times higher than a civilian spaceship would require. They also…'
'We are not discussing technical parameters of military chutes at this hearing. Did you only see chutes?'
'No. There were several storage areas there — 17A, 17B and 17C — that had walls and locks designed in a different way. In particular, the storages had radiation shielding. Mr. Bemish was brought in and he opened the storage.'
'How was Bemish treated?'
'They dragged him on a leash.'
'How did he look?'
'He looked horrible. His suit was torn, there was blood on his shirt and he had a huge wale under his right eye. On the other hand, Kissur had the same size wale under his left eye and, as far as I know, Bemish got it all while fighting. Nobody beat him when his hands were tied.'
'What was in the storage?'
'Some imported apparel was stored in 17A though, accordingly to the documentation, it was supposed to be empty. 17B was also supposed to be empty accordingly to the documentation. However, containers with medical markings were stored there. Right in front of us, they extracted constructions out of the containers that were later identified as partially functional Cassiopeia missiles.'
'Why was Bemish needed there?'
'The storage areas were computer controlled and the computer had eye retina recognition lock system. There were only two retina images loaded into the computer memory, the spaceport director's and his deputy's — Terence Bemish and Richard Giles.'
'Therefore, the missiles could be stored there only if the above named persons were involved. Is it correct?'
'Yes, your honor.'
Bemish lay on a leather sofa in his own office and his hands were tied tightly behind his back. If he moved his eyes to the side strenuously enough, he could see out of an office's window a small section of the landing field and an arching asphalt ramp. Peasants wandered around in the landing field. A beetle shaped passenger bus crawled down the ramp.
The door squeaked and Kissur entered the office. Bemish turned pointedly to the wall; the pain in his twisted hand made him hiss sharply.
'Hello to a TV star,' Kissur said, 'They will show you tomorrow on all the channels — together with 17B storage area.'
Bemish turned and hissed again.
'How did those damned missiles get here?' Bemish asked.
'My dear,' Kissur said, 'that's a question for you.'
'Don't clown around! I sent them there on Shavash's request…'
'And Shavash thought that he was importing cute little cars,' Kissur finished for him.
'You know, Shavash can goof up sometimes too… I don't have my own dummy fronts so I had to use one of vice minister's.'
'What are you striving for, Kissur?' Bemish asked. 'Have you forgotten how you shouted with joy when they told you that they would build a military base here? And I was almost killed when I refused to do it!'
Kissur was smiling and nursing an assault rifle on his knees.
'All right. You abased Shavash. You filmed him being a thief. You filmed me being a thief. You buried our military in unforgettable shit though, for my death's sake, I can't figure out how you got these damned missiles. What do you want?'
'What do I want? I want this spaceport to be nationalized. I want all this crap that the foreigners have built here to be nationalized. I want to change the government that steals just like our little brother Shavash. The foreigners station armaments, which are forbidden across the whole Galaxy, on our land and without our knowledge. Do you think that it's enough of a reason to expropriate the goods that the rich had stolen from us and return them to the people?'
Bemish jerked.
'Idiot! You will fail completely!'
'Why?'
'Why?! Are you asking me, why? Just look at the people you allied yourself with! You will ruin your country and lose your head! Can you name a single official allied with you, can you name just one man who knows what a budget is and what a balance is?! Your allies are idiots who think that Earthmen are demons! Look, Ashinik can only discourse on the eradication of protectionism and setting the same rules for everybody till the moment when he gets to power. When he gets to power, however, either he will do what his party wants or they will devour him whole. Do you think that with such allies you will be able to produce anything but a circuit performance? Do you think that anybody will talk to you? What about the hostages and the victims?'
'I will release the hostages,' Kissur said.
'You mean the passengers. What about the personnel? Damn it, if you let the personnel go, the whole place will collapse. Are you going to stick a Weian zealot behind a VIS operating terminal?'
'I will release all the Earthmen hostages,' Kissur repeated, 'The personnel staying here are citizens of the Empire. I assure you that all Earth journalists will say that I released the hostages since they consider only Earthmen to be the hostages. The Empire's officials don't care — hostages or no hostages — we have never considered it to be a crime to begin with.'
Bemish shut his eyes and groaned. It was correct. If Kissur was saying the truth, it was the end of it. The party of people's freedom had in its power five thousand foreigners and it immediately released them. The whole thing would look pretty good compared to the thievery and missiles that had been discovered after the party's desperate actions. And it was not just that; all the rumors that the government had been spreading about the party such as the zealots considering Earthmen to be demons… The party's honorable actions would prove the rumors to be a bunch of lies. It was smart. It was smart and… unlike Kissur.
At that point, another man showed up at the office's entrance.
'So, we've met again, master.'
Bemish turned his head.
'Should I thank you, Ashinik,' he asked, 'for PR strategy and tactics?'
The young man smiled. His hands nursed an assault rifle nervously.
'You are probably cursing the day when you didn't allow Kissur to kill me, aren't you, master?'
Bemish ground his teeth.
'Just a bit,' he muttered, 'At least, Inis would have been alive.'
'Don't touch her name, murderer!' Ashinik leaped.
'What's this crap?'
'You would've killed me too if I hadn't escaped!'
'That's bullshit. She was killed on Yadan's command in order to cause a quarrel between us! Yadan acted exactly the same way as he had done earlier with his predecessor! Why would I've killed her?'
'You did it out of jealousy.'
'What jealousy are you talking about, idiot? I had given her away to you. And she asked me that day to take her back!'
'Gave her away, take her back,' Ashinik paled and whispered, 'Are Weian women property to take and give away?'
'How long are you going to carp for?' Kissur inquired.
Ashinik regained his senses.
'Ashinik hasn't told us the most important thing yet,' Bemish noted sarcastically. 'What tree is he going to use to hang the murderer of an unfaithful concubine? This is not, by the way, a crime accordingly to the ancient laws that he holds so dear.'
'Mr. Bemish,' Ashinik said, 'the new Weian revolutionary government is not going to detain you. We would like you to convey our demands, the demands of the people. They are very simple and they are in the best interest
