victory in thepresent crisis. He said, "I agree with you completely. Like anyorganism, social or biological, the church must adapt to continue. Itmust survive. And the present situation is not merely one in which anancient taboo is violated. It is a crisis of survival for you."
"I know," she said thoughtfully, "that Candar has never been friendlyto the church. But I do not believe that he has the power to destroyit."
"Up to now," Thane answered, "Candar has been limited. Now, with thedrive, he feels that unlimited power is his. His dream is to crush thepower of Darzent in this attack, and then to turn upon the AlliedSystems. I do not know if his dream of complete domination of theGalaxy can be realized. I do not think so. But it is something he willnot put away. And when he makes the attempt, it will mean thedestruction of millions, the killing of whole planets, the ending ofall life of whole systems.
"There is no need to keep the useless old taboos that no longer fitinto the present world. But they should be ended by the church itself,in its own time and its own way, not abrogated by a contemptuouspolitician."
She looked half-convinced, and he pressed his point at once. "Thepower of the whole planetary communications system is now being usedby Astrid Reine for the tracer system now being built. With a wordfrom you the whole radio system will be at your disposal for as longas we can keep it open. You can at last tell the people of Onzar thetruth, which they have not heard for so long."
Selan stared at the floor for a long time. Finally she looked up. "Idon't know. I just don't know." She paused again, and it was a long,agonizing pause for Thane. "The decision is too large for me now. Itis a seizure of authority that goes against my whole nature." Shelooked directly at Thane. "But, be assured, you will have my word intime. You and I will witness this battle of the confluence, and thenyou will know my decision."
Thane's mind was full of reasons why the old priestess should nottravel out into space, with all the stresses of that travel, to aposition of great danger. But he met her determined eyes and saw atonce that all arguments would be futile.
He got up to leave, and with the sincerest of respect, lied to her."Your decision will be mine, Priestess Selan."
VI
The ship used by Selan in her trips through the system was littlelarger than the usual scout class but it had been completely refittedfor her purposes. She'd had a special acceleration couch built in toallow her to survive the stress of space travel. And Thane noted thatthe large visiscreen would be ideal for watching the battle. And thecommunications system was larger than usual. It might do for hispurpose.
They stayed well back from the restricted area where the whole Onzarianfleet was orbited. On the screen images appeared--twenty-three Class Icruisers, each with its own fleet of cruiser escorts, scouts, disruptercarriers, tenders and screen amplifiers. Swarms of independent tacticalsquadrons. Controlling all of them, ready to put them into instantaction, was the battle-control cruiser, with its tracers, its receivers,its computers, its nearly automatic message center--and Candar and hisstaff.
Thane turned to the tracer that had been installed. Selan was by hisside. He switched on its galactic screen. The Darzent marshalling wasnow almost complete. A few flashes of light still crossed the screen,crossing countless light years at each jump, pausing, and then a vaultthrough more light years. As Thane and Selan watched, the flasheschanged direction. The marshalling was complete, and the assembledmight of Darzent was on its way. Thane found it hard to believe thateven the fleet waiting before him could cope with all the force ofDarzent.
The Darzent fleets had started from points spanning the whole Galaxy.With each flash of lights they converged, arrowing toward the OnzarianConfluence. Thane could imagine the watchers at similar screens ineach ship of the battle fleet. Eyes becoming, grimmer, nervous smilesappearing and disappearing on faces, hands clenching on instruments.And the waiting.
The flashing lights approached closer. The lead group of lightsappeared, ten light years from the tiny orange circle marking theconfluence. There was a pause--somewhat less than a second--and thelights appeared on the circle. Thane spun around to the visiscreen.The lead battle squadron of the Darzent Fleet had appeared theresimultaneously, surfaced in space. Seven of the battle cruisers firedas one, and were joined by all the firepower of their escort ships.
The disrupter blasts, joining together, created a blinding sun inempty space. It was there. It was gone. And then just dead, emptyspace again, but without the slightest hint that the lead squadron ofthe mighty Darzent Fleet had ever been there. Thane quickly lookedover at the galactic map to see if they could have managed to get backinto warp-line drive. No, there were no lights below the circle of theconfluence. But another light was approaching from above, still tenlight years away. Thane turned back to the visiscreen just as thesecond division of Onzar's fleet opened fire on the surfacing Darzentforces. Again utter annihilation.
The battle continued, with more surfacing squadrons, more eruption,disappearing suns. Thane turned away, losing interest in thewell-planned slaughter. Here, a parsec away from the Onzar system,they were well outside the intersystems communication jam. Selan'shorrified attention was still completely on the battle. Thane steppedback into the communications section of the scout and flicked thepowerful space set into life. Static from the now almost constantdisrupter blasts ripped and crackled across the hum of the set. Therewas just a chance, he considered, that he could get the relay stationat Kadenar.
He worked rapidly, setting the frequency, the directional beam, thegain control. It was only a question of time before the detector wouldpick up the clear beam on the Onzar fleet, even in the midst ofbattle. At last it came through.
Across space, the automatic code responder finally could be heard.Thane gave his own code and said, "A direct to Garth. Top urgent."
"That code has been changed," the mechanical voice replied at once."Give current code."
"But I've been out of touch," Thane said, "and this must go through."
"That code has been changed," came the same, unvarying reply. "Givecurrent code."
It was no use. With the mechanical monitor working he'd never getthrough. And of course they would have changed his code, after hisdisappearance and reported death. He began to talk rapidly giving hisinstructions. He couldn't get through to Garth, but there was thechance that someone would see the recording in time to act. Damn themechanical efficiency of Liaison!
Now Selan was all he had to depend on. He started back to the forwardcompartment hoping that Selan had at last made her decision. Thebattle was still going on and lights were still flashing down thegalactic screen to sudden, unwitting death. The bulk of the Darzentfleet had been destroyed and Thane saw that Candar had changed histactics. Now, instead of disrupters, he was using concentrated,high-power Stoltz artillery.
After destroying the mass of their power, Candar was going to bring inthe staff ships, with the fleet admirals as captives. It wouldimmobilize whatever power Darzent had in reserve while Candar turnedon the Allied Systems. Already, confused and blinded Darzent shipswere drifting in space, with Onzar wrecker tugs swarming in on them.
Thane turned to the old priestess Selan. "Don't you see the crisisthat is shaping? Don't you see what Candar intends? When this is doneand he has re-powered, he'll turn on the Allied Systems. They'll fightback of course, but the war will make a shambles of the whole Galaxy.Don't you see?"
She turned slowly and looked at him. Her eyes seemed older, much moretired than they had before. "I have seen it, Roger Thane, and thiscannot be repeated. It will not happen again. It is against all mytraining and belief and the tenets of the faith, but I, as Priestessof Keltar, will take it on myself to attack the temporal power."
* * * * *
Thane felt the sweat on his hands, and his smile was stiff though itwas certainly heartfelt. So much depended on this woman's decision andon her performance from now on. Without the aid of Liaison to dependon it was up to this woman to prevent galactic war.
>
They started back for Onzar II and Keltar at once. They would have agood start on Candar while he was engaged in mopping up the Darzentfleet. Thane felt sure that Candar would stay to confront thehigh-ranking captives and to gloat over them. On the other hand Candarwould not delay too long. He would be back to announce his victory andto prepare for the attack on the Allied Systems.
At the landing port outside Keltar, Selan's automatic anti-grav waswaiting. It took them up over the outskirts of the bleak wintry cityand towards its center. As they reached the solidly built-up areaThane could see the dim outlines of the old city wall beneath them.Not so many years ago, as time went in the Galaxy, that wall had beena vital protection against the spears of the hill men. And nowOnzarians were in space, blasting away the power of a third of theGalaxy. But