And at that admission there was wild commotion among the reporters and a hubbub on the floor. The conference delegates were rising in their seats, and cries of "Vote! Vote!" could be made out.
To all appearances the conference had ended and Earth had lost.
16. Biter Bit
Agas Doremo was on his feet, banging the traditional gavel for silence with complete ineffectuality. Con-way plowed forward through a host of threatening gestures and catcalls and pulled the circuit breaker, thus sounding the old pirate warning. A shrill rising-falling rasp of sound squealed above the disorder and beat the delegates into surprised silence.
Conway shut it off, and in the sudden quiet Doremo said quickly, "I have agreed to recognize Chief Councilman Hector Conway of the Terrestrial Federation that he might cross-examine Councilman Starr."
There were shouts of "No, no," but Doremo continued obdurately, "I ask the conference to play fair in this respect. The Chief Councilman assures me his cross-examination will be brief."
Amid rustling and a tide of whispering, Conway approached Lucky.
He smiled but spoke with an air of formality, saying, "Councilman Starr, Mr. Devoure did not question you as to your intentions in all this. Tell me, why did you enter the Saturnian system?"
"In order to colonize Mimas, Chief."
"Did you feel you had the right to do so?"
"It was an empty world, Chief."
Conway turned so as to face a suddenly puzzled and quiet group of delegates. "Would you repeat that, Councilman Starr?"
"I wished to establish human beings on Mimas, an empty world that belongs to the Terrestrial Federation, Chief."
Devoure was on his feet, calling out furiously, "Mimas is part of the Saturnian system."
"Exactly," said Lucky, "as Saturn is part of Earth's Solar System. But by your interpretation Mimas is merely an empty world. A while ago you admitted that Sirian ships had never approached Mimas before my ship landed on it."
Conway smiled. Lucky had caught that error on Devoure's part too.
Conway said, "Councilman Starr was not here, Mr. Devoure, when you made your introductory speech. Let me quote a passage from it, word for word: 'An empty world is an empty world, regardless of the particular route it travels through space. We colonized it first and it is ours.'"
The Chief Councilman turned toward the delegates and said with great deliberation, "If the viewpoint of the Terrestrial Federation is correct, then Mimas is Earth's, because it circles a planet that circles our Sun. If the viewpoint of Sinus is correct, then Mimas is still Earth's, because it was empty and we colonized it first. By Sirius's own line of reasoning, the fact that another satellite of Saturn was colonized by Sirius had nothing to do with the case.
"In either event, by invading a world belonging to the Terrestrial Federation and removing there from our colonist, Sirius has committed an act of war and has shown its true hypocrisy, since it refused to allow others the rights it claimed for itself."
And now again there was a confused milling about, and it was Doremo who spoke next. "Gentlemen, I have something to say. The facts, as stated by Council- men Starr and Conway, are irrefutable. This demon strates the complete anarchy into which the Galaxy would be thrown if the Sirian view were to prevail. Every uninhabited rock would be a source of contention, every asteroid a threat to peace. The Sirians, by their own action, have shown themselves insincere…"
It was a complete and sudden change-about.
Had time been allowed, Sirius might yet have rallied its forces, but Doremo, an experienced and skilled parliamentarian, maneuvered the conference into a vote while the pro-Sirians were still completely demoralized and before they had a chance to consider whether they dared go against the plain facts as suddenly revealed.
Three worlds voted on the side of Sirius. They were Penthesileia, Duvarn, and Mullen, all small and all known to be under Sirius's political influence. The rest of the Council, better than fifty votes, was on the side of Earth. Sirius was ordered to release the Earth-men it had taken prisoner. It was ordered to dismantle its base and leave the Solar System within a month.
The orders could not be enforced except by war, of course, but Earth was ready for war and Sirius would have to face it now without the help of the outer worlds. There wasn't a man on Vesta who expected her to fight under those conditions.
Devoure, panting and his face contorted, saw Lucky once more. "It was a foul trick," he said. "It was a device to force us into… "
"You forced me," said Lucky quietly, "by the threat to Bigman's life. Do you remember? Or would you like the details of that published?"
"We still have your monkey friend," began Devoure malignantly, "and conference vote or not… "
Chief Councilman Conway, also present, smiled. "If you're referring to Bigman, Mr. Devoure, you don't have him. He is in our hands, together with a Serviceman named Yonge, who told me that Council man Starr had assured him safe-conduct in case of need. He apparently feels that in your present mood it would be unsafe for himself to accompany you back to Titan. May I suggest that you consider whether it might be unsafe for you to go back to Sirius? If you wish to apply for asylum… -"
But Devoure, speechless, turned his back and left.
Doremo was all a-grin as he bade farewell to Con-way and Lucky.
"You'll be glad to see Earth again, I dare say, young man."
Lucky nodded his agreement. "''I'm going home by liner within the hour, sir, with the poor old Shooter being towed along behind, and frankly, there's nothing that could please me more just now."
"Good! And congratulations on a magnificent piece of work. When Chief Conway asked me to allow him time for cross-examination at the beginning of the session, I agreed, but thought he must be mad. When you were done testifying and he signaled for recognition, I was sure he was mad. But obviously all this was planned in advance."
Conway said, "Lucky had sent me a message outlining what he hoped to do. Of course it wasn't till the last hour or two that we were sure it had worked out."
"I think you had faith in the Councilman," said Doremo. "Why, hi your first conversation with me, you asked if I would come out on your side if Lucky's evidence failed of effect. I didn't see what you could mean then, of course, but I understood when the time came."
"I thank you for throwing your weight to our side."
"I threw it on the side of what had obviously been demonstrated to be justice… You're a subtle opponent, young man," he said to Lucky.
Lucky smiled. "I merely counted on Sirius's lack of sincerity. If they had really believed in what they claimed was their point of view, my Councilman colleague would have been left on Mimas and all we would have had for our pains was a small satellite of ice and a difficult war to fight."
"Quite. Well, no doubt there'll be second thoughts when the delegates get back home, and some will become angry with Earth and with me and even with themselves, I suppose, for having let themselves be stampeded. In cold blood, though, they'll realize that they have established a principle here, the indivisibility of stellar systems, and I think they'll also realize that the good of this principle will outweigh any hurt to their pride or their prejudices. I really think this conference will be looked back on by historians as something important and as something that contributed a great deal to the peace and welfare of the Galaxy. I'm quite pleased."