Shadow of the Mutant Master Page 8

  "Well, I've already told you all I know about them," Killi replied in a friendly tone, thinking that Zintz's change of attitude was due to a normal change of mind. "You must admit that I can't tell you what I don't know."

  Zintz, who now was the helpless victim of Tropnow, made a nonchalant gesture. "Sure, but I want to go upstairs. Are they in, yet?"

  "Who, Zintz?"

  "The bosses," Zintz replied with a faint smile. "I'll find my way. See you later!"

  He left the desk of Killi, who stared at him in astonishment. "Since when is he one of us?" he wondered. "Funny, why did he behave so aggressively at first?"

  • • •

  Gregor Tropnow looked thoughtfully at his telepathic partner.

  Zintz, one of the 19 members of Lloyd's band, had just left the office on the 46th floor to return to Lloyd in O-oftftu-O's apartment. The door softly clicked into its lock behind him.

  "And now, Nomo?" the hypno, tried to elicit his accomplice's opinion with his question.

  "Now you must take care of Lloyd!" Yatuhin demanded.

  "Oh, you'll never learn to act with that certain aplomb," Tropnow replied disconsolately. "Didn't you hear my orders to Zintz before I dismissed him? You saw that I gave him a neat little thermo-beamer. He's going to plug Fellmer Lloyd with it. Without him his team will be worthless. But if they should give us any trouble, I have only to give a little hint to the Administration." He chortled and rubbed his hands.

  "Aren't you going to warn the Re-9?" Nomo Yatuhin asked, perplexed. "The ship must be warned in case something goes haywire and Zintz fails to eliminate Rhodan's agent. Why don't you get Lloyd under your control?" Yatuhin sputtered with obvious excitement.

  "The Re-9 will not be warned!" Tropnow growled. "Do I have to explain everything to you, Nomo? If I warn the Re-9, I'd draw the attention of Re-ganz and his officers to the coordinates and transition data which Tirr Uxlad has inserted in the memory bank of the shipboard positronic and we'd take the unnecessary risk that Re-ganz would discover the secret of the Earth's position. And speaking of Earth—you still owe me an explanation! How did Jidif know that you and I are Terranians? And who told him that Lloyd is a Terranian and no Prebonian? Who else of the greedy Springers did you take into your confidence at the risk of our lives?"

  Squirming under Tropnow's merciless stare, he scanned the thoughts of the hypno. At this moment Tropnow was ready to turn his accomplice into a servile tool that only obeyed the orders given by his irresistible suggestion.

  "Well?" Tropnow threatened, bearing down on Yatuhin.

  The Japanese answered truthfully: "I've never confided in anybody except Jidif. It happened one night when we were all drunk..." Suddenly he had a burning suspicion. "Is this the reason why Jidif was thrown out the door of the careening air taxi?"

  "The spinning of the aircraft had nothing to do with it," the hypno admitted frostily. "Jidif jumped out voluntarily." His vile grin made it plain that Jidif had fallen victim to his hypnotic powers. "And Zintz is going to rub out Lloyd with his thermo-beamer with the same calm indifference that Jidif showed when he stepped out of the taxi at an altitude of 2000 meters."

  Gregor Tropnow was a man determined to attain his goal at all costs. His energy never failed to inspire the Japanese who was easily influenced even though he was extremely rambunctious. Nomo's gullibility was one of his most serious shortcomings and it had made it very easy for Tropnow to talk him into deserting Rhodan's Mutant Corps. Subsequently they sneaked away from Gefir, one of the planets in the Great Empire 3,759 light-years away, in order to organize their conspiracy with one of the powerful Springer clans on Volat.

  Ordinarily this would have been an almost insurmountable problem but due to Tropnow's uncanny talents it became a rather simple enterprise. By promising the money-grubbing Galactic traders the precise coordinates of an opulent planet heretofore unknown to them, he whetted their appetite for the priceless treasures which could be acquired by a concentrated attack and the traitors soon seemed to have the victory in their pockets.

  However Gregor Tropnow and Nomo Yatuhin never intended to let the Springers conquer Terra. All their efforts were strictly aimed at one goal. They wanted to force Rhodan to lead them to the cell-shower that would extend their lives. Of course they had never been able to understand that the only reason they had been denied this gift of long life was their inability to control the serious defects of their character.

  Now the telepath concentrated his thoughts on the task at hand. He located Zintz and followed him on his way, checking up on the thoughts which had been suggested to him. "Now he had reached the apartment house where the Volatian lives," he informed Tropnow. "He's entering the antigrav and is going up. The Volatian opens the door and Zintz steps into the apartment. Now he sees Fellmer Lloyd..."

  At this moment a huge Springer rushed into the office of the two traitors and interrupted the concentration of the telepath.

  "Keep out!" the hypno bellowed.

  The young man resented the uncalled for order and yelled back in the same loud tone: "Some people have knocked out five of our men in the lobby!" With these words the Springer ran out again and slammed the door behind him.

  Neither of the two rebellious mutants was a great strategist. They acted strictly on the spur of the moment.

  Gregor Tropnow swore angrily and dashed out of the room, calling out to the hesitant Japanese: "Come with me! They must be Fellmer Lloyd's men!"

  • • •

  Lloyd had pulled off something that the hypno considered to be impossible: he had breached Tropnow's thoughts! He knew that he waited for Zintz's return and he also knew that Zintz was under hypnosis and was armed with a thermo-beamer to kill him.

  Zintz never made it past O-oftftu-O. The Volatian hit him on the head with his insect-fist and the Springer fell to the floor. He seemed to have amazing power in his fists. O-oftftu-O quickly removed the thermo-beamer from the pocket of the Springer sprawled out on the floor and tied him up.

  A few minutes later Lloyd, Kuri and the Volatian left the apartment. They were forced to abandon their meeting place since the two traitorous mutants had discovered it and they had to leave the unconscious Zintz behind in the apartment.

  As they descended in the antigrav, Lloyd briefed his companions on his plan. The diversionary manoeuvre started in the lobby of the Springer building by six members of his group was still in full swing. His helpers had gone into action on the exact minute with fierce ardor. Lloyd had given his men strict orders not to fire their thermo-beamers under any circumstances and to be careful not to strike lethal blows with the butt of their weapons. Lloyd still hoped to be able to crush the secret organization of the two mutants without shedding blood and he had planned his entire strategy with this in mind.

  Now he gave Kuri and O-oftftu-O his final instructions. They were to wait in front of the spaceport's administration building for his return, which would take at least one hour. He wanted to blow up the positronic of the Springer ship Re-9 in broad daylight!

  Kuri looked at him with desperate and imploring eyes but Lloyd didn't respond to her mute pleas. The Volatian followed them inconspicuously without letting on that he belonged to the man and the girl. Heretofore no Arkonide or Galactic trader had experienced any contacts between the Volatians and alien races. The distant reserve of the natives of Volat was proverbial.

  They preferred not to use the public transportation since they didn't have very far to walk to the administration building.

  "Do you have to go through with it?" Kuri begged him without hope in a final bid.

  "It's the only way, Kuri. I've already had to sacrifice six of my commandos. They won't be able to hold back the whole gang for more than 30 minutes. I'll have to have done my part by then—before the bosses have time to think. Wait here for me..." He didn't finish his sentence. He gazed fondly at Kuri. Then he cast a last cautious glance at the Volatian.

  "The Omniscient Mother is praying for you!" was the message he rec
eived from O-oftftu-O.

  Lloyd calmly sat down in one of the express-cars which scooted between the administration building and the distant berths of the spaceships and called "Re-9" into the phonomatic.

  The positronically controlled vehicle was set in motion, went around two others and steered between several alien humanoids till it reached the vast landing field and drove in the direction of the cylindrical ship of the Re-ganz clan.

  Fellmer Lloyd knew only too well his imminent action should be called 'Mission Kamikaze'.

  10/ INCREDIBLE CONFUSION

  The Re-9 was a 300-meter-long ship in excellent condition. It was stationed behind two spherical Arkon ships and between a couple of cargo vessels.

  Lloyd made his driverless taxi stop in front of the Arkon ships. However the door remained locked until he remembered to put the correct amount in the charge register. At that he was able to leave the car.

  The two Arkonide spheres stood on enormous telescopic supports. The loading ramps were extended between the legs and he could see some robots working behind the hatches.

  As he passed the spaceships the cosmic agent thought about the mammoth Brain on Arkon that was holding the empire together, instead of concentrating on his imminent task. Without robots the Arkonide Empire would have been broken up, long ago as both Galactic Traders and Aras, the medical specialists, considered it a bone of contention.

  He didn't go straight to the Re-9. A small auxiliary ship near the cargo vessel attracted his attention. He walked along the side where the cockpit was invitingly ajar I and peered furtively inside, admiring the interior with a faint smile. The little ship was a super fast craft with a powerful engine capable of 5G acceleration.

  Lloyd suddenly changed his direction, like a man who had become aware that he walked the wrong way. On his way to the loading ramp of the Re-9 in the forward third of the ship, he passed three Arkonides and two Springers who paid no attention to him.

  Between the spaceships he could see the administration building at a distance of 10 kilometers from where three vehicles raced across the field. Lloyd quickly ascertained that his helpers were inside and a check of his watch revealed that his 10 commandos moved into their positions at the precise time.

  The car in which Ulmin and two others sat stopped close behind him, pretending to take part in the normal daily activities around the spaceships.

  Lloyd transmitted his last concise instructions through Ulmin. The eyes of the Galactic trader grew wider the more Lloyd talked to him. Finally he broke in: "And all we're supposed to do is cover you with our fire? Against whom? What if you have to fight half the crew of the Re-9?"

  Lloyd silenced him with a wave of his hand. The mutant was not a man of many words and grand gestures. "You'll soon have plenty to do. Watch out for the Springers from the office building and especially for two men who look like Prebonians. They are very dangerous and you must blast them at once with your hypno-beamer. Also keep an eye on the crew of these two Arkonide ships. You don't have to worry about the crew of the Re-9 : The men are on leave in the city for the day. There are only eight Springers left behind on board."

  "By all the stars in the firmament!" Ulmin interrupted him again, "how do you know all this? Can you read thoughts or how do you do it?"

  "I know how to figure out what actions our opponents are most likely to take, Ulmin. That isn't much of an art." His answer left the Springer confounded. He didn't know what to say anymore and went back in a dubious mood.

  • • •

  Because everybody was coming and going on the spaceport of Kuklon as if they were at home, Lloyd had no trouble entering the Re-9. He casually walked up the forward loading ramp, stepped through the wide-open hatch and reached the intermediate deck of the ship.

  He had determined by a somewhat cursory probe that only eight Springers manned the ship. The fact that there were really 10 crewmembers left aboard he still had to learn by an unpleasant surprise.

  The main corridor of the cylindrical ship looked wide and empty. Aided by his telepathic faculties he embarked on a concentrated investigation of all rooms. His mental sensor was activated. It was almost automatically on the alert but so far had produced no results.

  Suddenly he picked up a thought and a brainwave pattern together. A Springer whose duties had kept him aboard the Re-9 while his friends visited the amusement centers of Kuklon uttered a curse because the time passed so slowly. He decided to go to the Control Center of the ship where he could kill time in a game of chance with two of his comrades.

  Lloyd quickened his step and pulled his hypno-beamer out of his pocket without undue haste. He wanted to get to the door of the Springer's cabin at the same time he left his room.

  He was only two steps away from the door when it opened. He fired a silent shot from his hypno-weapon and concentrated on the mind of the Springer with a firm command to continue on his way to the Control Center and to start the game with his comrades.

  The young Springer never winced nor did he find it peculiar that the stranger accompanied him to the Control Center. He had no inkling that he was under the influence of another person.

  Lloyd quickly calculated his chances of success. To his knowledge there were eight men on guard duty aboard the Re-9 and three of them were officers who were now in their cabins. As soon as, he had gained hypnotic control of the two men in the Control Room and made them follow his orders like his first hypnotic victim, he would have to face only two more Galactic Traders.

  Through his extra-sensor he locked on to the brainwave patterns of the two crewmen and observed their thoughts. They were talking about girls as they sat in front of the hypercom.

  "Go in and start a game of Circir with your shipmates!" Lloyd mentally ordered his victim. He stayed back and let the Springer walk ahead.

  He approached the open door of the Control Room within 10 steps and tiptoed behind the hypnotized Springer who entered the room. He caught a glimpse of the pilot and copilot seats just as he received an extrasensory signal.

  Not far behind him something appeared from a cabin. It didn't startle the mutant. The warped brainwave pattern indicated that it was a robot. Nevertheless Lloyd changed the weapon in his pocket. The ribbed butt of his thermo-weapon made a mistake quite impossible.

  He heard the typical sound of a walking mechman. The metallic steps came closer. The robot was catching up with him.

  "Is his program set for surveillance?" the cosmic agent asked himself. There was something weird about the robot. He knew from long experience how easy it was to change the program of an Arkonide robot.

  Now the robot passed him and turned his head. Lloyd was scrutinized by a cold shining lens.

  The automaton continued on his way but Lloyd stopped and followed it with his eyes as the robot disappeared in the Control Center. The stare of the machine's optical lens had prodded his instincts and the mutant could rely as much on them as on his parapsychological capabilities.

  Had the robot given an alarm signal?

  If so, the two Springers on duty in the Control Center were not aware of it. They had enthusiastically accepted the suggestion of their buddy to play Circir.

  Next Lloyd scrutinized the thoughts of the three officers. No danger threatened from there either. Then he turned to the Springer assigned to the radio room, who was dozing peacefully. The eighth member of the crew was below in the power station, inspecting the magneto-equalizer. He was the only one who did any work.

  Again Lloyd's control had been too superficial to detect the two additional Springers!

  He looked at his watch. There were only 10 minutes left to finish his job. Unless he was able to blow up the positronic in that period his chances for escape from the Re-9 looked dim.

  Because time was getting short the mutant decided to violate a cardinal rule of Rhodan's training for his agents by putting everything on one throw of the dice.

  The positronic of the Re-9 had to be exploded or the existence of Earth would soon be known
to the Great Empire—and Lloyd shuddered to think of the consequences.

  • • •

  The hypno Gregor Tropnow was a raw bundle of nerves. He raged in cold fury and came close to the breaking point. Nomo Yatuhin was terrified by the cruel ravings possessing the mind of his accomplice and went out of his way to avoid him.

  The huge office complex of the Springers resembled a stirred-up swarm of wasps. The Galactic traders who didn't belong to the secret organization of the two mutants were unable to understand the reason for the attack on the building since there was no valuable loot on the premises that could attract robbers. But those Springers who had been lured by the traitorous masterminds with promises of enormous treasures from an unknown world outside the Empire believed they knew the motive for the attack.

  However Gregor Tropnow and Nomo, Yatuhin could see beyond the mistaken beliefs of the hoodwinked Springers.

  It had taken them 45 minutes to pulverize Lloyd's battle team and for 45 minutes they had been prevented from adopting crucial measures which they finally had time to consider now as the fight inside the building was terminated. The excitement slowly abated and the Arkonide police were called to the scene.

  The people working in the other offices remained puzzled why the police had not been alarmed when the raid started and Gregor Tropnow was not anxious to enlighten them. He wanted to avoid at all costs that the dangerous Arkonide police might get wind of his clandestine organization and consequently had given his brutal hypnotic orders to murder Lloyd's commandos to the last man.

  Neither Tropnow nor Yatuhin had physically intervened in the fighting but the hypno was a murderer nonetheless because he had abused his powers and ruthlessly driven the Galactic Traders to kill their opponents. His men were unable to understand why they had fired their thermo-weapons although the intruders had refrained from using them and they awaited the arrival of the police with great apprehension.