The Swords of Zinjaban

With the draft in his pocket, Reith returned to his room to pack. He found Ordway sitting up and stretching. "I say, Sir Fergus, whither away?"

Reith explained. "Thanks to Kostis, we're taking a kind of pre-honeymoon."

"Mean you're really going to ..."

"Yep. Soon as we can get to the proper authority—oh, good morning, Tony."

Fallon appeared in the doorway. "Alicia told me you two were outward bound," he said.

"That's right. Could you, as a Terran consul, marry the two of us, right now?"

"Wow, what a question! Let me think. No; it would be legal only if performed in the consulate at Mishé, with the necessary papers all signed."

"Then it'll have to be honeymoon first, wedding second."

"But I say! IT you regard her as a sister, as you claimed, isn't that a bit incestuous?"

Reith smiled. With fawning deference, Ordway said: "I shan't say it doesn't cost me a pang, Sir Fergus. But if I've got to lose the bird, I couldn't lose her to a better man. Of course there's a disadvantage to such a ripping attractive wife."

"Yes?"

"There'll always be other men dangling after her. If she ever gives you the boot again, she'll have plenty of other choices."

Reith chuckled. "I'll take my chances. So long, you two!"

Reith shouldered his bag, picked up Alicia and her luggage, and soon was driving his gig up the long slope of a winding road through the mountains, with the spare aya trotting behind. Alicia nestled close beside him, enjoying the view of the rugged mountain tops emerging from the morning mist. At last she broke the spell.

"Do you know what that lunatic wanted to do?"

"Which lunatic?"

"Attila Fodor, of course. He thought he'd have a more realistic battle if he allowed the Mikardanduma to use real weapons, while the Gozashtanduma fought with wooden ones. Then there'd be plenty of gore and severed heads all over. By the time the survivors of Gilan's men got back to Ruz to complain, as he figured it, he and his crew would be on their way to Terra and beyond Krishnan vengeance. What would happen to you and the other Krishnanders didn't matter."

"So that's why our Scourge of God was so keen on having the fake Krishnan blood just the right color! He couldn't have Lord Whozis bleed red when he gets his throat cut, and then have those poor Ruzo knights bleed green on the battlefield. What stopped him?"

"One of Attila's women thought it a terrible idea and leaked it to me. So I rounded up Ken and Jack and Tony and bullied them into going to Kostis to protest. I tried to get Cyril to come with us, but he'd only help for a price. You can guess what fee he named."

Reith made a fist and inspected his knuckles. "One of these days ..."

Alicia smiled fondly and went on. "Luckily the four of us worked Kostis round. He wanted to let Attila's plan go through, until we convinced him it would cost him a fortune in the long run. The story would get back to Earth; and he'd be fined millions and his company grounded. No more space movies for him!"

"Darling," said Reith, sliding an arm around Alicia and giving her a squeeze, "being married to a super-woman will be a more fantastic adventure than anything Kostis's script writers could think up!"