Into the Sea of Stars Read Free Page B

shrugged his shoulders.
    "Well, my good man, I know about this little B. In fact, half the females on this campus know about that little B. And with a single phone call I can arrange for our good friend the Governor to know about that little B! And then we'll all get to see 'Only a B' Lacklin get his butt end hauled off by some of LaFay's gorillas, who would love to smash you to a pulp for violating the innocence of our good Governor's virginal daughter."
    "Virginal! She attacked me, your Excellency, I didn't stand a chance."
    "Ah, so you admit it, then. Frankly, Ian, I find that impossible to accept. In the eyes of our good God-fearing Governor, his Little Precious is purer than arctic snow. It would break my heart to have to tell him that she had been brutally violated by one of my staff, who, of course, has just been fired."
    The Chancellor started to smile again. "But never fear, good friend. Of course I could never do that to the hero of Kutzburg Provincial. Of course not. I think this little matter can be forgotten for someone with your stature. Now, my friend, I do believe we understand each other."
    Ian nodded dumbly. There was a seventy-five percent chance of a quick death in space. But he knew there would be a hundred percent chance of a couple of broken arms, and God knows what else, if he stayed.
    "Fine, then, just fine, and let me be the first to offer you my congratulations. I'll send the necessary paper work down this afternoon and the school physician will be by within the hour to start processing your twenty- three-forty-four. If I might be so bold, I'll help you out with assigning your medical person and sociologist, and you can have the liberty of appointing your administrative assistant. Have a pleasant day, Dr. Lacklin . And I'll ex pect you in my office at nine sharp Monday morning."
    The Chancellor closed the door behind him and started off for the Academic Records Office. There was a little question of a grade change up to an A that had to be looked into. After all, he had promised her he would take care of it. And just to make sure there wasn't an embarrassing change of heart, he would push Ian off-planet within the week, along with the other embarrassing clowns on his staff. He could already picture his new office in the National Bureau. He smiled in anticipation.
     
    Ian tried to control the wild panic and for a moment he contemplated suicide. But that required a little more courage than he could muster, and he pushed the thought aside; the reams of work facing him that weekend would require some help. He'd better give Shelley a call.
    Shelley! He leaped out of his chair and pulled open the door. And there she was. As if waiting for him.
    "Dr. Lacklin , ah, yeah. Ah, I thought I, ah, left my books here..."
    Once a week Shelley took him a pile of paperwork. It got so that he never even bothered to ask what the in dividual items where, and he merely signed each docu ment or memo and affixed his personal seal to it. The damn woman had written the grant and sneaked it in with the other paperwork, since only a fully accredited instruc tor could make grant applications to the Ministry.
    "Get in here!" Ian shouted, suddenly finding a way at last to vent his frustration.
    "Ah, well, you see, Doctor. I, ah, got this book I want to read. Couldn't I, ah—"
    "If you value your life, you better get your butt in here right now!"

Chapter 2
    B razil's tropical heat was finally locked out by the silent closing of the liftcar's door. Ian gratefully sank into the first available seat and Shelley eased in alongside. Mopping his face with a soaked handkerchief, Ian breathed a sigh of relief as the frigid air washed over him. The air- conditioning in the Brasilia Skyhook Station was again down for "routine inspection," meaning that the incom petent ground staff would take two weeks to find out what was wrong. The result had been an agonizing eight hours of 100-degree heat while waiting for the next liftcar . Now that