by Perry Rhodan
On the edge of the spaceport a nuclear explosion occurred in the place where the small ship had stood, a mushroom cloud appeared and rose swiftly into the twilight sky of Zalit. Only then could the crater be seen. Not the slightest trace remained of the ship, the 10 robots or the corpse of Admiral Calus.
Toffner was still not far from the spaceport and was hurrying to get into hiding when he heard the detonation. Then he knew that the plan had succeeded. Soon there would be pandemonium in the streets of Tagnor. They might even come looking for him because he had just been at the spaceport with a rather hokey excuse for his visit.
Unchallenged, he reached the catacombs and was soon secure.
In a nearby rocky chamber they prepared a grave for Osega and buried him with a simple ceremony. Major Rosberg gave a short speech and eulogized the dead man by saying that he had not only given his life for the Earth but also for the Zalites. It was the irony of fate that he had fallen by the very hands that he had sought to help.
They all sat awhile with each other before they retired to sleep. "Osega was a great guy," said Pucky in pensive remorse. "We should notify "Rhodan suggested Betty Toufry. "He'll be relieved to know this threat has been
taken care of." Rosberg nodded, "I'll handle it later." A silence fell on all of them. There they sat only 20 meters under the surface of a planet where the
Arkonide search commando units would soon be stomping about. Fifty Terrans, a lost little company at a
lost outpost 30,000 light-years from home. But they knew that "Rhodan already held the key to Fortress Arkon in his hand. Atlan was in command of one of the ships of the Imperium. The Regent did not suspect how close his most deadly enemy had
come.
No, the situation wasn't quite as bad any more as it had appeared to be at first glance. Things had taken on a whole new complexion. However negligible the explosion at the spaceport might have appeared in comparison to a full-scale war, nevertheless it had shaken the foundations of a stellar empire. For Arkon the most critical hour of all its many thousands of years of existence lay close now at hand. But Arkon knew it not...
CONFLICT CENTER: NAATOR
Copyright © Ace Books 1975
Ace Publishing Corporation
All Rights Reserved
THE SHIP OF THINGS TO COME
ROBOT REGENT, your regency may soon be a thing of the past. The positronic control that you have so long exerted over your interstellar domain may be painfully close to catastrophe. Trained in Conflict Center Naator Recruits for Arkon are even now on their way to the headquarters world where you hold sway.
And why? To destroy you! Robot Ruler of Arkon, beware! If the key to power leaves your 'hands', who then will hold it?
The legions of impatient followers of Rhodan's adventures will find out next time in—
POWER KEY
by K. H. Scheer