." "That's big of you," Lex said, a non-smile parting his lips. "It seems that you're willing to give me what

I've already taken." "I am directed," she said, "to ask you to look around, see what's happening in the galaxy. In fighting you, we've opened up our flanks to the Cassiopeians. They are taking planet after planet. When they take a planet it isn't pleasant for the Empire inhabitants. They're put into virtual slavery. Lex, there's a black pall of savagery falling over the entire galaxy. Don't you understand what you're doing? You're destroying the only force which has held it all together. Empire has its faults, but look what Empire has accomplished.

There is no hunger on Empire planets—" "Because you can make plenty of tasteless synthetics," Lex said. "But it is food. Can Texas feed all the planets you've taken?" She shook her head. "It's easy to take a

planet, all you need is force. But afterward? When the people are hungry? When the trade routes which have kept Empire an entity are closed? How many planets are self-sustaining?" "We'll teach them to be self-sustaining," Lex said.

"Will you, then, agree to a personal meeting with the Emperor?" Gwyn asked, as a last resort. "Sure," Lex said, glancing at a star chart on the wall of his cabin. "Tell the old boy I'll be calling on him on Earth in approximately six months."

"In six months, the Cassiopeians will be on Earth," Gwyn said, in desperation. "It's that bad, huh?" Lex asked. "It's that bad," she said. "Tell you what," he said, rising to the height of his six-seven stature, "I want to hear more. You'd better

stay the night." He looked at her, waiting for an argument. "Here," he said. "All right," she said. "If that's what you want." Chapter Twelve As the Texican fleet blinked and waited, moving deeper into the galaxy, Fleet General Billy Bob Blink

transferred over to the flagship carrying a bottle of liberated brandy. He found Lex in his cabin brooding

over star charts. "Hey, boy, time for a break." He brandished the bottle. Lex pushed his eyebrows apart with thumb and

forefinger and managed a grin. He threw his booted feet onto his desk and accepted the glass offered by Billy Bob and let the crisp taste of the brandy linger on his tongue.

They drank in silence for a few minutes and then Billy Bob chuckled. "Hey, you remember that time we

laid one on in Dallas City, that time just before you went off to do your time for the Empire?" Lex nodded. He had scant time for memories these days, but it was pleasant to take his mind off

problems tor a few minutes.

"Drunk, whee, I had to hold onto the grass to stay on the world," Billy Bob said.

"And the look on the faces of those herders when you tackled them," Lex said, entering into the mood.

"They thought you were some crazy kid and they tried not to hurt you."

"Well," Billy Bob said, "I didn't really need your help."

"Oh, no," Lex said.

Billy Bob chuckled again and mused into his glass. "Hell, I miss it, old buddy. I miss all of it, Texas, the

big spaces, riding old Clean Machine down across the desert blowing low and fast."

"Yeah," Lex said.

"Here I am going on twenty-three and I ain't married," Billy Bob said. "And the ratio of women is up at

home, too."

"There'll be time," Lex said.

"When?" His question was not an idle one. Lex recognized that and let his feet fall to the floor with a thud. "When we gonna quit, Lex? Hell, we've made it secure for Texas. We occupy a quarter of the galaxy. We've got our buffer zone through which no one could attack with any degree of surprise. When we gonna call it enough?"

"When the killing has been stopped," Lex said.

"Seems to me we're doing our share," Billy Bob said.

"We didn't start it."

"No, but we can stop it. I talked to your friend when she was here. I know the Emperor offered you a

deal."

"Only to be able to kill Cassies," Lex said.

"Is that our business?"

"B.B., I've been doing me some reading now and then. And I ran into something which might explain to

you the way I feel. I may not remember the exact words, but they were written by a fellow back on the old Earth, long before we went into space. It goes something like this: The death of any man diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind. You get what I mean?"

"I don't wanta sound smart," Billy Bob said, "but it seems to me you're saying you're gonna kill people to keep them from killing themselves."

Lex's face went stiff. "I kill only when there is no other way."

"Sure, you offer them a chance to surrender. What if it were the other way and someone was taking Texas piece by piece, would you surrender?"

"It's different," Lex said.

"We've got the Empire on the ropes," Billy Bob said. "We could fly through to Earth right now. And I'm not sure we're on the right track, buddy. There are ;he Cassies. Now I've been doing me some reading and some talking, too. I think of the two the Empire is just a hair better. What are we gonna do, take nut the Empire and then tackle the Cassies?"

"Nope," Lex said.

"Then what?"

"Take a look," Lex said. "Here." He shoved a star hart across his desk. Billy Bob looked and then he pursed his lips and whistled. On the chart, marked in red, was the line of march extending out from Texas into Empire. Red areas showed areas of Texican control. The dotted line of future movement extended not toward Earth, but outward. There was a circle around the star Cassiopeia.

The fleet blinked into Cassiopeian space just over two years from the time it first left Texas space and the messages began to go out. There were the usual offers of surrender and honorable terms, all, of course, refused. Cassiopeian ships learned the hard way that they were no match for Texican weapons and the dark space flared with their lessons. Nevertheless, the resistance was stiff. Again, Texicans died and the news of their dying brought a delegation from the home planet to meet with President Burns in deep space. Of the five Texicans, two were known to Lex. Retired Admiral Crockett Reds shook his hand and congratulated him on his successes. Emily smiled and her hand was warm in his.