‘W-e-1-1… possibly. But we don’t have any.’ ‘That’s what this conference is about. We can’t destroy the stuff we have unless we can replace it with something better. My idea is that we should visit a few – say fifty – Tellus-type planets in this galaxy; the ones closest to Tellus. I’m pretty sure they’ll be inhabited by Homo Sapiens. There’s a chance, of course, that they’ll be like Hodell and the others we’ve seen; in which case I don’t see how we can keep Gunther genes confined to Earth. However, I’m pretty sure in my own mind that
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we’ll find them all very much like Tellus, Gunther and all. What would you think of that for a thesis, Lola?’
‘Oh, wonderful!’
‘Okay. Now to get back to whether we want to check in or not. I don’t like to duck out without letting them know we can handle this heap – after a fashion, that is; they don’t need to know we can really handle it – but we’ve got nothing we can report and Fatso will blow his stack – Oh-oh! Should’ve remembered Tellus isn’t Hodell; the tri-di’s setting up! Belle, you take it. She’d give me Fatso, because he wants to chew me out, but she won’t put him on for you. Cut her throat, but’ good! Brownie hide somewhere! Jim, set up for Beta Centauri – not Alpha, but Beta – and fast! Give her hell, Belle!’ Gar-lock sent this last thought from behind a davenport, from which hiding-place he could see the tri-di screen and both Belle and James; but anyone on the screen could not see him.
Miss Foster’s likeness appeared upon the screen. Chancellor Ferber’s secretary was a big woman, but not fat; middle-aged, gray-haired, wearing consciously the aura and the domineering, overbearing expression of a woman who has great power and an even greater drive to exert her authority.
‘Why haven’t you reported in?’ Miss Foster snapped, with a glare that was pure frost. ‘You arrived thirteen minutes ago. Such delay is inexcusable. Get Garlock.’
‘Captain Garlock is off-watch; asleep. I, Commander Bellamy, “am in charge.’ Standing stiffly at attention, Belle paused to exchange glares with the woman across the big desk. If Miss Foster’s was frost, Commander Bellamy’s was helium ice.
‘Ready to roll, Jim?’ Belle flashed the thought.
‘Half a minute yet.’
‘Any time after I sign off. Pick your own spot.’ Then aloud in the screen: ‘I will report to Chancellor Ferber. I will not report to Chancellor Ferber’s secretary.’
‘Doctor James!’ Miss Foster’s voice was neither as cold nor as steady as it had been. ‘Bring that ship down at once!’
James made no sign that he had heard the order. Belle stood changelessly stiff. She had not for an instant taken her coldly competent eyes from those of the woman on the ground. Her emotionless, ultra-refrigerated voice went, as ever, directly into the screen.
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‘I trust that this conversation is being recorded?’
‘It certainly is!’
‘Good. I want it on record that we, the personnel of the starship Pleiades, are not subject to the verbal orders of the Chancellor’s secretary. You will now connect me with Chancellor Ferber, please.’
The Chancellor is in conference and is not to be disturbed. I have authority to act for him. You will report to me, and do it right now!’ Foster’s voice rose almost to a scream.
‘That ground has been covered. Since you have taken it upon yourself to exceed your authority to such an extent as to refuse to connect the officer in command of the Pleiades with the Chancellor, I can not report to him either the reasons why we are not landing at this time nor when we expect to return to Tellus. You are advised that we may leave at any instant, just like that!’ Belle snapped her finger under the imaged nose. ‘You may inform the Chancellor, or not inform him if you prefer, that our control of the starship Pleiades is something less than perfect I do not know exactly how many seconds longer we will be here. Commander Bellamy signing off. Over and out.’
‘Commander Bellamy, indeed!’ Miss Foster was screaming now, in thwarted fury. ‘You’re no more a commander than my lowest office-girl is! Just wait till you get down here, you green-haired—’ The set went instantaneously from full volume to zero sound as James drove the red button home.
‘Belle, you honey!’ Garlock scrambled out from behind the davenport, seized her around the waist, and swung her, feet high in the air, through four full circles before he let her down and kissed her vigorously. ‘You were great I You’re the first living human being ever to pull Foster’s cork!’
Belle was, however, unusually diffident. ‘I stuck my neck out a mile – worse, I stuck Glee’s out too. I’m sorry, Clee. I had to have some weight to throw around, and I had only a second to think, and that was the first thing that came to me – and after half a minute she made me so damn mad that I went entirely too far.’
‘No … just far enough. That was a perfect job.’
‘But she’ll never forget that. She knows I’m not a commander. I can laugh at her, of course, but she’ll crucify you as
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soon as we land.’
‘She just thinks you aren’t a commander. The official log will show, though, that after only one day out I discovered that we should all be the officers – one captain and three commanders – with pay and perquisites of rank. I’ll think up good and sufficient reasons for it between now and the time when I make up the log.’
‘But you can’t! Or can you, really?’
‘Well, nobody told me I couldn’t, so I’m going to assume the right. Besides, you didn’t tell her commander of what, so I’ll make it stick, too – see if I don’t. Or else I’ll tear two or three offices apart finding out why I can’t.’
‘All that may not be necessary,’ Lola said. ‘That tape will never be heard. I’ll bet she’s erased it already.’
‘Perhaps; but ours isn’t going to be erased – it will be heard exactly where it will do the most good.’
‘I’m awfully glad you don’t think we’re on the hook. All that’s left then, is that second-in-command business. Both of you know, of course, that that was just window-dressing.’
‘You were telling the truth and didn’t know it,’ James said, cheerfully. ‘You’ve actually been second in command ever since the drive tests.’
‘I haven’t, and I won’t. Surely you don’t think I’m enough of a heel, Jim, to step on your toes like that?’
‘Nothing like that involved. You tell her, Clee.’
‘Gunther ability is what counts. You’re a Prime, Jim’s an Operator; so, now that we can handle the heap, you’ll have to be second in command whether you like it or not. And any time you can out-Gunther me we’ll trade places; and you won’t have to take the job away from me – I’ll give it to you.’
‘But … no hard feelings, Jim? No reservations? Screens down?’
‘None whatever. In fact, I’m relieved. I’m Gunthered for this board here – for that one I’m not. Come in and look; and shake on it.’
She looked; and, while they were shaking hands, she flashed a thought at Lola: ‘Do you know that we’ve got two of the finest men that ever lived?’
‘I’ve known that for a long time,’ Lola flashed back, ‘but
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you’ve hardly started to realize what they really are.’
‘Well, shall we start earning our pay and perquisites by getting to work on this planet, which we haven’t even looked -wait a minute! We’re just about to open up the galaxy, aren’t we?’
They were.
‘Then there’ll have to be some kind of a unifying and correlating authority – a Galactic Council or something – and the quicker it’s set up the better, the less confusion and turmoil and jockeying-for-position there’ll be. Question: should this authority be political?’
‘It should not I’ James declared. ‘It takes United Worlds seven solid days of debate to decide whether or not to buy one lead pencil.’
‘Military – or naval, I suppose it’d be – that’s what Glee’s driving at,’ Belle said. ‘You’re priceless, Clee. We’re officers of the brand-new Galactic Navy. Subject to civilian control, of course, but the civilians will be the United Galaxian Societies of the Galaxy, and nobody else. Beautiful, Clee! There are ten Operators, Jim. Right?’
‘Check. Brownie and I are here; the other eight are running the Galaxian Society under Clee. And the whole Society eats right out of his hands.’
‘I don’t know about that, but Belle and I together could swing it, I think,’ Garlock said.
‘I’ll say we could!’ Belle laughed. ‘And I simply can’t wait to see you kick Fatso’s teeth in with this one!’