Uller Uprising

How Dumb

ain to the west was fading from crimson to burnt-orange, and a couple of the brighter stars were winking into visibility. Von Schlichten and the ser

just inside the door of

n to Konkrook, general,"

ptain.... We've all lost

n was the image of a third young woman, a lieutenant, at Konk

ver when I'm through." He sat down in front of the combination visiscreen a

rdered autopsy and chemical analysis. If you can wait ab

eantime, give me ev

early; he was going hunting in the mornin

n his dressing-gown, and then sat down at his desk, lighted his pi

onvulsions, frothing at the mouth, in horrible pain. Evidently he'd fired his pistol, which he kept on his desk, to call help; all the bullets had gone into the ceiling. The sergeant punched the emergency button, beside the bed, and reported, then tried to help the governor, but it was too late. One of the medics got there in five minutes, just as he wa

ss to the whi

and without a pass; they were holding him at the guardhouse when Governor Harrington died. He's now bei

n't kill him be

e General M'zangwe, now," the g

color, then cleared; the chocolate-brown face

out that geek chamber-valet being arrested," von S

but he claims it was his own idea. But he's

ten almost shouted. "Now I know what he wanted

y, in Konkrook, Themist

a Terran! Wait a minute; I'll make a note of that, to spring on this geek, if the Kragans haven't finished him by now.

c been n

in audience with King Orgzi

in charge at

etary, have made up a sort of quadrumvirate and are trying to run things. I don't know what would happen if anything came up suddenly...." A blue-gray uniformed arm, with

either mutinied or wiped out by the mutineers, all but those twenty Kragan Rifles we loaned Jaikark. They, and about a dozen of Jaikark's courtiers and their person

the recording for your authority and take charge. I'm declaring martial rule at Konkrook, as of now, 2253. Tell Eric Blount what's h

e force. These geek palace revolutions are always synchronized with street-rioting, and this thing seems to have been synchronized with Sid Harrington's death, too. Get our Kragans out if you can't save anybody else from the Palac

n terms to him afterward; if Jaikark's killed, we'll have Gurgurk's head off for it, and then take over Konkrook. In eit

harge of the station

bly Rakkeed. Gurgurk's started a putsch against King Jaikark; I'm going to Konkrook

ial difference between a human general and a human aircar-driver was almost infinitesimal. He'd have to talk to Ba

n had a pistol in his right hand, and with his left arm he supported a companion, whose shoulder was mangled and dripped blood. The third man had a burp-gun in his hands. All were in civilian dress-sh

ld all over the place. They've taken their barracks and supply-buildings, and the lorry-hangars an

ut the K

y of them firing into the mob; I saw some of the Tent

n said. "Captain Malavez, you know what to do about defending this station. Get busy doing it. And have that gi

new better than to let a general go out first; elbowing von Schlichten out of the way, he crouched over hi

from the direction of the native-troops barracks more natives were coming on the run. On the roof of a building across the street, two machine-guns were already firing into the mob. A group of Terrans came running out of a roadway between two buildings, from the direction of the repair-shops; several of them paused to fire behind them with pistols. They started toward Company House, saw what

score, capta

s. That mob down there's part of them." He was puffing under the double effort of runnin

y, all shrieking "Znidd suddabit!" The fugitive ran into a doorway across the street; before her pursuers were aware of their danger, the Kragans had swept over them. Ther

ll alive. He wondered, half-sick, how many, and whether they could hold out till he could clear the doorway, and, most of all, he found himself thinking of Paula Quinton. Skidding t

them the bayonet!" he ordered. "Shove the

load, at will!" somebod

nto the mutineers. There was some fire in reply; a Zirk corporal narrowly missed him with a pistol, he sa

eties!" von Schlichte

by revolting against the source from which it was derived. At that, the Skilkan peasantry who made up the Tenth Infantry and the Zirk cavalrymen tried briefly to fight as individuals, shrieking "Znidd suddabit!" until the Kragans were upon them, stabbing and shooting. They drove the rioters

ported, "and the Kragans in the hall bought us anothe

dged!" somebody discovered. "T

somebody else advised. "If we coul

of their fire, and were met by a rifle-blast and a hedge of bayonets at the steps; they surged back, and the machine-guns flailed them again. They started to rush the building from whence the automatic-f

The machine-guns up the street stuttered a few short bursts and were silent. From behind, the beleaguered Terrans and their Kragan guards were emerging. He saw

ifle while the other three checked on their own casualties, used the short, leaf-shaped swords they carried to slash off the heads of enemy wounded, and collected weapons and

o, by a mob. We took ten minutes beating them off, and five more getting here. I sent Native-Captain Zeerjeek and the rest of the force t

the smaller military airfield. Once there was a strin

ad yourself out too thin. What's the

rn Star, are both safe," Kormork replied. "I saw them

the Terran lieutenant who had taken ove

Company 4 came in with word that he was being attacked by mutineers from the Tenth N.U.N.I. but that he was holding them back. So Captain Charbonneau, who was killed a few mi

s the military airport and the po

out, and I saw the red-and-yellow danger-l

the time, safe; somebody'd turned

where the communication equipment is." He turned to the crowd that

Goode, at the city power-plant, is done for; nobody answers there, but the TV-pickup is still on in the load-dispatcher's room, and the place is full of geeks. Colonel Jarman's coming here with a lorry to get combat-car crews; he's short-hande

ask you. Good enough. Harr

ar crew front

ight. And take a look at the native-labor camp and the equipment-park, south of the reservation.... Kormork, you take all your gang, and half these sold

been one of those irrational Terran customs which no