"Assuming Oil's story can be accepted."
"I make that assumption."
"My story is true," interrupted Gillbret intensely. "I swear it."
"I am about to leave," said the Autarch, "to investigate each of the five worlds. My motives in doing so are obvious. As Autarch of Lingane I can take an equal part in their efforts."
"And with two Hinriads and a Widemos on your side, your bid for an equal part, and, presumably, a strong and secure position in the new, free worlds to come, would be so much the better," said Biron.
"Your cynicism doesn't frighten me, Farrill. The answer is obviously yes. If there is to be a successful rebellion, it would, again obviously, be desirable to have your fist on the winning side."
"Otherwise some successful privateer or rebel captain might be rewarded with the Autarchy of Lingane."
"Or the Ranchy of Widemos. Exactly."
"And if the rebellion is not successful?"
"There will be time to judge of that when we find what we look for."
Biron said slowly, "I'll go with you."
"Good! Then suppose we make arrangements for your transfer from this ship."
"Why that?"
"It would be better for you. This ship is a toy."
"It is a Tyrannian warship. We would be wrong in abandoning it."
"As a Tyrannian warship, it would be dangerously conspicuous."
"Not in the Nebula. I'm sorry, Jonti. I'm joining you out of expedience. I can be frank too. I want to find the rebellion world. But there's no friendship between us. I stay at my own controls."
"Biron," said Artemisia gently, "the ship is too small for the three of us."
"As it stands, yes, Arta. But it can be fitted with a trailer. Jonti knows that as well as I do. We'd have all the space we needed then, and still be masters at our own controls. And, for that matter, it would effectively disguise the nature of the ship."
The Autarch considered. "If there is to be neither friendship nor trust, Farrill, I must protect myself. You may have your own ship and a trailer to boot, outfitted as you may wish. But I must have some guarantee for your proper behavior. The Lady Artemisia, at least, must come with me."
"No!" said Biron.
The Autarch lifted his eyebrows. "No? Let the lady speak."
He turned toward Artemisia, and his nostrils flared slightly. "I dare say you would find the situation very comfortable, my lady."
"You, at least, would not find it comfortable, my lord. Be assured of that," she retorted. "I would spare you the discomfort and remain here."
"I think you might reconsider if-" began the Autarch, as two little wrinkles at the bridge of his nose marred the serenity of his expression.
"I think not," interrupted Biron. "The Lady Artemisia has made her choice."
"And you back her choice then, Farrill?" The Autarch was smiling again.
"Entirely! All three of us will remain on the Remorseless. There will be no compromise on that."
"You choose your company oddly."
"Do I?"
"I think so." The Autarch seemed idly absorbed in his fingernails. "You seem so annoyed with me because I deceived you and placed your life in danger. It is strange, then, is it not, that you should seem on such friendly terms with the daughter of a man such as Hinrik, who in deception is certainly my master."
"I know Hinrik. Your opinions of him change nothing."
"You know everything about Hinrik?"
"I know enough."
"Do you know that he killed your father?" The Autarch's finger stabbed toward Artemisia. "Do you know that the girl you are so deeply concerned to keep under your protection is the daughter of your father's murderer?"
Fourteen: The Autarch Leaves
The tableau remained unbroken for a moment. The Autarch had lit another cigarette. He was quite relaxed, his face untroubled. Gillbret had folded into the pilot's seat, his face screwed up as though he were going to burst into tears. The limp straps of the pilot's stress-absorbing outfit dangled about him and increased the lugubrious effect.
Biron, paper-white, fists clenched, faced the Autarch. Artemisia, her thin nostrils flaring, kept her eyes not on the Autarch, but on Biron only.
The radio signaled, the soft clickings crashing with the effect of cymbals in the small pilot room.
Gillbret jerked upright, then whirled on the seat.
The Autarch said lazily, "I'm afraid we've been more talkative than I'd anticipated. I told Rizzett to come get me if I had not returned in an hour."
The visual screen was alive now with Rizzett's grizzled head.
And then Gillbret said to the Autarch, "He would like to speak to you." He made room.
The Autarch rose from his chair and advanced so that his own head was within the zone of visual transmission.
He said, "I am perfectly safe, Rizzett."
The other's question was heard clearly: "Who are the crew members on the cruiser, sir?"
And suddenly Biron stood next to the Autarch. "I am Rancher of Widemos," he said proudly.
Rizzett smiled gladly and broadly. A hand appeared on the screen in sharp salute. "Greetings, sir."
The Autarch interrupted. "I will be returning soon with a young lady. Prepare to maneuver for contact air locks." And he broke the visual connection between the two ships.
He turned to Biron."I assured them it was you on board ship. There was some objection to my coming here alone otherwise. Your father was extremely popular with my men."
"Which is why you can use my name."
The Autarch shrugged.
Biron said, "It is all you can use. Your last statement to your officer was inaccurate."
"In what way?"
"Artemisia oth Hinriad stays with me."
"Still? After what I have told you?"
Biron said sharply, "You have told me nothing. You have made a bare statement, but I am not likely to take your unsupported word for anything. I tell you this without any attempt at tact. I hope you understand me."
"Is your knowledge of Hinrik such that my statement seems inherently implausible to you?"
Biron was staggered. Visibly and apparently, the remark had struck home. He made no answer.
Artemisia said, "I say it's not so. Do you have proof?"
"No direct proof, of course. I was not present at any conferences between your father and the Tyranni. But I can present certain known facts and allow you to make your own inferences. First, the old Rancher of Widemos visited Hinrik six months ago. I've said that already. I can add here that he was somewhat overenthusiastic in his efforts, or perhaps he overestimated Hinrik's discretion. At any rate, he talked more than he should have. My Lord Gillbret can verify that."
Gillbret nodded miserably. He turned to Artemisia, who had turned to him with moist and angry eyes. "I'm sorry, Arta, but it's true. I've told you this. It was from Widemos that I heard about the Autarch."
The Autarch said, "And it was fortunate for myself that my lord had developed such long mechanical ears with which to sate his lively curiosity concerning the Director's meetings of state. I was warned of the danger, quite unwittingly, by Gillbret when he first approached me. I left as soon as I could, but the damage, of course, had been done.
"Now, to our knowledge, it was Widemos's only slip, and Hinrik, certainly, has no enviable reputation as a man of any great independence and courage. Your father, Farrill, was arrested within half a year. If not through Hinrik, through this girl's father, then how?"
Biron said, "You did not warn him?"
"In our business we take our chances, Farrill, but he was warned. After that he made no contact, however indirect, with any of us, and destroyed whatever proof he had of connection with us. Some among us believed that he should leave the Sector, or, at the very least, go into hiding. He refused to do this.
"I think I can understand why. To alter his way of life would prove the truth of what the Tyranni must have learned, endanger the entire movement. He decided to risk his own life only. He remained in the open.