by Perry Rhodan
RHODAN has come home again-to face the galactic disorders caused by the just-ended Cardiff crisis. Ironically, peace in the galaxy cannot be secured until the theft of an entire cosmic armada has been effected! The tale of--
Perry Rhodan
Posbis #109
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THE STOLEN SPACEFLEET
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PROLOG
THE DISASTROUS EPOCH of Thomas Cardif has come to an end and Perry Rhodan has come back home again.
Three weeks have passed since the real Administrator's return and during that time he hardly got any sleep. Conference after conference took place. Rhodan had many things to straighten out, to clarify or repair and reestablish as a result of all the disorder that Cardif the Usurper had caused during his reign.
It was no wonder that the Administrator should take a breather and give himself a little vacation after going through such labors and finishing his work.
But the overall job of repair does not seem, to be completed because in the middle of a weekend reprieve a message is received from Atlan. The Imperator of Arkon again reports to Rhodan the matter of the 1000 modern robotships which he had been forced to deliver to the Akons when Cardif was throwing the whole galaxy into a turmoil.
Perry Rhodan knows the potential danger of these warships which include 20 super giants of the Imperium class-especially in the clever and capable hands of the Akons. Together with Atlan he works out a plan that leads to the event of THE STOLEN SPACEFLEET...
1/ DISTANT DRUMS
"And for me a glass of milk," said Pucky, adding to the order. "Luke cold, please." He grinned happily at the white-jacketed waiter, making a gleaming display of his incisor tooth.
In spite of the fact that this was the Goshun Yacht Club the waiter was not at all disturbed by having to serve one of the guests a glass of milk. He was acquainted with Pucky and his ways. With a polite "As you wish, sir," the man withdrew and headed for the bar. Pucky fairly beamed as he looked about him triumphantly.
"The fellow has class," he commented as he pulled a partially nibbled carrot from his uniform trousers pocket.
"But not you," said Perry Rhodan in mild reproach. "You're not supposed to bring your own food into the club. How could this establishment exist if just anybody did that?"
Pucky took a hearty bite of the carrot. "Am I 'just anybody'?" he inquired, mildly affronted, and then he gazed musingly at the white sails on the brilliant blue surface of the nearby lake.
The hotel club had been built on an elevation and afforded a splendid view for its patrons. This broad salt lake or inland sea in the former Gobi Desert was no longer the lonely waste of water that it had been in previous centuries. The close proximity of Terrania, the world metropolis and capital had turned the remote salt sea into a top-ranking resort center. The shores here were dotted with the weekend cottages of the nature-loving city dwellers. In the evenings and in the afternoons like today, people met together in the club.
These few hours of relaxation had been good for Perry Rhodan. The past three weeks had been anything but restful or enjoyable. The turmoil left behind by his son Thomas Cardif had required setting many things in order-and now it was done. He had been in daily conferences in order to straighten out the many mistakes his traitorous son had committed while holding his office. The incipient revolt in the spacefleet was nipped in the bud as soon as it became known that it had been Cardif the impostor who had issued so many insane commands and threatened the very structure of the Solar Imperium.
The imprisoned government officials were released and the great staff of Terran workers who had been recalled from Arkon had all been reestablished in their posts. Through a general space hypercom broadcast Rhodan had informed all intelligences of the galaxy concerning the tragic course of past events and he had announced his son's death. However he also did not conceal the fact that the fleet mobilization and rearmament initiated by Cardif would be continued at the same rate. Likewise he had retained the state of emergency which had then empowered Cardif and today empowered Rhodan to make direct decisions of a top priority nature when the general situation required it.
The most important things had been ironed out. This weekend was dedicated to recuperation because in the past three weeks Rhodan had hardly had any rest and had often only slept a few hours before other new decisions had demanded his presence. There was no better place to relax than Goshun Lake because it was only a few kilometers from the administrative center of the Solar Imperium. In just a few minutes an aircar could bring him to Terrania.
Reginald Bell stretched his legs out comfortably. He was enjoying these few hours that he could have alone with his friend Rhodan. It was very seldom that the Solar Administrator, Chief Executive of the Earth, had time for either himself or his oldest friend. Of course it was unavoidable that Pucky should also be along on the little outing. After all, his weekend cottage was right next to Bell's and besides that he considered himself to be at least Rhodan's 'second best' friend. Even if he was not a human but only a mouse-beaver.
Bell watched Pucky finish off the carrot before making a patronizing comment. "You know, you should switch to a more elegant type of vegetable," he said. "I'd say asparagus tips would be more proper for the most accomplished mutant in the Corps."
Pucky responded with a bored yawn. "Humans are curious creatures. They eat artichokes and oysters because it's supposed to be high class. Not that they taste so good-oh no! OK, so I also like asparagus but it makes a mess if you stuff it in your pockets. Besides, I like carrots best. So I eat them. Well, Fatso, you want to give me an argument on that?"
Bell felt too lazy for any debates. He only wanted to sit there in the sun. Moreover, the waiter was just arriving with the drinks they had ordered. Pucky reached for his glass and tasted the milk. He nodded gratefully to the waiter. "It's luke cold," he confirmed, and then sprawled out on his seat with a complete lack of elegance.
Rhodan enjoyed the peace and quiet to its fullest. Out here at the club it was true that everybody knew him but they didn't make a commotion about it. Here he was a man like any other and his wish for relaxation was respected.
The sun was moving westward but it was still warm, almost too warm. Along the shore the bathing enthusiasts were romping and exercising. The salt water here provided an amazing buoyancy so that even the non-swimmers could venture into deep water without danger. It would have taken a special feat to drown at all and the sport of diving was only possible with the help of heavy-weighted belts.
"I'm glad it's all over with," said Bell, leaning back in contented weariness. "It'll all come together again and be like it was before. Nothing has been lost."
Rhodan gazed beyond him. "No, you might say nothing's been lost. I just have to act as though I never had a son-and actually that isn't far from the truth. Or can anyone say that Cardif was my son? It's true that he looked like me but we were too far apart otherwise. He didn't even take after his mother."
Two young officers in the ground-leave dress of the Solar Fleet passed by and saluted respectfully. Rhodan gave them a friendly salute back.
"I guess Atlan is pretty relieved he can count on us again," said Bell. "What would become of the Arkonide Imperium without help from Earth?"
Rhodan reflected on this. He closed his eyes for a moment, then looked up at the cloudless sky. "When I think of Atlan I'm troubled with a feeling that I may have forgotten something. It seems to have something to do with Atlan and Cardif but no matter how hard I try I can't remember what it was. Perhaps it was not too important."
Nevertheless it was surprising that Rhodan could forget anything with his almost photographic
memory. Bell was certain that it must be something unheeded rather than 'forgotten'.
"If it's anything important, Perry, Atlan will remind you of it. How about doing a bit of sailing? My boat is all set to go."
"Oh great!" cried Pucky happily and quickly finished his milk. "Bell, since you're so hospitable why don't you pay the check?"
Rhodan noted his friend's nonplussed expression as he smiled and beckoned to the waiter. A few minutes later they all got up and went down to the harbor where the small sailing yacht was berthed. There wasn't much wind but that suited the men and Pucky just fine. They were sailing for relaxation and were not in the mood to be buffeted about in a full regatta breeze.
The small boat moved away from the shore at a lazy pace. Rhodan went forward on the deck and stretched out on his back to enjoy the peacefulness of the excursion. Bell took charge of the sail and the rudder. Pucky rummaged through the small cabin in search of anything edible. No one could have imagined a more peaceful scene.
Pucky came grumbling out of the cabin. "I couldn't find anything except canned food and soft drinks."
Rhodan looked up at the sky and sighed. Probably no one could guess what a healing balm it was to him to have nothing more to do than to counteract the light swaying of the boat or to close his eyes when the sun came into his line of vision.
"Take a swim, little one," Bell invited as he fixed the rudder in place. "I'll just strip down and go in with you!"
Five minutes later the two friends were splashing around in the water. Rhodan had turned onto his stomach so that he could watch them. Pucky wore a diving belt and whenever he dove into the clear depths Perry could see him plainly. Bell preferred to float on the surface and get a suntan.
In the midst of this small idyll the low sound of a buzzer was heard. Rhodan sat up and raised his arm. He pressed a button on his wrist transceiver. "This is Rhodan, who's calling?"
"Interstellar Com Central, Terrania, sir. We have a hypercom call for you. Arkon requesting a direct connection. Shall I channel it to you there or would you rather come here?"
Rhodan took a few seconds to think about it. It would take him too long to get to Terrania. He would have to do without the video portion of the transmission and content himself with voice communication. "Switch it to me here."
Meanwhile Bell had become alerted. He swam up closer to the boat. Pucky popped up from below the surface. Since he was a telepath he had even caught Rhodan's thoughts under water and so was already aware of what was happening. Rhodan turned up his speaker volume and waited.
"Do you think it's Atlan?" asked Bell as he climbed aboard.
The water ran off him so that he was soon standing in a puddle on the deck. Pucky remained in the water and allowed himself to be towed along. He did not have to depend upon the spoken word to follow the conversation. But the wind had almost completely died down and all around them it was calm and peaceful.
"Who else?" said Rhodan. "I wonder what he wants. Let's hope it's nothing serious."
"This is Arkon!" A strange voice suddenly sounded from the microspeaker on Rhodan's wrist. "Galactic Com Central, Arkon. His Highness, Gonozal VIII, wishes to speak to Perry Rhodan, Administrator of the Solar Imperium!"
Since Atlan had become the Imperator of Arkon, Gonozal VIII had been his official name. The immortal Arkonide who had lived incognito on Earth for almost 10,000 years had finally returned to his native stellar empire to take up the heritage of his ancestors. The Earth could not wish for a better ally and friend.
"This is Rhodan. Connect me."
When one realized that the hyperspace transmission was spanning an abyss of 34,000 light-years in the fraction of a second and the Arkonide's voice was being amplified through interstellar relay stations to be heard in Rhodan's wrist receiver, it was possible to appreciate the tremendous scope of developments in recent years.
"Can you hear me, Perry? This is Atlan. Why don't I see you on my screen?"
"I'm not at the station, Atlan. We have to settle for voice communication. What's happening?"
"Actually nothing," came the answer, and Bell sighed in relief. He went back to the tiller and gave the boat a new direction. With the present lack of wind it would require an hour to return to the boat harbor. The disc of the sun was already touching the distant mountain peaks.
"It's nice to hear your voice," replied Rhodan. He too was relieved and he began to relax again. It was a rare occasion indeed when such a costly interstellar communication proved to be of an inconsequential nature. "You are no doubt aware of what's been happening here on Earth since I saw you?"
"Your returned Terran staff has given me a report. You were lucky that I could rescue you and that Cardif was eliminated. Anyway, you can thank him for your cell activator. Now you're as immortal as I am."
"Thanks are due to the entity on Wanderer," Rhodan corrected him pointedly, "even though its existence almost cost me my life. But let's drop the past now and think again of building the future. The problems caused by Cardif no longer exist. The dangers are past. We are going to--"
"Just a moment," Atlan interrupted him, and it seemed as if his voice carried a note of trouble. "Not all the problems have been erased, my friend. Don't forget the Akons!"
Rhodan did not understand at first what Atlan was getting at. "The Akons aren't any problem, Atlan. We have a treaty with them and also a firm commercial base on their main planet, Sphynx. They wouldn't dare cause either one of us any trouble because they only have matter transmitters but no spacefleet to speak of. Even though they are the mother race of the Arkonides, that's a long way from saying that-"
Once more he was interrupted by Atlan. "That's just it, Rhodan, you say they have no spacefleet to speak of! I'm speaking of it now and I'm talking about exactly 1,000 modern warships! I had to hand them over to the Akons because Cardif's actions forced me to."
Bell overheard this. His stocky figure became rigid as he regarded Rhodan. He thought he could see a deathly pallor creep into the healthy tan of his face.
"1,000 ships--my God!"
There were a few seconds of silence on the specially scrambled carrier frequency that bridged the vast abyss of distance. Then Atlan spoke: "Yes, and that includes 20 giant ships of the Imperium class. It's not a striking force to be sneezed at-in fact it's the worst of our scars leftover from Cardif."
"And I had all but forgotten it!" Rhodan reproached himself while feeling relieved at the same time. At least now he would not have to be digging in his memory for the forgotten item. At last he knew what had been bothering him during recent days. "What do we have to do, Atlan?"
"You mean, what should we do? In no event should we attempt to break our treaties with them nor should we think of taking back that fleet by force of arms. Nobody in the galaxy would trust us anymore. No, there has to be some other way of putting the Akon Fleet out of business."
"We'll meet somewhere at a rendezvous point, Atlan. Bring all the data concerning the ships you furnished them. I'm sure we can work out a plan to get them back without breaking treaties. We'll send you the rendezvous coordinates in five hours. Let's say we'll meet on November 10th, Terra time..."
"All right, Perry. I'll be there with the data-and you bring along a good idea..."
"I'll do my best, Atlan. Good luck until then."
The contact was disconnected. Rhodan shut off his microceiver and looked at Bell. "I'm afraid our furlough is getting cut short again. We have to make some preparations." He looked up at the slack sail. "But I suppose we can't do anything about that for the moment."
"Thank goodness you can't!" exclaimed Pucky in malicious glee. He dove under the boat and popped up on the other side. "I can make it faster to shore than you can!"
But he made no impression on Bell, who tied the tiller and went forward to join Rhodan. "Do you really think the Akons can be any threat to us with just a thousand ships?"
Rhodan nodded. "Together with their superior technology, of course they can-if we leave them
alone. But that we're not going to do."
During the rest of the slow trip to shore he remained thoughtfully silent.
• • •
On the 10th of November of 2103, Atlan and Rhodan met on an almost unknown planet between Terra and Arkon. They were happy to escape the pompous ceremonies they would have had to submit to in accordance with tradition had they met on Arkon. Here they were practically alone. Atlan's stronghold here was almost exclusively run by robots and the local inhabitants paid no attention to their alien visitors. The two spaceships lay next to each other on the provisional spaceport. Inasmuch as the atmosphere was equivalent to that of Arkon or Terra, the two men left their ships escorted by only two combat robots and met together under the open sky. They walked a slight distance to a nearby river and sat down on a grassy knoll. The reddish sun was almost directly overhead but the day wasn't hot. A cool breeze came from the East. Only a few clouds drifted across the rose-colored sky.
Atlan sighed. "You don't know how much I've longed for such a comforting solitude as this. A stream, a stretch of meadow and nobody around! There could never be such a thing on Arkon. The security guards never leave me out of their sight or sound. I'm always running into courtiers and have to listen to their drivel. But here..."
He fell silent, watching the riverbank. The water flowed gently along the shore. It was clear and pure, completely uncontaminated by any industrial impurities. On this planet there were no factories at all.
"It's not quite so bad with me at home," said Rhodan, thinking of the Goshun Lake near Terrania. "But if we have to meet it should be in a place like this-far away from ceremony and red tape. This is the only place where we can be ourselves-intelligent beings in harmony with Nature. I'm grateful to you, Atlan, for having chosen this planet for our talk."
"Yes, well-I've brought along the data you wanted. My robot has the file. In the meantime have you given any thought to how we can inspire the Akons to return the ships?"