“You? Why, no, sir. Why should she? Odal, Kanus … the Kerak Worlds. But not you.”
The Professor sighed, relieved. “Very well. Now then, we have much work to do, and little time to do it in.”
“What do you want me to do?” Hector asked.
“Phone the Star Watch Commander….”
“My commanding officer, all the way back at Perseus Alpha VI? That’s a hundred light-years from here.”
“No, no, no,” Leoh shook his head. “The Commander-in-Chief, Sir Harold Spencer. At Star Watch Central Headquarters, or wherever he may be, no matter how far. Get through to him as quickly as possible. And reverse the charges.”
With a low whistle of astonishment, Hector began punching buttons on the phone.
The morning of the duel arrived, and precisely at the specified hour, Odal and a small retinue of Kerak seconds stepped through the double doors of the dueling machine chamber.
Hector and Leoh were already there, waiting. With them stood another man, dressed in the black-and-silver of the Star Watch. He was a blocky, broad-faced veteran with iron-gray hair and hard, unsmiling eyes.
The two little groups of men knotted together in the center of the room, before the machine’s main control board. The white-uniformed staff meditechs emerged from a far doorway and stood off to one side.
Odal went through the formality of shaking hands with Hector. The Kerak major nodded toward the older Watchman. “Your replacement?” he asked mischievously.
The chief meditech stepped between them. “Since you are the challenged party, Major Odal, you have the first choice of weapon and environment. Are there any instructions or comments necessary before the duel begins?”
“I think not,” Odal replied. “The situation will be self-explanatory. I assume, of course, that Star Watchmen are trained to be warriors and not merely technicians. The situation I have chosen is one in which many warriors have won glory.”
Hector said nothing.
“I intend,” Leoh said firmly, “to assist the staff in monitoring this duel. Your aides may, of course, sit at the control board with me.”
Odal nodded.
“If you are ready to begin, gentlemen,” the chief meditech said.
Hector and Odal went to their booths. Leoh sat at the control console, and one of the Kerak men sat down next to him. The others found places on the long curving bench that faced the machine.
Hector felt every nerve and muscle tensed as he sat in the booth, despite his efforts to relax. Slowly the tension eased and he began to feel slightly drowsy. The booth seemed to be melting away….
Hector heard a snuffling noise behind him and wheeled around. He blinked, then stared.
It had four legs, and was evidently a beast of burden. At least, it carried a saddle on its back. Piled atop the saddle was a conglomeration of what looked to Hector- at first glance-like a pile of junk. He went over to the animal and examined it carefully. The “junk” turned out to be a long spear, various pieces of armor, a helmet, sword, shield, battle-ax, and dagger.
The situation I have chosen is one in which many warriors have won glory.
Hector puzzled over the assortment of weapons. They came straight out of Kerak’s Dark Age. Probably Odal had been practicing with them for months, even years. He may not need five helpers, Hector thought.
Warily, he put on the armor. The breastplate seemed too big, and he was somehow unable to tighten the greaves on his shins properly. The helmet fit over his head like an ancient oil can, flattening his ears and nose and forcing him to squint to see through the narrow eye slit. Finally he buckled on the sword and found attachments on the saddle for the other weapons. The shield was almost too heavy to lift, and he barely struggled into the saddle with all the weight he was carrying.
And then he just sat. He began to feel a little ridiculous. Suppose it rains? But of course it wouldn’t.
After an interminable wait, Odal appeared on a powerful trotting charger. His armor was black as space, and so was his mount. Naturally, thought Hector.
Odal saluted gravely with his great spear from across the meadow. Hector returned the salute, nearly dropping his spear in the process.