Tom Godwin

“ Brenn shoved the paper to one side. The script was somewhat different from that of Vogar.
The Vogarian inspection and guard system is no more than an expected precaution against sabotage. The Vogarians must be regarded as potential friends who now treat us with suspicion and arrogance only because they do not yet realize the sincerity of our desire to help them to any extent short of surrender—
Kane looked up from the uncompleted, surprisingly humble, edict and Brenn asked:
"Your commander, sir—he is now pleased with our actions?" ”

“ It's the only world I have. Maybe you would understand if you could see the Azure Mountains in the spring ... but you never will, will you? Because you lied when you said you weren't my enemy and now I know you are and I"—the lightness faltered and broke—"am yours ... and the next time we meet one will have to kill the other." ”

“ The hard, cold words of Y'Nor cut off his protest:
"This world is now a Vogarian possession. Every man, woman, and child upon it is a prisoner of the Vogarian State. There will be no resistance. This cruiser's disintegrators can destroy a town within seconds, your race within hours. Do you understand what I mean?"
The visible portion of old Brenn's face turned pale. ”

“ When they were seated in the simply-furnished room, Brenn said, "You came for my decision, sir?"
"The commander sent me for it."
Brenn folded his thin hands, which seemed to have the trembling sometimes characteristic of the aged.
"Yesterday evening when I came from the ship, I prayed for guidance and I saw that I could only abide by the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
"Which means," Kane asked, "that you will do what?"
"Should we of the Church be stranded upon an alien world, our fuel supply almost gone, we would ask for help. ”

“ I have no interest of any kind in this world—I'll never see it again—but I know from experience what will happen to you and your people if you try to fight. I don't want that to happen. Do you think that because a man isn't a blind chauvinist, he has to be a soulless monster? ”

“ Dalon's whistle for Guard Assembly sounded, high and shrill. A girl's voice called to one of the guards: "Hurry back to your ship, Billy—the thunder hawks might get you if you stayed—" and broke on a sob. Another girl said, "Hush, Julia—it's not his fault."
He went out of the plant, and past Larue's office. He saw that the brown-eyed secretary was gone, her desk clean. Larue was still there, looking very tired. He did not go in. The fuel had been produced, he would never see Larue again. ”

“ I shall do my best to convince Dalon's guards of the same thing."
He went back through the plant, much of his confidence restored, and back to the ship.
Y'Nor was pacing the floor again, his impatience keying him to a mood more vile than ever.
"This ship will leave at exactly twenty-three fifteen, Vogar time," Y'Nor said. "Any man not on it then will be regarded as a deserter and executed as such when I return with the Occupation force."
He stopped his pacing to stare at Kane with the ominous anticipation of a spider surveying a captured fly. ”

“ There was a faint quaver in old Brenn's voice. "I welcome you to our world, sir, and offer you our friendship."
"I understand you can produce Elusium X fuel?"
"Yes, sir. Our Dr. Larue told me the process is within our ability. We—" He hesitated. "We know you haven't enough fuel to return to Vogar."
Y'Nor stiffened in his chair. "What makes you think that?"
"It requires a great deal of fuel to get through the Whirlpool star cluster—and even sixty years ago, the Elusium ores of Vogar were almost exhausted." ”

“ Graver said. "My technicians are watching like hawks, though."
Larue was not in his office. His secretary, a brown-eyed woman of strikingly intelligent appearance, said, "I'm sorry, sir—Dr. Larue had to go back to town for a few minutes. May I give him your message?"
"No, thanks," he said. "Father Brenn is probably performing that unpleasant chore right now."
Since Dalon and Graver seemed to have the situation at the plant well in hand, Kane decided to make a tour of the outer provinces where the ores were being mined. An efficient plant would be worthless if it did not receive sufficient ore. ”

“ Y'Nor tapped his thick fingers on his desk, scowling thoughtfully. "As little as seven extra days might force Vogar to accept the Alkorian peace terms because of lack of fuel—the natives can work twice as hard as they expected to. Tell old Brenn they will be given exactly seven days from sunrise tomorrow.
"And summon Dalon and Graver. I want them to make use of every man on the ship for a twenty-four hour guard-and-inspection system in the plant. The natives will get no opportunities for stalling or sabotage." ”

“ They were all young and healthy and for sixteen hours out of each day they were side by side with the almost nude, provocatively feminine, Sanctuary girls.
Their weakness was understandable. It was also very dangerous. Heads would roll if Y'Nor ever learned what was going on and it required no psychic ability to guess whose head would roll the fastest and farthest.
He would have to have it stopped, at once.
He took a short cut to Brenn's cottage, by a sleepy, shady street he had never been down before. ”