In the Hall of the Martian King by John Barnes Read Free Book Online Page A

lifted his left hand and spoke to his purse. “Identify every officer and techny who has any power to prevent
John Carter
from making a flight down to Red Amber Magenta Green’s landing field. Assuming they have one. Nearest landing field if they
     don’t—”
    “They have one—all weather, long enough runway. Check for all inspection certificates to make sure they can’t block it with
     missing paperwork?”
    “Do it.” Jak pushed the reward spot hard, and the cheeble was joyous. “All right, line those heets up by rank, and start blinking
     them onto the screen, lowest first. As soon as I’m done talking to one, move me to the next. Try to structure it so that anyone
     who calls his boss about it will find his boss is busy talking to me.”
    A very junior mechanic’s face appeared on the screen, hand on his chest in the salute position. “Sir!”
    “I need immediate confirmation that to the best of your knowledge warshuttle
John Carter
is ready to be commandeered for an emergency mission to the surface.” The
Carter
was the flagship of the Deimos fleet, suitable for calling on a king.
    The techny nodded vehemently. “Sir, it is completely ready to go; get your party aboard and you can launch in ten minutes.”
    “Thank you, techny. Very unofficially, it’s highly likely you’ll need to make good on that.”
    “Thank
you,
sir.”
    Jak gave the civilian administrator’s salute, and his purse blinked off the techny and blinked up a junior officer on the
     screen. Jak had essentially the same one-minute conversation over and over as he worked his way up the organizational chart
     in a blinding fury of bureaucratic ticket-punching.
    With his purse helping, Jak commed thirty-one technies and officers in less than twenty-five minutes, all on ultra high priority.
     Because the priority was so high, no one hesitated an instant before answering.
    Being a true wasp, and thus among the most modest humans in the solar system, Jak was both pleased and appalled by what he
     encountered—he thought the first lieutenant who had to step out of her shower was really cute, but it would have been all
     right with Jak if the senior techny, a simi covered with full body hair, had waited a moment to get off the toilet.
    The only conversation that was different was the last one, when he finally spoke to the base commander.
    “Acting Procurator Jinnaka, what can I do for you?”
    “I am commandeering warshuttle
John Carter
for a descent to the Red Amber Magenta Green landing field, party of two—myself and an assistant—for arrival at fourteen
     hundred ground solar time. Please have it ready for boarding two hours and forty minutes from now.”
    “Sir, we can’t guarantee its availability, and I don’t know if we have any other warshuttle—”
    “I’ve already verified with all of the involved personnel that it is ready for immediate departure.” Jak spoke to his purse.
     “Transmit the relevant records to the base commander’s purse, please.”
    The base commander glanced down at his own purse, his lips pressed tight together. “Very well,” he said, “it will be ready.
     In the future, you need not disturb so many of our personnel here—we are busy and we do have things to do— you can call me—”
    “I am aware that I can,” Jak said, pleasantly, “and also that I can call anyone I like. Or even people I don’t like, if I
     may be permitted a small joke. The mission is urgent, sir, and I want to commend all of your personnel for their immediate
     willingness to help and for the pride and confidence with which they were able to tell me that what I needed would be available.
     Splendidly well done, sir.”
    “You are too kind.”
    “You may tell the skipper of
John Carter
that my assistant and I may be somewhat early, but I won’t request that his departure time be stepped up. Thank you again,
     sir.”
    Jak clicked off and let himself smile broadly. He spoke into his purse. “Draft a short favorable