by Perry Rhodan
With the howling came a blinding violet energy cloud which formed far ahead of the Stardust. This cloud couldn't destroy the screen either. The cloud veered from its flight direction, deflected by the terrible force of the collision, and became partially neutralized.
There was nothing left to be seen of the Topidian cruiser. The armor-plated outer hull of Stardust II reverberated like a bell.
Behind the Stardust II were two glowing clouds in space and far behind those was the evidence of Klein's handiwork with his ten weak fingers.
There he'd created seventeen miniature suns. These expanding gas clouds were all that was left of the demolished ships. If it hadn't been for these, no evidence would have remained of the destroyed enemy.
Stardust II had pushed through the tightly formed line.
"No...!" groaned Captain Klein with an incredulous look in his eyes, unable to utter any other word. "No..."
"What did you think?" Thora shouted into the mike. Her face was distorted "Did you believe that engineers of my race would build squirt-guns? Do you have any idea what you're handling there?"
"Get ready to attack," Rhodan interrupted slowly. "Klein, switch over to G-bombs. Aim at the third moon. It's uninhabited; there's no life on it, only a Topian direction-finder space station. Fire when I've taken up position. I'll approach to three light-seconds."
Ahead of the still fast-moving battleship glowed the fortieth planet, now swollen to the size of a football. Rhodan held off braking till the last moment in order to keep his velocity as high as possible for the first attack. The Topidian ships were nowhere to be seen.
Soon the fortieth satellite of Vega filled the front visiscreen completely. Four of the six moons were in sight. Number Three - the smallest - was just emerging from the shadow of the planet.
Klein's sensors were tracing the target. A blinking lamp signaled that the firing control was set, eliminating the possibility of a malfunction.
Klein waited a few more seconds till the little moon hung dead center on the circular screen of the automatic target tracker. Once again he pressed the button, but using only one finger this time. One finger on one button!
The armament turrets in the upper pole region of Stardust II released two faintly glowing spirals which had nothing in common with the concept of a bomb.
They were fast as light but had no material substance. They weren't even part of the ordinary universe, since they existed on a different and higher energy level.
Even before the braking battleship had passed the moon, the latter had vanished in a blindingly brilliant display of light.
It didn't burn and it didn't fall apart; it simply vanished from its orbit as though it had never existed.
The two gravity bombs had dissolved the stable matter and transmitted it into hyperspace in conformance with the irrefutable laws of five-dimensional hyper-mathematics. It was Stardust's most powerful weapon and the latest accomplishment of Arkonide science.
Approximately three million miles beyond the planet's orbit, the spaceship finally came to a stop.
The braking maneuver had taken ten minutes during this brief span something happened which made even Khrest hold his breath.
"We'll wait here," panted Rhodan as though he'd undergone a hard physical strain. "The Topides may be nonhuman, vicious and all that, but I won't go through all this again! We're going to wait here, regardless of what they think. Chaktor has to land first. Klein, shoot only when attacked. Is that dear?"
"Sir, that'll be all right with me," came the reply from the shaken captain. "My God, if I didn't realize that we'd been attacked by an entire fleet, I don't think I could remain in this seat one more second."
"Report from the Logics Evaluation Computer," Thora announced. "Logical motivation for waiting is sound. Presuming that the Topide commander is informed of the impending approach of the purported auxiliary fleet, he'll consider our present inactivity justified. The destruction of the uninhabited moon will be regarded as a demonstration. Final explanation: we're awaiting reinforcements and won't take any unnecessary risks prior to their arrival."
Rhodan was smiling silently, barely twisting his mouth, an expression of his deep amusement.
Not even Perry Rhodan himself had expected such a super impact of the Arkonide weapons. Although he'd already been thinking in superlatives, now they'd been surpassed by reality.
A few moments later Stardust II began moving again, prepared to accelerate at top speed in case of danger. There was no Topidian ship in the vicinity. Only above the distant planet did the energy orientation instruments detect massed forces.
"It must've been hell on the other five moons," said Bell gruffly. "Gravitational forces have been greatly disturbed. Even though Number Three was fairly small, it will cause violent quakes on the rest of the satellites till everything has settled down again."
"That's just what I'm hoping," whispered Rhodan. "My God" why don't they quit? Are they going to force me to put this battleship into action again? They ought to have learned by now that they have no defense against sudden spaceships as ours, and leave while the going is good."
"Your"e forgetting the mentality of the Topides," retorted Khrest quietly. "They won't understand why you don't keep pounding them without letup, since you know very well that nothing can happen to you. Believe me. I know how they figure!"
"That may be so but I'll refrain from any more attacks," insisted Rhodan. "Deringhouse and Nyssen, are you ready to take off with your fighter planes? Are the mutants on board?"
"All clear," came Nyssen's answer over the intercom.
"Thank you... Tako and Ras Tschubai, you must get Chaktor out of that mousetrap. I'll cover you with my guns till you make your leap. Is your automatic beeper in good working order? Otherwise we'll never find you again."
That, too, had been checked. Four men alone in the cockpits of two tiny space-fighters were waiting to finish the mission. This time, the more-than-human mutants were to have the last word.
8/ TARGET OF DOOM
He'd seen the flaming, fire spitting monster with his own eyes. Now Chaktor knew for certain which side to choose.
As his destroyer passed the site of the debacle, he had to apply all his skill as a pilot to elude the glowing clouds of gas. Then he witnessed the destruction of the uninhabited satellite.
The Topides had awaited him with the remnant of their fleet and escorted him cautiously in a tightly closed phalanx to the sixth moon of the planet. Number Six was the biggest of the orbs around the icy giant sphere.
They proceeded in haste. The radio communication between the rescued Topide officer Chren-Tork and the first commander had taken on hectic proportions even before the landing.
The Topides were busy making a fortress of the moon. So far, everything was still primitive and in the first stages. It was obvious to Chaktor that this bastion was still very vulnerable. The necessary power plants weren't set up yet. Meanwhile the power generators of the spaceship had to be utilized as substitutes.
Cargo ships were no longer anywhere in sight. Apparently they'd been dispatched back home some time ago.
Chaktor and the second Ferronian resistance fighter had been practically dragged out of their little ship. They were barely given time to put on their spacesuits.
As Chaktor was unexpectedly and brutally separated from his friend, he knew that his life was hanging by a thread. Just before he disappeared in a tunnel and the airlock was closed behind him, he could hear the screaming of the other man.
Then he stood in a big hexagonal room which was equipped with all the paraphernalia of a command center. A pungent odor that took away his breath pervaded the air that didn't contain enough oxygen for Chaktor's lungs. He felt panicky as he watched many figures flitting around.
Of course he was unable to tell one alien from another. Only the uniforms distinguished the individual personalities. Shrill whistling in the ultrasonic range pained his ears. At the far end of the room he could see Chren-Tork reporting
to another Topide whom Chaktor recognized as Chrekt-Orn, Admiral and chief of the invasion fleet.
By the extremely strict rules of discipline for the Topides, Chrekt-Orn had life and death authority. There was no recourse from his orders. No one but the far off despotic ruler was above him.
"Halt!" shrilled a heavily armed guard.
Chaktor stopped in front of the strange control consoles of the command center. He carried the little cartridge with the magnetic tape in his pocket. All pertinent data about the Capella system had been recorded on this tape.
Thin, steely fingers grabbed his forearm. He was barely able to move in the unrelenting grip. These creatures lacked everything which distinguished human or humanoid beings. Their thinking was exclusively determined by practical purposes. It was devoid of any emotions. To Chaktor's way of thinking they were cruel, but they thought of themselves only as clever. This was the difference!
As the deep rumbling began and the ground began to shake, they all jumped up from their flat chairs. The admiral was shouting orders. The tremors faded out until the next shock arrived. Chaktor suspected that this was caused by the destruction of the third moon.
He kept waiting. Finally he heard the sound of piercing warning signals. Outside, spaceships were racing into the vacuum which surrounded the airless surface of the globe. Chaktor smiled secretly. He was beginning to relax when he saw the Topide officer approach him. He was sure that the mighty Stardust II was near.
"The documents - where do you have the evidence?" cried Chren-Tork excitedly.
"I demand a contractual agreement. I cannot reveal the data until..."
They threw him to the floor. Tough, flexible fingers tore his uniform apart. Seconds later the admiral held the reel in his hands. One of the officers rushed outside with the tape. Chaktor wanted to smile again. Unquestionably, they were examining the data electronically, too.
Then he was dragged to the commanding officer. Chaktor found himself looking into the glistening, cold eyes of a reptile. Trker-Tork acted as interpreter.
"What do you know about the arrival of an Arkonide fleet from a system which you call Capella?"
"Rhodan has sent a courier," groaned Chaktor under the grip of the guard, a grip that was becoming more painful all the time.
"Tell the truth! We're questioning your subordinate right now. His brain will die but he'll tell everything. I'm warning you!"
Chaktor's face became distorted. This was it. "I'm speaking the truth. The courier took off in the smaller spacesphere. I found that out from the woman who obtained the data from the memory bank in the big spaceship for me. She was shot. Rhodan is waiting for the fleet and has notified the Thort."
Excited discussions were going on between the staff officers. Chrekt-Orn, who was responsible for the fleet, made a sudden decision.
"This confirms the decoded message," admitted the freed prisoner respectfully. "It means that Rhodan's home world has been stripped of its strongest ships. May I be permitted to submit for your consideration..."
Chrekt-Orn waved him away. He'd made his decision - based on his knowledge of infallible logic - that the six moons couldn't be held any longer.
More reports were coming in. Stardust II was racing with fantastic speed across the orbit of the fortieth planet, but abstained from any attack.
"They're biding their time. Their fleet must be coming soon."
"What information did you get out of the other aborigine?"
The commander glanced at Chaktor. Minutes later he received the report. An officer entered and stated tersely:
"The brain of the second Ferron contained the already known data. Rhodan is awaiting heavy reinforcements, battleships of the Imperium class and cruisers of the Arkon class."
Only later did Chaktor learn that his companion was no longer alive. His violent objections were disregarded.
He was pulled out of the room and taken through a hatch in the hold into a spaceship. He never saw those in authority again.
As it wasn't feasible to utilize the absorption field inside the launching tube, the two tiny pursuit ships were catapulted into space at several G's with a high-pitched screeching on the launching tracks. Only in space did the engines spring into action.
Ahead of them and slightly to the side, the massive Stardust II was gliding through the darkness. Only the engines illuminated the spherical body. It was a haunting specter, a symbol of power.
Major Deringhouse was in a familiar situation. There was the big planet "below" him. Straight ahead, before the long tapered snouts of their fighter ships, lay the sixth moon.
Deringhouse and Nyssen released the safety devices of their pulse-energy cannons. They were flying a mission which had only some chance of success because of the battleship which would cover them.
Behind Deringhouse was Tako Kakuta, crouched in an emergency seat.
To the left, Nyssen's machine was racing through the space between the moons. He could be recognized only by the bright light-beams leaving his engines. Otherwise the little fighters were nothing but fleeting shadows, phantoms streaking by with furious speed.
The big battleship was outlined on Nyssen's observation screens. Rhodan's ship moved slowly enough to allow him to make a quick turn toward the sixth moon. By doing so, he covered the fighter ships and drew the attention of the radar stations to himself.
"Get ready," ordered Deringhouse over the intercom. "Kakuta and Tschubai: jump in exactly sixty-two seconds. You have to cross a distance of about nineteen thousand miles. We can't get any closer. Do you think you can make it?"
It was a reasonable question since it hadn't been possible to determine in advance the distance to be covered.
"Good grief!" sighed the African. "That takes a lot of strength, with all the equipment I have to carry. But I'll make it somehow."
"Okay," said the Japanese simply. "I'm grateful for the tough training I had on Venus. My limit is thirty thousand miles and I have to operate with two additional suits. You'll get as close as you can, I hope!"
Deringhouse nodded silently.
They accelerated to the peak of three hundred miles per square-second. Once the sixth moon became visible on the front screen, it grew larger very quickly.
"Attention!" crackled Rhodan's voice from the speakers in the radio helmets. "Watch out! They're hurling their ships into space. Don't get into their line of fire. I'll push off. Good luck!"
The Stardust II veered from its course in a curve of a few million miles and the giant spaceship soared over the sixth moon. Two tiny forms descended toward the desolate heavenly body, which was about the size of Mercury.
Deringhouse knew that a single hit could knock him out completely. His forehead broke out in sweat. The thermostatically controlled air-conditioning turned on the cool air fan in his sealed helmet.
"Hold it!" shouted Deringhouse into his mike.
"They're going after the Stardust. Nyssen, keep going... Attention: Ras and Tako - jump together when I give the word."
Ras Tschubai had already switched on the miniature nuclear reactor in his Arkonide combat suit.
He could see Kakuta's face on his pilot's visiscreen. The Japanese was ready, too. The two men began to concentrate.
"Next to that big reddish dome," suggested Tako. "Have you located the target?"
Now it was only a matter of seconds. Deringhouse forced the pointed nose of his fighter down. Through the flames of the upper nose-jets he saw the forts coming rapidly closer. Next to him - too close for comfort - Nyssen's machine was bearing down toward the surface of the moon.
They'd come much closer than they first intended. About three thousand miles above the surface, Nyssen's thumb pressed the button. The wild roar of the rigidly mounted pulse-energy cannons drowned out the howling of the engines. Deringhouse was firing his guns too.
Down below on the bleak surface appeared two white-hot beams of fire which sped with terrific velocity at the forts and spread disaster. Ships were exploding and molte
n masses of metal shot up into the vacuum. They'd done a good job.
"Jump!" bellowed Deringhouse, pulling up the nose of his fighter at the same time. The moon fell away below him. When he looked back, Tako Kakuta had vanished as if he'd never been sitting on the emergency seat.
"My man's gone," called Nyssen excitedly. "Is every-thing okay?"
"Fine, they made it all right. I'm getting out of here. They're becoming lively down there."
It was too late for the Topide defense. By the time one of the forts opened fire, the two machines had become little points of light in the distance. They were scurrying to reach the Stardust, which was already on the other side of the planet.
Ras Tschubai's micro-reactor was running noiselessly and so did the micro-transformer that was coupled with it. The light-refraction field they produced made him invisible to Topidian eyes. It was just one of those little tricks. Ever since he'd boarded the Topidian flagship, he'd switched off the protective pressurizing shield. Besides, the air was quite breathable.
This was where the staff of the Topidian admiral had been assembled for the last five hours. It was obvious that the last preparations for their departure were made. Orders were going out with increasing frequency.
The consoles were strange and had confusing switches. Ras Tschubai had to change his plans to set the automatic control of the flagship to bring about a random hyper-transition jump. Unfortunately, he couldn't get close to the huge central computer. Instead he did something which was still within the realm of his possibilities.
Chrekt-Orn, the commander of the Topides, had for several hours been under the paralyzing influence of an Arkonide psychoray projector which had given him the urge to fly immediately - regardless of any and all circumstances - to the Capella system and to attack Rhodan's alleged home world with all his forces.
Furthermore, Ras had impressed on the chief of the invasion fleet to proceed exactly in accordance with the documents handed over by Chaktor. This way he'd devised an alternative for the future of his plan to interfere with the main computer control.
Ras had to be careful all along that he wasn't accidentally detected. His task was complicated but his life was never endangered. It was in his power to leave the place at any time. Walls couldn't hold him.