"How long?" Amos ben Sierra Nueva said desperately



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Ah, patrUineal descent system, Simeon thought.
"I thank the All-Knowing for Guiyon, for when I left

the council chamber that last time, he called to me.

Escape, he said. 'To go where? How?' I asked. He told

me then of the colony ship that had brought us to

Bethel. For three hundred years we had used it as a

weather and relaying station, nothing more. I left to

gather those who might follow me."
His hands knotted together. "And the Kolnari...

when the Elders refused surrender, they destroyed the

dry with a fusion weapon!"
A shocked murmur ran around the table. No one

had used fusion weapons in generations. Certainly not

in any sector answerable to the Central Worlds.
"Murderers! Looters! Pirates!" he spat out the words

and rubbed his face with his hands.


Another murmur. SSS-900-C was in a very peaceful

sector; the only nonhumans were spedes who did not

practice institutionalized violence. The settlers were

mostly well-integrated types, if a bit rambunctious, but

no more than was expected on a frontier. Piracy was an

historical phenomenon or a sporadic occurrence far

out on the Arm.
In a steady voice, all the more effective because of its

calm, Amos went on. "A tenth of our people died in that

moment, and all our leaders. The Kolnari told us that

we must capitulate or they would strike again. They


150
Anne McCaffrey & SM. Stating
broadcast their message from a dark screen. They

would strike again and again until we were obliterated

to the last man. Just this implacable voice. The

cowardsl They did not even show us the face of our

enemy. They gave us two hours to make up our minds.
"And so we began. It was very hard, we had to deter-

mine who we could take." His cheeks grew red with

shame as he continued. "First we took'Guiyon from his

column. We could not open the main bay doors. Ah,

but we were so stupid, so innocent, so untrained! Wed

managed to get supplies, disconnect Guiyon, gathered

our people, flown to the ship without being detected

and then," he gave a harsh bark of laughter, "the doors

refused to open! Some murmured that the Elders had

been right. We were being punished for our sins.


"Then, Joseph here," and Amos laid a light hand on

the short man's shoulder, "opened one of the service

airlocks. Only it was much too small for Guiyon's shell

He insisted that he didn't have to be inside, that we

must strap him to the hull near die bridge, so that his

brain synapses could be wired into the command

panel. He had to tell us everything that had to be done.

We knew so little of such matters." Another bitter snort

"And we were so afraid. None of us knew anything at

all about spatial navigation. I had piloted a ship, but

only a small one, and never beyond Bethel's moons.

Beyond Bethel's moons," and he made a broad sweep

of his arm, "was not fit for men of Bethel. Also, we know

nothing of the worlds outside our litde system. Guiyon

handled what outsystem commerce was permitted to

us on Bethel."


He paused, swallowing hard, and Chaundra filled a

glass with water for him. Amos nodded gratefully and

drank before he resumed his story.
"Guiyon dared not risk bringing us to one of the

nearer colonies for fear of leading those monsters to an

equally defenseless planet. Instead," and he gave a
THE CTTY WHO FOUGHT
151
mirthless laugh, "we may have led them to an even

more defenseless space station. At least on a planet, one

may know of safe hiding places. I do not know why we

are here and not at Rigel Base. Guiyon must have

changed course again. There were four fiends in our

wake when I had to adtept the drug. Well-armed war-

ships, or so Guiyc&i thought. And we have led them

here to you who have" saved the poor fragment of our

people who fled from our once beautiful planet" He

bowed his head, his shoulders slumping with his con-

summate despair.
An appalled silence had broken into a quickly rising

babble of "they've brought trouble here," "they led

fiends to its?," "But we're defenseless." Simeon let out a

modulated howl and they all shut up.


"Thank you," Simeon said ironically when silence

fell. When in danger, or in doubt, run in circles, scream and

shout, he added to himself.
"Guiyon brought them here because first, the

engines were about to blow, and second, they were

dying fast anyway, and third, SSS-900-C is, after all, on

the main route in this quadrant of Central Worlds

sphere of influence. Now, if we could examine the

problem more calmly?"


Claren turned to May Vickers. "As security chief,

you're required to defend us!"


Vickers looked at the man. "With stundart pistols?"

she asked incredulously. "I'm a police officer with fifty

part-time assistants. I lock up drunken miners and see

domestic disputes don't get out of hand," she said. "I've

never had experience with fiends and I want no part of

four warships." She crossed her arms across her solid

chest and looked accusingly up at Simeon.
"Is it possible that you might have lost them?"

Chaundra asked.


The two Bethelites shook their heads glumly.
"Unlikely," Simeon said, "not when Guiyon was
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Amu McCaffrey fc? SM. Stating
overdriving the engines and leaving an ion trail a blind

alien could follow."


Gus nodded. "Any warship could."
"Iffen they couldn't see the trail, thar's all them

pieces of the ship rollin about, saying 'theah heahh!'"

Patsy waved her arms like a signalman. "We cain't

hardly say they passed on through.".,


"My information banks give me no information at all

about any group, or star system, known as Kolnari,"

said Simeon. "While J realize that your experience with

these people is short-term, had you even heard of them

on Bethel before they struck?"
Amos shook his head. "Guiyon had heard rumors of

a band of marauders in the Arm from the few traders

that came to Bethel. He was also forbidden by the

Elders to tell any but themselves what news traders

brought of the worlds beyond Bethel. On the ship, he

did tell me," and Amos furrowed his brow, trying to

remember the exact words the shellperson had used,

"that they struck so swiftly that no alarm could go forth.

That that was how they avoided detection by any force

great enough to come against them."


"Central Worlds, for instance," Channa said with a

rueful quirk of her lips.


Amos nodded. "The first wave of destruction was

aimed at our air and space ports, at communication

installations. The strike was as complete as it was unex-

pected. They chose not to show themselves to us until

all our space capacity was destroyed ... or so they

thought. All we know of them was from a very brief

time when we fought them. They follow us to destroy

the evidence of the destruction of Bethel, the latest of

their crimes. They will kill, and quickly. No doubt," he

added with scorn, "they feel uneasy being only four

instead of three hundred."
"Three hundred?" Simeon asked.
"Three hundred ships. So Guiyon told me. He had
THE CTTY WHO FOUGHT
153
seen them coming in but was forbidden by the Elders

to speak until they had decided what to do."


Gus whistled. "If that's three hundred warships,

people, not only do we have a problem, this whole sector

has a problem." The Navy was much larger, but it was

scattered. - " ~ ^


"Have you hadany recent word from Central,

Simeon?" Channa asjced him.


"Basically no more than an acknowledgement of the

... ah... incident in the vein of 'Gee,that's too bad, but

you're equipped to handle it and when your reports

are filed, we'll see what we can do.1 But of course that's

based on what happened yesterday; this may get us

action."
At least I hope it will, Simeon thought. Three hundred

ships! Shit! Simeon opened a tight beam to Central with

a mayday flag attached. Hopefully he'd have some

hard news before too long.
"What sort of armament did they have?" Gus asked

while the rest of the station's leaders sat, trying not to

look at each other and especially not at Amos and

Joseph. Amos had gone even paler and the blue of his

eyes had faded. He just sat there. On the other hand,

Joseph was watching each and every one of the station

heads with a critical gaze and the slightest of knowing

smiles on his full lips.


Simeon could see that the initial numbness his

people had felt was giving way to fear. Gus was fighting

it with trained reflex, but the others were edging slowly

toward panic.


"You must have something to fight with," Joseph

said, suddenly leaning his arms on the table and direct-

ing a piercing gaze from one face to another. "We

fought, and we had much less than you did who turned

the vessel from your station yesterday. With what did

you blow it into pieces? Do you have more? That is

something. It is more than we had who saw our ships
154
. Stirling
withered to slag. Our city..." He broke off and struck

his fists impotently into the table. "We have brought

you warning. We had none!"
Amos caught his friend by the wrists before he could

damage his hands. "Peace, my brotfier," he said softly.


"Oh, youah brothas?" Patsy saicfin mild surprise,

peering closely at both to find some familial

resemblance. ;"
"Not of the blood," and Amos touched his temple

with his index finger, "of the mind."


"Unh-hunh!" Patsy blushed and tightened her lips

into a straight line.


"I've sent a message to Central Worlds," Simeon told

them in a brisk voice that he hoped sounded as if he had

matters well in hand. "They're consulting with the Space

Navy brass N to see what to do. I was hoping they'd tell

me what they were doing, and or what we can do. I

should've anticipated a full fledged diplomatic-

bureaucratic-governmental-bunfight, complete with

quarrels over jurisdiction. Everyone with something to

say about this has to be tracked down and given an

opportunity to give his fardling opinion in triplicate.

Amos, believe me, kid, I know just how you feel about

elders. The good news is that Navy intends to act fast,

only there aren't any Navy units dose. The nearest is

eighteen days away. Tliis is assuming the brass cut move-

ment orders today and not sometime after we've become

the subject of mere academic debate, because we don't

exist anymore.
"Which means that at best we can look forward to thir-

teen lucky days with our naked butts hanging out waiting

for a kick from a booted foot That nearest Navy unit is a

patrol corvette, a warship only by courtesy."


"Then you must flee!" Amos leaned forward urgent-

ly. "You cannot hope to defeat them. You must leave

this place."
"Great idea," Simeon agreed, "in principle. Only the
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155
station can't move. That's why it's a station. It's station-

ary. Get it?"


"You mock me most unfairly," Amos replied with

solemn and offended dignity. "I have no knowledge of

space stations or of your capabilities. Further, I am not
wrong. I#the stationltftelf cannot move, then its people
_" i ~

must
"As far as- such advice goes," Gus cut in, "he has a

point. We should evacuate as many as we can N

children, the sick, nonessential personnel. Whoever we

can, or whoever's hot to go."
"By my calculations," Simeon said, finishing them in

that instant, "given the number of ships currently in or

near me at the moment, we should be able to evacuate

over a thousand souls." He liked that touch. "Not

counting crews."
Tliere was silence for a moment A thousand was a frac-

tion of the average ever-shifiingpopulationofthe station.


Amos broke the silence hesitantly. "How many

people will that leave on the station?"


"Fifteen thousand, or so," Channa said grimly. "Our

population varies. Simeon, does your estimate include

emptying cargo bays and stuffing our people into them

in suits?" A desperation procedure and liable to result

in some fatalities.
"No, wecould evacuate a few hundred more that way."
Although, given the average softperson's reaction to long-

term confinement in tight spaces, we probably won't get many

volunteers for traveling that way.
"And before you ask," Simeon continued, "no, I

haven't even asked the captains their views on such an

. . . exodus. That's a best case scenario. We can't

prevent those who aren't docked in the station physi-

cally from leaving, so the scheme is still just inside this

room. I think diat before we start bringing anyone else

into this, we should have at least one plan to present,

preferably more than one."


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Amu McCaffrey &f SM. Storting
"Evacuation plans?" Chaundra asked, his brow

furrowed.


"Those," Simeon said, "and plans to fight for the

station."


There was a certain brightening around the table.

Nothing visible, but the lift in attitude was almost

palpable.
"That's right up your alley, Simeon," Channa said

gendy, "even if this isn't a military installation."


"To fight," Joseph said, his dark eyes glinting with

revived hope. Or was it vengeance? "Yes, this is what

we would like to do, but how? Did you not say that you

had no weapons? And surely they will not give you a

chance to combat them. Why should they not simply

rush in and destroy you? That would be but child's play

for them."
"We will employ guile." Ceeze, their lingo is contagious,

he thought. "Remember, you said these people were

pirates?"
"Yes," Amos said. "When they made their initial

demand for surrenderNthey mentioned deliveries of

materials, machines, labor. Pirates, but they speak as

though they were a people, a nation. The High Clan,

they sometimes named themselves. At others, the

Divine N" his mouth puckered in distaste "N the

Divine Seed of Kolnar."
"Right" Simeon spoke briskly. This is just (mother exotic

scenario, he told himself firmly. Games theory, experienceN

don't freeze up now. You've done things like this thousands of

times. "So they're no more than criminals, not a true

army, disciplined, strategically trained. More like gueril-

las. Jump in, grab what they can, jump out Right now,

they're pursuing you, and these four ships aim to destroy

you to keep you from spreading any nasty rumors about

them. So, what we better do first, is get their minds off

killing by distracting them with the material things they

wanted from you in the first place. Right?"
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157
Every station officer thought about this. Then Gus

nodded slowly.


"If these people are space-based, and from the

description I think they must be N what a prize the

SSS-900-C would be!" He turned to Amos and Joseph.

"What sort of intlustrfe^does... did Bethel have?"


"Very few," Amofe said, rubbing a thoughtful hand

along his stubbled jajr'^We could maintain equipment

and manufacture some components for in-system

work. We traded rare foodstuffs and organic molecules

for what little eke we needed. Traders came perhaps

once in a generation. The latest only lastN"


Joseph swore antiphonally with Gus, Patsy, and

Simeon. Channa snapped her fingers. "They must

have been... what's the phrase?
"Casin" the joint," Patsy said for she had a store of

such archaic phrases.


"Spies!" Joseph said. Tears welled in his eyes, tears of

pure rage.


"Always someone who can be bought," Simeon said,

giving his holo image a wise appearance. Or so info tapes

say, but Tve never had to use that tactic.
Joseph nodded jerkily. "I knew several who would

sell their mothers and fathers... maybe their fathers

... for the price of two bottles of arrack."
"Back to the here and now, please," Gus said,

boulder-solid.


Amos shook his head, sending the long black curls

flying. "We have ... had, very litde high technology,

and of what there was... much was in Keriss."
"So they'll be hurting for equipment, possibly for

skilled labor," Simeon said. "They've got to be. Whad-

dya bet that most of those three hundred ships are

transports, factory vessels, that sort of thing. They

wouldn't be self-sufficient even if they have a home

base or star system."


"There've always been folk who'd rather steal than
158
ArmeMcCaffrey &SM. Stating
work," Gus said. He had no arguments on that score

from anyone. "And they'll want to steal from us."


SSS-900-C was a maintenance and repair center. It

was also heavy with rare materials intended for

shipyard and general shipbuilding use. No one argued

with that, either. ^


Simeon addressed the two refugee leaders. "First, we

have to get them thinking along those" lines. Otherwise

they may simply sweep in and put a couple of high-

yield missiles into us. My plan calls for a sacrifice on

your part that I'm reluctant to ask of you."
"Ask," Amos said quietly. "A drowning man will grab

even the point of a sword. I should like to prove worthy

of Guiyon's sacrifice. Ask!"
"1 want to tempt them with booty too rich to resist

and get their acquisitive juices flowing. We'll comman-

deer one of the company yachts that salesmen travel in

when they show their samples to rich customers, and

we'll cram its holds full of things the bastards won't be

able to resist. With the promise of much more easily

available N here!"
"Such as? Channa asked suspiciously.
"Technological stuff, upgrades in software, in com-

puters, the latest improvements in fuel efficiency. We'll

include luxury fabrics, perfumes, jewelry, exotic

delicacies..."


"Bribery will only make them hungrier to sack the

station," Joseph all but shouted, half-rising from his

chair.
"Peace, my brother," Amos soothed him, "remember

that sicatooths do not eat grass. One must put out a

goat to bait the trap for them."
"See, you don't shoot the cow you're milking," Gus

contributed.


"Hell no, you don't eat a pig lahke that all at once,"

Patsy said.


Simeon almost laughed aloud to see the puzzled
THE CITY WHO FOUGHT
159
expressions on the faces of Amos and Joseph. Good one,

Patsy, rememberthat "my brother" fake they pulled onya and

don't let 'em think they can be more obscure than we can.
Chaundra explained the humor and only raised his

brows slightly when Joseph asked, "What's a pig?"

Channa herself was!puAled. She would have expected

the natives of an agricultural world to recognize the

name of an important'farm animal. Her own protein

came out of vats, the way nature intended, as far as she

was concerned. If not literally, then she didn't want to

think about it.


"Won't they think it's kinda odd, though, one guy

sellin so many different things?" Patsy asked.


"Not if he's a middle-man type, importer-exporter,

rather than a manufacturer's rep," Simeon said. "It's

not that hard to deceive people once, Patsy."
"But we have none of these things you have men-

tioned," Amos said, puzzled. "We have no cloth or jewels

or softwear. What is this sacrifice you would ask of us?"
"We need someone to put in the yacht we'll be send-

ing out, and I'm not about to send a living person. I'd

like to send one of your people who died in transit from

ship to station. Preferably someone who died as a result

of the environment failure, since that's why he's going

to be out there in this luxury ship, broadcasting an

offer for a huge reward to anyone who'll rescue him."
Amos and Joseph looked shocked. They sat unmov-

ing for a minute, then slowly turned to meet each

other's eyes.
"Impossible!" Joseph said, his lips tight with fury.

"What you ask is base sacrilege!"


Channa glanced at Simeon's column as though

appealing for help, then plunged in, knowing no

diplomatic way of putting this. "Your funerary customs

are... firmly set?"


"Yess!" Joseph hissed. "We honor our dead, we bury

them and revere their resting place."


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Anne McCaffrey fc? 5M. Stirling
"Well," Simeon told him, "we have no place to bury

our dead here on the station, and it's prohibitively

expensive to ship them back to their home planets. You

can't simply bury them in space because eventually

they constitute a navigation hazard. Here we cremate

our dead." =>


"And the ashes?" Amos asked.
"Unless specifically requested, there are no ashes."
Amos bowed his head. "For bur dead, we request

ashes, so that one day, hopefully, we might return our

friends to Bethel. As to your ... your appeal for the

body of one of ours, I thirik, my brother," and he

turned to Joseph, "that we should consider that an

honor to serve is being offered one of our dead rather

than sacrilege. Surely, whoever we choose, would have

been pleased to be of help to those who survived."


"Itis wrong!" Joseph said. "And I object!"
"My brother," Amos said through gritted teeth, "if

you angle with a straight hook, only those fish which

are willing get on it. Be reasonable, or we may all be

dead. It is only a hope, a possibility we are offered. If

they destroy this decoy, they will then destroy the sta-

tion and we will join our friends who are dead and we

can all go unburied forever." He stared at his com-

panion until, after a long moment, Joseph lowered his

eyes and nodded. To Simeon, Amos said, "Choose the

person most suitable for this ruse from among our

dead brothers."
"Thank you," Simeon said simply, and the others

around the table murmured their thanks as well.


"Okay," Channa said, bringing them back to more

immediate concerns, "these pirates come upon this

derelict space-yacht. They hear the message, 'Help,

help, my environment system is down, auggh, I'm

dying, save me and I'll reward you with umpity-zillion

credits.'"

"Right"
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161
"They give him a buzz, no answer, so they bip on

over to his craft and board it"


"Right"
"They find N whomeverNseveral days dead due to

environment failure/



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