The Fortress in Orion Read Free Page A

he pressed his right forefinger against the chip that had been embedded in his left wrist, and an instant later the entire wall of the room became a computer screen.
    â€œOrion,” he said, and the Orion constellation appeared.
    â€œPlease tell me it’s not in the Rigel or Betelgeuse systems,” he muttered.
    â€œIt’s not in the Rigel or Betelgeuse system, Nathan,” replied the computer obediently.
    â€œThanks a heap,” growled Pretorius. “And call me Colonel.
    You want to show me where the damned thing is?”
    â€œWhat damned thing would that be?” asked the computer.
    â€œThe goddamned fortress!” snapped Pretorius. “Cooper said it was programmed into you while I was in the hospital.”
    A bleak, barren, dust-covered brown world appeared.
    â€œThat’s it?” asked Pretorius, frowning.
    â€œYes.”
    â€œSo where’s the fortress?”
    â€œBeneath the ground,” said the computer. “No member of the armed forces has seen it, so I cannot image it for you.”
    â€œCan you pinpoint its location?”
    â€œI just did. It is on the fourth planet of the star known to the military as Petrus.”
    â€œCan you pinpoint it any more accurately?”
    â€œNot without further data,” replied the computer.
    â€œI assume it’s not an oxygen world?”
    â€œYou are correct.”
    â€œWonderful,” muttered Pretorius.
    â€œI am glad you are pleased.”
    â€œYou go to hell.”
    â€œI have been instructed by your superior to ignore that command,” replied the machine.
    Pretorius glared at the screen for a long moment, then got up, poured himself a glass of Alphard brandy, and began pacing restlessly around the room.
    â€œI don’t suppose anyone has told you what kind of armaments and defenses the damned planet or even the fortress has?” he said at last.
    â€œNo.”
    â€œOr how big the fortress is?”
    â€œNo.”
    He leaned back, closed his eyes, and considered his options. Finally he sat up again.
    â€œAll right,” he said. “If we don’t know what’s awaiting us there, and we’re going to have to approach it world by world, some hostile, some neutral, hardly any of them friendly, I’m going to have to put together a very eclectic team. And a small team. I approach with a ship than can hold too many, they’ll blow us apart while we’re still approaching the damned planet, before I can even start lying about why we’re there.” Suddenly he shrugged. “What the hell. If he thought he could approach it with a large military ship, he wouldn’t have tossed the damned job into my lap.”
    He drained his glass, then uttered a curse.
    â€œIs something wrong?” asked the computer.
    â€œI’m supposed to sip that stuff,” answered Pretorius. “I got caught up in the problem and drained it, and it burned all the way down.”
    The computer offered no comment.
    â€œAll right,” said Pretorius. “I’m going to rattle off a series of names, people I’ve either used before or at least seen in action. I want you to show me a holograph of each and a readout telling me how old they are, where they are now, if they’ve received any disabling wounds since I programmed their bios into you, if they’ve recovered from any such wounds—and wipe any who are deceased. Got it?”
    â€œYes, Nathan.”
    â€œThat’s ‘Yes, Colonel,’ damn it.”
    â€œYes, Colonel Damn It.”
    Pretorius glared at his wrist and wondered how soon they could give him a new wrist and hand if he cut this one off just above the embedded chip. Finally he rattled off forty names, studying each as the computer produced a holograph and a readout for each.
    When it was done, he leaned back again and shook his head. “Nine of them dead,” he said. “That’s hard to believe. These were the