13: Master of the Cloud
Shorr Kan lounged back in his chair before he answered. 'Zarth Arn, that depends to some extent on whether or not you're willing to cooperate with me.'
Lianna spoke scornfully. 'By 'cooperate' you mean, betray the Empire.'
The League commander was not ruffled. 'That's one way of putting it. I'd prefer to define it as simply to become realistic.'
He leaned forward and his strong, mobile face was in deep earnest as he continued.
'I'll put my cards on the table, Zarth. The League of Dark Worlds has secretly built up its fleet here stronger than the Empire navy. We have every weapon of war you have, and a brand new weapon that will play the devil with your fleet when we use it.'
'What kind of a weapon? Sounds like a bluff to me,' commented Gordon.
Shorr Kan grinned. 'You can't fish information out of me. But I will tell you that it's a weapon that can strike down enemy warships from
He added, 'With that new weapon, with our powerful fleet, and above all with your Commander Corbulo secretly in our pay, your Empire fleet won't have a chance when we attack! We'd have attacked before now if it hadn't been for one thing. And that's the Disruptor.
'Corbulo couldn't tell us about the Disruptor, since only the royal house of the Empire are allowed to know about it. And while the traditions of its awful power may be exaggerated, we know that they are not baseless. For your ancestor Brenn Bir did with the Disruptor somehow completely annihilate the alien Magellanians who invaded the galaxy two thousand years ago.'
Shorr Kan's face tightened. 'You know the secret of that mysterious weapon or power, Zarth. And I want it from you!'
John Gordon had expected no less. But he continued to fence. 'I suppose,' he said ironically, 'that you're going to offer me a star-kingdom if I give you the secret of the Disruptor?'
'More than that,' Shorr Kan said levelly. 'I'm offering you the sovereignty of the whole galaxy!'
Gordon was astonished by the audacity of this man. There was something breathtaking about him.
'We agreed to talk intelligently,' Gordon snapped. 'Do you suppose me stupid enough to believe that after you conquered the Empire and power over the whole galaxy, you'd give it to me?'
Shorr Kan smiled. 'I said nothing about giving you the
He explained rapidly. 'Once the Disruptor secret is mine, I can shatter the Empire and dominate the galaxy. But half the galaxy would still hate me as a usurper, an alien. There would be endless revolts and unrest.
'So, once I've got my hand on everything, I'd put forward Zarth Arn, legitimate son of the late Arn Abbas, as new sovereign of the galaxy! I, Shorr Kan, would merely be your trusted advisor. It would be a peaceful federation of the whole galaxy, I'd announce.'
He grinned again. 'See how much simpler it would make things for me? A legitimate emperor, no revolts, no unrest. You and Lianna would be the rulers, and enjoy every luxury and respect. I don't care for the pomp and outward show of power, and would be quite content to wield the real power from behind the throne.'
'And if I decided to use my position as nominal ruler to turn the tables on you?' Gordon asked curiously.
Shorr Kan laughed. 'You wouldn't, Zarth. The core of the armed forces would be loyal Cloud-men I could trust.'
He stood up 'What do you say? Remember that right now you're a fugitive from the Empire, sought for the murder of your own father. All that can be cleared up, the charge can be disproved, and you can live the greatest sovereign in history. Isn't it intelligent to do so?'
Gordon shrugged. 'Your proposal is certainly clever. But I'm afraid you've wasted your time. The stumbling- block is that under no circumstances will you get the Disruptor secret from me.'
He expected a burst of rage from the League ruler. But Shorr Kan merely looked disappointed.
'I was hoping you'd be clearheaded enough to discount all this nonsense about patriotism and loyalties, and use a little sense.'
Lianna flashed, 'Of course you cannot understand loyalty and honor, when you have none yourself!'
Shorr Kan looked at her frowningly, though still apparently without anger.
'No, I don't have any,' he agreed. 'What, after all, are loyalty, honor, patriotism, all those admirable qualities? Just ideas that people happen to think are praiseworthy, and therefore will die for. I'm a realist. I refuse to injure myself for any mere idea.'
He turned again to Gordon. 'Let's not talk any more about it right now. You're tired, your nerves are taut, you're in no shape to make a decision. Get a good night's rest, and think it over tomorrow-and use your brains, not your emotions. You'll surely see that I'm right.'
He added, more slowly, 'I could tell you that if you persist in refusing to cooperate, there's a highly unpleasant alternative. But I don't want to threaten you, Zarth! I want you to come in with me, not from any love of me or the League, but simply because you're smart enough to recognize your own interests.'
Gordon for the first time glimpsed the steel within the velvet glove, as he saw the glint in Shorr Kan's black eyes.
The League commander had pressed a signal-button as he spoke. The door opened and Durk Undis entered.
'Give Prince Zarth and his fiancee the best possible quarters,' Shorr Kan told the younger Cloud-man. 'They must be strictly guarded, but let the guard be unobtrusive. Any disrespect to them will be severely punished.'
Durk Undis bowed and stood waiting. Gordon took Lianna's arm and silently left the room.
All the way through the corridors and ramps of the gloomy building, Gordon felt that unsettling sense of having met a man who was far stronger than he in shrewdness and cunning, and who might be able to handle him like putty.
This huge citadel of the League of Dark Worlds was a dreary place, by night. The lights that glowed at intervals along its corridors could not dispel the insidious haze that wrapped this world.
The apartment to which they were conducted was far from luxurious. The square, white-walled rooms were strictly utilitarian in design and furniture, with transparent sections of wall looking out over the somber city Thallarna.
Durk Undis bowed stiffly to them. 'You will find nutrition-dispensers and all else needful. Let me warn you not to try venturing out of these rooms. Every exit is strictly guarded.'
When the League officer had gone, John Gordon turned and looked at Lianna, who stood by the window.
Something in the brave erectness of her little figure choked him with tenderness. He went to her side.
'Lianna, if I could assure
She turned quickly. 'You must not give it up! Without it, Shorr Kan still hesitates to move. And while he hesitates, there is a chance that Corbulo's treachery may be discovered.'
'There's little chance of our exposing him, I'm afraid,' Gordon said. 'There's no possibility of escape from here.'
Lianna's slim shoulders sagged a little. 'No, I realize that,' she murmured. 'Even if by some miracle we could escape this building and seize a ship, we could never find our way out through the mazes of the Cloud.'
The Cloud! It was the sky here, dark, heavy and menacing, showing no star as its ebon folds enwrapped this grim city.
That dark sky gave Gordon a feeling of claustrophobia, a sense of all the trillions of miles of shadowy gloom that encompassed him and shut him from the star-bright spaces of the galaxy outside.
Thallarna was not sleeping. Out there in the severely straight streets streamed many heavy vehicles. Fliers came and went in swarms. Thunderous reverberations droned dimly to them from the distant docks where squadrons of heavy warships were constantly coming and going.
Gordon took the couch in the living-room of their austere apartment, without expectation of being able to sleep. But his tired body relaxed in almost drugged slumber in a short time.
Dawn awoke him-a sickly, shadowy dawn that only slowly revealed the outlines of the room. He found Lianna sitting on the edge of his couch, looking down at him with curious intentness.
