Sidewinders from SIRIUS
by Fox B. Holden
The treacherous aliens from Outer Space gave Earth
six months to surrender or be destroyed ... but
Vice-colonel Gaylord Kram, fearless ace of Terrestrial
Intelligence, had a daring plan: Why not surrender now?
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Planet Stories November 1950.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Gaylord Kram, Vice-colonel of Intelligence, Terrestrial Federalgovernment, sat pondering one of the worst poker hands he had everwitnessed, and he had witnessed a goodly number in his 38 years, whenhe should have been sweating blood over his tottering government's mostperplexing problem: what to do about the colonists from Sirius andtheir G-ray.
But what could even a Kram do with two deuces, the joker, a five and aneight-spot, all of different suits?
The other three Intelligence officers who were taking a littlebadly-needed recreation the "old fashioned" way weren't too surprisedwhen Kram raised a thousand credits. There was no sense in trying toanalyze Kram's poker, any more than there was any sense in trying toanalyze Kram. He usually won. Always a different technique, but heusually won anyway.
Major Ignacius Luverduk, Kram's somewhat useful assistant, knewthis and folded his lowly hand which consisted of nothing more thandogs-over.
While he was waiting for the colonel across from him to up-ship or getoff the runway, Kram fell to thinking.
Xenthl had pulled a dirty one. Forty years ago, the people of Iaaro,system of Sirius, under the too-able leadership of Xenthl, had finallymade their presence known on Earth. For three centuries, they hadexamined Earth from afar to assure themselves that it would make asuitable landing spot. For awhile, during the mid-twentieth century,they had scared the pants off some people and incurred the ridiculeof some others less imaginative with their disc-shaped space andaircraft, but that couldn't have been helped. One had to trace aculture, a civilization, for a long time before one could analyze itstrue character-traits, abilities, potentialities. Especially when one'sforces were few in number, and there were nearly two billion of theother fellow.
But the people of Iaaro had finally landed, back in 2010, satisfiedthat Earth with its faults was better than more light-years of spacewith its uncertainties and hardships. And Xenthl had been very niceabout the whole thing.
The colonel decided to up-ship. He was new. He pushed a mountain ofwhite chips forward. "I'll stay," he said, with a tremulous sort ofconfidence. The lieutenant to his right folded, and being the dealer,gave Kram the two cards he asked for. The joker, Kram had decided,ought to be kept this once for a kicker.
"I'll play these," the colonel said in what he intended to be aconvincing tone.
"Check blind to the pat," Kram heard himself saying.
"Umm. Five thousand should be enough."
Kram edged his hand open, and now it was his turn to up-ship or not.The two twos and the joker had been somewhat disgustingly joined by asix and a seven.
Yes, Xenthl had been very nice about it all, but then, in his positionwith only a few thousand followers, how else could he have been?Conquest and occupation, even with superior weapons, would at anytime have been unthinkable; force of numbers alone would have told aslong as Earthmen had cannon and aircraft. And mass-murder of Earth'speople prior to the planet's methodical examination would have left animmense, empty planet with only a few thousand of the newcomers to workit.
Xenthl had wanted not