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Updated: June 20, 2025
Dunnan had gone, but they knew whither, and where to find him. The conquest of Marduk had moved into its final phase. Marduk was on the other side of the sun from Abaddon with ninety-five million miles close, but not inconveniently so, Trask thought to spare. Guatt Kirbey and the Mardukan astrogator who was helping him made it within a light-minute.
This was being telecast, and Omfray of Glaspyth and Ridgerd of Didreksburg would both be listening; as of now, they'd start hiring mercenaries. Maybe that would get rid of Dunnan for him. The Duke gave the two-hand sword back to his esquire.
"His nephew's back in town." Elaine was distressed; she started to say: "Oh, dear! I hope he doesn't " "Has Dunnan been bothering Elaine again?" "Nothing to take notice of. He was here, yesterday, demanding to speak with her. We got him to leave without too much unpleasantness." "It'll be something for me to take notice of, if he keeps it up after tomorrow."
Visitors came often, bringing amusing little gifts, and he found that he enjoyed their company. He wanted to know what had really happened, and how Dunnan had gotten away. "He pirated the Enterprise," Rovard Grauffis told him. "He had that company of mercenaries of his, and he'd bribed some of the people at the Gorram shipyards.
There are planets in the Old Federation where Space Vikings come and go; raid-and-trade bases, like the one Duke Angus planned to establish on Tanith. At one or another of them, I'll pick up word of Dunnan, sooner or later." "We'll hear where he was a year ago, and by the time we get there, he'll be gone for a year and a half to two years.
When they landed again at the Gorram yards, two hundred hours later, they learned that a tramp freighter from Morglay had come into Bigglersport in their absence with news of Andray Dunnan. Her captain had come to Wardshaven at Duke Angus' urgent invitation and was waiting for them at the Ducal Palace. They sat, a dozen of them, around a table in the Duke's private apartments.
He yelled orders a jumble of code letters and numbers and things began going out. Most of them blew up in space. Then the Yo-Yo blew up, very quietly, as things do where there is no air to carry shock- and sound-waves, but very brilliantly. There was brief daylight all over the night side of the planet. "That was our planetbuster," Larch said. "I don't know what we'll use on Dunnan."
Karffard punched out the combination as Koreff furnished it. While Trask was desperately willing his face into immobility, the screen lighted. It wasn't Andray Dunnan; that was a disappointment. It was almost as good, though. His henchman, Sir Nevil Ormm. "Well, Sir Nevil! A pleasant surprise," he heard himself saying. "We last met on the terrace at Karvall House, did we not?"
"If you all come out unarmed, and bring Dunnan with you, I promise you, the rest of you will be let outside this building and allowed to go away unharmed." "All right. We'll be coming out in a minute." The man raised his voice. "It's agreed!" he called. "Bring him out." There were fewer than two score of them.
Maybe they'd guessed wrong, at that. Maybe Dunnan hadn't gone to Tanith at all. Harkaman, who had the knack of putting himself to sleep at will, with some sixth or n-th sense posted as a sentry, leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Trask wished he could, too. It would be hours before anything happened, and until then he needed all the rest he could get.
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