by Perry Rhodan
• • •
Rhodan didn't say another word on their way back to the Drusus. He tried desperately to figure out why the Druufs had shunned his assistance on Druufon and pretended to possess superior means which, in truth, they didn't have. If they were bluffing him with the gravo-burner, other inventions might also have been a figment of their imagination.
How about the time-freezer? Or the ultra lightspeed propulsion system?
But no, Ellert would have known and he had confirmed the existence of the 'star-drive' and the time-freezer. At least these devices were no tricks.
The Drusus towered above them. A hatch opened as they alighted from the car, which swung around in an elegant curve to return to the city. Without a word, and each mulling his own thoughts, they let a tractor-beam seize and carry them up into the vessel.
Bell broke the silence only after they had reached the Command Center. "I don't understand a thing anymore."
Sikerman looked up. "What happened? I've listened in and I thought..."
"But you couldn't hear what they thought," Rhodan pointed out. "Pucky did though."
Sikerman and Atlan were given an explanation. The Arkonide raised his eyebrows and murmured, "Highly interesting. These Druufs are very bold. They risk everything by bluffing us. They know exactly that they'll be the losers if we can find their weak spot. On the other hand they stand to gain everything if they're lucky. I don't understand though how Tommy-1 could take such a risk if he knew that Pucky is a telepath."
"He learned that only when it was too late," Rhodan smiled. "He was in a great hurry to send us off when he became afraid that we could see right through him and fortunately we were able to do just that."
"Pucky can't be kept in the dark," the mouse-beaver bragged.
Bell gave him a fleeting look but refrained from uttering an opinion. He was cautious enough not to think about it either.
"And now?" Atlan asked with great interest.
Before anybody could reply, Ellert's thought-impulses blotted everything out. They superimposed themselves on their own brainwaves, which seemed to be exposed to a powerful sender.
I was able to flee from the shambles in Onot's body and I'm now on the way to his secret laboratory. There, I hope I can obtain the blueprints for the star-drive on microfilm. So far I didn't get an opportunity to talk about it with Onot. How are you making out?
"Everything is under control," Rhodan said in a loud voice. "Are you ready to leave Druufon and go back to Earth with us?"
There was a laugh of regret in their brains. Not yet, Perry. I must stay here until I've gained the assurance that I can act freely. Onot's body is very convenient for me. Besides, I'll never be able to secure the plans for the star-drive if I leave Onot's body too soon.
Atlan made an approving gesture.
They were right. Ellert could come back to Earth any time he thought the time was right. At the moment it was more important to get the plans for the star-drive. "As you wish, Ellert. We're going to take off now and depart from Druufon. The Druufs have lied to us. They claim they can defend themselves in their own universe and we needn't worry about them. They pretend that their scientists have developed such superior weapons that they can dominate everybody in their whole universe. However they've admitted it wouldn't be that easy in our world. What do you know about this?"
Nothing as yet but I'll soon find out, Ellert replied. I must break off now because we're getting close to the mountains. As soon as I get hold of the construction plans I'll contact you again.
The pressure was lifted from their brains.
"I wonder if he can get in touch with us when we're no longer in the time-plane of the Druufs," Bell worried.
"I think so," Rhodan said. "But he'll have to quit Onot's body to pass through the alignment funnel. If I understand it right, Ellert can freely move through space and time wherever and whenever he wishes. But heretofore he was unable to go from one time-plane into another so that he couldn't find his way back to Earth and the present."
"I hope he won't go astray again," Bell kept worrying. "When the gap between the two worlds is closed again, his way will be blocked."
"He'll cross in time," Rhodan replied and turned to Sikerman. "Get ready to start the Drusus, Lieutenant Colonel! We're going to display some spectacular fireworks to the Druufs so that they'll get some enjoyment out of their new allies."
Two minutes later the gigantic ball soared straight up into the early afternoon sky and crossed unmolested the ring of defenses the Druufs had thrown around their home planet. Then the ship accelerated to speol and disappeared without a trace or structure disturbance in hyperspace, to materialize again in the same second on Hades where it was berthed in the subterranean hangar.
• • •
Onot cumbersomely left the vehicle and walked toward a cliff. He had never encountered a single being in this vicinity but today he couldn't get rid of the feeling that he was being watched. Nor had he ever had a guilty conscience and it was no surprise that he didn't understand the symptoms it produced.
Responding to the pressure of his hand, the smooth door of stone, which concealed the entrance, slid to the side. There were steps behind it leading deeply into the dark. Onot fingered the sidewall and put on the light. Simultaneously the steps began to move downward.
"You've made yourself a nice little hide-out here," Ellert admired with a touch of sarcasm. "Nobody'll find you here, not even the police of the Council."
Onot winced visibly. "If it comes to the worst I can always tell them the truth—that you have forced me to turn on the transmitter."
"It'll be very interesting to see whether they'll believe your story about an invisible ghost."
Onot gave no answer. He felt glum since he knew very well how unconvincing his assertions would sound. He, the respected scientist, had ruined the computer center. There couldn't be any excuse, not one!
"You've got me in your power," he finally admitted sadly. "What else do you want?"
"Just a few little things, my bosom companion. For instance the ultra lightspeed propulsion system for spaceships, the time-freezer field-generator..."
"Why? Didn't I commit enough treason?"
"You don't get the picture, Onot," Ellert replied. "Don't forget that I've helped you to develop the time-field. I know how it can be produced but I need precise instructions on audio-visual tape, microfilm if possible. In addition I must have the construction details of the star-drive on microfilm. As soon as you hand both of these over to me, you'll be free of me and you can do whatever you please."
"You don't give me a choice," Onot replied, tired and hopeless. "You've ruined me."
Ellert hesitated for a moment before answering. Then he proposed to the Druuf: "Maybe it won't be as bad as that, Onot. If you cooperate and do everything I tell you I'm willing to prove your innocence to the Council. It would be very easy for me."
"How?"
"By telling them myself that I compelled you to do everything against your will. I can communicate with them exactly in the same manner as with you and this'll convince them beyond any doubt. "You'll be able to return to the city—provided there's still something left of the city."
Onot sighed with relief. "Alright. I'll do anything you ask."
A second door blocked the passage. He opened it like the first one by putting his hand on a certain spot.
Onot had furnished his laboratory with excellent equipment. Here he came to ponder the secrets of physical laws and to design new methods. Ellert was already familiar with the lab since Onot had spent much time here during the past months. This was also the place where he had devised the time-freezer.
Ellert looked—using Onot's eyes—at the small experimental model in the corner of the lab. Since the computer center was destroyed, there was only this one generator left in existence. The model rested on a base and was no bigger than a medium-sized suitcase. Of course it was not connected to the energy source but such aggregates were available
anywhere.
"Do you keep the microfilm here?" Ellert asked.
"No, why should it" Onot retorted.
"It would've made our work much easier. How can you give me the instructions to build the star-drive if you don't have any microfilms?"
Onot didn't know the answer.
"But you're familiar with the details of the propulsion system, aren't you?" Ellert tried to make sure.
"Of course, although I didn't invent it myself. I can explain everything to you."
"That isn't the problem. I need drawings, formulas and documents. Not even a ghost could retain in his mind all the details which are required for the star-drive system. Do you have any suggestions?"
Onot had none although he was suddenly very interested in helping his uncanny companion. Besides, it wasn't enough to secure the microfilms alone. He would need other instruments such as cameras, copiers and projectors, etc. It wasn't as simple as Ellert had assumed.
"Alright, we'll have to find another way, Onot. Just sit down and rest, first of all. Then you can tell me a little about the principle on which the ultra lightspeed drive system is based. Maybe it'll help me to accomplish something."
Powerless to resist, Onot began to reveal the secrets of his people.
• • •
The light cruiser California was also a spherical spaceship. It had a diameter of only 100 meters but its power of acceleration was remarkable. The ship could reach the speed of light in five minutes on a straight flight. Tremendous antigrav fields neutralized the reaction to its thrust.
Capt. Marcel Rous issued the last instructions for the start and then the California shot out from its subterranean hangar and into the black sky of Hades.
Rhodan stood next to Atlan in the operation center of the cruiser as it swooped down on a formation of the Arkonide Robot Regent's fleet. Several of the Druufs' ships were poised in the vicinity and witnessed the attack. Rhodan knew that he faced only ships that were manned by nothing but robots and that their destruction would be limited to a material loss.
Almost at the same time as the surprise attack, the Regent received a short message by hyperradio on Arkon, informing him tersely that everything was going according to plan. Much to his regret, Rhodan was forced to destroy a few more of Arkon's ships but he would make absolutely certain that not a single life would be sacrificed.
The 10 small cruisers of the Regent put up a desperate defense but they succumbed to the superior firepower of the California, and the Druufs, waiting in the background, didn't have to join the attack. The Druufs reported Rhodan's victory to Druufon, where it aroused surprise and a little hope, which was just what Rhodan wanted.
The California raced through the alignment funnel, performed a thorough patrol flight and shot down a remote-controlled reconnaissance ship from Arkon. Then it headed back for Druufon. A squadron of blockading ships, piloted by the descendants of insects, came into view. It flew back and forth before the cleft, approaching the velocity of light. The curves described by the ships were millions of kilometers long.
Capt. Rous radioed the code signal and the California was permitted to pass without being intercepted, which made Rhodan breathe a little easier.
Rhodan turned to Atlan and said: "That's what I wanted to know, Admiral. Now you can take the Drusus to Grautier and bring back reinforcements. Hades will be made into a dominant base but we'll also dig into other planets. The Druufs will soon learn that they can't get very far by force or trickery. As soon as Ellert presents us with the star-drive system, we'll make common cause with Arkon and strike against Druufon. Does this put your mind more at ease now?"
"It does—as far as Arkon is concerned. But do you really believe the Druufs won't get wise to what we have in store for them? We can't go on building bases on their planets without expecting them to find it out sometime."
"I'm not so sure that they would," Rhodan shook his head. "It'll be out of the question as long as they don't have the means of penetrating our absorption barrier."
Atlan withheld further comment and maintained his silence until the California submerged into the hangar of Hades.
Rhodan left the ship and went to see Potkin. "I'm going to take a little trip on the surface. During my absence it'll be your duty, Lieutenant, to carry out all orders from Bell as if I had given them myself. I guess you can let me have a spacesuit from your stock?"
"What are you getting into, sir? The surface..."
"Never mind, Potkin! I'm just going to take a little stroll."
"I hope you don't want to go alone. I can pick a few men who..."
Rhodan shook his head. "I'm not going alone. Stop worrying about me! A good friend of mine will be accompanying me."
"Pucky?"
"No," Rhodan answered with a smile as he slipped his hand into his pocket. "Harno."
• • •
Onot put down the scriber which he had used to make the intricate drawings and write the involved formulas. He sighed. "It's more complicated than I thought. But perhaps you'll be able to understand the principle of the thing."
An uninformed observer would have beheld an eerie picture. Sitting all alone at a table in his lab, surrounded by a variety of gadgets and instruments, the Druuf kept turning his four eyes toward the ceiling when he spoke as if his partner were up there. Then he listened inwardly and gave another answer. The stranger would have thought that Onot had gone crazy and was talking to himself.
"I've got no trouble understanding the principle," Ellert repeated. "But it's not enough to make the detailed specifications for the construction superfluous. We need a microfilm recorder. Maybe we have to go back to the computer center once more."
"But..."
"No, don't worry. I'll leave you here and go by myself. If there's anything still left intact over there, I'll get myself another Druuf and make him transport the recorder over here. Then I'll let him forget everything and go back as if nothing had happened."
Onot suddenly leaned back. "What was that?"
Ellert had noticed it for some time but he had tried to ignore it. He considered it to be one of the usual thought-impulses which were normally present. But suddenly the impulse became unmistakable and identifiable. Was Perry Rhodan around? The impulse was strong and close.
Ellert isolated Onot and put the mind of the Druuf to sleep. Now he was able to take over his body completely and to assume control of his nerve centers without his knowledge. He did it and Onot promptly became Ellert.
He got up and went to the door which led out to the corridor. When he cautiously opened the second door which led to the surface, his fear of a trap diminished. Undoubtedly it was Rhodan who stood a few meters away in the light of the sinking sun, dressed in a pressure-suit with his helmet removed and dangling at his side.
Lying on the ground next to him was a 10-meter-long cylinder of metal with a diameter of three meters. A mini-spaceship!
Ellert/Onot came out and offered Rhodan the heavy hand with the flexible fingers of the Druuf. "Welcome, Perry! You don't mind if I call you Perry, do you?"
It was the first time that Ellert and Rhodan met again in person, although the former was not in his original physique.
"You always called me Perry as an invisible ghost," Rhodan grinned, "why not now as a Druuf? Aren't you a little surprised to see me?"
"I should say I am!" Onot's lips moved and the human sounds seemed to come directly from his mouth. The illusion was so perfect that Rhodan couldn't tell whether Ellert communicated by telepathy or if he could really hear his words. "I suddenly sensed that you're calling me. How did you find me? Nobody knew I was here."
"Harno helped me a little," Rhodan replied with a chuckle.
"Harno?"
"You're going to meet him. I believe you've got many things in common. But first one question: can you finally leave Druufon?"
Onot shook his head. "Definitely not before I've obtained the drawings for the star-drive system. It's not that simple although I know it in the
ory. I still lack the microfilm documents which you would need for the job on Earth. Onot can get them for me."
"Can I help you in any way?"
"No. This material is only known to a Druuf. We can only hope that it won't take too much time."
"What about the time-field?"
"You mean the time-freezer? I don't have any accurate drawings for it either. However it's less critical in this case. First of all I've helped to develop it and secondly, there's a small experimental model standing in the lab. I'll try to take it with me later on."
"How would you do that? Isn't it simpler if you give it to me now?"
Onot made a gesture which probably was meant to register surprise and Rhodan thought he could detect regret in Ellert's 'voice'. "Why didn't it occur to me sooner? You came in a spaceship, didn't you? Of course we can put the model in it and you can take it along. Your scientist should be able to analyze it and put it to work. I can explain everything else about it later. Just be careful that nobody gets caught in the projection of the time-field. Although it wouldn't hurt too much if it's shut off immediately."
"Alright. Can you bring the model here or is it too heavy?"
The Druuf distorted his triangular mouth and Rhodan guessed that Ellert tried to indicate visually a smile. "Too heavy? Do you have any idea how strong a Druuf is, Perry?"
Onot turned around and walked back to the door of the underground lab. Before entering he turned around again and 'smiled' at Rhodan. He glanced at the tiny spaceship and shook his head in astonishment. Then he disappeared.
Smiling in amusement, Rhodan followed him with his eyes. Suddenly he spun around. Several small points had appeared on the horizon and quickly came closer. It was a squadron of agile pursuit ships on a patrol. It could have been a coincidence that they happened to pass over this mountain. But maybe not.
He leaped into the open hatch of the airlock which closed again before he reached the pilot seat. By the time the three pursuit ships of the Druufs had reached the spot where he had been, he was already high above them.