The Universe — or Nothing

  Chapter THIRTY-THREE

  Narval sat hunched over as Drummer and Bradentered. He did not wait for them to approach.

  "Well? Speak up, Drummer," he snapped. "Don'twait for a special invitation."

  "The replies to your message have come in, Mr.President. They are all in the affirmative. Theirfleets are getting ready."

  "Ah hah!"

  Narval's head shot up, and he straightened asmuch as his deeply cushioned chair would allow. Hepatted the top of his desk, and his face creasedinto a broad grin, flushed with triumph. Eyesdancing from Drummer to Brad and back, he pattedthe desk once more, obviously enjoying the moment.The grin quickly transformed into one of deadlycunning.

  "That takes care of my first objective," hesaid. "From here they are both independent andinterdependent. You must plan carefully and carryout my instructions without deviating."

  Eyes fixed on Drummer, he raised his jeweled handto point at him.

  "I have already told you how you fit into my plansfor the future." Turning to Brad, "You have provenyourself a reliable and resourceful leader, Brad.When I have attained my goals, you, along withDrummer, will be amply rewarded with materialwealth and positions of honor. I tell you thisnow because in my world loyalty has a price, andyou are entitled to know I will pay it. How do youstand?"

  "I hear and I understand, Mr. President," Bradreplied and, without a flinch, "I stand with you."

  "Good."

  Leaning as far forward as his paunch would allow,Narval motioned Drummer and Brad forward. Theytook chairs close to the desk.

  "Drummer, I appoint you Commander of the CombinedFleet, and I now order you to take the objective.Brad, I appoint you Drummer's Chief of CombatOperations. I will issue the necessary orders toall Commanders of the Plutonian fleet and to theCommanders of our allied forces."

  Narval watched Drummer and Brad's faces as hespoke. Both returned his gaze with grim, attentiveexpressions.

  "When you have taken the objective, only Scarf'ssecurity troops are to be allowed to board and takestations throughout the facility. You have anothertask.

  "Once internal security is established, invite theship commanders to a celebration on your flagship.Reject declinations; they must appear. Permit thecelebration to go on for a bit, then, Drummer, thebolt.

  "Announce to the assembled Commanders -- thoseof the Plutonian fleet and those of our allies --that I have instructed you to take their oath ofallegiance to me, Narval of Planet Pluto, and tonone other. Those who refuse are to be eliminatedon the spot in plain view of the others. Those whoagree are to be placed under psychic probes, thenand there, to ensure that their oath of allegianceto me is without reservation. Any who fail to passthe test are to join the ones that openly refused.No second chances. Understood?"

  "Understood," Brad said.

  Drummer nodded, his face gone pale.

  "Transfer contingents of Scarf's troops fromthe objective to your flagship, several hundred ifnecessary, whatever number you need to cover theoperation. Make certain that you transfer enoughtechnicians to set up and operate the psychicprobes. If any Commanders or their staffs choseto be feisty, the troops are your execution squads.

  "The ships of those Commanders who refuse to swearallegiance to me will be boarded by our troops, andall resistance crushed. Subterfuge may be necessary;do not hesitate: the end justifies the means.Replace the original INOR Commanders with officersnext in command; promise them wealth and position,use the psychic probes to verify their decisions;at some point in the pressures that we will applyINOR officers will switch their allegiance to Pluto.

  "When your takeover is complete, the combinedINOR fleet will be under my control. I shall then usethis power to challenge the conferees and dictatemy terms to both the UIPS and INOR's rulers."

  "Timing is of the utmost importance," Bradreflected.

  "Exactly," Narval said sharply. "All of your plansand timetables must be synchronized with theactions I take at the conference."

  "Any attacks on the depot will be immediatelyspunnel-flashed by Hanno to the UIPS," Drummer said.

  "I've thought about that," Narval replied. "Brad,I want your man, Zolan, to install generators andcontrols for an electronic barrier sunside of thePlanet Pluto Special Zone to keep all messages fromthe UIPS, conventional or spunnel, from passingthrough. Can he do it?"

  "Yes."

  "Good. I will transmit a coded message to you frommy ship when I have the agenda for the conference.The message will tell you when to energizethe barrier. I must control the timing on thisoperation so precisely that the conferees haveminimal warning before I make my announcement.Vitally important: the electronic barrier mustgo up sufficiently in advance of launching youroperations against the target so that no messagesof the attack passes through from the depot, theterminals site, or any UIPS ships in the area. Thecomm-blackout will itself set off alarms throughoutthe UIPS. By then, it will be too late for them tointerfere."

  "Sounds reasonable, Mr. President," Brad said."Once we get the situation under control, includinglining up the Commanders of the allied warships,we can punch a hole in the barrier just big enough toget a flash through to you at the conference site,giving you the score."

  "Excellent, Brad, excellent."

  Narval beamed at his new Commander of CombatOperations and twisted his mouth into a malevolentgrin.

  "One change," he said, eyes on Brad. "Up tonow, the objective of your strategic planning andtactics has been the Depot. Now here this: theDepot is no longer the target. Your target isthe Slingshot construction site including the'Terminals'. You are to take control of the entirecomplex and hold it as my hostage. Adjust yourplans, tactics and schedules accordingly."