Read Online First Command by A. Bertram Chandler - Free Book Online

its hilt gold-encrusted, in a gold-trimmed sheath at his left side. More for show than use, was Brasidus’ conclusion.
    John Grimes grinned at his two visitors. “I hate this rig,” he confided, “but I suppose I have to show the flag. Doctor Lazenby is lucky. Nobody has ever gotten around to designing full dress for women officers.”
    There was a tap at the door and Margaret Lazenby entered. He was dressed as he had been the previous day, although the clothing itself, with its bright braid and buttons, was obviously an outfit that was worn only occasionally. He said pleasantly, “Good morning, Captain Diomedes. Good morning, Sergeant. Are you coming with us, Captain?”
    “Unfortunately, no. I have urgent business here at the spaceport. But Brasidus will be your personal escort. Also, I have detailed two chariots to convoy you into the city.”
    “Chariots? Oh, you mean those light tanks that we’ve been watching from the control room.”
    “Tanks?” repeated Diomedes curiously. “A tank is something you keep fluids in.”
    “There are tanks and tanks. Where we come from, a tank can be an armored vehicle with caterpillar tracks.”
    “And what does ‘caterpillar’ mean?”
    Grimes said. “Over the generations new words come into the language and old words drop out. Obviously there are no caterpillars on Sparta, and so the term is meaningless. However, Captain Diomedes, you are welcome to make use of our microfilm library; I would suggest the Encyclopedia Galactica.”
    “Thank you, Lieutenant Commander.” Diomedes looked at his watch. “But may I suggest that you and Doctor Lazenby proceed now to your audience?”
    “And will the rest of my crew be allowed ashore?”
    “That depends largely upon the impression that you make upon the King and his Council.”
    “Where’s my fore-and-aft hat?” muttered Grimes. He got up, went through one of the curtained doorways. He emerged wearing an odd, gold-braided, black cloth helmet. He said, “Lead on, MacDuff.”
    “It should be ‘Lay on, MacDuff,’ “ Margaret Lazenby told him.
    “I know, I know.”
    “And who is MacDuff?” asked Diomedes.
    “He’s dead. He was the Thane of Cawdor.”
    “And where is Cawdor?”
    Grimes sighed.

    Brasidus, although he could not say why he did so, enjoyed the ride to the city. He, Grimes and Margaret Lazenby were in the back seat of the car, with the Arcadian (it was as good a label as any) sitting between the two humans. He was stirred by the close proximity of this strange being, almost uncomfortably so. When Margaret Lazenby leaned across him to look at a medusa tree swarming with harpies, he realized that those peculiar fleshy mounds, which even the severe uniform could not hide, were deliciously soft. So much for the built-in weapon theory. “What fantastic birds!” exclaimed the Arcadian.
    “They are harpies,” said Brasidus.
    “Those round bodies do look like human heads, don’t they? They could be straight out of Greek mythology.”
    “So you have already made a study of our legends?” asked Brasidus, interested.
    “Of course.” Margaret Lazenby smiled. (His lips against the white teeth were very red. Could it be natural?) “But they aren’t just your legends. They belong to all Mankind.”
    “I suppose they do. Admiral Latterus must have carried well-stocked libraries aboard his ships.”
    “Admiral Latterus?” asked Margaret Lazenby curiously.
    “The founder of Latterhaven. I am surprised that you have not heard of him. He was sent from Sparta to establish the colony, but he made himself King of the new world and never returned.”
    “What a beautiful history,” murmured the Arcadian. “Carefully tailored to fit the facts. Tell me, Brasidus, did you ever hear of the Third Expansion, or of Captain John Latter, master of the early timejammer Utah? Come to that, did you ever hear of the First Expansion?”
    “You talk in riddles, Margaret Lazenby.”
    “And you and your world are riddles