Galaxy of the Lost by Gregory Kern

Author:Gregory Kern [Kern, Gregory]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780879970734
Publisher: DAW

Chapter Eight

Commander Breson leaned back in his chair and said, "I fully appreciate your concern, Professor, and I share it, but the matter isn't as simple as it appears. Always we have to consider the political implications. The point of disappearance lies in the Deltanian Domain. They know and we know that the threat to interstellar flight is serious and genuine—however, the matter has not been widely publicized and if I move more forces into the area it could be construed either as an act of aggression against the Deltanians or as the result of a secret pact aimed, perhaps, at others who aren't as friendly with them as we are."

"That's ridiculous!" Chemile snorted his impatience. "No intelligent person would ever think of such a thing."

Breson inwardly agreed, but intelligence and politics didn't always go hand in hand. He was a military diplomat and commanded forces which could destroy worlds, but always he had to walk on eggs. A wrong move and sabers would rattle in a dozen systems. Accusations would be made, small groups, hating Terra, would grow strident. There would be suspicions, recriminations, a hardening of attitudes. Petty jealousies would flare and the status quo endangered.

He said, "I don't like it, Veem, any more than you do, but the facts have to be faced. The area in which the ships vanished is local and presents no real threat to Terran Control. There is no way I can justify moving MALACA 7 into the Deltanian Domain. No planet has asked for help against invasion. No government has requested technical advice or constructional equipment. If the area was within the Terran Sphere there would be no problem. As it is—" He broke off, shrugging. "Surely you can appreciate the situation, Professor?"

"I can," said Luden thinly. "But I think you are overemphasizing the obvious, Commander. I am fully aware of the delicate nature of the political atmosphere, but I am also aware that the area of disturbance may not remain as local as you assume. In fact I think there is a very real threat that it can either spread or even move into the Terran Sphere. However, that is a matter open to argument. What is incontestable is that several ships have vanished and that Cap and Saratov were on the last to disappear."

"I know, and if I could help—"

"You can."

Luden delved into a pocket and produced a sheaf of papers. Like Chemile and the commander he sat in a compartment of the huge mother ship of MALAGA 7. Beyond the thick hull, clustered like bees around a hive, hung a mass of auxiliary craft, the Mordain among them. A great armada of ships, weapons, and men, ready to strike or to defend the scattered systems which constituted the far-flung reaches of the Terran Sphere. To give aid and the use of machines to lift economically poor worlds into a place in the sun.

"I've done the best I can with the instruments aboard the Mordain" said Luden. "I want the use of scientific officers and computer facilities to verify my deductions.

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