_Damis' Decision_
Damis stared at Turgan for a moment as though unable to comprehend the
old man's words.
"Gone?" he repeated stupidly. "She has slain herself?"
"No," replied the Kildare, his face still working in grief; "she is gone
from us. She has been captured by Glavour's minions."
"Her dagger--?" asked Damis hesitatingly.
"Is gone with her," replied Turgan.
The Nepthalim started toward the space ship but a thought wave from one
of the Martian envoys stopped him in mid-stride.
"Wait, Man of Earth," came the message. "The heavens are eternally
watched by our people and none can enter or leave the vicinity of Mars
unknown to us. My comrade is now inquiring of each of the observers
whence came the Jovians and where they have gone."
Turgan and Damis waited impatiently. Presently the second Martian sent a
thought wave to their minds.
"The Jovian ship approached Mars using Phobus, one of our moons, as a
screen to its movements. It was close to the planet before it was seen.
When challenged, the ship sent a message saying that it was captained by
Toness, an Akildare of Earth and an enemy of the Jovians. The Grand
Mognac was engaged and the matter was referred to the Mozar of
Chinamonot, the nearest city. Thinking they were your followers, he
directed them to land here. The Grand Mognac is enraged beyond measure
that, after so many ages of failure, the Jovians have made a successful
raid on our planet. The Mozar will pay for his indiscretion with his
life."
A groan burst from Turgan's lips. Damis stood for a moment stricken with
grief, and then sprang in giant leaps toward the space flyer.
"Come, Turgan!" he cried. "We may overtake them yet. At least we can
avenge if we cannot save."
The Kildare followed him more slowly.
"Where, oh, Nepthalim," he asked, "will we find them in the trackless
wastes of space?"
Damis paused at the words.
"Why, between here and Earth," he replied. As he did so a thought
crossed his mind which was revealed by the sudden expression of dismay
which clouded his features. "Earth, Venus, Mercury, Moon, Jupiter--all
are under the rule of the Sons of God," he cried.
"And to any of them, Glavour's ship may have fled," replied the Kildare.
"Before we start in pursuit, it is best to find, if we can, in what
direction the ship went."
* * * * *
Frantically, Damis strove to muster his thoughts and hurl a question at
the two Martians who stood beside the transporter cylinders. Before the
thought had been fully formed, an answer reached him.
"I have been inquiring, Nepthalim, why, when our observers saw that the
ship contained Jovians, they were not destroyed. One of the observers
who watched them tells me that their ship landed between your ship and
the only instruments of destruction which could be brought to bear on
them. The Jovians poured out and attacked your crew who were all out of
the ship. They were so mingled that it would have been impossible to
destroy them without encompassing the destruction of your men as well
and we could not blast their ship into nothingness without also
destroying yours. When they rose again they carried one of your crew a
prisoner and so they were not blasted out of the heavens. They took a
course which carried them behind Phobus where they were shielded. When
next seen, they were headed away from your planet."
"If Glavour came to Mars, Lura is dead by now," said Turgan sorrowfully,
tears coursing down his cheeks. "Glavour is not one to await the
fulfillment of his desires and Lura had her dagger. Her soul is now with
Him whom we are taught to glorify. His will be done!"
"If it be His will," replied Damis. "Don't give up, Turgan, we may save
her yet." He turned to the Martians and formed a thought message in his
mind.
"Has your science any way of telling us who was in command of the Jovian
ship?" he asked.
"Were your men who lie dead familiar with the features of the Jovian
Viceroy?"
"Yes, all of them."
"Then we will search the brains of the dead. The pictures that are in
the living brain fade rapidly when death comes, but the last impression
of these men was a powerful one of fighting and hatred and some traces
may remain. I will search."
* * * * *
The huge slug crawled over the ground to the body of the nearest dead
Terrestrial. In one of his many hands he carried a shiny metal tube from
which crimson rays flickered and played over the head of the dead man.
The skull disintegrated under the influence of the strange instrument
until the brain lay naked and exposed to the fierce glare of the Martian
sun. The Martian delicately connected two wires terminating in metal
plates to the tissue of the brain and attached the other ends of the
wires to a metal circlet which he clamped about his middle. For some
moments he remained motionless and then crawled to the body of the
second dead Earthman. One after another he examined each of the eighteen
dead bodies. When he had completed he crawled over to Damis and Turgan.
"Put these bands about your brows," he commanded in thought language as
he handed to each of them a metallic band similar to the one clasped
about him. The two Earthmen quickly adjusted the bands. "Let your minds
remain a blank and in them will be reproduced the impressions I have
gathered from the brains of your dead followers."
Damis sprang suddenly upward and smote with all of his force at the
air. Out of nothingness had materialized the form of a huge Jovian clad
in the uniform of Glavour's guards. His blow went harmless through the
thin air and the Jovian swung a massive ax. Just before the blow landed
the Jovian disappeared and a thought wave from the Martian impinged on
Damis' brain.
"Spare your energies, Nepthalim," the message said. "What you saw was
not a Jovian but was the last impression stored in the brain of the man
who met his death under a blow of the ax which seemed to be striking at
you. I am merely reproducing in you the emotions and experiences that
man felt. Had I allowed the phantom blow to land, you would now be cold
in death, so great was the strength of the impression. Now make your
mind again a blank and I will reveal to you what was in the mind of
another at the instant that his death came upon him."
* * * * *
Before the Nepthalim's startled gaze, another Jovian appeared.
"Havenner!" he cried as he recognized the principal officer of Glavour.
The equerry came forward slowly, blood dripping from a wound in his leg.
He swung his ax but it went wide of the mark. Again he struck, but two
Terrestrials attacked him from the rear and he whirled. For a moment,
Damis had a chance to watch the conflict which was raging about him.
Nine of the huge Jovians were engaged in deadly combat with a dozen of
the Terrestrials who still remained on their feet. In the door of the
space ship stood Lura, watching the conflict with frightened eyes. One
after another of the Earthmen were stricken down. Suddenly a Jovian
rushed at Damis but the scene went blank before the raised ax could
strike him down.
"Have you seen enough or shall I show you the scenes in the brains of
the others?" asked the Martian.
"I have seen and recognized nine of the Jovians," replied Damis, "yet
among them was not the one I feared. Let me see into the brains of the
others that I may be sure that Glavour was not among them."
Another scene materialized before him. It was merely a variation of
those he had already seen. In the brain of one of the Terrestrials he
saw the landing of the Jovian ship and the sudden outrush of the Sons of
God, armed only with the forty-pound axes they used at close quarters.
In none of the scenes did he see the huge form of Glavour. He removed
the band with a sigh of relief.
"I broke Glavour's arms a few days back," he said to Turgan, "and it is
probable that that prevented him from following us, even if he felt that
he could leave the Earth in the turmoil which Toness had undoubtedly
raised. It means that Lura is safe for the present, for Havenner would
not dare to do other than to bring her to the Viceroy. We must follow
them and endeavor to rescue her. I will ask our friends if they can plot
her course for us."
* * * * *
"I have inquired as to that," replied the Martian to Damis' unspoken
question, "and find we cannot. Soon after the ship left the surface of
Mars, our observers sighted a Jovian fleet of a hundred flyers in the
asteroid belt between here and Jupiter. They are nearly through the belt
now and are headed toward your planet. Their path will bring them within
a few thousand miles of Mars and every instrument on the planet is
trained on them. While the Grand Mognac believes that Earth is their
destination, never before have the Jovians approached us in such force
and it may be that Tubain will try to avenge his former defeats by an
attack in force. We have no instruments to spare to keep track of a lone
flyer unless it changes its course and approaches us. There is one more
source of information. I will examine the brains of the dead Jovians.
Perhaps they know their leader's plans."
From the first Jovian the Martian turned away with an expression of
disappointment.
"There is nothing in his brain but a scene of the fight with your
followers, yet it may cheer you to know that at the last he felt fear,
the emotion the Jovians boast is foreign to them," said the Martian. "I
will examine the other."
With his crimson ray he removed the covering from the brain of the
second Jovian and connected his wires. For a few moments he was
motionless and then he removed the wires and crawled rapidly toward
Damis.
"Nepthalim, here is what you wish," came his thoughts, jumbled in a
chaotic state of excitement. "This man had a wonderful brain and the
impressions of the last month are clear and distinct. Attend carefully
and leave your mind a blank."
* * * * *
On the Martian plain buildings suddenly materialized before the
Nepthalim's gaze. With a cry of astonishment he saw himself facing
Glavour in defiance. Lura, who had been crouching behind him, ran into
one of the buildings. Act by act, Damis saw the fight between himself
and the Jovian Viceroy repeated. The Viceroy, one arm dangling
uselessly, was whisked away in his chariot. The scene faded and another
took its place. The Viceregal palace was beleaguered by thousands and
scores of thousands of shouting Terrestrials. The Jovians sought with
rays and with atomic bombs to disperse them, but where a score were
blasted into nothingness or torn into fragments, a hundred fresh men
took their place. Suddenly the Jovian rays began to fail. The Earthmen
had found the secret source of power which supplied the palace and had
cut it.
Again the scene faded and he was on a space ship with Havenner talking
to him. The words he could not hear for the Martian could not comprehend
a record of a sound. The pictures conjured up by the words were easy of
comprehension and in picture forms the Martian conveyed to him the sense
of the conversation. Havenner was telling him of their destination.
First came a scene which he recognized as a Martian landscape. The
Jovians swarmed from their space ship and struck down the Earthmen
without exertion. Three were made captives: himself, Turgan, and Lura.
The Jovians reentered the ship and sped away into space. Damis wondered
what this last picture signified.
* * * * *
Another scene materialized and they were on another planet. It was not
Mars and it was not Earth. For a moment he was puzzled. The sun, when it
shone, was larger and fiercer than he had ever seen it, but it shone
only for an instant. Blankets of cloud and fog hid it from view. Rain
fell incessantly. Lush, rank vegetation covered the ground and rose in a
tangle far overhead. The Jovians emerged from the space ship, the
prisoners in their midst. A huge lizard, a hundred feet long, rushed at
them but a flash of the disintegrating tubes dissolved it into dancing
motes of light. The Jovians made their way through the steaming jungle
until a huge city, roofed with a crystal dome which covered it and
arched high into the air, appeared before them. Toward this city the
Jovians marched.
"The crystal cities of Venus!" cried Turgan. Damis nodded in assent.
Again the scene changed and the Martian plain was before them. From the
space ship the Jovians emerged, but instead of the easy victory they had
had in the earlier scene, they found the task a difficult one. From all
sides the Terrestrials charged at them and Damis found himself fighting
against his compatriots. A sword flashed before his eyes and the scene
was gone.
"Have you learned that which you sought?" came a Martian thought
inquiry.
Damis hastily formed his thoughts into an affirmative message of thanks
and turned to Turgan.
"We know now where to go," he cried exultingly. "Lura is safe until they
land on Venus and enter the crystal cities, for Havenner would not dare
to do otherwise than carry out the orders of Glavour. The Martian
weapons which we have will insure us an easy victory. Come, let us
hasten."
A thought message from the Martians stopped him.
* * * * *
"Those weapons on which you are planning, Nepthalim, were given to you
by our Grand Mognac for the purpose of ridding your planet of your
oppressors and of defending your planet against further Jovian attacks,
not for the purpose of invading another planet with which we have no
quarrel. If you will use them for the purpose for which they were given
you, you may depart with them in peace. If you plan to go to Venus, the
weapons will remain on Mars."
"We will go to the Earth and rid her of her oppressors," replied Damis,
"but first we must go to Venus and rescue Lura."
"Venus lies beyond the sun," was the Martian answer, "while your planet
and Mars are on the same side. It will take you five times as long to go
to Venus as to go to the Earth. Meanwhile the Jovian fleet will have
landed and your efforts will be in vain to dislodge them. Even now you
must fly at your best speed to reach your planet before them."
"But we cannot abandon Lura. She is the only daughter of my comrade and
she is my affianced bride. She means more to us than does the fate of
our planet."
"Then go to Venus after her, Nepthalim, but go without Martian aid. Only
to save you from your oppressors will we help you. Never has Mars
attempted conquest of another celestial body, although not even Jupiter
could stand against our might if we chose to attack it."
"You cannot understand her relationship to us, Martian."
"No, I cannot. We are sexless and sex exists on Mars only for the
purpose for which it was intended, the perpetuation of our species. It
may be that we have been mistaken. If the fate of one member of your
species means more to you than the rescue of your whole race, it is
perhaps well that you be eliminated by the Jovians. In any event, our
decision is final. Make your choice of whether you depart with the
weapons or as you came."
"Then I will go to Venus," cried Damis. "If necessary, I will fight the
Jovians with bare hands, but I will rescue Lura or die in the attempt."
* * * * *
"And what of the Earthmen who trusted you, Nepthalim?" asked Turgan.
"Dozens gave their lives gladly to capture the space ship in which we
came here and thousands have gone cheerfully to annihilation to keep the
Sons of God beleaguered in the Viceregal palace until we return with the
weapons which will bring them victory. Think you that they would choose
the destruction of enslavement of the whole race to the possible chance
of rescuing one person from the grasp of Glavour's minions?"
"Turgan, you are mad!" cried Damis. "Have you forgotten that Lura is
your only child?"
"Since the days of Hortan, Glavour has sought information as to the
secret assembly room. Hundreds of men have gone to torture and death
with their lips sealed when they could have bought life and freedom by
speaking."
"Were it my own life, Turgan, I would not hesitate."
"Think you that never before has an Earthman been faced with the choice
of betraying his countrymen or seeing his wife or daughter violated and
sacrificed in the games? All have been true to the last and yet they
could have done little harm had they spoken. _You_ have the fate of the
Earth in your hand, yet you hesitate. I am Lura's father and I know her
better, it seems, than do you. If you abandon her countrymen, she will
despise you for a coward. It is better that one or that many be lost
than that all be lost."
Damis bowed his head in silence. Raised by the Jovians whose only ideal
of life was their own selfish pleasure, the thought that the fate of
thousands whom he did not know and in whom he felt little interest could
be of more importance than the fate of the one whose safety meant more
than life to him was a novel one. The lifelong training he had received
from the Sons of God struggled, and struggled in vain, against the
ideals he had inherited from his Earthly mother and his loved sire. With
a face drawn with anguish, he raised his head.
* * * * *
"We will take your weapons, Martian, and with them go to Earth. If it be
His will that Lura be safe, safe shall she be although the whole force
of Jupiter threaten her. If not, His will be done. One promise I exact
of you, Turgan. When we have reached Earth and I have taught your
followers to use the Martian weapons, you will give me a crew and let me
depart to Venus to find her."
"Gladly will I promise, and if I be spared, I will go with you, Damis,"
said Turgan. "Do not think that Lura is not dear to me; she is dearer
than all else in the Universe save only the keeping bright the ideal of
loyalty that has been the guiding light of the Terrestrials for untold
ages."
"Your decision is well made, Nepthalim," said the Martian, "and word of
it shall be given to the Grand Mognac that he may know that he made no
mistake when he entrusted you with the weapons of Mars. Now for your
course. When you rise, direct your ship toward Deiphos. The Jovian fleet
is now at an ascension of forty-two degrees and at an angle of one
hundred and sixty degrees from the sun. Deiphos will hide you from their
instruments. Once you reach it, our observers will plot your course and
send you a bearing which will take you as far from the Jovian fleet as
possible. They are now passing Ceres and will soon be out of the
asteroid belt. They are larger and more powerful than the ship you are
flying and they will make better speed. However, if you use your maximum
power, you will easily arrive on your planet before them. Have you fuel
enough for your trip at full speed?"
Damis hastily inspected the fuel supply of the ship and made some rapid
calculations.
"We have enough to carry us at maximum speed to Earth and to retard us
to a safe landing, but very little to spare. Can you give us some?"
"There is no tantalum on Mars except a little scattered through tons of
rock. It would take us days to extract enough to do you any good. It is
well that you did not plan to fly to Venus for you could have made
little speed and the Jovian flyer would have reached there long before
you did. Now go, and may our best wishes aid you in your flight."
* * * * *
Damis turned and instinctively held out his hand. A trace of expression
flickered over the face of the nearest Martian slug and he bent forward
and clasped the proffered hand in one of the many hands with which he
was provided. No further message came to Damis from the Martians and he
entered the airlock with Turgan following him. As the lock clanged shut,
he turned to his companion.
"Open the reserve air tanks and restore the atmosphere gradually to the
pressure of Earth," he directed. "Unless you do that, we will be unable
to function efficiently."
While Turgan opened the valve which allowed the reserve supply of
compressed air to gradually enter the ship, Damis pulled down the
starting lever of the ship. With a terrific lurch the flyer left the
surface of Mars and shot up into the trackless realms of space.
Abandoning his controls for an instant, Damis looked into one of the
observers. The plain below them was empty of Martians, but in the
distance he could dimly see two of the silvery domes which marked their
cities. He made some short calculations and turned on a side motor for a
moment. The ship swerved and headed for the Martian satellite to which
he had been directed.
In an hour he was holding the ship less than a thousand miles from
Deiphos while he received a message from the Grand Mognac as to the
location of the Jovian fleet, their speed and course, and the course
which he should fly to reach the Earth ahead of them. He noted down the
directions and set the cross hairs of his forward observer on Alpha
Centauri. His hand sought the controlling lever and the ship rapidly
gathered momentum for the trip to Earth.