Astounding Science Fiction, British Edition — page 15: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ENOUGH ROPE 13 garrison thousands of key points, or the Patrol ships can simply sneak in and pick up their recruits. At this time, too!”’ $s} or 7 “Shut up! File a complete report. Now get out of here. Hello, hello, give me the General Staff building . . . Commander Tuac? Ready your plan- ners, boy. We’re going to invade still another world.” ‘““Tuac? Listen and obey.” “Yes, lord.”*::"% “You know the planet Yarnaz IV?” ‘“Hm-m-m .. . let me think, lord.” “Don’t. You’re not capable of it— you and your planning section!”’ “Lord, how could we know the Ilwari would be such guerrilla fight- ers? Even under extreme difficulties, we’re carrying on the conquest—it’s just going more slowly than we had anticipated. If we could only have more troops, more supplies—” “Shut up, I said! We haven’t even finished with Tukatan itself, thanks to that Patrol. Junnuzhik will have to make do with what we can spare. Now listen, or I’ll have your head. Yarnaz is a red dwarf sun about fifteen light- years from Tumu. It’s fourth planet is trackless desert, poisonous air, venom- ous life. Nevertheless, our checkup reveals that the Patrol has been there. Not a base. They’ve been mining near _ the equator. Why?” “Lord, I can’t say. Unless they wanted supplies—fissionables, per- haps.—”’ “I checked up on that, idiot. Yar- naz IV is about as poor in natural resources as empty space itself.”’ “Could it be a camouflage, lord? A device to divert our attention from their real activities?” “It may well be. But, we don’t know! The Patrol seems to have studied the primitive planets of our cluster better than we have ourselves. Furthermore, they have the natives o a million worlds to choose from in making up their crews. Doubtless there is at least one race in the League to whom Yarnaz IV is just like home. We can’t know where their real advantage lies.” “Well, lord, it . . . it looks as if we'll. have to establish garrisons there.” “I’m glad you’ve seen that much. _ How soon can you send a force?” “The planning— Lord, we’re getting bogged down. There’s just too much to handle. Even one world is a major problem in strategy, tactics, logis- tics—” *‘Nevertheless, Yarnaz IV shall be occupied within one month. Or do you want your head adorning a pole in Market Square?” Fear was cold along the spine of Hurulta as he looked at the being in the cage. It seemed harmless enough—a small kangaroolike mammal, with big ears on its round, blunt-muzzled head. The sensitive four-fingered hands spoke of intelligence, the basic tool-making ability. There was no menace in the soft brown eyes. Nevertheless Hurulta was afraid. It took all the discipline he had to face that creature and hold his own visage expressionless. “It was caught on the fringes of Dengavash City, lord, just after the riots there,’ said the police officer. “Obviously it was the thing respon- . sible. It creates an aura of terror.”’ Hurulta forced his tongue to shape coherent words. ‘““Where’s it from?’ ‘We checked up, lord. It’s from Gyreion, as the explorers have named it—a planet not unlike ours, on the fringes of our cluster. This is one of the natives. They haven’t been studied much, but seem to be a timid paleo- lithic race. Telepaths, though.” mCOMIGDOOKS: GO im