do?"
"Tell us what's up," I suggested.
"That would be a long story. I suppose you know something about thesituation already. Several reports have gone in to Base. What did theChief tell you, Hanson?"
* * * * *
Briefly, I sketched the Chief's report, Fetter nodding every fewwords. When I had finished, he rubbed his long, thin fingers togethernervously, and stared down, frowning at the littered top of his desk.
"Right as far as he went," he said. "But he didn't go far enough.Wanted you to find out for yourself, I suppose.
"Well, there _is_ a secret society working against us here. Sect, I'dcall it. Undermined the whole inhabited portion of Lakos--which isn'ta great area, as you know."
"The Chief Priestess is Liane. I believe you said she stowed away onthe _Ertak_ with you?"
I nodded.
"You're keeping her under guard?" asked Fetter.
"No; under the circumstances, we couldn't. We had no authority, yousee. A crowd of natives bore her away in triumph."
"Then your work's cut out for you," groaned Fetter. "She's a devilincarnate. Beautiful, irresistible, and evil as corruption itself. Ifshe's back, I'm afraid there's nothing to be done. We've been sittingon a volcano ever since she left. Pressure growing greater everyinstant, it seemed. She's just what's needed to set it off."
"We'll have to take our chances," I commented. "And now; just what isthe set-up?"
"The Worshipers of the Flame, they call themselves. The membershiptakes in about every male being on Lakos. They meet in the greatcaverns which honeycomb the continent. Ghastly places; I've seen someof the smaller ones. Continent was thrust up from the sea in a moltenstate, some scientific chap told me once; these caverns were made bygreat belches of escaping steam or gas. You'll see them.
"She--Liane--and her priests rule solely by terror. The Lakonians arenaturally just horses" (a draft animal of ancient Earth, now extinct),"content to work without thinking. Liane and her crew have made themthink--just enough to be dangerous. Just what she tells them to think,and no more. Disobedient ones are punished by death. Rather a terribledeath, I gather.
"Well, her chief aim is to stop the production of temite. She wishesto bargain with the Council--at her own terms."
"What's her price?" I asked. "What does she want, wealth?"
"No. _Power!_" Fetter leaned forward across the desk, hammering itwith both fists to emphasize the word, his eyes gleaming from theirdeep sockets. "Power, Hanson, that's what she craves. She's insane onthe subject. Utterly mad. She lusts after it. You asked her price;it's this: a seat in the Council!"
* * * * *
I gasped audibly. A seat in the Council! The Council, composed of thewisest heads of the universe, and ruling the universe with absoluteauthority!
"She _is_ mad," I said.
"Crazy," grunted Correy. "Plain crazy. A woman--in the Council!"
Fetter nodded solemnly.
"Mad--crazy--use your own terms," he said. "But that's her price. TheChief didn't tell you that, did he? Well, perhaps he didn't know. Ilearned it in a very roundabout way. She'll make the formal demandwhen the time is ripe, never fear. And what's more, unless theseWorshipers of the Flame are stamped out--_she'll get what shedemands!_"
"Impossible!"
"Not at all. You know what this place is. Only a Lakonian can standthis atmosphere long. No vitality to the light that does come throughthis damned green stuff they breathe for air; and after a few days,the acid, metallic tang of it drives you frantic. Never can get usedto it.
"So the Lakonians have to mine the temite. And the universe must havetemite, in quantities that can't be supplied from any other source. Ifthe Lakonians won't mine it--and they won't, when Liane tells them toquit--what will the Council and your Service do about it?"
"Plenty," growled Correy.
"Nothing," contradicted Fetter. "You can kill a man, disintegrate him,imprison him, punish him, as you will, but you can't make him work."And there that phase of the matter rested.
I asked him a number of questions which I felt would help us to startour work properly, and he answered every one of them promptly andfully. Evidently, Fetter had given his problem a great deal ofthought, and had done more than a little intelligent investigating ofhis own.
"If there's anything else I can do to help you," he said as heaccompanied us to the door, "don't fail to call upon me. And rememberwhat I said: trust no one except yourselves. Study each move beforeyou make it. These Lakonians are dull-witted, but they'll do whateverLiane tells them. And she thinks fast and cunningly!"
* * * * *
We thanked him for his warning, and hurried back to the ship throughthe sickly-green Lakonian dusk. The acrid odor of the atmosphere wasalready beginning to be disagreeable.
"Decent sort of a chap, Fetter," commented Correy. "All wrought up,isn't he? Worried stiff."
"I imagine he has cause to be. And--he might have been right in sayingwe should have held Liane: perhaps we could have treated with her insome way."
"No chance! Not that lady. When we treat with her, we'll have to havethe whip hand, utterly and completely."
The heavy outer door of the _Ertak's_ exit was open, but thetransparent inner door, provided for just such an emergency, was inplace, forming, in conjunction with a second door, an efficientair-lock. The guard saw us coming and, as we came up, had the innerdoor smartly opened, standing at salute as we entered. We returned hissalute and went up to the navigating room, where I proposed to hold abrief council of war, informing Kincaide and Hendricks of what we hadlearned from Fetter, and deciding upon a course of action for thefollowing day. Kincaide, whom I had left on watch, was there waiting.
"Well, sir, how do things stack up?" he asked anxiously.
"Not so good. Please ask Mr. Hendricks to report here at once, andI'll give you the whole story."
Kincaide pressed the attention signal to Hendricks' room, and waitedimpatiently for a response. There was none.
"Try my room," suggested Correy. "Maybe he hasn't moved back to hisown quarters yet."
"That's what he said he would be doing," replied Kincaide. But thatsignal too failed to bring any response.
* * * * *
Correy glanced at me, a queer, hurt expression in his eyes.
"Shall I go forward and see if he--if he's ill?" he asked quickly.
"Please do," I said, and as soon as he was gone I turned to themicrophone and called the sentry on duty at the exit.
"Commander Hanson speaking. Has Mr. Hendricks left the ship?"'
"Yes, sir. Some time ago. The lady came back, saying she had word fromyou; she and Mr. Hendricks left a few minutes later. That was allright, sir?"
"Yes," I said, barely able to force the word from between my lips.Hendricks ... and Liane? Hendricks ... a traitor? I cut the microphoneand glanced at Kincaide. He must have read the facts in my eyes.
"He's ... gone, sir?"
"With Liane," I nodded.
The door burst open, and Correy came racing into the room.
"He's not there, sir!" he snapped. "But in his room I found this!"
He held out an envelope, addressed to me. I ripped it open, glancedthrough the hasty, nervous scrawl, and then read it aloud:
"Sir:
I am leaving with Liane. I am sorry. It had to be.
Hendricks."
"That, gentlemen," I said hoarsely, after a long silence, "will makethe blackest entry ever spread upon the log of the _Ertak_--upon anyship of the Service. Let us dismiss this thing from our minds, andproceed."
But that was easier, by far, to propose than to accomplish.
* * * * *
It was late indeed when we finished our deliberations, but the plandecided upon was exceedingly simple.
We would simply enforce our authorit
y until we located definiteresistance; we would then concentrate our efforts upon isolating thesource of this resistance and overcoming it. That we would find Lianeat the bottom of our difficulties, we knew perfectly well, but wedesired to place her in a definite position as an enemy. So far, wehad nothing against her, no proof of her activities, save the ratherguarded report of the Chief, and the evidence given us by Fetter.
There were three major continents on Lakos, but only one of them wasinhabited or habitable, the other two being within the large northernpolar cap. The activities of
Priestess of the Flame Page 4
