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  --And Devious the Line of Duty

  Sometimes the most diligent and loyal thing an old man can do is fumble, drink beer, and let a young man get into trouble....

  by Tom Godwin

  Illustrated by Schelling

  "We're almost there, my boy." The big, gray-haired man who would beLieutenant Dale Hunter's superior--Strategic Service's Special Agent,George Rockford--opened another can of beer, his fifth. "There will beintrigue already under way when this helicopter sets down with us.Attempted homicide will soon follow. The former will be meat for me. Youwill be meat for the latter."

  Rockford was smiling as he spoke; the genial, engaging smile of a fondold father. But the eyes, surrounded by laughter crinkles, were asunreadable as two disks of gray slate. They were the eyes of a pokerplayer--or master con man.

  "I don't understand, sir," Hunter said.

  "Of course not," Rockford agreed. "It's a hundred light-years back toEarth. Here on Vesta, to make sure there _is_ an Earth in the future,you're going to do things never dreamed of by your Terran Space Patrolinstructors there. You'll be amazed, my boy."

  Hunter said nothing but he felt a growing dislike for the condescendingRockford. Only a few weeks ago President Diskar, himself, had said: _Formore than a century these truly valiant men of the Space Patrol havebeen our unwavering outer guard; have fought and died by legions, thatEarth and the other worlds of the Terran Republic might remain free--_

  "I suppose you know," Rockford said, "that there will be no more thanfour days in which to stop the Verdam oligarchy from achieving itslong-time ambition of becoming big enough to swallow the TerranRepublic."

  "I know," Hunter answered.

  Jardeen, Vesta's companion world, was the key. Jardeen was large andpowerful, with a space navy unsurpassed by that of any other singleworld. A large group of now-neutral worlds would follow Jardeen's leadand Jardeen's alliance with the Verdam People's Worlds would mean thequick end for the Terran Republic. But, if Jardeen could be persuaded toally with the Terran Republic, the spreading, grasping arms of theVerdam octopus would begin to wither away--

  Rockford spoke again:

  "Val Boran, Jardeen's Secretary of Foreign Relations, is the man whowill really make Jardeen's decision. I know him slightly. Since mypublic role is that of Acting Ambassador, he agreed--reluctantly--tocome to Vesta so that the talks could be on a neutral world. With himwill be Verdam's Special Envoy Sonig; a wily little man who has beenworking on Boran for several weeks. He seems to be succeeding quitewell--here's a message I received from Earth early this morning."

  Rockford handed him a sheet of the green Hyperspace Communicationspaper. The message was in code, with Rockford's scribbled translationbeneath:

  _Intelligence reports Verdam forces already massed for attack in SectorA-13, in full expectation of Jardeen's alliance. Anti-Terran propaganda,stressing the New Jardeen Incident, being used in preparation for whatwill be their claim of "defensive action to protect innocent worlds fromTerran aggression." Terran forces will be outnumbered five to one. Theurgent necessity of immediate and conclusive counter measures by you onVesta is obvious._

  Hunter handed the paper back, thinking, _It's worse than any of usthought_, and wondering how Supreme Command could ever have entrustedsuch an important task to a beer-guzzling old man from StrategicService--a branch so unknown that he had never even heard of it untilhis briefing the day before he left Earth.

  He saw that they had left the desert behind and were going up the longslope of a mountain. "The meeting will be on this mountain?" he asked.

  Rockford nodded. "The rustic Royal Retreat. Princess Lyla will be ourhostess. Her mother and father were killed in an airplane accident ayear ago and she was the only child. You will also get to meet Lord Narfof the Sea Islands, her husband-by-proxy, who regards himself as a rarecombination of irresistible woman-killer and rugged man-among-men."

  "Husband-by-proxy?" Hunter asked.

  "The king worshiped his daughter and his dying request to her was thatshe promise to marry Lord Narf. Narf's father had been the king'sclosest friend and the king was sure that his old friend's son wouldalways love and care for Lyla. Lyla dutifully, at once, married Narf byproxy, which is like a legally binding formal engagement under Vestanlaw. Four days from now the time limit is up and they'll be formallymarried. Unless she should do the unprecedented thing of renouncing theproxy marriage."

  Rockford drained the last of the beer from the can. "Those are thecharacters involved in our play. I have a plan. That's why I told SpacePatrol to send me a brand-new second lieutenant--young, strong, fairlyhandsome--and expendable. I hope you can be philosophical about thelatter."

  "Sir," Hunter said, unable to keep a touch of stiffness out of his tone,"it is not exactly unknown in the Space Patrol for a man to die in theline of duty."

  "Ah ... yes." Rockford was regarding him with disturbing amusement. "Youare thinking, of course, of dying dramatically behind a pair of blazingblasters. But you will soon learn, my boy, that a soldier's duty is toprotect the worlds he represents by whatever actions will produce thebest results, no matter how unheroic those actions may be."

  * * * * *

  "Attention, please." It was the voice of the pilot. "We are now going toland."

  Hunter preceded Rockford out of the helicopter and onto the green grassof a small valley, across which tall, red-trunked cloud trees werescattered. Pale gray ghost trees, with knobby, twisted limbs, grewthickly among the cloud trees. There was a group of rustic cabins,connected by gravel paths, and a much larger building which he assumedwould be a meeting hall.

  "Hello."

  He turned, and looked into the brown eyes of a girl. Her green skirt andorange blouse made a gay splash of color, her red-brown hair waswind-tumbled and carefree about her shoulders, in her hand was a bouquetof bright spring flowers.

  But there was no smile of spring in the dark eyes and the snub-nosedlittle face was solemn and old beyond its years.

  "You're Lieutenant Hunter, aren't you?" she asked in the same low, quietvoice.

  "Princess Lyla!" There seemed to be genuine delight in Rockford'sgreeting as he hurried over. "You're looking more like a queen everyday!"

  Her face lighted with a smile, making it suddenly young and beautiful."I'm so glad to see you again, George--"

  "Ah ... good afternoon."

  The voice was loud, unpleasantly gravelly. They turned, and Hunter saw atall, angular man of perhaps forty whose pseudogenial smile was notcompatible with his sour, square-jawed face and calculating little eyes.

  He spoke to Rockford. "You're Ambassador Rockford, here to represent theTerran Republic, I believe." He jerked his head toward Princess Lyla,who was no longer smiling. "My wife, Princess Lyla."

  "Oh, she and I have been friends since she was ten, Lord Narf."

  "And this young man"--Narf glanced at Hunter--"is your aide, I presume.Lyla, did you think to send anyone after their luggage?"

  A servant was already carrying their luggage--and cases of Rockford'sbeer--out of the helicopter. Hunter followed the other toward thecabins. Narf, in the lead, was saying:

  "... Ridiculously primitive here, now, but I'm having some decentfurniture and well-trained servants sent up from my Sea Islandestates...."

  * * * * *

  The cabin was large and very comfortable, as Rockford mentioned toPrincess Lyla.

  "I'm glad yo
u like it," she said. "Val Boran and Envoy Sonig are alreadyhere and we'll meet for dinner in the central hall. I thought that if weall got acquainted in a friendly atmosphere like that, it might help alot to...."

  "That reminds me"--Narf glanced at his watch--"I promised this Boran hecould have a discussion with me--Vesta-Jardeen tariff policies. Isuppose he's already waiting. Come on, Lyla--it will do you no harm tolisten and learn a bit about interplanetary business."

  For a long moment she looked at Narf silently, her eyes thoughtful, thenshe said to Rockford, "If you will excuse us, please. And be preparedfor Alonzo to come bounding in the minute he learns you're