Part 2 (2/2)
Jezef raised his eyebrows. ”What good would that do?” he asked.
”Why; they--for one thing, we've got to think of those troops! We can't land them unarmed and let them be slaughtered by the savages!”
Jezef grinned. ”I doubt if they'll refuse to let them have enough small arms to defend themselves. They can't stay where they are.”
”But they're military men, and loyal!”
”Are they? The war's over for them, anyway. Why not let them vote on it?”
Tulan jumped up and strode around the command room, while Jezef and the staff watched him silently. Gradually, the logic of it forced itself upon him. ”All right,” he said wearily, ”We'll let them vote.”
A few hours later he studied the results gloomily. ”Well, after all, they're not Fleet. They don't have the tradition.”
Jezef smiled, then lingered, embarra.s.sed.
”Well?” Tulan asked.
”Sir,” (that hadn't come out, in private, for years) ”I'd like to be relieved.”
It was a blow, but Tulan found he wasn't really surprised. He stared at his brother-in-law, feeling as if he faced an amputation. ”You think I'm wrong about this whole thing, don't you?”
”I'm not going to judge that, but Sennech's in trouble far worse than any question of politics, including your own family.”
”But if we turn back now Coar will recover! It's only going to take us a few more hours!”
”How long does it take people to die?”
Tulan looked at the deck for a while. ”All right. I'll detach every s.h.i.+p I can spare, and put you in charge. You'll have the transports too, as soon as they're unloaded.” He stared after Jezef, wanting to call out to him to be sure to send word about Anatu and the boys, but somehow feeling he didn't have the right.
He took the fighting s.h.i.+ps away from Teyr, to where Group Two could join up without being unmasked, then started sunward as if he were crossing to intercept Coar. A few miles in, where they'd be hidden in the sun, he left a few scouts.
As he saw it, the enemy commander on the satellite, noting the armada's course and finding himself apparently clear, would have no choice but to lift his s.h.i.+ps and start around the sun by some other path to help his planet.
That other path to Coar could be intercepted, and as soon as Tulan was lost near the sun he went into heavy drive to change direction. He drifted across the sun, waiting for word from his scouts. At about the time he'd expected, they reported s.h.i.+ps leaving the satellite.
He looked across the room toward Plot. ”Plot! Feed that data to Communications as it comes in, will you?” And to Communications: ”Can we beam Group Three from here?”
”Not quite, sir; but I can relay through the scouts.”
”All right; but make sure it's not intercepted. I want Group Three under maximum acceleration for Luhin, and I want them to get running reports on the enemy.”
”Right, sir.”
Tulan was in the position he wanted, not needing to use his own radar, but able to pick up that of Coar's fleet at extreme range, too far to give them a bounce. He'd know their course, speed, and acceleration fairly well, without even being suspected himself.
He held that position until the enemy was close enough to get a bounce, then went into drive on an intercepting course.
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