by Perry Rhodan
Khrest saw his attacker only as a blurred shadow. His hands trembled as disaster was about to strike him again. He shot at the lunging silhouette before his eyes. He barely noticed the recoil of the weapon but it was enough to show him that it reacted properly to. his operation of the unfamiliar trigger. A hot beam flashed from the muzzle of the gun and the menacing figure disappeared abruptly. Khrest tried to get up to see what had happened but he was hampered by an attack of nausea and all he could see at the moment were points and circles in color. Finally he managed to get up on his knees. However there was something in his way, something warm and resilient to his touch. It stunned him to realize that it was the body of the Unither whose life he had taken.
He attacked you, he tried to reason. You have the right to defend your life.
His life? But he had come here to die. Why should he defend his life when he was already resigned to that loss? No, the spacejet was a much more valid justification! Rhodan had trusted him to keep it out of the hands of marauders in space. Mankind was under the strictest obligation to preserve each hard-won advantage at the peril of retrogression. It seems to be my fate to fight for mankind, Khrest reflected and his eyes regained their look of determination as he contemplated the lifeless figure of his enemy.
Khrest's frail and ravaged body still contained enough reserves to rise up with renewed willpower. Now he had a weapon which was as devastating as that of his two remaining foes and he no longer hesitated to go back to his ship and face the other Unithers. The thought that they might be able to destroy the protective shield drove him on.
If some outsider could see me, he mused, he would quickly change his mind about the decadence of the Arkonides. Considering his age he exhibited remarkable fortitude as he unconsciously tautened his stooped body.
He was born an Arkonide but during a long and decisive phase of his life his race had become a source of dissatisfaction to him. For all practical purposes he had almost become an Earthling in word and in deed.
He had lived like a Terran but he would die as an Arkonide and he felt very proud of it.
7/ ATTACK OF THE HORNED BURROWERS
The moment Liszog was about to enter the airlock of the Kaszill the idea suddenly occurred to him that the Arkonide might be aboard the shipwreck. He was accustomed to letting other Unithers make decisions for him and obeyed them in most cases. But nobody was here to give him advice.
Golath had only mentioned that he been in the control center of the vessel and it was possible that the prisoner hid somewhere else in the ship till Golath left.
Exercising due caution he pulled out his weapon. He decided it would be safer to enter the ship through the split hull at the forward end. He jumped out again and scanned the trees of the forest in the hope of seeing Zerft but all was quiet around him.
Liszog squeezed himself through the crack torn in the hull by the crash of the Kaszill. The light in the corridor leading to the control center was very dim and the young Unither felt awkward. He tightened his grip on his thermo- beamer as he walked on.
The hatch to the control room was ajar and he tried to make as little noise as possible. However his caution proved to be unnecessary. The room was empty. He saw the equipment Golath had put together in a pile at the other entrance. Everything was in good order.
He sighed in relief and turned to the trunk-cleaner. He checked if the machine was still functioning properly and reclined with delight on the couch. The machine performed its pleasurable treatment and he was still in a state of euphoria on the couch when the unsuspecting Khrest entered the Kaszill through the airlock.
• • •
Khrest's tormented body had become a mass of pain and involuntary reflexes. The strain had left its mark on his thin face, lined by age. The effect of utter fatigue and exhaustion had deepened its traces. His eyes looked hollow and his hair, which was always neatly combed, was disheveled. His haggard figure was poorly concealed by his torn tunic.
The Arkonide was sustained by pure willpower. It gave him the energy to persevere and drove him into action. The weapon of the alien seemed to weigh a ton but he could not leave it behind as he considered it a crucial factor in the battle for the spacejet.
When he emerged from the trees the plain between the forest and the lake looked like a vast desolate land to him, punctuated only by the dark wreck of the aliens' craft, which lay like an oasis in the desert.
"You must keep going," Khrest told himself but the words passed his sore lips only with great difficulty. His voice sounded strange and he listened in astonishment to its tone.
But it would be wise to go to the wreck and take a rest, he carried on the debate in his mind.
And he heard another voice in his mind which was so firm and clear that it sounded real. "No alien must be allowed to take over the spacejet!"
And once again he heard Perry Rhodan's voice but this time it was soft and warm. "Thank you, my friend!"
Khrest moved on again. He had lost the bandage he had wrapped around his ankle and it would be futile to put on another one. Therefore he kept shifting the weight of his body to his healthy leg as best he could.
He made better headway than he presumed and covered the distance to the ship in fairly short time but was tired when he reached the Kaszill. Of course he did not know the name of the ship and could have cared less about it. His body was wracked by fever. He had caught a severe cold in the rainy night on the tree. Khrest could not remember when he had eaten last.
The black hull of the Unithers' spaceship looked already strangely familiar to him. As far as Khrest could tell from the demolished remnants the ship had been designed for vertical take-off. He wondered what could have induced these desperados to land on this planet with such a disastrous result. Such losses were the inevitable price space travelers had to pay—particularly in the early stages of astronautic science. Compared to the Solar System the ship looked like a toy.
Khrest pulled himself into the airlock. The chamber was very spacious since it was designed for the huge dimensions of the Unithers. The dilapidated state of the vessel indicated that the ship was quite old and probably represented an obsolete type of the Unithers' spacefleet. It had to be assumed that the occupants were forced to make a crash landing because of the defective equipment. Khrest could easily understand why they were vitally interested in his spacejet. Apparently they had not even a radio available to call for help from Unith. Perhaps it had been destroyed by the crash.
The scientist walked through the corridor, supporting himself with his hand on the wall. The fact that he saw Liszog first by a fraction of a second saved his life.
Liszog shot from his couch but the fiery stream hit only the hatch behind which Khrest had already taken cover. The Arkonide crawled back to the airlock. He was certain no more than one of his adversaries was present in the control room. If he left the ship he would expose himself to the Unither, as the flat terrain offered no protection from the fire of a thermo-beamer.
What would his enemy do next? It was a matter of life or death for Khrest to anticipate Liszog's reaction. He could not afford to wait because then it would be too late. Khrest put himself in the position of the Unither who must have believed that Khrest watched the hatch and would fire at any move that looked suspicious. An attack from the control room was hardly to be expected. Liszog would probably climb out through the crack in the hull and try to ambush him from the rear.
The old man crept to the exit of the airlock, peered cautiously out of the opening and spotted the Unither cowering under the nose of the ship.
Khrest fired instantly. Liszog hit the ground and the flaming ray whizzed over him through the air. Khrest muttered an oath. He would not get such an opportunity again.
When he looked out for the second time the Unither had already retreated through the crack into the Kaszill. Khrest knew only too well that the other had the advantage of more agility and endurance.
The airlock had become a trap which he had to leave quick
ly. His enemy was probably back in the control room getting ready to launch his next attack. Khrest slipped out of the airlock and hobbled quickly to the burned-out stern of the vessel where he sought cover behind a warped plate. It wouldn't take Liszog very long to find out that the airlock was empty and he was smart enough to guess where the Arkonide was hiding. However the stern of the Kaszill was big and its jumble of torn metal offered numerous places for concealment.
Khrest was dismayed that he could see only the airlock but not the gash at the front end from his hiding place. This gave his opponent a chance to approach him from the other side by running around the ship.
A blinding flash zipped past close to his eyes. He almost fired back but remembered in time that the shot was only an attempt to reveal his position, as yet unknown to his assailant.
Khrest endeavored to find out from where the shot had come. He leaned around the corner but detected no trace of Liszog. The front end of the Kaszill looked deserted.
Liszog's next shot ploughed through the ground and turned it black. The grass caught fire and raised a dense smoke. The stench irritated Khrest's nose and he pressed his hands against his face to keep from sneezing. The furrow dug by the formidable weapon was hardly more than one meter away from Khrest.
But now Khrest knew where Liszog was hidden. A piece of debris had been hurled from the wreck when it blew up. It had dug a ditch in the ground and finally buried itself deeply in the soil. Liszog was at an angle of 30° from Khrest and the axis of the Kaszill and the hole gave him a good cover. It was difficult for Khrest to fire in his direction because it would have compelled him to raise himself up, which was tantamount to committing suicide when facing a weapon like the thermo-beamer.
However there were two reasons Khrest had to finish the duel quickly—one way or another. First there was the danger that the other Unither would appear on the scene and join the fracas which would have decided the battle against him. The other reason was even more important—his miserable physical condition, which was bound to prevent him from staving off defeat in an extended fight.
Khrest was a scientist, not a trained soldier. He had devoted his profession to the programming of electronic brains and the research of physical phenomenons left to be explored. Although he had a good knowledge of cosmic strategy and was able to lead a spacefleet to victory, it was far different from what he had to contend with in this situation. He stood alone and was compelled to wield a weapon in his own hand against a superior challenger.
It's a miracle that I'm still alive, Khrest observed quietly.
• • •
He's lurking somewhere in that pile of junk and playing dead, Liszog reasoned. Does he think he can lure me out like that? I know very well he can't be dead.
He was only an old man but he gave Liszog more trouble than he would have thought possible. He could not expect help from Golath, who waited at Khrest's ship for him. Golath would not risk leaving his place to find out why he failed to come back. And as far as Zerft was concerned it was better to forget him. The fact that the Arkonide had returned from the forest revealed the worst about his fate. Liszog writhed his trunk in anger. Where did the lone man get the strength to put up such a stubborn defense of his ship?
The young Unither dared lift his head above his cover to take a peek at the surroundings. He spotted his foe drawing a bead at him from behind a heavy metal plate and instinctively ducked back into his hole. The blast of fire streaked over the ditch and the heatwave singed Liszog's back. Sand and rocks poured down on him but he remained unhurt.
He crawled several meters along the bottom of the ditch. Now he knew the position of his rival but when he cautiously looked over the edge again the Arkonide had already disappeared behind the plate.
Liszog roared savagely. He raised his thermo-beamer and sprayed the plate protecting Khrest with murderous fire. The metal began to glow and quickly boiled down in a white hot stream. Still shooting, Liszog jumped out of the ditch and ran toward the stern of the shattered Kaszill. The plate had a huge hole and the heat was enough to suffocate any living being.
Liszog trumpeted triumphantly as he darted to his goal. He rushed behind the molten plate with his drawn weapon ready to finish off his prey—but nobody was there!
• • •
The moment Khrest had pulled the trigger he realized that the Unither was back behind his cover in time. The shot zinged across the ditch without scoring a hit. But Khrest was certain that he had been seen by Liszog. The Arkonide crawled farther into the damaged ship. Behind him the Unither began a furious bombardment but Khrest did not take the time to look back. It was more important to find another place to hide.
Twisted metal braces forced him to get up. He wondered whether he exposed himself to dangerous radioactivity which might have contaminated the ship if its engine was powered by an atomic reactor. However the Unithers moved freely around the ship, leading him to the conclusion that any radiation could not be of very high intensity.
Khrest squeezed himself between the struts and then looked back. The Unither stood near the demolished plate and looked puzzled. Khrest wanted to raise his gun but his sleeve caught in the strut and by the time he freed his arm his target was gone.
The excitement had made Khrest forget his weakness. Now it overcame him again and he had to lean back and look for some support.
Suddenly he became aware of another menace. At first Khrest heard only a scraping noise. When he looked anxiously around he saw the barrel-shaped animals a few meters away crawling out of the ship's interior.
Horned burrowers! They raised their ugly heads, sniffing the air. By day they were almost blind. They must have sought a quiet place for the night and were disturbed by the noise of the altercation with Liszog. They were irritated and wild, crunching their mighty claws. There were over a dozen of them. The horned plates enclosing their bodies rubbed against the floor and against each other, producing the scraping noise.
Khrest remained stock still and avoided the slightest noise. To shoot would draw the attention of the Unither to him and he was in no position to defend himself against two enemies.
The animals moved slowly in the unaccustomed brightness of daylight. They furiously snapped at any object barring their way. Now that Khrest saw these monsters with his own eyes he understood why Ufgar had held them in such awe. The gruesome column snaked past the Arkonide and out into the open.
No Earthling or Arkonide could stand up indefinitely under such punishing nervous and physical strains. Sooner or later they were bound to collapse from its effects and Khrest felt that he had reached that point.
• • •
Liszog stood stunned for a moment. He realized that he had been outwitted and the disappointment was so great that it almost paralyzed him. But then his natural reflexes started to function again. He jumped back behind cover and was safe again. The Arkonide had retreated deeper into that mass of crushed debris. If he wanted to get out there was only one way—past Liszog. The outcast Unither watched intently for any suspicious movements or sounds.
Dark clouds had appeared and the sky looked overcast, threatening to rain. Liszog was used to wet weather because there was plenty of water on Unith. But these clouds looked ominous. A wind began to blow, raising squalls on the lake. Soon it howled through the ruins of the Kaszill in a dissonant song. A song of death, Liszog thought with a shudder.
He was not superstitious, having abandoned all religion at an early age. A faint smile appeared on his face but it was no more than a habitual reaction that had nothing to do with his real feelings.
The first raindrops fell on the wreck. They bounced like silvery pearls from the hull before they burst, clung for a moment to the metal and ran down like tears. Before long the entire surface glistened in the rain.
A weird noise roused him from his contemplations. His hand, which ended in five stubby fingers, clamped tightly around his thermo-beamer. Let his rival try to break out!
But it was not the A
rkonide he beheld with widened eyes, it was a ghastly procession of round bodies creeping toward him. They were the ugliest creatures he had ever seen. Seized by panic he spewed fire from his thermo-beamer.
• • •
Khrest saw cascades of light pour over the floor and he was showered by sparks. The smell of seared flesh permeated the air. But the fireworks soon ceased. Khrest heard a wild, agonized scream. Dense smoke wafted through the ship, causing him to cough painfully. He tried in vain to see through the veil. Suddenly the skies opened up in a cloudburst and a smoldering fire gave off a charred odor.
Khrest suspected that the Unither had fired at the horned burrowers and, judging from the scream he had heard, the raging beasts had retaliated with a vengeance. It was a death the Arkonide would not wish on his most depraved enemy.
Wind drove the smoke into his eyes and filled them with tears. A stinging pain seemed to burst his lungs. It was impossible for him to hold out any longer in the ship. Although he would run the risk of being assaulted by a pack of belligerent horned burrowers, it looked like the lesser evil at the moment. Puffing and coughing, Khrest worked his way out of the unbearable spot into the open air.
He stumbled over the cadavers of several burned animals but failed to see any that were still alive. He inhaled the fresh air and began to breathe easier. His torn tunic fluttered in the wind and he was drenched by the cold rain. His surroundings were shrouded in a dim grey light.