Footfall

“Keph, I want to surrender.”

There was an awful silence. Then the last voice Pastempeh-keph wanted to hear was speaking. “You would surrender the Traveler Fithp, you? Fool rogue, my mate would have had us safely circling Saturn if you had not stripped him of his status!”

“I acknowledge this. You in Safe Room Two must speak for the rest. Will the females consent to surrender?”

“Let me speak to the Defensemaster!”

Tantarent-fid clicked on. Pastempeh-keph listened with half his attention. Damage… weapons… intruder closing at five makasrupkithp per breath, targeted dead on, able to turn faster than Message Bearer ever could. If we vaporize the enemy, the globules will condense and kill us. If we kill all aboard, the bomb will explode when it is close. Our only chance of escape is for the enemy to guide that ship away from us.”

“Surrender,” said Chowpeentulk. “Roll on your back for my mate’s murderer.”

“Surrender, Keph. We are agreed.”

The Herdmaster stepped-staggered-into the corridor between crash pads. “Dawson. The ship is yours.”

“I want to see the other humans.”

Screens blurred, then sharpened. Arvid Rogachev and Jeri Wilson stood close together in the midst of carnage and wreckage Dmitri lay in one corner.

“Give them weapons, and escort them here.”

“I obey.”

“Now turn off your drive. Blow up all missiles in flight. Don’t send any more.”

“Agreed. We need your ship alive. Dawson, make haste. Tell your herdmaster. That ship must not strike us.”

“When I hear you give those orders.”

“Tantarent-fid! Destroy our missiles now. Continue to use laser to stop incoming weaponry. Begin damping the drive.”

“Lead me.”

The Herdmaster could not have imagined how those words would hurt. The eyes of his fithp were all around him. Pastempeh-keph rolled on his back in the aisle.

Herdmaster Wes Dawson said, “Alice.”

“Wes — did we really win?”

He held out his hand. The frail redhead moved to join him. Dawson took her hand. Together they stepped forward and set their feet on the Herdmaster’s Advisor’s chest.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Individually Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle are two of today’s most popular authors. The award-wi