Spirit of Dorsai by Gordon R. Dickson

Author:Gordon R. Dickson [Dickson, Gordon R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fiction, General
ISBN: 0441778038
Google: Y5dwygAACAAJ
Amazon: 1522668101
Barnesnoble: 1522668101
Goodreads: 2986486
Publisher: Ace
Published: 1979-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

“Myself, first. Then Mene and Reiko. The rest team up as you wish. Team members, stay close and fire as needed; but don’t move in to the compound unless or until you’re called in by one of us who’ve gone ahead. That includes Ancients. Ancients, stay with your teams. In case everything falls apart here, it’ll be up to each of you to pull your team off, get it back into the mountains, and keep it alive. Everybody understand?”

They nodded or murmured their understanding.

“All right—” She was interrupted by a flicker of red, a cloth being waved briefly from just behind the crest of the ridge overlooking Foralie. “All right. Convoy in sight. It’ll take it another five minutes or so to reach the house. Everybody up behind the ridge, ready to go.”

Lying with the others, just behind the crest of the ridge, she looked through a screen of grass at the convoy. Even to her eye, its vehicle column seemed to move somewhat sluggishly. Evidently that part of Arvid’s information—about the convoy troops all being sick—was correct. She crossed her fingers mentally upon the hope that the rest of what he had told her was also reliable—but with misgivings. Counting the team members, the Dorsai would outnumber the troops of the convoy and those already at Foralie nearly five to one—but children against experienced soldiers made that figure one of mockery.

Experienced soldiers against civilians was bad enough.

Experienced soldiers against civilians was bad enough.

“Stay right there—” he was beginning, when she interrupted him.

“Oh, stop that nonsense! My great-granddaughter’s having a baby. Where is she?”

“Where? She… oh, the house, of course, ma’m.”

“All right, you go tell her I’ll be right there. I’ve got to speak to whoever’s in charge of that convoy—”

“I can’t leave my post. I’m sorry, but—”

“What do you mean, you can’t leave your post? Don’t you recognize me? I’m the mayor of Foralie Town. You must have been shown an image of me as part of your briefing. Now, you get in there—”

“I’m sorry. I really can’t—”

“Don’t tell me can’t-”

They argued, the sentry forgetting his weapon to the point where its barrel sagged off to one side. A new humming announced another skimmer that slid down upon them with Reiko and Mene Tosca aboard.

“Halt—” said the soldier, swinging his rifle to command these new arrivals.

“Now what’re you doing?” said Amanda, exasperatedly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cletus being escorted into the house. The majority of the soldiers of the convoy should now be out of their vehicles and moving inside one or another of the cantonment buildings. There was still no sign of Arvid, Bill and their team.

“Don’t you understand that neighbors come calling when there’s a birth?” she said sharply, interrupting another argument that was developing between the sentry and Reiko. “I know these neighbors well. I’ll vouch for them…”

“In a second, ma’m…” the sentry threw over his shoulder at her and turned back to Reiko.

“No second,” said Amanda.

The difference in the tone of her voice brought him around.

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