Savior Of The Empire Read online

  An hour later the central spaceport was swarming with Terran landing troops. After another emergency call we were picked up by Bell.

  The most daring operation in recent history had been completed. Terra's fleet was circling within the Arkon System. All resistance was crushed. Arkonide officials were removed from their offices. Akons and Antis were captured. It had all been a fantastic conquest. If the Regent had still been in existence, unquestionably the whole thing would have developed into a war of extinction.

  20,000 paralyzed robotships were manned by Terran space troops. Large contingents of the fleet were already hurtling into space in order to also appropriate the units which had been posted there by the Regent.

  We stood before the gutted wreck of the false Sotala. In the decisive action, 82 Terrans had lost their lives.

  And the four Akon scientists were dead.

  And...

  And-!

  My eyes avoided Perry, nor could I trust myself to speak to him. What, under the saddest of circumstances, was there to say? I knew he must be undergoing a terrible emotional trauma. For though no one could ever replace Thora in his affections, could ever fill the vacuum created by her untimely death; and though Auris of Las Toot had not yet joined his side officially; still a strong male-female bond had developed between the Peacelord and the Lady of Las Toor. A chemical attraction heightened by spiritual affinity that, given a different timetrack into a more compassionate parallel world, could have eventuated in-who knows what? Very likely a second marriage for Perry. Perhaps a more satisfactory son. A delightful daughter with her mother's emerald eyes.

  But the emerald emanations had faded from those flashing eyes, now.

  Laughter would no longer spring from the smooth soft throat.

  The magnetic thrill of her accidental electric touch had died.

  Auris was dead, her spirit fled from the holocaust of the conflagration loosed in the last moments of the disintegrating cruiser.

  Well... Perry would have to find his inner peace in his own time and in his own way. In the meantime, I was deeply relieved when I heard one piece of good news: the time-converter had been destroyed by the fatal hit. At least the uncanny machine would never be employed again.

  The commander of forces landing on Arkon 1 advised over intercom that the mad Imperator Carba had fallen in the battle with the robot guards of the Crystal Palace. I hardly paid any attention to this news. The heatwaves emerging from the Sotala, singed my hair. We waited a long time until the chief of the rescue troops came and regretfully shrugged his shoulders. There was no trace to be found of Auris and the Akons.

  I went with Perry to the Ironduke. We were only accompanied by John Marshall. I had briefly given him the basic import of Epetran's message to us but he had only nodded in silence.

  Jefe Claudrin was waiting for us at the ground lock. Reginald Bell had already taken off with a fleet unit, intent upon taking over the patrol cruisers of the Arkonide Home Fleet. From now on Terra would be strong-stronger than ever before.

  For the time being I refrained from asking what position I was to hold in the future. Probably I would have to take over the teetering Empire. I didn't want to think of the impending revolts on the colonial planets. Time alone would tell whether or not Terra and Arkon could be welded together into a single entity.

  Rhodan withdrew to his cabin. Marshall and I remained standing under the mammoth hull of the Ironduke. Major Heintz came and joined us. I made no reproaches for his attack on the fleeing Akons.

  "I'm sorry, sir," he said. "is there anything you want to know?"

  "Yes. When did you get the order to move your location?"

  "About 40 minutes after you'd gone on the mission. We were flanked by two battleships. An antigrav tender towed us to the other end of the field. It would have been senseless to shut off the time-phaser. We didn't know if you had planted the bomb yet or not."

  "Thanks. That's all I wanted to know. You'd better get yourself to a doctor."

  He saluted and went away. I looked once more at the vast spaceport. More than 500,000 Terrans had come in the transports. Now they were taking over the ships of the Imperium. Who would have imagined this in the late 20th century when a man named Perry Rhodan flew to Earth's moon in a primitive rocket?

  I also went to my cabin. It was time to surrender to my need for sleep. As I closed my eyes I thought of the great councilor Epetran. He had saved the Imperium-not I...

  SAVIOR OF THE EMPIRE

  Copyright © 1977

  Ace Books

  by arrangement with Arthur Moewig Verlag

  All Rights Reserved.