by Perry Rhodan
Long seconds passed. They grew to minutes.
From inside the ship's engine compartment came the roar of the power units and transformers revving up. Highly densified streams of particles were shooting through two-feet thick field conduits, were further compressed in the engines, were accelerated and finally left the glimmering field jets in the ship's rear in the form of fast-as-light, ultra-bright pulse-beams.
The rocky floor underneath the destroyer began to boil while the telescope supports were drawn up. The ship shot upwards.
The energy beams spread in all directions under tremendous pressure, hit the walls of the hangar and melted the solid rock walls. The secret entrance door, leading from the underground labyrinth of corridors into the hangar, was destroyed.
It was obvious: the mutant master had intended to use this escape route only once.
With unbelievable acceleration, the ship shot vertically up and, like, a gigantic missile, passed through the 300-foot-long barrel, soon to disappear in the blue depths of the waiting sky.
5/ "NO ESCAPE"
Rhodan left the Good Hope V —also known as K-5—the same instant Roster Deegan emerged through the opened emergency exit at the surface. Roster was walking toward Tatjana with a blank stare in his eyes. The young Russian girl approached him and gently tried to restore Deegan's own will, giving it back to him bit by bit.
The mutant corps relieved the robots and the soldiers and were in charge of security. The esper John Marshall stayed near Rhodan and informed him: "Tatjana reports that there are 10 other mutants besides Deegan in the fortress. A post-hypnotic command forces them to obey the orders of the mutant master. They'll have to be liberated individually from Monterny's influence."
"How about Monterny's prisoners? What has Tatjana been able to find out about them?"
"No definite news but she believes they're somewhere inside the fortress."
"Very well, then," said Rhodan, "the battle of the mutants can begin! I'll personally take care of Monterny."
He seized his psychobeamer and advanced toward Tatjana and Deegan, who opposed each other, locked in a silent battle of wills. They were standing near the entrance to the underground fortress. Steps led down into the labyrinth.
"I'll come with you," Marshall said. He had kept close to Rhodan. "Also Sengu, Anne Sloane and Betty Toufry. Sengu can warn us of any impending danger while the two telekinetics can immobilize any attackers until we can break their hypno-block."
At this moment the hypno-block was breaking inside Roster Deegan. The American shook his head as if he had just surfaced from deep water and was suddenly feeling free from the pressure of the deeps. He took Tatjana's hand. "I still don't quite understand everything but I'm beginning to get some idea of what has happened. Count on me. Set the others free as well, please!"
Rhodan joined their little group. "Come along, Tatjana. We mustn't waste any time. Nobody knows what devilish tricks the mutant master still has up his sleeve."
Roster regarded Rhodan quizzically; their eyes met and then he held out his hand. "You must be Rhodan. I recognize you from pictures. I presume you'll be interested in increasing the numbers of your mutants. In that case there are 10 more mutants waiting down there in the fortress who would be proud to join your forces. But they aren't free yet.
Tatjana pointed to both Rhodan's psychobeamer and her own. "It won't be long now," she promised.
In one of the corridors, on their way to the command center, they encountered the first telekineticist. Rhodan suddenly was flung to one side. If he hadn't reacted instantly by a reflex and stretched out both hands he would have crashed into the wall head first. He slipped to the ground, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible and thus escape the direct line of vision of the fortress' defender. Then calmly he pointed his hypno-rod toward the shadowy figure, which stood out very indistinctly against the poorly lit background.
He directed a powerful barrage of urgent commands at the man's hypno-block with very little success. Not until André Noir joined forces with him and broke through the existing barrier by exerting tremendous hypnotic pressure, then implanted his counter orders in the mutant's brain, did the mutant master's power over this man give way. Rhodan, prudently, then gave the man a post-hypnotic command with the help of the psychobeamer. Now was not the time for long explanations.
Step by step they penetrated farther into the supermutant's realm, now deserted by him. They encountered bitter resistance from the mutants who were still under Monterny's spell. But little by little, Rhodan's and Noir's combined efforts removed this obstacle.
Including Roster, they found 10 mutants altogether who were soon willing to switch allegiance from the tyrannical mutant master and join Rhodan's mutant corps. However their number should have been 11.
Where was the eleventh mutant? And where was the supermutant himself? Rhodan looked around. "Ras Tschubai?" he inquired.
The powerfully built figure of the giant African drew near. "Yes, sir?"
"Have you searched all the rooms?"
The teleporter raised his hand in an uncertain gesture. "I couldn't tell for sure. This warren has so many corridors, passages and rooms that it's impossible for me to say whether I have been in every one of them or not. I have definitely located the command center; it was empty. Not a trace of that bald-headed fellow."
"And how about the scientists?"
Before Ras could answer, Sengu the seer interjected. "They are imprisoned in a dungeon—an entire complex with regular cells. There's an elevator leading down there." The Japanese fixed his eyes on a spot on the floor to indicate the direction. Trying to imagine that he could clearly see through solid rock, one couldn't help but shudder in awe. "Somebody seems to have located them—I can see a figure that's trying to force open the entrance door leading into the prison complex. I can't quite make out who it could be."
Betty Toufry, both telepath and telekinetic, joined the little group around Rhodan. "I'm receiving the thoughts of a man," she whispered and glanced uncertainly in the same direction as Sengu. "His thoughts are rather weak and confused. He wants to kill."
Ras Tschubai turned to Sengu. "Describe the location of the dungeon, I want to catch that man before he causes a disaster. Hurry, please!"
There was nothing much Rhodan could do here. He just watched passively and gave free rein to his own mutants. He couldn't see, hear or feel anything. Rhodan was not a mutant but a very normal human being—quite apart from certain characteristics which however had nothing to do with structural changes in the brain.
Ras Tschubai listened as Sengu specified the exact location. Then the African teleporter nodded briefly—and vanished. Those that remained behind felt the slight breeze caused by the air rushing into the vacuum created by the teleporter during and after his rematerialization. At this very same instant, Ras Tschubai materialized again in his own body, exactly at the desired spot he had concentrated on.
Rhodan wanted to make use of this time during Ras' absence. "Tatjana and Marshall, accompany me. We must find out where Monterny is now. I can't imagine he'd crawl into a corner and wait till we find him. He's not the passive type."
"This fortress has dozens of passages. None of us has seen all of them," observed Tatjana. "But I do know, one of these corridors leads to a hangar hewn out of the solid rock. And in this hangar is hidden one of your stolen destroyers. Perhaps Monterny has meanwhile..."
"No doubt," Rhodan said sharply. It was one of the rare occasions when he briefly lost his temper. You should have told me that sooner. I'm convinced the supermutant is smart enough to realize immediately when he is defeated. But... say that again! There's a hangar in the underground rock walls?"
"Yes."
"That means it's to the west. It shouldn't be too difficult to discover the right corridor leading to that hangar. Come along!"
Rhodan hurried ahead through the empty passages, followed immediately behind by Tatjana and Marshall. The sound of their steps was echoed back f
rom the solid walls with a hollow thud.
They arrived at a fork in the road. Rhodan quickly checked his watch compass and chose the outer branch to the left. "This path runs due west—it could be the right one."
He didn't wait for a reply but ran on. From farther ahead suddenly came a dull vibration in the rocks. The floor was shaking under their feet, reminding them of the tremor of a mild earthquake. Rhodan stopped in his tracks. Marshall grew pale. Tatjana lowered her hand with the hypno-rod in it. "What was that?" she whispered barely audibly.
Rhodan clenched his fist. "Our destroyer—at least we know now that we chose the right way. "We've come too late. Maybe our men above-ground are more watchful. Let's have a look at least at that mess!"
Thirty feet before the spot where the corridor formerly ended abruptly in a blank wall, they encountered a dry heat-wave which prevented them from going on. In the dim light coming from the poor lamps in the ceiling Rhodan saw on the ground and on the ceiling stalactites and stalagmites consisting of first molten and then congealed rock. A sudden insight flashed in his brain: of course, the hangar was behind that blind wall in the rocks!
"The heat generated as the destroyer was taking off couldn't dissipate into the atmosphere as is usually the case during blastoffs. It melted the walls instead. I hardly believe we can get through from here into the hangar." He reflected for a few seconds then added with resignation in his voice: "It wouldn't do us any good anyhow. Monterny is already racing through space. We can only hope somebody up there noticed his escape."
"Shouldn't we inform the Stardust of his flight?" suggested Marshall.
"Even that would be too late," said Rhodan with a bitter smile, "but don't worry, Marshall. In the long run Monterny can't get away from us. We have some idea where he might try to escape to."
And before Rhodan's inner eye came the vision of the desolate loneliness of a reddish desert, crossed by broad strips of green vegetation. A lonely world only sparsely heated by a far distant sun.
6/ PUCKY DARES THE IMPOSSIBLE
Pete Maros was a Mexican but he had very little in common with his original ancestors.
One trait, however, he had definitely inherited from his forefathers, was his volatile temper, which was in sharp contrast with the cool disposition of the Englishman Ray Gall. Ray was the radio man of the destroyer Z-82 which had been taken over by Rhodan after its repair.
Commander of the ship was Julian Tifflor, for the time being still cadet of the Space Academy.
The group of the new destroyers had fanned out and stood not quite 20 miles above the State of Utah. Another 30 miles higher up Reginald Bell comforted himself with the thought that in certain sense he now represented Perry Rhodan's headquarters and had to watch out for the safety of the Stardust. Under no circumstances would he risk endangering the giant spacesphere.
Both Tiff and Bell were preoccupied by the same thoughts. "Here we are dangling high up in the sky and can't even watch what's going on down there below the clouds. Even radio contact has been interrupted—or have you been able to hear anything, Pete?"
The mechanic pointed to the door of the radio cabin. "Ray hasn't budged from the spot. Let me check."
The Englishman sat without moving in front of his silent receiving set, dozing. The picture screen which could establish direct communication with the Stardust was dark.
"I'd let you know the moment something happens," grunted Ray. "That set has been deader than a doornail." Ray shut his eyes again.
Pete noted with relief that at least his ears seemed to be wide open. He left the radio cabin and returned to the command center. Meanwhile Tiff had switched over to magnification of the scanning tele-camera and pointed the lens straight toward the surface of the Earth. There were no clouds to obscure his view. Within a few seconds Tiff could see the entire state of Utah like a map on his observation screen. The magnification increased automatically. The map grew hazy and as soon as it showed up again with sharp outlines it had shrunk to a smaller section but still in the same dimensions. This process repeated itself several times until finally Tiff could clearly recognize the round spot marking the destroyer K-5, landed next to the destroyed farm house.
Tiff remembered Rhodan's instructions: don't bother watching what happens around the K-5, concentrate on the area surrounding the farmhouse and the airspace above Utah.
Tiff sighed. Well, so what else would he do now, even if nobody actually could check up on what he was doing? But anyhow...
Slowly he moved the objective of the camera toward the west where the high mountains were. Not a very pleasant landscape, he thought. What kind of person would ever have the desire to settle there. Jagged rocks and sharp rocky ridges jutted out from the dense bush. In between were the steep and deep clefts of the canyons cutting through the wildly romantic and irregular terrain.
He was struck at once by the regular outlines of a mountain. It didn't fit into this landscape.
On a relatively flat plateau, covered by a growth of low bushes which was surrounded by steep rocks, he noticed a small, lone mountain. Here by accident? Although it consisted mainly of boulders and rubble, it showed plentiful traces of fertile soil. Still, there was not a single tree growing there. Only sparse tufts of grass revealed that plant life could exist on this mountain.
The foot of the mountain was bulging out in the shape of a crescent while the opposite side seemed to cave in to the interior.
The mountain looked like a man-made structure; reminded Tiff of a slag heap. Tiff had come fully alive by now. He had forgotten the meaning of boredom and disappointment. During the briefing session that preceded the attack, Rhodan had asserted that the area around the mutant master's farmhouse was totally uninhabited. And now Tiff discovered a good mile away from the destroyed ranch a newly raised waste dump.
Pete had stepped over to Tiff and peered over his shoulder. "Looks like someone was digging for ore there," he stated.
"And brought all the dirt up to the surface?" asked Tiff.
"Sure. I suppose it's a side shaft of the old mine that used to be somewhere around here."
"When was that?"
"Last time they were working this mine was some 20 years ago." Pete recalled what he had been told during their briefing course in Terrania before they left for this mission. "But they gave it up, it didn't yield enough."
"That's most interesting," exclaimed Tiff with a note of triumph in his voice. This seemed to further confirm his suspicions. "And how can you explain that nothing but a bit of grass, no other vegetation like bushes or shrub has grown on this hill?"
Pete was dumbfounded; he didn't say a thing. He examined the observation screen closer, then remarked: "You're right, it's real peculiar, Tiff!"
"I'm glad you agree that there's something fishy going on down there. I'd bet that only recently a new..."
He stopped abruptly in mid-sentence. While talking with Pete, he had not taken his eyes off the strange slag heap. Quite by accident his glance had wandered over to the adjoining plateau and he became aware of a sudden change.
"Look! Over there! At the inner side of the mountain!" Right next to the suspicious-looking slag heap they saw the rocky ground start to move. A round disk of 90 feet diameter began to shift to one side. Below they could make out a dark opening which was weakly illuminated by a light coming from down below.
A spaceship! A destroyer of the same type as their own identical to the one that had attacked him near the planet Mars while he was on a training mission.
The spaceship below took off with such tremendous speed that it reached the same altitude as Tiff's and Pete's ship within a few seconds. And in no had disappeared in the dark-violet sky.
Something seemed to snap in Tiff; his doubts and hesitant attitude gave way to instant action now. "Ray, contact the Stardust and inform Reginald Bell. We're pursuing the unknown ship." He swung the drive stick all the way forward for utmost acceleration. The gravity fields were, automatically switched on in order to neutr
alize the sudden jump in G's. "Pete, man the neutron cannon. Ray is to take up position at the rear guns as soon as he's sent his bulletin to Bell."
The fugitive ship was lost among the stars and Tiff had to search for minutes before he could locate it again. But since it was the same type of spaceship as his own, he could hardly make up for wasted time and hope to overtake it. Its headstart was too great. All he could hope to do now was to follow on its trail, to keep the same distance at least as soon as both ships would reach maximum speed.
Rapidly the Earth sank away below them, shrinking to the size of a blue globe. Ray emerged from the radio cabin and came to the command center. He sat next to Tiff in the second pilot's seat. "That was quite some surprise," he said quickly. "You should have heard Reginald Bell! He ordered us to find out the eventual destination of the unidentified ship. Could be the destroyer stolen by the supermutant with him in it, trying to escape. As soon as Bell gets a confirmation from Rhodan whether his assumptions are justified, he'll follow behind us. He'll get in touch with us, he promised, "in order to let us know."
Tiff kept his eyes glued to his radar screen. The blip didn't change size now. He read the range indicator which showed that the fugitive was about 1200 miles ahead of Tiff's craft, his ship constantly accelerating and would soon reach one-fourth the speed of light.
Tiff looked out of the tiny window. Before him stretched the infinity of the universe with all its marvels and dangers. And up ahead, hidden among the myriads of stars, a pinpoint of light was speeding toward its unknown distant destination. It hit him like a ton of hot bricks when he once again looked at his observation screen.
The spot had grown in size.
The other ship was now only 300 miles away.
It had reduced its speed.
• • •
Ras Tschubai materialized less than three feet away from the mutant stranger, who whirled around in fright and stared at the sudden apparition as if it were a ghost.