Vagabond of Space

by Perry Rhodan

  "So you are the legendary Samuel Graybound? Frankly speaking, I had imagined you to be different."

  "That's frank enough," replied Graybound while making every effort to keep himself calm. "And you are Behnken, I suppose?"

  For a second the cruiser commander was nonplussed and then his face took on a pinkish tinge. " Major Behnken!" he corrected him with special emphasis. "To you I'm still a major!"

  "Good, Major—then for you I'm still a captain, alright?"

  Maj. Behnken's face became redder. Of course the two cadets beside him were poker-faced but there was a gleam of amusement in their eyes.

  " Man!" exclaimed the major, who was beside himself with anger.

  Graybound still controlled himself, remembering Rhodan's request. "I have to admire your gift of observation, Major," he smiled, but his tone of friendliness was deliberately deceptive. "I am a man. May I ask, if you please, to what branch of mammals you belong?"

  In the Com Room next to Rhodan and Smith, Pucky brightened with a merry grin. He was becoming fond of the old pirate. The way things were going, this might be an enjoyable trip home, after all.

  "Well?" grunted Graybound since he received no answer.

  Behnken was not in a mood to converse any further with this loutish captain. Instead, he turned to his two men. "I'll handle the situation here. Join the other cadets and search the ship." After Rex had gone out with the two cadets, he turned back to Graybound. "And now between us two, old man—you tried to make me look foolish in front of my men and you almost succeeded. So I'll be sorry for you if we find the slightest thing out of line on your ship!"

  Graybound smiled. "Go ahead and search, Major. You won't find anything— mostly teddybears. Unless you'd say they're out of line!"

  "You just wait!" growled the major. "If we want to we can always dig up something!"

  "Oh, is that so?" asked Graybound interestedly. "If you want to you can always dig up something? That's putting pretty much on the table, isn't it? What you're saying is that you can hang a crime on anybody who doesn't part their hair the way you like it! Now what do you think your head man, Perry Rhodan, would say to that?"

  "In any case he'd be grateful to us for relieving people like you of their commissions. You make the spacelanes safe, you carry on underhanded businesses and make life unnecessarily difficult for the security patrols."

  Graybound was coming to a slow boil. He could not tolerate any uncomplimentary allusions to his qualities as a space captain and this conversation galled him. He forgot his resolve to be cautious because if anybody attacked his professional integrity it snapped him right back to being Samuel Graybound himself.

  "Why you driveling skon!" he roared. His sudden change and the volume of his attack was enough to cause the major to back up against the door to the Com Room. "You silly greenhorn, you! If you don't straighten your mouth out I'm liable to forget myself and do it for you—is that clear? You... you..."

  "Misfit! Bonehead!" screeched Torero, seeking to give staunch support to his master. The parrot had been getting more enthusiastically excited about the argument all along and now he flapped his wings for emphasis.

  Maj. Behnken was basically a proper Fleet officer and had always fulfilled his duty but this confrontation with Capt. Graybound strained the bounds of his experience and taxed his nerves. However, before he could reach for his service gun the door of the Control Central opened to admit his four cadets. They escorted Rex Knatterbull between them; he held a teddybear in his hand. The First Officer's expression said more than words.

  Graybound saw that his game was up. "Hi, boys," he said weakly, nodding at the search team.

  Ignoring Graybound's familiarity, one of the prize crew spoke to the major. "Sir, we have uncovered smuggled merchandise."

  Maj. Behnken's face beamed with delight. "You mean that's it—the Teddy doll there?"

  "Sir, it's inside the Teddy. You can see for yourself." The cadet took the toy from Rex and gave it to Maj. Behnken.

  The latter took it and held it up somewhat clumsily but then discovered a hole in the back of the stuffed creature. He looked inside and saw the evidence. His eyes gleamed in triumph as he glared at Graybound. "That, my good man, should be the end of your career. Your ship is hereby confiscated. One of my flight officers will pilot it back to Earth. And you, Civilian Graybound, will spend the rest of the flight on board my cruiser. We have special quarters for you there, excellently appointed—with security locks! There you can..."

  "Cut-throat!" raged Torero as though he had understood every word. "Lowdown murderer! I'll tell your wife..."

  "And as for the parrot," continued Maj. Behnken, undisturbed, "just toss it into space."

  Graybound clenched his fists. "Oh, no, you don't!" he rumbled threateningly. "Not if you don't want something to really happen around here—mainly to you!"

  "There he goes threatening again—you heard that, Jenner and Klod. For that it'll be two months extra!"

  Graybound glanced desperately at the Com Room door. To his way of thinking it was high time for Rhodan to take a hand in this. If something didn't happen pretty soon he'd be spending the next 10 years in the slammer for slander and assault against an active officer of the Spacefleet. "Who's handing out the threats around here?" he fumed. "You mean to say your service regulations mention that parrots are supposed to fly in a vacuum? I've got news for you, hangman! Torero goes where I go-even if it's to jail—and that's final!"

  The major finally lost his patience. He shouted at his men. "Put the red beard in irons and bring him to the cruiser! Then send over Lt. Drummond. He'll bring the Lizard... now there's an insidious name for you! He'll take this ship back to Earth."

  To Graybound's unspeakable relief he was spared any responsibility for the next step. Perry Rhodan came out of the Com Room. He stepped over to the exit of the Control Central and turned facing them as though to block the way.

  "Capt. Samuel Graybound remains here, Major," he said quietly. "You happen to be in error."

  Maj. Behnken whirled as though he'd been bitten by a snake. In the inadequate lighting of the place he did not recognize Rhodan immediately. After his crashlanding and his experience on the plasma planet the Administrator's uniform had been anything but improved upon. On the contrary, it was so dirty and in need of mending that it was unrecognizable.

  "And who do you think you are!" snapped the major in an imperious tone of anger. "You've probably been hiding, right? Judging by your uniform you're a Fleet officer who has deserted—otherwise what would you be doing on a smuggler ship in the first place?"

  Meanwhile Jenner, one of the major's cadets, was making wild motions with his hands. His eyes were almost popping out of his head while his mouth gasped incoherent syllables of warning. Apparently he had important news for him yet did not dare to interrupt his tirade.

  On the other hand, Graybound was almost choking on his own suppressed laughter. The situation was so hilarious that it practically took his breath away. Here before his very eyes the Administrator of the Solar Imperium was getting chewed out by a mere major as though he were a dim-witted high school freshman. And what impressed Graybound most of all was the fact that Rhodan never ceased smiling through it all.

  When Maj. Behnken finally finished, Cadet Jenner made a supreme effort to speak. "Sir! There's been a mistake!" he stammered. "That's-that's..."

  "Please stop gaping when you speak to me!"

  "I..." Jenner couldn't go on. It was hard for him to breathe.

  But Maj. Behnken had become wary. Did his cadet know this man that he had surprised on board Graybound's freighter? Maybe he was an important catch.

  "Who are you?" he demanded, again imperiously—but then he seemed to lose his voice suddenly. His jaw dropped open and Graybound was almost afraid his eyes would fall out of his head.

  Which was the moment in which Pucky decided to make his entrance from the Com Room. With his arms crossed and his chest out, he waddled straight across the Control
Central and drew himself up imposingly in front of the major. "Well?" he chirped. "Were you about to say something?"

  The major stared at Pucky as though he were seeing a ghost. Even if he had failed to recognize Rhodan he could not mistake the mouse-beaver's identity if he had been blind and feeling him with a stick.

  "The mouse-beaver!" he groaned. "Lt. Puck!"

  Pucky beamed and turned to Rhodan. "Do you see now who's the most famous? But, after all, I'm a mouse-beaver and there's only a handful of us in the whole universe!"

  Maj. Behnken shut his mouth tight. His face was no longer flushed with indignation but instead was suddenly deathly pale. Since he appeared to stagger, Graybound leaped forward. All heart now, he helpfully shoved a chair behind the major.

  "You... you are... the Administrator?" He sank down on the chair and dosed his eyes. Actually it would not have taken much more to make him collapse in a faint.

  Rhodan, however, startled him out of his state of fog. "Listen to me carefully, Major. You've said a few things here and also taken certain actions beyond your authority or competence. But we'll forget about it—under one condition!"

  The major opened his eyes again and when he clearly recognized Rhodan for sure, he jumped to his feet. His mind seemed to be back in order once more. "Sir?"

  "You are to forget completely whatever you've seen or experienced on board the Lizard. That goes for you and your four men. Have I made myself clear?"

  "But this contraband, sir...?"

  Rhodan indicated Graybound. "The worthy Captain here is actually carrying out an assignment for me. Or did you wish to question the legality of my own activities, Major?"

  Behnken slumped inwardly. "Naturally not, sir. I only thought..."

  "So you will forget this meeting, is that clear? In which case I'll also forget some of your remarks." Rhodan looked at the four cadets. "And if you men have any desire to continue as members of the Fleet, I advise you to do the same. Forget everything about Capt. Graybound's apparent smuggling operations or that you encountered me on board the Lizard. And now, gentlemen, I wish you a good flight."

  He gave the major a short nod and then left the Control Central. Pucky waddled after him like a faithful hound but not before winking confidentially at the old redbearded swashbuckler of a captain. He had become quite fond of him already.

  Maj. Behnken stared at Capt. Graybound. Finally a sheepish smile touched his hard face, because after all he was neither a wet blanket nor did he feel ready for a pension. He now proved that he could be adaptable and was able to rationally adjust to a very sticky situation. "Excuse the delay I caused you, Captain. It's our duty, you understand, to carry out routine inspections and controls in this sector. I'm happy to know that your cargo is clean. From here on I wish you clear

  flying."

  "Wretch!" screeched Torero with implacable maliciousness.

  It startled the major but he kept his decorum. "A smart bird you have there, Captain. Take care now!"

  Graybound nodded to him graciously and went to the door with him. "You'll be able to find your way, Major—Rex, guide the gentlemen to the lock. Make sure they put their helmets back on before they leave the ship. After all this they might forget!"

  When the room was empty he smirked with satisfaction. After the door had closed, he sank down into his flight chair. Behind him somebody cleared his throat. Henry Smith emerged from the Com Room. Then he was standing there by

  him, grinning sheepishly at his chief.

  "You sure gave it to them, sir!" he said admiringly.

  What happened then was the most frightening of all and it scared him half to death. Graybound actually nodded to him in a friendly manner and spoke to him in a normal tone of voice. "Yes, Smith, that we did. You were a great help to me. Without you we would never have met up with Perry Rhodan."

  Smith staggered back to the Com Room, hurrying as best he could to mark this day in red on the calendar. Although Capt. Graybound had evidently not been retrained in the Cosmonautic Institute, nevertheless a certain change had come over him. At least temporarily.

  Torero shook his head disapprovingly. He screeched angrily: "Kindergarten! Space Cadet Graybound!" Then he fluttered up to his cage as if his entire world had crashed into ruins.

  Rex Knatterbull came back. Shortly thereafter the Lizard went into transition and by ship's time it was the same day when they reached the Solar System. While the ship was dropping vertically toward the planetary ecliptic of the Earth at 0.1 light-speed, Rhodan and Bell came into the Control Central. Graybound got up politely and offered the Administrator his seat.

  "Listen, Graybound—my men are going to stay on board the Lizard until tomorrow. Then they'll be picked up. You yourself are to remain silent concerning your experience and my presence here. You never ran into me at all. It will have to stay that way until the official version of my return has been made public. It would not be good to have everybody know that the first test flight of the new spacedrive ran into trouble. I think we understand each other."

  "Oh yes, completely, sir."

  "Excellent. Then-there's one more thing. You are a part of the Startramp organization. In the future I'll be giving your firm some inside assignments, which you may take or reject at any time at your own option. I am indebted to you for what you have done but I know you would reject an outright payment of money as a reward. This trip, however, has meant a loss of revenue for you so I'd like to replace those losses. Would 50,000 Solar Credits be a fair compensation?"

  Graybound groped about to support himself as he stared at Rhodan. "Fifty thousand...?" He drew a deep breath. "I wouldn't have made that much in 10 such flights, sir. Besides, answering your distress signal was... well... an unwritten law..."

  "Would the delay have caused you a financial loss or not?" Rhodan interrupted. Bell stood next to him and winked craftily at Graybound, at the same time nodding for emphasis.

  Graybound returned the nod.

  "Well, then," sighed Rhodan in relief, "so that no one will get the wrong idea, I'll transfer the money to the account of Startramp instead of to you personally..."

  "I'd prefer it that way," interjected Graybound, "if only because of Ludmilla."

  "How is that?"

  "Eh? Oh, my wife. You know..."

  "I know," said Rhodan, hastening to express a tacit male understanding of such things. "So you are married? I congratulate you."

  "Hm-m..." Graybound seemed to be disconcerted. "Say no more," said Bell who had remained silent until now. "If you're leary of your wife she must be a real Amazon because you're not exactly the shyest person we've met."

  "Hm-m..." repeated Graybound in some embarrassment. But he made no further comment on the delicate subject.

  It may also have been due to the presence of the First Officer, who was piloting the ship with a sure and expert hand into the Earth's atmosphere. After flying to Terrania he set the freighter down softly in its own berth at the spaceport. The howling of the engines was silenced. The Lizard had terminated its unusual journey. And the teddybears for Tuglan still rested undisturbed in the cargo hold. All except for one of them, which Pucky had appropriated as a Souvenir. Or at least this was his excuse.

  • • •

  The time came for goodbyes.

  Rhodan shook hands with Graybound. "Good luck, Captain. We will always be indebted to you. If you ever get into difficulty just remember that you have some good friends—myself, Mr. Bell, Pucky, as well as about 70 grateful officers, scientists and crew members of the Fleet. We'll always be there to back you up. And believe me, Capt. Graybound, you and I will be seeing each other again. The Earth needs men like you—both now and in all the future to come."

  Graybound was visibly touched. In his embarrassment he had to blow his nose. Then he also shook hands with Bell. At this moment Pucky appeared and after closing the door behind him approached Graybound directly. In one jump he was suddenly on the old red beard's broad shoulder and he threw his arms around his n
eck. There was a smacking sound as the mouse-beaver kissed him right on the nose.

  "I'll tell Ludmilla!" screeched Torero jealously and he added the most appalling threats he could think of.

  Since at his elevated position he was near the cage, Pucky held his fist under the bird's beak. "Then you'll really learn to fly—in a vacuum!" he almost hissed at him indignantly. But actually he wasn't serious because his incisor gleamed joyously. Sliding down over Graybound's paunch to the floor, Pucky took Rhodan and Bell by the hand. "See you soon, Sam!" he exclaimed. And before Graybound's eyes the two men and the mouse-beaver dematerialized.

  He was alone again with Rex Knatterbull and Com Man Smith. In some confusion he hastily wiped his eyes and then he suddenly noted the look of uneasy curiosity on their faces. He drew up at least two or three inches more to his full height.

  "What are you gaping at?" he roared at them in his usual volume as he brought his fist down so heavily on the chart table that it almost collapsed under the blow. "Don't you have anything better to do? We're taking off in the morning! Get everything ready. This time our official course is Tuglan. Unofficially—you already know the score. They're still waiting for the teddybears, so there's no ground leave for anybody yet! Come on, lift a leg, you lazy louts—get to work!"

  Rex grinned and busied himself with the charts. In the Com Room Smith smiled in secret satisfaction and looked over his panels at random. The Boss was back to normal again. And thank Heaven for that! A soft-spoken Graybound would really be something to worry about.

  When Graybound left the ship it was obvious to any observer that he was the only one who had disembarked. With a swinging stride he walked directly to the Customs gate where Lt. Dopner surveyed his approach with interest.

  "Well, back so soon? What's the cargo?"

  Graybound cleared his throat. "Toys and teddybears from Tuglan. For Terra."

  He walked proudly past Dopner who stared after him gapingly.