Antagonist - Childe Cycle 11 (21 page)

"It
did,"
the
man
said,
in
reply
to
Bleys'
question.
"Not
now. Now
I
recognize
what
you're
doing.
You're
one
of
those
New
People
who
can
go
around
persuading
people
to
do
whatever
you
want."

A
Dorsai!

It
seemed
strange
to
see
a
soldier
from
that
planet,
so
renowned for
the
military
⁷
abilities
of
its
people,
working
as
a
simple
non
-
commissioned
officer
in
some
little
brushfire
war.

That
shows
how
bad
things
have
become
for
them—they
have
to
take
any little
job
they
can
get.

"Some
people
call
us
that,"
Bleys
said.
"Or
Others.
Whatever
the name,
I
am
that.
But
you
seem
hostile;
do
you
feel
as
if
I've
persuaded
you—as
you
put
it—against
your
will?"

"You
tried,"
the
sergeant
said.
"But
you
did
it
to
my
men!"

"Your
men
are
needed,
Sergeant,"
Bleys
said.
"There's
a
mission they
have
to
carry
out—one
that
will
save
our
lives.
I'm
only
trying to
get
them
ready
for
it."

"You're
going
to
send
them
out
there?
They'll
be
slaughtered! The
enemy
can
fire
down
the
length
of
the
trench
and
there's
no cover
at
all!"

"But
they'll
grab
the
enemy's
attention
for
a
few
moments," Bleys
said.
"Someone's
coming
up
behind
them
who'll
use
that inattention
to
get
in
on
those
people
and
remove
them."

"But
my
men!
They'll
be
dead!"

Before
Bleys
could
answer,
the
man
started
to
move
forward— and
quickly
checked
himself
as
Toni,
stepping
up
from
the
side, pointed
a
power
pistol
at
his
head
from
a
couple
of
feet
away.

Sadly,
Bleys
shook
his
head,
glancing
quickly
at
the
display
on his
wristpad.

"Maybe,"
he
said.
"Maybe
not.
They'll
have
a
chance.
It
has
to be
done."

"It's
not
right!"
the
sergeant
said.
"You're
sending
them
out
there like
they
were
in
some
kind
of
dream!
You're
not
even
giving
them a
choice!"

"I
don't
have
a
choice,
either,
and
we
have
less
than
three
minutes,"
Ble
ys
said,
reaching
out
to
remove
the
power
pistol
from
the sergeant's
weapons
belt.
Taking
the
pistol
off
its
safety,
he
pointed it
at
the
Dorsai's
stomach.
"Turn
to
your
left
and
kneel
facing
that wall.
If
you
try
anything,
you
won't
be
alive
to
help
your
men."

As
Toni
watched
the
kneeling
man,
Bleys
returned
to
the
rest
of the
soldiers.
They
were
enthusiastic
about
his
rejoining
them,
and seemed,
in
their
captured
state,
not
to
have
noticed
the
confrontation
with
their
sergeant.
Bleys
took
a
moment
to
greet
each
one
individually,
as
if
they
were
all
comrades
together,
and
gathered
their attention
to
himself
once
more.
He
spoke
again.

In
a
few
moments
he
had
given
them
their
instructions,
and
they turned
to
checking
their
weapons
and
arraying
themselves
on
either side
of
the
doorway.

"Remember,"
Bleys
said,
"don't
move
until
I
give
the
signal. Then
get
out
the
doorway
fast,
spreading
out
as
you
go.
Put
out
as much
fire
as
you
can.
You
can
break
those
people,
I
know
it."

Eyes
now
fastened
on
the
cntranceway,
they
all
nodded
resolutely.
Eighty
seconds
to
go,
Bleys
saw.

At
that
point
the
sergeant,
ignoring
the
gun
Toni
held
on
him,
rose,
pivoting—and
moved
toward
him.
Bleys
raised
the
man's
own pistol;
but
the
sergeant
slowed
and
splayed
his
arms
to
each
side. One
hand
was
bloody.
He
continued,
however,
moving
toward
his men,
and
Bleys
understood
suddenly.

"You
don't
have
to
go
out
there,
you
know,"
Bleys
said.
"Whatever you
might
think
of
me,
I
wouldn't
make
you
do
that."
Over
the sergeant's
shoulder,
Bleys
could
see
Toni,
still
behind
the
man,
with her
gun
on
him.
Dahno,
off
to
the
side,
had
pulled
himself
up
onto
an elbow
and
was
now
raising
a
pistol,
his
face
ugly.

"No,
Dahno!"
Bleys
said,
raising
a
hand
in
a
warding
motion. Dahno,
he
was
sure,
was
in
the
grip
of
emotion
that
wanted
a
violent
outlet.

Bleys
had
no
time
to
think
about
it;
he
was
in
the
grip
of
his
own emotional
reaction—one
he,
too,
could
not
control.

"I
suppose
I
could
take
your
word
for
that,"
the
sergeant
said.
"It makes
no
difference."
He
paused;
and
while
he
did
so,
Bleys
silently reversed
the
pistol
and
handed
it
back
to
him.
The
hand
in
which Dahno
held
his
weapon
seemed
to
jerk
as
he
clenched
his
finger over
the
firing
button—but
nothing
happened;
the
gun
was
empty.