The Women-Stealers of Thrayx

wearing the uniform of the World Police.

  "Sergeant Kent," he said, "it is the Council's decision that you beplaced under temporary arrest. Your case will be heard at the nextsitting of the martial court to which your unit is assigned. If youwill accompany me, please...."

  "May I ask, sir, what the charge against me is?" Her voice was steadyby cultivated habit.

  "You are to be held on suspicion of acting as accessory before andafter the fact of conspiring to assist an alien power in theachievement of its objective within the governmental jurisdiction ofEarth without official permission of the New United Nations."

  "But the Ihelians have not done that, sir!" she protested. "It is aplot of their enemy, as I explained to the Council--"

  "You will be given full benefit of due legal process, sergeant," theofficer said. "You will come with me, please."

  The Women's Detainment Barrack was not unpleasant, yet, Judiththought, it may as well have been a medieval dungeon. But her ownproblem, she knew, was nothing beside the cunning success of theThrayxites.

  The call-buzzer at the side of her bunk interrupted her thoughts; itmeant she was wanted in the main guard room. She straightened heruniform quickly, and within moments presented herself before thebarrack warden.

  Roger Cain stood beside the warden's desk. There was something whitein his hand, and she knew what it was.

  "You're at liberty, Sergeant Kent," the beefy-faced warden informedher in a tone as casual as though she'd asked her for a cigarette."Warrant Officer Cain has posted a release voucher; you're orderedinto his custody until your trial. That's all. You may go."

  She left the barrack with Cain, wordlessly. None of it made sense.Unless--

  "Well, don't I even get a thank you?" the red-haired giant asked.

  "Yes, Mister Cain, sorry. But I don't understand--"

  "Why I did it?" He chuckled, and she didn't like the sound of it. "I'monly too glad to have you in my custody, young woman! And, you know,you're not supposed to be out of my sight any--that is, _any_ of thetime!"

  She felt her face redden, and spun about to face him. There was suddenanger at her lips and her coolness had evaporated.

  "You contempti--"

  "Easy there, sergeant! Always knew there was a little more to you thanthat ice cube exterior of yours! But tell me--d'you want to sit backthere in that dump, or shall we stick our noses into the lovely mixupyour precious Lieutenant Mason has set off?"

  She stared up at him wordlessly, the blood hot in her cheeks. And shetried to think. This was Cain as she knew he was. This was Roger Cain,angling for a deal.

  "I'm in your custody," she bit out. "I must stay within your sight.That is your responsibility."

  He laughed at her, then gripped her elbow.

  "Come on," he said. "I've got a R-IX waiting at the field. I think weshould go on a little trip, sergeant. There are people I want tosee!"

  They were streaming for open Space within less than thirty minutesfrom the time Cain had freed her. She didn't ask him how he'd gottenpermission for the fleet R-IX's use, or how he'd obtained her voucher,nor did she ask him how he had learned of what had happened to Lanceand Kriijorl, yet she knew that somehow he was aware of the Thrayxitesand their plot. Cain had ways of learning the things he wanted tolearn, getting the things he wanted to get.

  "Keep an eye on the scanner for me, will you, beautiful?"

  "Yes sir."

  "And forget that sir stuff! Look, Judy--"

  "For what do you want me to watch, sir?"

  Cain grunted, gave a shrug of his powerful shoulders and turned hisattention back to the pursuit's compact control console.

  "Two blips, honey. Tearing hell-for-leather out of old Sol's littlefamily. One'll be chasing the other, if my guess is any good. We wantthe front one."

  "But--but that would be the--"

  "The Thrayxite crowd. Right?"

  For a moment she was silent. She knew he could not mean to attack; notwith a tiny pursuit, swift as it was.

  "Mister Cain, I can only guess at what you intend doing. But it willbe my privilege in court to testify concerning your conduct ofcustodianship--"

  "You must be working on the assumption that we're going back there,sweetheart!"

  "You--"

  "A deal is where you find it! Watch for that front blip, sergeant.With what we know of Kriijorl and his crowd, this oughta be anatural!"

  * * * * *

  The cubicle in which he awoke was softly lit, and the painful throbMason knew should be splitting his head apart was strangely absent.Kriijorl was bending over him, loosening the tightness of the militarycollar at his throat.

  "They certainly were taking no chances with you," he said. His longViking's hair was matted with blood just above the temple, yet heseemed to be suffering little pain, himself. "How do you feel?"

  "O.K. I guess. Don't feel anything, really...." Kriijorl unbuckled thewide straps that held him solidly in an acceleration-hammock, and hesat up. The steel-walled room rocked for a moment, then steadied.

  "The Thrayxites are not vicious, any more than we. If they do not killoutright, they apparently take medical precaution to see that theirvictims suffer as little pain as possible. We're captives, however,together with your Earthwomen. We've been in flight for about an hour;putting us well out of your system, if we're hyperdriving--moving inwhat you term R-Space."

  "Then--"

  "Apparently no help of any kind arrived in time, Lieutenant."

  Mason remembered, then. Judith.... Somehow she hadn't made it. Orhadn't made them believe her. This trip, he was strictly on his own.Not just a space weary Scout Lieutenant any more.

  "What'll they do with us?"

  "Pump us for information, probably. Kill me afterward. You should besafe enough in that respect. You're an alien, not a part of ourconflict. Their labor planetoid for you, I would imagine. It is ajungle covered sphere at the edge of their planetary ring; our scoutshave sighted it on numerous occasions. A handful of men in each of itscamps, mining, probably, for the ore used in Thrayxite engines. But itwill be better than death."

  "What are our chances, Kriijorl?" Mason felt the familiar nervousnessreturning to his wiry body, yet this time it was in some waydifferent. Not the kind that ate your insides out from too much Space,for too long.

  "Of escape, you mean?" Mason nodded. "There is no reason for you torisk--"

  "Sure as hell is, friend. First because I believe you're my friend.Second, there were a couple of things you said awhile back that got methinking. And third, I got myself shanghaied, and I don't think I'lllike where I'm going!" Cain, Mason thought to himself, wasn't the onlyguy in the universe with a muscle!

  The Ihelian grinned. "We'll watch for a chance of some kind, then. ButI will not let you risk your life. We of Ihelos obey the Book, evenif our enemy sees fit occasionally to violate the spirit in which itwas conceived."

  "Tell me something," Mason said. "This feud of yours. What's it allabout? You mentioned that Book business once before, and it seems apeople with your apparent piety and maturity and general advancementwould certainly find a way to arbitrate such a dispute. What are youfighting about?"

  Kriijorl's answering smile was thin, and there was a puzzled look inhis craggy features.

  "We fight because the Book of the Saints says we must!" he answered atlength. "And further than that--"

  "Yes?"

  "Further than that, I'm afraid we do not know!"

  Mason felt his features twisting into an incredulous expressiondespite his efforts to realize and appreciate the wide gap of culturaldifferences between them.

  "Don't _know_! But you can't fight a war without knowing why! You--"

  "It is in the Book of the Saints," the Ihelian said, "and, therefore,it is our command. And--" he looked into the Earthman's face with theslightest hint of a smile, "from what I've learned of Earth's historyfrom your own lips, Lieutenant, what of your own past wars? Who amongyour own soldiery has really known why h
e fought?"

  "Well, but--" And then Mason returned the smile. "No, it isn't sodifferent, is it? But tell me more about this Book. Is it based onlaw, religion, ethics?"

  And this time there was no smile on the Ihelian's broad face.

  "Legend says all three," he replied.

  "Legend? And yet you blindly obey--"

  "We always have. Its writings, such as we understand them to be, havegoverned us for millenia, Lieutenant. The Book is our way, our life.We are