The Stolen Spacefleet Read online

  He turned on the deflector and saw by Wiener's confused expression that he had become invisible. He was taken by a new compulsion to experiment. Cautiously he took a few steps past his assistant to see what would happen. Wiener's gaze was still fixed on the spot where he had first disappeared.

  "I'm over here, Alex! All right-don't jump out of your skin! As you can see, this thing works like a charm. Now the Akons won't be able to discover me. I'm going to give it a trial run."

  Wiener groped toward him with outstretched arms. "Wait-take a weapon with you!" he pleaded.

  "What for? Even if they detect me I have to avoid any use of force. It would only make a diplomatic mess and that Rhodan can do without! Besides-I won't let myself get caught. OK-see you later!"

  He went out of the house with a sense of unusual lightness and walked toward the nearby border of the base. With a few adjustments he regulated the antigrav so that he only weighed about 10 pounds. Now it would be no problem for him to make jumps of 50 meters or more. This way he could get past any barrier.

  A practical challenge was not far away.

  At intervals of 50 meters the Akons had set up some 10-foot poles around the perimeter of the commercial spaceport and they were connected by a single strand of wire. The wire stretched between the poles at a height of about 8 feet. When Jakobowski arrived near this seemingly harmless demarcation line he came to a stop disconcertedly. Some 500 meters to his left stood an Akon but he didn't given the impression of being an exceptionally alert sentinel. Yet he would have to be because this wire 'fence' did not look as though it could hinder anyone from leaving the non-restricted area of the base.

  Jakobowski reminded himself that the Akons were intelligent-in fact very intelligent. He didn't budge from the spot. They would never make the mistake of underestimating the Terrans. So he soon recognized the wire for what it was-a trap. He remained where he was and considered the situation. Why was the wire stretched at a height that was just right for comfortably passing beneath it rather than jumping over it? The real danger-and therefore the barrier-lay beneath the wire and not above it.

  It was pure chance at this moment that Jakobowski looked up at the sky and was again curious about its intense blue color. As he lowered his gaze to where the taut wire made a line across the heavens he noticed that beneath the wire the blue was different-paler, as though partly obscured. Something was there I like an almost invisible veil.

  A veil between the wire and the ground.

  Now he understood. The wire emitted some kind of radiation but only toward the ground. It was generating a radiation field that hung around the spaceport area like an invisible curtain. Undoubtedly it was a more effective barrier than a solid wall. The treacherousness of this prohibitive measure angered Jakobowski. If he had been less suspicious and had simply continued on his way, his next step might have cost him his life. Perhaps the bolt of energy was only enough to stun a person but it could just as well be deadly.

  Before he decided to jump over the barrier he wanted to convince himself of the effectiveness of the radiation curtain. He was looking about him for a suitable stone when chance came to his aid again. A fat Berol-beetle as big as a sparrow came flying straight across the landing field, close above the pavement, and headed straight for the barrier. It flew slowly as was the nature of these insects native to Akon, changed its course several times and then flew under the wire within 10 meters of where Jakobowski was standing.

  The expected discharge of energy did not occur. Jakobowski had at least expected a flash of light. But something of a much more uncanny nature occurred. The beetle simply disappeared. Then Jakobowski realized that the curtain of force was not a mere energy trap but instead a simplified kind of matter transmitter. Any object coming within its range would dematerialize and be converted back again in some other location. It could happen close by or maybe hundreds of kilometers distant,

  The Akon sentinel had not moved. He appeared to be too far away to have noticed what happened. Or perhaps the beetle had been too small to touch off any possible alarm system. While Jakobowski was thinking this over, a second beetle came flying his way. He followed its erratic course with new interest until it also struck the barrier screen and disappeared, this time to his right. He also clearly noticed that the insect was slightly injured in one of its wings, which explained its wandering course.

  He had just decided to venture a jump over the wire when a third beetle came thrumming from behind him. Jakobowski could hardly believe his eyes. What he saw couldn't be possible! It was the same beetle as before! One of its wings was cut short and thus its flight was uncertain and erratic. With a blind stubbornness that was typical of these insects it veered toward the obstacle once more and again disappeared from view.

  Now an instinct made Jakobowski turn swiftly to look in the direction that the beetles-or the beetle-had been coming from. He was in luck. Not 50 meters behind him a dark point emerged out of nothingness-hardly three meters above the pavement. It was the beetle! It fell three feet before it started to fly again. This time, purely by chance, it happened to fly over the wire instead of under it. Although it cleared it by only 20 cm or so, nothing happened to it. It was a final proof for Jakobowski that the energy transmission was only active below the wire.

  So evidently the Akons had dispensed with using a death-dealing barrier screen. Any Terran trying to walk under the wire would simply be transferred back about 50 meters. Nothing more. Harmless but extremely effective.

  He made a hefty jump into the air, rising with relative slowness to a height of 20 meters or so, after which he settled to the ground beyond the wire. While going over the barrier he had felt nothing. He merely landed softly on the sparse grass within the forbidden zone. Ignoring the unsuspecting Akon, he adjusted his antigrav to zero. Aided by a small propulsion unit he had enough thrust to fly along invisibly over the surface of the ground.

  He flew for about a half-hour along the wide highway where any and all traffic between the Terra base and the Akons was forced to travel. When ships were in port this route was used for transporting both outgoing trade goods and materials incoming from Terra. At present the highway was empty and deserted.

  On the horizon to his right the city began to loom up but it was less interesting to Jakobowski than the view to the left, where the great spaceport of Akon 5 became visible. The most remarkable thing about the spaceport was that it had only been put into operation a few months ago. In a certain sense the Akons had advanced to where space travel was outmoded. Their material transmitters provided a much better and faster means of getting from planet to planet. But then the Terrans and Arkonides had come and given them forceful proof of the fact that the attainment of the perfect future didn't always mean leaving the less perfect past behind. After their system-wide defense screen had been destroyed, the Akons found themselves in need of a well-armed spacefleet in order to hold their own against the space-faring races of the galaxy. For this reason they had refurbished and reactivated their old spaceport.

  And on this spaceport stood the 1,000 ships.

  When Jakobowski saw them outlined against the bright horizon he suddenly began to realize how dangerous they could become if the Akons again learned how to make proper use of them. Now he could understand why Rhodan had asked him the questions that he was supposed to answer.

  He reduced his speed but flew a little higher. There was only a minimal danger of being detected by tracking beams because the Akons would be relying upon their transmitter barrier screen. Moreover it was not even certain whether or not they were familiar with the Arkonide type of combat suit or that they might think in terms of an invisible infiltration at all.

  The fleet couldn't be missed because of its size. Just the 20 battleships of the Imperium class occupied more space than that of a normal metropolis. These gigantic spacespheres comprised as much mass as the rest of the fleet. Jakobowski recognized light and heavy cruisers and battle cruisers. Apparently the Akons had been furnishe
d only with the spherical ships because there were no Gazelles or destroyers to be seen.

  Jakobowski flew twice over the entire complex before he decided to land on top of one of the light cruisers. It was located in a fairly centralized position and its 100-meter huff wasn't too high off the ground. Even as he approached he was aware of the feverish industry surrounding the ships. Whole armies of technicians were busy unloading waiting freight trains and bringing packing crates of material into the cargo locks. Grav-cranes were handling an incessant stream of installation equipment and machinery and delivering it all into the ships, where other work crews took over.

  The first of Rhodan's questions was answered. The ships were still there where they had originally been stationed and they were being newly outfitted and readapted because previously they had not offered the necessary comforts for human crews. Security here wasn't very strong because the Akons didn't expect anybody to get through the barrier screen around the Terran commercial base.

  Also, Jakobowski decided that the second question could be answered with an emphatic "yes." The Akons had in fact altered their attitude considerably toward the Terrans. After the defeat they had suffered they had again become self-assured and overbearing. They had made demands and had gone so far as to place special emphasis upon them.

  Also the third question was answered. The Akons had worked out a new method of preventing Terrans from leaving their territory. And Jakobowski had even been able to discover the nature of the barrier.

  For the time being the fourth question was still open whereas the fifth one could also be answered "yes." Naturally it would be possible to provide quarters for 10 people in the main house without making any structural changes or additions.

  So now the fourth question! What had come to his attention that was unusual, other than these items? In order to find that out he would probably still need the remaining two days. Of course he couldn't imagine what Rhodan had in mind specifically but he resolved to note and report every extraordinary instance of Akon behavior.

  Jakobowski decided that he would have a closer look at the work being done inside the ships. He looked about him cautiously. Farther down on the curved surface of the small spacesphere a cargo lock was standing open. At the moment no Akons could be seen nearby. Here it should be relatively safe to enter the ship and if he wanted to determine what was being altered inside he didn't have any other choice.

  He worked his way carefully down toward the lock. Even though a fall from this height would not be dangerous for him he wanted to avoid any possibility of it. Also he had to hope that no chance-tracking beam would happen to be aimed in his direction.

  He came into an empty corridor where pure functionalism took the place of anything intended for humans. The cabins to his right and left were also bare of any furnishings. Since all ships were fabricated on assembly lines, the designers had made no distinction between normal and robot-controlled units. This made it easier to convert from the one mode of operation to the other as far as final installations were concerned.

  Jakobowski stopped and waited as he heard footsteps approaching. Two Akons came around a turn in the passage ahead of him. They were carrying an oblong crate between them which was apparently much lighter inside the ship than it was outside, because the vessel's antigrav field was operating. They missed Jakobowski by only a few inches as they passed. He had stood there, rigidly tense and not daring to breathe but finally sighed with relief when they failed to notice his presence. They shoved the crate into one of the cabins and began to unpack it. Apparently it contained plastic parts for a bed.

  Therefore the ships were definitely being converted to accommodate Akon crews.

  Jakobowski took courage and pressed forward. In the control room he was able to determine that the purely robotic consoles and switching sections were still on hand. They had been covered with plastic protectors but otherwise they had been left unchanged. This meant that the ships could still be switched over to robot control.

  Jakobowski had no technician so he had to be satisfied with at least this much that he was able to observe. Apparently it would also be enough for Rhodan, otherwise he would have asked for more detailed information or sent along a technician.

  Three Akons were in the process of inspecting the controls. They were talking over the intercom to a colleague in the machine and power section of the ship. Jakobowski could understand them well enough even though the Akon version of Arkonide was more inflected and not as succinct or concise as the modem tongue. The basic elements of both languages came from the same source so that there was much similarity. He could gather from the conversation that all robot-circuits had been deactivated. The key microelements had been taken out and stored in an arsenal where they would be available at any time in case they were needed.

  By now Jakobowski felt that he had learned enough for today. His self-confidence increased when he found that he could walk right through a group of technicians without being noticed. Of course he had to avoid any direct contact because he was by no means a disembodied wraith. Although they might not be able to see him they would certainly be able to feel him.

  Nothing went wrong until he returned to the area of the Terran base. He landed on the soft grass within 20 meters of the Akon guard. The man was of medium height, wearing a uniform and carrying a light hand beamer. In that moment it seemed that he was looking right at him but Jakobowski told himself that was a foolish notion. The Akon couldn't possibly see him. It was merely a coincidence that he happened to be looking in his direction.

  But Jakobowski felt very uneasy when he saw that the sentinel held his gaze fixed upon him and even began to raise his weapon. His trigger finger began to tighten. There was a menacing glare in the man's pale eyes as the muzzle of the weapon took aim. It seemed in that moment that the alien was staring directly into his own two eyes. Was it possible that something had gone wrong with his suit? Could it be that he was becoming visible? He looked down at himself but could not notice anything abnormal in the functioning of his equipment. With an almost instinctive movement he switched on his defense screen, nor was it a moment too soon.

  "I know where you are even though you've made yourself invisible," said the Akon. His voice sounded a bit uncertain but there was nothing uncertain about the whitening of his knuckles as he tensely aimed the weapon. "Remain where you are. If I see one blade of grass move, I'll fire!"

  So that was it! Jakobowski realized that he had grossly underestimated the Akon. He must have glanced in his direction purely by chance and noticed his footprints in the grass. Moreover, he could now determine Jakobowski's exact location because if he took another step it would cause more grass blades to bend under his foot. Even though he was protected from any harm at the moment, nevertheless his secret had been discovered. Any further investigations would now be next to impossible if he didn't want to run the certain risk of being caught.

  He cursed his rash indiscretion. In spite of the answers he had come up with, Rhodan was going to be very unhappy with him.

  With another quick hand movement he turned on his flight unit and rose swiftly upward. The blades of grass straightened up slowly, at least much too slowly for the Akon. Jakobowski was already 20 meters in the air before the guard fired. His energy beam cut through emptiness and was immediately dissipated. But now the Akons would also know that the enemy could fly, as well, and it would soon occur to them that an Arkonide spacesuit must be involved. Provided, of course, that this mother race of the Arkonides knew of such suits.

  Jakobowski flew over the barrier wire and landed in front of his house. He waited until he was inside before he shut all units down and dared to become visible again. Wiener emerged from the radio room.

  "Back so soon, Chief? Two ships just sent us their approach signals. They'll be getting here today about sundown. I've already notified the Akon Space Administration, according to the rulebook, and they issued the landing permits."

  Meanwhile, Jakobowski had gotten o
ut of his suit, carefully folded it and stowed it back into its packing case. He still felt the after-effects of his near discovery in every limb. It had been a harrowing experience.

  "Two ships? What's their cargo?"

  "Same as usual. Technical equipment and agricultural machinery. The Akons have announced they have some return cargo. If I may be permitted to make an observation-it almost seems to me that this whole exchange of trade goods is merely a gesture. It's like putting up a false front to keep this base here at all."

  Jakobowski nodded. "You could very well be right, Wiener. And maybe we'll soon find out. I have a feeling about it-a premonition, you might say."

  But he did not realize how soon this premonition would be confirmed.

  2/ DELILAH AND THE DIPLOMAT

  The Odin was a battlecruiser with a 500-meter diameter hull. Since it was a transition-type vessel it could not fly faster than the speed of light on a straight line of sight but had to traverse vast distances by the usual means of the hyperjump. Major Scott, the commander, almost had heart failure when he was notified that the Administrator wanted to make a personal inspection of his ship. Then everything happened at once.

  Five mutants and several officers of Solar Intelligence had come on board together with Rhodan. Several boxes of equipment followed. It was only while flying out of the Sol System that Rhodan revealed to Maj. Scott what his mission was. After the transition coordinates had been calculated the Odin began its long journey through fifth-dimensional hyperspace. In 24 hours they would arrive in the Blue System.

  Before the sleep period, Rhodan held a last briefing in his cabin. Even Pucky was present. He sat in a large chair and sharpened his ears although with his telepathic faculties that really wasn't necessary. Next to him sat John Marshall, the leader of the Mutant Corps. In addition to Wuriu Sengu the tele-spy there were also the two teleporters Ras Tschubai and Tako Kakuta. Also present were Lt. Groder from Intelligence and Lt. Jenner, the specialist in positronics and cybernetics.