by Perry Rhodan
Ceshal seemed to have reached a decision. "What can we do? My best technicians are closed off in the engine room. They have some robots with them, yes, but they're being attacked constantly and can hardly do any work. They took a supply of food with them which people are trying to take away from them. In this ship only hunger rules."
I know, but nothing can be done about it. If no new problems pop up and everything comes off like it should, then this ship will soon land on some planet. Perhaps even on one of Arkon's planets. But I need support. The engines have to work at least partly or otherwise we won't be able to pull you out of the sun's range."
C1 looked at Ceshal. "Why do you hesitate, Ceshal? You're commander of the ship now, but this little creature standing in front of you once helped us to defeat the robots. He is our friend. Your hesitation insults him."
"That isn't it," Ceshal replied slowly. "But you know as well as I who the actual master of the ship is. Neither you nor I—but chaos, hunger, war, force. We don't even have a regular intercom connection with Ekral, Alos and Tunuter. Now and then a messenger fights his way through. That is all."
"That's enough," said Pucky at once. "I'm a teleporter and I'll spring to the room the technicians are holed up in if you'll describe it to me. Ras will stay here in the meantime."
"Don't you think it would be better to let Rhodan know what's going on here?" Ras Tschubai looked worried. "He should know about it."
Pucky decided instantly. "Good point, Ras. You spring to the Drusus and report. I'll go see about the technicians. We'll meet back here in the control room. Tell Reggie 'hi' for me when you relate the story about the women to him."
Ras grinned. "He'll be surprised," he said and dematerialized after concentrating for a second.
Pucky remained behind, alone. "And now for the engine room, Ceshal. Show me where it is on the ship's chart. It would be best if someone came with me so that I don't have to go into long explanations. We don't have a minute to lose."
He did not realize that in reality they did not even have a second to lose.
6/ ARKON'S LAST HOPE
No one had a complete overview and no one knew what exactly was happening in the ship. Everyone fought against everyone else; it was a war of all against all. And a war for all.
At first the fighting was for pieces of clothing and blankets. Then hunger was added to that. And finally room was fought for, for every square meter of floor on which one could lie down and rest.
In the machinery section of the gigantic spacesphere, Alos had organized the resistance and had arranged for all entrance hatches to be hermetically sealed. The engine room proper was a circular room with innumerable machines and control panels. Heavy banks of converters formed passageways and separated spaces—and a huge number of hiding places.
Two or three dozen awakened sleepers and members of the original crew as well succeeded in finding refuge in the machine room. They had barricaded themselves in three or four places with their looted food and weapons and allowed no one to cross an arbitrarily designated line.
As long as they did not interfere with the work, Alos left them alone. He felt responsible for the safety of the two scientists, Ekral and Tunuter, and it was his concern that they repaired the engines so that the ship would not fall into the sun.
The seven robots formed a semi-circle around the assisting technicians that Ekral had chosen. Each of the robots was armed and would obey only Alos.
"I can guarantee that at least three of the rim motors will function again," Ekral was just then saying to his colleague, Tunuter. "Unfortunately, that is hardly enough to change our course, We have to get at least three more motors into operation. Then we might possibly succeed in shooting on past the sun into space. By the time we start to fall back, we'll have the other motors going."
I don't know if our efforts are worth it," Tunuter answered doubtfully. "Out there in the ship, a civilization is collapsing. A culture millenniums old is being overrun by primitivism. What will we save if we save this ship?"
"For the time being, us," replied Ekral practically. He was now removing the housing of a converter. "What will happen then we'll find out soon enough. In any event, I can't sit by idly and wait for the end."
Tunuter was about to answer but a terrific explosion interrupted him. Debris whizzed through the hall, ricocheting with ugly-sounding noises. Miraculously, no one was injured.
At first Alos thought that one of the machines had blown up but the triumphant howl of a mob of half-wild Arkonides showed him his mistake. The attackers leaped through the newly-created hole into the engine room, swinging their weapons, for the most part pieces of broken furniture and iron bars.
Alos reached the robots in one leap and gave them the order for defense. Ekral and his staff sought cover behind several blocks of machines. They were unarmed and had to depend on Alos.
The Arkonides already in the room automatically took the part of the scientists and began to shoot from all directions at the intruders. Conditions being as uncertain as they were, each man carried his own food—or as much of it as he had around with him. So when someone was killed, the survivors fell on him at once and began stripping him of his property. When that happened, even allies became bitter enemies.
Only the robots were unaware of the concern for food and kept strictly to their orders by shooting at the intruders, not even sparing the looters.
Pucky popped up right in the middle of the battle.
He suddenly materialized with O-1 behind the robots and a little to one side and recognized Alos by his thought impulses. Before the Cyberneticist could aim his gun at the strange creature that had so mysteriously appeared from nowhere, Pucky spoke up. "You're Alos —Ceshal sent me! Don't shoot!"
Alos was so surprised to hear the animal—as he thought of it—speaking that he let his pistol sink. Then he became conscious of what it had said. "Ceshal—the Commodore?"
"Yeah—him! I'm supposed to help you."
Alos saw that the surviving intruders had fled and the robots had ceased fire. He sent two of them to the damaged wall with the order to let no one in. Only then did he find time to turn back to the mouse-beaver. "Who are you? I've never seen you before."
"I come from another ship, one that Arkon sent. We'll pull you out of the sun's gravity field but our equipment can't do it alone. How many motors are working here?"
Ekral had come over. His alert and active mind saw the chance for salvation at once. He did not wonder very much at the who or why of the matter but only at the bow. "Three motors! Fired in the opposite direction, is that enough?"
Pucky nodded. "It's enough. When can you start 'em up?"
"Whenever you wish."
Alos came into the discussion. His curiosity was greater than his worry. "How did you get here? Is there a contact with another ship? You'll be stopped and possibly killed out in the corridors. I don't know..."
"I'm a teleporter," said Pucky, cutting off all discussion. "Could you turn on the motors in five minutes?"
"Yes—of course, Ekral replied. "Unfortunately, we have to work blindly, since we don't have any direct communication with the control room. The intercom was broken off. Is Ceshal informed?"
The scientist's terse manner pleased the mouse-beaver. This was a man who preferred action to asking questions. "Everything's all set, then—in five minutes! See you later."
And before anyone could say anything, he had vanished. O-1 remained behind.
Alos was still staring at the empty spot while Ekral was already on his way to the control board. He checked over the controls and readied the three counter-thrust motors. Then he looked at the chronometer.
"Three more minutes, Alos. If the other ship is strong enough, we'll do it. But as far as I can tell from the instruments, the magnetic field of this small white sun is enormously large. If the distance between us and it gets much smaller, we'll be lost."
They waited in silence.
Somewhere between the metal blocks an in
jured man moaned. No one had time at the moment to care for him.
• • •
Capt. Unista and a number of men and women from Ceshal's entourage had made their way into a remote section of the ship. He also belonged to the first generation and was firmly determined to prove it at any opportunity. First he made sure that he secured a gun. Then he made himself leader of the small group, stormed a food depot and then withdrew into the ship's weapon center.
From here the ship's defenses could be controlled.
Capt. Talasi, who was with him, understood something of communications technology. While he could not repair the intercom so that communication with the control room could be reestablished, at least some of the outside screens were functioning.
They froze when they saw the gigantic spacesphere slowly coming alongside. It was of the same construction type as their own ship but unmistakably of a newer design. Nor were the markings painted in Arkonide letters.
Capt. Unista nearly bit off the tip of his tongue. Was this the opportunity to show his courage and far-sightedness that he had been longing for?
"They want to capture us," he murmured, so lowly that only Capt. Talasi, standing next to him, could hear him. "We're helpless and they want to capture us."
"We can prevent it!" said Talasi. "We have the weapons to do it!" He spoke loudly enough that everyone could hear him. Exclamations of agreement sounded. Unista's last doubts sank in a flood of enthusiasm. While he was not a weapons specialist, a study of armaments was part of every officer's training. With the support of the others...
A second vidscreen showed a large white sun. It had to be standing rather close and seemed to be directly in the current path of the ship. The alien ship had pulled more closely alongside and seemed like an ominous curving wall.
And then a jolt went through the metal floor of the weapon center.
Some of the women fell. The men stumbled and held onto each other. The jolt was not repeated but the gravity shifted. It seemed like everyone was being suddenly attracted by the left sidewall, as though the ship was describing a curve to the right without the antigrav equalizer being activated.
Capt. Unista pulled himself together. "A tractor beam! The aliens have seized us! It's high time we show them our weapons. To the guns, people! We'll open fire together so that the surprise will be all the greater."
Two or three minutes went by before all were at their posts.
Then Capt. Unista ordered: "Fire—in 10 seconds!"
• • •
The attack came to Rhodan as a complete surprise.
Laboring under great difficulties, Col. Sikerman had succeeded in capturing the Ship of Ancestors with a tractor beam. Almost simultaneously Pucky materialized in the Drusus and announced that three Arkonide engine motors would fire in another minute. They would support the action of the Drusus and help it succeed.
Slowly, ever so slowly, the disastrous course of the Ship of Ancestors and the Drusus changed. Neither ship was now falling directly towards the brightly flaming sun but instead would shoot past to the right at a slight distance. The additional gravitational pull would prove useful to them.
All the reserves of energy aboard the Drusus flowed into the tractor beam. The rest was distributed among the rearwards rim motors.
Rhodan stared at the wide frontal vidscreen. He saw the hull of the Ship of Ancestors directly before him and could make out every detail. A few pockmarks showed that the ship had been flying through space for a long time at a velocity below that of light; otherwise it would not have been possible for meteors to strike it.
And below the fine lines of hatch openings could be seen.
Hatch openings...?
When Rhodan realized it, it was almost too late.
Just above the equatorial rim, small, round openings suddenly appeared. Like the mouths of cannons.
Cannons-!
"Defense screen!" Rhodan shouted to the astonished Sikerman, who after an incredibly brief second of fright acted at once. His right hand flew over the controls and pulled a switch. Almost simultaneously the engines ceased to howl. The tractor beam, however, remained. Sikerman had instinctively done the right thing and shut down only the engines.
The defense screen went into operation—and not a second too soon.
The first energy bursts were already striking the outer edge of the screen and flowing away to one side. The masses of energy rolled away like colored tears, to be hurled off by the acceleration which was still in effect. Then, however, only the three motors of the Ship of Ancestors were in evidence, slowing the two ships in a negative acceleration.
The Arkonides' fire hit squarely on the screen, concentrating at a single point in an effort to break through. But it was already too late for that.
"Thrice-damned fools!" Sikerman exclaimed angrily, wiping his damp forehead with the back of his hand. "They almost got us. Now why did they do that, the idiots? Do they want to roast themselves in the sun?"
Rhodan shrugged and turned to Pucky, a puzzled thoughtfulness in his eyes. "Now, what do you think about it? Which of your friends could that have been?"
"I'll soon find out," the mouse-beaver replied. "I'll skin 'em alive for that! Just shooting at us like it was duck season! But I think that over in the ship out there the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing."
"Take care of, that," answered Rhodan tersely and precisely.
Pucky nodded, concentrated—and sprang.
• • •
Alos and the scientists, who were very satisfied with their efforts, were horrified when Pucky told them of the attack. For as long as the defense field of the Drusus had to remain in operation, the engines could not be activated. To say nothing of a double hypertransition.
"Some madmen must have been able to occupy the weapons center," Ekral concluded soberly. "Alos, this would be a task for you and your robots."
"And who would see to order here?"
"Where is the weapon center?" asked Pucky as something else occurred to him. "Listen to me, Ekral—I have an idea. Why should we risk our lives just to pound some sense into some dumb donks? Well leave them in the weapon center and let them push the firing buttons all they like. Is it possible to cut off the energy supply from here? If I understand right, we have all the generators and converters under control from here..."
"Right!" Ekral understood at once what Pucky meant. "We'll cut off their ammunition."
"You bet," grinned Pucky happily, nodding to Alos. "You stay with Ekral and see that he can work without being disturbed. As soon as the cannon fire stops, the Drusus engines will come on again. In the meantime, try to repair the other motors. See you later."
He sprang back to the Drusus.
Rhodan was astonished to see the mouse-beaver again. "What is it? They're still shooting at us and..."
"Not for long, Perry. Ekral's cutting off their power."
Rhodan looked at the vidscreen. The deadly energy was still striking the defense screen, making sure that the Drusus engines would be unable to function. The course of the two ships was once more nearing the white star in dangerous fashion.
"I've named it Magno," Rhodan suddenly murmured pointing to the star. "Magno—the great. We'll see if we're not stronger, though."
Col. Sikerman gave a start. "There...! They've stopped firing!"
"Told you they would," muttered Pucky. "You can depend on Ekral. You can turn the engines on again, Baldur."
The highly unmilitary form of address made Baldur Sikerman give a second start. He glanced at Rhodan questioningly. Then, when Rhodan nodded, he shut down the defense screen and directed the freed energy into the engines. With a sudden howling, the Drusus once more fought against the gravitational field of Magno.
Slowly, incredibly slowly, the white sun crawled toward the left side of the vidscreen.
"We should bring order to the ship over there," said Rhodan during the tense silence that followed. "Ras has given me his report. If we wait long enou
gh, they'll kill each other. Even if we make course for Arkon with a short transition, it might take days."
Sikerman did not turn around as he said: "The teletransmitter!"
Rhodan did not blink an eyelid. "I was thinking of that myself. Pucky, what should we send?"
"Someone who sleeps commits no sins," squeaked Pucky dreamily.
Rhodan nodded. "We understand each other. I assume that the air renewal system aboard the Ship of Ancestors is identical with that of the Drusus, especially as to its location. We'll use the teletransmitter to send the knockout gas into the air distribution system of the Ship of Ancestors." He stood up and rested his hand on Sikerman's shoulder. "Stay on course, Colonel. Away from Magno! No matter what happens." He looked down at the mouse-beaver. "Let's go, Pucky. To the weapons arsenal."
"We'll be putting the little darlings to bed," Pucky piped up and waddled along behind Rhodan, who was already at the door. "But it would be good if I brought Ekral a gas mask beforehand. I'd feel better if he wasn't asleep during the show."
Five minutes later, Ras Tschubai appeared in the control room of the Ship of Ancestors and Pucky showed up in the midst of Ekral and his helpers. They both brought an ample supply of gas masks and explained to the astounded Arkonides what would happen.
"The ancestors woke up too soon, so they have to go back to sleep," Pucky stated flatly. "Those who sleep don't eat. Nor can they do anything stupid. Put the masks on and don't let it disturb your work. In exactly 10 minutes the sleep-inducing gas will penetrate all the rooms in the ship by way of the ventilator shafts. My master hopes that we'll be landing on Arkon's main world in 24 hours. Close to 10 transitions will be necessary for that. Try to repair the other motors. We might need them for reinforcement."
He did not wait for a reply; he simply dematerialized.
Meanwhile, Rhodan stood in the room in the Drusus in which the teletransmitter had been installed. The glass containers had been brought in and had been so prepared that they would release their contents five seconds after rematerialization. Then the coordinates that had been calculated were programmed into the machine.