He looked at her. She looked back
"You are all, all of you, already gone," he said. "For the moment you've still got your town, and your homes, and your own name, but all those things are going to go. You, yourself, in your old age, are going to be moved to another place, a place you don't know, to die among strangers - all this because you've been foolish enough to forget what Earth is."
He paused. She still sat, not speaking.
"There's no reprieve, no choice," he said. "What I'm telling you is for your own information only. Our politicians haven't announced it yet - but the Dorsai is already a forgotten world; and everyone on it will soon be scattered individually through all the other inhabited planets. For you - for you, only - I've got an offer, that for you, only, will make things easier."
He waited, but still she gave him no assistance.
"You're being non-cooperative with our occupation, here," he said. "I don't care what Mr. deCastries' opinion of you is. I know. I know non-cooperation when I run into it. I'd be a failure in my job if I didn't. Bear in mind, we don't have to have your cooperation, but it'd help. It'd save paperwork, effort, and explanations. So, what I'm offering you is, cooperate and I'll promise this much for you: I'll ensure that whatever few years you have left can be lived here, on your own world. You'll have to watch everyone else being shipped off; but you, at least, won't have to end your days among strangers."
He paused.
"But you'll have to take me up on this, now," he said, "or you'll lose the chance, for good. Say yes now, and follow through, or the chance is gone. Well?"
"General," said Amanda. "I've listened to you. Now, you listen to me. You're the one who's dreaming. It's not us who are already dead and gone - it's you and your men. You're already defeated. You just don't know it."
"Mrs. Morgan,'* said Amorine, heavily, "you're a fool. There's no way you can defeat Earth."
"Yes," said Amanda, bleakly. Another gust of rain came and rattled against the window, like the tapping of the fingers of dead children. "Believe me, there is."
He stood up.
"All right," he said. "I tried. We'll do it our own way from now on. You can go."
Amanda also stood up.
"One thing, however," she said. "I want to see Cletus when he lands."
"Cletus? Cletus Grahame, you mean?" Amorine stared at her. "What makes you think he's going to land?"
"Don't talk nonsense, General," Amanda said. "You know as well as I do, he's due in by early after-noon."
"Who told you that?"
"Everyone knows it." He stared at her.
"Damn!" he said, softly. "No, you cannot see Grahame - now or in the future."
"I've got to be able to report to the local people that he's well and agreeable to being in your custody," Amanda said. "Or do you want the district to rise in arms spontaneously?"
He stared at her balefully. Staring, he began to cough again. When the fit was over, he nodded.
"Hell be down in a little over an hour. Shall we find you a place to wait?"
"If it's an hour, I'll go into town and get some things done. Will you leave word at the airpad, so I can get past your soldiers?"
He nodded.
"Ask for Lieutenant Estrange," he said.
She went out.
Back in town she found Ekram's skimmer still parked behind the house of Marie Bureaux. She parked her own skimmer beside his and let herself in the back door, into the kitchen.
Ekram was there, washing his hands at the sink He looked back over his shoulder at her at the sound of her entrance.
"Marie?" Amanda said.
"Marie's dead." He turned his head back to the sink
"And you're still in town here."
He finished washing and turned to face her, wiping his hands on a dishtowel.
"Berthe Haugsrud's dead," he said. "Bhaktabahadur Rais is dead. Fifteen more are dying. Young Marte Haugsrud's sick There's five dead soldiers in the cantonments, thirty more dying and most of the rest sick."
"So you leave," she said.
"Leave? How can I leave? Their medical officer knows something's going on. There's just nothing he can do about it. He'd be an absolute, incompetent idiot not to know that something's going on, particularly since they've been getting word from other occupation units - not from many, but even a few's enough - where the same thing's happening. All that's kept them blind this long is the fact it started hitting our people first. If I run, now - "
He broke off His face was lean with weariness, stubbled with beard.
"You go," Amanda said. "That's an order."
"To hell with orders!"
"Cletus is due to land in an hour. You've had three hours in town here during daylight hours. In three more hours we're going to have open war. Get out of here, get up in those hills and get ready to handle casualties."
"The kids…" he swayed a little on his feet. "Kids, kids and guns…"
"Will you go?"
"Yes." His voice was dull. He walked stiffjointedly past her and out the back door. Following him, she saw him climb, still with the awkwardness of exhaustion, on to his skimmer, lift it, and head it out of town.
Amanda went back inside to see whether there was anything she could do for the remains of Marie. But there was nothing. She left and went to the Haugsrud house to see if Marte could be brought to leave town with her, now that Berthe was dead. But the doors were locked and Marte refused to answer, though Amanda could see her through a window, sitting on the living room couch. Amanda tried several ways to force her way in, but time began to grow short. She turned away at last and headed toward the airpad.
She was almost late getting there. By the time she had made contact with Lieutenant Estrange and been allowed to the airpad itself, a shuttleboat, bearing the inlaid sunburst emblem of the Exotics, was landed; and Cletus was stepping out on to the pad. A line of vehicles and an armed escort was already waiting for him.
He was wearing a sidearm, which was taken from him, and led toward the second of the waiting staff cars.
"I've got to speak to him!" said Amanda fiercely to Estrange. "Weren't you given orders I was to be able to speak to him?"
"Yes. Please - wait a minute. Wait here."
The lieutenant went forward and spoke to the colonel in charge of operation. After some little discussion, Estrange came back and got Amanda.
"If you'll come with me?" He brought her to Cletus, who was already seated in the staff car.
"Amanda!" Cletus looked out over the edge of the open window of the staff car. "Is everyone all right?"
"Fine," said Amanda. "I've taken over the post of Mayor from Piers."
"Good," said Cletus, urgently. His cheerful, lean face was a little thinner than when she had seen it last, marked a little more deeply by lines of tension. "I'm glad it's you. Will you tell everyone they must keep calm about all this? I don't want anyone getting excited and trying to do things. These occupying soldiers have behaved themselves, haven't they?"
"Oh, yes," said Amanda.
"Good. I thought they would. I'll leave matters in your hands, then. They're taking me up to Grahame
House - to Foralie, I mean. Apparently Dow de-Castries is already there, and I'm sure once I've had a talk with him we can straighten this all out. So all anyone needs to do is just sit tight for a day or two, and everything will be all right. Will you see the district understands that?"
Out of the corners of her eyes, Amanda could see the almost-wondering contempt growing on the faces of the Coalition officers and men within hearing.
"Ill take care of it, Cletus."
"I know you will. Oil-how's Betta?"
"You'll see her when you get to Foralie," said Amanda. "She's due to have her baby any time now."
"Good. Good. Tell her I saw her brother David just a few days ago, and he's fine. No - wait. I'll tell her myself, since I'll be seeing her first. Talk to you shortly, Amanda."