Tony and the Beetles Page 2

_that_ make? Why does that change everything?There's always war. There've been battles all the time, as long as I canremember. What's different about this?"

  B'prith broke apart a clump of dirt with his strong claws. After amoment he tossed it away and got slowly to his feet. "Well," he saidthoughtfully, "according to our audio relay, it looks as if our fleet isgoing to win, this time."

  "Yes," Tony agreed, not understanding. "My father says we didn't buildup adequate supply bases. We'll probably have to fall back to...." Andthen the impact hit him. "You mean, for the first time in a hundredyears--"

  "Yes," Llyre said, also getting up. The others got up, too. They movedaway from Tony, toward the near-by house. "We're winning. The Terranflank was turned, half an hour ago. Your right wing has foldedcompletely."

  Tony was stunned. "And it matters. It matters to all of you."

  "Matters!" B'prith halted, suddenly blazing out in fury. "Sure itmatters! For the first time--in a century. The first time in our liveswe're beating you. We have you on the run, you--" He choked out theword, almost spat it out. "You white-grubs!"

  They disappeared into the house. Tony sat gazing stupidly down at theground, his hands still moving aimlessly. He had heard the word before,seen it scrawled on walls and in the dust near the settlement._White-grubs._ The Pas term of derision for Terrans. Because of theirsoftness, their whiteness. Lack of hard shells. Pulpy, doughy skin. Butthey had never dared say it out loud, before. To an Earthman's face.

  Beside him, his EEP stirred restlessly. Its intricate radio mechanismsensed the hostile atmosphere. Automatic relays were sliding into place;circuits were opening and closing.

  "It's all right," Tony murmured, getting slowly up. "Maybe we'd bettergo back."

  He moved unsteadily toward the ramp, completely shaken. The EEP walkedcalmly ahead, its metal face blank and confident, feeling nothing,saying nothing. Tony's thoughts were a wild turmoil; he shook his head,but the crazy spinning kept up. He couldn't make his mind slow down,lock in place.

  "Wait a minute," a voice said. B'prith's voice, from the open doorway.Cold and withdrawn, almost unfamiliar.

  "What do you want?"

  B'prith came toward him, claws behind his back in the formal Pas-udetiposture, used between total strangers. "You shouldn't have come here,today."

  "I know," Tony said.

  B'prith got out a bit of _tis_ stalk and began to roll it into a tube.He pretended to concentrate on it. "Look," he said. "You said you have aright here. But you don't."

  "I--" Tony murmured.

  "Do you understand why not? You said it isn't your fault. I guess not.But it's not my fault, either. Maybe it's nobody's fault. I've known youa long time."

  "Five years. Terran."

  B'prith twisted the stalk up and tossed it away. "Yesterday we playedtogether. We worked on the spaceport. But we can't play today. My familysaid to tell you not to come here any more." He hesitated, and did notlook Tony in the face. "I was going to tell you, anyhow. Before theysaid anything."

  "Oh," Tony said.

  "Everything that's happened today--the battle, our fleet's stand. Wedidn't know. We didn't dare hope. You see? A century of running. Firstthis system. Then the Rigel system, all the planets. Then the otherOrion stars. We fought here and there--scattered fights. Those that gotaway joined up. We supplied the base at Orion--you people didn't know.But there was no hope; at least, nobody thought there was." He wassilent a moment. "Funny," he said, "what happens when your back's to thewall, and there isn't any further place to go. Then you have to fight."

  "If our supply bases--" Tony began thickly, but B'prith cut him offsavagely.

  "Your supply bases! Don't you understand? We're beating you! Now you'llhave to get out! All you white-grubs. Out of our system!"

  Tony's EEP moved forward ominously. B'prith saw it. He bent down,snatched up a rock, and hurled it straight at the EEP. The rock clangedoff the metal hull and bounced harmlessly away. B'prith snatched upanother rock. Llyre and the others came quickly out of the house. Anadult Pas loomed up behind them. Everything was happening too fast. Morerocks crashed against the EEP. One struck Tony on the arm.

  "Get out!" B'prith screamed. "Don't come back! This is our planet!" Hisclaws snatched at Tony. "We'll tear you to pieces if you--"

  Tony smashed him in the chest. The soft shell gave like rubber, and thePas stumbled back. He wobbled and fell over, gasping and screeching.

  "_Beetle_," Tony breathed hoarsely. Suddenly he was terrified. A crowdof Pas-udeti was forming rapidly. They surged on all sides, hostilefaces, dark and angry, a rising thunder of rage.

  More stones showered. Some struck the EEP, others fell around Tony, nearhis boots. One whizzed past his face. Quickly he slid his helmet inplace. He was scared. He knew his EEP's E-signal had already gone out,but it would be minutes before a ship could come. Besides, there wereother Earthmen in the city to be taken care of; there were Earthmen allover the planet. In all the cities. On all the twenty-three Betelgeuseplanets. On the fourteen Rigel planets. On the other Orion planets.

  "We have to get out of here," he muttered to the EEP. "Do something!"

  A stone hit him on the helmet. The plastic cracked; air leaked out, andthen the autoseal filmed over. More stones were falling. The Pas swarmedclose, a yelling, seething mass of black-sheathed creatures. He couldsmell them, the acrid body-odor of insects, hear their claws snap, feeltheir weight.

  The EEP threw its heat beam on. The beam shifted in a wide band towardthe crowd of Pas-udeti. Crude hand weapons appeared. A clatter ofbullets burst around Tony; they were firing at the EEP. He was dimlyaware of the metal body beside him. A shuddering crash--the EEP wastoppled over. The crowd poured over it; the metal hull was lost fromsight.

  Like a demented animal, the crowd tore at the struggling EEP. A few ofthem smashed in its head; others tore off struts and shiny arm-sections.The EEP ceased struggling. The crowd moved away, panting and clutchingjagged remains. They saw Tony.

  As the first line of them reached for him, the protective envelope highabove them shattered. A Terran scout ship thundered down, heat beamscreaming. The crowd scattered in confusion, some firing, some throwingstones, others leaping for safety.

  Tony picked himself up and made his way unsteadily toward the spot wherethe scout was landing.

  * * * * *

  "I'm sorry," Joe Rossi said gently. He touched his son on the shoulder."I shouldn't have let you go down there today. I should have known."

  Tony sat hunched over in the big plastic easychair. He rocked back andforth, face pale with shock. The scout ship which had rescued him hadimmediately headed back toward Karnet; there were other Earthmen tobring out, besides this first load. The boy said nothing. His mind wasblank. He still heard the roar of the crowd, felt its hate--a century ofpent-up fury and resentment. The memory drove out everything else; itwas all around him, even now. And the sight of the floundering EEP, themetallic ripping sound, as its arms and legs were torn off and carriedaway.

  His mother dabbed at his cuts and scratches with antiseptic. Joe Rossishakily lit a cigarette and said, "If your EEP hadn't been along they'dhave killed you. Beetles." He shuddered. "I never should have let you godown there. All this time.... They might have done it any time, any day.Knifed you. Cut you open with their filthy goddamn claws."

  Below the settlement the reddish-yellow sunlight glinted on gunbarrels.Already, dull booms echoed against the crumbling hills. The defense ringwas going into action. Black shapes darted and scurried up the side ofthe slope. Black patches moved out from Karnet, toward the Terransettlement, across the dividing line the Confederation surveyors had setup a century ago. Karnet was a bubbling pot of activity. The whole cityrumbled with feverish excitement.

  Tony raised his head. "They--they turned our flank."

  "Yeah." Joe Rossi stubbed out his cigarette. "They sure did. That was atone o'clock. At two they drove a wedge right through the center of ourline. Split the fleet in half. Broke
it up--sent it running. Picked usoff one by one as we fell back. Christ, they're like maniacs. Now thatthey've got the scent, the taste of our blood."

  "But it's getting better," Leah fluttered. "Our main fleet units arebeginning to appear."

  "We'll get them," Joe muttered. "It'll take a while. But by God we'llwipe them out. Every last one of them. If it takes a thousand years.We'll follow every last ship down--we'll get them all." His voice