CHAPTER IX
The Revolt of Alkebar
The light of a shrunken sun shone down coldly and ineffectually upon ajagged and distorted landscape. Along the horizon, which was strangelyabrupt, twisted gray hills loomed up with harsh clearness against ablack starlit sky. There was no atmosphere to soften their lines, norto dull the needle-like points of deepest sable that were their shadows.
In the foreground, which was a fairly level plain, were hundreds ofhemispherical shelters hastily built from loose fragments of rock. Avast horde of Space Men hemmed them in. The sunlight glistened on theebony hides of the warriors and on their polished accouterments andweapons. Some of these rebels of the void were greedily drinking thepurple radio-active liquid which meant life and strength to them, andattendants were hurrying about carrying large canisters of the food toeach unit of Telaba's army. Most of the men crouched expectantly besidetheir discs, waiting.
In a small metal building, which the Man from the Fourth World hadrecently had constructed for his own use, four people were gathered. Twowere Space Men, and two belonged to the green planet called Earth. Oneof the Space Men was talking, not with his mouth for he had no vocalcords, but by means of fine mental vibrations which caused a feeblehigh-pitched voice to speak within the minds of the Earthians.
"I owe you great debt of gratitude, Mr. Shelbee--you help to save my sonfrom Alkebar and Fourth World Man. Telaba do not forget this. I do whatI can. But that is little. Black Emperor start to smash Earth and Marssoon. Perhaps right now. Perhaps in hour. Who know? Spy send signal anytime now. We outnumbered ten to one. Alkebar crush us, wipe us out likethat!" He slapped his palms sharply together. "But we do what we can,Earthman."
Shelby took Telaba's cold hand for a brief hearty handshake. "Thanks,Telaba," he said simply. "Jan and I certainly appreciate what you aregoing to do for us and our people, and I know that if we are successful,the worlds shall be mighty grateful too. They have ways of showing theirgratitude. But don't be so sure that we are going to fail. We have the_Selba_, you know, and a new weapon that has never before been used.
"Hekalu was good enough to construct an immense projector for us. Exceptfor the resoldering of a few wires, and the insertion of a tiny butimportant crystal which I happen to be carrying with me, it was completeand ready for operation.
"The ship is fueled and ready for action at any moment. When the wordcomes and we set out, annoy the forces of Alkebar, but do not engage ormix with them any more than you have to. I'll be somewhere around, readyand glad to spray them."
"What do you mean, 'I'?" Jan put in. "It's 'we,' because I am goingalong!"
Shelby knew that the undertaking he had in mind was but an ace fromcertain death; but he did not argue with the girl. Her cool wit andnerve would be very helpful, and besides there was little choice, fordeath was grimly in pursuit of all of them.
"Right you are, soldier," he said laughingly. "My mistake!"
A red light bulb flashed on the wall, and then, without waiting forpermission, a Space Man rushed into the room, his arms waving wildly,forming frantic signs of the Star People's deaf mute language. Bent in ahalf crouch, his great arms flexed, Ankova translated for the benefit ofthe Earthians:
"Fourth World Man escape--in _Selba_. We are betrayed--someone help him.He out of sight already. Going to help Black Emperor. And now red starburns in space--spy's warning--Alkebar forces start!"
Telaba rushed to a big lever and pulled it. Immediately a huge triphammer began to pound ponderously on a metal plate set in the groundoutside the building--sending vibrating pulsations out through the crustof the planetoid--the alarm signal which would be sensed by everyone ofTelaba's men, telling them to be ready for instant action.
The four looked at one another. Each knew what this last move of thePrince of Selba meant, but no one thought for a moment of giving up thefight.
"It won't do any good to pursue the Martian," Shelby cried. "That rayprojector of his--he'd blast us out of existence. All we can do is tryto hinder Alkebar's invasion--seek to delay him. If I could only somehowget through to Mars with the secret of the Atomic Ray! Telaba, haven'tyou a ship capable of carrying a large enough oxygen supply to last mefor the journey?"
"Never mind!" Ankova cut in. "I go! Many times I been to Mars. Give meplans. I go right away. I get them to fight."
Shelby drew from his sleeve pocket the black case containing informationconcerning the Atomic Ray which he had recovered from Hekalu Selba atthe time of the Martian's capture. He opened it, and with his stylusadded a brief message to the mass of notes inside, and wrote down theformula for a certain complex chemical compound. Then he handed the caseto the Space Man.
"Take it to Alman Mak in the Checkald of Taboor if you can, Ankova. Goodluck."
The son of the rebel chief hurried from the room with the missive in hishand. Shelby knew in his heart that to attempt to get Earth and Marsinto action in time was a useless gesture, but he could not suppress athrill of admiration for this wild son of the void. There was hardmettle in Ankova's makeup, hard and true. And most of them were likethat--most of Telaba's men anyway.
"You two come with me," Telaba was saying. "We fight together. Put onspace suits." He was tapping an instrument resembling a telegraph key.In unison with his movements the heavy signaling hammer sounded outorders and commands to his forces.
* * * * *
When the Earthians had eased themselves into their heavy protectingattire, Telaba led the way down a spiral stair and through an air lock,out into the open. Here everything was grim silent activity. Group aftergroup of mounted Space Men poured skyward. Telaba's army was a mightything; with luck it might have beat down the resistance of either one ofthe two planets. But when compared with Alkebar's colossal horde, itpaled into pitiful insignificance.
Nearby, a space disc, which must have measured fully two hundred feet indiameter, rested. The three mounted the light ladder which led to theinterior.
In the metal walls were mounted two heat-ray projectors of Martiandesign, as well as several torpedo catapults and machine guns. Two SpaceMen were inspecting them.
Telaba signaled to the driver who knelt with lever in hand. The greatdisc trembled and the propelling force which no human being had yetlearned how to produce, sent it and its burden hurtling toward thestars. The minions of the rebel chief circled and swirled about theircommander's ship in wild soundless salute.
Telaba was operating the signaling mechanism which fired lights ofvarious colors up through the roof of the armored coach, and in reply tohis flashing commands, his horde formed a monster cone which shot withever increasing speed through the void.
A sickening giddiness came over the two Earthians, for there were nodevices to produce artificial gravity here. It was the space nauseawhich had made early interplanetary travel such a nightmare. The StarPeople, born where gravity is almost unknown, were of course notaffected in the least.
Clinging to stanchions and hand grips to keep themselves from floatingfree, Janice Darell and Austin crept about the floor examining theweapons and scanning space ahead for signs of the enemy. They dislikedto admit to each other that they were very sick; but if they thoughtthat it was possible to forget the retching pains in their stomachs bydiligent devotion to other things, they were mistaken.
Their suffering continued until Jan remembered that the force of thisalmost forgotten malady could be reduced by lessening the amount ofoxygen taken into the lungs. A few turns of the intake valves of theirhelmets accomplished this, and they soon felt much better.
It was a long time before there were any indications of the nearpresence of the enemy. Ahead, two asteroids glowed, a dull red. One wasquite close; the other farther away. It was Shelby, peering steadilythrough his binoculars, who first discovered the glowing cloud, thin andfaint like the nebulous substance of the Milky Way, pouring up likeghosts' hair from the rounded pate of the nearer asteroid. He knew thatit was made up of countless points of light, too small
to be detectedindividually. Not long afterward Telaba discovered a similar cloudcoming from the second of the minor planets.
The rebel chief's greatest advantage, if he had any at all, was that ofsurprise. Because of its comparatively small size his force had probablynot yet been discovered by the enemy.
Coolly he flashed the order for long-range bombardment formation.Instantly the army spread out, forming a thin rectangle whose broadestsurface was perpendicular to the line of firing between the opposinghordes.
A second or two later the first rocket torpedoes of the rebels went,spewing fire, toward their goal. In a steady swarm others followed them.The missiles were not radio controlled and fitted with tiny televisionapparatus as were a few of the torpedoes employed by the InterplanetaryTraffic Lane Patrol, but since the approximate range was known, it waseasy to set the time fuses so that the atomic charges would explode inthe midst of the densely-packed enemy.
Without asking anyone's permission, the Earthians had appropriated apair of catapults and were working them like demons. As fast as theycould cram the ten-pound rockets into the breeches of the tubes, theprojectiles streaked out in flashes of green flame toward the nearest ofthe nebulous clouds.
Shelby was sweating furiously from the exertion, and the moistureabsorption apparatus of his space armor was putting in some toughservice.
Occasionally he glanced at Janice working beside him. Her face, visiblethrough the glazed front of her helmet, was white and set--almost hard.And there was boundless determination in the firm curve of her littlerounded chin. He liked her attitude, but it was better to take it easyuntil the real fighting began.
"Slow up a bit, soldier," he remarked into his transmitter. "Powder yournose!"
Her face brightened as she turned toward him. "I wish I could powder mynose," she said, pouting. "Only I can't reach it!"
"Too bad. These space suits rob a girl of so many of her exquisitelittle tricks."
"Well," she put in, "I can still cover up my yawns with my hand if Ifind this pastime too much of a bore." They both chuckled at this littlejoke.
Janice took the last missile from the case she had been emptying andrammed it home. She jerked the lanyard, and with a thudding jolt thetorpedo was on its way. Then she paused to scan the horde of Alkebarthrough an observation port. "Hurrah," she cried, "we're scoring!"
* * * * *
Without discontinuing his hurried feeding of his smoldering piece,Shelby looked up. The cloud had grown considerably in the few moments ofaction. It had cleared the asteroid now, and the other nebulous spotthat marked the position of the Black Emperor's second army, was comingup to merge with it. In the midst of the first cloud, hundreds of minutespecks of light were flashing--the atomic torpedoes were exploding. Thesight reminded Shelby of what he had so often seen through the lens of aspintharoscope.
Alkebar's army continued to increase rapidly in apparent size. It lookedlike a monster amoeba. But now the amoeba was beginning to writhe,to swell up and grow dimmer. It shot out long sinuous pseudopods thatseemed to grope angrily. Both Earthians sensed that the fight was aboutto begin in earnest.
With renewed vigor they fell to the task of loading and discharging thecatapults; and close beside them the two Space Men who acted as gunners,labored coolly and methodically over their weapons, but with evengreater efficiency, for their training had been long and thorough.
Telaba worked the levers of the signaling mechanism, and a brilliantpurple star visible to all his henchmen shot up over the back of hisbeast. They saw it and read its meaning. Spread out to avoid enemy fire!As one man they obeyed, but they were none too soon. With abruptsuddenness the maelstrom of silent flashing death was upon them.
It was a pretty sight to the Earthians--those soundless globes of greenflame that glowed dazzling for an infinitesimal instant, on the richjewels and polished rifle barrels of the hordesmen coursing close by.But they were not deceived.
A Space Man vanished, torn to tiny fragments that mixed with the cosmicdust of the void. A huge disc, bearing a cylindrical battle car, washit, and a jagged hole torn in its side. It twisted crazily, turningover and over. Austin and Jan felt the vibration of shell fragmentsbanging violently against their own vehicle.
The nearer nebulous cloud had ceased to be a cloud now. It had resolveditself into a myriad swarm of dim specks which the Earthians knew wereSpace Men. Plainly Alkebar's minions were charging rapidly, bent onwiping Telaba's smaller force out of existence at one blow.
The bombardment doubled, tripled, quadrupled in intensity until itseemed that all space had turned to fire. Before the withering blast thearmy of the rebel chief was speedily being dissolved into driftingwreckage.
An exploding torpedo ripped several yards of armor from one side ofTelaba's vehicle and reduced one of his black gunners to a mangled pulpfrom which the purple fluid spurted.
The force of the concussion turned the great disc completely over.Battered and blinded by the green glare, which exceeded even the sun ofthe void in intensity the Earthians tumbled against their weapons.Janice Darell started to scream but managed to check it--biting her lipssavagely.
An explosive rifle bullet struck the huge vehicle, and it wavered.
Shelby spoke to Telaba who was clinging firmly to a stanchion with onehand and operating his signaling machine with the other. "Turn back,chief," the Earthman advised. "Our only motive is to annoy them anddelay them. To continue this charge can mean nothing but destruction forour entire force."
Telaba sensed the mental vibrations that went with Shelby's words. "Toturn back cannot do, Earthman," he said. And it seemed to the youngengineer that there was a vibrant note of sadness in his telepathicvoice. "Look! You see all guns and catapults point forward only. Notswing to rear--same on all gun cars. If run, not possible to shoot atchasing enemy. Then they get us. That Alkebar's idea so his men musttake offensive or die. He think that make them strong."
"But the riflemen are not so handicapped," Shelby persisted. "We can diehere if necessary, but someone must live to carry on. Order them back!"
The chieftain shook his bulbous head. "To try what you say--useless.They not desert comrades or king. If I command, they disobey." There wasa finality in his words which neither of the Earthians tried to dispute.
So that was it! Well, there was no sense wasting time talking. Shelbygripped a machine gun and sent a spray of explosive bullets ripping outinto the ether. Janice did likewise.
As they worked their weapons they spoke rapidly to each other. "Youunderstood what Telaba said? You know what that means?" Shelby asked.
"Yes. It's about the end of our tape, but that's nothing. We've beenfairly lucky. All we can do now is hope that Ankova wins through to Marsin time, and fight like--like--"
"Hell!" Shelby's words slipped between clenched teeth, and Jan flashedhim a quick smile even as their tracer streams crossed in the midst of agroup of hurtling Alkebarians who had pressed too close together.
"Anyway, good luck!"
"And the very best of luck to you!"
The opposing forces were very close together now. The first of theAlkebarians were plainly visible--their long guns flashing--their ebonyarms waving signals which probably passed for shouts of triumph amongtheir ranks.
CHAPTER X
The Coming of the Atomic Ray
Both armies had cut down their velocity enormously, but still they torealong at breakneck speed. And they moved like true Cossacks of the void,directing their machines by deft motions on the mysterious levers. Nowdiving, now climbing, now swinging this way and that to avoid themissiles of their opponents, they tore on. And death was everywhere.
No torpedoes were flying now, but machine guns and rifles were workingterrible havoc. And so the horde of Alkebar closed with the forces ofthe rebel chieftain.
The machine which bore Telaba, directed by its skillful driver, divedand swung and zigzagged like a mad thing; but still the bullets rattledagainst the metal armor of the car.
Its sides had been repeatedlystruck, yet owing to its tough shell, had not yet been disabled.
Everywhere about it, mounted horrors whirled in an inextricable tangle,shooting and loading, and dying by the green flashes, their vitalsstrewing the ether.
Telaba had deserted his post at the signaling machine, for furtherorders were useless. For his rebels at least, it was every man forhimself. He too was operating a machine gun.
The stars spun dizzily about the Earthians, as the machine beneath themcareened in its insane fight. Every time a Space Man wearing a redcircle on his breast crossed their sights, a burst spat from their hotweapons, frequently with good results.
A group of at least twenty Alkebarians sought to attack from the blindspot at the rear. But the driver twisted levers with a quick jerk, andthe luckless riflemen found themselves facing four streams of steel.Those that could, darted out of range and renewed the attack from adifferent angle.
Frequently, throughout the battle, Shelby had wondered what had happenedto Hekalu Selba and the Atomic Ray. Why wasn't he on hand to assist hisally, the Black Emperor? Oh, well, regardless of whether the Martian wasthere or not the outcome would evidently be the same--only now it wouldbe more dragged out.
The Earthian was surprised therefore, when suddenly the efforts of theenemy to exterminate them, which had been so intense in the briefmoments since they had closed, suddenly lessened. Alkebarians weredarting hastily toward the rear. Their actions did not suggest flight;it seemed that they were going to meet a new and more terrible enemy.The rebels could wait.
And the people of the rebel chief for the moment did not pursue--did noteven fire. For they too saw! To the rear, in the center of Alkebar'shorde, came the dazzling flares of explosions. So many and so closetogether were they, that they looked like a titanic conflagration ofgreen flame. Against the light, the silhouettes of confused andbewildered space riders careened, like frightened pollywogs. Theholocaust moved--swung. It was like a tapered column of fire veiled by afaint bluish haze.
The Earthians, Telaba, and the two remaining Space Men, forgetful ofeverything else, were staring in awed wonder at the phenomenon throughthe forward observation bay. It was Shelby who found the first part ofthe explanation.
"It's the Atomic Ray!" he almost shrieked. "Freeing the atomic energy inthe materials that make up the bodies of Alkebar's men--literallycausing their flesh and bones to explode! But how--what the devil--!"
"Look!" cried Jan. She pointed far up over their heads to where the coneof faintly bluish light swung, free from the milling horde. Up and up toits apex, and there hung what appeared to be a tiny cocoon of burnishedsilver.
The girl peered through her binoculars for a long moment. "I see thename. It is the _Selba_," she said. "Hekalu has made a mistake--he'sattacking the wrong force! Or--or some ally of ours has gained controlof the ship!" she hazarded.
"No time to make guess now," said Telaba. "To fight, much better." Hehad returned to the signaling mechanism, and was working it with coolefficiency, rallying his battered forces.
Like tigers they fell upon the Alkebarians, shattering them out ofexistence with a steady storm of rifle bullets. They met with only aweak resistance for the foe seemed to realize that the fates had playedthem false. The blue ray had been their promise, and now, like the swordof their ancient god of destruction, it was weaving calmly this way andthat, snuffing them into nothingness. The Black Emperor's horde wasdissolving, scattering.
Battalions of terrified Space Men poured past the rebel chieftain's car,shooting only hurried and ineffective volleys at their enemies, whopressed fiercely upon them. And never did Jan and Shelby miss a chanceto spray them with searing bursts of machine-gun fire.
There was a lull. The Earthians took the opportunity to look up at theangel of death that was the _Selba_, far above. Most of Alkebar's hugearmy had already perished, or had dispersed in flight into the desert ofspace from which it had been recruited. But that the space ship wouldpresently be engaged in a serious fight was evident.
* * * * *
A determined force which must have numbered a hundred thousand, washurtling up at it, surrounding the craft with a halo of burstingtorpedoes. At the head of the body of Space Men was a huge beast bearingon its back a car similar to Telaba's. Veri-colored signal stars spurtedfrom it. Alkebar himself must be in it directing operations!
Coolly the guiding hand aboard the _Selba_ was swinging his dreadfulweapon this way and that, annihilating the attackers as one mightannihilate a swarm of mosquitoes with a blowtorch. Half of them hadalready been reduced to those basic, intangible vibrations whichconstitute all substance. It was terrible, it was glorious; but whatcould it all mean? Hekalu's ship!
The still formidable remnants of the vengeance squadron was seeking toclose in--to grapple with the vessel. The _Selba_ was trying to dart outof their way, but the speed of the Space Men, a gift of Nature, wasgreater than that of this fastest ship designed by man. Grimly, in theface of almost certain death, they kept on. A score or so succeeded inlanding on the curving hull, and, like leeches they clung to it. TheAtomic Ray arched angrily, cutting a deep swath through those who stillsought a hold.
And then the gleaming form of the _Selba_ was completely hidden by theswarm of enraged horrors that poured over it. The Atomic Ray was snuffedout. The beholders saw the air lock being pried open, and the Space Mencrowding into the interior of the craft. For a second the _Selba_wobbled crazily, and then her rocket motors ceased to flame.
"What are we waiting for? We have friends up there!" Jan cried.
Telaba flashed his orders, and the entire cavalcade charged toward thevessel, their guns spewing flame.
It was only a matter of a minute or so before that hurtling torrent ofrebels had swept the Alkebarians from their prey. Those of the BlackEmperor's men who had forced their way into the ship managed to hold theentrance for a short time, but under the urgings of their intrepidchief, the zealous rebels shot and hewed their enemies down as thoughthey had been paper marionettes. The way was clear.
Telaba waved an order to his driver, and the space beast drew upalongside the _Selba_. Expectantly eager, the Earthians clamberedaboard, followed by the chief.
The ship was a shambles. Its corridors were littered with bodies ofSpace Men who wore on their breasts the red circle which signifiedloyalty to the Black Emperor. Telaba's followers had done well.
The three made their way to the control room. Intuitively they hadsensed what they would find there, and so, they were not surprised atwhat they saw--wreckage and the carcasses of Alkebar's warriors. TheMartian had put up a stiff fight.
Shelby bent over the armored form of Akar Hekalu Selba which wassprawling on the floor, beside the pilot seat. A gaping hole in thetough metal plating under his right arm, and a thin trickle of blood,told clearly what had happened. "They got him," the Earthman muttered."But why?"
Jan's eyes had wandered to the narrow desk before the pilot seat. Therewere the instruments and devices by means of which the ship wascontrolled, and there was the lever which had moved the ray projector inits mounting just beneath the nose of the craft. A calculating pad and astylus were lying on the desk.
Something was written on the pad--a message. She called to Shelby, andtogether they read the brief, hastily scrawled note. It was in English:
"To Janice Darell and Austin Shelby, Greeting. Alkebar is breaking intothe ship, and Telaba is coming. You will be with him, I know. From amongmy enemies I have chosen my friends. A man must have friends, andtraitors do not serve. Forgive me for stealing your glory, Mr. Shelby. Ishall be grateful. _Sidi Yadi_, Hekalu Selba, Akar."
Shelby looked at Jan and then at Telaba who was standing close besidethem. "So that's it," he said slowly. "Nobody is totally bad."
"Not even Hekki," Jan put in. A hint of a wistful smile flickered abouther lips. "I guess it's the end now," she went on. "A gloriousadventure. Back to Earth!" Her voice had taken on a dreamy exultantquality.
<
br /> "The end, Jan?" Austin asked. "Haven't you forgotten something?"
She looked puzzled, and then she laughed a brief gay little laugh whichmade roguish dimples twinkle in her cheeks. Even her fantastic attirecould not hide her beauty. "You ridiculous old dumb-bell! Of course itisn't the end--just the beginning--with you!"
It was a considerable time before Shelby was able to repair the _Selba_sufficiently so that she could get underway for Mars but the task wasfinished at last. Escorted by the rebel chief's fierce hordesmen, theyset out for the Red Planet.
Somehow, snatches of the ancient Bedouin song tinkled in Shelby's mind.He had read old books. "Across the desert I come to thee, On a stallionshod with fire...."
That did not quite fit the situation, for Jan was with him. But hissteed, the _Selba_, was truly shod with fire. The rocket nozzles--anddamaged though she was, she behaved like a thoroughbred. And out therein the void beside the ship--what were those shapes?--bizarre,impossible, yet real--real.
* * * * *
In docks scattered over Earth and Mars, battleships of space and theircrews wait expectantly for an alarm that may never come. Telescopes combthe sky. Out there the Star People, new arrivals in the solar system,are shifting, moving about restlessly. But the planets feel secure.Their fleets could cope with the Space Men, were they a hundred timesmore numerous. And once in a while, on the desolate Sahara, or Mohave orTaraal, shadows come, settling down like flecks of darkness from themidnight heaven. They are Telaba's and Ankova's people. For a while--aday perhaps--they stay, bartering their exotic treasures for humanwares. Then silently, mysteriously, they are gone, into the night....
THE END
The Revolt of the Star Men Page 9