Lone Star Planet, Page 3

  CHAPTER III

  New Austin spaceport was a huge place, a good fifty miles outside thecity. As we descended, I could see that it was laid out like a wheel,with the landings and the blast-off stands around the hub, and highbuildings--packing houses and refrigeration plants--along the manyspokes. It showed a technological level quite out of keeping with theaccounts I had read, or the stories Hoddy had told, about the simpleranch life of the planet. Might be foreign capital invested there, and Imade a mental note to find out whose.

  On the other hand, Old Texas, on Terra, had been heavily industrialized;so much so that the state itself could handle the gigantic project ofbuilding enough spaceships to move almost the whole population intospace.

  Then the landing-field was rushing up at us, with the nearer ends of theroadways and streets drawing close and the far ends lengthening out awayfrom us. The other lighter was already down, and I could see a crowdaround it.

  There was a crowd waiting for us when we got out and went down theescalators to the ground, and as I had expected, a special group of menwaiting for me. They were headed by a tall, slender individual in theshort black Eisenhower jacket, gray-striped trousers and black homburgthat was the uniform of the Diplomatic Service, alias the CookiePushers.

  Over their heads at the other rocket-boat, I could see the gold-gleaminghead of the girl I'd met on the ship.

  I tried to push through the crowd and get to her. As I did, the CookiePusher got in my way.

  "Mr. Silk! Mr. Ambassador! Here we are!" he was clamoring. "The car forthe Embassy is right over here!" He clutched my elbow. "You have no ideahow glad we all are to see you, Mr. Ambassador!"

  "Yes, yes; of course. Now, there's somebody over there Ihave to see, at once." I tried to pull myself loose from his grasp.

  Across the concrete between the two lighters, I could see the girl pushout of the crowd around her and wave a hand to me. I tried to yell toher; but just then another lighter, loaded with freight, started to liftout at another nearby stand, with the roar of half a dozen Niagaras. Thethin man in the striped trousers added to the uproar by shouting into myear and pulling at me.

  "We haven't time!" he finally managed to make himself heard. "We'redreadfully late now, sir! You must come with us."

  Hoddy, too, had caught hold of me by the other arm.

  "Come on, boss. There's gotta be some reason why he's got himself in anuproar about whatever it is. You'll see her again."

  Then, the whole gang--Hoddy, the thin man with the black homburg, hisyounger accomplice in identical garb, and the chauffeur--all closed inon me and pushed me, pulled me, half-carried me, fifty yards across theconcrete to where their air-car was parked. By this time, the tallblond had gotten clear of the mob around her and was waving franticallyat me. I tried to wave back, but I was literally crammed into the carand flung down on the seat. At the same time, the chauffeur was jumpingin, extending the car's wings, jetting up.

  "Great God!" I bellowed. "This is the damnedest piece of impudence I'veever had to suffer from any subordinates in my whole State Departmentexperience! I want an explanation out of you, and it'd better be a goodone!"

  There was a deafening silence in the car for a moment. The thin manmoved himself off my lap, then sat there looking at me with theheartbroken eyes of a friendly dog that had just been kicked forsomething which wasn't really its fault.

  "Mr. Ambassador, you can't imagine how sorry we all are, but if wehadn't gotten you away from the spaceport and to the Embassy at once, wewould all have been much sorrier."

  "Somebody here gunnin' for the Ambassador?" Hoddy demanded sharply.

  "Oh, no! I hadn't even thought of that," the thin man almost gibbered."But your presence at the Embassy is of immediate and urgent necessity.You have no idea of the state into which things have gotten.... Oh,pardon me, Mr. Ambassador. I am Gilbert W. Thrombley, your charged'affaires." I shook hands with him. "And Mr. Benito Gomez, theSecretary of the Embassy." I shook hands with him, too, and started tointroduce Mr. Hoddy Ringo.

  Hoddy, however, had turned to look out the rear window; immediately, hegave a yelp.

  "We got a tail, boss! Two of them! Look back there!"

  There were two black eight-passenger aircars, of the same model,whizzing after us, making an obvious effort to overtake us. Thechauffeur cursed and fired his auxiliary jets, then his rocket-booster.

  Immediately, black rocket-fuel puffs shot away from the pursuingaircars.

  Hoddy turned in his seat, cranked open a porthole-slit in the window,and poked one of his eleven-mm's out, letting the whole clip go.Thrombley and Gomez slid down onto the floor, and both began trying todrag me down with them, imploring me not to expose myself.

  As far as I could see, there was nothing to expose myself to. The othercars kept coming, but neither of them were firing at us. There was alsono indication that Hoddy's salvo had had any effect on them. Ourchauffeur went into a perfect frenzy of twisting and dodging, at thesame time using his radiophone to tell somebody to get the goddamngate open in a hurry. I saw the blue skies and green plains of NewTexas replacing one another above, under, in front of and behind us.Then the car set down on a broad stretch of concrete, the wings wereretracted, and we went whizzing down a city street.

  We whizzed down a number of streets. We cut corners on two wheels, andon one wheel, and, I was prepared to swear, on no wheels. A couple oftimes, with the wings retracted, we actually jetted into the air andjumped over vehicles in front of us, landing again with bone-shakingjolts. Then we made an abrupt turn and shot in under a concrete arch,and a big door banged shut behind us, and we stopped, in the middle of awide patio, the front of the car a few inches short of a fountain. Fouror five people, in diplomatic striped trousers, local dress and theuniform of the Space Marines, came running over.

  Thrombley pulled himself erect and half-climbed, half-fell, out of thecar. Gomez got out on the other side with Hoddy; I climbed out afterThrombley.

  A tall, sandy-haired man in the uniform of the Space Navy came over.

  "What the devil's the matter, Thrombley?" he demanded. Then, seeing me,he gave me as much of a salute as a naval officer will ever bestow onanybody in civilian clothes.

  "Mr. Silk?" He looked at my costume and the pistols on my belt inwell-bred concealment of surprise. "I'm your military attache,Stonehenge; Space-Commander, Space Navy."

  I noticed that Hoddy's ears had pricked up, but he wasn't making anyeffort to attract Stonehenge's attention. I shook hands with him,introduced Hoddy, and offered my cigarette case around.

  "You seem to have had a hectic trip from the spaceport, Mr. Ambassador.What happened?"

  Thrombley began accusing our driver of trying to murder the lot of us.Hoddy brushed him aside and explained:

  "Just after we'd took off, two other cars took off after us. We speededup, and they speeded up, too. Then your fly-boy, here, got fancy. Thatshook 'em off. Time we got into the city, we'd dropped them. Nice job ofdriving. Probably saved our lives."

  "Shucks, that wasn't nothin'," the driver disclaimed. "When you drivefor politicians, you're either good or you're good and dead."

  "I'm surprised they started so soon," Stonehenge said. Then he lookedaround at my fellow-passengers, who seemed to have realized, by now,that they were no longer dangling by their fingernails over the brink ofthe grave. "But gentlemen, let's not keep the Ambassador standing outhere in the hot sun."

  So we went over the arches at the side of the patio, and were about tosit down when one of the Embassy servants came up, followed by a man ina loose vest and blue Levis and a big hat. He had a pair of automaticsin his belt, too.

  "I'm Captain Nelson; New Texas Rangers," he introduced himself. "Whichone of you-all is Mr. Stephen Silk?"

  I admitted it.

  The Ranger pushed back his wide hat and grinned at me.

  "I just can't figure this out," he said. "You're in the right place andthe right company, but we got a report, from a mighty good source, thatyou'd been kidnapped
at the spaceport by a gang of thugs!"

  "A blond source?" I made curving motions with my hands. "I don't blameher. My efficient and conscientious charge d'affaires, Mr. Thrombley,felt that I should reach the Embassy, here, as soon as possible, andfrom where she was standing, it must have looked like a kidnapping.Fact is, it looked like one from where I was standing, too.Was that you and your people who were chasing us? Then I must apologizefor opening fire on you ... I hope nobody was hurt."

  "No, our cars are pretty well armored. You scored a couple of times onone of them, but no harm done. I reckon after what happened to SilasCumshaw, you had a right to be suspicious."

  I noticed that refreshments, including several bottles, had been placedon a big wicker table under the arched veranda.

  "Can I offer you a drink, Captain, in token of mutual amity?" I asked.

  "Well, now, I'd like to, Mr. Ambassador, but I'm on duty ..." he began.

  "You can't be. You're an officer of the Planetary Government of NewTexas, and in this Embassy, you're in the territory of the SolarLeague."

  "That's right, now, Mr. Ambassador," he grinned. "Extraterritoriality.Wonderful thing, extraterritoriality." He looked at Hoddy, who, for thefirst time since I had met him, was trying to shrink into thebackground. "And diplomatic immunity, too. Ain't it, Hoddy?"

  After he had had his drink and departed, we all sat down. Thrombleybegan speaking almost at once.

  "Mr. Ambassador, you must, you simply must, issue a public statement,immediately, sir. Only a public statement, issued promptly, will relievethe crisis into which we have all been thrust."

  "Oh, come, Mr. Thrombley," I objected. "Captain Nelson'll take care ofall that in his report to his superiors."

  Thrombley looked at me for a moment as though I had been speaking tohim in Hottentot, then waved his hands in polite exasperation.

  "Oh, no, no! I don't mean that, sir. I mean a public statement to theeffect that you have assumed full responsibility for the Embassy. Whereis that thing? Mr. Gomez!"

  Gomez gave him four or five sheets, stapled together. He laid them onthe table, turned to the last sheet, and whipped out a pen.

  "Here, sir; just sign here."

  "Are you crazy?" I demanded. "I'll be damned if I'll sign that. Not tillI've taken an inventory of the physical property of the Embassy, andfamiliarized myself with all its commitments, and had the books auditedby some firm of certified public accountants."

  Thrombley and Gomez looked at one another. They both groaned.

  "But we must have a statement of assumption of responsibility ..." Gomezdithered.

  "... or the business of the Embassy will be at a dead stop, and we can'tdo anything," Thrombley finished.

  "Wait a moment, Thrombley," Stonehenge cut in. "I understand Mr. Silk'sattitude. I've taken command of a good many ships and installations, atone time or another, and I've never signed for anything I couldn't seeand feel and count. I know men who retired as brigadier generals orvice-admirals, but they retired loaded with debts incurred because assecond lieutenants or ensigns they forgot that simple rule."

  He turned to me. "Without any disrespect to the charge d'affaires, Mr.Silk, this Embassy has been pretty badly disorganized since Mr.Cumshaw's death. No one felt authorized, or, to put it more accurately,no one dared, to declare himself acting head of the Embassy--"

  "Because that would make him the next target?" I interrupted. "Well,that's what I was sent here for. Mr. Gomez, as Secretary of the Embassy,will you please, at once, prepare a statement for the press and telecastrelease to the effect that I am now the authorized head of this Embassy,responsible from this hour for all its future policies and all itspresent commitments insofar as they obligate the government of the SolarLeague. Get that out at once. Tomorrow, I will present my credentials tothe Secretary of State here. Thereafter, Mr. Thrombley, you can rest inthe assurance that I'll be the one they'll be shooting at."

  "But you can't wait that long, Mr. Ambassador," Thrombley almost wailed."We must go immediately to the Statehouse. The reception for you isalready going on."

  I looked at my watch, which had been regulated aboard ship for CapellaIV time. It was just 1315.

  "What time do they hold diplomatic receptions on this planet, Mr.Thrombley?" I asked.

  "Oh, any time at all, sir. This one started about 0900 when the newsthat the ship was in orbit off-planet got in. It'll be a barbecue, ofcourse, and--"

  "Barbecued supercow! Yipeee!" Hoddy yelled. "What I been waitin' for forfive years!"

  It would be the vilest cruelty not to take him along, I thought. And itwould also keep him and Stonehenge apart for a while.

  "But we must hurry, Mr. Ambassador," Thrombley was saying. "If you willchange, now, to formal dress ..."

  And he was looking at me, gasping. I think it was the first time he hadactually seen what I was wearing.

  "In native dress, Mr. Ambassador!"

  Thrombley's eyes and tone were again those of an innocent spaniel caughtin the middle of a marital argument.

  Then his gaze fell to my belt and his eyes became saucers. "Oh, dear!And armed!"

  My charge d'affaires was shuddering and he could not look directly atme.

  "Mr. Ambassador, I understand that you were recently appointed from theConsular Service. I sincerely hope that you will not take it amiss if Ipoint out, here in private, that--"

  "Mr. Thrombley, I am wearing this costume and these pistols on thedirect order of Secretary of State Ghopal Singh."

  That set him back on his heels.

  "I ... I can't believe it!" he exclaimed. "An ambassador is _never_armed."

  "Not when he's dealing with a government which respects the comity ofnations and the usages of diplomatic practice, no," I replied. "But thefate of Mr. Cumshaw clearly indicates that the government of New Texasis not such a government. These pistols are in the nature of anot-too-subtle hint of the manner in which this government, here, isbeing regarded by the government of the Solar League." I turned toStonehenge. "Commander, what sort of an Embassy guard have we?" I asked.

  "Space Marines, sergeant and five men. I double as guard officer, sir."

  "Very well. Mr. Thrombley insists that it is necessary for me to go tothis fish-fry or whatever it is immediately. I want two men, a driverand an auto-rifleman, for my car. And from now on, I would suggest,Commander, that you wear your sidearm at all times outside the Embassy."

  "Yes, sir!" and this time, Stonehenge gave me a real salute.

  "Well, I must phone the Statehouse, then," Thrombley said. "We will haveto call on Secretary of State Palme, and then on President Hutchinson."

  With that, he got up, excused himself, motioned Gomez to follow, andhurried away.

  I got up, too, and motioned Stonehenge aside.

  "Aboard ship, coming in, I was told that there's a task force of theSpace Navy on maneuvers about five light-years from here," I said.

  "Yes, sir. Task Force Red-Blue-Green, Fifth Space Fleet. Fleet AdmiralSir Rodney Tregaskis."

  "Can we get hold of a fast space-boat, with hyperdrive engines, in ahurry?"

  "Eight or ten of them always around New Austin spaceport, available forcharter."

  "All right; charter one and get out to that fleet. Tell AdmiralTregaskis that the Ambassador at New Austin feels in need of protection;possibility of z'Srauff invasion. I'll give you written orders. I wantthe Fleet within radio call. How far out would that be, with ourfacilities?"

  "The Embassy radio isn't reliable beyond about sixty light-minutes,sir."

  "Then tell Sir Rodney to bring his fleet in that close. The invasion, ifit comes, will probably not come from the direction of the z'Srauffstar-cluster; they'll probably jump past us and move in from the otherside. I hope you don't think I'm having nightmares, Commander. Danger ofa z'Srauff invasion was pointed out to me by persons on the very highestlevel, on Luna."

  Stonehenge nodded. "I'm always having the same kind of nightmares, sir.Especially since this special envoy arrived here,
ostensibly tonegotiate a meteor-mining treaty." He hesitated for a moment. "We don'twant the New Texans to know, of course, that you've sent for the fleet?"

  "Naturally not."

  "Well, if I can wait till about midnight before I leave, I can get aboat owned, manned and operated by Solar League people. The boat's adreadful-looking old tub, but she's sound and fast. The gang who own herare pretty notorious characters--suspected of smuggling, piracy, andwhat not--but they'll keep their mouths shut if well paid."

  "Then pay them well," I said. "And it's just as well you're not leavingat once. When I get back from this clambake, I'll want to have a generalinformal council, and I certainly want you in on it."

  On the way to the Statehouse in the aircar, I kept wondering just howsmart I had been.

  I was pretty sure that the z'Srauff was getting ready for a sneak attackon New Texas, and, as Solar League Ambassador, I of course had the rightto call on the Space Navy for any amount of armed protection.

  Sending Stonehenge off on what couldn't be less than an eighteen-hourtrip would delay anything he and Hoddy might be cooking up, too.

  On the other hand, with the fleet so near, they might decide to have merubbed out in a hurry, to justify seizing the planet ahead of thez'Srauff.

  I was in that pleasant spot called, "Damned if you do and damned if youdon't...."