If Deety does come back, I’ll do what she wants to do—somehow I always have, even when I thought the decision was mine. But what Deety does and where she goes is never dull. Dangerous sometimes—but not dull.
Pvt Msg from Lafe: After this ruckus, Maureen wants your family to visit ours.
My reply: Affirm if distaff confirm—and wonder whether a way can be jury-rigged for Lafe’s ship to carry Gay; she doesn’t like to be left behind.
Order of Battle
E-Tau-e: sparsely settled world. Cdr Strike Force: brevet Col. K. Kachkan—mounted Green warriors.
E-Tau-3: high technology, aggressive. CdrStriFor Lensman (Velantian) Ardval, 2nd hat as chief perceiver. Velantian strike divided into 3 grps. Transports unload troops in stratosphere, then bounce, retrieve in one hour same locus, and strike elsewhere. Strike 30 major cities, starting with analogs Washington, Peiping, Moskva. 6 perceivers to each group.
E-Tau-2: 19th Cent tech, world pop ca 2 billion. CdrStriFor General Carthoris. 10 hrs low-level sweeps of population centers—1- and 2-man scouts and destroyers. Ground fighting with trained calots at Cdr’s discretion.
E-Tau-1: similar to Tau-2 but larger pop. CdrStriFor Hal Halsa. Mounted Red warriors with calots. Tactics at Cdr’s option.
Earth0: high tech, aggressive, pop ca. 5 billion. CdrStriFor Lensman Admiral Trestrail. First strike by Tech ships to put out of action all electronic communication of all sorts, incl ComSats manned and unmanned, military Sats, 3 Lunar bases, L-5, MilitComCenters all major powers, incl Aus, Middle Kingdom, Maky, MittelEuropa, USA, Nippon. At plus-ten seconds, second strike places imperv walls around capitals and major cities. Plus-15 sec, strike teams ground, all armored. Chief Perceiver 2nd —Str Lensman Tregonsee, 1st AsstPercvr Dr. D. T. Carter. Perceivers for each strike team, each guarded by Galerian Ax Marines. Strike shifts: see Appen 3 Note: FlagComChALLPlanets above E0, random transits Appen 1 Earth-Tau-1+ See Tau-1—StriForCdr General Roj Retnor.
E-Tau-2+: low pop, regressed tech, many vermin. Note: major areas on each cont radioactive. Anti-radiation armor and self-contained breathing units at all times. StriForCdr L. Hubert. C/S L. Monroe. Tactics: see Appen 5—subject to change by StriForCdr all times.
E-Tau-3+: See E0 CdrStriFor Velantian Lensman Konvarl—see Appen 2 Second Wave Mop-up Legions strike at plus-10 hrs 1 min—Cdr2ndWave General-in-Chief Rufo, C/S G. Graeme. SkyCom Dr. S. Balsamo See Appen 7 for unit cdrs and sectors. Recall controlled by SkyCom, not FlagNmbrBst.
E-Tau-4+ ….
Minus 1 hr 14 mins and counting ….
Deety just called me via secure screen, sub-ether. Just as well that it was secure as she used “unladylike” language—seems Trestrail has forbidden perceivers to carry arms, and she had been planning to dedicate ten Panki to my left arm, then thirty more for our three kids. I told her that I could not give orders to a unit commander concerning a particular person under his command, but she could resign at any time up to count zero, since this entire force was totally volunteer. She stuck out her tongue at me (her helmet was pushed back).
Trestrail was right and Deety admitted it; a perceiver can’t pick targets for a group while fighting herself. “How do you like my new summer clothes, Zebadiah?”
I like it just fine; that Patrol armor will stop almost anything. “But I don’t see how you can stand up in it, much less walk.”
“Powered, dear; I can jump over a building in it. You’ve been too busy to watch me practice. Besides that, this hunchbacked look covers personal Bergenholms and a Burroughs-Thorndyke twister. I can go free, bounce, or flip back to the ship, and some other options, just by voice command.” She grinned. “Neat!”
I looked at her and was suddenly very grateful that Worsel had spent so much effort in extending my single ESP talent. I had a quick pre-vision of her, covered with sweat and triumphant, being helped out of her armor. Deety was going to live through it! I know.
But I didn’t say so. Bad luck—she might take foolish risks.
“What’s that big bulge in your helmet?”
“Oh. The all-inside perceptrons LaVerne has been promising. I can glance up and spot a varmint ten times as far. It has the crosshairs deal in it, too. I look directly at the target, hold down this belt switch, and every man in my strike group sees a target with crosshairs on it, by repeater. I don’t tell which one to make the kill; that’s handled by the group commander, any of several ways. I just pick out targets as fast as I can and that’s pretty durn fast, darling.”
“How do you take a pee in that thing?”
She stuck out her tongue again. “None of your business—sir. But I can. Zebadiah, have you eaten anything? You must not reach the end of countdown with an empty stomach. That’s an order—sir.”
“I’ve got some sandwiches here; I’ve been nibbling. At minus-five minutes I’m going to take a pep pill.”
“Me, too. So is everybody. Aunt Hillbilly wants to say hello.”
“Put her on. And behave yourself, Deety hon. Come aboard here as soon as we flash back to Prime Base, will you, please? I won’t be able to leave the flagship at once.”
“I will, Zebadiah. Promise. Just as soon as I finish thanking my guards and my strike group. Oh. Lafe wants us to take R-and-R with them—told him it was up to you. Here’s Hilda. Bye, love!”
Sharpie’s elfin face appeared. “Hi, Admiral Bligh honey!”
Again I had that sudden burst—Sharpie was going to make it! Now if Jake would call … but suppose I failed to get that burst with Jake? Leave well enough alone, boy! “Hi, Sharpie hon. What do you wear under that?”
“Jewelry and perfume—what did you think I would wear?”
“You’ll get bruised.”
“No, padding is built into the armor. Has Jake called about Maureen’s invitation?”
“No, but Lafe did. It suits both Deety and me.”
“Then it suits everybody—I’ll tell him. Now I’ll get off this VIP circuit, Admiral honey.”
“Wait a half. I don’t have any lights blinking. Sharpie, you said that you would tell me, soon enough, why I was picked for this preposterous job.”
“Sure you want to know?”
“If I could reach through this screen, I would paddle you.”
“Would you kiss it afterward? All right, I’ll tell you. It wasn’t for your brainpower, dear, or your Napoleonic genius.”
“I know that! But why was I kept out of action by kicking me upstairs to a dummy job? It’s humiliating.”
“Zebbie, it is not a dummy job. It’s the key job.”
“I know better. Everything is pre-decided for me. Everything.”
“Not quite, Zebbie. Mentor said that the Patrol had all the expert strategists and operations analysts and tacticians and logistics experts that any force could possibly need. But that you had something special the others could not achieve.”
“What? I can wiggle my ears.”
“Luck, Zebbie. That uncanny ability of yours to do exactly the right thing in an emergency. That’s why Worsel has been staying close to Prime Base. Not to train Deety, not to train me or Jacob. But to get you honed down to a fine point in your unique talent. So that you can use it today.”
“Be damned!”
“No, you won’t, Zebbie. Something will come up, something unexpected; you will make the right decision—and we will win. He—she—was sure of it.”
“Mmm. Did you ever make up your mind whether Mentor is a he or a she?”
“She’s both. He’s a committee. When Mentor greeted me, looking like Glinda’s twin sister, I told him to knock off the nonsense because hallucinations didn’t fool me. So she changed into Santa Claus or everybody’s favorite grandfather and I told her to change back, because I got along fine with Glinda and wasn’t interested in looking at whatever life-support equipment a creature so advanced used. So he went back to being Glinda’s twin and I accepted the illusion; it was nice. And we got along fine. Part of the time we talked about you. Mentor told me to tell y
ou that if you ever want to visit Arisia, you are most welcome.”
“They are not going to put a Lens on me!”
“You won’t be offered a Lens, Zebbie. Because what you do doesn’t require a Lens. You don’t need one, any more than I do. It was just a friendly invitation.”
“Well … Sharpie, I do have lights blinking now—see you after!”
“Kiss, Zebbie. Don’t get ulcers.”
Minus four minutes fifty seconds and counting ….
We’re going to win! I suddenly know it.
We’re going to exterminate that filthy breed. Not all today. But we will. And we’ll rebuild Snug Harbor.
Minus ten seconds and counting ….
Vermin, we have returned!
ZERO!
THE END
The Pursuit of the Pankera: A Parallel Novel About Parallel Universes Page 59
