Under the Stars of Druufon Page 8

  “You are the Terran who commands the three alien ships?” came the first question out of the translators' loudspeakers. “You would like to ask us for help against your enemy?”

  Rhodan had to laugh inwardly at the blatantly slanted way in which the question had been formulated and he would have liked most to have responded with a few unflattering remarks about the Druufs. But now he had to keep his self-control. The Druufs were still more powerful overall than the Terrans. Perhaps even more powerful than the Arkonide fleets.

  “Together we may be able to defeat the enemy,” Rhodan answered.

  “What weapons do you have?”

  Another Druuf must have asked that, although no acoustic difference was apparent in the translator's mechanical voice.

  “I can ask you the same question,” said Rhodan.

  Silence reigned for some seconds. Rhodan tried in vain to call the unknown helper during the pause. He did not reply.

  “You are in our power, Terran.”

  They could not get much more primitive than that. Rhodan had honestly expected more intelligent methods. Why did the Druufs drop all pretenses so quickly?

  Didn't they have any time?

  Rhodan suddenly began to suspect there could he no other explanation for the

  Druufs' undiplomatic conduct of the meeting. They were in trouble. Every second counted.

  Something had happened!

  But what?

  “You're wrong, Druuf! I am not in your power. You've asked me about our weapons—well, I'll show you one right now. Do you know how one can render matter invisible?”

  “He's trying to divert us!” broke in one of the Druufs. “Let's take him prisoner and force his people to turn their ships over to us. Then we'll find out about their weapons. Maybe they even have the gate to the other time plane with them.”

  Rhodan knew at once what they wanted to have: the mirror field generator with which the time window could be produced. They had guessed the Terrans were behind it. But did they also know it for a fact?

  Perry Rhodan! It is too late!

  The thought impulse rang loud and clear in Rhodan's consciousness and drowned out the spoken words over the translators. Whatever the Druufs had to say at that moment was without importance. Contact with the unknown helper had been reestablished.

  I must speak with you! Rhodan thought intensively in reply.

  If you can, take yourself and your ship to safety! Arkon's robotships are attacking! An unimaginably large number of them have broken through the great hole in space and are advancing on Arkon. In an hour a tremendous space battle will have ignited. The Druuf ships are already taking off

  The impulse wavered and grew weaker.

  Can't I take you along, Oscar-1?

  The impulses came faltering and uncertain. Call me Onot, Perry! That is the name of my host body. Search for me when you come back!

  Then it was finally gone. The original mind of the Druuf must have regained the upperhand. Rhodan knew that it was now pointless to wait for further messages.

  The last useless words of the Druufs died away in his ears. He did not even know what they had said but he saw the effect of their words.

  Around him opened doors that had previously been hidden in the wall around the arena. At least 20 muscular Druufs advanced toward him, carrying in their hands dangerous-looking instruments which resembled weapons and steel handcuffs.

  This was how the Druufs behaved with their allies? Rhodan smiled sadly and tucked the translator back up under his arm. Pucky!

  When the mouse-beaver materialized, the nearest Druuf was just 10 steps away.

  The flashing incisor tooth showed the desire of its owner to give the Druufs a lesson they wouldn't forget but Rhodan spoiled his fun. There was not a second to lose.

  Let's get out of here, Pucky! Immediately!

  The 66 rulers of the Druufs and their 20 minions in the arena below had noticed the inexplicable appearance of the small creature but before they could understand at all what had happened, their prisoner disappeared from before their eyes.

  The glaring spotlights illuminated an empty spot in the arena.

  6/ ONOT DOES NOT REPLY

  Arkon's attacking battle fleet had evidently surprised the Druufs and sent them panicking. Without paying any further attention to Rhodan's three ships, the rod-shaped cruisers took off and shot up into the colored heavens of Druufon.

  Rhodan sounded the alarm and ordered the ships ready for takeoff.

  Then he considered and sent the California, under the command of Capt. Marcel Rous, into the probable battlezone. The light cruiser could accelerate incredibly fast for operations involving speeds of less than speol. The California would serve as a relay station and stand in constant video communication with the Drusus.

  When the California vanished into the sky 10 seconds later and a new vidscreen lit up in the control room of the Drusus, Rhodan leaned back in satisfaction. “We could have asked Harno to help us a little but that would have taken him away from a more important task.”

  Sikerman and Bell looked content; their curiosity about the matter had just been satisfied.

  “But Harno should try one more time to contact Onot,” Rhodan went on. “It's odd that the Druufs' chief physicist should have a pronounceable name.”

  It was a seemingly unimportant fact but under certain circumstances it could prove to be of immense importance.

  Pucky sat on the bunk, eyes closed. He was 'in touch' with the Druufs of the Council.

  “They're planning to throw Arkon's fleet back and destroy it, figuring that they'll never have another opportunity like this again. The Robot Brain must have gone crazy to risk hall his fleet on this. And if the Brain loses, we'll be in trouble!”

  Rhodan smiled, though without mirth. “I'm surprised that they've left us unwatched. Still, they must be assuming we'll follow the California.”

  “I didn't quite understand it,” Pucky said, “but I think they want to hold us here. Onot is already at work on it. A time-field or something like that...”

  Rhodan's smile vanished abruptly. He looked at Sikerman. “Take off, Colonel! Tell the Kublai Khan to do the same! Now!”

  Pucky opened his eyes sluggishly. “I thought that would interest you! Our schizoid spirit-friend is certainly many-sided! First he helps us, then he tries to hold us here. You would almost think he's a woman...”

  No one paid any attention to Pucky's wise observation, Rhodan least of all. As Sikerman issued the instructions, Atlan stared grimly at the panorama vidscreen. He seemed to expect that any second now everything outside would begin to move a million times faster, which would mean Onot's time-field was already in operation. A second for the Druufs could mean years for them. The universe would be thousands of years older before they could take another breath. Meanwhile, the Druufs could do whatever they wanted to them without fear of being disturbed.

  But Rhodan had understood too quickly.

  Together with the Kublai Khan the Drusus lifted and swiftly soared into the sky. Over on the edge of the field, the Druuf defense fleets were still taking off, disappearing without a trace into the heavens seconds later.

  Rhodan glanced down at the gigantic city one last time, although he knew he would see it again. Then he turned his attention to the vidscreen displaying the transmission from the California.

  The light cruiser was stationed off to the side of the sector in which the battle would probably break out. A cloud of silvery shining points coming out of transition one after the other approached from the direction of the hole in space. Rhodan soon gave up trying to count them.

  The Robot Brain was attacking with many thousands of ships.

  From Druufon raced the Druuf units towards them. The planet had shrunk to a fist-sized ball when Arkonide battleships breaking through the lines attacked and bombarded the Druufs' capital world with atomic bombs. Glaring energy beams ploughed blazing furrows in the concrete canyons of the city and melted the surface aw
ay until the first underground levels were exposed to view.

  But then the Druuf reserves which had stayed behind went into action.

  It developed into a violent defensive battle whose progress Rhodan could no longer follow because of the distance. There could be no doubt, however, that the Druufs were driving the Arkonide robotships back.

  “I must repeat my warning, Rhodan!” Atlan said pointedly, his voice earnest. “If the Druufs inflict a grievous defeat upon Arkon, the Earth will be in great danger. We can't sit idly by while these monsters overrun our universe.”

  Rhodan smiled. “You must he thinking of how Druufs gave Arkon such a hard time 10,000 years ago—or so I assume. No, don't worry—I don't think of you as stupid or thirsting for revenge. But certainly your bitter memories have their effect when you think of the Druufs. Rest assured, however, that we'll ally ourselves with the Robot Brain in time to put the Druufs back where they belong. On the other hand, a small reversal won't damage the Robot too much. And a small reversal is just what the Robot Regent is about to suffer.”

  Atlan did not reply. If his heart belonged to Terra, it still beat for Arkon.

  Once the Drusus and the Kublai Khan strayed into the crossfire between two flotillas. Only their augmented energy screens protected the ships from being blasted or vaporized. They dodged to the side as quickly as they could and paid no more attention to the opponents who fought doggedly on.

  “What course are we taking, sir?” asked Sikerman when they were many light-minutes away from Druufon. “Myrtha?”

  “What are you thinking of?” Rhodan asked, shaking his head. “We still have some things to do before we can go back. Make course for Hades.”

  “Siamed 13?” Sikerman asked to make sure, without showing his astonishment. “Won't it attract attention if we land there?”

  “Who said anything about landing. What I have in mind is going down with a few people to take a look at the new base. You and Col. Everson will return to Grautier and wait to see how the situation develops.”

  Atlan looked up. “Are we going to Hades by way of the transmitter?”

  Rhodan nodded. He looked intently at the vidscreen displaying Capt. Rous' transmission. The two. battle fleets had collided and were fighting it out hammer and tongs. The outcome was not in doubt for new flotillas were constantly emerging from the depths of the double star system and entering the fray. Soon the Robot Regent's ships were surrounded and overwhelmed with a hail of energy beams.

  “It's awful!” commented Bell, who had been silent. “It is awful but there also isn't any way to prevent the battle. It had to come sooner or later—and I think it's better that the Druufs annihilate unmanned robotships rather than our ships. Besides, both sides will be weakened, which may be reckoned as an incalculable advantage for us.”

  The Drusus sped onwards, followed by the Kublai Khan. They dodged attacking Druuf squadrons until dodging was no longer possible. From all sides the slender battleships approached the monster which outwardly did not resemble their own form of construction in the slightest.

  Rhodan ordered the opening of defensive fire.

  Then David Stern called from the com center. “Sir! A message from the

  Druufs!”

  “Read it!”

  To the Terran Commander! read Lt. Stern. You have not honored the agreement! If you do not at once return to our planet, we will destroy you! Tommy-1.

  Rhodan smiled coldly. “Stern, make contact with the Druufs,” he said. “I have something to tell them.”

  Not much time went by before Stern was able to announce the contact was made.

  “Attention Tommy-1!” Rhodan spoke into the microphone. “Rhodan here, Terran Commander. If anyone broke the agreement, it was you! Let us depart freely or we'll side with our common enemy. And we now know a great deal about you-we even know about the secret project on which Onot is working! Time-fields are no longer a secret for us.”

  They waited but no answer followed.

  However, the Druuf units suddenly gave way, no longer blocking the Terrans' passage. The ships sped off in all directions and disappeared seconds later.

  “Glord!” exclaimed Bell. “You certainly gave them a good scare.”

  “And I'm not quite sure how,” mused Rhodan.

  • • •

  The matter-receiving station on Hades announced itself as ready.

  “It's time,” said Rhodan to Atlan, Bell, Marshall, Lloyd and Marten. “Sengu will remain on the Drusus. Pucky and Harno can come separately—Pucky doesn't need a matter transmitter. Sikerman, resume course once the transmitter is shut off and we have arrived safely on Hades.”

  “Right, sir,” answered Sikerman. He did not ask any questions although he suspected Rhodan planned more than an inspection tour of the base on Hades.

  Shortly thereafter, the six men entered the transmitter's energy cage. In the more than six decades since the transmitters had first been found in the Vega system, they had been steadily improved, especially in the realm of their capacity. Today one transmitter could transport loads that earlier would have required 10 of these 5th-dimensionally operating devices.

  In spite of the high degree of safety, it was always a strange sensation to step into an energy cage. It was known that the distance to the receiver was crossed wirelessly, so to speak. Matter was converted into non-material hyper-impulses and transmitted across the timeless 5th dimension.

  Not everyone can comfortably face the idea of being broken down into impulses.

  Bell shuddered as the door shut and the green light came on. “When I think of what could happen to us, I don't feel too well.”

  Rhodan laid his thumb on a red button, smiling unconcernedly. “What are you worried about? Absolutely nothing happens! When I press the button—like so...” Whereupon he pressed the button and then drew his hand back slowly, “... it's already over with. This button is no longer the same button on which I pressed. A second ago, this button was still half a light-hour away.”

  The green light still shone but they knew that it was the light of the receiving station on Hades.

  Without being aware of it, they had traveled a distance of nearly half a billion kilometers. No time had passed.

  The Drusus and the Kublai Khan were already on their way back to Grautier. The energy cage aboard the Drusus was empty once more.

  Rhodan laid his hand against a certain portion of the grating. The door swung open. Lt. Stepan Potkin saluted stiffly as he walked towards Rhodan.

  “Welcome to Hades, sir. I haven't been here long myself but I must admit that this certainly is one hell of a world. Hopefully you aren't planning to spend your vacation here.”

  Rhodan did not smile as he replied. “This is no time to go on a vacation. At present a vast space battle is going on in the Druuf system. Arkon has decided to attack the Druufs on their own home grounds.”

  Potkin was disconcerted. “I'm sorry, sir, I didn't know about it...”

  “That's why I told you about it,” Rhodan said, smiling briefly. “Are you in touch with the California?”

  “She just called and announced their desire to land. I gave an order for the underground air-hatch to be made ready.”

  “Very good, Lieutenant.” Rhodan looked searchingly around. “By the way, has Pucky arrived yet?”

  Potkin began to grin broadly as he replied. “He most definitely has, sir! The odd part about it though, is that he must have misjudged his spring because he didn't land in the control room where you told him to go. He turned up in the deep freeze among all the fresh frozen vegetables.”

  “The glutton!” complained Bell—then glanced around, shocked at what he had said. Pucky was not especially fond of being called a 'glutton'. People who used the word carelessly might easily find themselves floating in midair, hurled aloft by the mouse-beaver’s telekinetic energy streams.

  But today Pucky was in a peaceful mood. At length he materialized behind Bell and jabbed him in the back with his index fin
ger. “Don't you know carrots are good for your eyesight? Did you ever hear of a rabbit wearing glasses? Here— have one.” And he pressed an already well-chewed carrot into the speechless Bell's hand.

  Harno came floating by and rapidly grew larger. His surface changed once more into the milky white of a vidscreen.

  A new flotilla of the Robot Regent's ships has arrived and is attacking.

  Rhodan glanced only briefly at the event transmitted by Harno, then shrugged his shoulders. “The Regent will learn soon enough that it has underestimated the enemy. That almost would have happened to us. Well, if it loses these ships, too, so much the better. I think it will then be more receptive to negotiations.”

  Bell, obediently chewing on his carrot, said, “It's about time, too. These Druufs are getting on my nerves.”

  Rhodan turned to him. “You, Pucky, and Harno will come with me. We're going to venture a second advance against Arkon with the California. I'm going to try to get Onot out.”

  Bell's mouth fell open, then he managed to close it again. He did not comment. For his part, Pucky squeaked: “Great!”

  He did not need to say any more.

  • • •

  Just an hour later, the California landed.

  Meanwhile, Rhodan had inspected the enlarged tunnels which had been eaten out of the rock of the Hope Mountains by energy beams. Here, beneath the surface of the hellish planet, nothing of Hades' deathly character could be felt. Equipment produced air and warmth. Optical and other sensory instruments placed on the surface transmitted an exact picture to the control room of what happened above.

  But for the moment, nothing was happening.

  Rhodan reduced the crew of the light cruiser to the bare minimum so that as few lives would be endangered as possible. He knew that a second trip to Druufon would be a flight straight into Hell.

  Bell went around with a worried face, expressing his apprehension and discomfort at every opportunity. Pucky, on the other hand, whistled shrilly some melodies he must have picked up in Terrania, and his lack of a musical sense was horribly evident. He did it so long that Bell finally lost his patience and yelled angrily at him. To Rhodan's surprise, the mouse-beaver chose not to retaliate in the traditional manner—or at all.