Poul Anderson: Agent of the Terran Empire

She took his arm. Her hand shook. “No,” she said, “y-y-you can’t be killed. You’re too much alive. Oh, come in, darlin’!” She closed the door behind him.

He followed her to the living room and sat down. Sunlight streamed past roses in a trellis window, casting blue shadows over the warm small neatness of furnishings. The girl moved about, dialing the public pneumo for drinks, chattering with frantic gaiety. His eyes found it pleasant to follow her.

“You could have written,” she said, smiling too much to show it wasn’t a reproach. “When the Ardazirho pulled out o’ Vixen, we went back to normal fast. The mailtubes were operatin’ again in a few hours.”

“I was busy,” he said.

“An’ you’re through now?” She gave him a whisky and sat down opposite him, resting her own glass on a bare sun-browned knee.

“I suppose so.” Flandry took out a cigaret. “Until the next trouble comes.”

“I don’t really understan’ what happened,” she said. “’Tis all been one big confusion.”

“Such developments usually are,” he said, glad of a chance to speak impersonally. “Since the Imperium played down all danger in the public mind, it could hardly announce a glorious victory in full detail. But things were simple enough. Once we’d clobbered the Ardazirho chiefs at the nebula, everything fell apart for their planet. The Vixen force withdrew to help defend the mother world, because revolt was breaking out all over their little empire. Walton followed. He didn’t seek a decisive battle, his fleet being less than the total of theirs, but he held them at bay while our psychological warfare teams took Ardazir apart. Another reason for avoiding open combat as much as possible was that we wanted that excellent navy of theirs. When they reconstituted themselves as a loose federation of coequal orbckhs, clans, tribes, and what have you, they were ready enough to accept Terran supremacy — the Pax would protect them against each other!”

“As easy as that.” A scowl passed beneath Kit’s fair hair. “After all they did to us, they haven’t paid a millo. Not that reparations would bring back our dead, but — should they go scot free?”

“Oh, they ransomed themselves, all right.” Flandry’s tone grew somber. He looked through a shielding haze of smoke at roses which nodded in a mild summer wind. “They paid ten times over for all they did at Vixen: in blood and steel and agony, fighting as bravely as any people I’ve ever seen for a cause that was not theirs. We spent them like wastrels. Not one Ardazirho ship in a dozen came home. And yet the poor proud devils think it was a victory!”

“What? You mean—”

“Yes. We joined their navy to ours at Syrax. They were the spearhead of the offensive. It fell within the rules of the game, you see. Technically, Terra hadn’t launched an all-out attack on the Merseian bases. Ardazir, a confederacy subordinate to us, had done so! But our fleet came right behind. The Merseians backed up. They negotiated. Syrax is ours now.” Flandry shrugged. “Merseia can afford it. Terra won’t use the Cluster as an invasion base. It’ll only be a bastion. We aren’t brave enough to do the sensible thing; we’ll keep the peace, and to hell with our grandchildren.” He smoked in short ferocious drags. “Prisoner exchange was a condition. All prisoners, and the Merseians meant all. In plain language, if they couldn’t have Aycharaych back, they wouldn’t withdraw. They got him.”

She looked a wide-eyed question.

“Never mind,” said Flandry scornfully. “That’s a mere detail. I don’t suppose my work went quite for nothing. I helped end the Ardazir war and the Syrax deadlock. I personally, all by myself, furnished Aycharaych as a bargaining counter. I shouldn’t demand more, should I?” He dropped his face into one hand. “Oh, God, Kit, how tired I am!”

She rose, went over to sit on the arm of his chair, and laid a hand upon his head. “Can you stay here an’ rest?” she asked softly.

He looked up. A bare instant he paused, uncertain himself.

Then rue twisted his lips upward. “Sorry. I only stopped in to say goodbye.”

“What?” she whispered, as if he had stabbed her. “But, Dominic—”

He shook his head. “No,” he cut her off. “It won’t do, lass. Anything less than everything would be too unfair to you. And I’m just not the forever-and-ever sort. That’s the way of it.”

He tossed off his drink and stood up. He would go now, even sooner than he had planned, cursing himself that he had been so heedless of them both as to return here. He tilted up her chin and smiled down into the hazel eyes. “What you’ve done, Kit,” he said, “your children and their children will be proud to remember. But mostly … we had fun, didn’t we?”

His lips brushed hers and tasted tears. He went out the door and walked down the street again, never looking back.

A vague, mocking part of him remembered that he had not yet settled his bet with Ivar del Bruno. And why should he? When he reached Terra, he would have another try. It would be something to do.