by Perry Rhodan
They waited—feverishly and impatiently.
• • •
In Major Pjatkow's opinion the high valley leading from the south to the energy dome was the most plausible place where the fugitives could be intercepted.
Pjatkow didn't have the slightest notion whom he was hunting but he assumed that either a lot of people were involved or that they were especially dangerous as Raskujan made such extraordinary efforts to catch them.
He looked at his watch. They had only enough fuel for five hours flight. Then they'd have to return for refueling. Within five hours the unknown persons had to...
There!" the observer exclaimed. "A man!"
Pjatkow pushed the observer to the side and peered through the filter eyepiece. There was a man moving between the rocks below. He was only 60 feet away from the barrier and was running like mad.
"Fire!" Pjatkow barked.
The observer squeezed himself behind the automatic cannon, aimed at the moving target and began to shoot. He was disgusted to see his projectiles explode far from the runner and corrected his aim but before he managed to focus on the target, the man had disappeared behind a boulder. Major Pjatkow was breathing excitedly. "Lower! Lower!"
The aircraft descended.
"Circle around the rock!"
The pilot banked the aircraft and began to fly in a wide circle. "Closer!" Pjatkow shouted angrily. And then he discerned another movement from the corner of his eye. He pulled his viewer around and detected three men one hundred feet away scurrying to the radiant barrier. He instantly grasped that the man below him had only executed a feint.
The real danger was that group of men over there!
"To the left!" he yelled at the pilot. "We've got to get them first!" The flier, who saw only the events straight ahead of him, wasted little time responding to the command and changed his course.
"Faster!" Pjatkow urged. "Get the bombs ready!" He slammed down the switch of the radio-transmitter at his side with a crack. It was unnecessary to waste words to explain his actions. The other machines were able to determine from his orders what was afoot.
The fleeing men reached the barrier.
"Bombs ready!" the observer reported.
Pjatkow took notice that two other machines were flying beside him and were laying down heavy fire from their automatic cannons.
The bombs the observer was about to unleash were ordinary high-explosive shells. It wasn't feasible for a helicopter flying at low altitudes to drop a nuclear bomb no matter how small. However, the high-explosive bombs were more than adequate to...
The radiant dome was gone!
Pjatkow uttered a piercing scream of horror as the barrier vanished. Yet at the same instance he grasped the unique chance that suddenly was offered to him. "To the right!" he bellowed to the pilot. "Get through the barrier!"
The pilot didn't measure up to the task. He fumbled around for five seconds before he changed his course. Pjatkow was fuming.
At last the machine turned around and raced with top speed toward the place where only moments before the protective shield had towered above the floor of the valley. Nobody in Pjatkow's helicopter got even a glimpse when the barrier began to radiate again at the precise instant that the machine was about to push through to the field inside. A brilliant explosion was all the other helicopters could see as their radios crackled sharply. A shower of flaming debris fell to the ground and was soon extinguished.
It was impossible for anyone to say later whether Pjatkow's gunship had been swallowed up by the energy of the reactivated defense screen or had been torn apart by its own bombs exploding under the impact.
Following the initial shock of terror the accompanying helicopter crews recognized that everything had been restored in the aftermath to the previous state after the short interruption and that the unknown people had obviously succeeded in setting foot inside the defense field during the few seconds the barrier had been lifted.
Colonel Raskujan received the terse communique: "Major Pjatkow killed in action. Unable to apprehend fugitives. Escaped into fortress."
• • •
Raskujan was fully aware of the significance of the message that Rhodan had reached the safety of the fortress.
He assumed that it would be merely a matter of minutes before Rhodan would attack his post with the superior technical means at his command and completely wipe them out. He ordered the defense alert for his post which required no extensive preparations or changes. Since the day he landed his replacement fleet on Venus he had anticipated such contingencies and deployed his troops and equipment in such a manner that they could defend themselves in all directions. It was a different question, however, whether the strategic placement of his troops would have any effect against the technical juggernaut to be expected from Perry Rhodan.
As Raskujan was of the opinion that this question had to be answered in the negative, he took another step to prepare for this turn of events, keeping it a secret from everybody except the pilot he needed to fly his helicopter. Together with the pilot, Raskujan tied up the hands of his two most prominent prisoners, Thora and Tomisenkow, behind their backs. At gunpoint he drove the couple to the waiting aircraft and helped them to climb in.
As Tomisenkow was shoved into the gunship by the hard fists of the pilot, he looked back over his shoulder and said derisively: "Something went wrong, didn't it? The rats are leaving the sinking ship!"
"Shut up!" Raskujan growled, saying no more.
The cockpit was roomier than in other helicopters. There were four passenger seats. Thora and Tomisenkow were put in the first two while Raskujan sat behind them with his cocked gun. The pilot squeezed into his narrow seat and waited for something. The doors clicked shut.
"Listen to me!" Raskujan began with a strained voice. "My overriding concern now is not to fall into the hands of Perry Rhodan. Rhodan has managed to get into the base and he's bound to arrive here in a few minutes. My situation is very desperate. I'm taking you both with me. You, Tomisenkow, because you know your way around on Venus and you, Thora, as hostage for Rhodan. It'll be your job, Tomisenkow, to find a safe hideout for us where we can stay till Rhodan is ready to negotiate with me. My situation is so critical you can rest assured I'd kill you before I'd let you ruin my last chance. Tomisenkow, give the pilot instructions where to fly!"
"Fly between 270 and 280°!" he grudgingly told the pilot. "Climb up to an altitude of 1500 feet because we'll soon get to the mountains."
• • •
Perry Rhodan had enough strength left to formulate a message for the positronic brain which was transmitted telepathically by Marshall. It was a fair assumption that the brain, once its attention had been drawn to Rhodan, would correctly interpret the message and act accordingly. The instructions included a request for a vehicle enabling them to travel as quickly as possible to the center of the base and for medication to restore Rhodan's freedom of action without delay. Alicharin had not only survived the bombardment from Pjatkow's helicopter without getting hurt but had also managed to dart at the right moment into the field of the base.
Rhodan finally lost consciousness as soon as he had given his instructions to Marshall. The telepath kept repeating his message until Son Okura saw a glider approach with high speed dose above the ground. They carried Rhodan inside and took their seats. A few minutes later the glider was admitted through the portal of the mountain fortress and Rhodan was led to a room where the medicine was administered. In half an hour Rhodan had recuperated enough to be in a position to issue his commands. He instructed the positronic brain to lift the barrier girdling the entire planet so that Reginald Bell could at last land in his auxiliary spaceship: In order not to complicate matters, he further requested that the regular protective border surrounding the base in normal times at a diameter of 300 miles shouldn't be reinstated in place of the special mantle shrouding the planet during the emergency.
Finally Reginald Bell was commissioned to finish the current military
action on Rhodan's behalf and was given the necessary detailed information.
Only then, after having attended to the final measures, did Rhodan conclude that the time had come for him and his exhausted friends to relax from their super-human efforts. They fell into a long sleep. Bell reacted with the raging energy of a pent-up volcano whose fiery eruption had been barred by a crust of earth.
The Guppy —one of the auxiliary spaceships measuring 200 feet in diameter—swooped down with activated shock screens full speed ahead into the lower strata of the Venusian atmosphere. At Mach 15—fifteen times the velocity of sound—the air molecules around the shock screen became ionized and began to light up. With a brilliant blue-white trail of ionized air the ship shot through the Venusian night like a gigantic comet in all its splendor. It appeared over Raskujan's camp spreading stark terror among the defenders who had never before seen such an awesome spectacle.
Nobody dared shoot at the vessel. It was totally impervious to missiles made on Earth in any case. Coming to a stop at about 300 feet above the encampment, it hovered motionlessly above the ground. Bell took no chances. He ordered Tako Kakuta, the teleporter, to use the psycho-beamer to saturate the entire territory with hypnotic commands for surrender.
Afterwards the spaceship touched down and Bell began to take stock. He knew that Thora was held prisoner in this camp and despite his ambivalent feelings toward her, her well-being was foremost in his mind. He was unable to find her. His newly-made captives were quite willing to show him the part of the camp where Thora had been detained since they were under the influence of the hypnotic spell. However, she was missing and nobody seemed to know where she could be.
After awhile it was also noted that General Tomisenkow was among the missing and when it became known that Raskujan had fled too, Bell began to get the picture emerging from the facts of the case. At the same time he realized that it was useless to track down the culprit. Raskujan was sure to come forward as soon as the situation was cleared up and as long as Thora was at his mercy there was very little that could be done to bring him to his knees.
• • •
"Between the two mountain peaks!" Tomisenkow directed the flier. The pilot gave him a running report of his findings on the observation instrument and Tomisenkow advised him accordingly as to his course.
In Tomisenkow's estimation they had put about 90 miles between themselves and the army post in the last two hours. They were slowed down by the numerous peaks and the complicated way of communicating flying instructions.
Their speed was further reduced by Tomisenkow's endeavor to gain time. He waited for Raskujan to relax his vigilance and hoped that Thora would create some commotion to divert his attention.
"There are several other peaks behind them," the pilot stated. "Three in a row. The one in the middle is about two and a half to three thousand feet high."
"Keep between the center and the left peak and then set your course at 265°." Raskujan cleared his throat. "Are you sure you know where you're going?"
"Of course," Tomisenkow snorted.
At this moment Thora uttered a shrill scream and clung close to Tomisenkow.
"What's the matter?" Raskujan asked gruffly.
Thora shuddered. "There!" she cried, frightened. "A flying reptile!." She stared out the window at the side as if she were seeing something out there. Her horror was so well pretended that Tomisenkow didn't know at first whether or not a lizard was actually flying by. Raskujan slid over to the next seat and pressed his face against the Plexiglas. His automatic pistol was lying across his knees.
Tomisenkow spun abruptly around. He got up on his seat with his knees and bent forward. Before Raskujan was aware what was going on, Tomisenkow pushed his back against him and pinned him down. He raised his hands behind him in his doubled up position and gripped Raskujan by the throat. He choked the colonel with brute force but was unable to see what effect he had on him.
"Stop it!" Thora shouted. "You're strangling him." Meanwhile the pilot was aroused. He turned his head and looked back.
"Watch the chopper or we'll smash up!" Tomisenkow yelled at him. Raskujan fell limp in his seat when Tomisenkow released his grip and moved away. With his hands still tied, he picked up the automatic pistol and propped it up between two seats, pointing it at the pilot. Then he told him: "You better believe me, I can pull the trigger with my hands tied behind my back and without looking. One false move and you're dead. Now turn around and fly back to the camp!"
It was an incredible situation. Tomisenkow kneeled on the seat where a moment ago Raskujan had been sitting. He was facing the back of the seat and held the trigger of the gun behind him between the two forward seats. Although he would have no trouble shooting the weapon, it would be the end of him if it slipped off the target. Fortunately it was a simple matter to free his hands from the ropes now that Raskujan was immobilized.
Thora pulled out a little pocket knife he had managed to conceal in his pants and cut his bonds. From then on, everything was child's play. The pilot had never been especially enamored of Raskujan as a beloved commander. His orders had not impressed him as very sensible and all he needed was the little reminder of the gun pointed at him to obey Tomisenkow unconditionally, willingly and promptly. Tomisenkow turned to Raskujan with the intention of taking care of him. He was profoundly shocked when he found that the colonel was dead. He covered him with his jacket.
"He deserved it," the general commented, "but I feel sorry for him just the same."
• • •
A few hours past midnight Rhodan's arrival was announced. Using a craft from the base, Rhodan set down in Raskujan's former post close to Reginald Bell's auxiliary ship. The camp was lit brightly. Rhodan had been briefed on the news that had transpired in the meantime. He knew that Raskujan had tried to abduct Thora and Tomisenkow and that both ex-prisoners had returned to the camp with Raskujan's body.
After entering the command center of the auxiliary ship, Bell gave him a formal report. He passed on a request by Tomisenkow: "The general respectfully asks for an audience."
Rhodan nodded. "Where's Thora?"
Bell shrugged his shoulders. "I gather she wants to be alone. I always let her do what she wants."
Rhodan nodded a second time. "Well, then let Tomisenkow come in!"
Bell left the command center and Tomisenkow soon appeared in the door. Rhodan offered him a chair. "You'll be surprised," Tomisenkow began without preamble, "what I'm going to propose to you."
Rhodan was amused by his direct approach. "Go ahead."
"I've already talked to Raskujan's men before your arrival," the general said. "I described to them how we've lived on Venus for a whole year with a minimum of technical support and how comfortable we would have been if we'd been blessed with the benefits of modern technology. I've submitted a proposal that we remain on Venus in the... and they've agreed! All except four or five." He looked hopefully at Rhodan.
"Excellent!" Rhodan replied. "I've no objections to your settling down on Venus as long as you don't interfere with the fortress."
Tomisenkow shook his head. "That's the farthest thing from our minds. We've all learned in the meantime what's happened to the government of the Eastern Bloc. My people and myself have written off the past long ago and it was apparently not very difficult for Raskujan's men to do the same."
Rhodan got up and paced the floor. Suddenly Tomisenkow heard him laugh. "I didn't think my plans would come true so quickly," Rhodan exclaimed.
"Your plans?" Tomisenkow expressed astonishment.
"Yes, my plans! why do you think I chose not to obliterate you and your entire fleet a year ago?"
"I don't know—why?" Tomisenkow stuttered.
"Because I believed," Rhodan explained to him, "that if I let your people live, you would develop into a healthy stock for the first colony of Venus. It was an experiment with humans and you've stood the test."
Tomisenkow was so amazed that his mouth gaped open. Only slowly did i
t dawn on him that he had acted during these last months like a puppet on a string. His mind resisted acceptance of this knowledge and when it finally had sunk in, anger welled up in him. But only for a second. It was no shame to be pulled on invisible strings by a an like Perry Rhodan!
Rhodan seemed able to read his thoughts.
"You needn't feel that your pride has been hurt," he said calmly. "I merely conceived an idea. You had complete freedom of action and I don't mind saying that you handled yourself with great distinction. I've complete faith in you and I don't believe I'll go wrong if I leave you a free hand in establishing a new colony. I promise you my help."
As if in a dream Tomisenkow got up, walked toward Rhodan and shook his hand. "Thank you!" he murmured. "Thank you very much!"
As he left the room he was muttering excitedly to himself. Rhodan couldn't hear what he said.
• • •
Ten hours passed before Rhodan met the woman from Arkon again. He'd paid no visit to her as yet. He remained in the command center taking care of dispositions prior to his return to Earth.
Thora eventually decided to go and see him.
The hatch slid open almost silently and she stood quietly for awhile in the opening before Rhodan noticed her. He recognized at a glance that she felt embarrassed and unsure of herself. How she must have been torn by her emotions! By her ill-considered flight from Terra she'd brought on a succession of unforeseen disasters in which Rhodan had almost perished and the New Power brought close to downfall. Falteringly she came closer. Perry got up, walked toward her. Confronting her, he took her hand between his.
Thora parted her pale lips to speak but Perry spoke first. "You'll never know," he said softly, intensely, "how happy I am to see you again."
His affectionate declaration completely shattered the composure of the queenly creature. She was unable to voice at all the apologies she had intended to offer, the explanation she had intended to give for her motivations. Instead she reacted with an astonishing gesture: she leaned forward till her silvery-white head touched Rhodan's shoulder—