Part 15 (1/2)

”As you know, commander,” he said frowningly one morning, ”it's no use trying to indoctrinate apeople we can't contact. And you can't subject a people by force of arms alone; the power of the Truth-”

”I know, Frater ,” the commander interposed quickly. ”But we can't deal with these savages in the hinterlands. When we get a little farther into this barbarian empire, we can take the necessary steps to-”

”The Truth,” Frater Vincent interrupted somewhat testily, ”is for all men. It works, regardless of the state of civilization of the society.”

The commander looked out of the unglazed window of the native hut in which he had established his temporary headquarters, in one of the many villages he had taken-or, rather, walked into without a fight because it was empty. ”But you'll admit, Frater, that it takes longer with savages.”

”True,” said Frater Vincent.

”We simply haven't the time. We've got to keep on the move. And, besides, we haven't even been able to contact any of the natives for quite a while; they get out of our way. And we have taken a few prisoners-” His voice was apologetic, but there was a trace of irritation in it. He didn't want to offend Frater Vincent, of course, but dammit, the a.s.semblyman didn't understand military tactics at all. Or, he corrected himself hastily, at least only slightly.

”Yes,” admitted Frater Vincent, ”and I've had considerable success with the prisoners. But, remember-we're not here just to indoctrinate a few occasional prisoners, but to change the entire moral and philosophical viewpoint of an entire race.”

”I realize that, Frater ,” the commander admitted. He turned from the window and faced the a.s.semblyman. ”We're getting close to the Great Bay now. That's where our s.h.i.+p landed on the second probing expedition. I expect we'll be more welcome there than we have been, out here in the countryside. We'll take it easy, and I think you'll have a chance to work with the natives on a ma.s.s basis.”

The Frater smiled. ”Excellent, commander. I...uh...want you to understand that I'm not trying to tell you your business; you run this campaign as you see fit. But don't lose sight of the ultimate goal of life.”

”I won't. How could I? It's just that my methods are not, perhaps, as refined as yours.”

Frater Vincent nodded, still smiling. ”True. You are a great deal more direct. And-in your own way-just as effective. After all, the a.s.sembly could not function without the military, but there were armies long before the Universal a.s.sembly came into being.”

The commander smiled back. ”Not any armies like this, Frater.”

Frater Vincent nodded. The understanding between the two men-at least on that point-was tacit and mutual. He traced a symbol in the air and left the commander to his thoughts.

Mentally, the commander went through the symbol-patterns that he had learned as a child-the symbol-patterns that brought him into direct contact with the Ultimate Power, the Power that controlled not only the spinning of atoms and the whirling of electrons in their orbits, but the workings of probability itself.

Once indoctrinated into the teachings of the Universal a.s.sembly, any man could tap that Power to a greater or lesser degree, depending on his mental control and ethical att.i.tude. At the top level, a first-cla.s.s adept could utilize that Power for telepathy, psychokinesis, levitation, teleportation, and other powers that the commander only vaguely understood.

He, himself, had no such depth of mind, such iron control over his will, and he knew he'd never have it. But he could and did tap that Power to the extent that his physical body was under near-perfect control at all times, and not even the fear of death could shake his determination to win, or his great courage.

He turned again to the window and looked at the alien sky. There was a great deal yet to be done.

The commander needed information-needed it badly. He had to know what the government of the alien empire was doing. Had they been warned of his arrival? Surely they must have, and yet they had taken no steps to impede his progress.

For this purpose, he decided to set up headquarters on an island just offsh.o.r.e in the Great Bay. Itwas a protected position, easily defended from a.s.sault, and the natives, he knew from his previous visit, were friendly.

They even helped him to get his men and equipment and the carriers across on huge rafts.

From that point, he began collecting the information he needed to invade the central domains of the Greatest n.o.ble himself. It seemed an ideal spot-not only protection-wise, but because this was the spot he had originally picked for the landing of the s.h.i.+p. The vessel, which had returned to the base for reinforcements and extra supplies, would be aiming for the Great Bay area when she came back. And there was little likelihood that atmospheric disturbances would throw her off course again; Captain Bartholomew was too good a man to be fooled twice.

But landing on that island was the first-and only-mistake the commander made during the campaign. The rumors of internal bickerings among the Great n.o.bles of the barbarian empire were not the only rumors he heard. News of more local treachery came to his ears through the agency of natives, now loyal to the commander, who had been indoctrinated into the philosophy of the a.s.sembly.

A group of native chieftains had decided that the invading Earthmen were too dangerous to be allowed to remain on their island, in spite of the fact that the invaders had done them no harm. There were, after all, whisperings from the north, whence the invaders had come, that the armored beings with the terrible weapons had used their power more than once during their march to the south. The chieftains were determined to rid their island of the potential menace.

As soon as the matter was brought to the commander's attention, he acted. He sent out a patrol to the place where the ringleaders were meeting, arrested them, and sentenced them to death. He didn't realize what effect that action would have on the rest of the islanders.

He almost found out too late.

XI.

”There must be three thousand of them out there,” said Lieutenant Commander Hernan tightly, ”and everyone of them's crazy.”

”Rot!” The commander spat on the ground and then sighted again along the barrel of his weapon.

”I'm the one who's crazy. I'm a lousy politician; that's my trouble.”

The lieutenant commander shrugged lightly. ”Anyone can make a mistake. Just chalk it up to experience.”

”I will, when we get out of this mess.” He watched the gathering natives through hard, slitted eyes.

The invading Earthmen were in a village at the southern end of the eight-mile-long island, waiting inside the mud-brick huts, while the natives who had surrounded the village worked themselves into a frenzy for an attack. The commander knew there was no sense in charging into them at that point; they would simply scatter and rea.s.semble. The only thing to do was wait until they attacked-and then smash the attack.

”Hernan,” he said, his eyes still watching the outside, ”you and the others get out there with the carriers after the first volley. Cut them down. They're twenty-to-one against us, so make every blow count. Move.”

Hernan nodded wordlessly and slipped away.

The natives were building up their courage with some sort of war dance, whooping and screaming and making threatening gestures toward the embattled invaders. Then the pattern of the dance changed; the islanders whirled to face the mud-brick buildings which housed the invading Earthmen. Suddenly, the dance broke, and the warriors ran in a screaming charge, straight for the trapped soldiers.

The commander waited. His own shot would be the signal, and he didn't want the men to fire too quickly. If the islanders were hit too soon, they might fall back into the woods and set up a siege, which the little company couldn't stand. Better to mop up the natives now, if possible.

Closer. Closer- Now!

The commander's first shot picked off one of the leaders in the front ranks of the native warriors,and was followed by a raking volley from the other power weapons, firing from the windows of the mud-brick buildings. The warriors in the front rank dropped, and those in the second rank had to move adroitly to keep from stumbling over the bodies of their fallen fellows. The firing from the huts became ragged, but its raking effect was still deadly. A cloud of heavy, stinking smoke rolled across the clearing between the edge of the jungle and the village, as the bright, hard lances of heat leaped from the muzzles of the power weapons toward the bodies of the charging warriors.

The charge was gone from the commander's weapon, and he didn't bother to replace it. As Hernan and his men charged into the melee with their carriers, the commander went with them.

At the same time, the armored infantrymen came pouring out of the mud-brick houses, swinging their swords, straight into the ma.s.s of confused native warriors. A picked group of sharpshooters remained behind in the concealment of the huts to pick off the warriors at the edge of the battle with their sporadic fire.

The commander's lips were moving a little as he formed the symbol-patterns of power almost unconsciously; a lifetime of habit had burned them into his brain so deeply that he could form them automatically while turning the thinking part of his mind to the business at hand.

He soon found himself entirely surrounded by the alien warriors. Their bronze weapons glittered in the sunlight as they tried to fight off the onslaught of the invaders. And those same bronze weapons were sheared, nicked, blunted, bent, and broken as they met the harder steel of the commander's sword.

Then the unexpected happened. One of the warriors, braver than the rest, made a grab for the commander's sword arm. At almost the same moment, a warrior on the other side of the carrier aimed a spear thrust at his side.

Either by itself would have been ineffectual. The spear clanged harmlessly from the commander's armor, and the warrior who had attempted to pull him from the carrier died before he could give much of a tug. But the combination, plus the fact that the heavy armor was a little unwieldy, overbalanced him. He toppled to the ground with a clash of steel as he and the carrier parted company.

Without a human hand at its controls, the carrier automatically moved away from the ma.s.s of struggling fighters and came to a halt well away from the battle.

The commander rolled as he hit and leaped to his feet, his sword moving in flickering arcs around him. The natives had no knowledge of effective swordplay. Like any barbarians, they conceived of a sword as a cutting instrument rather than a thrusting one. They chopped with them, using small s.h.i.+elds to protect their bodies as they tried to hack the commander to bits.

But the commander had no desire to become mincemeat just yet. Five of the barbarians were coming at him, their swords raised for a downward slash. The commander lunged forward with a straight stop-thrust aimed at the groin of the nearest one. It came as a complete surprise to the warrior, who doubled up in pain.