To The Stars

They rode in silence. Jan was defeated, empty even of words, knowing full well what was in store. Since he came originally from Earth, Security was sure to think him one of the leaders of the rebellion. They would take his mind apart looking for evidence. He knew what men looked like after treatment like that. Death would be a release.

As the car drew up before an official building the door was pulled open; the sergeant pushed Jan through it. A uniformed officer held each arm securely as he was hurried through the entrance and into a waiting elevator. Jan was too emotionally exhausted to notice or care where they were going. There had been too much killing, running. It was over at last. They dragged him into a room, slammed him into the chair. The door opposite him opened slowly and he looked at it with dull and unseeing eyes.

Thurgood-Smythe came in.

All of the fatigue, the despair, everything was washed away by a red surge of hatred.

“You’ve led us quite a chase, brother-in-law,” Thurgood-Smythe said. “Now if you will promise to behave yourself I’ll have those handcuffs taken off. You and I must have a serious talk.”

Jan had his head down, eyes lowered, shaking with rage, his throat too tight to speak. He nodded. “Good,” Thurgood-Smythe said, mistaking the emotion for fear. “I won’t hurt you, you can take my word for that.”

The cuffs clicked free and Jan rubbed the marks on his wrists, listening as heavy footsteps receded. But he could wait no longer. A harsh sound was torn from his throat as he hurled himself at his tormentor. Their bodies crashed together, Thurgood-Smythe went over and down with Jan straddling him, his arched fingers reaching for his throat. But Thurgood-Smythe had seized his wrists and was holding him at bay. Jan leaned his weight forward, pressing down, his nails clawing into Thurgood-Smythe’s face, his thumbs sinking into the sockets of his eyes. Thurgood-Smythe cried out hoarsely — just as hands grabbed at Jan’s shoulders, a foot thudded into the side of his neck knocking him away, other hard boots crushing into his body.

“That’s enough,” Thurgood-Smythe said. “Put him into the chair and get out.” He groped behind him for a chair, found it, eased into it. The gun in his hand aimed steadily at Jan. For long seconds the only sound in the room was their hoarse breathing. “I won’t have that repeated,” Thurgood-Smythe finally said. “I have some important things to tell you, important for all of us, but I still will not hesitate to shoot you the instant you move in this direction. Do you understand?”

“I understand that you killed my friends, murdered Sara before me…”

“What is done is done. Your mewling about it or feeling sorry for yourself will not change it…”

“Kill me and have it over with. Your cat and mouse game doesn’t interest me. When we parted you told me to work or be destroyed. I’ve ceased work, other than to work for the overthrow of you and people like you. Get it over with.”

“Such a rush for annihilation.” Thurgood-Smythe smiled slightly and pushed a runnel of blood from the corner of his mouth; his face was torn and bruised, blood welling from the sockets of his eyes. He ignored the pain; the gun did not move at all from its target. “Not quite like you.”

“I’ve changed. You saw to that.”

“Indeed you have. And matured as well, I sincerely hope. Enough to sit and listen to what I have to say. I’ve come a long way since last we met. Now I sit on the United Nations council and act as liaison chief between global security and space defenses. The UNO itself is just a toothless debating society, since there is no shared power — in this world — no matter what the propaganda in the papers says. Every country is a law unto itself. However there are committees to handle international trade agreements as well as the space program. Spaceconcent in California is a truly international, and until recently, an interplanetary organization. We both know that it is slightly reduced in size these days. Since there is little feedback between Spaceconcent and the various countries that profit from its enterprises, my position is both a secure and a powerful one. A most responsible position, as your sister keeps telling me. She is very fit, by the way, I thought you would want to know. My work is so responsible that I report to no one at all about security matters. That means I can do exactly what I want with you. Exactly.”

“Do you expect me to plead for mercy?”

“You misunderstand, Jan, please hear me out. Everything has changed in the last few months. As you know our forces have been defeated, driven from every planet that Earth settled. These are drastic times and they call for drastic measures. Therefore all charges against you have been dropped. You are a free man, Jan, with all the rights of a free citizen.”

Jan laughed. “Do you really expect me to believe that? The next thing will be you asking me to go to work for you.”