by Perry Rhodan
When the owner of the spacecraft returned, he would be greeted by a most unpleasant surprise.
No one knew who had actually discovered the ship first—but the two leaders had been extremely excited, even fearful, when they learned of it. Instead of simply destroying the discus-craft, however, they had ordered round-the-clock surveillance over it and the arrest of any and all persons attempting to reach it.
It was already towards evening when Lobthal the Luraner returned from his tour of inspection, having found everything in and about the clearing in perfect order. Lobthal belonged to one of the widely-scattered clans of Springers and was happy to have found such good-paying work on Volat. As a former officer aboard a trading ship, he was familiar with quasi-military life and kept his men under rather strict discipline.
The discus-ship stood untouched, which obliviously comforted him.
He went to the barracks hut set up on the edge of the forest and sat down for awhile on a wooden bench, watching the cook prepare the evening meal. Then he went out to inspect the men posted in the jungle. They had been positioned along a circle around the aircraft, serving as a line of last resort should someone manage to break through the outer blockade.
He was crossing the clearing to the other side and had already gone a few yards when something peculiar happened. It was as if a transparent haze formed in the air between him and the spaceship, not 30 feet away, and began to vibrate. Then two figures emerged from nothingness, their backs to him.
One was unquestionably human—a Springer, perhaps, although he wore a greenish uniform of a type Lobthal had never seen before. A hand-beamer of Arkonide construction had been shoved in his belt.
The other was not human at all. Clothed only in smooth brown fur, the animal was perhaps only a yard tall, standing on its two hind legs as though it were not accustomed to anything else. It held its companion by the hand and was utterly without a weapon.
Lobthal tried to comprehend the incomprehensible.
The pair had formed out of nowhere before his eyes, so they must previously have been invisible. There could be no other explanation. With that Lobthal made the mistake of not seeking another explanation but it was in character for him: whatever was closest to his own experience always seemed to him the most likely.
He yanked out his beamer and pointed it at the back of the man, whom he considered the more dangerous half of the pair.
"Halt!" he exclaimed. "Don't move!"
The stranger seemed startled, then turned slowly and carefully. His hands hung loosely at his sides, kept deliberately some distance from the grip of his beamer. The animal also turned, looking at Lobthal with a surprised and—or so it seemed—reproachful air. Lobthal did not quite understand it.
"Who are you and how did you come here?" the Springer demanded.
Fellmer Lloyd read Lobthal's thoughts and emotions and realized the threat this man constituted. It would be pointless to disappear again, although it would be easy with Pucky's help. So the Gazellehad been found and was being guarded. Very smart, but unfortunately for its discoverers it had all been for nothing.
"Put that thing away," said Lloyd, indicating Lobthal's weapon. "You won't get me to talk waving it around."
"Can you make yourselves invisible?" the Luraner demanded, ignoring Fellmer's request. Greed and curiosity mixed in the man's voice and his thoughts revealed the rest of what was on his mind. Lloyd decided he could make use of Lobthal's feelings.
"It's not hard when you know how," said Fellmer. "As you must know, the old Arkonides knew the principles and constructed devices for invisibility, although such equipment today isn't available to just anyone."
"You've got one of those devices?" Lobthal seemed to have forgotten his original duty and was interested only in invisibility. It even seemed to bother him that one of the sentries in the forest had become aware of what was going on in the clearing and had decided to make a patrol in that direction.
"We have it in our pockets," Pucky chirped up. "Do you want to see it?"
Of course there were a great many kinds of intelligent creatures in the galaxy but Lobthal was stunned when Pucky addressed him in pure Arkonide. He had not been expecting it.
"Huh...?" gasped Lobthal, staring at the mouse-beaver.
Pucky was enormously amused but he did not take his eyes away from the oncoming guard. "If you like," he went on, "I'll make myself invisible. But first you must send your men away. This doesn't concern them."
Lobthal was not exactly stupid but then again he was not precisely smart either. He did not in the least suspect that the strangers had come because of the spaceship he was guarding. They would have acted differently had that been the case, since they could make themselves invisible.
"Hey, Khortu!" Lobthal called. "Go with the other men to the advance posts and make sure that no one breaks through the lines. And take the cook with you!"
"But...!" protested the guard.
"Didn't you hear me!?" Lobthal exclaimed. "Now get moving before I give you a swift kick."
Lobthal had his men well under control. The somewhat unkempt-looking soldier obeyed immediately, although he muttered something inaudible into the beard that identified him as a Springer.
Lloyd watched the guard go. The Gazelle stood undamaged at the jungle's edge, right where he had left it.
Lobthal was almost feverish as he turned to Lloyd. "Now show me how you make yourselves invisible! If you'll sell me the device, I'll pay you anything!"
"You don't even have five Credits in your pocket," said Pucky dryly.
"I've got more money—but not here," said Lobthal. Then he lifted his beamer. "Anyway, I'm the strongest one here. I could force you."
"Don't try it," warned Pucky. "And if you want to turn invisible, put that toy down before you hurt somebody."
"Let my weapon out of my hand?" demanded Lobthal. "Never!"
Pucky shrugged and started to walk towards the Gazelle. "Alright, have it your way."
Lobthal sensed that he was not being taken very seriously and it increased his rage against the animal, who had been doing most of the talking. Nevertheless... "Stop! What do you want over there?"
Pucky stopped and looked back at Lobthal, sizing him up. Then he nodded kindly. In the meantime, all the soldiers had disappeared and the clearing lay empty and deserted in the gathering twilight. The sun had long set.
"Okay, I'll show you," Pucky decided and came back.
Lloyd stood a short distance away and looked at the shimmering discus, lost in thought. He seemed to have no interest in his companion's experiments.
"But I'm holding onto my weapon," Lobthal announced firmly.
"Go ahead, then, if you're afraid." Pucky agreed. "I'll take hold of your hand—the free one, since you don't want to lose your pop-gun—yes, that's fine. Now watch carefully, my bearded friend..."
And Lobthal did indeed become invisible, if only to the eyes of Fellmer Lloyd. As soon as Pucky and the curious Luraner had disappeared, Lloyd walked casually up to the Gazelle. The brainwave pattern-register functioned perfectly and the hatch opened the instant Lloyd stood beneath it and pronounced the code-word. Without worrying about Pucky's return, he climbed up the narrow ladder almost before it had been completely extended.
He sensed the thought-impulses of several men as the hatch closed behind him and he made his way into the control cabin. They could do little to him now, whether they were suspicious of him or not.
A few twists of the switches and knobs on the control panel and the Gazelle was ready for take-off. A humming from the engine chambers, a vibration rippled through the metal floor and then the clearing below shrank into a small light area in the dark jungle fastness. No more could Fellmer Lloyd hear the excited cries of men racing to the spot where the discus-craft they should have been watching had once stood.
He set his course for the not-so-distant plateau and not many minutes later it came into view. Then the beehive-like huts, and then finally the group of Vola
tians running to meet the incoming ship.
Lloyd climbed out and walked by the friendly natives, waving to them. Thora, Rhodan and Noir, who had recognized the Gazelle and had watched it land were already waiting for him.
"Is Pucky back yet?" asked Lloyd and read the answer in the other men's expressions. He started to get the feeling he had made a mistake.
"Why?" Rhodan wanted to know. "Did that little rascal take off by himself again?"
"Someone interfered with us," Fellmer explained, "and Pucky wanted to get him out of the way. We telepathically agreed that he would return directly to the plateau so we wouldn't lose any time."
Rhodan glanced at his watch. "Well, we're ready to go. The Volatians have already given us a brief but warm sendoff. You ought to go pay your respects again to the Omniscient Mother before we start, Fellmer."
"And Pucky?"
"You can be sure he'll show up at the last minute. Don't worry yourself unduly over him. But be as quick about your leave-taking as you can."
The group had been waiting for 15 minutes in the Gazelle's open airlock when Pucky finally materialized on the plateau. Another leap and he was aboard the ship with them. Before anyone could say anything, the mouse-beaver chirped innocently, as though nothing was amiss: "We can get going now, folks!"
Rhodan's expression grew severe as he grabbed the furry culprit by the ears and pulled him along the narrow corridor to the control central. There, he roughly set him down on the couch and Lloyd started the ship.
On the vidscreen, Volat quickly shrank until it was no more than a bright star against the blackness. The Gazelle streaked towards simple speol, its artificial gravity-field activated, while in the com-center Noir attempted to contact Capt. Jim Markus aboard the Lotus .
"And now, my furry little friend," said Rhodan, "you're going to tell me where you hid yourself for so long. A teleporter doesn't need half an hour to take someone from one place to another."
Pucky looked positively miserable as he sat guiltily on the bunk, his loyal brown eyes lowered. His ears drooped sadly and his otherwise always-smiling incisor tooth was tucked away. "I took him to Kuklon, Chief. That's why it took so long."
"So? Is that all you have to tell me?"
"If I do something without being expressly ordered to do it but it helps our cause, will I still be punished?" Pucky asked.
Rhodan tried in vain to read the thoughts of his little friend: Pucky's mind block had stopped him. He was looking at the vidscreen when he answered: "That depends on the circumstances. If you don't cause any real damage, your unauthorized actions can perhaps be excused. But out with it now! What business did you have in Kuklon?"
Pucky sat up straight and began to grin shyly. The lower end of his incisor tooth became visible. "I took Lobthal into the city and..."
"Who in heaven's name is Lobthal?"
"The guy guarding the Gazelle, who else—oh, sorry! The thought screen! I forgot about that!" He swiftly gave Rhodan access to his mind so that his boss could pick up the situation's background. "I dropped him off in the middle of the city, where he looked rather awkward with that beamer in his hand. The police moved in then and I couldn't have stopped them if I'd wanted to, which I didn't. My next spring took me to the palace, since I wanted to know what had been going on there. Well, I learned enough. The guy who recognized you was Talamon, alright. And now that Arkon has been informed of it, the Administrator seems to have gone into hiding. Anyway, it's confirmed now, Chief. That computerized junk pile 30,000 light-years from here knows the Earth still exists. It also knows it was you here on Volat. I guess we can say goodbye to our game of keeping the Earth hidden."
Rhodan had listened without interrupting. What Pucky was telling him was neither new nor surprising, and besides, he had always had to act, keeping the possibility of discovery ever in mind. There was only one thing which Rhodan did not understand: why had Talamon betrayed him? After all, they had been good friends. Or had the Mounder done it in the first shock and now regretted it? It was quite possible that the shock of seeing someone he had thought dead for decades had not lent itself to Talamon's clear thinking for awhile.
Whatever, the Regent of Arkon knew that its great opponent was alive and active again. It would prepare to take up the struggle once more against the man who threatened the existence of an empire in which more than a thousand stars shone.
Noir called proudly from the com-center: "Contact with the Lotus —the tracking signal!"
"Correct our course accordingly," Rhodan ordered, then added: "Try to get Markus on the vidscreen. There are some things I want to ask him."
Noir was not a trained hypercom operator—had he been, things would have gone more quickly—but even so, Rhodan had to be happy that within 10 minutes of being given the order Noir could report: "Contact with Capt. Markus, sir. He wants to speak with you—and he seems rather excited."
Rhodan hurried into the com-center and took Noir's seat. He had to turn the dial somewhat to adjust the vidscreen focus: not only did Markus' face become sharper but small details in the Lotus grew visible as well. Noir was a good hypno but he understood little of electronic communications. As a telepath, he'd of course never had the need.
"Markus? Rhodan here! How's the connection?"
"I can understand you, sir. Your position?"
"Fifty-three light-minutes from Volat. Why?"
"I'm coming towards you, sir. Who knows what might happen in the next half hour? How did they discover you?"
It was like a blow to Rhodan. How could Markus have known? "Discover us? How did you...?"
"Someone must have informed the Robot Brain that you were on Volat. Or didn't you know that?"
"I'm already aware of it, Markus, but what I don't understand is how you know. Did you pick up Mansrin's hypercom message?"
"No, but we picked up the Regent's."
Rhodan was gradually getting used to being surprised but some moments passed before he could respond. "The Robot Brain sent a message? To Mansrin?"
"No, sir," answered Marcus. "To you."
Rhodan lost his patience. "Enough of this, Markus! What's going on, anyway?"
"Half an hour ago we began to receive a constantly repeated summons over hypercom. It's in plain Interkosmo—that is to say, uncoded—and is being broadcast automatically every two minutes. should I read it to you, sir?"
Rhodan gasped audibly for breath. "Of course, Markus, of course! Get on with it!"
"Right, sir. Here's the text of the message:
Calling Perry Rhodan of Terra! I know that you are still alive. Get in touch with me over our old frequency. I guarantee you your life and your freedom.
Regent of Arkon.
6/ WILL REGGIE BELL THE CAT?
Even before the Lotus landed, the robot psychologists in Terrania had much to do. Rhodan had sent the data over hypercom and requested immediate evaluation. He wanted the results ready by the time he landed.
Markus guided the Lotus skilfully through the asteroid belt at light-speed, past Mars, and soon landed it in Terrania, the greatest City on Earth.
There, Rhodan was told to expect the results of the psycho-cybernetic evaluations in just a few minutes and that, as a precautionary measure, they would he sent to him in his office.
Rhodan, Thora, Noir and Lloyd took a car into the city, driving through the perpetual energy dome by way of a special lane, and in five minutes entered the room they had left only a few days before.
Reginald Bell sat behind the table surrounded by a number of intercoms. He looked up at the newcomers with an indefinite expression. His chin rested cupped in his hands and his elbows rested on the table. He rather resembled cartoons of high-powered executives.
"I almost strangled in all the red tape!" he complained with such exaggeration no one took him seriously. "It isn't easy, running a government. While you were off having a lovely vacation, I had to stay here and... ah, Thora? You're back, too! Wonderful!" Then his eyes suddenly narrowed. "Uh, where's Puc
ky?"
Rhodan waited until the general exchange of greetings was done with, then said: "Pucky's out looking for a new home for his friend."
"What is this I keep hearing about Pucky's new friend?" Bell demanded. In his voice was something not far, from a twinge of jealousy. "Pucky never told me anything about it."
"You'll meet him," Rhodan promised. "Anyway, Pucky only ran across him recently. You'll be enthusiastic, Reggie."
"Hmmm," growled Bell, sceptically. He did not have a chance to say more as at that point one of the communicators on the table hummed.
Rhodan stepped over to it and pressed a button. A small screen on the wall lit up and a face appeared. It belonged to a middle-aged man whose white coat identified him as a scientist.
"Rhodan here. What are your findings?"
"This is Dr. Gertz, sir. Our conclusion is that the Regent would not guarantee your life and freedom if there were not circumstances which force it to. The positronicon on Venus agrees that there can be only one explanation for the Regent's hypercom message."
"What would that be?" asked Rhodan, trying to conceal his excitement.
"The Regent needs you, sir. It finds itself in a dilemma which we know nothing about and needs the Earth's help."
Rhodan took a deep breath. "Are you sure of this, Doctor?"
"A mistake in our analysis is 100% impossible, considering what we had to work with. All our evaluations agree—the Positronicon, the Regent of Arkon, is in a jam and is even in a certain sense happy—as much as a robot can be happy—that you and Terra still exist. You represent salvation at the 11th hour."
Rhodan shook his head. "Arkon in trouble? I didn't get any impression that the Imperium was having difficulties. Quite the opposite, in fact."
Thora whispered: "Perhaps there are problems only the Robot Brain is aware of Perry. Maybe you ought to get in touch with it."
"I'll do that as soon as our more pressing concerns are out of the way," said Rhodan. "At least this means there isn't any danger to us."