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Dougal ushered in two more young men wearing battle dress without insignia. “MacReedy and Todd, guards,” Dougal explained.
MacKi
“Yes, Trader.” Stark led the men to the other side of the veranda.
MacKi
“Certainly, Trader.” The others bowed, and MacKi
Once inside, MacKi
Dougal held up his palm briefly, stopping Nathan’s tirade. “Sit down, Trader, and have something to drink. Calmly, now.”
Still fuming, Nathan sat and stuffed his pipe. “And another thing. I don’t appreciate murder. How many people did you kill last night, anyway?”
“As many as necessary, Trader,” Dougal said coldly. “Think of them as martyrs to Prince Samual’s World, and we’ll erect statues for them when this is over. If it works. What would you have had me do with them after they heard the most important secret on this planet?”
“Swear them to secrecy-” MacKi
“So that if one escaped we would really have lost the secret. Tell me, Colonel Iron MacKi
“No-”
“Nor can we. I am not proud of what was done last night, but in my judgment it was needed. Tell me, did you ever consider guerrilla war against the Imperials? I know that you did. Would not i
“As to your crew. First, of course MacLean is a naval officer. The Imperials will know we intend to send a spy on the expedition. It might as well be a clumsy try so that they don’t suspect you. They will probably be careful to keep MacLean away from their ships’ engines and controls, but I doubt they will object to his going.
“Academician Longway has been on several expeditions to the Archipelago, and he knows as much about primitives and ancient civilizations as any man on this planet. He has fought his way out of tough situations in the past, too. He may be more use to you than you think.”
“All right,” MacKi
“Kleinst is just what he appears to be, except for one small deception. He’s not an historian, he’s a physicist. The best we have who isn’t prominent enough to be known to the Imperials. The boy is sharp enough to learn Longway’s patter sufficiently well to fool anyone not an expert. I admit his appearance is against him, but we can’t be choosy. You’ll need someone who understands what science we know if only to tell you what to bring back.”
MacKi
“The daughter of one of my officers. She really is a graduate of the University, she’s reliable, and no one expects a girl to be intelligent. She may have an opportunity to learn something you don’t. Pretty girls often do; they have methods not available to men.”
MacKi
MacKi
“All of them. But you won’t betray us. I have enough information on you to fill a small library. The Service has had you in mind as a possible servant to King David since we took Orleans. When you overhead that conversation, I already had more than enough to act on. I don’t waste good men, MacKi
“Thank you for the confidence.” MacKi
Dougal smiled faintly. “Enough. They know this to be an expedition to a primitive world, with the ostensible purpose of establishing a trade mission, and an ostensible secret mission of filling the war chest for planetary conquest. They think the real purpose is to learn all they can about Imperial science, customs, military power, and that sort of thing — that this is a straight intelligence mission. They’ve been ordered not to violate Imperial regulations without specific orders from you, but to keep their eyes open whenever they’re around Imperial ships. You and your sergeant know about the library. You can tell them about it when you’ve reached Makassar.” Dougal lit another cigarette.
“I suppose they’ll have to do,” MacKi
“Primitive weapons, in large quantities. Axes, swords, and the like. Armor. Some gold and platinum, but not much because we can sell those to the Imperials directly. Cloth. Good tartan woven from winter-sheared woolsh. Grua. Spices. Some trinkets. You’ll have the list soon enough, and if you think of something primitive the Makassarians might buy, or something you will need, let me know. But don’t try to smuggle in anything the Imperials would object to.”
“Not likely,” MacKi
“No. Only police. Why?”
“Old maxim. No plan survives contact with the enemy. This one won’t either.”
“Probably not, but what else have we?”
MacKi