Chapter XIII

The war rockets from Avis' home system of Aurelia stretched through space like a thin, red string. There were more than a hundred there, Stan thought, but he knew without asking that they were hopelessly outnumbered by the Thuscan ships.

The small rocket maneuvered over the lead ship--a hatch slid back--and the rocket settled slowly through the opening.

A moment later and Stan was in the main cabin, facing half a dozen tired looking men wearing the same dull blue uniform as the man on the screen. They were supposed to be fighting men, Stan thought, but they didn't look the part.

They looked more like frightened civilians who had been drafted.

The man Stan had seen on the screen introduced himself as Elal and smiled wryly.

"We're not the professionals you've associated with until lately, Martin. Fighting is something new for us. It will be a while before we achieve the hardened look of the warrior race."

His voice was soft and tired. The voice of a man who had lost his spirit, who had ceased to hope.

"What's the situation?" Stan asked.

Elal shrugged. "You should have been able to size it up quickly. We are outnumbered--about ten to one, I would say. We had been hoping until the last minute that perhaps Avis would succeed, that she would be able to prevent the subversion of the planet."

"Just what would that have accomplished?"

"You Terrans are not without the means of defense," Elal pointed out. "In many ways you may be backward and primitive but you have deadly weapons. And a planet, strongly organized for resistance, would be very difficult for the Thuscans to take over. They have never succeeded in storming one outright. They have always had to rely on infiltration."

"Your weapons aren't puny either," Stan said. "You have the time fields."

"They have limited application--they are good for only small fields and only for short times. And the Thuscans have neutralizers."

Another man, who looked oddly familiar, spoke up.

"What's happened to Avis?"

Her father, Stan guessed shrewdly.

"She was captured by Tanner."

There was a short silence and the men looked oddly helpless.

"Well, what are you going to do?" Stan burst out. "You're the only hope that's left!"

Elal shrugged. "What is there to do? We have you. Perhaps you will be of help, if you can remember much of Thusca. So far as we know, you are the only man who has been there and returned. Outside of...." And then he broke it off.

"You're going to leave the world go by default?" Stan asked coldly. "And Avis, too?"

The group of Aurelians looked annoyed. "What would you have us do?" Elal asked. "We gambled and we lost. We are outnumbered ten to one. And this is not the only world we have to worry about, Martin. There are a thousand others."

"And you'll be outnumbered at each one, won't you?" Stan asked grimly. "You'll be continually retreating but the odds will never get any better. As your ring of defenses collapses and allows you to concentrate more and more, the area the Thuscans have to concentrate on will be steadily getting smaller. You have to make a stand for it--why not here?"

"It wouldn't work. We would lose. And we're far too large a part of our total fleet to take the risk."

They wanted to give up because it looked bad on paper, Stan thought. They didn't want to see blood spilled, they didn't want to get their fingers dirty.

"Where's the Thuscan fleet?"

* * * * *

The young man at the controls worked the dials of a screen which lit up to a luminous black. There was the Earth at one end of the screen--a green globe the size of a basketball--and then the star-flecked, velvet sky.

Stan watched a small collection of brilliant lights move slowly across the screen. The operator pressed another button and that segment of the heavens suddenly leaped forward into the viewscreen. The collection of lights swiftly evolved into the glowing, rod-like ships of the Thuscans. They were arranged into a triangle, a large, reddish colored ship at the apex.

Mr. Ainsworth would be on that ship, Stan thought. Mr. Ainsworth and Mr. Malcolm and maybe even Tanner.

It was ... logical that Tanner would be there. His work on Earth was done. And it was probable that Avis was on the ship with him. She would be valuable as a hostage.

He stared thoughtfully at the screen. It wasn't a neat triangle, it wasn't a really militaristic formation. The files of ships were a little straggly, as if their commanders weren't really expecting any opposition. From any quarter.

"We could go down," Stan said thoughtfully. "We could force the lead ship to land in Europe. It would be Exhibit A, it would stop the war. You would have time to make explanations and if I know the ... apes ... they wouldn't be such pushovers after that."

"You think it would succeed?" one of the men asked sarcastically.

"There's always the element of surprise," Stan said bitingly. "It's probably the last thing they would be expecting you to do." He paused. "You say that you are outnumbered and your weapons are not the best. Have you ever tried the oldest one of all--courage?"

There was a dead silence.

"You're being very inspirational," Elal said after a moment. "But I don't think you're being very practical."

Stan glanced around the compartment. The pilot was young. He looked expectant, and somewhat hopeful. He would be willing to dare, Stan thought. The others had never fought a war, they didn't know how.

Stan turned to the pilot. "Take it down--towards the lead ship in the Thuscan Fleet!"

"How do we know he's changed?" a voice bleated. "Maybe he's still in league with Thusca!"

Stan turned, the blue of a heat gun shining in his fist. "I have no time to argue--but it's not true." To the pilot: "Take it down!"

"You forget that I'm the leader here," Elal said quietly.

"You've abdicated your position," Stan said softly. "A leader is a man who can lead. You can't. _I_ can." His eyes blazed.

"_We're going down!_"