The Far Stars War

by David Drake

  It was a daring chance, and risky. But it could not be overlooked. The military expected this ship to come in to the safety of Point Bravo. But they did not expect it to be armed and filled with fighting Gerins.

  Usq-Usq-Tweed thought, We’ll be within their lines when we cut loose. They won’t be really able to fire on us because of the chance of hitting their own ships. We should be able to hold out for quite awhile, meanwhile occupying all their attention and all their forces. If, at that time, an entire Gerin battle group were to downwarp into the zone and take up the battle—we could roll up the Point Bravo position! And that would secure this entire sector of space for us.

  His mind flashed on the possibilities. If he could tie up the Point Bravo fleet long enough for the Gerin battle group to come through, this battle could be won, and its victory would mark the beginning of mankind’s end.

  By God! This attack has to be made! The entire war can be won right here!

  Darfur, having thought of the same scheme, was thinking the same thoughts, in the small cabin he had taken for himself. For him it was torture of the most exquisite sort to clown through his performances, all of the time aware that the octopoidal creatures in the audience were about to nail the lid down on humanity’s coffin.

  He sat alone in his cabin and thought. And finally a plan came to him. He went over it in his mind.... Yes, he thought it might work. But first there was something he had to find out.

  * * *

  The circus impresario, Jon Blake, was in deep sleep, yet so hyperalert were his senses that he caught the faint sound of a footstep on the deep pile of the carpeting. He came awake in an instant and grabbed for the pistol he kept under his pillow. Before he could come up with it, a long form had launched itself from the darkness, pinning the hand that seized the gun. Blake struggled, and he was a man of very great strength, but it was in vain against the whipcord-and-steel power of the being who held him fast.

  “Take it easy,” Blake grunted as the gun was wrenched from his hand, almost breaking a finger caught in the trigger guard.

  The man released him and turned on the light. Blake had known, by the absence of the characteristic smell, that it was not a Gerin who had attacked him. He was not surprised to find Darfur, in dark clothing now rather than his clown suit, standing over him with the gun.

  “You pick a hell of a time for an assassination,” Blake said.

  “I don’t care if I kill you or not,” Darfur said. “What I must know is the location of the grand cable junction box. You have the ship’s plans in here somewhere.”

  “May I sit up?” Blake said. When Darfur released him he sat up, touching his bruised throat with delicacy. “You want the main junction box? The power splice? Planning to blow us up?”

  “That’s it,” Darfur said. “I don’t know what deviltry the Gerin are up to, but they’re not going to get a chance to do it.”

  “I know what the Gerin are planning,” Blake said. “How do you know that?” Darfur asked. “You’re pretty friendly with the commander, aren’t you?”

  “I wouldn’t say he was close to anyone,” Blake said.

  “But he did have to tell me the destination, since I will be running this ship. Under his orders, of course. “

  “And what is the destination?”

  “Point Bravo.”

  “Are they crazy?” Darfur asked. “They’re going to fly into the midst of the Earth forces? Even with armament aboard this ship, they wouldn’t last half an hour once the deception was discovered. ‘ ,

  “Half an hour might be long enough,” Blake said.

  “Long enough for what?”

  “To tie up the League forces and spread confusion until the rest of the Gerin advance fleet shows up.”

  Darfur sucked in his breath, then let it out slowly. “You think they’ll commit an entire battle group to this?”

  “Usq-Usq-Tweed didn’t tell me so in so many words, but the implication was clear.”

  “It could work, too,” Darfur said. “Damn! If only we could tell Point Bravo. My scout ship—”

  “No longer on-planet,” Blake said. “They took it to join the rest of their fleet.”

  “No way to send a message,” Darfur said. “Even if we had control of the radio, which we don’t. Well then, there’s no alternative. I have to blow up this ship.”

  Blake shook his head. “The thought occurred to me, too. But I’ve had my people check. The area of the main junction box is under continuous guard, as are the other key points.”

  “We’ll have to try to suicide attack,” Darfur said.

  Then he looked at Blake. The man was grinning.

  “But I forgot. You’re on the other side.”

  Blake shook his head, “I said I was neutral. But that was before they started killing my performers. Now I find myself definitely biased against them.”

  “That’s nice,” Darfur said bitterly. “A little late to do any good, however. I suppose the only thing we can do is try to take over the ship before they can get it aloft. They’ll probably kill us all, but at least we can delay them and take some of them with us.”

  Blake shook his head. “I’m annoyed at the Gerin, that’s for sure. But that doesn’t mean I’m ready for suicide. It would serve no purpose, anyhow. I have a better idea.”

  Darfur had an angry retort on his lips, then he smothered if. It would do no good being petulant. He had to work with Blake, much as he detested the man. But he would have to keep an eye on him, because once a turncoat turns, you can never tell what he’ll do next.

  “What’s your plan?” he asked.

  “We must wait,” Blake said, “until the ship is underway, until we are in Earth’s sphere of influence.”

  “That makes no sense at all! They’ll have a guard aboard. They’ll be watching us, and watching extra-hard when we get near Point Bravo. Your people won’t stand a chance. If we delay until that time, we’ll all be killed without effecting anything.”

  Blake sat back in his command chair, found a small cigar, lit it. He smiled, a smile that Darfur found most exasperating.

  “I can see that you don’t know much about circus people,” he said. “Especially circus people like us.”

  “What’s there to know?”

  “Have you ever wondered about why we’re outcastes on all the humanoid worlds?”

  “Probably because you smell bad.”

  Blake laughed. “Your humor is most infantile. I’ll tell you later. You’d better get back to your quarters before the guard notices you’re gone. And one more thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Get back into your clown suit. We don’t want anyone suspecting you’re not the ridiculous fellow we all know you to be.”

  Darfur went back to his quarters. He didn’t trust Blake, but he had little choice in the matter.

  One thing was sure. When this was over, whatever way it went, he was going to settle up with the circus manager.

  * * *

  At last they were no more than a few hours from Point Bravo and contact with the League of Free Planets fleet. Usq-Usq-Tweed ordered Blake to his quarters. “Now, my friend, you are going to do a favor for both of us. You have probably already gathered that we are going to attack and destroy the fleet at Point Bravo.”

  Blake saw that a lot of new equipment had been installed. There was a bulky weapons-management system, with separate subsystems ready to display damage reports. The torpedo control center also occupied a prominent position.

  “We’re getting a signal from Bravo,” Usq-Usq-Tweed said. “I want you to talk to them, tell them you’re bringing the Barnum in as directed.”

  “All right,” Blake said. He reached for the microphone.

  “One thing first,” Usq-Usq-Tweed said, a tentacle restraining Blake’s hand. “You will do this correctly, Mr. Blake, and co
nvincingly, or you will not live until the end of the transmission. And after we kill you, we’ll snuff out all your people.”

  “That is not according to the protocols of interstellar warfare,” Blake said. “You have no right to demand this of me, and no right to threaten. I have already shown you our papers. We are neutrals, noncombatants—”

  “I have noted that,” Usq-Usq-Tweed said. “I must tell you that in a struggle of this magnitude, there can be no neutrals. Either you are for us or against us.”

  Sensing the animosity in the Gerin commander’s voice, his two squires came around either side of him, weapons ready, tentacles glowing an angry red. Blake shrank away from them.

  “All right,” Blake said. “What will you do to us if I do cooperate?”

  “Then you are an ally,” Usq-Usq-Tweed said. “An unwilling ally, but an ally nonetheless. If this goes as expected, I will recommend that you and your people be taken to the planet known to us as Gu’haorin, and to you as Gregor’s World. There you will receive reindoctrination. When we think we can rely on you, you will be assigned to other duties. There can be fine rewards working for us, Blake. But death is certain if you go against us. Do you understand?”

  “Of course,” Blake said. Grimly he reached for the annunciator, pressed it on. “Blake to Fleet Navigation Control, Point Bravo.”

  “We’ve been waiting for you,” a voice replied. “You took your own sweet time about getting here.”

  “Had to give our last performance on Rhea,” Blake said. “Can’t disappoint the paying customers, you understand.”

  “Don’t you know there’s a war on?”

  “’I think I heard something about it,” Blake said, glancing at the huge alien standing beside him, holding a jagged-edged dagger—the sacred khalifi—poised at the back of his neck.

  “You spot the Gerin or hear anything about them on Rhea?” the voice asked.

  “Nothing at all,” Blake said.

  “We’ve got a lot of traffic just now,” the voice said. “Can you hold station for a while?”

  Usq-Usq-Tweed turned purple-red and waved a tentacle in an emphatic negative.

  “Can’t do that,” Blake said. “We have several casualties aboard who need immediate attention. One of the trapeze setups collapsed.”

  “Just a minute.” There was a short wait. Then the voice was back. “All right, I’m giving you an emergency clearance. You can come in right now.” He gave a direction and bearing that would take them to the supply and hospital depots. Blake thanked him and signed off.

  “You did well,” Usq-Usq-Tweed said. “That was resourceful of you, to think up that emergency.”

  “You made it pretty clear that you wanted us to be taken in immediately.” ..

  “That is correct. Timing is everything. The main Gerin battlefleet in this sector is already in FTL space. They will be ready to downwarp and go into action against the League ships”—he glanced at a watch, incongruously strapped at the midpoint of one of his tentacles—“in just half an hour. By then we will be within range and already fighting. It will complete our surprise.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Blake said.

  “I shall note your excellent attitude in my report to headquarters. Now you may return to your people. You will all take your accustomed positions for in-flight routine, and stand ready to assist my men if need be.”

  “All right,” Blake said. He went out of the bridge and into one of the corridors.

  Commander Darfur was waiting for him in the main wardroom. “What’s happening?” he demanded.

  “They have established contact with the human forces,” Blake told him. “We are starting in now.”

  “Damnation!” Darfur said, grinding his teeth. “What do we do?”

  “I have been waiting for this,” Blake said. The Gerin are lulled now into a false sense of security. Or so I hope. They have already discounted us: we are noncombatants, less than vermin in their eyes. They expect us to do nothing but cower in the wardrooms and await the result.”

  “And that’s about all you can do,” Darfur said. “Your bunch of circus freaks won’t stand a chance against trained Gerin warriors.”

  “We freaks may have a trick or two up our sleeves,” Blake said. “You know all the stories about our special talents?”

  “You told me they were all prejudiced lies.”

  “So I did. That’s what we tell everybody. There’s enough hatred of us anyhow without revealing the truth. “

  “Which is?”

  “You will soon see. And then you must stand by, Commander, because you will have your part to play in all this, too.”

  “And that part is?”

  Blake smiled grimly. “I’m not going to tell you yet. It might alarm you.”

  Darfur had to smile at that. This circus impresario was really crazy if he thought he had something that would frighten a commander in the forces in the League of Free Planets.

  * * *

  Time seemed to stand still as the P. T. Barnum crept toward the Point Bravo position. The circus people waited as the minutes ticked by. The Gerin soldiery stood to their weapons. A solemn silence reigned over the ship, broken only by the low throbbing of the engines. Tuning in on the ship’s intercom system, Blake heard an alarm go off as long-range visual contact was established. Soon, in greatly magnified view, the ranks of League ships could be seen, and behind them, a yellowish world wrapped in mists, was the planet Bravo, which served as the supply depot and strongpoint for this sector.

  * * *

  “Damn you,” Darfur said. “They’re ready to begin hostilities against the League fleet. When are you going to pull this surprise of yours? Or was that just a bedtime story to keep me quiet?”

  “You exaggerate the lengths I’d go to soothe your feelings, Commander,” Blake said. “Unfortunately, my plan has no chance at all until hostilities begin. We need the distraction of battle for what I have in mind.”

  Just then the ship trembled from stem to stern and gave a slight sidewise heave. There was a noticeable pickup in acceleration, and then a din of screeching metal as the Gerin threw off the camouflaged shielding that hid the gun emplacements. Soon the ship was vibrating as the torpedoes and Gatlings opened up.

  “Now!” Darfur said. “What are you going to do?”

  “We are going to take over the ship,” Blake replied.

  “But you said yourself that was impossible! And what do your men know of hand-to-hand fighting?”

  “You’d be surprised at what we have to contend with on some of the little worlds we visit,” Blake said.

  “All right, I’m for it,” Darfur said. “But you said yourself this would be a suicidal undertaking. They’ll pick us off one by one.”

  “Well, I see it’s time I revealed our secret,” Blake said. “We freaks do have one thing, you see. We share a telepathic linkage.”

  Darfur stared at him, then comprehension dawned on him. “So you can attack simultaneously!”

  “Precisely.”

  “But after that ...?”

  “I have plans,” Blake said. “And now, Commander, have the goodness to stand by while I put this plan into motion.”

  Blake closed his eyes. Darfur could almost sense the effort the man was making, striving to contact by telepathy all his people no matter where they were on the ship. Blake knew that the plan must have been prearranged. Blake must have contacted his people via telepathy, telling them to be ready for this. But could he make that contact now? Telepathy was notoriously unreliable....

  A wail arose from somewhere down the corridor. An inhuman wail that was changed into a gurgle and then was cut short.

  “We’re on now,” Blake said. He pulled a handblaster out of his belt, handed it to Darfur. “Curtain time!”

  * * *

  The Gerin, alert at their posts, had, o
ver the course of the last days, come to take the humanoid crew for granted. So apathetic did the circus people seem, so willing to obey orders, so little inclined to rebel, that the Gerin were caught completely by surprise. Suddenly, and within half a second of each other, several dozen fights burst out on the ship as the circus people turned simultaneously on their Gerin captors.

  One moment everything was normal; the next, the Gerin were fighting for their lives. The circus people, using what weapons came to hand, or crude knives and clubs secreted in their clothing, struck suddenly, simultaneously, and with complete violence.

  The circus freaks had received their orders telepathically from Blake, and on his signal they acted in concert. No sooner did a man kill his opponent than he rushed to assist the man nearest to him. The Gerin fought back savagely, but they had been caught by surprise, at a time when they were already in combat, and not expecting an attack from behind their own lines. Blood flowed over the deckplates, some of it the purple of Gerin, but mixed with the red of humanoid blood. Some of the Gerin crowded together to make a stand. Even then their individuality undid them: the Gerin warriors were all too ready to abandon their rallying points and sally forth each on his own, to be pulled down and hacked to bits by the furious circus folk.

  Blake and Darfur raced to the bridge. There Usq-Usq-Tweed and his squire companions were trying to continue fighting the Point Bravo fleet and simultaneously put down the rebellion.