Perry Rhodan 102 Action Division Three by Kurt Mahr PROLOG IT IS THE DAWN
of a new era for Humanity! Since the death of Khrest, 57 years have passed.
It is now 2102 AD. and much had happened in the mean time: With the support
of Earthmen, Atlan has succeeded in consolidating his position as Imperator.
The treaty between Arkon and the Solar Imperium has borne fruit-especially for
the Terrans, many of whom have already taken over important positions on Arkon
itself. Atlan has to tolerate this because he cannot rely on most of the
members of his own race. The Solar Imperium has become a major commercial
power along the rim of the Milky Way. For the past 22 years a virtual stream
of emigrants has been flowing out to colonize worlds on many of the inhabited
planets Terran embassies have been established as well as interstellar trading
settlements. It goes without saying, of course, that many a dangerous
confrontation arises but whoever dares to challenge Terrans must always reckon
with ACTION: DIVISION 3...! 1/ ATTACK FROM NOWHERE Hyper-Relay Station 14
to freighter CAROLINA: You are approaching Springer territory. Caution
advised. Freighter CAROLINA to Relay 14: Thanks for the warning. Will be
careful. All's well on board. .    .   .   . For a spaceship commander there
is nothing more unpleasant than to see an alien ship suddenly appear out of
the void in close proximity-so close in fact that he's not sure whether or not
he can avoid it in time. Nothing is more frightening for such a commander than
to get a reading from his instruments indicating high levels of energy
operating on board the alien vessel. Because usually such activity can mean
only one thing: the enemy's guns are being primed for instant action. Few
things make him feel more helpless than to see his collision screens flare up
under such a situation, because that means the enemy has opened fire without
previous warning. These three things happened to Commander Odie Rhyan while
en route from Terra to Arkon, with three transitions and half the long course
behind him. Far from being the fearful type, Odie Rhyan took one look at the
situation and realized that there wasn't a single thing he could do about it.
A freighter was no match for a warship-and what had popped up out there was
definitely a fighting vessel, long, slender and with a ring-bulge in the
middle. Rhyan remained seated and set off the alarms. At that moment the
meters on the energy board rattled their needles against their upper pins,
coinciding with a sudden darkening of the outer screen. Odie Rhyan knew what
that meant! The next enemy salvo would hit the ship directly because his
defence screens were gone. Odie sent out a coded distress signal. All he had
to do then was to press one more button. He pressed it but suddenly everything
exploded in a burst of light. It engulfed him-swiftly and painlessly... .     .
 .   . One would have considered Lyn Trenton one of those types who seem to
acquire their second prime along with a greying at the temples. But Trenton
himself maintained that his first prime had never been interrupted, so it was
a misnomer to refer to any 'second Spring'. "Inasmuch as Lyn occupied a
position in the Terranian Hierarchy that most other men only ventured to dream
about, his assertion was taken at face value and, at least in his presence,
everyone had ceased to refer to him as 'the dangerous man with the grey
sideburns'. At the moment Lyn Trenton was setting out to do credit to his
reputation. So far he had not had a chance to exchange more than a few
inconsequential words with Dynah Langmuir. By his own rather abstract but
self-sure evaluation, Dynah was 'an opportunity not to be missed'. They were
already halfway to Arkon by now and Lyn had begun to fear he might miss the
boat if he didn't make an effective move pretty soon. With an elastic step he
crossed that section of the corridor that separated his cabin from Dynah
Langmuir's quarters. He intended only to knock on her door and offer an
invitation to dinner. Trenton was convinced that the invitation would not fail
to achieve the desired objective. Even as fascinating a woman as Dynah
Langmuir could not refuse an invitation from the chief Terran liaison officer
on Arkon. He had just reached her door when the unbearable bedlam of the
alarm sirens began. Lyn turned irritably and headed for the lifeboat hangar in
compliance with emergency regulations. However, he had hardly taken a step
before Dynah Langmuir opened her door and emerged into the passageway,
impelled by sudden fright. When he spotted her over his shoulder he turned
back toward her, suddenly ceasing to consider the alarm a personal affront of
Providence. He smiled at her quickly. "I was just about to put in a humble
request for your company at dinner but the way it looks now we'll be on dog
rations in the hangar-not quite the right atmosphere." Dynah was much too
confused at the moment to share his levity. "What is it?" she asked. "What's
the meaning of the alarm?" In view of her obvious concern, Lyn decided to
show his fatherly side. "Nobody knows, my child. But in any case we'll be
safest in the hangar. Come on!" As Dynah hesitated he grasped her gently by
the arm and drew her along with him. By this time the ship was beginning to
sway. From somewhere came a bellowing clap of thunder. When Lyn Trenton saw
the girl's shocked reaction he realized that the situation was really serious.
He increased his pace but by now Dynah was running on her own. .     .   .
. Until disaster struck, Richard Silligan had been carping about his boring
duty in the lifeboat hangar. All the while he had been trying to dissuade
himself from the thought that Odie Rhyan had it in for him and for this reason
he continued to assign him to guard duty in the hangar. Naturally that was
ridiculous since nobody in the world could seriously doubt Odie Rhyan's
impartiality in such matters. Then the alarm had struck and the ship began to
buck like a billygoat, so badly that the antigravs couldn't compensate for it.
Silligan quickly opened the lifeboats' main airlock hatches. The enlisted men
under his command slipped into their spacesuits and clambered into the smaller
vessels' control seats. The engines were fired up and the hangar was suddenly
filled with a thundering uproar that even muffled the shrieking sounds of the
freighter's overstressed hull. Richard Silligan waited. The lifeboats were
intended for the passengers but when none appeared, Richard began to think of
his responsibility for the men in his command. If no passengers showed up he'd
have to let the boats take off without them so as to at least save the deck
watch crew. There was no doubt in his mind now that the ship had reached her
limitations. He was about to swing up into the airlock of the lifeboat
farthest back in line when two of the hangar's access hatches opened
simultaneously, emitting two men and a woman. For a moment Silligan lost his
usual control. "Hurry, you fools!" he shouted at the passengers, although each
of them had paid 22000 solars for their passage to Arkon. .    .   .    . The
ship burst asunder in a fiery spray of colourful eruptions which momentarily
illuminated the darkness of the void with an unaccustomed brightness.
Suddenly, where the long fighter with its central ring-bulge had been
matching. the Terran freighter's course but seconds before, there was nothing
but emptiness. The attacker had disappeared! A cloud of glowing gases spread
out in space. Small pieces of debris were interspersed with it, continuing to
glow like embers. Somewhere along the edge of this chaos a small object was
receding swiftly. It would have been difficult to tell what it actually
was-whether a larger piece of wreckage or a lifeboat. But no one would have
been inclined to believe. that even one single survivor could have escaped the
destruction of the Carolina. 2/ BLOODHOUNDS OF TERRA CAROLINA to Relay 14:
CQD EA (Crypto decode: Help! In imminent danger! Enemy attack!) Relay 14 to
CAROLINA! Hold out. Help under way. Give your position coördinates. Over and
out. CAROLINA to Relay 14:... .     .   .   . Glord!-thought Ron Landry. I've
had more likable chiefs than this one in my time! 'This one' was a small fat
man with a sweating chubby red face. He had thin blond hair combed straight
back and his puffy lips were always wet It looked as if his bodily development
had stopped at age 25 although he must have been twice that old. From the
first moment he saw him Ron Landry couldn't stand him. The worst part was when
the little fat man opened his mouth to speak. He had the high, shrill voice of
a eunuch. But Ron Landry found the fact equally hard to bear that the rank
insignia of a colonel lay on this man's shoulders while he remained a captain.
They both wore civilian clothes, considering the nature of their profession,
but they were acutely aware of their difference in rank. The uncongenial one
was Nike Quinto, Chief of Intercosmic Social Welfare and Development. "Man,
don't wear me out!" he scolded Landry in his high-pitched voice. "How did you
ever get to be a captain when you're so stupid? What's going to become of my
blood-pressure if all I get is subordinates like you?" Ron thought grimly
that as far as he was concerned the man's blood-pressure could do what it
pleased-but he felt that he could not take the remark about being stupid even
from a Colonel. "Sir," he retorted with emphasis, "I'd appreciate it if you
could be more specific about this assignment. I don't think even a genius
could make much out of just 3 or 4 words." Nike Quinto stared at him in
startled amazement. "What? So you have an insolent tongue as well?" he
criticized. Landry was on the brink of flaring up but somehow he could not
quite take the situation as seriously as the circumstances seemed to merit. So
he held his 'insolent' tongue and waited for Nike Quinto to continue his
tirade. In fact Quinto was now shouting. "What the devil's so hard to
understand? You have to take a ship to a precise location in interstellar
space-is that so difficult?" "Not at all, sir," Ron answered, but he had to
struggle to suppress a smirk. "I merely wanted to know why." Quinto whistled
in exasperation. "Why, he says! Is a soldier supposed to ask why every time he
receives an order? Just go there, take a look at whatever there is to see and
give an exact report about your observations and remember it's urgent!" Ron
nodded. "Very well, sir." Nike Quinto's frog eyes glared at him. "That is
all!" he blurted out in high, harsh tones. "You may go!" Although it seemed
foolish for him to do so in civvies, Ron saluted and turned toward the
door. "Not there," complained Quinto. "Where the devil do you think you're
going?" Wonderingly, Ron turned around. "To check out a ship, sir," he
answered, "and to take off for the target area." With a pained expression
Quinto placed a hand over his heart. "You're making things difficult for me,"
he sighed. "I'll bet my blood-pressure is up to 220 by now. I'm not supposed
to have more than 160." Suddenly his temperament blazed forth again. "Do you
really think I'd let you go like that? What in Hades would you be doing out
there if I didn't brief you on what's going on and why you're making this
flight?" Ron was about to explain that this was precisely the information
he'd been asking for all along but Nike Quinto didn't give him a chance to
speak. "There is where you go!" he almost squealed, pointing to a side door.
"Go in there, sit down in the chair inside and relax. When you're ready, come
back out and tell me what you think of the situation. Do you
understand?" "Yssir," replied Ron in some bewilderment. He went to the other
door and opened it. At first glance he realized what kind of room Nike Quinto
had sent him to. The ultra-comfortable chair, the yellow-green colour of the
walls, the grey light interspersed with a violet shimmering, the complete
absence of any other furniture than the chair itself-all this could mean only
one thing: hypno-schooling. Suddenly Ron Landry was looking at this
assignment from another perspective. If they were going to all this trouble
there must be more behind the whole thing than he had thought. The door
closed behind him. He sat down in the chair as Quinto had ordered him to do
and stretched his legs out comfortably. He dosed his eyes and attempted to
think of nothing. He became sleepy. A few hours later he knew exactly what
was involved. He also had another opinion of Nike Quinto, the little fat man
with his high blood-pressure and his perpetually sweating red face. A
spaceship had disappeared. The last emergency signal from the commander
indicated that his ship, which was a freighter, had been attacked by an enemy
spacecraft of some kind. Who the enemy was or why it had attacked the Terran
freighter, nobody knew. Conjectures would be superfluous until somebody went
to the location for a close look around. This was Ron Landry's assignment. It
was by no means an easy as it had seemed at first glance. Whoever the enemy
might be, he would know that the Terrans were not inclined to suffer the loss
of a freighter without taking the necessary measures to investigate. He would
presume that a search expedition would be sent out to trace down the remains
of the ship and attempt to draw some conclusions. If there were no unforeseen
disturbances in the area the remains of the destroyed vessel could be analysed
to furnish the Terran authorities with the data they wanted. Nike Quinto had
thought of all this. All Terran Fleet units in the vicinity of the catastrophe
had been alerted. So when Ron Landry came to inspect the freighter remains he
knew he would have a powerful fighting formation at his back. Quinto had
thought of still more: the ship that he was consigning to Ron Landry was a
heavy cruiser which could hold its own with every known type of ship in the
galaxy, provided the enemy forces weren't too numerous. Landry was authorized
to engage in a pursuit of the unknown enemy as soon as he found a clue to
follow. Further, Landry would be under protection of the Terran Fleet task
force in the area, which was to follow him on his chase. Ron had to admit
that he might not have been able to make such effective preparations himself.
He had overlooked many factors that Nike Quinto had thought of. When he
finally took leave of Quinto he went out of his way to let the sweating little
man know that ha respected him. But it didn't seem to mollify the frascible
Quinto, who shouted after him: "And God help you if you don't handle this
thing to my complete satisfaction!" .    .   .   . All that was left of the
Carolina: a cold gas cloud that swept through space with a velocity that
matched that of the freighter at the moment of the disaster-aside from the
effects of thermodynamic laws which were causing it to gradually expand and
attenuate. By the time the Royal Irish reached the cloud of gas its density
had been reduced to a few trillionths of a gram per cubic cm. This meant that
the vaporized material of the ship comprised a spherical configuration that
was about 1000 km in diameter and by virtue of its attenuation it could not be
detected against the star-fired background of space by any normal optical
means. On the other hand the cloud's density was ample for the analysts.
Against the light of the stars whose spectrum constants were known they took
an absorption spectrum of the gas and ascertained if this particular cloud
actually did represent the remains of the Carolina. The spectrographs revealed
the familiar metals of the ship's hull and bulkheads. Also they picked up the
lines of carbon dioxide, the common plastic components of the ship's
equipment-and the formerly living substances of those who had been on board
the Carolina. No, there could be no doubt of the fact that the freighter had
been obliterated. But the analysts did not stop there. They also examined the
molecular chain patterns of the remains. The manner in which the matter had
been split and ruptured, apart gave an indication also of the type of weaponry
employed in destroying the Carolina. The molecular fragments were analytically
sorted out so that a statistical conclusion could be made with regard to the
kind of dissociating energy that would be needed for breaking down the
original molecules into the fractional components and isotopes thus obtained.
Using known molecular-count factors it was easy to calculate what kind of
energies had been unleashed against the Carolina. For every weapon had its
specific output rating and since the battle had only lasted a few
minutes-otherwise Odie Rhyan would have been able to do more than send out a
coded emergency call-the overall weapons-intensity could be calculated. The
results were: the Carolina had been destroyed by a thermo-beam bombardment.
The total energy output was 15 times what would have been necessary to
collapse the freighter's defence screens. The final hit must have caused the
Carolina to burst like a bomb. Ron Landry's task now was to draw some
conclusions as to the identity of the unknown enemy who had attacked a
defenceless freighter here in a comparatively well-travelled shipping
lane. It would have been a difficult task to accomplish if he had only had
the results of the analysis to go by. Anybody in the galaxy could be in
possession of a thermo-cannon. It was true that a weapon of the large
magnitude such as was employed here would cost a great deal of money but there
were more people in the Milky Way with a surplus of that commodity than seemed
justified to Ron Landry at the moment. Any of them could have purchased such a
weapon, installed it on board a ship and attacked the Carolina. The weapon
alone offered no basis for any conclusion. But there was something else to go
on. 120 years ago, Terra had begun to play its own fiddle in the galactic
orchestra of major powers. It was a soft fiddle at first while all the others
like the Topides, the Ferrons and above all the Arkon Imperium with all its
associated powers and allies proceeded to pound their drums loud enough to
drown out anybody's brass. At the time there was an offshoot race of Arkonides
known as the Springers who maintained a sort of galactic trade monopoly.
According to them, all interstellar commerce was to go through their hands. No
world was to carry out trade with planets outside its own system without
consulting the Springers' commerce control. Any extensive trading projects
required Springer approval, and not only that: the Springers would then take
over the larger project themselves and distribute a ridiculously small portion
of the profits to the original merchants involved. Since the Springers had
the power in their hands their demands were met. At least until Terra switched
to another instrument and began to play louder music. In their own mule-headed
way the Terrans were not about to recognize somebody else's demands, a priori,
however reasonable or unreasonable they might be. So they carried on their own
interstellar commerce and promptly got into the Springers' hair. The result
was a concrete example of defiance having its advantages over conventional
forms of negotiation. Terra continued to carry on its own commerce with
ever-increasing volume and in the face of the highly effective alliance
between Terra and Arkon the Springers had no other recourse but to gnash their
teeth as they bitterly pulled back from one domain after the other. Of course
their retreat was not quite as simple as all that. The Springers began to
retaliate in a manner that was typical of their ways and style of living. They
would lie in wait and whenever they caught a Terran ship they considered to be
inferior to theirs they would attack and destroy it. Which led them to
concentrate principally on space freighters, the kind of vessels that carried
most of Terra's commerce. To be sure, there were times when the Springers
suffered bitter defeats in this game because the Terrans were an ingenious
lot. Many a Springer captain waiting with his ship in the deeps of space for
his next victim ran into a bloody encounter with a battle cruiser which he had
mistaken for a freighter. The Springers were no match for Terran cruisers. In
such duels no quarter was given to either contender and they usually ended
with one victor and a residual gas cloud. Whenever the Terranian vessel
happened to be a warship the Springers usually took the role of the gas
cloud. It was a merciless form of partisan warfare which was carried on in
the far reaches of the void, far from the broad avenues of interstellar
politics. It was difficult to catch the Springers to pin them down because
they lived on their ships. With but few exceptions they were space
nomads. Terra had adjusted itself to the fact that this war might go on for
several centuries. Its warships were stationed almost motionlessly in space,
acting as relay stations, having other purposes than to merely stand on guard
against the Springer threat. Yet even they had not been able to prevent the
destruction of the Carolina. Every instinct in Ron Landry fought against
merely ending this operation with a simple report to Nike Quinto, such as: "It
was another Springer attack-no trace." He was fairly certain that Quinto
expected more than that from him. On the sensor instruments he could make out
the expanded cloud of gas particles that had once been the Carolina. He was
familiar with data concerning the freighter due to several hours of
hypno-schooling he had obtained in the room behind Nike Quinto's office. It
was one of the usual spherical ships, 100-meter diameter, 300,000 tons,
equipped with hypertransition propulsion. It was half freighter and half
passenger ship. This flight had carried 25 passengers among whom was one Lyn
Trenton, Superintendent of the Terran Mission on Arkon, returning to his post
after a leave of absence. As for armament: comparatively speaking, none. It
was this ship that the Springers had surprised from ambush. They had simply
destroyed it without compunction. We can't simply let them get away with it,
thought Ron Landry. We have to make them pay for this! Of course wishing
alone was not going to do it. Landry went a step further than another
commander might have done in his place. After all his other investigations he
then proceeded to have the area analysed for traces of fuel exhaust. Since the
Springer ships used a form of propulsion which left radiation trails, they
couldn't have gone a kilometre in any direction without leaving a trail, which
at least would indicate the direction they had come from or where they had
disappeared to. But nothing of this nature was discovered. The Springers had
apparently dissolved into nothingness. .    .   .   . Since Ron Landry had
only had a few hours to select his crew, he did not know the man who stood
before him. He only knew that his name was Marty Nolan and that he was a
chemical analyst. When Nolan spoke it was with a note of timidity. "Sir, you
may not believe what I have to say but I'm pretty sure of the facts." Ron
waved him to a chair. "Have a seat, Marty," he said. "Then let's get two
things straight. First, you can call me Ron-I don't think that'll lessen your
respect for authority; and secondly, by all means speak frankly." Marty
appeared to appreciate Landry's unconventionality. He seemed to become a bit
more relaxed. He was a small, lean man with large intelligent eyes and dark
hair that was much too long. His manner of looking at a person pointed to an
inferiority complex. "I have completely measured the gas cloud, sir... I mean
Ron... Actually I'm trying out a new method. If we're able to exactly
determine its density as well as its volume, then we can also measure its
mass, right?" Ron Landry smiled faintly at Marty's questioning expression. "I
follow you, Marty." "Alright, then assume that I know the density
precisely-with no errors. That I've measured the volume of the gas mass within
plus or minus 5% of accuracy." Again he looked questioningly at Ron. "I'm
still with you," nodded Ron encouragingly. "So in this case I've done all
that," Marty continued, "and the results are-that the gas cloud has a mass of
278,000 tons." Landry stiffened to new attention. "The Carolina's registered
mass is 298,000 tons," he said. It was Marty's turn to nod. "I know. So I
said to myself: I've got a plus or minus 5% variation here. That gives an
upper limit of 292,000 tons and not 298,000." Ron got to his feet. Without
looking at Marty he asked: "Are you sure that your error of margin isn't any
greater than that?" "Absolutely, sir. Pardon me-Ron. In fact it's a smaller
margin than that: plus or minus 3.8%. I just wanted a good safety
factor." Marty was startled as Ron swung about abruptly to ask him: "What do
you conclude from this observation?" Marty opened his hands as though to make
an offering to Ron on a platter. "That one of the lifeboats has escaped the
disaster, Ron. The mass differential fits in fairly accurately. A lifeboat of
that type weighs between 18000 and 22000 tons. The Carolina had 3 of them on
board." Landry was biting his lips in concentration. "Marty, do you realize
the kind of action that drives us into?" he asked. "Please understand me: I
don't doubt your good intentions or your ability-but before we send out a
report on this I want you to search your conscience once more. Are those
measurements absolutely reliable?" Marty replied without hesitation. "I'm as
sure of them as the fact that 2 + 2=4." Landry gave him a faintly ironic
smile. "That's putting it rather plainly, Marty." Suddenly he became serious,
muttering to himself: "Out there... somewhere... a lone lifeboat... but where?
Where?" 3/ CASTAWAYS IN SPACE Cruiser ROYAL IRISH to Relay 14: Do you have
any indications that a piloted spacecraft escaped from the disaster area after
the explosion? Over... Relay 14 to cruiser ROYAL IRISH. No such indication
observed. Why? Do you have hopes? Over... Cruiser ROYAL IRISH to Relay 14:
Yes. Over and out. .    .   .   . Somehow they had escaped. Somehow the
flaming and bursting hot fireball of destruction had spared them and
concentrated only on the ship itself, which fell away swiftly behind them.
Somehow they had shot out of the launching lock at the very moment that it was
engulfed by the raging inferno that was the Carolina. Their reason had failed
them during those few seconds of terror. It seemed impossible to put the
events in proportion and proper sequence. Their memories failed them when they
began to ask themselves what had really happened. But now they were out of
it. The glowing gas ball that had once been the Carolina was far behind them.
They were safe, thought Lyn Trenton, and that was the main point after
all. The hairbreadth escape of the lifeboat at the last moment had been a
shock to Richard Silligan's nerves. For some time he had merely allowed the
small spacecraft to shoot straight ahead into the void before he remembered
his duties and started to check if at least everything. on board the lifeboat
was in order. Which turned out not to be the case. Of course all equipment
absolutely necessary for survival was functioning perfectly, such as the
oxygen recycling and air-conditioning systems. There were also enough
provisions for a space trip of several months' duration. However, tremendous
electromagnetic discharges in the attack zone had so thoroughly damaged the
two transmitters on board that any repairs with the means at hand were out of
the question. This meant that the ship was cut off from the interstellar
communications network. Silligan kept a lookout for the other two lifeboats
that had been ready for take off in the Carolina's launch bay but he couldn't
find a trace of them. Either they had gone off in some other direction or they
had not been able to escape in time from the exploding mother ship. Richard's
next task was to decide on a course and destination. He didn't want to make
the decision without a consensus of opinion from his 3 passengers, as well as
from the corporal who had piloted them during the first few moments of the
flight. The ship's control room was the passenger cabin as well. Arranged in
a semicircle behind the pilot's seat and flight console were 3 rows of
comfortable seats. Above the pilot's seat the largest of the viewscreens had
been installed. Silligan turned around. Naturally he knew Lyn Trenton, the
highest Terran official on Arkon. He had seen Dynah Langmuir before and
remembered her because she had made quite an impression on him. But he
couldn't recall having seen the third passenger before. He was a small elderly
man who did not appear to feel comfortable in his formal suit, which was
obviously new. It seemed as though this kind of apparel didn't go with his
nature and that he wished he might go back to something more casual. "Well,
gentlemen-and lady," he began without preamble, "it seems we have to figure
out a destination. Does anyone have a suggestion? Corp. Laughlin-that includes
you." The first reaction to the question was from Lyn Trenton, who gave him a
superior and patronizing smile that was touched with sarcasm. Richard felt
like jumping up and punching him but he forced himself to remain seated with a
poker-faced expression. Trenton spoke calmly and politely. "Isn't that asking
a little too much of us, Captain?" he asked. "How could we know what this
sector of space looks like, what the chances are here or what kind of range
this lifeboat has?" He was the kind who would give a man a higher title than
he had so that he could be amused by the other's struggle and perhaps his
reluctance to admit that he had not yet come up that far. Silligan replied
promptly but the hostility in his words was obvious. "In the first place I am
only a lieutenant, in the second place it might be possible that our other two
passengers are a bit more familiar with space than you are, wouldn't you
say?" He was glad he had said it. It was a form of retaliation and he was
pleased that he had defended himself-even though Trenton did not show the
slightest reaction. Richard's gaze turned next to Dynah Langmuir, indicating
that he wanted to hear her opinion. Dynah forced a faint smile and shook her
head. "Sorry, Lieutenant, I'm as green at this as Mr. Trenton." Trenton
turned to her and gave her a friendly nod. They're in collusion, thought
Silligan irritably. "Alright," he growled,"then perhaps..." The little man in
the uncomfortable suit understood the hesitant invitation to speak. "My name
is Ezekiel Dunlop Rykher," he said, in such a querulous tone of voice that it
was almost comical. "From Lupine, Oregon," he added. "I won this trip in a
contest. If I'd used my head I'd have had no part in the damned thing but you
know how it is. They keep pushing you into it." He looked at Richard directly.
"As to your question... I think we're close to the Toghma System, aren't we?
The way I see it we should take as few risks as possible and fly there,
wouldn't you say?" Silligan was flabbergasted as was everyone else present,
except for Lyn Trenton. Who would have expected that someone named Ezekiel
Dunlop Rykher from Lupine, Oregon, would know exactly where he was out here
halfway to Arkon? After recovering from his surprise, Richard answered:
"You're very well oriented, Mr. Rykher. Our present location..." Rykher
interrupted, "Call me Ez like everybody else does," he grumbled. "And you're
Dick, right? Dick Silligan." Richard nodded. "OK, Ez. You've got your
bearings alright. From here to Toghma it's about 1100 astronomical units or
roughly 6.5 light-days. The system has 4 planets, of which #2 is inhabited.
It's called Ghama. Ghama is a water world with primitive native intelligences.
There's a Terran representative there for ISW-Intercosmic Social Welfare-and a
big Springer base for trading operations. That's about all we know about
Toghma and Ghama." Ez Rykher's brows went up. "Springers, you say? Then maybe
we'd better pick out another place. If I know Terran politics, our own base
there is probably pretty small. Couldn't do very much if the Springers
captured us." Lyn Trenton laughed suddenly. "That's rich!" he exclaimed. "The
Springers capture us? Why should they do that? Why get themselves into such a
diplomatic hassle? My good man, please don't make Ms. Langmuir nervous with
your pirate stories!" He patted Dynah's arm reassuringly. Richard was vexed to
see that she didn't seem to mind it. Ez Rykher had remained calm. "Seems to
me you're pretty far behind the times," he answered Trenton, speaking as
casually as if he were discussing the laying capacity of his hens. "Everybody
knows that the Springers attack and destroy our freighters. If they do that
then why shouldn't they grab up 5 defenceless Terrans?" Then he turned to
Silligan as though he didn't consider Trenton worth talking to. "How far is it
from here to the next likely place?" Richard didn't have to ponder the
question. "Too far for us," he answered. "It's 7 light-years." Ez Rykher
wrinkled his brow in rejection. "This ship only has quantum jets that'll bring
to 99-point something or other speol." He seemed to be speaking more to
himself. "Catherine won't hold out that long. Well, for my part, in spite of
everything, I'm in favour of flying to Ghama." Richard nodded. "Cpl.
Laughlin?" he asked. "Agreed, sir." Richard swung his chair around and
leaned over the keyboard. He was waiting for Lyn Trenton to make a protest
about the decision since he'd not been asked for a vote on it, and he was
ready with a suitable reply. But Lyn Trenton was smarter than he had assumed.
He made no complaint and thus spared himself the embarrassment of the perfect
squelch. "Laughlin, set course for Ghama!" he ordered. .     .   .   . The
blue globe of Ghama was glowing on the viewscreen. The glittering surface
areas of its tremendous oceans amidst the dark spots of many small islands
were all clearly discernible. It was a strangely beautiful sight but the only
one who seemed to really relish it was Ez Rykher. "Well, at least this way,"
he grumbled, "I might really be getting something out of that stupid contest I
think Arkon would have been a bit boring for me, but this Ghama layout is
something else again!" The small spacecraft had covered the 1100 astronomical
units in slightly more than 30 hours by ship-time reckoning. The propulsion
system had worked flawlessly and the effects of time contraction at relative
light-speed were not as apparent to the passengers as it would have been to a
stationary observer in space. When the Toghma System had come into view,
Richard Silligan had turned over the flight controls to Cpl. Laughlin so that
he could try to at least get one of the ship's radio receivers back in
operation. As Rykher had already observed, any landing on Ghama involved a not
inconsiderable element of risk. The Springers had their eyes everywhere. The
native intelligences were dependent on them and consequently subservient to
them. Richard had no idea which of the many islands might harbour the Terran
settlement. He hoped to be able to repair the receiver and listen in on radio
traffic over Ghama. However, this proved to be a false hope. The equipment
was too severely damaged. Lyn Trenton had been watching Richard's efforts
attentively and when the latter finally admitted his failure he had a ready
remark to make. "You can't help it, Lieutenant. On Terra they ought to give
our space officers better training in electronics." "Don't be funny!" Richard
growled at him. Even an electronics chief couldn't repair these
receivers." Ez Rykhers grumbling voice was heard from the background. But of
course you know, Dick, there are some people who can repair a thing like that
just with their big mouth!" Trenton turned around and for the firstime
Richard noted that he was irritated. It gave Richard some satisfaction even
though his more practical side told him it would he rough going on Ghama for 5
castaways if they were all going to he getting into each other's hair-what
with the imminent dangers of an alien environment and the threat of the
Springers too. During the entire flight Dynah Langmuir had remained silent
Lyn had attempted to draw her into a conversation but she had answered him in
such an absent manner that he had finally given up. He lowered the back of his
seat and slept awhile but Dynah, Ez and the two crew members had remained
awake. During those hours when there had been nothing to do, Ez Rykher had
carried on an extensive conversation with Richard. He had told him about his
farm in Lupine, of his wife Catherine and his two sons, one of whom was
attending one of Terra's space academies. Richard had listened attentively and
with the passage of time it seemed to him that his present situation and
surroundings were becoming progressively less real. The man had a way of
describing things so vividly that one could almost forget his own environment
Richard had imagined that he could even smell the Oregon spruce and catch the
perfume of the meadowlands while hearing the humming of bees and the lowing of
cattle. There were moments, finally, when he wondered what he was doing out
here en route to Toghma, 18000 light-years from Earth. Ez Rykher was a
remarkable man. He had a vast knowledge concerning lumber, grass, chickens,
cows, milk and all those other things that one would expect him to be familiar
with, but in addition he was also very well versed in galactology,
astronautics and mathematics-which no one might expect him to know about. He
went into discussions on a variety of problems in which Richard should have
been the better expert but which didn't turn out to be the case. Of course
Rykher didn't make him sense this since he had a pleasant and conciliatory way
of intimating that of course he might be mistaken here and there. Ez Rykher
turned out to be one of the most unusual and agreeable acquaintances that
Richard had ever made in his life. Even now he came forward to watch the
landing manoeuvres that Tony Laughlin was making. The corporal brought the
ship on a flat curve into the highest layers of the atmosphere in order to
brake their speed by friction as much as possible and to save fuel. The craft
still had an ample amount of fuel but it was an unwritten law of astronautics
that fuel should never be wasted if there was some other way to reach the
desired destination-and by this manoeuvre Laughlin was avoiding the use of the
retropulsion. They had time. They would have to fly around Ghama several
times before the craft would have reduced its entry rate to the speed required
for an actual landing. But at the same time this had the advantage of giving
them a chance to watch for the Terran station. At least that was the way they
had planned it. But just as they started their second circumnavigation of the
planet the ship suddenly received a violent impact of some kind, causing it to
whirl about a few times before it tumbled downward into the depths
below. Nobody knew what had happened. The whole action looked like the result
of a meteor impact but there was no trace of such damage. Tony Laughlin was
only able to right the ship by means of his airflight controls and to bring it
a bit higher in altitude so that it could lose some of its still dangerous
velocity. But even that failed. The small spacecraft dropped like a stone.
The engines did not respond. The antigravs had also broken down and as they
fell the 5 passengers floated weightlessly through the cabin. Laughlin and
Silligan finally desisted in their efforts and merely stared at the viewscreen
in which they could see the blue-grey surface of the ocean rushing toward them
with alarming speed. They feared that the approaching impact would kill them
all. .    .   .   . Larry Randall looked up when he heard the high shrieking
sound. The weird noise was emanating from somewhere above in the cloudless
blue sky but he couldn't see who or what was the cause of it. With a sigh he
pulled in his fishing line and tossed it behind him into the boat. It looked
as if he wasn't going to catch any moon rays today. He looked up again and
placed his hand on the starting lever of his small, soundless motor, in order
to be ready in case anything serious happened. By now the howling sound had
increased in pitch, sounding like a strong wind whistling steadily around the
corner of a house. He had never quite heard anything like it. He was puzzling
over it when he finally saw something. It was a small, glittering speck that
was dropping like a stone from the sky and heading for the water. It's a
Springer ship, he thought, and it's going to crash. Glord, maybe I shouldn't
be so malicious about it but it would be alright with me if they all crashed
together. When the glittering object came within a few hundred meters of the
water it seemed to come under control for a moment. The previously steep
descent angle flattened out, which again altered the pitch of its sound. It
described a tight curve and managed to gain a little altitude, which served to
lessen its speed. When it reached the highest point of the curve it finally
began to drop again. It swerved just once more from its falling course but
didn't quite make it. Then it plunged into the water a few kilometres away,
producing a high, foaming splash in its wake. Randall set his boat in motion.
Alright, so these were Springers who had been unlucky enough to crash and all
Springers could go to the devil. But one couldn't just simply let them all
drown. If any one of them should manage to climb out of that thing he'd be
paddling around out there in the water somewhere and in about an hour or less
he'd be eaten up by a Lidiok. That was a death that Larry couldn't wish even
on a Springer. As he increased his speed the boat lifted partially out of the
water. No other sound than the rushing water was to be heard. Larry glanced
quickly behind him and noticed that the long flat coastline of Killanak was
slowly sinking behind the horizon. He became aware of the fact that he was
venturing out farther than he had ever gone before. He made a check of the
sun's position with relation to the coast so that later he could find his way,
yet he thought the whole thing ridiculous. Here he was, equipped with a
soundless field-propulsion motor, and yet he didn't even have a primitive
compass for navigation. After awhile he began to meet the waves that were
spreading out from the crash site and they started to shake the boat roughly.
Larry reduced speed and kept his eyes open. He raised up to get a better view
but as far as he could see there was nothing but water. Nowhere could he see
the head of a swimmer or any part of the spacecraft that had gone down
here. For an hour or so Larry crossed back and forth over the spot, searching
visually and calling out from time to time. He finally became convinced that
there had been no survivors and he started to turn back toward home. It was
just at this moment that he heard a gurgling sound nearby. He saw a surge of
large airbubbles coming up out of the depths, followed by a grey shadow. At
first he thought it was a Lidiok and he prepared to get going in a hurry
because a Lidiok was big enough and powerful enough to even endanger the boat
itself. But the grey object rose higher so Larry could see that it had a
trapezoid shape, Lidioks did not answer, that description. He waited. Finally
the thing reached the surface. A few seconds before, Larry had recognized what
it was: a piece from the empennage. Apparently it had broken off at a
transverse rib in such a way that its camber slot was bent shut, thus
preventing the air from escaping. So the control elevator was lighter than
water in spite of being made of metal and thus it had returned to the surface.
The only thing Larry wondered about was why it had taken so long to come
up. But he wondered a great deal more when he saw the name on the metal
surface: Carolina 2. Suddenly he sensed a need for haste. Whoever may have
crashed in the Carolina 2 was now beyond his help but Terra had to be advised
of this incident as quickly as possible. Larry made another check of the
sun's position, turned the boat in the right direction and pushed the engine's
throttle all the way open. 10 ADVENTURES FROM NOW you'll meet The Man with
Two Faces 4/ THE GHAMA GAMBIT Relay 14 to cruiser ROYAL IRISH: RHH IT...
Over... (Crypto decode: Return immediately to home base!) Cruiser ROYAL
IRISH to Relay 14: UXD... over and out...... (Crypto decode: Wilco.) .      .
.   . Nobody could imagine the meaning behind this order, least of all Ron
Landry. A return to Earth partially contradicted the instructions he had
received during the hypno-schooling. But there could be no doubt that this
latest order came from Nike Quinto himself, which left Ron no choice but to
comply with it. So it was that 6 days after its take-off the Royal Irish
landed again at the spaceport of Terrania. Ron Landry realized the importance
of his new assignment when he saw that Nike Quinto himself had come to pick
him up from the ship. Nominally Nike Quinto headed the Intercosmic Social
Welfare Development organisation, which was strictly a non-military
operation. He normally had better things to do than to let himself be seen in
the vicinity of a heavy cruiser. It was necessary to avoid even the slightest
hint that Division 3, which Quinto was personally subordinate to, was totally
unconnected with 'Welfare and Development'. Thus it appeared that something
very unusual had happened to cause Nike Quinto to overlook normal security
measures this time. Ron soon found out what it was all about it. Lt. Randall
on Ghama had fished a piece of lifeboat Carolina 2 from the ocean near the
Terran station there. Randall himself had witnessed the crash. A quite graphic
report had been submitted concerning the incident. The salvaged portion of the
spacecraft was a part of the aerodynamic controls. Randall had tested it. He
found out that just before its crash the lifeboat had encountered a tremendous
energy shockwave. The molecular grid structure of the metallic crystals in the
stabilizer material had been powerfully distorted. Randall had subjected it to
a process of retrogressing the distortion so that by knowing the relaxation
period which was typical for such metallic crystals he could arrive at a time
of the energy impact. What it all meant was that the lifeboat had been shot
down. The natives of Ghama did not possess energy weapons. Therefore the
Springers had shot down the auxiliary craft. The Springers would not simply
shoot down such a ship when under normal circumstances they could not know, at
the time of firing, either where it came from or to whom it belonged. This
meant that the Springers on Ghama were familiar with the fate of the Carolina
and that they were afraid any report from its passengers or crew might lead to
identifying the treacherous attackers. "So finally we've got a clue," said
Nike Quinto in his high-pitched voice. He was somewhat out of breath. "I don't
need to tell you," he continued, "that now we have to proceed with special
caution. In case you don't believe me I'll let you see it on paper later-the
order from Solar Marshal Mercant. Ghama's important for us, first because of
its galactic position and secondly because of certain raw materials we obtain
from the indigenous inhabitants. The natives are still dependent upon the
Springers and that's why they've remained loyal to them. So far the Springers
have taken pains to play a clever game of politics on Ghama. We may not count
on the Ghamese for any resistance against the Springers. "Naturally we can't
simply let the Springers get away with the Carolina's destruction. They have
to be punished for it. That means we need to have the responsible parties here
on Earth so we can bring them before the Court. They won't choose to do that
of their own free will so we have to force them to it. That's your assignment.
If you get the natives into an uproar in the process, that won't be taking
care of the assignment to Marshal Mercant's way of thinking. In that case
he'll designate the operation a failure. Just remember that, it seems to be
the most important thing of all." "And now sit down again in that chair in
the other room. Let yourself be brought up to date on the rest of the
intelligence we've gathered." .    .   .   . Larry Randall was not surprised
when the monthly supply ship to Ghama came in from Terra a few days earlier
than expected. He had figured that his dispatch concerning the crash of
lifeboat Carolina 2 would elicit some kind of reaction. The accelerated
arrival of the supply ship must have something to do with it. Larry sat at
his desk and looked out the large window across the island's flowered
grasslands and along the dull-gleaming grey surface of the street. The latter
led to the low buildings of the small spaceport where the ship was just now
descending. It was the Empress of Arkon. She was equipped with one of the new
field-propulsion engines so other than a distant humming during the landing
there was no other sound to be heard. Larry always found it fascinating to see
a colossal metal ship like that come down effortlessly out of the silent
sky. He wondered whether or not he should go out to the field. Usually he did
not do so on such occasions because he well knew that the officers and crew of
the ship would keep the small settlement on Killanak in an uproar for a couple
of days anyway without his help. So he decided that today he wouldn't go out
there either. Something was up. It would be better not to alter any of the
accustomed patterns because even the slightest hint of suspicion had to be
avoided. The smooth-skinned natives on Killanak had sharp eyes. Larry didn't
care to risk having one of them swim the 250 km distance to the main Springer
station and perhaps report: "Terra man... go to ship... not always go... but
go today..." So Larry Randall remained seated where he was and
waited. Suddenly one of the native inhabitants was standing in the doorway.
Small, smooth-skinned, with large, protruding eyes, his skin had a bronze-like
hue which gleamed with oil that came incessantly from his pores. The small
dark slits behind his laws were gill openings which at present trembled
slightly as though he were excited. It was Zatok. During his first few weeks
on Ghama, Larry had experienced difficulty in differentiating between these
people. The only difference he could be sure of at that time was that which
existed between male and female. The Ghamese wore nothing more than skin-tight
loin cloths and their bodily build was very similar to that of Terrans. Since
then, however, Larry had not found it hard to distinguish them as
individuals. "A stranger comes, my friend," said Zatok gutturally. Larry
nodded. "Have him come in," he answered in the same language. "He probably is
looking for me anyway." Zatok returned the nod. "I think so too," he
said. Larry frowned. "You mean he's out there already?" Zatok drew up his
features to reveal his splendid white teeth in a sort of friendly grin. "Yes,
I think so." Larry got up. "Then tell him to come inside, you rascal!" he
ordered him with a smile. Zatok turned and went out. His movement consisted
of a sort of graceful waddling, which was typical of a creature who was more
accustomed to moving through water than 'walking' on solid ground. Seconds
later another man stood in the doorway. His breadth and width almost filled
the doorframe. Larry's first impression was that he wouldn't care to tangle
with this fellow if fists were the only weapons available. The stranger didn't
seem to be more than 30 years old; but the look in his eyes revealed more
experience than that. In spite of his impressive size his movements were
graceful, self-assured. The man was dark-blond. Larry had never seen him
before, but he knew his type. Division 3! "I'm Ron Landry," said the
stranger. "If you are Larry Randall and you have something for a dry throat,
I'd say I've come to the right place." Larry smiled. "Correct on both counts,
Mr. Landry," he said, pointing to a chair. Ron lowered himself into it and
stretched his legs way out in front of him, yet in spite of this he seemed to
be bigger and more powerful-looking than before. Larry fetched a bottle with
glasses and did the pouring. Ron started talking without being asked. "Larry,
they've sent me here because they have an idea that you could use some help.
In view of the growing influence of the Springers here the work of Welfare and
Development on Ghama has to be pushed ahead. Please understand that my being
sent here does not mean in anyway that Terra is dissatisfied with you. It's
just that the workload stacking up here nowadays is too much for you to handle
alone." Larry idly listened. He merely nodded when Ron paused. He knew he was
not expected to retain anything of what the other was saying. It was more or
less improvised. What Ron really was here for he'd have to learn in another
way. He was sure it would be in a way that would not allow any Springers to
eavesdrop. Ron took a second glass as he continued. "On the Empress of Arkon
I have a whole heap of new instructions I've brought along. They're in the
form of a sort of guidebook. I haven't studied it yet myself, but it would be
best if both of us went over it together. The Chief is of the opinion that by
use of appropriate methods it should still be possible to gain some ground
against the Springs." Larry was suddenly attentive. Here was something that
sounded rather specific. "The Chief believes we can offer the natives just as
much as the Springers can, if not more. The trick of it is to change one of
their old customs around here. For centuries they have looked to the Springers
for their needs. All it takes is to convince a few of them that they can do
even better with us. The news will make the rounds and the Springers will
start losing points." Not too significant, Larry decided, wondering when the
real hint would fall. "Above all we must consider one thing: the welfare of
the Ghamese is our first concern. Whatever we undertake around here we must
never conflict with the natives. Otherwise everything is in
vain." Aha!-thought Larry. Now he's planting something. At this moment Zatok
reappeared in the doorway. Since Ron's back was to the door and he was about
to continue speaking, Larry gave him a signal. Ron turned around. "What's on
your mind, garma (Friend)?" he asked in the Ghamese tongue. His easy fluency
in the language astonished Zatok. As was typical of his race, the latter
demonstrated his reaction visibly.. The hairless brown bulge of his forehead
moved. upward, widening his eyes even farther, while he executed 3 or 4 jumps
that came within less than an inch of knocking his skull against the
doorframe. "Garma-you speak my language!" he cried out in the strange
sing-song tone that expressed his joy. "You make me happy so that my heart
floats and my hands swim!" "I'm glad to know that, my friend," replied Ron.
To Larry's surprise he noted that he handled the singing lilt of the language
without a trace of accent perhaps then you wouldn't mind if I were to stay for
awhile on the beautiful world of Ghama?" Zatok clapped his hands together
very forcefully, which was a sign of decisive negation. "Not in the least, my
friend! That only floats my heart the more!" Ron made a ceremonious gesture,
stretching out his right arm before bending it as though to embrace someone.
It was a signal of agreement and confirmation, serving to ratify the theme
under discussion. Ron seemed to execute it with consummate elegance. Larry
figured that the man must have come through a hypno-course of some kind-if it
had come to that, then something big was really cooking somewhere. "You were
about to say something when you came in my friend," suggested Ron. "What was
it? I didn't mean to interrupt you." Zatok made a cross-like sign at the
level of his head, which meant: And how! "I believe somebody wants to see one
of you two," he announced. Ron gave him a friendly smile. "If you believe
that much, then probably that somebody is outside the door. Bring him in. Who
is it?" At that moment there was a din of stomping feet without. Zatok was
somewhat unceremoniously shoved aside as the giant figure of a bearded man
marched into the small room. He was even a slight bit taller than Ron
Landry. Larry struggled to conceal his surprise. This man was Alboolal
chieftain of the Springer clan that operated the large trading station on
Ghama. "Just happened to be in the area," he said in Arkonese. His blustering
tone was typical of his kind. "I thought maybe it'd be a good idea to drop in
to say hello." He looked about him. Larry offered him a seat after
introducing him to Ron. The Springer was obviously curious. "So you're
intending to stay here for awhile?" Ron shrugged. He made no attempt to be
courteous. His interkosmo was so abominable that even Larry could hardly
understand it. "Don't know... depends on a couple of things... have to
see." Alboolal let out a thunderous laugh. "Aha! I get it! Secret-right?
Something you don't want the opposition to know about. But I assure you the
Ghama trade is beginning to drag for us. I think we'll be pulling out of here
before long. You can have this water world all to yourselves..." "Oh...?"
muttered Ron. "Yes, that's right. For you people it can still be a big chunk
of commerce maybe." Alboolal made a deprecating gesture. "But we're not much
for these country trading posts. We go for the main stream." Nobody answered.
Alboolal looked about and suddenly felt uneasy. He got to his feet. "Maybe I
shouldn't take up so much of your time. Anyway, all I wanted to do was say
hello. Well-here's to good neighbours!" He nodded to Ron as he said this. Ron
got up and although he might have been a hand-breadth shorter than Alboolal
there was something in his supple efficiency of movement that was quite
impressive enough. Alboolal's grinning expression froze. He seemed to sense
the hostility that radiated from Ron. He had been about to leave but now he
stood there transfixed by Ron's glaring look. "Don't forget to make your will
and appoint your successor," said Ron in a low tone of voice. But his words
were unmistakable because he spoke Interkosmo this time without the trace of
an accent. 25 ADVENTURES FROM NOW it's action Between the Milky Ways 5/
DAY OF THE MONSTER Relay 14 to EMPRESS OF ARKON: All cups are in the pantry.
All cups are in the pantry. Over... Freighter EMPRESS OF ARKON to Relay 14:
Housekeeping's fine down here. How about you? Over and out... .    .    .
. When it was over with, Richard Silligan didn't know how or in what sequence
of events everything had transpired. When he was finally able to think clearly
he knew that in any ease he was sitting on a wooden bench and close before him
was the face of a creature that seemed to have spring from a nightmare. He
remembered Tony had sought to bring the nose up fast before they hit the
water. He had succeeded partially. The lifeboat had groaned as if ready to
explode-but it had responded. It even climbed slightly higher. It served to
cut down some more of their speed but the final crash from a height of several
hundred meters had been rough. For a few seconds Richard lost consciousness.
As a regulation precaution his spacesuit was closed, so nothing could happen
to him in the water. When he had opened his eyes again there was a dim green
light around him and the outside microphones were picking up nothing but
gurgling sounds. He found himself paddling through water, actually at a
considerable depth, judging by the comparative darkness. When his reason
returned to him he had started to call out. The others also had their
spacesuits on and if something hadn't happened to all of them at the moment of
impact at least one of them should hear him. But before Richard had received
an answer there was a sudden movement in the water. He had seen a shadow
approaching him. At first he thought it to be a large fish that had caught his
scent Ghama was famous for its voracious sea monsters and the thought of a
lidiok or whatever the things were called did not fill him with any special
enthusiasm. But it had not been a Lidiok. It was a fairly crude-looking
submersible craft of some kind with thick glass portholes. It had come to a
stop next to him. A hatch opened on the side of its hull and a pair of hands
gripped him heftily, pulling him into an airlock chamber. The hatch closed and
water was pumped out of the small room. Until this point Richard had not been
able to see any of his rescuers: however now another hatch opened and somebody
had dragged him into the interior of the boat. Breathlessly he sat down on a
wooden bench and in the dimly-lit chamber he was aware of many other benches
around him. "The brown-skinned creature with the protruding eyes and hairless
skull observed him carefully as though he wished to memorize every detail of
his face and never forget them. A Ghamese, thought Richard. Friendly,
peaceloving, motivated by childish curiosity. This much he remembered-but also
that they were faithfully subservient to the Springers. He concluded his own
observation with the mental note that this latter was the only drawback these
creatures had. He looked around. Two benches behind him sat Tony Laughlin,
who had his helmet off and was staring about in wide-eyed amazement. At the
end of the same bench where the bulkhead served as a back support, he saw Lyn
Trenton and Dynah Langmuir. Neither Lyn nor Dynah had opened their helmets.
Dynah seemed to be unconscious, probably from fright. But something else was
stirring back there. Two of the benches began to shake and wobble as an
unkempt head of white hair came into view. This was followed by a pair of
curious, beady eyes and finally the rest of the little man rose up with his
helmet back on his shoulders like the hood of a Capuchin monk. Ezekiel Dunlop
Rykher was grumbling bitterly: "I pity the next person who tries to talk me
into a cratchy (lousy) contest...!" .    .   .   . Other than the one Ghamese
who had just finished studying him, there were no others of his kind in this
inner chamber. However, as Richard's eyes became accustomed to the twilight
dimness of the place he made out a door in the forward bulkhead which no doubt
led to the craft's control room. Undoubtedly more of the small fishmen were up
there. The meagre light available came directly through the portholes from
the water outside. The vessel was in motion. Richard could see it in the
swirling of the water and he could feel the powerful vibrations which came
through the walls. Everything smelled of sea-water and fish. Even the Ghamese
smelled of the sea and fish. Richard caught himself wonderingly asking what
else they were supposed to smell of. He was still a bit confused and his
reasoning powers returned only slowly. A few moments before, it had seemed
that he was sitting in a crashing lifeboat Now he was crouched on a primitive
bench inside a wooden submarine that was being piloted by the smooth-skinned
native inhabitants! Meanwhile their Ghamese rescuer had moved to the wall
near the airlock and was now observing the five Terrans with a smile on his
face. Richard turned around. "How are you doing, Tony?" he asked. Tony
seemed startled. "OK, thanks," he more or less stammered. "Still a little
confused." Richard nodded to him encouragingly. On the bench behind Tony, Ez
Rykher had been brushing imaginary dust from his suit, which of course was a
ludicrous instinctive gesture, but now he turned to see what he could do for
Dynah. "Leave her alone!" Trenton challenged him. "It's just as well she
doesn't experience too much of this." Ez paid no attention. He simply
stretched out his arm and shoved Trenton to one side. The latter was not
accustomed to such treatment. He failed to react out of sheer astonishment. Ez
opened Dynah's helmet and threw it back. Then he lifted the girl from where
she was sitting and stretched her out on the bench. He had shaped the plastic
helmet material into a cushioning sort of pillow for her head. When Dynah
opened her eyes her first words did not sound too feminine. "Phew-what a stink
in here!" Ez laughed in his grumbling sort of way. "It's not the most elegant
of drawing-rooms," he told her, "but it's dry in here!" Dynah sat up,
assisted by Ez. "Where are we?" she asked. Ez turned around. "Hey, Dick!
She's asking where we are. Do you think these natives can understand
Interkosmo!" Richard was chagrined that he had to be reminded of this. He
turned to the Ghamese and spoke to him in Interkosmo. "We are grateful for our
rescue," he said. "You've really helped us out of a bad scrape." The Ghamese
grinned. "I Gherek," he answered brokenly. "No need thank. We go city. You
rest. Then see what do." "But we don't prefer to go to the city," asserted
Lyn Trenton suddenly and his tone was none too gentle. "Take us to the Terran
base!" Richard turned toward him with an angry retort on the tip of his
tongue but before he could express himself Gherek answered. "Not possible.
Must go city. Friends say." While speaking he had been slipping along the
wall toward the forward bulkhead door. Richard could clearly see that the
situation was going to become unpleasant. He turned quickly to Trenton again
and shouted at him. "Trenton, you keep your mouth shut. These people
have..." Trenton had jumped to his feet. The events of the last few minutes
appeared to have taken him half out of his mind. He was no longer the calm,
superior man that he had represented himself to be. He interrupted Richard in
mid-sentence to yell in Arkonese at their rescuer. "I'll show you whose
orders you are to obey! We're going to our own base here and not to your
filthy city. We..." His hand lowered to his belt since every spacesuit was
equipped with a small beam weapon. It was plain to see that Trenton wanted to
intimidate the Ghamese with it and force him to do his will. But it was
Trenton who was the first to discover that they no longer had their
weapons. "They... they've taken our beamers from us!" gasped Trenton
chokingly. He looked as if he were about to faint from fright. Richard jumped
up, instinctively grasping their dangerous position. If the Ghamese had taken
their weapons he knew he'd have to capture Gherek and hold him as a hostage.
But Gherek was aware of the situation. Before Richard could jump over the
bench that was in front of him, the Ghamese opened the door of the forward
bulkhead. For the fraction of a second Richard had a glimpse of a small,
brightly-lit room filled with strange equipment where two other Ghamese looked
up in startlement to see what was happening behind them. Then the door
slammed into place and Gherek disappeared. Richard hit the door panel with
full force but it was solid. The only result was a sharp pain in his right
shoulder. "Tony! Ez! Trenton! Come here!" he panted. "We have to get this
thing open before they..." He spared himself the rest of the words since
everyone seemed to know what to do and why. They ran against the door with
their combined strength. After the first 5 attacks against the wooden panel it
appeared that in time they might succeed. Until now everything had remained
silent behind the door. But then Richard suddenly heard a hissing sound.
"Quiet!" he ordered. "Everybody be still!" They stood where they were and
listened. The hissing sound appeared to come from all directions. There were a
few places along the wall where it seemed to be more audible than elsewhere.
Richard found a small hole and when he transferred saliva to it on the tip of
his finger, he saw that it made bubbles. He was about to say something but at
that moment he felt his legs go out from under him. Suddenly the inside of the
submarine looked as if he were staring through a long tube. He heard Tony cry
out but even his voice sounded strangely remote. Richard crashed to the deck
but hardly felt a thing. It felt as though the strange vessel were rearing
upward wildly. Then for a long time he did not feel or sense another thing. .
 .   .   . Larry chewed a bit nervously at his lower lip. "I don't,
understand anything about diplomatic strategy," he admitted, "but do you think
it was a good idea to say that to Alboolal, right to his face?" Ron stood by
the window with a glass in his hand. He laughed. "Do you really think we could
have pulled the wool over their eyes? The minute they shot down that lifeboat
they knew they were sitting on a hot bed of coals around here. So when they
saw our supply ship come in 5 days ahead of schedule they knew what they were
in for. The only reason Alboolal came in here was to see who the man was that
Terra had decided to send." He came away from the window and set the glass
down on the table rather emphatically. "No, my friend, Alboolal knows what's
up between him and me. What he does not know-and hopefully won't find out-is
where we propose to go from here. All security measures we've employed so far
have related strictly to the Ghamese. They must not suspect that we're getting
ready to make things hot as Hades for the Springers." Larry ran both hands
through his hair. "Glord!" he moaned, thinking of the space castaways. "If I
could only see how we could help the poor devils! Do you think they're even
alive at this stage?" Ron shrugged his shoulders. "There are three
possibilities," he answered. "First: when they crashed the impact killed them
or they were so badly wounded by it that they were helpless and sank to the
bottom. Secondly: they survived the crash but became victims of one of your
hair-raising sea monsters." When he gave Larry a white-toothed grin, the
latter interrupted him somewhat peevishly. "Laugh as much as you want to, Ron!
One of these days you'll get to see a Lidiok and then you won't think they're
so funny." Ron nodded, though still grinning. "Suits me," he said. "But now
then, third: they survived the crash and no Lidiok ate them up. I'm assuming
that the lifeboat carried them at least 200 or 300 meters into the depths.
Before they quite regained their senses or got to the surface, the Ghamese
fished them out. There's a 10-to-1 chance the natives would turn the survivors
over to the Springers before they'd bring them to us. "In which case they are
prisoners." "Precisely. Two hours ago the Empress of Arkon received a
'cups-in-the-pantry' sign. You know what that means. The Fleet is deployed to
its advanced positions and is ready to give us support if it should come to an
open conflict. Tonight we'll pay a visit to the Springer camp and have
ourselves a little look around. All I need is for Alboolal to cross my path
just once...!" He turned again and looked out the window toward the narrow
beach which ran along below the small house. It was just wide enough to keep
the surf from reaching the foundation wall. "What do you do, anyway, if you
have a storm here?" he asked. "Nothing," Larry answered disinterestedly.
"There aren't any storms here. This climate is so well balanced that it never
works up a storm. The weather on Ghama is one of the most monotonous things
I've experienced." Ron laughed. "You should watch out that a Terran tourist
agency doesn't find that out. The World with the Absolute Weather Guarantee...
or something like that. Already I can see them. He interrupted himself to
listen. A chorus of cries emerged from somewhere. Larry had also tensed to
listen attentively. Outside in the passageway they heard the patter of naked
feet. Very close by they heard the high, lamenting cry of a
native. "Liiidiooook...!" Larry was at the door in a flash "A Lidiok!" he
exclaimed. "A Lidiok is approaching the island!" Ron made an easy jump over
the table that was in his way. Larry was already outside in the passageway.
Ron ran after him, shouting: "Get your boat ready! This is our chance!" .     .
 .   . The sea was as calm as ever. The only thing that hinted of danger was
the small group of natives that pressed anxiously inside a seawall enclosure
around a warehouse. From time to time one of the Ghamese would poke his head
out to look toward the water but usually after 2 or 3 seconds he would go
under cover again. Larry and Ron sprinted to the boat that lay on the shore,
half pulled up onto the sand. "Do you have some strong tackle?" Ron called
out while they were running. Larry widened his eyes at him in amazement. "Are
you serious-?! You think you're going to catch a Lidiok with tackle...?" Ron
smiled. It was a young and insolent smile. Larry thought to himself that he
had no idea of what he was doing. "With tackle, skill and this here," Ron
laughed as he slapped the heavy energy weapon which he wore in his belt. They
reached the boat and gave it a powerful shove into the water. Larry swung
aboard skilfully but Ron didn't know about such things and so missed his
chance. The boat was rocking in the water about 3 meters from shore and there
was Ron still on dry land. But it didn't seem to matter to him. He yelled to
Larry: "Duck!" Then he made a short but swift run and jumped. It carried him
flat across the water and into the boat with such force that Larry was almost
thrown overboard. He caught himself on the gunwale and looked at Ron
reproachfully. "Do you always embark like that?" he asked. "Only when my
host can't offer the luxury of a gang-plank," Ron answered. where do you keep
the tackle?" "Here," said Larry as he produced a box from under the stern
seat. Ron opened it impatiently and spent awhile looking over the powerful
line with the hooks as big as the palm of his hand. "Not bad," he admitted.
"what do you usually catch with this stuff-sunken spacecraft?" Larry did not
answer him. He was looking seaward but the Lidiok was not letting itself be
seen yet. The same as with all of its kind. It would show itself just once in
the beginning, only to disappear for awhile. The nextime it appeared, it was
always to make its attack. It was as though it knew that its first appearance
could fill the Ghamese with such unholy terror that for that very reason they
would become its helpless victims. "I need a kind of harpoon," said
Ron. "It's there," said Larry without turning. "Everything's there. The only
thing we've never had around here is somebody who thinks he's going to catch a
Lidiok with harpoon and tackle." "Yup, I'm a rarity alright," Ron laughed. He
brought out the harpoon and started to fasten it to the line instead of the
hook. "When does this fellow show up?" "In 3 or 4 minutes," Larry answered,
"If it hasn't figured out a new strategy." "Why do the Ghamese hide
themselves behind that enclosure? I always thought a Lidiok was a kind of
fish. What can it do against them on land?" "Quite simple. It rushes up onto
the land, takes hold of as many as it can and rushes back into the
water." "Aha! As simple as all that? I thought it was as big as a
house." "That it is," grumbled Larry. "But how can a..." Ron started to ask
more but was interrupted by Larry, who was by now worked up. "Listen, you
Terran greenhorn! The last local sighting of a Lidiok was 3 months ago. It
rushed onto the land and ate 4 of my Ghamese before I could do a thing. I was
actually at the opposite end of the island at the time. If you look over there
you can still see the trough the monster made in the ground! That wreckage is
what's left of a warehouse that collapsed when it hit it. And so-you were
saying..." He had turned away from the sea toward Ron to tell him this and
now Ron was looking over his shoulder. "OK, OK, Larry," he muttered
reassuringly. "I didn't mean anything by it and now that I see it I'll take
you at your word..." Larry whirled around: 50 meters ahead of the boat the
main fin of the Lidiok had emerged, towering at least 5 meters above the
water. "Better keep more to the right!" called Ron. He stood in the stern of
the boat with the heavy automatic in his hand, its barrel pointed
downward. Larry wished that he'd tell him what he had in mind to do. So far
Ron had only given out orders and it was not easy to figure what he was up to.
The Lidiok had become alerted. A portion of its massive head appeared above
the surface, showing the 20 cm hemispheres of its giant eyes. Apparently it
had decided to hold up its attack on the island until it had investigated this
small object that had been coming at it so sharply. Larry did not feel any
too confident. He knew that the boat and the Lidiok were equally fast at top
speed. But he also knew that the Lidiok could shatter the boat with one blow
of his mighty tail. He felt that Ron Landry did not understand too much about
Lidiok hunting. That was the worst part about it. Now the monster was
swimming laterally from the boat. Since the boat was even with it, it would
have to turn to keep it in view. From a distance of 30 meters Larry could see
the thing's watery, treacherous eyes, the broad forehead-like superstructure
of its skull and the triangular fin that towered as high as a house above the
water. "Faster!" yelled Ron. "Before it thinks of something else!" Larry
shoved the throttle to the limit. The Lidiok turned a bit more but did not
seem interested in having the boat follow it Larry knew that after awhile it
would turn toward the land to make its attack. So far Ron had not taken his
eyes from the creature for a second but now he turned about swiftly. In a
smooth, deft movement he bent down and snatched the harpoon from the floor of
the boat. "Make a sharp turn!" he called to Larry. "Then come in toward it at
an angle-at top speed so we can pass its head within 1 or 2 meters!" Larry
did what he was told. While the boat spun the sharp turn in the water he began
to suspect what Ron was intending. The fever of the chase began to grip him
also. His previous apprehensions of only moments before had vanished. He
brought the motor to top speed and the boat seemed to spring from the water
rushing with rising momentum toward the preying monster. Ron now had his
weapon raised for action. On the island the Ghamese spectators emerged from
hiding. Having finally perceived what the two outworlders were attempting to
do, curiosity overcame their instinctive fear. They crouched in the low beach
grass with their eyes fixed on the scene before them. The boat's sudden turn
and speed surprised the Lidiok. Ron timed their movement precisely. The
distance between the pivot-point of the turn and the Lidiok's skull was great
enough to permit a powerful approach run, yet it was short enough so that the
beast could not do much before Ron reached it. Larry was bent far forward now
with his hand on the throttle and his feet braced against the floorboards. He
knew he'd need firm anchorage if the Lidiok turned savage. He stared in
fascination at Ron. Ron was far forward, practically on the bowsprit. It
would take but a very small jolt to send him flying into the water, where he
would be beyond help under the circumstances. In addition to his energy gun,
he now had the harpoon in position also. His gaze was fixed immovably on the
eyes of the Lidiok as though he hoped to hypnotize it. 5 meters to go! Then
Ron let out a cry that was primordial, utterly savage. In the same instant the
gun recoiled in his left hand. A brilliant ray of unleashed energy struck the
wide, ugly head of the giant. The water began to glow as hissing steam rose
upward. Ron leaned way back. Although the weapon seemed to drop from his hand
inadvertently, it fell precisely into the sharp bow compartment of the boat.
He put the whole force of his body behind the harpoon throw and in the midst
of the hissing sounds of the water Larry heard a muffled "plop!" Momentarily
frozen in alarm he also noted that Ron was about to fly right out of the boat
alter the harpoon. His heave had been too wide, or so it seemed. But Ron very
calmly yielded to the pull while at the same time falling just aft of the
gunwale. He supported himself powerfully then and heaved back. That gained him
his balance and he again stood up in his former position. By this time the
Lidiok had come to realize what was happening although it did not have much
left to think with. The impulse beam must have carved a deep molten channel
through its skull. But an instinctive reaction against the attack caused the
creature to lunge forward. With the last sparks of its consciousness it had
perceived the boat's direction of motion as it shot past its head and the
Lidiok began to follow the comparatively flimsy craft. Larry tried to push
the throttle down farther but the motor had no additional reserves of power.
He saw the steaming cloud that concealed the Lidiok's great head, no more than
10 meters astern. In its death throes the monster was generating a titanic
burst of energy. If Ron's shot didn't take effect within a few seconds the
boat was doomed. Something slid past Larry's head and came within a hair of
making him lose his balance. It was the harpoon line. It was running through
Ron's hands and paying out behind them. The Lidiok remained exactly on
course. Larry was kneeling down beside the motor. He wasn't thinking anymore
of the fact that the boat was very close to shore now and that it would strike
the land with a heavy impact if he didn't slow down at the right moment. He
was going for cover behind the motor block because the Lidiok was gaining with
incredible speed. Ron shouted something that Larry couldn't understand. His
gaze was fixed in fascination on the steam cloud which by now he could almost
reach out and touch. He could see the mighty shape of the beast in silhouette
behind the steam. Then the vapours suddenly fell back. Larry couldn't believe
his eyes. He thought that the Lidiok was merely gathering itself for a renewed
charge. But the vapours gradually settled and hovered sluggishly over the
water while the boat continued its headlong course toward the land. Larry
jumped up and began to yell. He threw his arms in the air and shouted
senseless words out of sheer joy and relief. But providence granted him only a
brief instant of triumph. A murderous shock ran through the boat Larry's feet
shot out from under him as he described a high arc thin the air, finally
landing almost at the feet of the watching Ghamese, who were momentarily
frozen in fear. The grass eased the impact of the fall. He got to his feet
although he felt slightly benumbed and confused. Not far away, Ron was also
getting up, still holding onto the harpoon line. Lying partially on its side
the boat had come 5 meters up onto the beach. It did not appear to be damaged
but it had cut a deep trench thin the sand which was now slowly filling with
water. Nothing more could be seen of the Lidiok. The harpoon line sank into
the water a few meters out from shore. Ron watched it and grumbled: "I
thought we could get it in closer than that!" Larry shook his head. "Tell me
the truth-you knew more about Lidioks than you've let on!" Ron laughed.
"Maybe a little bit," he answered. "Back on Earth they had an idea that maybe
I'd run into a Lidiok so they put me through a short hypno-course on the
subject." He attempted to pull on the line. It lifted slightly out of the
water but then suddenly tautened and would not budge farther. "OK," he
muttered. "We'll span a few boats together and then pontoon it out." "You
want to bring it onto the land?" Ron nodded. "Otherwise why would I have gone
to all this trouble? I knew that we'd lose it if we killed it out in deeper
water. Then we'd have either had to cut the line or be dragged into the deep.
I tried to guide it in behind us and it worked. Besides-you were a terrific
boatman!" "Much obliged," retorted Larry drily. "But I'd like to know..." He
was interrupted by the Ghamese natives. They had recovered from their state of
shock and had begun to hop around, singing for joy. They formed a circle
around the two Terrans and started a ritual sort of euphoric roundelay. The
singing wasn't especially harmonious but from the words chanted it was plain
that they held the two outworlders in high esteem for their heroic deed. In
spite of being ready to burst with restlessness, Ron Landry forced himself to
endure the ceremonies. He squatted in the grass and occasionally gave the
dancing Ghamese a friendly nod. He knew that the poorest protocol possible at
the moment would be to interrupt these smooth-skinned fishmen in their present
activity. More than an hour passed before the Ghamese appeared to be
satisfied that they had given sufficient expression to their enthusiasm. The
circle finally broke up and the little brown-skinned men and women returned to
their work. Ron got to his feet. They went back to Larry's office. Ron was
about to speak when Zatok suddenly appeared at the door. "Ah, there you are,
garma!" said Ron in the indigenous tongue. "I'm happy to see you. What brings
you to us?" Zatok was acting strangely in a way that Larry knew was not his
custom. He had known Zatok for more than a year now. He had been one of the
first of the Ghamese to declare himself willing to live together with the
Terrans on Killanak and help them build their station. Larry thought he knew
every expression of Zatok's face but at the moment the fellow was acting
differently than ever before. He seemed to be ashamed or embarrassed. He held
his gaze averted and in spite of Ron's friendly overture he did not speak a
word. It took him a minute before he finally looked at Larry, then at Ron as
he finally spoke. "Garma-ma (Plural: Friends)," he began softly, "you have
done us a great service. We're thankful to you that you have killed this evil
Lidiok and we wish to show our gratitude. We know something that we believe
you'd like very much to be informed about I'd like to tell you this. It has to
do with 5 people of your own race..." 50 ADVENTURES FROM NOW you'll discover
what is Greater Than the Sun 6/ CITY BENEATH THE SEA Freighter EMPRESS OF
ARKON to Relay 14: Sample secured. Standing by. Over... Relay 14 to EMPRESS
OF AKON: Take off at once. Out... .    .   .   . When he finally regained
consciousness, Richard Silligan's first sensation was that of the terrible
odour around him. He opened his eyes. Somewhere high above him was a bright,
smoking red light. His memory came back to him slowly. The first thing he
recalled was the space boat. They had tried to land on Ghama. They had
crashed. They had fallen into the sea and-yes, that was it-a submarine vessel
had picked them up. Then Lyn Trenton had flipped his lid and tried to throw
his weight around. The Ghamese natives had put them under gas and they had
passed out. So now? He had no idea where he was at present. Vertical stone
walls rose up on both sides of him and the red lamp was at least 7 meters
overhead. He raised up slowly. Not far from him were 4 dark shapes lying on
the floor. They were his companions. They had all been brought to this place
together and he was the first to regain his senses. Richard got to his feet.
He felt somewhat better and above all was filled with curiosity. He recalled
that the Ghamese in the submarine-the one called Gherek-had mentioned that
they were to be taken to 'the city'. But the Ghamese natives were water
people. The larger portion of their settlements were always under water,
normally on the coastline of some island land mass so that shafts of fresh air
could be brought into the undersea areas. Richard wondered if the room they
were in now belonged to such a submarine city. He began to explore the walls.
He discovered that the chamber was nearly circular in shape, about 6 meters in
diameter and that there were no doors anywhere. If there were a means of exit
at all it would have to be above him. He leaned back and stared up at the
lamp. A sense of despondency came over him. How could they ever climb up
there? If they still had their weapons they might have been able to burn some
handholds in the wall. But without them...? Something was rustling nearby.
When he whirled around he saw that one of the shapes on the floor had started
to stir. Somebody groaned aloud and Richard recognized the voice. It was Ez
Rykher. He kneeled down in order to help him up. Rykher got up with
astonishing swiftness. "Ye gods," he groaned, "do I ever feel cratchy! What
have they done with us?" As he began to stagger sideways, Richard caught him
under his arms. "They put us under some kind of knockout gas," he answered.
"The effects wear off pretty fast-it's just the first few minutes you have to
fight it." Rykher struggled valiantly to stay on his feet. He was the oldest
one in the group, thought Richard, but so far he had come up with the best
ideas, and if Lyn Trenton could follow his example he would gain more respect
from others. "Where's the way out of here?" Ez wanted to know. "No place,"
answered Richard. "Except maybe straight up!" The old man looked above him.
"Too high!" he muttered, disappointedly. "Way too high!" One after the other
the rest of the survivors came to. First Tony Laughlin, then Dynah Langmuir
and finally Lyn Trenton. The latter felt so bad that he was moved to
submissiveness. He finally came and spoke to Richard, "I've been thinking
this thing over, Dick. I guess I've acted pretty stupidly. Forget it and let
me join forces with you." Richard concealed his surprise behind a smile.
"That's OK with me," he answered. "But why not start now? How are you for
high-jumps, Lyn-like up there, for instance?" Trenton looked up. Each of them
had so far only stared at the lamp above them without any idea of how it might
help them to get out of their predicament. However, Trenton observed it a
little longer and as he dropped his gaze finally he seemed to have something
in mind. "What are these spacesuits made of?" he asked suddenly. "Anybody's
guess," retorted Richard. "Chemicals? I don't know. Most likely they're
synthetic." "Can they be torn into pieces?" "Not on your life! Maybe with a
good knife you could get through the stuff." "Do you have one?" "I think I
should have..." He began to search through his pockets and finally he
produced a small pocketknife. This type of spacesuit was also equipped with a
large jackknife but the Ghamese captors had taken them away. Apparently,
however, they had not considered the smaller penknife to be of any
importance. Now Trenton pointed upward again. "That lamp has to be suspended
by something," he said. "On a line or a cord of some kind. If we also had a
cord and tied something heavy to it, we could swing it upward and maybe snare
that lamp. Then if we're lucky, what's holding it could also hold us while we
climb up." Richard rocked his head slightly from side to side, considering.
He didn't give the idea much chance of success hut any measure of hope was
better than none at all. "Alright," he decided, "we'll give it a
try." Everybody caught on to Lyn Trenton's plan and started to work with
enthusiasm. Of course there was only one knife but each survivor got busy
looking for anything on his person which could be used for making a strong
enough rope. Ez Rykher contributed his suit jacket and shirt and Tony Laughlin
surrendered the jacket of his uniform. There was nothing much Dynah Langmuir
could offer without denuding herself; however to the astonishment of the men
she knew how to tie old-fashioned ship's knots, which required little material
yet held fast. The length of rope made out of such pieces, however, only
reached about 4 meters and of course the rest of it had to be fashioned out of
strips from the spacesuits. If that didn't succeed, then they would have
laboured in vain. Silligan took off his spacesuit and began working on it
where he thought he might have the best chance-where the outside pockets had
been sweated onto the tough material. They were not integral to the actual
suit envelope, being designed to carry such objects as could be used safely
under outer space conditions. Richard worked for some time without results
until he discovered a way to separate the seams. If he worked the blade back
and forth fast enough so that the factor of heat was added, the process began
to become effective. It still took him another half hour before he could cut
off the pocket flap but it was only 20 cm long, not even a pitiable 20th of
the length they still needed. But they did not tire. Richard handed the knife
over to Ez Rykher and the old man demonstrated that he was very familiar with
the use of such a primitive instrument. Within another hour and a half he
produced an additional 80 cm of rope length. They were making progress, which
served to bolster their spirits. After many long hours of incessant labour the
makeshift rope was finally ready. For a weight to tie to the end of it, Ez
Rykher donated one of his space boots. He insisted upon it with a typical
argument: "How many of you city slickers have ever gone barefooted? Not a one!
As for me-for many a year it was every summer for months at a stretch.
So?" The next thing was to test the- rope's strength. A trial tug of war
ensued, with Richard and Trenton on one end of it and Tony and Ez on the
other. Dynah's expert knots held firm. If the lamp's suspension cord were
equally strong they would be -able to climb up without danger of a sudden
drop. It was time to make the rope throw. They had thought they had the most
difficult part of their task behind them but this operation proved to be a
greater challenge. It took them awhile to even gauge the height of the throws.
The boot clanked a number of times against the lamp, which indicated that its
holder was made of metal, and each time the smoking flame flickered ominously.
At each throw they held their breaths because if the lamp went out they could
forget the whole idea. Only after many efforts, when their arms were aching
from repeated attempts, they struck an obstacle somewhere above the lamp
itself. They saw the boot whirl around as the rope struck against something,
and Ez let out a whoop of joy. But then the boot seemed to change its mind and
it fell back again to the floor. When Ez became silent, Dynah began to
cry. In spite of everything, however, they had come a long way. Now they knew
that there was a grappling point above the lamp and all they had to do was
develop a proper throwing technique so that the boot would wrap the rope a few
times around the lamp's suspension line. "Maybe we'd all better take a break
first," Richard decided. "I think we could use it." "OK," grumbled Ez Rykher
grimly, "but first I'm going to give it one more try. That lousy lamp's
getting to me!" Impelled by his fit of anger, he grasped the home made rope
about 3 feet behind the boot. Stretching his right arm out high and wide, he
swung the boot around his head a couple of times until it had built up the
right momentum. Then with a quick lift of his head he swung the boot upward
and let go. Richard saw the boot shoot past the lamp and disappear into the
darkness above it. Ez thought he heard a faint scraping sound but didn't pay
much attention to it. He was staring upward to see what place the boot would
fall back from. Then Rykher let out a sudden wild cry that seemed alien to
his age and mannerism. "It's up there! By God, we did it!" .    .   .
. Suddenly all thought of a rest was forgotten. Richard had to shove
everybody back from the rope as there was a general tendency to grasp it
eagerly. If it had caught on something somehow, then they had to go easy with
it. At first he pulled on it carefully with one hand. Above them the lamp
began to sway, which was a good sign that the rope was caught on a suspension
line somewhere. It seemed to be well-anchored because it did not yield when
Richard pulled on it with both hands, using all his strength. Finally he even
jumped upward and clung to it, swinging above the floor and completely
supported by it. Nothing happened. The rope was fast! Richard claimed the
prerogative of being the first to go up and he decided that Tony Laughlin
should follow him-with good reason. If they should be surprised up above by
the Ghamese, they had to be ready to defend themselves with their fists, and
the best-trained fists in the group happened to be those of Richard and
Tony. Richard found it comparatively easy to climb the first 9 or 10 feet
because Dynah's knots provided many good handholds. But then he began to sense
the fatigue in his arms. He locked his feet on a knot in order to rest his
arms for awhile and then, gritting his teeth, he continued climbing. Finally
he was a scant 3 feet under the lamp and he could see that beyond it the
dungeon walls tapered abruptly inward, leaving one small opening that was
hardly a meter in diameter. Richard couldn't make out what was inside the
opening. It was not too difficult to get past the lamp itself. It was framed
in the shape of a 3-foot wheel of metal. Four spokes led from the outer rim to
the centre where the actual flame was housed. Richard saw an oily basin in the
hub, from which a burning wick protruded. He was able to stand on the wheel
rim and grasp the chain that held it. He rested awhile with the lamp frame
swinging wildly back and forth under his weight. Then he grasped the rough
links of the chain and climbed higher. When he reached the place where the
rope had been caught by the chain he came within a hair of losing his grip.
The boot had only made a 3-quarter turn around the chain, and apparently all
that had held Richard was his own weight on the rope, which was all that had
kept it snagged over the toe of the boot. He was dizzied by the thought of
what might have happened if the rope had slipped over the end of the boot at
any moment. It would have been a pretty severe fall. After unfastening the
rope, he swung it and the boot around his neck and then climbed the rest of
the way up to the opening. He had no difficulty in getting over the edge of
the hole onto a solid stone floor but once safely inside his strength left him
for awhile. He lay down and gave his body a chance to recover from its cramped
stiffness. Only then did he firmly fasten the rope so that the others would
not have to fear it would come loose. Tony came up swiftly, followed by Ez.
Then it was not very difficult to haul up Lyn Trenton and Dynah. The room
over the dungeon had roughly the same diameter but its ceiling was
considerably lower. While Dynah was still untying herself from the rope,
Richard was already examining the walls. It did not require much skill to
locate the door because nobody had taken pains to conceal it. Apparently the
Ghamese had considered their prison to be absolutely secure. The door was
suspended by 3 wooden hinges of somewhat grotesque dimensions. It had a simple
locking bolt which apparently worked in the same manner outside as in. Richard
cautiously lifted the bolt and sought to move the door. It moved heavily on
its hinges. Immediately he closed it again and replaced the bolt, waiting for
everybody to be ready at once for the breakout. It came to Richard in that
moment that their attempt was actually rather hopeless. This city was under
water, deep below the surface of the sea. There were exit locks, of course,
and for a Ghamese it would be no particular task to swim up to the surface
without any kind of equipment. Also, if he wanted to use a more convenient
method he could use one of the submersible boats. But for Terrans there could
be only this latter choice. They were not capable of swimming up through 30 or
40 fathoms of water unaided. It meant they would have to steal a boat from the
Ghamese before the pursuit began and that they'd also have to learn how to
operate it without any loss of time. This prospect seemed to offer little
chance of success. There was still a 3rd alternative: through the airshafts
that connected the city with the upper world. Although the Ghamese had both
lungs and gills they chose to live in a gaseous atmosphere. However, Richard
doubted that such a route would be negotiable. The shafts probably extended
upward vertically and had no provisions for climbing them. When everyone had
gathered closely behind him, Richard carefully opened the door. It squeaked
frightfully in its hinges and he hesitated awhile, fearful that somebody on
the outside might hear it. But then he saw what was out there and the
spectacle caused him to throw caution to the winds. There was a passage or
street of some kind that slanted gently upward from left to right and which
was only illuminated by a dim greenish twilight glow. But directly across from
him, only a few meters away, was the hideous skull of a tremendous sea
monster. It stared at him curiously and started to open its mouth, which was
as big as a barn door. It was as though the sight of the humans had stirred up
its appetite. Richard shot through the door, dove to his right and then threw
himself instinctively to the ground. The monster moved to attack, approaching
him with uncanny swiftness. Dynah screamed loudly while at the same instant a
thunderous shock of impact ran through the street-like passage. Richard turned
on his side in time to see the weird sea giant swim off into the darkness with
a lazy movement of its huge fins. He sat up. After all-that was sea water.
What the devil! How could this passage be dry when some whalish creature was
swimming out there? Ez Rykher suddenly started to laugh in his carping sort
of way. "It's a trick illusion, Dick!" he exclaimed. "That critter was
playing games with us. He knew there was a glass wall between us-only we
didn't know it!" Almost as if walking in a dream, Richard slowly crossed the
passage to the other side. He had to hold his hands out in front of him
because the glass was literally invisible. He didn't know where it was until
his hands collided with it. This was a kind of glass that Richard had never
encountered before. It was completely transparent and free of reflections.
There was no way in which the material could be seen by any normal means. It
was the ultimate material for windows and it was a Ghamese product Richard and
his companions were staring out into the ocean depths through a transparency
that extended the whole length of the street-like passage. Or at least it
extended as far as they could see. Close overhead was a stone ceiling that
joined the glass wall. The glass-walled street passage made a slight ascent to
their right ahead of them and disappeared around a curve. The inner wall of
the structure was also of stone, in which there were doors at evenly spaced
intervals. It was a strange situation, alien and weird, in fact. None of them
had ever seen anything like it. It finally dawned on them that they were in a
place where human feet had never ventured before: 40 or 50 fathoms beneath the
surface of an alien sea, in a glass-walled avenue of a unique city of
amphibious fishmen. Richard seemed to sense the emanation of something
ominous in the silent stones of the ponderous structure. He looked around
several times, expecting at any moment to see one of the ponderous doors swing
open before a hostile horde of Ghamese. But nothing happened. The undersea
avenue remained undisturbed. He had a presentiment that the deserted aspect
of the place might have something to do with the giant fish creature who had
made such a fool of him. He knew that there were aquatic monsters in the
oceans of Ghama which filled the natives of the planet with an instinctive and
panicky fear. He considered it possible that the Ghamese in the area may have
taken to their heels at the sight of the giant sea denizen. It might explain
why this section of the street passage was empty of any local
traffic. Richard knew they had to go on. They couldn't just stand where they
were. He could sense his own rising nervousness and apparently the others were
in the same mood. "Let's go!" he said suddenly, in an attempt to appear
vigorous and confident. "We have to head for the surface. Somewhere we'll find
a lock and a boat." He started off, leading the way. He hoped that after he
rounded the curve up ahead he would get a clearer picture of what was going on
and why this passage was so ominously quiet but this hope was not realized.
Actually, there wasn't any curve, as such. That had only been an illusion. The
passage merely described a slow, constant arc so that from any given point
one's range of vision along its extent was limited to some 15 or 20
meters. After marching along for about a quarter of an hour they began to
notice for the firstime since they had emerged from their dungeon that the air
they were breathing was not quite suited to them. They had long since ceased
to pay much attention to its oily fish odour but now in addition they realized
that it was poor in oxygen content. They broke out in sweat and often had to
rest in order to recover from a dizziness that was slowly creeping over
them. At times Richard thought he heard noises up ahead somewhere but each
time he would stop to listen he found he had been deceived. The deathly
silence continued-with the exception of their dragging footsteps. The left
wall of the passage was made up of one long window after another, which were
only interrupted here and there by brief stretches of massive stone masonry.
The glass panels must have been tremendously thick to withstand the awful
pressure of these depths but in spite of this their factor of light distortion
remained zero. The strange way continued to curve before them and in the
stone wall to their right the fugitives continued to encounter the ponderous,
silent doors. Richard was tempted to open one of them to see what lay behind
it but decided that it was more important to continue onward and try to find a
way out of the city. After they had continued in this manner for half an hour
they gathered the impression that during this time they must have completed a
circle, if not more. The city appeared to be built on a plan like the Tower of
Babel, having one passage on the outer wall that ascended like a spiral. A
few minutes after that the inner stone wall of the passage altered its
appearance. Now the monotonous masonry was broken by a series of windows also.
Of course they were smaller than the sweeping thick panes that separated the
city from the sea and they didn't have the same marvellously smooth clarity,
yet they were transparent enough to permit a view of what lay in the interior
rooms behind them. Inside they could see a confusing maze of objects which
were totally unfamiliar to Richard and his companions and which seemed to have
lain there for a long period of time. Then the passage became wider and
higher. Richard slowed his pace cautiously. A warning presentiment assailed
him when he perceived that a kind of plaza or square lay before him which
opened inward to his right, into the main structure of the city. It was
completely empty. The dim light filtering in from the sea was sufficient to
enable him to see where the passage narrowed again to the width of the avenue
they had been following. He kept hard right and next to the stone wall, which
gave him a sense of security. He would not have crossed the centre of the
plaza for anything in the world, no matter how much time it might have saved
him and it appeared that the others were of the same opinion. Lyn Trenton
muttered, "Something smells fishy here... and I mean that literally. I'll bet
you the local inhabitants are hiding somewhere close by and are watching
us." Richard would have preferred that he hadn't expressed this fear. It
matched his own presentiments exactly but for Dynah's sake it would have been
better if he'd kept his mouth shut. He had turned to look back at the girl
several times and he knew she was at the end of her stamina, both physically
and mentally. He stopped to let Ez and Tony pass him and then he went to her.
"If you want to we could take a rest before going on," he suggested. She
shook her head almost too vehemently, it seemed to him. "Not on my account,"
she answered stubbornly. "I can still make it a little farther." Ez was in
the lead now and he moved forward at a faster pace than Richard. The square
seemed sinister to him and he wanted to get it behind him as quickly as
possible. Within 5 minutes they had reached the middle of it-that is, halfway
along one wall-and under the new pace Ez was setting they were relieved to see
the opposite continuation of the passage draw nearer swiftly. "We'll soon be
there," Ez growled, half aloud. "I'll be glad when we-" He got no
further. It was then that it happened, Doors flew open. Hinges squeaked
raucously and the pattering of naked feet was heard on the stone floor. Swarms
of the small, oily-skinned little brown Ghamese streamed outward from openings
in the wall of the city. They spoke not a word, apparently operating under an
agreed plan of action. No one came close to the Terrans. The ones that had
emerged from doors ahead of the Earthmen occupied the street opening across
the plaza and those who had emerged behind them blockaded the passage they had
come from. Richard and his companions were surrounded! And then suddenly the
giant stepped into the arena. He was the last one to emerge from one of the
doorways, being forced to duck down as he entered in order not to bump his
head. He was wearing some close-fitting synthetic clothing that was in modern
contrast to the primitive loincloths of the Ghamese inhabitants and in his
hand was an imposing energy weapon. His wide face was framed by a fiery red
beard and when he began to speak his voice resounded like thunder through the
square. "Welcome, Terrans! I see you troubled to get up here on your own.
That saves us a lot of bother. Otherwise we would have had to fish you out of
your hole down below. He spoke Interkosmo and the way he gloated in amusement
over his victims was the typical characteristic of a Springer. The beard and
powerful structure were merely incidental proofs of his identity. There was
no way out. "Come on! Be my guests!" scoffed the bearded giant. "You'll be as
comfortable here in this wonderful city as you would at home!" Richard could
only stand there with his jaws clamped shut, on the verge of gnashing his
teeth. He noted that Ez was watching him questioningly along with Tony and Lyn
Trenton. "Go to him!" he almost gritted, half under his breath. "Don't try
anything with him. I'll try to get help!" He had no idea of how he might keep
such a promise. There were a number of doors in their vicinity but he didn't
even know if he could reach one of them before the Springer fired, aside from
whether or not the door he chose would have an exit behind it. But he was
going to attempt it. Ez understood his plan. He shrugged his shoulders and
walked toward the waiting Springer in an apparent mood of resignation. After
some hesitation, Tony followed him and then finally Lyn brought up the
rear. It was at that moment that the Springer assumed he had won and he
relaxed his alertness. It was also the moment when Richard Silligan made a
mighty leap to one side and started running for the nearest door. 100
ADVENTURES FROM NOW you'll root for The Saviours of the KHREST 7/ FRANTIC
FUGITIVES Relay 14 to Ghama Station: Expect delivery in 34 hours.
Over... Ghama Station to Relay 14: That's dragging it out. It will be a tight
schedule here. Over and out... .    .   .   . For about the 10th time in the
past 4 days, Larry repeated his question: "So you're not going to tell me why
you shipped that Lidiok out of here?" Ron soberly shook his head. "No," he
answered succinctly. "And why not?" "Glord!" sighed Ron. "As if I hadn't
made it clear to you a hundred times already! If only one of us knows why,
it's better and safer than if two of us knew the reason. Can't I ever get that
into your dull skull?" "No," retorted Larry with the same laconic brevity.
And after awhile he added: "I only hope there's a plausible basis to it." Ron
nodded but said nothing. He seemed to be thinking of something else. Larry
walked to the window and as he looked outside he wondered how long he was
going to have to wait before something happened. It was 5 days now since they
had killed the Lidiok-that is, 5 Ghama days, which were 52 Terran hours long.
Five days ago, Zatok had also confessed that some men of his own race had
fished the Terrans out of the sea after they had crashed in a spaceboat and
that they had taken them to their submarine city under orders of the
Springers. So for 5 days they had known that the 5 unfortunate Earthlings were
being held prisoners in the city of Guluch off the coast of the island of
Tarik, some 500 km from Killanak. Yet in spite of this nobody had taken any
action-at least no action that had anything to do with freeing the
prisoners. On the morning following the successful Lidiok hunt, the giant
cadaver of the beast had disappeared and with it had gone the gleaming
metallic sphere of the Empress of Arkon. With a somewhat insidious smile on
his face, Ron Landry had explained that he had sent the dead monster to Terra
as a scientific specimen. Larry hadn't believed a word of it. Finally Ron had
given up trying to support the statement as being the truth. At any rate he
had wasted no words to explain what was really going on. Larry sighed. He
remembered something that had been imparted to him at the time he had applied
for a position in the Intercosmic Social Welfare and Development organization.
In those days he had been a cadet in the Space Academy and the Academy's
commanding officer had informed him that 'Welfare and Development' could use
men like himself. He had let drop a few hints that the organization was
involved in more than the welfare and development activity. It had caused
Larry some confusion. It had disconcerted him to realize that if he should
decide against the C.O.'s recommendation they would have to give him a
hypno-shock treatment in order to erase his memory of this conversation. But
he did not reject the proposal, not out of fear of the hypno-shock but rather
because he knew that the outfit really was not a Welfare and Development
setup. The whole thing had been mysteriously fascinating to him. They had
taken him in and he had gone thin a long, hard period of training. At the end
of his indoctrination and training he had been transferred into Division 3.
This was the inner corps of the outfit and its activities actually had nothing
at all to do with 'welfare and development', either intercosmic or social or
whatever. Larry soon realized that he had landed in the toughest and most
effective branch of Intelligence. At the inauguration of the Division, Perry
Rhodan himself had acted as godfather, one of the loneliest of men at the
pinnacle of renown. Division 3 was his own personal instrument and although it
was by far less famed than Rhodan's fabulous Mutant Corps, it was no less
effective in its operation. At this moment Larry recalled the motto of the
Division which had been taken from an old proverb: 'Don't let your left hand
know what your right hand is doing.' And at present he was damned if he
didn't seem to be the left-hand factor in the equation! .    .    .  . They
had slept through another night. But as they were having breakfast Ron
suddenly looked at his watch. Rather negligently he remarked: "Finish your
eggs and then we'll get going." Larry's food almost choked in his throat.
"Where to?" he wanted to know. Ron laughed. "Where to, he asks! Have you
forgotten that 5 Terrans have crashed on Ghama and been taken prisoners by the
Ghamese by order of the Springers against every agreement of intergalactic
law?" Larry finished swallowing his food. "Oh, so that's finally come to your
mind, after all!" he retorted bitterly. Ron failed to respond to the
challenge. He merely remained silent while watching Larry chop away at the
rest of his eggs. But finally Larry couldn't stand the suspense
anymore. "Where are we going actually?" he asked. "We're making a boat
trip," Ron answered. "Far?" "M-hm-m... Pretty far." "Why?" "Don't ask so
many questions. Chow down!" Larry nodded grimly and finished his
breakfast. After that they went outside. Unknown to Larry, Ron had evidently
briefed Zatok in regard to the excursion. This became apparent when they came
upon Zatok and a couple of other Ghamese natives beside the boat on the shore.
With unmistakable pride, Zatok declared that he had accomplished everything
that had been requested. Ron complimented him for his efforts and Larry again
had to admit that Ron Landry knew how to handle the Ghamese better than he
did. Without another word, Ron shoved the boat into the water. Larry got in
and sat in the bow section. After all, if Ron wasn't going to open his mouth
he could drive. Which Ron proceeded to do. He shouted a few cheerful words to
the Ghamese and started the motor. Then he steered the boat at a lively clip
into the open sea. Hours passed. The sun gradually developed a heat that was
intense but there was no way of avoiding it as the boat offered no shade.
After awhile, Ron slowed to a stop and took a break. This was after they had
been 6 hours at sea without any sign of Killanak. After shutting down the
engine, Ron opened a package of provisions and handed out food and drink,
which Zatok had apparently prepared and stowed on board. Even during the brief
snack there was little conversation if any. Finally Ron dove overboard in
order to refresh himself in the water. While he swam about in the
neighbourhood of the boat, Larry kept a lookout to make sure that no Lidioks
were around. Then the situation was reversed where Larry took a swim and Ron
kept watch. Finally they continued onward. Four more hours went by and Larry
figured. that by now they must be about 1300 km out from Killanak. Still he
did not know what Ron had on his mind. After awhile he could tell by Ron's
actions that they were getting close to their goal. He had stood up and was
looking around, seeming to be fairly sure of himself yet a bit puzzled at not
being able to discern his objective yet. He sat down again and pushed on for
awhile, after which he got up again to observe the sea ahead of them. But by
this time Larry had already spotted the indistinct object. It appeared to be
just above the surface of the water, occasionally glistening as though it were
made of metal and the sun was reflecting from it. Ron grunted his
satisfaction and pushed the throttle to maximum, steering directly toward the
distant point on the horizon. For 5 minutes the boat churned ahead at top
speed without causing the object ahead to grow appreciably in size. But then
the relationships changed rapidly. The thing became a tiny ball which finally
converted itself into a mighty sphere suspended over the water. It hung there
on a cushion of invisible forces and shimmered brightly in the sunlight. It
was the Empress of Arkon, their base supply ship. In a new state of
bewilderment Larry realized that this was far beyond what he had imagined
concerning their purpose and goal. What was the Empress of Arkon doing out
here in the middle of the ocean, far from any known inhabited island? Ron
nudged his shoulder. "Here we are," he said superfluously. "Now you can keep
your eyes open, OK?" In his hand was a small transceiver device that was not
any larger than an old-fashioned matchbox. Larry heard him say: "Is everything
ready?" And he could also catch the answer that came through: "Everything
ready, sir." "How does it look in the surrounding area?" "All clear, sir. We
were tracked during the approach flight but at present there's not a thing in
sight anywhere within instrument range." "Including straight down?" asked Ron
with special emphasis. "Yessir-clear to the bottom." Ron Landry smiled.
"Alright, then let's get the show on the road. My buddy here can hardly wait
to see what you've brought with you!" .    .   .   . Richard Silligan felt
the hot, glowing beam of the thermo-gun as it hissed close past his skull. He
threw himself to one side and fell as he did so, but he rolled once and then
sprang to his feet. He wasn't far now from the door. The Springer had lost
precious seconds since it was hard for him to believe that any of the Terrans
would seriously attempt an escape. His first shot had been wild because of his
surprise. The second one, however, would be closer and effective. Richard
knew that he was lost if the door turned out to be one with stubborn hinges
that would take him more time to open than it would for the Springer to get a
clear shot at him. Nevertheless he kept on going. He had to make it. He
realized in the moment that the Ghamese and the Springer appeared in the
square that no other Terrans would know about the crash of the lifeboat on
Ghama if at least one of the survivors couldn't manage to get out of the
submarine city and reach the Terran base. The Springers were enemies of Earth
no matter how many treaties the two races had made with each other. For them
any Terran falling into their hands was a valuable acquisition. By certain
means they could obtain from them any number of details which Terra always
strove to keep secret. Once in the hands of a Springer, a Terran could give up
hope of ever being free again. It was this knowledge that drove Richard
onward. He spurted at top speed toward the door while behind him a clamour
arose. The Ghamese who had remained silent thus far were now reacting. He
could hear their hurried, pattering feet on the smooth stones of the
plaza. They were coming after him! At once he perceived his opportunity. If
the Ghamese took up the chase it would keep the Springer from firing. He
wouldn't try it as long as the fishmen were crowding into his line of
fire. Richard did not slacken his pace when he reached the wall. He crashed
hard against the stone masonry and instantly reached for the door bolt. With a
determined grip he lifted it. He pushed hard and felt the door slowly move
under his pressure. Finally it opened enough to enable him to see behind it.
It was not a room. He realized that the windows he had seen in the wall were
not a part of this area. Instead, he was confronted with a dark, narrow
passage that appeared to lead into the heart of the city-but goodness knew
where. He squeezed past the partially opened door into the corridor but in
the same moment something banged hard against the door from the outside. He
heard a plaintive, almost hysterical voice: "Dick, for the love of God-take me
with you...!" Richard froze in his tracks. It was easy to recognize that
voice. Dynah Langmuir was out there rattling the door bolt. He couldn't just
leave her standing there, so he cracked the door open wide enough to grasp her
by the arm and pull her through. As he pulled her with him into the passage he
noted with a quick glance that the leading phalanx of the Ghamese was still
about 10 meters away. It was a stroke of luck that they moved clumsily on
solid ground. Their method of running was more like an accelerated sort of
waddling which seemed to exert them to the utmost. Richard knew he was safe as
long as they restricted themselves to merely chasing behind him. But perhaps
they or the Springer would soon get the idea that the city was honeycombed
with other passages, some of which might offer a means of cutting him
off. Him and the crazy girl who had decided to come with him! He ran on into
the passage which had been plunged into darkness after the door was closed.
But he had noticed that the corridor led straight ahead for at least 100
meters. He only had to keep a hand out as he progressed, in order to feel any
obstruction in his path. With his other hand he held Dynah's arm and guided
her after him, expecting at any moment to see a light in the way ahead. By
this time he knew that the Ghamese must have reached the door and certainly
they wouldn't hesitate to continue the pursuit. But he finally reached the
first turn without seeing any sign of the Ghamese and he began to think that
either he had overestimated their mentalities or they had a!ready found
another way to reach him sooner than by direct pursuit. When he released his
firm grip on the girl's arm he sensed that she staggered and leaned against
the wall for support. Suddenly realizing her condition his initial anger
subsided. "What good did you really think this would do you?" he asked, but
his tone was far less gruff than he had intended. Dynah sobbed. "Nothing,"
she answered. "Except that I didn't want to have anything to do with that
terrible man with the beard. You should have seen the look in his eyes when he
saw me...!" Richard had caught the Springer's lecherous look and he knew the
girl wasn't exaggerating. "Alright," he muttered somewhat helplessly, "we'll
manage this thing together then-but you're really going to have to grit your
teeth. How do you feel?" "Miserable!" Dynah admitted. "My legs feel like
lead, my shoulders hurt and I can hardly lift my arms. He had to laugh in
spite of himself. "That's a great condition to be in when you're running away
from 10,000 enemies," he said ironically. "But forget it: everything will work
out." He was thinking the opposite but figured it wise to keep her spirits up
as best he could. "Come on," he said softly then, "we have to keep going!" He
took her by the hand and she submitted willingly to his guidance. When they
negotiated the bend of the passage they found that it began to slant gradually
back into the depths. Richard forced a good-natured chuckle. "That's where we
came in!" he muttered. They took no pains to move quietly. The passage was
completely silent There didn't seem to be any pursuers anywhere, either ahead
or behind them. Richard was wondering what kind of trick the enemy might have
figured out. He decided to take the first branch passage they could find. If
the Ghamese tried to guess at what point he might leave the corridor they'd
most likely presume he'd choose to stay as long as he could with a route that
was closest at hand. He didn't want to make things that easy for them. It was
possible that they would pay less attention to the lateral passages than to
this main one he was in. It was a good idea-but there were no lateral
passages. At least not during the first half hour. Richard's confidence
faded. Then he had a new thought that gave him a fresh spurt of hope: this
present corridor must have a specific purpose. Nobody would make such a
passage merely to connect two points unless it led to some major outlet or
thoroughfare. The Ghamese must have had some plan in mind when they laid this
tunnel out. It had to lead somewhere other than just endlessly onward without
any lateral passages. Thus far they had progressed using a groping method
whereby his left hand felt along one wall and Dynah's right hand felt along
the other. But Richard decided that wasn't enough. It could be that the doors
in this area were not as crudely designed as those they had seen in the wider
passage coming up. It would be very easy to miss a narrow door crack as they
went along, using this method. He finally stopped. "What's the matter?" the
girl asked, anxiously. "We need light," he answered. "I'm afraid we're not
going to find anything with just our hands." "I have a lighter," she said.
"But it's just a little one." "That's a lot better than nothing," he laughed.
"Let me have it, please." He heard Dynah rummaging through her pockets.
"Here!" she said, finally. Richard held the lighter close to the wall and
ignited it. The greenish spot of luminescence was no larger than his
thumbnail. With that he figured it might take him more than an hour just to
carefully go over one square meter of the wall-that is, if he really didn't
want to risk missing anything. Then he discovered he could make the light
more effective by cupping his hand around it, which served as a dim reflector,
thus augmenting its feeble range slightly. The wall revealed nothing of any
importance. The passage had been cut primitively through sheer native rock.
The floor was not very even and the ceiling was so low that he wondered why
they hadn't struck their heads against it a number of times. But nowhere could
he find a door or any other exit mechanism leading into a lateral
passage. Dynah asked him suddenly: "Do you think we'll ever get out of
here?" He laughed. "I don't intend to spend my life in this place." "You
laugh too much," she commented seriously. "You don't have to, you know, just
to keep my spirits up. At least all I need is to stay at whatever your own
level of courage is. I'm always better off if I know exactly what the score
is." Richard swallowed hard. "It's a little painful to see how easily you can
read me," he said. "But anyway I'm certain that we're not going to die in this
tunnel. If nothing else happens we can go back and surrender to the Springer.
That's better than starving." Wherewith he turned his attention back to the
wall again. And it was precisely then that he discovered what he had been
searching for so long: a narrow, hair-fine crack that ran from the top to the
bottom of the wall. It was far too straight to be a natural crevice. With a
new mounting tension he followed it with the feeble light. Tracing it upward
he found the place where it made a right angle and crossed parallel to the
ceiling to another right angle that again dropped a straight line toward the
floor. Dynah had not been able to see any of this. When Richard turned to
her with apparent nonchalance and said, "Here's the door," she whirled about
and stared at the wall. He gave her the lighter and asked her to hold it
close to the special section he had discovered. Then he made an attempt to
move the panel in one direction or another. There was no door handle so he
braced himself against it and pressed back with all his might. But the door
did not yield. He was about to give it up when he heard a soft clicking sound
somewhere near the floor. Suddenly the obstruction moved so easily that he
came within a hair of falling inside. The slab of stone receded inwardly as
though it were sliding on well-oiled rollers. An opening appeared in the wall,
offering two narrow passages to the right and left of the slab. Richard
stepped back, not knowing why he suddenly felt proud of his accomplishment.
Perhaps it was because of Dynah's presence here. At any rate he waved a hand
toward the opening and looked at her as though to say: this I have found for
you. Go in and have a look! It was thus that Dynah made the discovery that
was actually to his own credit. Hesitating slightly, and reaching her hand
back as if she wanted him to hold it, she stepped into the opening in order to
peer around the receded panel of stone. Richard saw her bend forward so that
she could see what was inside. As she seemed to stand there motionlessly, he
asked himself what she could be looking at so long. He finally took hold of
her hand and was about to pull her back when she suddenly turned to him. In
the light coming from the interior he saw that her face was flushed with
excitement. "Down there!" she blurted out. "Dick-that glass...!" 200
ADVENTURES FROM NOW you'll find yourself inside Death's Labyrinth 8/ CRACK
IN THE WALL Relay 14 to Ghama Station: Terra advises raw material only is of
interest. Plenty of finished product samples on hand. The top order is to
proceed with caution. Over... Ghama Station to Relay 14: Thanks for advice.
So far not possible to proceed. Over and out... .    .   .   . Ron Landry
would have preferred very much to send another kind of answer but the
intergalactic hyper-communications channels were not intended for the mere
transmission of emotions. When Larry Randall got to see the dispatch he
laughed bitterly. "They don't have any idea of how things look down here," he
declared. "How could they?" muttered Ron. "If I ever get hold of this
Silligan character he'll learn a thing or two! I've seldom seen anybody pull
such a crazy stunt as he did." Larry shrugged. "I don't know. In his place
I'd probably have done the same thing." Ron turned slowly and irritably.
"That's just it," he grumbled. "Everybody thinks he has to be his own hero. He
ought to know that Terra never leaves its people in the lurch-so far, not in a
single instance." Larry looked at him in wonderment. "Hey now, that sounds
pretty solemn, like scout's honour and cross my heart! But I still don't know
if I'd bet on it if the chips were down." Ron made an impatient gesture.
"It's one of the keystones of our politics. For the least solitary Terran
caught in a space emergency, if necessary an entire rescue expedition would be
sent out. That's Perry Rhodan's personal policy. He thinks that's the only way
to make the Springers keep their hands off our ships-or anybody else who might
be against us. Rhodan's serious about it and I think the whole idea is
excellent. It makes any such situation quite simple: if you get into a bind
somewhere, just don't do anything more than you have to, to stay alive. You
just wait and rest assured that at some time or another a Terran ship is going
to show up to get you out of the jam." Larry nodded but was still
disconcerted. "You know you're pretty convinced of all
that." "Completely." Larry thought about it for awhile and then shrugged.
"Well, OK-but a man has to get used to such a setup. So far, Terrans have
always had a habit of taking care of themselves directly, to the best of their
ability. I can't condemn Silligan for his actions." Ron stood at the window
with a glass in his hand. "Frankly, I can't either," he admitted. "But that
big hero move may cost him his life... as well as that of the girl he took
along with him. I can't leave Warren Teller and his men swimming around down
there for the rest of eternity. Sooner or later they'll have to attack. And if
by that time Silligan and the girl haven't shown up it may be L.S.T.
(curtains) for them." Larry pondered this for a moment. "Alboolal is also
down there, isn't he?" he asked. Ron nodded. "Yes. According to the
description, it must be him." "Well, what's to be done with him?" Ron
shrugged. "Teller's been instructed to keep an eye out for him," he answered.
"If Silligan and the girl still show up in time there'll be no room for
Alboolal and he can lie in the bed he's made for himself. And even if the
other two can't be found, Teller and his crew are going to have their hands
full just getting the rest of the prisoners out of there when the city starts
to break up. So there'll be no time to go chasing after Alboolal." "But you
can find out before that where he's hiding, can't you?" "Only if he's in our
line of vision. The whole city isn't under glass, you know." "Well, the same
would go for the prisoners. If Teller can't see where they are he won't be
able to rescue them." Ron smiled. "Quite right. That's why, when Teller gets
a clear signal to make his thrust, hell only wait until he catches sight of
the main group of prisoners. .    .   .   . Richard's first impression when
he looked beyond the stone slab was one of blinding brightness and terrible
heat. But then his eyes began to get accustomed to the brilliance and he could
make out a few details. He was looking down into a vast chamber and could now
see that the light and heat were being generated by a sluggish stream of
molten material that emerged from an opening in the wall and was apparently
pouring into a carefully engineered circular basin in the foreground. There it
apparently cooled down and lost its brilliance. And finally the stream came to
a kind of water-filled trough, into which it flowed with a loud hissing and
boiling. Richard couldn't quite make out whether it was really a trough down
there. He had an impression that the Ghamese had bored a hole in the side wall
and permitted a small quantity of sea water to enter. But that part wasn't
important. Of prime importance was the fact that the hot-glowing mass of
molten fluid was going through an amazing process. Although it only cooled
down to a dull red colour in the water, when it came out on the near side of
the trough it was no longer molten but merely emerged in a plastic state and
pushed out onto the dry floor. At that point it gradually broke into pieces
which then ceased to move. The whole effect made it seem as if the strange
mass of material had some kind of life of its own. Moreover the pieces that
had cooled down were glassy and transparent-in fact they became increasingly
transparent in proportion to their proximity to Richard's point of
observation. It was amazing to see how indistinct the outlines of the
individual pieces were which were closest to his position. In fact, finally he
was not sure whether some of them could be seen at all. Richard was convinced
that there were probably more pieces somewhere in the foreground that were
completely invisible. He was sure that Dynah was right. They had chanced upon
the secret production workroom where the famous Ghamese glass was made. It was
the same glass they used to protect their city from the sea, so transparent
that outsiders could not detect the presence of it. A couple of Ghamese
natives were running about down below, apparently oblivious to the heat. They
monitored the process of the molten flow through the water trough. Beyond that
it seemed that they had nothing to watch out for. What emerged on this side of
the trough was finished, perfect glass. Richard started counting. Down below
were 11 Ghamese natives, altogether. From his position he couldn't quite see
the entire room. It could be that more of the natives might be in the
vicinity, which would of course be a disadvantage. It was bad enough to have
to face the 11 fishmen that he could see. He had no weapons and although they
didn't either, this made little difference since they were numerically
superior. He subjected the place to a critical inspection. Beyond the stone
slab the way led downward rather steeply while at the same time expanding
outwards and with a rising ceiling. It opened outward into the chamber
something like the large end of a funnel. The chamber itself was empty except
for the 11 Ghamese, the trough in the ground and the molten flow of the glass.
There was no possibility of finding concealment anywhere. But in spite of
this they had to go down there. There was only one way to gain freedom and
that was to capture one of the Ghamese and force him to tell them where they
could find a submarine lock and a boat. In Richard's mind a plan was forming.
It was simple because it was born of necessity rather than strategy. He had no
time for protracted thinking just now and besides the plan seemed to offer a
reasonable chance of success. He stepped back and looked at Dynah. Even as he
was searching for words to say, however, she anticipated him. "Don't try to
give me the news that I'm to stay here and watch, Dick. I'm going with
you!" He tried to tell her, anyway. That is, he was about to but she still
cut him off. She pointed around the slab into the chamber. "Now we're going
to go down there together and if anybody gives us trouble he'll catch it from
us-OK?" .    .   .   . Ron Landry looked at his watch. As if that meant
anything, thought Larry dejectedly. They've disappeared and will never show up
again-unless their corpses float to the surface. Ron extracted the compact
micro-transceiver from his pocket and flipped it on. "Barsch to Forelle," he
said while calmly using the code names. "Come in, Forelle." There was a small
period of waiting until the usual crackling was heard in the receiver and then
a very distant-sounding voice answered: "Forelle to Barsch. I can hear
you." "What's the story an Silligan and the girl?" "Haven't the foggiest,
Barsch. No sign of them yet." "And the others?" "Not visible at the moment.
But I know where they're hiding." "Good! Now listen carefully, Forelle. You
may attack as soon as you see fit. We can't hold off any longer because of
Silligan and the girl. That gives you room for two more. Watch out for the
Springer and bring him along if you can." "Roger! I'll attack as soon as
possible and bring the Springer with us." "Good. That is all..." .     .    .
. Warren Teller observed his surroundings thin one of the giant eyes. At
first he had been forced to grin at the idea of making such practical use of
these eyes; in other words, actually using them for what they were normally
intended: vision. But by now his grin had faded. He knew that if he were to
make the attack according to orders he would be depriving two humans of their
last chance of rescue, as long as any possibility remained of their survival.
Teller had second thoughts about the principles behind Terran politics.
Actually there was nothing basically wrong with waiting until Silligan and the
girl could show up somewhere. That way all five of the castaways could be
rescued all at one time and nobody would be hurt by the action except for the
bearded Springer. Because the Ghamese were accustomed to the water. If their
city should crumble to pieces around them they would be able to get to safety
by merely swimming away. But no-it was not permitted to wait that long.
Operation Ghama had to be accelerated. It was necessary to prevent the
Springers from getting a firm foothold on Ghama and to provide that on the
other hand the Terran representation here would become more solidly
established. And all this must be accomplished without causing the natives to
become stirred up or uneasy. They would have to know as little as possible
about the procedures and events involved. Necessarily, to fulfil such a
requirement, certain sacrifices would have to be made-even if it meant two
human beings. Warren Teller had no doubts at all that the people who had set
up these ground rules knew what they were about. It was clear to him,
therefore, that something of paramount importance was involved in this
operation, some kind of advancement which could not simply be bypassed for the
sake of a lieutenant and a girl. Nonetheless he was sorry for the two of
them, wherever they might be, and although he could have attacked at once
because he knew precisely where the other prisoners were located, he still
waited until the latter could be spotted again. He had turned on the
infra-red indicator and the interior of the city took visible form on his
receiver screen. He could see the Ghamese waddling around in that strange
plaza-like chamber and he could also make out the 5 native guards standing in
front of the door where the prisoners were being held. At the moment the
bearded Springer was in there with the Earthmen because he probably was trying
to get information from them. He could also see the 20 or 25 Ghamese who stood
on guard around another door, armed with clubs and similar implements. It was
the door thin which Silligan and the girl had disappeared. The fishmen were
obviously waiting for the two to return thin this exit again but they had also
most likely posted guards at a number of other places. Teller asked himself
what would happen when he and his 4 companions attacked the city. Certainly it
would fill the Ghamese with such terror that not even a command from the
Springer would be able to keep them from seeking salvation in flight. Teller
was interrupted in the midst of such thoughts by a movement on the viewscreen.
The 5 sentinels in front of the prisoners' cell suddenly stepped aside as the
door opened and 4 figures emerged. The attention of all the Ghamese in the
plaza turned to these four. Principally by the size of the physique, Teller
could make out which one was the bearded Springer. According to the Carolina's
passenger list, the three Terrans were: Lyn Trenton, an Earth-liaison official
on Arkon; Ez Rykher, an Oregon farmer who had won a trip to Arkon in a
contest; and Tony Laughlin, crew member of the Carolina. Warren could
identify them clearly although at present he was more than a kilometre removed
from them, in fact one km down in the depths of the sea where his dark
surroundings could hardly be reached by the light of day. He knew that this
was the moment that his orders were meant for. Now he was compelled to
attack! He picked up his microphone and issued orders for a forward
thrust. .    .   .   . For some unknown reason, Ez Rykher was the first one
to see the giant fish. The attention of the Ghamese was concentrated
completely on the small assemblage consisting of the Springer, the 5 guards
and 3 prisoners who were just now crossing the plaza chamber. The Springer
named Alboolal had threatened to transfer the prisoners into the darkest
dungeon hole in Guluch if they didn't tell him of their own accord the things
he wanted to know. He was particularly keen on getting information with regard
to a certain new kind of translight spacedrive he had heard about. It was
apparently something that had been developed in Terran shipyards during the
past few years. Nobody could tell him anything about it. Of course Lyn Trenton
and Ez Rykher knew nothing about the secret at all. Tony Laughlin had
naturally heard about it but he was unable to go into any of the details
because he knew very little and understood even less about them. Alboolal had
taken their reticence to be a ruse and he was now proceeding to make good his
threat. The prisoners were about to be transferred to a deeper part of the
city. Ez Rykher was just pondering over their dismal prospects when he
spotted the fish monster. He came to a stop, causing Lyn Trenton to bump into
him, and this in turn brought the latter's attention to what was out there. He
looked through the glass wall of the plaza and also espied the
beast. "Glord!" he exclaimed. The guards behind them noted that two of the
prisoners had come to a stop, so they tried to prod them forward. It was
purely curiosity that caused them to turn and also behold what lurked beyond
the glass. "Li-i-idi-o-o-ok...!" came their wild, lilting cry. The whole
place was alerted. All of the Ghamese whirled around to look. Nobody paid any
more attention to the prisoners. Ez Rykher was still rooted to the spot as he
stared at the beast and now he noticed suddenly that 4 more of the monsters
came shooting from the right and left to take up a position beyond the large
window. An instinctive panic spread thin the ranks of the Ghamese. With a
clamorous yelling and shrieking they fled to the exits of the plaza and even
the guards forgot their duties. They gave the Springer one last fearful glance
and then they too began to run. At the exits a hopeless confusion
developed. The Springer had grasped the situation immediately. He had also
come to a stop but he aimed his energy weapon at the prisoners. "Don't any of
you get the idea that this is a chance for a break," he warned them
menacingly. "Get going now! Those Lidioks don't mean a thing to us!" But the
Lidioks appeared to be of another opinion. In unison they thrust forward
toward the glass wall and rammed against it with incredible force. Under the
impact the heavy glass surface produced a tone as of a mighty bell that tolled
in the deeps of the sea. The whole city trembled under the shock. The cries of
the Ghamese who were crowding the exits cut off abruptly for a few seconds,
only to break out more clamourously and more panicked than before. The
Springer moved faster, appearing now not to be quite so sure of himself. The
five Lidioks turned around to withdraw some distance from the glass but then
they turned back and made a new concerted attack. Ez Rykher remained where he
was even though Alboolal threatened him with his weapon. Forgetting to
breathe, he watched the second attack. A shock ran through him as the monsters
came thundering against the glass. He breathed again in relief when they swam
away again. But then he noticed the big crack in the glass wall that ran
sharply downward from ceiling to floor. Water was shooting in at various
places, sending sharp, hissing streams far into the plaza. The Springer began
to run. He didn't care any more about his prisoners. All of a sudden new
spacedrives and other secrets mattered far less to him than his life, because
that was now what it had come to. The Lidioks assembled for a third
attack. This time they'll make it through, thought Ez Rykher. And behind that
wall are 20 atmospheres of pressure! 300 ADVENTURES FROM NOW you'll
encounter the Galactic Mystery Ships 9/ JONAH AND THE WHALE Ghama Station
to Relay 14: Forward operation in process. Silligan and Langmuir apparently
lost. Over... Relay 14 to Ghama Station: Welfare of Earth takes precedence
over private emotions. Over and out... .    .   .   . When this answering
dispatch came into Ron Landry's hands he uttered a curse in bitterest anger,
even though he had to admit that basically the men on board relay ship 14 were
right. .    .   .   . Side by side they walked down into the chamber. The
heat that met them became more and more unbearable. So far their footsteps had
been inaudible above the hissing of the water and the Ghamese had not paid any
attention to them. Richard looked askance at Dynah and saw that although her
expression was grave she was not freezing up yet in fear. When they came near
the water trough, Richard turned to the right. He figured that the two Ghamese
standing on the edge of the trough were as good as any others here for his
experiment. They would be the first to hear the frightening news that. Richard
had invented for them. He began to run as though impelled by terror and Dynah
ran beside him. Their footsteps were still inaudible. The two Ghamese only
became aware of the fugitives when they were practically on top of
them. Richard felt that he might not be able to take the heat from the molten
glass much longer, since it was only 10 meters away at this point His state of
exhaustion was only partially an act when he let out his yell. "Lidioks... a
whole pack of them... attacking city...! We'll be lost if we don't get out of
here...!" He spoke Interkosmo, which was the language of the Galactic
Traders. He was not sure that he had remembered the name of the giant fish
correctly or not but the Ghamese seemed to understand what he meant. One of
the two turned to one side and let out the olden call of his kind, the ancient
alert to fear and terror. "Li-i-i-di-o-o-ok...!" The cry could be heard
above the hissing of the molten glass and the other Ghamese looked up from
their work. Richard tensed his muscles. This was the moment of truth. He would
see if his trick was to be successful or not. But it was also a moment in
which something occurred that was beyond his wildest imaginings. A muted,
far-echoing ringing sound ran thin the rock foundation of the city. It was a
deep bell tone that acted to freeze Richard's blood in his veins and which the
Ghamese seemed to recognize. The eerie sound stirred them to action. It was
all Richard could do just to grasp one of the nearer two by the shoulder and
hold him. He recognized the expression of naked fear that was in the
fish-man's face. "Where are boats... water locks...?" he yelled at him. "We
cannot swim!" He had to repeat the question. At first the Ghamese had been
too frightened to understand him and fought his grip. "There..." he finally
stammered. "Same direction... we go...!" It sounded logical. If the Ghamese
were about to get out of the city because of their fear of the Lidioks, then
even though they could swim out they still needed the sea-locks. They couldn't
get out through a solid wall. Richard let go of the Ghamese. "Run behind
him!" he called out to Dynah. Following a sudden hunch, he crouched down in a
swift movement to pick up one of the smaller glass pieces lying on his side of
the trough. He miscalculated the temperature of the material and burned his
fingers but it made no difference to him. He shoved the sample into his pocket
and then ran after Dynah and the fleeing Ghamese. .    .   .   . The way Ez
Rykher sized up the situation, things were taking a sudden and bloodcurdling
turn for the worst. His grass-rooted instincts told him that running was not
going to do a bit of good as he saw the Lidioks make their third combined
attack. But all the same he ran, following Tony Laughlin and Lyn Trenton. By
now the greater part of the plaza was empty, with only a few Ghamese still
crowding through the exits. Even as he ran be stared entranced at the broken
glass wall and the onrushing monster fish. He knew that this time the glass
would break completely and the water would come bursting in upon them. And
with the water would come the Lidioks to harvest the fruit of their efforts-in
the form of several dozen Ghamese who had not gotten away fast enough. Maybe
they'd even gobble up one Ezekiel Dunlop Rykher in the process but it made
little difference to him whether he went by drowning or the Jonah route. To be
swallowed by a 'whale'... Such were the thoughts shooting through Rykher's
head. Then the Lidioks struck the glass with their tank-like skulls and the
catastrophe began. It took about one second for the big crack in the glass to
leap across the entire wall, after which it collapsed inward. At first it
seemed to lean inward slowly as an entire partition but then it crumbled with
startling swiftness. A green wall of water came plunging in over the remaining
debris and began to fill the plaza with breathtaking speed. Ez Rykher had
ceased running. It was over with. There was no sense now in trying to outrun
the disaster that was upon them. A sweeping flood of water shot in around him
and tore him from his feet. Suddenly there was nothing but water above and
below him. His air was shut off and he started flailing about him
instinctively. He bobbed to the surface just once but in that instant he was
confronted by the looming, tooth-lined maw of a Lidiok that rushed upon him as
big as the door of a barn. The monster's gullet seemed to generate a suction
current and Ez was simply catapulted along with many cubic meters of water
into the dark opening. Ez was slammed around back and forth inside with his
eyes tightly shut in his natural reaction of abject fear. A sense of
wondering amazement began to grow in him as time passed and nothing more
happened except this swishing back and forth with the water and all the while
the water itself seemed to be draining away somewhere. He got the crazy notion
that maybe all the Lidiok wanted was a drink and that later it would spit him
out! He was vaguely aware of gradually coming to rest. The last jolt he
remembered was one that seemed to throw him onto a kind of couch or bed that
felt dry and soft. At any rate, Ez never expected to find such a place in the
belly of Leviathan. In wonderment he opened his eyes. He was fairly
astonished to see a modern glo-lamp close overhead, which illuminated a small,
square cubicle. Jonah, he reflected, never had it so good! .     .   .
. The sea-lock was not far from the glass-processing chamber. But meanwhile
two succeeding shocks of dull thunder had shaken the city and since Richard
had only invented the story of the Lidioks in order to activate the natives,
he now wondered if he bad really invoked the devil, more or less, with such a
bald-faced lie. At any rate the Ghamese inhabitants appeared to definitely
interpret these cataclysmic sounds as proof of the fact that the city was in
truth being attacked by Lidioks. All of which altered the situation. Now
Richard was really in a hurry. He knew he couldn't let the Ghamese fishmen
simply swim off toward the surface and assume that he could master the
controls of a submersible craft in the short time available. The lock basin
turned out to be of tremendous size, containing about 50 undersea vessels of
various classes. Richard and Dynah tried to stay close to the natives as they
ran but when they saw the frightened little fellows plunge head over heels
into the basin itself and start swimming for the outer-lock door they grabbed
the one closest behind them and pointed to the boats. It was hard to get the
idea through to him because of his fear but finally he appeared to understand
what was being demanded of him. Nevertheless, Richard kept an eye on him as
they all jumped from the mooring rim of-the basin onto the deck of one of the
submarines. The Ghamese opened the outer hatch with trembling hands. He had
barely gotten it open before he tried to enter the vessel alone but Richard
held him back. Dynah was the first to clamber down inside, followed by
Richard. He then pulled the Ghamese in with him and made sure that he properly
secured the sea hatch. The last thing they heard before the hatch closed was
a crashing and roaring sound from above them somewhere. Evidently it had been
caused by inrushing waters that were flooding the city. Once in the safety of
the boat the Ghamese appeared to lose some of his state of panic. In the small
control room he began to work swiftly and confidently. The motor came to life
and the undersea craft glided through the basin toward the exit gate. The gate
was already open and the boat glided into a dark tunnel that led to the outer
floodgate. Richard had remained in the main room of the vessel and had tried
to observe through the ports whether or not the disaster was beginning to have
any effect on the sea-lock chamber itself. But he couldn't detect any such
signs before the boat swept onward and disappeared into the outlet
tunnel. The small submersible moved calmly and swiftly to the floodgate. It
took a little while to activate the latter so that it finally opened before
them. Then the vessel glided out into the greenish twilight of the ocean
depths and this time when Richard looked through the small portholes he could
see the spreading cloud of debris and mud that emanated from the place where
the city of Guluch had been. The water was swarming with the Ghamese
fishmen. Evidently the catastrophe had come upon them slowly enough to enable
them to save themselves. .    .   .   . Ez got to his feet. A blur of
confused thoughts whirled through his head. Until he finally heard the voice.
It came from a speaker in the ceiling. "This is Warren Teller. At present I
am at the controls of this vessel which has the appearance of a Lidiok. I
presume that you are Ez Rykher. Try to hang on to your sanity-I know it's hard
in a case like this. We are going to bring you to safety on board a Terran
spaceship. That is all." Ez Rykher tried experimentally to convince himself
that there was nothing special about being gobbled up by a Lidiok only to end
up in its belly and find out that it was an imitation monster that had been
created on Earth for the purpose of snatching five Terrans from a very unusual
fix. But then he thought of Richard Silligan and Dynah Langmuir. A shock ran
through him. These simulated Lidioks would not be able to save them! Somewhere
in the crumbling city they must have been crushed by collapsing debris or else
they had drowned! The grief of this realization was ironically the stabilizing
factor that helped him get over the dangerous few minutes in which his
confused mind might have lost its reason. Dick and Dynah-dear God! By this
time they must be dead! Ez didn't know how much time had passed when a
section of the wall slid back and a man in the uniform of the Terran Fleet
suddenly stepped into the small cubicle. The latter smiled at him reassuringly
but Ez was in no mood for smiles. Before the man could speak, Ez was at him
with the obvious question. "What happened to Dick Silligan and the girl? Were
you able to save them, too?" The man's expression became grave as he shook
his head. "No, we couldn't wait any longer. We had to go into action and we
didn't have any idea where they might be hiding." Rykher's head sank in
dejection. After a moment he muttered: "I guess nobody can blame you for what
you had to do. So you're Warren Teller?" The man nodded. "So what happens
now?" asked Ez. But his voice revealed that he no longer took much interest in
anything. "We are at our destination. Nearby is the Urania, a heavy Fleet
cruiser. You will be requested to go on board. They'll take you home by the
shortest route. And by the way: your two other companions are also safe and we
have captured the Springer." .    .   .   . There was a hard and unrelenting
tone in Ron Landry's voice. "Have you taken my advice?" he asked. "Did you
make your will and appoint another clan chief to be your successor?" Alboolal
stiffened. He was still in confusion as a result of the events of the past few
minutes. But he sensed that he would be lost if he didn't pull himself
together and defy this Terran. "I protest!" he shouted, so loudly that the
words resounded like a cannon shot in the small cabin. But it failed to
impress the Terran in the least. "Against what?" he asked, smiling. "The fact
that we've just rescued you from a collapsing city?" "It's through your own
machinations that the city was destroyed!" yelled Alboolal but Ron interrupted
him calmly. "Yes, of course. But as far as we know the Ghamese natives have
not suffered any casualties in the process. And above all, you will never have
a chance to tell anybody about it." This announcement was like an electric
shock to Alboolal. "Why not?" "Because you are going to be taken to Terra and
brought before the courts." Alboolal gasped aloud. "Why that's...!" he began,
snorting in rage. "You can't do that to me. I am a free-" "You were a free
Springer," Ron interrupted him. "But then you took a hand in attacking a
Terran merchant ship and destroying it. That changes the situation. Or did you
really believe that a skarf like you could get away with shooting up Terran
ships and simply carry on without any repercussions?" "You-you can't pin that
one on me!" gasped Alboolal. "You forget that this is a case of major
political magnitude," was the calm reply. "Terra has the completely legal
means at its disposal to force a suspect to reveal the truth." "I'll
protest!" shouted Alboolal. "I'll tell the whole galaxy what methods Terra
uses!" Ron Landry's smile held firm. "As a matter of fact, that's exactly
what you'll do," he answered. "We'll place every means of communication at
your disposal. Because you know we're also interested in having the public be
informed about what kind of pirate gangs some of the Springer clans happen to
be. I'm quite sure you can imagine what kind of reaction this will create
throughout the galaxy." And indeed Alboolal could imagine it. Suddenly he saw
his future and that of his clan in total clarity. The Terrans would obtain the
truth from him, of that there could be no doubt. And it was equally certain
that they would inform the galactic community. It made little difference what
his own lot would be now. The Terrans would imprison him or execute him in
accordance with the sentence of their courts-but his clan would be discredited
for all time! Nobody would have anything to do with them again. They would
have to give up their stronghold on Ghama. Yes, Alboolal knew what was
descending upon him and his clan. He broke then. He broke down so completely
that a doctor had to be called in order to even get him on his feet again. .
.   .   . Considering everything involved, the Urania had not wasted much
time on Ghama. The commander had been instructed to take the rescued survivors
on board along with Larry Randall and Capt. Ron Landry. Also he was to load on
the five Lidiok monstrosities that had been prepared by Earth scientists so
that no trace would remain of the swift and secret operation on Ghama. He was
then to make a fast exit from the planet so that, above all, the local
inhabitants would not have an opportunity to ponder much over the mysterious
activities that had transpired on their water world. Nevertheless the
take-off of the Urania was delayed. A native submarine emerged from the sea
and as soon as it caught sight of the spaceship still poised above the surface
of the water it set a course for it. The Urania refrained from taking off in
order to see what the people on board the undersea craft had in mind. As the
vessel drew alongside, the first one to appear on the round, smooth deck was
Lt. Dick Silligan, formerly attached to the crew of the freighter Carolina. He
appeared to be somewhat fatigued and as far as the state of his clothing was
concerned he was not as spruce-looking as he might be. Otherwise he was
unharmed and in good spirits. He was followed by the girl, Dynah Langmuir,
who had stirred up so much discussion in the past few hours. She too looked as
if life hadn't been very easy for her recently. When she was brought on board
the spaceship she broke into tears of joy and exhaustion. The Ghamese pilot
of the submarine decided not to board the Urania but preferred instead to stay
with his craft and keep a lookout for his countrymen. Since the simulated
Lidioks had long since been loaded into the cargo holds he could not suspect
in any way that there was some connection here between the presence of Terrans
and the destruction of the city of Guluch. The Urania finally took off but
not before communicating by radio with Killanak Island where Larry Randall's
successor had meanwhile taken over. The latter had confirmed that everything
was lack to normal on Killanak and meanwhile the Springer base was maintaining
a waiting silence. The enemy's stronghold, however, would not be kept waiting
for long before being informed of what had truly happened. .    .   .
. This was the day that Larry Randall got to meet Col. Nike Quinto for the
firstime and he seemed to be just as disagreeable as he had been to Ron Landry
in the beginning. But Ron had prepared him for this impression and so he held
onto his patience and waited to find out how Quinto's genius might reveal
itself. At first there was certainly not much to be seen of it. Nike Quinto
was sweating as usual. His face had reddened considerably in rather unpleasant
contrast to his sparse and almost colourless hair. "This air-conditioning is
cratchy!" he complained in his high-pitched whine. "Completely inadequate on a
hot day like this. One of these days they're going to kill me. My
blood-pressure keeps getting worse." He appeared to be searching for
something on his desk, or perhaps it was merely a nervous habit with him.
Anyway, after a pause he continued. "And you know you've managed to add to my
poor condition." Ron Landry intervened politely. "May I ask, sir, in what
way?" "Yes, of course you may ask. Those 5 giant fish of yours have made a
whale of a hole in my budget. How much do you think 5 navigable Lidioks cost?
10 million Solars when they have to be rigged up for a normal simulation and
double that on such a hyped-up schedule!" Ron suppressed a smile. He knew
from reliable sources that Division 3's budget was unlimited. A loss of 20
million Solars would hardly make a dent. "That phase was necessary, sir," Ron
countered. "There wasn't any other way to stop the Springers and still keep
the native inhabitants from knowing what was going on." "Hm-m-m-m..." The
hint of a smile touched Quinto's red face. "That figures. But why do you
suppose we want to keep the natives quiet and peaceful? Why were we so
determined to have them regard us as friends? Can you answer that?" "No,
sir-you've succeeded brilliantly in keeping that part a secret from me." Nike
Quinto nodded emphatically. "I tried! If I couldn't at least have managed that
much I wouldn't have deserved my assignment here. Alright, I'll tell you:
what's involved is an item of raw material." He stated this in such a tone
that one might infer the whole secret in all its details had suddenly been
revealed. "Oh?" It was all Ron could reply. "Oh?" Quinto mocked him. "That
doesn't bring anything to mind to you?" Ron shook his head. "Alright, then
here it is. You're familiar with the remarkable glass the Ghamese make use of,
right? It's completely transparent. And I mean 100%! There's no dispersion
effect in the visible light range. An unbelievably low angle of incidence for
total reflection. In brief, it's the ideal material for anything that's to be
made invisible. And it also has outstanding characteristics in other frequency
ranges. It's perfect for an infra-red laser, for example. And so on and so
on..." Ron Landry had to admit that this made things a bit more
understandable. "We didn't quite know what the raw material was," Quinto
continued. "We were able to make tests of the finished material but our
scientists couldn't find out how the stuff was prepared. They knew that some
manufacturing process unknown to our technology was involved. We figured that
we could learn more if we could get a test sample of the raw material itself,
or better yet if we could become friendly enough with the Ghamese that they
would finally reveal the whole secret to us. Because we need this material
badly. The infra-red laser can become a weapon such as the galaxy has never
seen before. Moreover, the Springers were on the same trail as we were and
that made the situation more difficult. So now maybe you can see why this
whole business had to be handled so quietly and inconspicuously, right?" Ron
nodded. "Certainly, sir," he answered. "And that's why I'm at a loss to
explain why you consider the outlay for the navigable Lidioks to be so
unbearable." Nike Quinto appeared to explode. "Why?" he almost screamed.
"Because the whole problem's been solved without them! Through the pluck and
ingenuity of a certain young lieutenant-who is a captain now, by the way-a man
who knew what to do at the right moment and was able to get out of the city on
his own without any need for a steerable Lidiok." Ron furrowed his brow.
"From what I can gather, sir, you are speaking of Dick Silligan." "Indeed I'm
talking about Dick Silligan! It was this young man who revealed the secret to
us. He was there where the Ghamese manufacture this miracle substance and he
managed to bring along a semi-processed sample." Ron Landry remained
silent. Quinto continued. "The raw material, some kind of silicate, is melted
down in an oven. Then the molten material is quick-cooled in sea water at
normal temperature. Probably that's all the Ghamese understand, themselves,
about the process. But from Silligan's sample we were able to recognize that
there was more than the cooling technique involved. The sea water they keep
replenishing in their cooling trough by an ingenious method turns out to
contain a type of algae that bring about a chemical conversion within the
glass. Without the algae the glass would be regular old-fashioned window-pane
material. It's the algae that reveal the whole principle. Dick Silligan
brought us a piece of glass that hadn't been fully processed yet, or at least
it still contained traces of the algae. That was enough for our scientists to
unravel the whole mystery. Now we can produce the Ghama glass ourselves!"
Having concluded at last, he leaned back in his chair with such an air of
satisfaction that it appeared he considered the whole thing to be his personal
contribution. Ron Landry grinned. "And now, sir," he asked, "are we free to
deal with the Ghamese as we please?" Immediately Nike Quinto shot forward in
his chair. "You get one thing straight!" he bellowed at high pitch. "The
inhabitants of Ghama are our friends and we're going to deal with them as
genuine friends!" Suddenly and unexpectedly, he stood up. "Now get out of
here! These senseless questions are too much of a strain on my heart. What's
to become of my blood-pressure? And tomorrow report to Personnel. Personally,
do you understand? They've got something for both of you. If I gather
correctly it seems that it has something to do with either a demotion or a
promotion. Now get-both of you!" Ron and Larry got to their feet. They
saluted and went out. Once they were in the hallway and at a safe distance
from Nike Quinto's office door, they came to a stop and grinned at each
other. "Do you think we could go for a glass, Captain?" asked Ron Landry,
pointedly. Larry Randall sighed. "I'm not sure that my blood-pressure could
stand it, Major!" .    .   .   . Relay 14 to Ghama Station: Have observed 23
transitions from Ghama area. Close formation. Assume Springer base in retreat.
Confirmation requested. Over... Ghama Station to Relay 14: Confirmed. No
Springers left on Ghama. Things pretty dull around here. Over and out... The
End
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