Mallinson drew back. He looked at Birrel and said, “It makes sense. And we can't get out of him what he doesn't know.'
'All right,” said Birrel. “So he doesn't know. Still he had to get word to the Orion force that things here are clear, that my squadron is immobilized. How was he going to get word to them if he didn't know where they were? Ask him that.'
Mallinson asked him. And Tauncer answered.
'The long-range scout-craft that brought me secretly to Earth has been waiting to come and take me off again, hiding a good way out in space—'
Mallinson interrupted. “Hiding? How could it hide from our radar watch?'
'Easily. It's been lying up against the asteroid Hermes. It… it…'
Tauncer stuttered and fell silent. Kane, the man operating the probe, spoke stiffly to Mallinson.
'I can't guarantee responses if you interrupt the subject's answers, sir.'
'Sorry,” muttered Mallinson. He waited a moment, then asked, “Go ahead, Tauncer. How were you to contact the Orion force?'
Tauncer mechanically repeated his former statement first. “The long-range scout-craft that brought me secretly to Earth has been waiting to come and take me off again, hiding a good way out in space. After I swept this house with the sonic beam, I called the scout by long-range Porto last night. It's to come tonight and take me off. It will take me to the task-force.'
So that was it, Birrel thought. That was who Tauncer had been expecting, and waiting for. But…
Birrel rudely thrust past Mallinson and fired a question before the angry, young diplomat could prevent him.
'How would the scout find you here — how would it know where to land, Tauncer?'
'It will come in on a homing beam from our flitter. I was — to turn it on — tonight—'
'Where is the flitter? Exactly where?'
'It… it is under trees, near clearing in woods — we landed — we landed—'
Tauncer's monotonous voice trailed away. His chin sunk on his breast.
'Tauncer!'
'It's no good,” said Kane disgustedly, shutting off the projector with a snap. “Interruptions, then change of questioner, they're enough to disrupt the whole process. We'll get nothing more from him this time. He'll be out for at least two hours.'
'It's enough,” said Birrel, His mind was racing. “The officers of that Orion scout that's coming — they'll know the position and course of Solleremos’ two squadrons. If we grab them, the probe will soon get it out of them — and we'll know where and when it's coming.'
'Forget that ‘we,'” said Mallinson crisply. “You're not going to exploit this crisis with Orion, Birrel. What I said goes. The Fifth will be disarmed, or destroyed.'
The rage that Birrel had repressed before began to burst his control. It seemed to him that in all history, stupidity had caused more irretrievable disasters than anything else, and now he was up against it himself and did not seem to be able to do anything at all about it.
'You are being a damned fool,” he said to Mallinson. “You—'
Garstang caught his arm. He said nothing, but Birrel understood. If he blew up now, he was lost.
He said to Mallinson, “I apologize for that. Please listen to me one moment. If I can convince you utterly that my orders are only to defend Earth, not to grab it, will you let me take the Fifth out?'
'You could talk all night without convincing me,” Mallinson said contemptuously. “We're wasting time.'
Birrel found it hard to say what he had to say. It would mean putting himself temporarily out of the whole thing at a time when the crisis was rushing upon them, no one knew how near. Yet it was his only card and he had to play it.
'Would you believe me if I talked under the probe?” he said.
Mallinson looked a bit startled. “You're offering to be probed?'
'How else can I convince you?” Birrel said rawly. “Yes. I'll take the probe.'
'All right,” said Mallinson, after only a moment's hesitation. “Sit in the chair there. Go ahead, Kane.'
Birrel sat in the chair and as Kane re-adjusted the projector he thought desperately. Hours — I'll be out for hours, maybe, if anything goes wrong and maybe it'll be all over when I come out of it. Maybe it'll be too late. Damn Mallinson, damn all suspicious Earthmen. The shocking radiation of the probe hit him. It was as though great winds swept through his brain, bearing him away toward darkness. He had asked for this, but all the same he instinctively tried to fight it, to keep his will, to think, to see.
He saw as through a red mist. Lyllin had come into the room, though he had not seen her come. She was screaming, a sound he could not hear, and she was trying to reach Mallinson and the man at the projector, and Joe Garstang was holding her back. No more. The winds of darkness took him completely.
CHAPTER 15
The not knowing, the not feeling, the not caring. A nothingness so complete that you were only aware of it when pain began to drag you out of its comfort.
Pain in his head, like lances thrusting repeatedly through his skull. The pain of feeling again, of hearing again. And what he heard was a soft sobbing, but what he felt was a pair of hands roughly shaking him.
'Come on, Jay, come out of it.” That was Garstang's voice, with an edge of desperation in it.
Another voice said, “It's passing off.'
'That's easy for you to say,” mumbled Birrel. “It's my head.'
The way the words dribbled off his lips disgusted him, and he made a determined effort to open his eyes. He succeeded.
He was lying on a couch in the living-room. It was twilight now, the windows dark and lights on. Lyllin hung beside the couch, with the marks of tears on her face. He thought they were tears of rage rather than anything else. Joe Garstang had knelt and was shaking him.
Kane, the operator of the probe, stood by looking uncomfortable. He said loudly, as though exculpating himself, “I told them to let you be. I told them you'd have a bad headache if they woke you too soon.'
'It's over an hour now, he'll have to stand the headache,” retorted Garstang. He shook Birrel again. “Come on, snap out of it.'
For the moment, Birrel bated Garstang and his rough hands and his monotonous voice. Then what he had heard penetrated to his brain. More than an hour? It was too long to be lying here like a log, much too long.
He tried to sit up. Garstang helped him, saying, “That's the boy.'
'For God's sake spare me your hearty cliches,” said Birrel, and then he said, “Sorry, Joe. Thanks.'
The man Kane had gone out of the room. Almost at once Mallinson came into it. He came over to where Birrel sat shakily on the couch and looked down at him with sour dislike.
Birrel looked up at him. “Well? You probed me?'
'Yes.'
'Then you know now that I'm not here to make any grab for Earth, but to keep Orion from doing it.'
'I'll admit this,” said Mallinson slowly. “That those are your orders at present.'
'What do you mean by that?'
'I mean,” said Mallinson, “that Ferdias could send you other orders, as soon as Orion is disposed of. I still don't trust Ferdias one bit more than Solleremos.'
'Good God!” cried Garstang. “Does that mean you're still going to disarm the Fifth? After what you've heard?'
Birrel looked at Mallinson, whose mouth was pursed obstinately. He said, “You know this much for sure now, Mallinson — that I will take the Fifth out and fight beside the UW fleet against Orion's squadrons. You know it, don't you?'
'Yes, I know it,” Mallinson said doggedly. “It's what happens after that I'm thinking about.'
'There won't be any after to worry about if your UW fleet meets two heavy squadrons alone,” said Birrel.
