Civil war -- Fiction; Life on other planets -- Fiction; Science fiction; Space stations -- Fiction; Venus (Planet) -- Fiction
Campbell set his teeth. He couldn't even see Tredrick, but he swung
again. He never knew whether he connected or not.
Something thrummed past his head. He couldn't say he heard it. It was
more like feeling. But it was something deadly, and strange. Tredrick
didn't make a sound. Campbell knew suddenly that he was dead.
He got up, very slow, shaking and cold. The Callistan harper stood in
the doorway. He was lowering his hands, and his eyes were living coals.
He didn't say anything. Neither did Stella. But she laughed, and the
child stirred and whimpered in her arms.
Campbell went to her. She looked at him with queer eyes and whispered,
"I called him with my mind. I knew he'd kill."
He took her face in his two hands. "Listen, Stella. You've got to lead
them back. You've got to touch my mind with yours and let me guide you
that way, back to the ship."
Her eyes widened sharply. "But you can come. He's dead. You're free
now."
"No." He could feel her throat quiver under his hands. Her blood was
beating. So was his. He said harshly,
"You fool, do you think they'll let you get away with this? You're
tackling the Coalition. They can't afford to look silly. They've got to
have a scapegoat, something to save face!
"Romany, so far, is beyond planetary control. Slap your tractors on
her, tow her out. Clear out to Saturn if you have to. Nobody saw
the Callistan. Nobody saw anybody but me and the Kraylens and an
unidentifiable somebody up here on the porch. Nobody, that is, but
Tredrick, and he won't talk. Do you understand?"
She did, but she was still rebellious. Her sullen lips were angry, her
eyes bright with tears and challenging. "But you, Roy!"
He took his hands away. "Damn you, woman! If I hide out on Romany I
bring you into Spaceguard jurisdiction. I'll be trapped, and Romany's
last chance to stay free will be gone."
She said stubbornly, "But you can get away. There are ships."
"Oh, sure. But the Kraylens are there. You can't hide them. The
Coalition will search Romany. They'll ask questions. I tell you they've
got to have a goat!"
He was really weak, now. He hoped he could hold out. He hoped he
wouldn't do anything disgraceful. He turned away from her, looking out
at the square. Some of the guards were beginning to stir.
"Will you go?" he said. "Will you get to hell out?"
She put her hand on him. "Roy...."
He jerked away. His dark face was set and cruel. "Do you have to make
it harder? Do you think I want to rot on Phobos in their stinking
mines, with shackles on my feet?" He swung around, challenging her with
savage eyes.
"How else do you think Romany is going to stay free? You can't go on
playing cat and mouse with the big shots this way. They're getting sick
of it. They'll pass laws and tie you down. Somebody's got to spread
Romany all over the Solar System. Somebody's got to pull a publicity
campaign that'll make the great dumb public sit up and think. If public
opinion's with you, you're safe."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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