Mutiny by Mike Resnick Read Free Book Online Page B

than underpopulated."
    "That makes sense," said Forrice. "You can't grow anything in the mountains."
    "We're over them right now," said Christine. "We're not picking up anything—no rare metals, no fissionable materials, nothing. Just as well. It's a young range with a lot of volcanoes; quite a few of them are due to blow their tops any day now. I'd hate to be a miner stationed there."
    They continued for another half hour. Then Forrice spoke up. "We haven't seen a thing. You want me to stay on this course?"
    Cole didn't answer.
    "Hey, Hero," said the Molarian. "Are you awake?"
    "I'm awake."
    "You want me to change course?"
    No answer.
    "Are you all right?" asked Forrice.
    "Be quiet for a minute. I'm thinking."
    Forrice immediately fell silent and concentrated on his navigation, while Christine continued studying her computer, looking for something— anything —that could have drawn the Bortellites to Rapunzel.
    Cole sat perfectly still, his chin on his fist, staring at some fixed point only he could see. He remained motionless for almost two minutes, then suddenly looked up.
    "Lieutenant, I need some information," he said.
    "I haven't found anything useful yet, sir."
    "Not about Rapunzel—about Bortel II."
    "Sir?"
    "Find out what kind of power they're using. Not just the military, but the whole damned planet."
    She queried the computer, gave it a few seconds to come up with the data, and turned to Cole. "Bortel II has no fissionable materials at all, sir."
    "I didn't think so."
    "But their ship has to be using fissionable fuel, sir," she continued. "It's certainly not running on wood or coal."
    "I know," said Cole. "What about their planetary fuel reserves— gas, coal, oil, whatever?"
    Christine looked at the computer. "About ninety percent depleted, sir."
    "And let me guess that their planetary economy is in a depression, and that it's probably been pretty bad for at least a couple of years, maybe longer."
    She checked, then looked up at him with a puzzled expression. "Yes, sir. They're in the fourth year of a major economic depression."
    "Four Eyes, bank a hundred and eighty degrees and take us back the way we came," said Cole.
    "You've figured it out!" said Christine. "You know why they're here and where they are, don't you?"
    Cole nodded an affirmative. "Yeah, I think so."
    "Well?" demanded the Molarian.
    "It was a number of things," he replied. "Individually, they didn't mean anything. Put them together and they give a pretty clear picture."
    " Whatever they are, we all saw the same things and only you seem to make sense of them," said Forrice. "Why is that?"
    Cole allowed himself the luxury of a smile. "Do you want a frank answer or a friendly one?"
    "Just tell us what you've figured out."
    "The first hint was that Lieutenant Mboya couldn't find a damned thing worth coming to Rapunzel for no treasure, no fissionable material, no one worth holding for ransom, no gold or diamonds buried beneath the surface. Then there was the fact that Bortel II has stayed neutral for years and then suddenly joined the Teroni Federation. And of course there was the mountain range."
    "And from that you think you've figured out what's going on?" said Forrice. "How did you make all those guesses about conditions on Bortel II?"
    "They weren't guesses," answered Cole. "There's only one thing this planet has in abundance, if you know how to utilize it, and that's energy."
    "Energy?" scoffed Forrice. "Lieutenant Mboya already told you there's no plutonium, no uranium, no—"
    "You weren't listening," interrupted Cole. "We passed over a thousand-mile stretch of active volcanic mountains. With the right technology, you could power a planet for centuries with the energy that's trying to burst out of that range. That's why I asked about the power reserves on Bortel; if they were as low as I thought, then I knew why the Bortellites were here. And since they're clearly not here on a mission of conquest, they probably brought everything they need