Galactic Courier: The John Grimes Saga III by A. Bertram Chandler Page A

that are used for fighting. We do have airships for the carriage of passengers and urgent cargoes . . .”
    “Buoyancy? What gas do you use for lift? Hydrogen, or helium?”
    “I do not understand. Those words are not in my vocabulary.”
    Two of the very few that aren’t, thought Grimes. He explained, “Both are gases, both are lighter than air. Hydrogen burns, explodes. Helium is an inert gas.”
    “Hydrogen,” said Lennay.
    “I take it, then,” said Grimes, “that your Establishment is anti-Deluraixsamz, slightly anti-Terran, pro-Shaara inasmuch as they hope to use the Shaara . . .”
    “Yes,” admitted Lennay doubtfully.
    “Also, you can give me weapons—the handful taken from the guards, a rather greater number from your own arsenals . . .”
    “Yes.”
    “Then,” said Grimes, “if I’m to be more than a mere figurehead in your revolt I shall want some idea of the tools that I shall have at my disposal. I shall want maps. I shall want artificers—the handgrips and triggers of the Shaara guns will have to be modified for a start—I shall want samples of your explosives. I shall want to meet your guerrilla leaders . . .”
    “The GreatGod Grimes demands offerings,” said Tamara sardonically.
    “Dog—or bitch—shouldn’t eat dog,” Grimes told her. Lennay and his wife exchanged shocked glances.

Chapter 20

    GRIMES WAS NOT A SOLDIER.
    He possessed a fair theoretical grasp of space strategy and tactics but knew little of the principles of land warfare; throughout his Survey Service career he had always been elsewhere when courses in this subject were held at Lindisfarne Base. Nonetheless, he had glimmerings. He called for maps and a conversion scale. He demanded an inventory of arms and ammunition and explosives. He wanted to know how many members of the underground had military experience and how many, if any, were still serving in the Taraplan Army.
    He got the maps first—a small scale one comprising the entire planet, other small scale ones for its continents, of which Taraplan was one, large scale charts of Taraplan’s coastline and large scale maps of the inland regions. With Lennay instructing he soon got the hang of the various symbols, the color coding that was used in conjunction with contour lines, the stipplings used to indicate population density and all the rest of it.
    Lennay put him into the picture regarding probable future developments. It seemed certain that Hereditary President Callaray would soon sign a treaty of peace and friendship with the Shaara Queen and, shortly thereafter, would find some excuse, probably a manufactured incident, to declare war on Desaba, the island-continent-nation to the north. The Shaara would be his allies. First Desaba, then Kootar, then Raitu, then the Pinnerba Confederation. . . Finally, his ride on the tiger over, it would be President Callaray’s turn to be eaten.
    And that would be the way of it, thought Grimes. Even if Baroom were not employed as a flying fortress the Shaara would have command of the air. Their blimps were helium filled and would mount long range weapons; the native airships were hydrogen-filled, pitifully vulnerable, and would be armed only with primitive, slow-firing, hand-powered machine guns. Too, the Shaara blimps could be—probably would be—used as carriers for platoons of drones, flying fighters who, with their laser hand guns, would make short work of the airships. And, he realized, there was his own Little Sister— a virtually invulnerable spacecraft also extremely maneuverable inside an atmosphere, a potential bomber, fighter, troop carrier, or all three.
    So the Shaara would have to be stopped, now.
    But how?
    He studied the map on which the location of the cave-temple had been marked by Lennay, on which was Korong, the town from which he and Tamara had been rescued, and, further to the south east, Plirrit, near which the Shaara had landed, where their ship still was. Grimes was surprised to discover how close