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Fire only as missiles appear." The moving speck flamed and was again only a moving speck. It ejected something which hurtled toward the ship just up from Kandar. "Intercept one away!" said a confident voice. The last-launched missile fled toward the first moving speck, diminishing as it went. It swung suddenly, off course. "Fire two!" snapped somebody somewhere.
They crave triumphs over them and each other, and they create disaster everywhere, until they are crushed. Bors said evenly, "If the king's planning to surrender the fleet to Mekin as ransom for Kandar, it won't work." "He's considering it," said his uncle. "It will be a way of giving them the victory we cheated them of, though we didn't intend to win." "It won't work," repeated Bors.
For long, sweating, unbearable minutes nothing happened except that the fleet of Kandar went hurtling through space with no sensation or direct evidence of motion. The gas-giant planet dwindled, but not very fast. The bright specks on the screens which were enemy ships seemed to separate as they drew nearer. But all happened with infinite and infuriating deliberation. It was worth waiting for.
The last will arrive the day after, at about sunrise here." Bors went a trifle pale. "I doubt it. It's supposed to be a military secret that such ships are on the way. Since you know it, I assume that the Mekinese do, too. In effect, you seem to be a Mekinese spy. But you can hardly do any more harm! I advise you to go back to your yacht and leave Kandar immediately.
"Our precognizer our Precognizer for Special Events," said Gwenlyn, "got the notion that a year from now King Humphrey should open parliament on Kandar, if everything is straightened out. The notion became a precognition. We don't know how it can come about, but it does seem to imply a change of plans somewhere!" Bors found himself indomitably skeptical. But he said, "Ah!
You have nothing to fear from us. We're survivors of Mekin's invasion of Kandar. You will please co-operate with us, and no harm will come to you. Your ground-cars will be disabled so you can't report us. You will not be punished for this! Repeat: you will not be punished!" He repeated the announcement.
Those ships which dared not run away without a token fight, discovered the fleet of Kandar wasn't fighting a token battle. It had started out to be just that, but somehow the plans had changed when the fighting started. For the aggressors, it was disaster. When his fleet reassembled, King Humphrey issued a general order to all ships. He read it in person, his voice strained and dead and hopeless.
Pride and rage swept through Mekinese commanders, as they saw the Kandarians deliberately break up their formation to get their ships down to the level of the enemy. It was unthinkable for a Mekinese ship to refuse single combat! And when two and three could combine against a single ship of Kandar.... The invaders had reason to fight, rather than slip into overdrive.
"Kandar shouldn't surrender even though there will be at least ten Mekinese to one Kandarian." She smiled at him, very oddly. "I suspect," she said, "that not everybody on the fleet will be killed. I'm sure of it. In fact, as my father would say, that's Talents, Incorporated information!" Bors frowned worriedly. The fleet of Mekin continued in overdrive, heading for Kandar.
A ship could be sent back to Kandar not to land but to watch. If a single Mekinese ship went there to ask questions, it could be destroyed, perhaps. Which would gain us time." "I will think about it," said the king doubtfully. "Maybe it has occurred to someone else. I will see. Meantime you will go to the admiral for a new ship. And then do what you can to find provisions for the fleet.
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