by Perry Rhodan
Auris of Las Toor fascinated me. Her dark eyes contrasted with the coppery red of her hair. It seemed to me that she had seen through some of our actions. Naturally she had no proof but that was a mere superfluity. She knew the Terrans and she knew Perry Rhodan. Auris suspected that there was a definite connection between our sudden arrival and the events in the museum city. She wore the 2-piece uniform of the Akon Energy Command. But her billowing shoulder cape was an indication of her distinguished position as a scientist among a great race of advanced people.
Perry looked at me imploringly. This ingenious man became somewhat uncertain in the presence of women, especially when such a beautiful woman was involved. Auris was not only beautiful but very intelligent. I knew that she harbored certain strong sympathies for Perry. She had only favored me with a smile, to which I responded with a courtly bow.
She frowned slightly in some surprise at this customary Terran form of courtesy, to which I replied ironically: "For those who are merely tolerated it's fitting that they should adopt the customs of their host. I trust you will forgive me."
She had only nodded to me while declining the invitation to be seated in one of the form chairs. The personnel of the Control Central had withdrawn from our vicinity. The only ones remaining with us were Col. Claudrin and John Marshall. I was disturbed when I noted the barely perceptible quivering of her nostrils. The satin-brown skin over her high cheekbones had paled under tension. Auris of Las Toor was not making a routine courtesy call.
When she brushed back her voluminous hair it was as if she had made a decision. She apparently refused to continue with this vapid form of conversation. Rhodan felt himself under sharp surveillance. He cleared his throat uncomfortably but manned the ramparts of his emotions behind a cold mask of indifference. He passed me a look that urged me to take the lead in the conversation.
My mind raced for a few seconds until I perceived only one way of getting Perry off of a hot spot. Winking surreptitiously at Claudrin, I stepped forward. I noted at the same time that Auris was only a few centimeters shorter than I.
"Welcome on board my ship, Your Eminence-or may I call you Auris?"
She looked at me for a long moment. Her young lips trembled slightly. Colonel Oberst caught on in time to suppress a surprised reaction.
"Are you the commander, Excellency?" she asked. "Or may I call you Atlan?"
I smiled at her." I request that you do so, Auris. Yes, I am the commander of this battleship as well as commander-in-chief of the Solar Fleet's 480th battle cruiser task force. Your visit comes at an unexpected hour. Unfortunately I must advise you that we are taking off in 15 minutes."
"That's a matter for the First Administrator to decide."
Rhodan avoided her gaze. "My orders stand," he said. "I am urgently required to return home. According to Terran custom it is not my place to influence the decisions of a unit chief and ship's commander. I am a guest here, nothing more."
She still managed to control herself. I looked at her more closely and noticed again how desirable she was. When our eyes met she abruptly changed the subject and came to the point of her visit.
"Alright, then carry on with your schedule. But first I must request that you free my uncle along with his 3 assistants, and that you unload a certain piece of equipment. In which case I will pledge myself to silence regarding this situation. I have considerable influence with the members of the Ruling Council."
Rhodan raised his brows deliberately in surprise. I looked about me in feigned wonderment.
"How is that? I don't believe anyone here understands what you're saying."
She remained self-controlled. "I thought as much. My uncle is the hyper-physicist Artol of Penoral. The device I mentioned has presumably been destroyed in an atomic explosion. I have come here alone without the knowledge of the proper defense authorities in order to avoid complications on both sides. Or do you perhaps assume that I regard these happenings as mere coincidence? The reason for your landing on Drorah is quite apparent."
"I still fail to understand you, Auris." She tried to bypass me. "I'd like very much to negotiate this with the Administrator."
"Admiral Atlan has my fullest confidence," Perry interjected.
Her eyes darkened in anger and alarm. I looked over at Marshall, who was monitoring the conversation with his paranormal faculties. He seemed to catch his breath tensely when she touched her wrist just a bit too inconspicuously to adjust a bracelet. Rhodan suddenly tensed also but I forced myself to be calm. Appearing to be merely pensive I went up to her so closely that I caught the seductive scent of her hair.
Without saying a word I grasped her hand and banged it against the cabinet of a computer console. The bracelet shattered and fell from her wrist. I was indifferent to her outcry because I knew the blow had not been painful.
Rhodan bent down and retrieved the broad-banded piece of jewellery. Auris leaned back against the bulkhead, pale and trembling. I waited, knowing well that my expression was anything but friendly now. I heard a tinkling sound and turned to see Rhodan bending open the precious metal casing of the bracelet. A crevice was revealed in which there were micro-elements of an electronic nature.
"Not bad," he said. "You should have activated the transmitter immediately, Auris."
"Barbarian!" she fumed at him. "I wish to leave now!"
I took the camouflaged device and examined it. It was a high-powered transmitter. I next checked my watch but before I could say anything Rhodan took the initiative.
"Col. Claudrin-you are cleared for emergency takeoff. Advise the Akon Energy Central. Tell them to open the screen. Auris of Las Toor remains here."
He gave us an impersonal nod and strode over to the armorplate entrance hatch. The Ironduke was filled with the howl of sirens. Crewmen ran to their stations. Three minutes later the machinery was warming up. During this time I was standing beside the young woman who had made no effort to resist Rhodan's decision. Nor was there anything left to conceal from her. She had seen through our plan.
"I'm sorry, Auris. You will have to go with us. But it's not the first time, is it? The last time we-were your guests so now we have the honor to offer our hospitality to a bewitching young lady."
She governed herself in an exemplary manner. Only the paleness of her cheeks revealed her inner turmoil. "You are going too far, Atlan! The Ruling Council suspects you of having stolen the time-phaser. There are storm clouds on the political horizon which are straining to the breaking point."
I considered her declaration to be honest and forthright until I caught Marshall's derisive expression. Apparently he had been able to break through the Akon woman's natural mental screen.
"I must inform you," he said, "that no one suspects us of having brought the machine into our possession. They are merely of the opinion that we wanted to penetrate the museum in order to obtain certain technological information. They believe further that they were able to apprehend our agents and that the latter were killed by the nuclear explosion. You have come here without the knowledge of either the Council or your Security forces."
"You're dreaming!"
"I'm sorry but I believe not. The purpose of your micro-transmitter was to record your conversation and to beam it out. You planned to have the discussion picked up by an automatic receiver station. After leaving the ship you were intending to use the tape to force us to hand over the phaser machine. We're grateful for your cooperation."
Now I understood! This wonderful woman had offered us a chance; or rather, she had not wished to make difficulties for Rhodan. Her face revealed her real desperation now. Her fleeting glance told me that she was looking for a way out of her predicament.
The men of the Control Central had taken their flight positions. Intelligence and Security officers were discussing Auris' presence here.
I placed a hand on her arm and whispered to her. "The stellar empire of Terra is at stake, Auris. You should realize that we can't let you go now. Your suspicion is too well-fou
nded for us to take the risk of letting you speak with your very shrewd countrymen. They think the converter has been destroyed. Your uncle is in good health. I must ask you to resign yourself to this journey and to wait for the outcome of our operation."
She pushed my hand away as her gaze shifted to Rhodan, who was just strapping himself into the commodore's seat. "You are forcing me to be a traitor!"
"Nonsense! Besides, there's nothing you can prove. Or do you believe Perry would be agreeable to your Searching the Ironduke?"
Marshall seemed to be reading her thoughts again. I wasn't quite sure whether or not Auris was deliberately lowering her paranormal screen so that John could perceive what she was thinking.
"A formation of warships from the Regent's fleet is approaching, sir," said the telepath. "It's advisable to make a forced takeoff."
Perry overheard it and turned to Auris with a strange smile on his lips. She tossed her hair back with a quick movement of her head and finally sat down in a form chair. I knew then that she had consciously revealed the information to John.
I cleared my throat gently and sat down next to her. "Many thanks, Auris. How was the Regent notified? Our radio monitors didn't pick up any such message."
"They sent a courier by transmitter, sir," announced Marshall. It finally seemed to be painful for him to keep probing the young woman's wide-open thoughts.
When I gave him a signal he bowed and left us. Auris of Las Toor said nothing more. We sat there and listened to the intercom voice traffic from the sector chiefs. Rhodan made a personal contact with the Akons. They tried to detain the warship but didn't dare to do it forcefully.
Rhodan expressed his sympathies concerning events at Impton and asked if there had been any casualties. The spokesman for the Ruling Council briskly cut off the videophone contact. It was obvious they suspected Terran agent activity in the case but had not been able to pinpoint the evidence.
Minutes later the giant battleship thundered into the sky. The still glowing crater of the explosion appeared on the viewscreens. It wasn't too large. Only a minor portion of the museum city had been destroyed.
I only breathed a sigh of relief when we had gotten out of range of the Akon defense fortresses. We hurtled out into space at full acceleration, where we soon detected the entrance shockwaves of about 20 heavy class ships. No one paid much attention to the roaring of the hypersensors. The Regent's robots had arrived too late.
Rhodan came and joined us.
Claudrin was busy preparing for linear flight. "Why didn't you relate your suspicions to Akon Intelligence, Auris?" he asked.
She stared at him silently. I gave him a sarcastic look which he also couldn't fail to catch. This Terran might be an outstanding statesman and an even better fleet commander but he understood nothing about women. He looked at me in sudden confusion and reddened visibly like a schoolboy. Then he stammered and excused himself.
When he left I chuckled softly. "He'll soon comprehend, Auris," I said to her casually. "If we hadn't discovered your wrist transmitter in time, what would have happened then?"
She lowered her gaze. Apparently she was suffering from certain pangs of remorse or a twinge of conscience but was leaving the decision to fate. She had attempted to be loyal to her people yet she had hoped that something would happen that would not corroborate her suspicions. Now I could guess why she had grasped her camouflaged wrist transmitter so quickly. It was probably true that no one knew she was on board the Ironduke. Rhodan had counted on it when he spoke to the chairman of the Council, since he did not mention a word about her presence. Nor was he questioned concerning Auris.
She sat there staring into a corner of the room. Although her face was still tense I had the impression that a faint smile touched her lips. I sighed and got up. My place was with the men at the flight controls. Marshall gave me a nod. He would continue to monitor the situation.
Before I left her, however, she spoke quietly: "Atlan-who is this new Imperator?"
I stopped abruptly. Without any preamble she had reminded me of why I was here. "He's a deranged scoundrel who is being misused by Akon madmen."
"Do you believe the Imperium will collapse or fall into the wrong hands?"
"If Minterol I is not deposed-absolutely!"
"Does that mean your robot Regent has failed you?"
"Yes it does. The Brain was tampered with. And that's where your uncle played an important part. He is here on board as a prisoner of war."
"What are you planning to do with the time converter?"
I finally turned back to her. Her eyes were bright and alert. She wanted to know the truth.
"Auris, you did the right thing. If you want to keep peace in the galaxy, don't question our actions. I have decided to destroy the most ingenious creation of my ancestors. A robot that starts acting up and making mistakes isn't usable anymore. In fact the Regent has become dangerous. It has to be destroyed or the races of the Milky Way-"
"Yes, I know."
The loudspeakers announced a signaling on the tracking monitors. We were approaching the realms of relative light-speed. The echo screens of the remote scanners were showing green bogie blips. The robotships were in a retropulsion mode. A few coded pulse messages were intercepted but we were no longer concerned about them.
A few minutes later we entered semispace under the protective field envelope of the Kalup compensator. A strange, greenish sun glowed suddenly on the target screen of the para-tracker. It marked the location of an imitation cruiser of the imperium. There the Sotala was waiting for us.
I slanted my seat back. Auris seemed to be brooding. Once in awhile she appeared to shudder slightly. She had given us to understand that she belonged to us.
To us? I looked across at Rhodan.
"To him, you fool!" retorted my logic sector.
I nodded involuntarily. Years had passed since Rhodan had met this young woman. Meanwhile her feelings for him had ripened. I had given up all hope of ever Winning her for myself.
Finally I fell to wondering again what might have happened if the Ruling Council or Akon Security had gotten the slightest suspicion of our real activity. Without any question they would have done everything possible to block the takeoff of the Ironduke. So far the Terrans' mad plan had succeeded. However, I dared not think of the task ahead of me at the moment. A feeling of apprehension came over me every time I tried to imagine how the time converter would function during the next phase of our operation.
The engines rumbled onward. Within a few hours we would reach the Sotala. Then our final power move would begin.
I thought of the 4 Akon scientists on board. What conclusions would be drawn from the fact of their disappearance? Our agents on Sphynx had a hint of the possibilities but only after the physicists had already been kidnapped. Probably the general opinion was that they had died in the explosion. On the other hand, such considerations might lead to further thoughts about the time converter.
But if it were really possible to reach another time era of Arkon 3, all counteractions by the Akons would be useless. They could only hinder our attack out of nowhere if they should succeed in snatching the device from us in time. At the present state of affairs the rulers of the Blue System had lost. If they did manage to arrive at the right conclusion, however, all they would be able to do was to hope for a failure of the machine.
My eyes felt damp, which was a characteristic of my race under this kind of tension. My broodings were getting me into a state of excitement which was not tolerable in view of the responsibility which faced me now. I had to force myself to remain calm and collected.
"Are you getting nervous?" inquired Auris. Her face was as expressionless as it had been when she arrived on board.
Yes, I was nervous. After all, it wasn't every day that a man prepared to meet his ancestors.
5/ THE ANCIENT HIGH COMMAND
The hypercom loudspeaker emitted a short chirping sound. It signified the reception of a coded pulse message on the spe
cial frequency band of the Arkonide Intergalactic Task Force under command of Admiral Notath.
The dispatch was addressed to Fleet High Command on Arkon 3. The call letters were not encoded. We waited until the repeat message stopped coming in. The auto-analyzer shoved the magnatape foil into the depulser unit. After serial arrangement the the input the coded message was fed to the computer in the mathematical section.
The code was known to us. The deciphering process required 12 minutes, which indicated a range of possibly 6 billion variables. My ancestors had known well how to guard their secrets.
By normal Earthly time it was the 10th of February of the year 2106. By use of the time converter we had moved back 6023 years into the past, to await the reception of our historical hypercom message. We were the only ones who knew that within 2 hours the real Sotala would be destroyed. We were taking its place.
It was an uncanny experience. Our converted heavy cruiser had been enveloped by a time-distortion held. The thing that was hard for me to grasp was the fact that inside this insensible and insensible mesh of forces we were able to receive a radio message which had been beamed out more than 6000 years ago from a spaceship of my ancestors.
Mercant and Col. Nike Quinto were with us in the Control Central, which had been perfectly simulated. We were all wearing the grey uniforms which were standard issue in the Arkonide Fleet. On our shoulders and breast flaps glittered the colorful symbols and rank insignia that were in traditional usage at that time.
Rhodan was the "First Officer" and I played the role of Commander. Once more the 750-man crew had been processed through a session of hypno-training in old Arkonide and the technology of the past. I had attempted to trap them into making incriminating mistakes but they had not been tricked by my questions. In effect they were Arkonides of the era of Imperator Tutmor VI.
After coming on board I had even secreted myself in the chemical lab where I had cut up a uniform and subjected it to analysis. When I found out that Solar Intelligence had also carefully simulated the synthetic fibers used in those days, I gave up. These men had made no mistakes!