Realm of the Tri-Planets Read online

  "Come out at once!" Rhodan ordered curtly. "Hurry up, get out of there! We've got to cover too far a distance. No questions, please! Marshall, pass the word to Betty that Lt. Tifflor's taskforce is to remain in hiding. Make a short report on the failure of our conference. Thora, return the vehicle to its station!"

  She nervously set the controls of the vehicle and after a buzzing signal it started to move, gained speed and disappeared in the night.

  "Failure?" Bell repeated slowly stretching the word. "How come?"

  In the meantime Khrest went back along the outer wall. The ribbons of oldly arched highways were brilliantly illuminated.

  Rhodan explained the purpose of the forthcoming visit and concluded: "Khrest will call for a bigger airplane from one of the public hangars. We've no other choice. We must reach Admiral Kenos before daybreak. He's our last hope."

  Thora quietly gazed at the star-studded sky of Arkon. Countless clusters of suns veiled the band of the Galaxy. The mass of constellation M13 seemed to be a galaxy in its own right. A few minutes later Khrest arrived with the air glider. The craft was built in the classical Arkonide style. The team of 10 climbed aboard. Khrest was at the controls. Rhodan quickly familiarized himself with the operation and switched off the automatic pilot. "O.K. Fly away! You know where to find Kenos' home."

  "It's a long way off. We'll have to circle around half the planet. Kenos lives like a hermit. His house is situated on top of a mountain. He loves to be as close to the stars as possible."

  "A very appealing trait. Please tell me more about the man."

  The glider lifted off with its engine humming and gathered speed. They got a last bird's eye view of the hilly terrain. The flood of light from the palaces of the government complex illuminated Arkon's night. Then they were swallowed up by the darkness which became deeper and more impenetrable the farther they advanced to the west. They flew away from the rising sun.

  5/ GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH KENOS

  The taskforce led by Julian Tifflor had arrived 10 minutes earlier. The landing approach had not been easy for the machine because they had to do without the normal guidance signals. It was Pucky who had homed in Tifflor with uncanny precision.

  Thora had entered alone Kenos' palace, which resembled a feudal citadel, and had been gone for almost four hours.

  On Rhodan's orders the men of the taskforce were dispersed throughout the surroundings. With alert senses and their weapons at the ready they watched the huge funnel-shaped castle which had been embedded in a steep promontory on a narrow pedestal. It was a bizarre sight fitting into the grandiose scenery.

  The mountain was wild and rugged and seemed to be uninhabited. Here no effort had been made to slough off the natural wilderness. If anything, they had endeavored to heighten the impressive stark setting. Kenos' abode was situated on an altitude of 12,000 feet. The atmosphere of Arkon I, which was about the size of Terra, was already rather thin.

  The telepaths tried to perceive Thora's mental vibrations. However they received only occasional weak impulses. She's blocking her thoughts, Marshall had angrily explained.

  After about four and a half hours came a warning. A sentry had detected a flying object in the infrared viewfinder of his impulse weapon.

  "Don't shoot!" Rhodan passed on the word from man to man. "Wait!"

  The machine touched down on a nearby rocky bluff where the access road ended. Whoever wanted to enter Kenos' palace had to go by air.

  An elderly Arkonide woman got out. Rhodan heard her asking for him in a deep alto voice. A moment later he was there saluting her. "I'm Perry Rhodan, ma'am. May we enter?"

  "My husband requests your visit. Did you already call in your men?"

  "Have you spotted my machine?" Rhodan countered her question.

  "Of course!" the matron smiled. "Please use my craft! Welcome, my old friend Khrest! Our door is always open to a member of the Zoltral family."

  Khrest quietly bowed. Marshall gave a barely perceptible nod. Everything was on the level.

  "Tiff, follow me with the Gazelle," Rhodan softly ordered. "Have all men get aboard at once! It's getting light here, too."

  The little air glider of their host ascended along the majestic mountain wall soaring vertically into the sky. As they neared the palatial cone Rhodan recognized the bristling energy cannons in the armored gun turrets. Kenos seemed to be a lone vestige of the Empire's heroic past. They flew over the round crenelated wall arching outward and gently set down in the inner courtyard. Here the customary resplendence of the noble Arkonides was in evidence except for the usual illumination which had been neglected.

  Tifflor landed the Gazelle on a cantilevered platform and his commandos popped out like weasels.

  "Lt. Tifflor, have the men fall in! Nothing will warm the heart of an old warrior more than the sight of disciplined troops. Marshall, let your specialists form a line at right angles. Tiff, make the report!"

  "Don't you require reconnaissance?" Ras Tschubai, the teleporter, apprehensively inquired.

  "No, suspicion ill befits a guest. Bell, come with me!"

  The men lined up. Orders were given in undertone. The Arkonide woman watched intently. She caught Rhodan's eye and waved. "Please come! My husband is expecting you. It won't be necessary to give lengthy explanations. Thora has already thoroughly informed us, going into great details."

  This was as Rhodan had assumed. With a great sense of relief he followed the Arkonide noblewoman. It was a good omen that the admiral had sent his lady.

  As they approached the wide portal a flood of bright lights blazed up and Rhodan saw a tall Arkonide clad in the splendid uniform of the empire's fleet. Perry had seldom beheld such an impressive face. He looked ancient and his skin was leathery. Snow white hair fell down over his forehead under which big eyes glowed in unbroken fire.

  Rhodan saluted and Thora presented him to the admiral. The lady of the house retired discreetly.

  Kenos came toward Rhodan with firm steps. The Earthman felt his heart beat faster as their eyes met. This was a man who showed no trace of decadence despite his advanced age. The old man silently studied him for almost a minute. Then he spoke in a deep resounding voice. "I wish to welcome you, Excellency. I know you're in a difficult situation and I don't want to waste our time talking. I'll see what I can do for you. Allow me to inspect your men!"

  Rhodan took a deep breath. His old vigor was suddenly restored. As a practical man he understood words like these much better than the aesthetic declarations of the Imperator. He quietly stepped aside and Kenos strode over to the shock troops. Rhodan checked the formation with a glance. It was flawless, just as expected from the members of an elite unit.

  Tifflor's commanding voice shattered the quiet. More than 100 arms moved as one, and 50 heavy impulse-beamers gleamed in the light. Then they stood like statues in front of an alien admiral whose lined face was frozen in an impenetrable mask. Tifflor's report was made in fluent Arkonide. As Kenos began to pace off the line, Rhodan barely suppressed a smile. This seemed to be a universal custom wherever there were disciplined cadres.

  Reginald coughed flippantly. His whole attitude made it all plain. Rhodan gave him a devastating look loaded with terrible threats. A foolish remark could have upset or even insulted the man they now needed most on Arkon.

  Kenos greeted with a clap of his right hand on the left side of his chest. When he turned away, Tiff shouted his commands again.

  Breathing heavily Kenos stood at the railing of the platform and stared with a vacant look into the darkness of his garden. "Twenty million men like these and the revolutions in the farthest corners of our realm would be quelled in three years," he blurted out passionately.

  "A very small matter for us, sir!" Rhodan stated calmly. "Terra alone can muster 100 million soldiers. Give me a part of your battlefleet, put a few inter-Galactic bases and equipment at my disposal and we'll prove to you that we can surpass your highest expectations."

  Kenos whirled around, his eyes
aflame. "Fine words, Earthling! And who would rule the Empire! Your people or ours?"

  "Ours, of course," Rhodan coolly admitted. It would have been senseless to deceive this experienced tactician.

  Kenos burst out in a laugh much to the surprise of Rhodan who would never have suspected an Arkonide of it.

  "Didn't I tell you so?" Thora interjected with a sidelong ironic glance at Rhodan. "They want to set the world on fire. They're really very brazen and impolite, these little barbarians!"

  "Hey, take it easy!" Bell finally spouted. "Was this an insult or did I detect a certain expression of tenderness?"

  "He's getting sensitive," Thora said in surprise and with a trace of a smile. Her gaze at Rhodan caused the Chief of the New Power the deepest embarrassment.

  "Yet they're honest," Kenos commented thoughtfully. "I've always admired such people even when they were my adversaries and I had to destroy them. Moreover, it's futile to play a hiding game. Only fools can still be impressed by the Great Empire. What's your opinion of our intelligent weakling or, as he's sometimes also called, the Imperator?"

  Rhodan couldn't stifle a soft laugh. In his way. Kenos was hearty and refreshing. "Culturally burnt out, I'd say. In any case he's incapable of ruling a mighty state. He lacks the firm hand that is required now and then as well as the right instinct for compromise which will bring success."

  Kenos remained silent for awhile till he finally said with a growl: "You're a dangerous breed, Earthling! It's really taking a great risk to offer you help. If that machine had not taken over the power, I'd have destroyed you as a peril to the Empire. But now I hope to have your support and friendship. I'd like to see the Arkonides venture into space again in my lifetime."

  "He's only 187 years old, Terratime," Thora whispered reproachfully.

  Kenos said no more. The way he twisted his lips would have been interpreted as an indulgent smile on far away Earth. Subsequently he regarded the men of the Mutant Corps with great interest and asked for proof of their special capabilities.

  Pucky put on a brilliant display of imaginative tricks which—among other feats—propelled the venerable admiral like a swift arrow through the air high above the courtyard. He remained speechless after he was gently set down on the ground again. Bell grinned kindly at him and the admiral started to walk in the direction of the portal. "Come with me!" he muttered. "I've already prepared quarters for you. Can you operate a battleship of the Imperium class? Smooth transitions?"

  "We can do that half asleep," Bell modestly claimed.

  "Oh, hypno-training, right? Tomorrow you'll go to enlist in the fleet. I'll arrange to have you signed on in Class One of our affiliated nations. The robot brain is at pains to find real live intelligent crews for the large units of the fleet. The robots can't do everything."

  An undertone of implacable hate hung in his last words. Rhodan began to understand why Admiral Kenos took a chance of fortifying the power of Terra more than he relished.

  "We're at your disposal, sir," Rhodan said with emphasis.

  "Very good. You'll have to pass yourselves off as descendants of earlier Arkon emigrants. Other intelligences won't be recognized as IQ One. Since you probably want to keep the location of your own world secret we have to choose a sector in the inner area. There are people resembling you on Zeklon. I'll pretend that I've picked you and your men from the guard of Zoltral. It is known that the old dynasty that ruled before still privately employs outstanding fighters in their service. Is this alright with you or do you consider it unreasonable?"

  Rhodan gave the old man an appreciative look before he stretched out his hand to him in the custom of the Earth. "It can only be considered an honor to be compared with Arkonides. Doesn't your remarkable past still survive despite the prevailing decline? This isn't meant as flattery."

  Kenos simply smiled.

  "Will the family of the Zoltrals agree with our plot? It's possible that the robot brain will make investigations."

  "Let me take care of that. Have your men attend a briefing at sunrise. We don't have time to lose."

  "At last there's someone on Arkon who doesn't have time," Bell murmured. "He's got my greatest respect. I wouldn't have liked to tangle with him in the heyday of the Arkonides. Would you?"

  "I'd have avoided it by all means," Rhodan admitted. "O.K., let the men fall out. They can rest for three hours. Then we'll be really in for it."

  6/ THE MOST GIGANTIC WAR MACHINE OF THE GALAXY

  "Transport 18, fall in!" the unmodulated voice crackled from the loudspeaker of the armored weapons dome on top of the mechanized recruiting station.

  Fifty-three pairs of legs in knee high boots of dark-red finely tooled leather began to march to the beat of martial music.

  The registration check was over. After the men had received their identification tags from Kenos they were transported in air gliders to the large military spaceport on the Crystal Planet. It was the only place on Arkon which was not reserved for recreation and the fine arts. Here a cold utilitarian style prevailed and thus the closest residential buildings had been moved 200 miles away.

  Kenos stood with the Arkonides of his staff behind the energy curtain. He was not permitted to enter the gigantic spaceport. Only Thora and Khrest, who had been designated as commander and chief engineer respectively by Kenos, were allowed to pass through the control gate. However, not even the robot brain expected them to join the formation of the newly enrolled men from the colonial planet Zeklon V. The two aristocratic Arkonides who ranked miles above the Zeklonides followed in a small official car.

  Including Rhodan, Bell and Tifflor there were exactly 53 living organic beings who walked across the seamless metal surface of the spaceport.

  Ivan Goratschin, the green-skinned, two-headed mutant who was able to set off the nuclear reaction of calcium and carbon compounds by sheer willpower, was the last of the file, clumsily wobbling on his heavy legs and carrying Pucky on his strong arms. The mouse-beaver couldn't keep up the fast pace with his short hindpaws.

  The animal was the only creature who was not made to don the fancy uniform of the Zoltrals' own guard. Kenos had also preferred not to sling over the sloping shoulders of the three foot-high mouse-beaver an equally long energybeamer.

  Goratschin and Pucky had been accepted by the robot brain as unique creatures with special gifts. It had been considered best to recommend Pucky for his extraordinary telepathic talents and Goratschin as a data bank since his two heads were capable of retaining the memory of considerable factual details.

  Rhodan marched up front to the left of his men. He wore pale-green, skintight pants over his red boots and a loose blouse gathered by a holster belt. The sleeves were adorned by exotic symbols. His head was protected by a helmet with built-in transceiver.

  After a few steps they began to break out in a sweat and were soaked in perspiration after a few minutes of marching under the burning Arkon sun.

  The curses grew louder as their blood boiled and their exhaustion increased on their way to transporter #18 whose hatch was already open to admit them.

  "Quiet in the ranks!" Rhodan sounded off. "Pull yourselves together for heaven's sake! Of course it's no fun to walk on glowing metal plates."

  "These boots have thin soles that act like a shortwave grid," Bell fumed under his breath. "Five more minutes and I'll be dancing!"

  Rhodan showed a fleeting grin. He knew he could depend on his men.

  Arkonide fighter robots appeared at the waiting ship. It was an auxiliary craft of the familiarGood Hope class.

  Rhodan's orders rang out over the terrain which was devoid of any other people. The column came to a halt near the hatch.

  Thora stepped out of the car with elegant poise and looked with a touch of malice at Rhodan that made him swelter even more. He gave her a furious look.

  "I'll make her fly through the air at the next opportunity," Anne Sloane, the telekin, promised.

  "Quiet!" Marshall growled. "So far so good, but the futu
re is veiled in mystery for me."

  Thora made her report and disappeared with Khrest inside the vessel.

  "Enter single file. ID tags in left hands!" a mechanical voice rasped.

  They passed the second control check, man after man. Each of the sensitized tags was examined before the barrier was raised.

  Rhodan's face became tense when it was Ivan's turn. However the automated control didn't hesitate for a second. It was entirely irrelevant what the mutant looked like. He had his tag and that was all that mattered. Rhodan followed as the last man.

  He quickly glanced at the waiting Arkonides. Admiral Kenos was the only one among them who knew about their ruse and they probably congratulated each other that they had managed to pry such excellently trained men loose from the Zoltral family on Zeklon V.

  Rhodan glided up in the antigrav elevator. A robot directed the men to the big mess hall where they had to wait. The ship started a few moments later.

  "Where's Thora?" Rhodan whispered. "Take a look!"

  The eyes of Wuriu Sengu, the seer, lost their clear expression and stared as though glazed at the massive steel walls which presented not the slightest obstacle to his special gift. Vivid pictures formed before his mental eye. "In the command center, sir! Khrest is with her. The ship is being steered by remote control."

  "Alright, listen everybody! When we're among ourselves we'll speak English. This ship is going to Arkon 3, the war planet. We've been assigned to a battleship as Class I crew. If we can pass the next controls, we won't have to wait much longer. We'll have to inform them about our hypno-training. It's the only way to explain our superior 10, which is in some respects too high anyway. The testing machine might get suspicious in some cases. You'll have to cope with such critical moments by spontaneous decisions and quick answers. As soon as we get aboard a spaceship of theStardust class our chances will be much better. Since there was no possibility of gaining access to such a vessel on Arkon 1 we had to make our way somehow to #3. It gives me great pleasure that the robot brain itself has provided transportation for us. Our shipGazelle is in safe hands with the admiral. We'll take it back at the first opportunity. Memorize all your instructions and act accordingly. Don't forget your new names which are noted on the tags. We were stationed at the Zoltral Palace as guards. Any questions?"