“All right!” Barlor nodded slowly. “But where is that hovering alien life-force now? I want to switch off my personal defence unit.”
“It’s hovering some twenty feet above the roof of the building, and seems to be enlarging or intensifying,” came the grim report. “You’d better do what you have to and get out of there before you are under attack once more, Captain. I doubt if your unit will be able to withstand another prolonged attack.”
“I’m going to switch off my unit, so stand by, and report if the alien force moves in against me. Keep me informed now of its presence and activity.”
Barlor reached for the small control box and switched off the power, feeling immediately relief as the force field enveloping him was cut off. Instantly there was a cool breeze in his face and he was able to breathe deeply, but he fought down his relief as he awaited a report from the shuttle.
“That force is not moving, Captain,” came the reassuring news. “But be ready to switch on again at a moment’s notice. Please hurry with what you are doing. I have the feeling that time is running out for all of us, and we are not aware of the facts.”
“Stay on watch,” Barlor retorted. “I’m entering the building now.”
He steeled himself mentally and walked through the open doorway.
CHAPTER XIII
Barlor found lights burning inside the building. There were no windows in the outer walls, and the atmosphere was eerie, for he had a report that there was no form of life inside the building. He found metal doors on either side of the passage, and paused at the first on the right, opening it easily. When he peered into a square chamber he discovered a room filled with alien equipment. There were desks and consoles, banks of panels and controls, and he shook his head slowly as he wondered what they were connected to and the reasons for their presence. Alien humanoids had visited this planetary system years before, and before departing had built missile sites and this strong building, which was obviously some kind of a control centre.
He went on, checking all the chambers, and found that each contained massive displays of equipment which seemed far more sophisticated than anything his own race had constructed. Then he entered a room which contained many tiers of monitor screens, and he could guess their purpose. But he had not located the equipment emitting the hum of power which was throbbing in the background, and after searching again he discovered a lever in a panel on the right hand wall of the passage which, when depressed, caused a section of the floor to slide open, revealing a basement. The hum of power became more pronounced, and Barlor descended a short flight of steps to find himself in a large underground chamber which was arrayed with the building’s power unit.
Returning to the doorway of the building, Barlor used his communicator, and Franklin replied immediately.
“That alien life-force is still hovering in a dense cloud above the building, Captain,” came the steady report. “It looks as if you’re quite safe while you’re inside. But it is definitely increasing in size, and seems to be summoning up all possible assistance. I don’t think you have much time left before it attempts another attack upon you.”
“I’ve made some interesting discoveries in this place,” Barlor replied. “This is what I want you to do, Lieutenant. Voyager will be making contact in a few minutes now. Send up the other two shuttles to a safe orbit. They can attach to Voyager on her next orbit. As soon as you can make contact with Voyager order Olvan Protus to detach in a shuttle and make this position with all the semantics equipment he can cram into his craft. There are signs here in an alien language, and I want to know what they read. I want to discover the reason for the existence of this building and those missile sites on the outer planet. As soon as you have given those orders I want you to bring your shuttle in to land on the roof of this building, then exert your force-field to cover us completely. Keep a close watch on that alien life-force. I want to know the instant it begins to pose another threat.”
“Will do, Captain. Stand by. Voyager's first callsign is coming in now.”
Barlor stood waiting, breathing deeply of the thin air. He stared around into the ruins of the woods that had existed, and wondered if he was taking the right decision. He had invaded this planet, and because he had been attacked and the alien life forms had riot resembled his own he had used force indiscriminately to destroy the natives. He felt justified in that approach because his own people had been attacked without warning, and it was obvious that no contact could be made with the aliens. He guessed this was the reason why those other humanoid aliens had departed from the planet. But he meant to learn their secrets, the knowledge they had gained before their departure, for such data was vital to his own mission and those freighters that would already be streaming out through the stars along the flight plan he had relayed to Base.
“Captain, I have given the orders,” Franklin reported at length. “I am bringing my shuttle in to land upon the roof of that building. We shall cut our force field as we land to avoid killing you, and you will have to do the same with your personal unit. But if that alien life-force is waiting to attack and can monitor our powers then it will make its attempt when our force-field is cut.”
“I think this building will be proof against your power,” Barlor said. “I am prepared to risk that. I am not using my unit. I shall enter the building and close the door, and you can land upon the roof. But keep me informed of the movements of that alien life-force.”
“We are monitoring it very closely, Captain. The two shuttles at the landing area have already lifted off and are returning to orbit. Professor Protus is detaching from Voyager with his equipment, but it will be two hours before he can join us. Stand by for our arrival, sir.”
Barlor closed the heavy outer door and stood motionless in the passage. He called the shuttle and discovered that he could make contact through the exterior walls of the building. Franklin kept him well informed of the craft’s movements, and Barlor, although he was confident that the building could withstand the pressures of the ship’s defensive shields, experienced some nerve racking moments as Franklin brought the vessel in to land. He did not hear the ship’s contact with the roof, but shortly Franklin reported that he had landed and that the shuttle’s force field was securely in place around the entire building.
“What about that alien life-force?” Barlor demanded. “Professor Tosk reports that it has closed in around us, and is hovering just outside the range of our perimeter, Captain,” Franklin said. “We are leaving the ship now to join you on the ground.”
“I’m coming out to meet you,” Barlor retorted.
He went back to the doorway, and when he opened it he saw two security guards jumping to the ground from the roof of the building. The air was intense with the prickling sensation that warned of the force-field now surrounding them. Barlor heaved a long sigh of relief. At last he seemed to be making progress.
The next moment he was joined by Franklin and Professor Tosk, who refused help from her lofty perch and jumped to the ground as the guards had done. She faced Barlor, speaking before Franklin could report.
“Captain, may I have permission to look around this building to see if there is anything I can discover?” she demanded.
“Go ahead,” Barlor invited. “But be very careful. I have not touched anything except to open the basement entrance where the power unit is housed. We’ll have to await Professor Protus with his knowledge of alien languages to arrive before we can hope to begin fact-finding.”
Mahla Tosk nodded and entered the building. Barlor faced Franklin, who was grinning now, but his face was lined with the strain under which he had been living for the past hours.
“I never thought we’d get together again like this, Captain,” he said quietly. “When we had to open fire I really thought you would be killed.”
“You worked out the degree of radiation I could endure,” Barlor said simply. “There was no real danger to me.”
“That’s not what Linus told me at the time,
” Franklin retorted, glancing up at the roof as the Chief Engineer’s tall, heavy figure appeared at the edge of the roof. “He’s been greatly concerned about the efficiency of your individual unit. The one he was testing developed a serious malfunction almost immediately, and really gave up the ghost just after he returned to the shuttle.”
“Now you tell me!” Barlor declared.
Royden dropped to the ground and turned to face them. There was a tight smile on his features.
“Glad your unit stood up to the tests, Captain,” the Chief said. “You can take it off now. I’d like to make an examination of it, just to see how it took the radiation we threw around you.”
Barlor began to divest himself of the equipment. He unfastened the waist belt and Royden took hold of the harness.
“You’ll be more interested in the power house under this building, Linus,” he commented. “Come and take a look at it. I can’t say how long it has been operating, but there is thick dust everywhere, so it must have been in continual use for a number of years.”
“I’ll remain on watch, Captain,” Franklin said. “I’m in contact with the shuttle, and the man on duty aboard it is in close contact with the other two shuttles. They are both well above the planet surface now and will attach to Voyager on her next orbit. Professor Protus detached from Voyager on schedule. I heard just as we were landing here.”
“Fine.” Barlor nodded. Now that he was no longer alone he felt no sense of danger, and the strain of the past minutes had evaporated, leaving him with a sense of elation which he realized could not be permitted to engage his mind. He narrowed his eyes in contemplation as he followed Royden into the building, for it came to him that perhaps they were all under the mysterious influence of that alien life-force hovering above their force-field perimeter. He turned and called to Franklin, who was staring around alertly.
“Lieutenant, have the people in the shuttle keep a close watch on that alien life-force. If it makes any movement at all I want to know about it.”
“Yes, sir.” Franklin nodded, and his expression was exuding confidence.
Linus Royden went into raptures of delighted disbelief when he entered the basement and saw the power equipment.
“By God!” he breathed, his dark eyes glittering with pleasure. “I’ve never seen anything like this. Whoever designed this certainly knew more about his business than I do. Those humanoid aliens are centuries ahead of us, Captain. May I make a close examination?”
“Very well.” Barlor was smiling at Royden’s enthusiasm. “But don’t touch anything. You may switch off the power inadvertently and leave us in trouble.” He paused, narrowing his eyes as he considered. “I’m certain there’s some kind of power or force emanating from this building which holds all alien life at bay. If we kill that source we may find our own power in the shuttle not sufficient to protect us.”
“I think there is something in what you say,” Royden agreed. “We could not destroy that life force when it was enveloping you. It merely withdrew. But it was directing those other alien life forms — the Yagges and Eorils — against us.”
“Are you sure of that?” Barlor demanded thoughtfully.
“I don’t know a damned thing about it, but Professor Tosk was certain. Her sensors recorded that contact was being directed from that invisible life-force to the creatures on the ground. That was when they began attacking you.”
“So it is possible that the Yagges and Eorils, and possibly the Megges, attack any life form available, including each other, to gather phosphorus which is very probably transmitted to that invisible life form at present hovering above us!” Barlor shook his head slowly. “Even if that is the truth of it, I don’t see why there should be such a chain of communication.”
“The Yagge that attacked Sergeant Banham when you first landed actually took possession of Banham’s body, controlled it from inside, didn’t it?” Royden demanded.
“That’s right!” Barlor nodded. He sighed impatiently.
“But it’s no use making guesses at this stage. We can only await the arrival of Professor Protus. He’s a good man, although Professor Norvall was the expert in that field. But if we can learn anything at all about that humanoid race of aliens who arrived on this planet before us, and built this place and those missile sites, then we might be able to discover the true situation that exists. We cannot leave here and go on with our mission until I am certain that no danger remains to harm any of our freighters that might be forced into orbit here.”
“Protus will be with us within a couple of hours,” Royden said. “Now if you will excuse me, Captain, I’ll make a check of this place, and record what I can of its equipment.”
“Carry on, Linus. I shall want all the data available on this equipment. We can learn a great deal from what we see here.”
Royden turned away immediately, and Barlor watched the Chief for a moment, then returned to the ground floor and went to look for Professor Tosk.
Mahla Tosk was emerging from a chamber on the left when Barlor reached the ground floor, and Barlor was struck by the concern that was showing on the woman’s face.
“Captain,” she gasped in nervous tones. “I accidently touched a control panel and started a countdown of some sort.”
Barlor clenched his teeth against the angry retort which rose to his lips and hurried into the room as the woman turned and re-entered. He paused on the threshold and looked around. The walls were completely filled with panels, switches and controls, and Barlor had been impressed by the sight when he had first looked in. He had judged it to be the main control chamber in the building. Lights had been burning when he first opened the door, but nothing else had been in operation. Now he saw several panels emitting flickering red and green lights, and a buzzer was sounding intermittently in a lowpitched key that grated on the nerves.
“What did you touch?” Barlor demanded, hurrying forward to stand at the professor’s side where she was confronting a large indicator board.
“This lever was accidently depressed,” she replied in taut tones. “It started everything else working.”
“The master switch, no doubt!” There was no emotion in Barlor’s voice, but he was tense. “Reverse your action,” he commanded.
“I’ve tried, but there is some built-in locking device which will not permit reversal of the movement,” she replied, and to demonstrate the truth of her statement she grasped the lever and used considerable force to return it to its former position. But the lever remained obdurately in its present position, and Barlor quickly added his strength to the lever, without any noticeable result, except that the lever itself became distorted under their combined strength.
“It’s no use,” he snapped. “It is locked in now. But there must be a release here somewhere. Can you understand any of this?”
“Not at all. It is not in my field of knowledge,” came the taut reply.
“Then why the devil were you interfering with it?” Barlor could not prevent a flash of anger. “We cannot leave this planet until I am satisfied with the situation here. This equipment has lain inert for many years, but it was put here for some specific reason that we cannot begin to even guess at. Look at that small monitor! If I’m not mistaken it is signifying a countdown of some kind. But what?”
“Professor Protus should be able to make sense out of these labels when he gets to work with his semantics equipment,” Mahla Tosk said in strained tones.
“But he won’t arrive for an hour at least, and this countdown could be connected to some terrible system intended to destroy this planet, or all life forms upon it. That’s what has been in the back of my mind ever since I saw those missile sites on the outer planet. Those rockets fired at Voyager before we entered the planetary system were not powerful enough by half to destroy us, so I can only assume they were used to warn us off. We ignored that warning and found real trouble down here.”
“I’m sorry, Captain. I did say it was accidental! I had no intention of meddling.�
�
“Then why were you in here at all?” Barlor countered firmly. “Wouldn’t you have been of more service assisting Doc Simpson with his examination of the dead guard?”
“Doc Simpson had completed his examination, and you had his full report.” The woman scientist’s pale eyes glistened in the artificial light, and her smooth cheeks were tinged green and blue and red from the reflection of the flickering lights on the panels. “What are we to do about this?”
“What can we do? We have no knowledge of these controls. We could do more harm than good by interfering.” Barlor’s voice was tinged with anger…
He moved around the panels, staring intently at each in turn, trying to call upon his own vast experience to aid him. But he knew better than to meddle with the controls. He had no intention of adding to the problem facing them.
“It seems to me that this is not the initial stage of a count-down, Captain,” Professor Tosk commented suddenly. She was examining a number of panels to Barlor’s left. When she spoke again there was a change of tone, an addition of concern and fear in her voice. “I think there was a countdown in progress before we ever arrived on this planet, and for some reason it was interrupted.”
“And you’ve restarted it!” Barlor pinched his lips together as he considered. He looked at the panels in front of him, but could not read them. “I wish Professor Protus
was down here. You stay here and watch for developments, Professor. I’ll find out where Protus is at this moment.”
He left the chamber and went back to the main entrance, finding Franklin standing there with one of the guards. Explaining what had occurred, Barlor saw his subordinate’s expression change. He nodded slowly.
“I know what you’re thinking about Professor Tosk, Lieutenant, and you’re probably right. But find out where Protus is at this moment. The sooner he gets down here the better.”
“I’ve just called for a situation report from the shuttle, sir,” Franklin replied in unemotional tones. “Professor Protus is in the planet’s atmosphere and being guided by computer to this position. He should be landing in forty-five minutes. But I’ll put a call through and get him to increase his rate of descent. It will add a degree of danger to his flight, but it might save us all if there is a catastrophe in the making.”
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