by Perry Rhodan
"Okay. All clear over here. Don't be too polite. Chaktor's coming with us. He communicated several times with Chren-Tork. Officially we haven't noticed anything. Chren-Tork thinks by now that he's fairly safe."
"He should. Hurry up!"
The interrogation had taken place in the control center of Stardust II. Rhodan and a few parapsychological members of the Mutant Corps had sprung some well-planned surprises which in all probability would never be known to the Topide prisoner.
As Chren-Tork, mentally and physically fatigued, slipped out of the ship under the robot's watchful eye, he hadn't the slightest idea that he'd been under the influence of an Arkonide psycho-ray emitter for more than an hour.
Next, it had been the turn of Kitai Ishibashi, the Japanese mesmeric mutant. He had a talent for forceful suggestion. It was out of the question that the Topide staff officer could ever detect that he didn't act of his own free will.
Nevertheless, certain ideas had been firmly planted in his brain which compelled him to do exactly as Rhodan wished.
When the nonhuman figure appeared on the picture screen of the outboard monitoring system, Rhodan took off his exquisitely fitted wig with a leisurely movement. A human observer would probably have recognized the white crown of hair as false but it would be impossible for a Topide to make this differentiation. Rhodan was sure to have made a big impression on the lizard.
Outside, Chren-Tork was loaded into a ground vehicle by a Ferronian guard-commando under Chaktor's orders. He was supposed to be taken back to the prison camp on the little moon the following day; but this had to be prevented according to Rhodan's scheme.
"That was my last contribution to this action," mumbled the chief, staring at the television screens. "Now it's all up to Chaktor. All will be in vain if they get wise to him or decide to reject him."
"It'll be inevitable that we put the battleship into action," Khrest added quietly. "Incidentally, you gave an excellent performance as an Arkonide commander."
"I've always told you that humanity is an admirable creation; but man has to be guided and led a little," Rhodan said with a tired smile. "We have a tremendous potential, many gifts and talents; all we need is a little time to develop our capabilities. That's why the Topides can't be permitted to discover the Earth, at least not until mankind is mature and unified. Consequently, these beings have to be driven out of the Vega system. We're now observing frequent structure shifts in the normal state of four-dimensional space. That means these reptiloids are busily flying around. In a few hours we'll find out if our efforts have been successful."
"And if not...!"
"Then we have no other choice. We'd have to launch a most vigorous attack." Rhodan spoke somberly. "Of course, we'll have to put in an appearance anyhow. It's essential that we back up the activities of our agents. In any case, it won't be such a serious matter as it would've been without our preparations. Don't you agree?"
Khrest said nothing. He was unable to keep up with Rhodan's schemes. He decided that only people from Earth were cunning enough to play such complicated games.
Outside, the Topide staff officer was driven away in a Ferronian military vehicle. He was now utterly. convinced that Rhodan's native world was located in the solar system of Capella, forty-five light-years away. Supposedly, Rhodan came from the fifth planet. Astronautical charts and documents referring to these details had been carefully prepared and smuggled into the hands of the opposition group by the mutants Marshall, Noir and Ishy Matsu.
Now Rhodan relied on Chaktor's skill to convince the Topides on the six moons of the fortieth planet that it would be advisable to invade the world of the humans in a surprise attack in order to eliminate this source of danger once and for all. After that it would be easy for them to take care of the relatively helpless Ferrons.
Were those Topides really such cold, logical thinkers as Khrest claimed? If it was true, Rhodan's plan was bound to succeed - he'd considered any and all conceivable circumstances and nothing was left to chance.
It would have been much simpler to deploy the Arkonide battleship in an onslaught. However, any number of unpredictable accidents could have happened and if he'd thus risked Stardust II it might have suffered such disabling damage that, as a consequence, the very existence of mankind on Earth would have been imperiled.
The time hadn't come yet when Rhodan could take such chances; mankind's capability and technical resources to build spaceships of the Stardust type hadn't evolved yet, Rhodan kept telling himself with painful clarity. He had to bide his time meanwhile.
Absentmindedly his fingernails were crumbling away the artful buildup on his forehead. Doctor Haggard had done a masterful job.
"We'll have to establish a department for makeup artists in the Mutant Corps," he mused aloud. "Bell, make a note of that. We have great experts on Earth like Piercemore, Reerdon, Smithdik."
Then he walked with drooping shoulders across the wide control center, his men watching him. He stopped in front of the armored panel of the personnel exit and looked at his watch.
"Clear the ship for takeoff. We're going to push into the system shortly before sundown. We'll use everything we've got, Captain Klein!"
The trim officer stood at attention, his face showing profound respect.
"Sir?"
"Report to the Thort of Ferrol. Advise him that I consider it absolutely essential to undertake a reconnaissance flight with our mighty battleship. Our survey of the structure-field measurements indicates the "strongest probability that the Topides are about to launch a surprise attack on the ninth world of the system. Have him inform the Ferronian defense posts. We'll start exactly two hours before sundown. "
Klein saluted without a word.
"One more thing!" Rhodan displayed his determined smile. Bell knew that hard expression in his light eyes.
"Chaktor's going to flee in a Ferronian destroyer after nightfall. He'll take the Topide with him. Naturally, it would be completely logical to try to explain his successful escape."
"What do you mean by that, please?" gasped Thora, failing to comprehend Rhodan's plotting.
"Illogical if we and our swift battleships were present on Ferrol," Rhodan enlightened her gently. "Chaktor wouldn't get very far in that case. Our acceleration rate is a thousand times faster and our punch a million times stronger. You can't be serious if you think that the Topide fleet commander would believe for one minute that Chaktor could escape against our will with his puny ship. He couldn't do that if he had a ten hour headstart. Consequently, we need an alibi to justify the success of his getaway. If we're not here, we can't pursue him; it's as simple as that. Bell, we'll push off with so much power and noise that everybody, including Chren-Tork, can hear us, if we have to turn this spaceport into rubble. We want to make sure that we'll win this game."
Rhodan nodded to the silent men and left.
"Damn it!" Klein swore lustily. "I wouldn't have thought of that!"
Bell squinted at the light panels above. Then his nostrils flared. "His brain is slowly turning into a calculating machine," he remarked in resignation. "Soon I'll believe myself that Rhodan will make suckers out of these reptiles... Now, if Nyssen is broadcasting, as planned, that an armada of spaceships is on the way to the Vega system, the Topide fleet commander ought to get pretty sick. If I were in his shoes, I'd clear out of these six unimportant moons and try to beat us to the punch by jumping on our alleged home world in an unexpected offensive. Moreover, every strategist on my staff would advise me to take advantage of the temporary weakened defense of the planet because of the absence of its strongest battleships. A devilish plan; and risky, too."
"To begin with, Nyssen's message transmission has to be picked up," explained Thora somewhat ironically. You seem to be of the opinion that all human scheming will succeed without fail."
Bell treated her to one of his soulful looks.
"You'll never learn," he sighed. "If Rhodan had anything to say in your almighty Imperium your sleepy-heade
d compatriots would be astonished. Believe me, they'd wake up in a hurry from their artistic daydreams."
Thora left the room, leaving Bell grinning from ear to ear.
6/ BEYOND IMAGINATION
Tako Kakuta, the man with the astounding mastery of personal teleportation, had leaped into the prison about one hour after sundown.
At the same moment, the Japanese mesmeric mutant gasped in horror. Chaktor's men had acted exactly according to plan except that they neglected to follow the strict orders to spare the life of the innocent guards.
Tako's Arkonide combat suit made him invisible to normal eyes, due to the built-in light-refraction field. He was standing in a hidden comer of the small guard station which served as a transitory prison.
There were only a few cells and the Topide was kept in one of them. Tako Kakuta saw the guards slump down. The pulse-energy shots of the Ferronian ultra-rayguns were blinding but almost noiseless.
Tako wanted to shout to express his horror but before he could do so Chaktor came rushing along the narrow passage. The cell door was forced open. Chren-Tork, in a state of extreme agitation, appeared in the doorway, and Tako was able to listen to bits and pieces of the hasty conversation between the Ferronian space officer and the Topide who spoke Ferronian well. The Topides also used special teaching methods for the study of alien languages.
Tako moved closer. Nobody saw nor heard him. Chaktor didn't know either that Rhodan had assigned one of his mutants to this secret surveillance.
"You have a choice," Tako overheard the strained voice. "You know through the media of television that we're opposed to the stationing of Arkonides on our planets. I'm acting on behalf of the resistance movement. If I help you to escape, I'm risking my neck."
"Has the Thort been informed?" asked Chren-Tork, weighing the situation carefully.
"No, we're going to overthrow him as soon as we've come to an understanding with your fleet command. We don't want you nor the Arkonides here. If you sign an agreement to leave our solar system, we'll help you to defeat your enemies decisively."
"I have no authority to commit our fleet."
"I'm aware of that. I'm offering you galactonautic documents with the exact astronomical position of the planet from which the Arkonides have arrived here. The fact is that they don't come from Arkon but from one of its colonies which has won its independence through Rhodan."
"That explains this extraordinary zeal," whistled the Topide excitedly. "We've been wondering about it. On Arkon, they've been asleep for a long time. If you help me to gain my freedom, I'll guarantee you a hearing and negotiations. Do you have a fast spaceship available."
"I have a new destroyer at my disposal. Rhodan took off before sundown for the ninth planet. Do you know that we've obtained those galactonautic documents from a female Arkonide traitor? I'm being frank with you."
"I've heard about it. The news was all over the prison. Let's not talk any longer."
"I insist on a guarantee that you'll withdraw from our system," repeated Chaktor stubbornly. "Without it, it would be senseless to set you free."
"I give you my assurance," acknowledged the Topide officer.
Tako Kakuta laughed grimly. The situation was too transparent to be taken seriously. The Topide was mortally afraid and would have agreed to anything under the circumstances.
"Don't try to deceive us. You must deal with us, not with the Thort. He's too weak and yielding. We prefer to come to terms with you rather than tolerate that Rhodan takes over our world completely. I've learned from reliable sources that Rhodan has mobilized his space-fleet. It's now proceeding toward our stellar constellation. You'll be doomed if you don't leave immediately."
Chren-Tork was swept away in a wave of panic by this unforeseen disclosure.
"Proof!" he cried.
"You'll get it. Well, is everything settled between us?" Tako saw that Chaktor was still keeping his weapon trained on the Topide. The hurried conversation stopped as suddenly as it had begun, with the Topide's nod of agreement.
Chaktor didn't even glance at the dead bodies of the guards. Rhodan had provided him with an Arkonide psycho-beam emitter with which he could have incapacitated the men without harm. However, he'd apparently run into unexpected complications.
The Ferrons disappeared with the Topide staff officer whose rank was known as Tubtor.
Tako waited a few more minutes. Then he concentrated his thoughts on a point on the periphery of the spaceport and dematerialized by means of his unprecedented mental powers. It was a "transition" of his body to another place. The Arkonides had long known that energy units of the fifth dimension could be manipulated by parapsychological forces, but it was extraordinary that an Earthman should possess this ability.
A faint glimmer appeared in the spaceport. Tako Kakuta materialized again near the launching pad where Chaktor's brand-new destroyer was waiting.
Here, too, everything seemed in good order. The guards had been informed that Chaktor was to start for a short reconnaissance flight.
Tako felt chilly in spite of the light-refraction field around him. Heavy clouds were beginning to form again over the nearby mountains. The time for the usual daily storm had almost come.
As the first gusts of wind howled across the landing field, Chaktor arrived in a glide-car. Seconds later three Ferrons had faded into the egg-shaped hull of the little spaceship. One of them was conspicuously taller than his companions.
Before the ship with thundering aft engines streaked into the dark sky, the mutant had pulled back. He felt the short heat wave and was blinded by the dazzling light effects. Finally, he heard the rumbling dying away in the distance.
Tako had seen enough. The escape had been nicely carried out. He returned with a short transition-jump to the low building which Rhodan had erected at the edge of the defense screen. At this time the energy dome was non-functioning. Tako could enter the oblong room unmolested.
Ishy Matsu, the expert telepath of the Mutant Corps, looked up. She'd already perceived Tako's brain waves some time ago.
"That was quite some noise out there. Did it come off all right?"
Tako nodded silently. Then he sat down before the visiphone set which worked faster than light. The Arkonide hypercom could contact the battleship far out in space. As the storm turned into a hurricane and heavy rain poured down, Tako Kakuta began to talk into the mike:
"Calling Stardust II, Kakuta speaking. Calling..."
The fighter robots standing in front of the door made sure that no one disturbed the two lonely people. Everything was quiet outside except for the storm. The flight of the Topide hadn't yet been detected.
Kakuta's message had been received on board the Stardust three hours ago. The enormously efficient instruments of the battleship had even pinpointed the fleeing destroyer, though it was more than thirty million miles away in the interplanetary space of Vega.
The ninth planet was tracing its predetermined orbit far from the flaming giant sun. The battleship was almost at a standstill in the deep black void between the planets.
Rhodan knew that the novel destroyer of the Ferrons would require approximately twenty-two hours of ship time to reach the simple velocity of light. Other Ferronian ships took one hundred hours to get there. Consequently, it was well-nigh impossible for the Ferrons to catch up with Chaktor. There was no danger whatsoever in that respect.
However, Rhodan couldn't return to the main planet yet. By now the prison break had been discovered. Takuta reported via hypercom that the Thort was in a desperate mood and trying frantically to teach Rhodan by radio. Since the Ferrons didn't possess the superfast telecoms, Rhodan was in a position to elude them. He neither heard nor saw anything.
The monitoring screens of the gigantic battleship were in full operation. The three hundred men of the crew were on restricted alert for possible battle action.
However, full alarm had been evoked for the personnel in the communication center. Here, each station was manned double.
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Rhodan was standing in inexplicable and nerve-wracking calm in front of the diagram screens of the Arkonide structure sensors. They were highly efficient implements for measuring and locating the structural disturbance of the normal four-dimensional space induced by any force.
So far the sensors had reacted repeatedly. They all came from the direction of the fortieth planet of the system. Judging by these observations, the Topides were continually fortifying their position. The incoming ships undoubtedly brought reinforcements from the eight hundred and fifteen light-years distant Topide system.
Rhodan was waiting with steadily growing impatience. Eight hours alter Chaktor's escape, the powerful hypercom receivers finally began to operate. Instantaneous positronic calculations confirmed that the hyperwave transmission originated precisely in the space sector where the home world of the Arkonides was presumed to be located. The beam came from the Capella system.
At least this had to be assumed if one followed the extension of the fictitious line between the suns Vega and Capella. The signal strength of the transmitter on the auxiliary ship - utilizing its full energy - had the right intensity to infer that a station on a Capella planet could have sent the message.
Rhodan went stiffly to the automatic coding machine. His face was devoid of any expression.
Unperturbed, he remained in front of the decoder. The positronic was working to decipher the intercepted sequences of symbols. They'd selected a very intricate and devious code. On the other hand, Rhodan knew full well that the complicated code was known to the enemy ever since the time it had been used by the fleet of the Great Imperium.
Attention! Deciphered message as follows ... came the text from the mechano-printer.
Admiral of the Fleet Nyssen to the Exalted Chief Administrator Rhodan. Received Courier Order No. 3/ 1219. S-7 under command of Captain Tsen returned safely. State of alarm decreed on Capella 5. Fleet in readiness, target area noted. Transition coordinates computed and programmed. Available battle forces: 22 battleships, Imperium class; 31 battle cruisers, Arkon class; 77 light cruisers, 105 smaller units. Starting in 7 tantas Galacto-time Standard. Request further orders and confirmation of my message. End message.