take fulladvantage of that moment. Thane's fingers moved with scherzo speed ashe fed twelve adjustments to the fire control. He let go witheverything they had on the port side, and switched off the guns, inpreparation for the shummer. It came almost simultaneously, and thepirate disappeared as they went into the hyper-space of the warp-line.There was no time to see if any damage had been done. His last shotsmust have had effect, though, or they would never have made it backinto the warp.
Thane turned away wearily from the fire-control panel. The wholeencounter had lasted less than twenty seconds, but the strain offighting against the Stoltz effect and of manually computing twelvevariables had been wearing. He saw that the Third Officer was nowstanding close to Astrid. He started to say he was sorry that he hadto act as he did. But the Third walked over to him, with militaryprecision, his face set. He stood before Thane, young, military, andserious.
"You have impugned my honor and that of Onzar. For that your life isforfeit. We fight on Kadenar."
"I also saved your life and my own," Thane said drily, "but if youwant me to take yours back, I'll be glad to oblige. See you atKadenar." Thane turned on his heel and walked away.
* * * * *
Duelling was forbidden by the Systems Code but on such outposts asKadenar it was not only allowed but even encouraged.
Therefore, no time was lost in customs. Thane's forged Onzarianpassport was stamped "duellist priority" and that was that. Astridcame through as readily as his second. And the Third, with anotherjunior officer, was just behind them.
The four of them sat side by side without a word as their automaticanti-grav taxi took them the ten kilos from the port to Kadenar City,and then beyond. The taxi continued over the City and its three"towns"--the spacetown, the bureaucrat's town, and the miner'stown--and finally settled gently down in the foothills beyond. Therewas a clearing beneath them, with a fenced-in surface. A medic lookedup as they got out.
"Differences to settle, gentlemen and my lady? Interne Pyuf at yourservice. The duelling tax is three sals. Always glad to accept anySystems currency. Then too, there's the cremation deposit requiredfrom both parties, the medication fee, and if you gentlemen areinterested in insurance, I'm able to supply some very specialpolicies."
After the principals and seconds had signed the register and all feeshad been paid, Pyuf leaned back in his chair, lit one of thefashionable 30 centimeter cigarettes, and explained the rules. "Ingeneral, no criminal nor civil disability attaches to actions of theprincipals within this enclosure. Certain fines, however, are imposedif the rules are not followed. To wit: knives only can be used, not toexceed twelve inches. Each contestant may wear a personal anti-grav,limited to fifteen feet ascentability. Anti-gravs must be adjusted tocompensate for native gravities." He smiled, in self-deprecation."That's Pyuf the lawyer at work. Now perhaps you prefer Pyuf thebartender." He reached under his counter and pulled out a bottle,labelled in the local language, and poured out five glasses. "To yourcontinued good health, gentlemen, and I sincerely hope I can returnyour cremation deposits--though of course, many previous contestants,grateful to be alive, have contributed the amounts to the Interne'sBenefit Association."
Thane and the others picked up their glasses. The stuff was yellow,sticky, sweet, and without the slightest doubt, alcoholic. When Thanecould manage to speak, he said, "By all means, Pyuf. I'm sure thatboth my opponent and I will contribute to the internes, dead or alive.Shall we proceed with the main event?"
Before answering, Pyuf poured a small chaser from the same bottle andstood up, a little unsteadily. "By all means. But before we start Imight mention that I have been ordained in fourteen systems' religionsand will be glad to perform last rites...."
"Enough, enough," said the Third, who was beginning to show signs ofnervousness. "Let us get on with it."
Pyuf stepped over to the weapons racks and removed a set of knives anda pair of anti-grav jackets. He laid them on his table and gesturedto the Third. "Take a knife and jacket." The Third chose the knife andjacket to the left without more than a cursory glance.
Pyuf reached in his jacket pocket and brought out one of thetwelve-faced dies of Kadenar. "Pyuf, the gambler," he said. "You twogentlemen will now roll the die. He who is high has his choice ofeither group of weapons."
The Third Officer rolled first, and the Kadenar equivalent of ninecame up. Thane rolled a five.
"Now," said Pyuf, "it's Pyuf, the couturier. Step forward, gentlemen,to be fitted."
Pyuf fitted the anti-grav jackets to Thane and the Third, and gaveeach a brief, efficient test. He stepped back and leaned against hiscounter. "And now, Pyuf, the referee." He pointed to a green linebisecting the enclosure. "You gentlemen will remain on the other sideof the line during the contest. You remain within the fences. You donot ascend higher than fifteen feet. The contest lasts till blood hasbeen drawn three times or until a prior fatality--or do I need addthat? At any rate, that's all the rules. The State wishes you well,while it frowns on your activity. To your circles, gentlemen, andawait my signal."
Thane judged the area marked off for the "contest" to be about tenmeters square. It was smoothly surfaced with one of the hard localmetals, and Thane noticed a few bloodstains near the edges. Most ofthem were the dark brown of dried human blood, but there were otheralien colors mixed in here and there.
As he walked across the court Thane looked carefully at his opponent,appraising him. They were both about the same height but the Third hadseveral centimeters more reach. Probably around the equivalent of 23years, absolute time. Certainly at the peak of physical condition.Thane decided on his course. He would try first for his opponent'santi-grav. Probably the other would try to cover his throat and belly,and Thane might be able to get to the anti-grav by surprise. Then,draw the blood that was in the rules, and get the thing over. Not muchof a plan, but at least a plan.
There was an inset ring of some cupra-alloy at each end of theduelling court, about a meter in diameter. Thane reached his end,watched his opponent, and waited for Pyuf's signal. Pyuf slowly pouredanother drink. As he raised it with his right hand, his left arm wentup over his head. He swallowed the drink, and the left arm came down.
The Third Officer came on in all-out attack. His anti-grav assistedleap was long and shallow, aimed at Thane's throat. At the same momentThane bent his knees slightly and dropped. Just before he hit thesurface he pushed up and outward with all his strength and twisted hisbody sharply. With the assistance of the anti-grav he was floating nowdirectly above and behind his opponent. He cut off the anti-gravcompletely and dropped, with all the planet's gravity. As he did, theThird twisted and raised his knife. He lacked a fraction of a secondto complete the turn and get into lethal position. Thane hit him onthe shoulder and instantly turned his anti-grav to the "full"position, grabbed his opponent's shoulders, and pushed against thecourt surface with both heels.
They both went up and over, almost to the fifteen meter limit. As theydid, Thane worked his knife into the anti-grav pack on his opponent'sback. Three connections, at the top, left, and bottom. His knife cutin and out rapidly, three times. Then he suddenly pushed away, slippedhis own anti-grav to zero, and dropped to the surface.
The Third, suddenly without the assistance of his anti-grav, crashedinto the fence and dropped leadenly to the metalled surface. Thanecrouched a moment watching him. Thane had a cut above one eye, and theblood was beginning to run. He stepped forward....
... the knife in his hand ... what was it there for? He should be onhis way to the rotor meet with the rest of the boys ... he was goingto win this year ... he was going to win....
III
The first feeling Thane had when he came out of the Stoltz shock waslightness. He raised his right arm as he came back to consciousness,and he noticed that the effort required was less than he hadexpected. He opened his eyes, and they gradually came back intofocus. He was lying on a cot in a dimly lit room. The light, he saw,came from a small window across the room. With an unfamilia
rly lighttread, Thane stepped over to the window. The pane was double,transparent metal. It took only one glance at the bleak, wintrylandscape outside to explain the feeling of lightness. It could onlybe the landscape of Onzar II, whose gravity was about 80% that ofKadell IV.
Someone obviously had reason to cart him, unconscious, across a fewlight years. Apparently, the duel had not been what it seemed. Buthow? And why? Quite possibly the Third Officer was an agent ofOnzarian counter-espionage. If so, what had happened to Astrid? Howhad Pyuf and the others been taken care of? On the other hand, it wasquite possible that Astrid was behind it. He remembered how she seemedto have been talking to the Third just before the challenge. But forwhat motive? Thane smiled to himself. The speculation was interesting,but a little