Randall Garrett

“ Even if we don't find your ID booklet, we can give you a temporary pass if you are identified from Rastol by subradio."
Stone felt a cold trickle of perspiration forming on his forehead. "That's going to take nearly twenty-four hours," he objected. "Isn't there a faster way?"
The official shook his head and shrugged, the timeless gesture of all bureaucrats. "I'm afraid not. Not unless we find your ID booklet."
Like a caged tiger, Kendall Stone paced the administration area of the spaceport for an hour, hoping doggedly that the ID booklet would turn up somewhere out on the field. ”

“ And it was up to Kendall Stone to stop it.
He opened the door to the Main Lounge of the spaceport building and pushed his way through the thick, jostling crowd, moving slowly toward the Customs Office. He hardly noticed the people he shoved aside. There was only one thought in his mind: I've only got twelve hours.
Personally, Stone didn't give an octangle damn about Galth; he didn't even know the Rastolian personally—had never heard of him until a short time ago. But if Galth of Rastol died, so would a thousand others. The human colony on Rastol III would be wiped out in reprisal. ”

“ He was too busy trying to avoid the white-hot blasts from the other aircar. He sent the ship into a power dive and shoved in on the throttle. He didn't know if the little car would take what he was going to give it, but it was his only chance. If he survived—well, that was fine. If he didn't, the last hope of the little colony was dead.
"You'll kill us!" yelled Miller. He put the gun against Kendall's neck. "Stop it! You'll kill us!"
"Shut up and put that gun away, Miller," Stone snapped without moving his head. "If you shoot me, we'll both die. ”

“ Kendall said, "that people like those two wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice you. They'd already planned to kill a whole colony, you know."
The Governor, who had watched the whole interchange of conversation rather impatiently, smiled grimly. "Mr. Stone, I think we all owe you an apology. This has been a gross miscarriage of justice." He was wide awake now. He turned to one of the guards.
"Fallon, get the Warden on the phone right away. Tell him the sentence of death on Galth of Rastol has been commuted. Tell him that the real murderer will be punished." ”

“ Kendall Stone closed the window, grasped the controls, and pointed the aircar toward the Governor's palace.
The Governor yawned sleepily as Kendall Stone finished his story. He glanced at Miller, who was pinioned securely between two burly Security Guards.
"Well?"
"It's true," the fat man said.
"Oh?" Stone asked. "Why the sudden nobility, Miller?"
"It's not nobility," Miller said. "They came after your ship knowing I was in it—and that didn't keep them from shooting me down. Why shouldn't I turn them in, if it'll save my own skin?" ”

“ The Rastolians did not believe that any government had a right to kill one of its citizens. Even murder could be punished only by life imprisonment. Usually, though, a Rastolian convicted of murder was simply given a gun with one shot in it and left alone in his cell. ”

“ Kendall promised.
"Okay," Miller grunted. "You won't live to use the information anyway." He sat up and rubbed his jaw. "The Secretary owns a lot of stock in the colony that's making antivirotic drugs on Vescalor IX. He wanted to put Rastol III out of commission so that the drugs would have to be bought from Vescalor IX. So he framed this alien Galth and had him sentenced to the execution chamber. He knew what would happen if the Government executed a Rastolian."
Stone pounded his fist against the seat. "Don't the lives of a thousand innocent people mean anything to him?" ”

“ The Rastolians were a peculiar race. They looked something like reptiles walking on their hind feet, but they had warm blood and were mammalian in several respects. The Government of Earth knew that much about them. ”

“ Stone started to lash out angrily at Miller, then pulled back the fist. "Then Galth didn't kill the Earthman?"
"Nope. Penowski did. The tall guy who was with me in the Secretary's place."
Kendall reached out one hand and clamped it tightly on the small man's shoulder. Miller winced. "You're going to tell the Governor your story," Stone said. "Every word."
Miller shook his head. "Oh, no. You can slap me around all you want, but I ain't gonna get myself in hot water that way. No, sir, brother. If the—LOOK OUT!"
Stone whirled and saw an aircar approaching, dropping down on his tail. ”

“ Kendall spun the ship into a back loop and barrel-rolled, bringing him in on the tail of the other aircar. But the other driver was cagey; he went into a hard right turn and tried to come up under Stone's vehicle.
Stone could see that the other aircraft definitely was not a police craft. An official car would have externally-mounted, automatically-controlled guns that would have shot Stone out of the skies with the first blast. No ”