The Insurrection

"Aye," Ladislaus replied levelly, "and past time for it, too." "No argument from me," Stanislaus said, "but to be thinking what it's to mean to Beaufort if you fail, Lad." "I have," Ladislaus said bleakly.

"Stanislaus, it's to be better to die than accept some things. There's no stomaching more--I'm not to be standing by any longer. Can you be seeing that?" "Aye, Lad, of course," Stanislaus said simply, gripping his brother's shoulder, "but it's to be sure tou do before you have the starting of a war upon your head. For you're to see it's you must have the doing of it here." "I know," Ladislaus said softly. "God help me, I know." The planetary government of Beaufort was not the sprawling bureaucracy that was the Federation, or, for that matter, any of the I

Yet Ladislaus had never felt more nervous in the Chamber of Worlds. The conference room didn't even hold the full Assembly--comonly its leaders sat around the rectangular table, their eyes calm and dispassionate upon him.

Three weeks of cautious, private conversations had brought him here. Despite his care not to involve the government in his discussions, it seemed the government had decided to involve itself. Now he gazed at the people in the room--President Bjorn Thessen, President Pro Tern Knute Halversen, crucial committee chairmen--and waited for the inquisition to begin.

"Ladislaus," President Thessen said finally, "you've been meeting with influential people in the short time you've been home. We're wondering why you haven't asked to meet with us." Ladislaus tightened inwardly at Thessen's Standard English. Since the days of the Abandonment, the dialect of Beaufort had become a badge its people wore consciously. It was their declaration of defiance to the worlds which had ignored them in their hour of need, and while almost any Beauforter could speak barely accented Standard English, most would see themselves damned and in. Hell before they would.. except in official settings, where the planetary government's members felt they somehow stood in the presence of their Old Terran ancestors. So ff Thessen chose to speak Standard English, it meant he spoke as President of the Beaufort Assembly. an officer charged to preserve and maintain the Federation.

"Forgive me, President Thessen," he said softly. "I wanted to sample public opinion before I spoke to you officially." "And why was that?" Thessen wondered slowly. "Could you be thinking of seizing power from us, Ladislaus?" "No!" Genuine horror sharpened his voice. "It was only--was "Enough," Thessen said with a headshake.

document before him.

"You probably won't be surprised by this, Lad." He handed the single sheet over, and Ladislaus ran his eves down it, then raised them to Thessen's face with reneed respect. As delegation security chief, he'd thought he knew all their avenues of information, but their intelligence network obviouslv reached further than he'd believed pos- sible. What he held was a memo signed by Simon Taliaferro himself.

"It's no surprise, no," he said quietly.

"We've read your reports--and Fio

Is this memo accurate? Will the Amalgamation pass, do you think?" "Like a doomwhale through nearcod," Ladislaus said flatly.

"Aye, I Gad the fearing of that." Thessen's Standard English lapsed briefly, then he shook himself.

"You should know, young Lad, that Capricorn brought a writ of extradition from Old Terra. I sent it back marked "opened by mistake"--was a mutter of laughter filled the room his-comb you're right Fio

"So no matter what he feels, there's little he can do, eh?" "Aye. It's Taliaferro has them in his grip the now, and it's a mad seashrike with a mouthful of blood that man's to be. There's to be no stopping him? He stopped, a little abashed by his own vehemence.

"Then, young Ladislaus," Thessen asked slowly, "what's to be done? Fio

"Aye, Mister President," Ladislaus said heavily. "We have." "And it's that message you've been sharing with others, is it?" Thessen's old eyes were keen.

"Aye." Ladislaus looked up almost defiantly. "It's not to make any difference what wording I share, Mister President. You're to know that. And even if you're not to--was he drew a deep breath and committed himself his-comx's to tell them I must." "I see." Thessen's voice was very level. He glanced at his colleagues, and Ladislaus felt the tension. What he'd said was treason.

"Young Lad," Thessen said finally, "it's not quite fair we've been with you. This group" he gestured around the table his-comis more than just the leadership of the government. This--was he tapped the memo his-comis no more than a part of what we've done. Are you, then, prepared to tell us the Federation is doomed? Is it to defy all of us you are? Knowing we're to have information even you are not to know?" "Aye, Mister President. If so I must, then it's to defy you I will be doing!

It was not proper to raise his voice to them, and his temerity shamed him. Yet he was resentful, too; resentful of their slowness, resentful that age and high position blinded them to what he saw so dearly.

He sank back into his chair, watching Thessen glance once more around the gathered faces. Here and there a

head nodded slowly, wordlesslv, and Ladislaus felt his heart sink at the slo confirmatiggns.

"Ladislaus Skjorning," Thessen's voice was deeper and more powerful, his old face flushed, "it's to be too long you've had the ('iving amongst I

You're to make no rebellion against us, Lad Skjorning, for we're to be before you. Aye, young Lad--if it's to make war they are, then it's to make war we are, as well!" Ladislaus gaped at the old man, and the pieces suddenly fell together. The copy of the memo, the cha

"We've had the m'akin of our plans for long," Thessen said slowly, "yet we're to be old, Ladislaus. We're to be worn and tired-- we're not to have the strength and youth for this. But it's to see you do. So to tell us, young Lad--will it be vou who has the leading of us?" "Aye," Ladisltus said softly. There was no hesitation in him, only the grim, cold certainty that it was for this moment he had been born and trained, and he looked around the circle of old faces, seeing the same bitter determination in the wise eves and lined faces looking back at him.