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The Shudos of Keroth. The flagship of the Kerothi Fleet." The look in the major's eyes was the same look of hatred that had come into the captain's. "Even if its armament is still functioning, we have to take the chance," Major Thornton said. "Even if they're all dead, we have to try to get The Butcher's body." He picked up the microphone again. "Attention, Group.
Off to one side, almost like a jury in a jury box, sat twenty or so lesser officers, none of them ranking below the Kerothi equivalent of lieutenant-colonel. As far as MacMaine could tell, none of the officers wore the insignia of fleet officers, the spaceship-and-comet that showed that the wearer was a fighting man.
Would you consent to be a vile, inhuman monster whose undead spirit would hang over your homeland like an evil miasma for centuries to come, whose very name would touch a flame of hatred in the minds of all who heard it?" "That's a very melodramatic way of putting it," the Kerothi said, "but I believe I understand what you mean.
Sebastian MacMaine felt tense and a little irritated with himself, but he felt nothing that could be called a premonition. When he read the first item on the duty list, his irritation became a little stronger. "Interrogate Kerothi general." The interrogation duty had swung round to him again. He didn't want to talk to General Tallis.
The pause and the silence, MacMaine knew, were for a purpose. He waited. Tallis had something to say, but he was allowing the Earthman to "adjust to surprise." It was one of the fine points of Kerothi etiquette.
"As I saw it, I had only two choices to remain as I was and become a slave to the Kerothi or to put myself in your hands willingly and hope for the best. As you " He was interrupted by a harsh voice from a nearby speaker. "Battle stations! Battle stations! Enemy fleet in detector range! Contact in twelve minutes!" Tallis and MacMaine headed for the Command Room at a fast trot.
There was something about the alien that bothered him, and he couldn't place exactly what it was. Earth had been lucky to capture the alien officer. In a space war, there's usually very little left to capture after a battle especially if your side lost the battle. On the other hand, the Kerothi general wasn't so lucky.
Watched every moment, for any sign of treason. Your flagship will be a small ten-man blaster-boat one of our own. You gave us one; we'll give you one. At the worst, we will come out even. At the best, your admittedly brilliant grasp of tactics and strategy will enable us to save thousands of Kerothi lives, to say nothing of the immense savings in time and money."
When MacMaine snapped to attention again, the others in the room became suddenly silent. "We feel," the hard-faced old Kerothi continued, as if there had been no break, "that, in this case, we are justified in employing the animal in question. "However, we must make certain exceptions to our normal procedure. The candidate is not a machine, and therefore cannot be treated as a machine.
The Kerothi language lacked many of the voiced consonants of English and Russian, and, as a result, Tallis' use of B, D, G, J, V, and Z made them come out as P, T, K, CH, F, and S. The English R, as it is pronounced in run or rat, eluded him entirely, and he pronounced it only when he could give it the guttural pronunciation of the German R. The terminal NG always came out as NK. The nasal M and N were a little more drawn out than in English, but they were easily understandable.
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