Lucky Starr And The Rings Of Saturn ls-6 Read online

  "But what of Earth? How does it back its views? They are very fluent in their talks on peace, but their actions match their words very poorly. They called for peace and practiced war. They demanded a conference and at the same time outfitted a war expedition. In short, while Sirius risked its interests for the sake of peace, Earth, in return, made unprovoked war upon us. I can prove this from the mouth of a member of Earth's own Council of Science."

  He raised his hand as he spoke the last sentence, his first gesture of any sort, and pointed dramatically to a doorway upon which a spot of light had been allowed to fall. Lucky Starr was standing there, tall and defiantly straight. A robot flanked him on either side.

  Lucky, on being brought down to Vesta, finally saw Bigman again. The little Martian ran to him, while Yonge looked on with dour amusement from a distance.

  "Lucky," pleaded Bigman. "Sands of Mars, Lucky, don't go through with it. They can't make you say a word if you don't want to, and it doesn't really matter what happens to me."

  Slowly Lucky shook his head. "Wait, Bigman. Wait one more day."

  Yonge came up and took Bigman by the elbow. "Sorry, Starr, but we need him till you're through. Devoure has a great sense of hostage, and at this point I rather think he's right. You're going to have to face your own people, and dishonor will be difficult."

  Lucky nerved himself for just that when he finally stood hi the doorway and felt the eyes upon him, the silence, the caught breaths. In the spotlight himself, Lucky saw the delegates to the conference as nothing but a giant black mass. It was only after the robots led him into the witness box that faces swam out of the crowd at him, and he could see Hector Conway in the front row.

  For a moment Conway smiled at him with weary affection, but Lucky dared not smile back. This was the crisis and he must do nothing that, even at this late moment, might warn the Sirians.

  Devoure stared at the Earthman hungrily, savoring his coming triumph. He said, "Gentlemen. I wish temporarily to convert this conference into something approaching a court of law. I have a witness here whom I wish all the delegates to hear. I well rest my case on what he says-he, an Earthman and an important agent of the Council of Science."

  He then said to Lucky with sudden sharpness, "Your name, citizenship, and position, please."

  Lucky said, "I am David Starr, native of Earth, and member of the Council of Science."

  "Have you been subjected to drugs, to psychic probing, or to mental violence of any sort to induce you to testify here?"

  "No, sir."

  "You speak voluntarily, and will tell the truth?"

  "I speak voluntarily and will tell the truth."

  Devoure turned to the delegates. "It may occur to some of you that Councilman Starr has indeed been handled mentally without his knowledge or that he may be denying mental harm as the very result of that mental harm. If so, he may be examined by any member of this conference with medical qualification-I know there are a number of such-if anyone demands such examination."

  No one made the demand, and Devoure went on, addressing Lucky, "When did you first become aware of the Sirian base within the Saturnian system?"

  Curtly, unemotionally, eyes staring stonily forward, Lucky told of the first entry into the Saturnian system and the warning to leave.

  Conway nodded slightly at Lucky's complete omission of the capsule or of Agent X's spying activities. Agent X might have been merely a Terrestrial criminal. Obviously Sirius wanted no mention of its own spying at this time and, as obviously, Lucky was satisfied to go along with them in this.

  "And did you leave after being warned?"

  "I did, sir."

  "Permanently?"

  "No, sir."

  "What did you do next?"

  Lucky described the ruse with Hidalgo, the approach to Saturn's south pole, the flight through the gap in the rings to Mimas.

  Devoure interrupted, "Did we at any time offer violence to your ship?"

  "No, sir."

  Devoure turned to the delegates again. "There is no need to rely only upon the word of the Councilman. I have here telephotos of the pursuit of the Councilman's ship to Mimas."

  While Lucky remained in the spotlight the rest of the chamber was darkened, and in the three-dimensional imagery the delegates watched scenes of The Shooting Starr speeding toward the rings and disappearing into a gap which, at the angle of photography, could not be seen.

  It was next shown racing headlong into Mimas and disappearing in a flash of ruddy light and vapor.

  At this time Devoure must have felt the growth of a furtive admiration for the daring of the Earthman, for he said with a touch of annoyed haste, "Our inability to overtake the Councilman was the result of his ship's equipment with Agrav motors. Maneuvers in the neighborhood of Saturn were more difficult for us than for him. For that reason we ourselves had not previously approached Mimas and were not psychologically ready for his doing so."

  If Conway had dared he would have shouted aloud at that. The fool! Devoure would pay for that moment of jealousy. Of course by mentioning Agrav he was trying to stir up the outer worlds' fears of Earth's scientific advances, and that might be a mistake too. The fears might grow too strong.

  Devoure said to Lucky, "Now then, what happened once you left Mimas?"

  Lucky described his capture, and Devoure, having hinted at Sirius's possession of advanced mass-detection devices, said, "And then, once on Titan, did you give us further information concerning your activities on Mimas?"

  "Yes, sir. I told you that another Councilman was still on Mimas, and then I accompanied you back to Mimas."

  This the delegates had apparently not known. There was a furor, which Devoure shouted down. He cried, "I have a complete telephoto of the removal of the Councilman from Mimas, where he was sent to establish a secret war base against us at the very time that Earth called this conference, allegedly for peace.''

  Again the darkening and again the three-dimensional image. In full detail the conference watched the landing on Mimas, saw the surface melted down, watched Lucky disappear into the tunnel formed and Councilman Ben Wessilewsky brought up and on board ship. The last scenes were those taken within Wess's temporary quarters under the surface of Mimas.

  "A fully equipped base, as you see," said Devoure. Then, turning to Lucky, he said, "May your actions throughout all this be considered to have the official approval of Earth?"

  It was a leading question and there was no doubt as to the answer that was desired and expected, but here Lucky hesitated, while the audience waited breathlessly and a frown gathered on Devoure's face.

  Finally Lucky said, "I will tell the precise truth. I did not receive direct permission to re-enter Saturn a second time, but I know that in everything I did I would have met with the full approval of the Council of Science."

  And at that admission there was wild commotion among the reporters and a hubbub on the floor. The conference delegates were rising in their seats, and cries of "Vote! Vote!" could be made out.

  To all appearances the conference had ended and Earth had lost.

  16. Biter Bit

  Agas Doremo was on his feet, banging the traditional gavel for silence with complete ineffectuality. Con-way plowed forward through a host of threatening gestures and catcalls and pulled the circuit breaker, thus sounding the old pirate warning. A shrill rising-falling rasp of sound squealed above the disorder and beat the delegates into surprised silence.

  Conway shut it off, and in the sudden quiet Doremo said quickly, "I have agreed to recognize Chief Councilman Hector Conway of the Terrestrial Federation that he might cross-examine Councilman Starr."

  There were shouts of "No, no," but Doremo continued obdurately, "I ask the conference to play fair in this respect. The Chief Councilman assures me his cross-examination will be brief."

  Amid rustling and a tide of whispering, Conway approached Lucky.

  He smiled but spoke with an air of formality, saying, "Councilman Starr, Mr. Devoure did not
question you as to your intentions in all this. Tell me, why did you enter the Saturnian system?"

  "In order to colonize Mimas, Chief."

  "Did you feel you had the right to do so?"

  "It was an empty world, Chief."

  Conway turned so as to face a suddenly puzzled and quiet group of delegates. "Would you repeat that, Councilman Starr?"

  "I wished to establish human beings on Mimas, an empty world that belongs to the Terrestrial Federation, Chief."

  Devoure was on his feet, calling out furiously, "Mimas is part of the Saturnian system."

  "Exactly," said Lucky, "as Saturn is part of Earth's Solar System. But by your interpretation Mimas is merely an empty world. A while ago you admitted that Sirian ships had never approached Mimas before my ship landed on it."

  Conway smiled. Lucky had caught that error on Devoure's part too.

  Conway said, "Councilman Starr was not here, Mr. Devoure, when you made your introductory speech. Let me quote a passage from it, word for word: 'An empty world is an empty world, regardless of the particular route it travels through space. We colonized it first and it is ours.'"

  The Chief Councilman turned toward the delegates and said with great deliberation, "If the viewpoint of the Terrestrial Federation is correct, then Mimas is Earth's, because it circles a planet that circles our Sun. If the viewpoint of Sinus is correct, then Mimas is still Earth's, because it was empty and we colonized it first. By Sirius's own line of reasoning, the fact that another satellite of Saturn was colonized by Sirius had nothing to do with the case.

  "In either event, by invading a world belonging to the Terrestrial Federation and removing there from our colonist, Sirius has committed an act of war and has shown its true hypocrisy, since it refused to allow others the rights it claimed for itself."

  And now again there was a confused milling about, and it was Doremo who spoke next. "Gentlemen, I have something to say. The facts, as stated by Council- men Starr and Conway, are irrefutable. This demon strates the complete anarchy into which the Galaxy would be thrown if the Sirian view were to prevail. Every uninhabited rock would be a source of contention, every asteroid a threat to peace. The Sirians, by their own action, have shown themselves insincere…"

  It was a complete and sudden change-about.

  Had time been allowed, Sirius might yet have rallied its forces, but Doremo, an experienced and skilled parliamentarian, maneuvered the conference into a vote while the pro-Sirians were still completely demoralized and before they had a chance to consider whether they dared go against the plain facts as suddenly revealed.

  Three worlds voted on the side of Sirius. They were Penthesileia, Duvarn, and Mullen, all small and all known to be under Sirius's political influence. The rest of the Council, better than fifty votes, was on the side of Earth. Sirius was ordered to release the Earth-men it had taken prisoner. It was ordered to dismantle its base and leave the Solar System within a month.

  The orders could not be enforced except by war, of course, but Earth was ready for war and Sirius would have to face it now without the help of the outer worlds. There wasn't a man on Vesta who expected her to fight under those conditions.

  Devoure, panting and his face contorted, saw Lucky once more. "It was a foul trick," he said. "It was a device to force us into… "

  "You forced me," said Lucky quietly, "by the threat to Bigman's life. Do you remember? Or would you like the details of that published?"

  "We still have your monkey friend," began Devoure malignantly, "and conference vote or not… "

  Chief Councilman Conway, also present, smiled. "If you're referring to Bigman, Mr. Devoure, you don't have him. He is in our hands, together with a Serviceman named Yonge, who told me that Council man Starr had assured him safe-conduct in case of need. He apparently feels that in your present mood it would be unsafe for himself to accompany you back to Titan. May I suggest that you consider whether it might be unsafe for you to go back to Sirius? If you wish to apply for asylum… -"

  But Devoure, speechless, turned his back and left.

  Doremo was all a-grin as he bade farewell to Con-way and Lucky.

  "You'll be glad to see Earth again, I dare say, young man."

  Lucky nodded his agreement. "''I'm going home by liner within the hour, sir, with the poor old Shooter being towed along behind, and frankly, there's nothing that could please me more just now."

  "Good! And congratulations on a magnificent piece of work. When Chief Conway asked me to allow him time for cross-examination at the beginning of the session, I agreed, but thought he must be mad. When you were done testifying and he signaled for recognition, I was sure he was mad. But obviously all this was planned in advance."

  Conway said, "Lucky had sent me a message outlining what he hoped to do. Of course it wasn't till the last hour or two that we were sure it had worked out."

  "I think you had faith in the Councilman," said Doremo. "Why, hi your first conversation with me, you asked if I would come out on your side if Lucky's evidence failed of effect. I didn't see what you could mean then, of course, but I understood when the time came."

  "I thank you for throwing your weight to our side."

  "I threw it on the side of what had obviously been demonstrated to be justice… You're a subtle opponent, young man," he said to Lucky.

  Lucky smiled. "I merely counted on Sirius's lack of sincerity. If they had really believed in what they claimed was their point of view, my Councilman colleague would have been left on Mimas and all we would have had for our pains was a small satellite of ice and a difficult war to fight."

  "Quite. Well, no doubt there'll be second thoughts when the delegates get back home, and some will become angry with Earth and with me and even with themselves, I suppose, for having let themselves be stampeded. In cold blood, though, they'll realize that they have established a principle here, the indivisibility of stellar systems, and I think they'll also realize that the good of this principle will outweigh any hurt to their pride or their prejudices. I really think this conference will be looked back on by historians as something important and as something that contributed a great deal to the peace and welfare of the Galaxy. I'm quite pleased."

  And he shook hands with both, most vigorously.

  Lucky and Bigman were together again, and though the ship was large and the passenger complement numerous, they kept to themselves. Mars was behind them (Bigman spending the better part of an hour observing it with great satisfaction) and Earth not very far ahead.

  Bigman finally managed to voice his embarrassment. "Space, Lucky," he said, "I never saw what you were

  doing, not once. I thought… Well, I don't want to

  say what I thought. Only, Sands of Mars, I wish you had warned me."

  "Bigman, I couldn't. That was the one thing I couldn't do. Don't you see? I had to maneuver the Sirians into hijacking Wess off Mimas without letting them see the implications. I couldn't show them I wanted them to do it or they'd have seen the trap at once. I had to work it so that it would seem I was being forced into it bitterly against my will. At the start, I assure you, I didn't know exactly how I was going to do it, but I did know one thing-if you knew about the plan, Bigman, you'd have given the show away."

  Bigman was outraged. ''I'd give it away? Why, you Earthslug, a blaster couldn't have forced it out of me."

  "I know. No torture could have forced it out of you, Bigman. You'd just give it away, free. You're a miserable actor and you know it. Once you got mad, it would come spilling out, one way or another. That's why I half wanted you to stay on Mimas, remember?

  I knew I couldn't tell you the planned course of action and I knew you'd misunderstand what I was doing and be miserable about it. As it was, though, you turned out a godsend."

  "I did? For beating up that cobber?"

  "Indirectly, yes. It gave me the opportunity to make it look as though I were sincerely swapping Wess's freedom for your life. It took less acting to do that than to give Wess awa
y under any conditions I could have dreamed up in your absence. In fact, as it was, I didn't have to act at all. It was a good swap."

  "Aw, Lucky."

  "Aw, yourself. Besides, you were so heartbroken about it that they never suspected a trick. Anyone watching you would have been convinced I was really betraying Earth."

  "Sands of Mars, Lucky," said Bigman, stricken, "I should have known you wouldn't do anything like that. I was a nitwit."

  "I'm glad you were," said Lucky fervently, and he ruffled the little fellow's hair affectionately.

  When Conway and Wess joined them at dinner, Wess said, "This isn't going to be the kind of homecoming that fellow Devoure can expect. Ship's sub-ether is full of the stuff they're printing on Earth about us; about you especially, of course."

  Lucky frowned. "That's nothing to be thankful about. It just makes our job harder in the future. Publicity! Stop and think what they would be saying if the Sirians had been just one inch smarter and hadn't fallen for the bait or had pulled out of the conference at the last minute."

  Conway shuddered visibly. "I'd rather not. But whatever it would be, that's what Devoure is getting."

  Lucky said, "I guess he'll survive. His uncle will pull him through."

  "Anyway," said Bigman, "we're through with him."

  "Are we?" said Lucky somberly. "I wonder."

  And they ate in silence for a few moments.

  Conway, in an obvious attempt to alter the sud denly darkened atmosphere, said, "Of course, in a sense the Sirians could not afford to leave Wess on Mimas, so we didn't really give them a fair chance. After all, they were looking for the capsule in the rings, and for all they know, Wess, only thirty thou sand miles outside the rings, might… "

  Bigman dropped his fork, and his eyes were like saucers. "Blasting rockets!"