* * * * *
But suddenly, catapulted from the deepening darkness of the corridors,
an azure-winged figure with curved hands outstretched fell like an
avenging fury upon Carston's back! Dainty hands, suddenly transformed
into claws, dug like spikes of steel; a supple body too ethereal for
strength, now seemed made of metal as the Venusian girl attacked him
with a savagery that brought every man of Earth's distant Council room
to his feet!
Close on her heels Mark Denning had barely time to separate the tangled
figures. Carston's face dripped blood where Aladdian's fingernails had
furrowed deep. Cynthia seemed rooted to the spot. So incredibly swift
had it been, that the battle was over in seconds. Aladdian's eyes were
pools of fire as she faced the Council. Her streaming hair seemed to
shimmer as she spat her venom into the screen.
"Very well, send your space fleet, you clumsy fools! Let your madness
condemn the planets to a bath of blood! Yes, you have the formula for
the allotropic metal--but what good is it to you without a source of
supply? You have the location of the asteroid--but do you suppose your
fleet can stand against such a mobile fortress as Luhor will make it?
But it's a waste of words, I know I can never convince you. Only death
and destruction can. But this I do tell you! Never, _never again_ will
you enslave Venus! Never again will you imprison me in that inhuman
Swamp, and never will you land on Vulcan! For I have one weapon left,
one which only we of Venus possess. We have used it once on Mars, once
in our history only, for we are not warlike. But before Luhor and the
Martian hordes overrun my planet and _yours_ as he certainly can, I
will use this weapon, Earthian!"
On the screen, the Coordinator's face was livid. "Arrest her," he said
across the immense distance to Carston. "In the name of the Supreme
Council of the Tri-Planetary Federation, arrest her! Her life's
forfeit!"
But Carston stood motionless, pale as death, suddenly confronted by the
grim figure of Mark who gripped an electro-pistol in his hand.
At this veritable moment, out of the void, cutting in on the beam like
the disembodied cachination of some strange creature, wave upon wave of
gigantic mirth poured on two worlds! And as every participant of this
drama stood tense, watching their screens, there slowly emerged the
half-breed figure of Luhor, his gargantuan laughter still roaring in
uncontrollable paroxysms.
"So that's it!" Luhor managed to choke between spasms. "What
entertainment you have provided me with--and what information! And
to think, Aladdian, that I'd planned to make you my empress. Why, my
little dove has claws!" he exclaimed admiringly. His immense, ugly bulk
dominated the entire screen, as his bellowing laughter began again.
The Earth Coordinator, almost beside himself, threw a master switch;
the televise screens of two worlds flickered and went blank, the
pulsing whine of the atomomotors was like a dirge.
Cynthia passed a trembling hand across her eyes, and her gaze wavered
before Aladdian's accusing stare. She glanced briefly at Carston with a
slowly dawning wonderment, as if an awareness of his aims had begun to
awaken within her.
"I--I'm afraid I've made a mess of things," she said in a slow, deep
voice. "Ever since father's death, I seem to have lost my grip. I'm so
sorry, Aladdian, I thought it was for the best; Carston assured me we'd
be pardoned...." Her voice trailed off as she turned her face away from
them all.
"I should burn you!" Mark Denning said to Carston in a cold, tight
voice, and Carston went white. "You've managed to wreck our plans
about as completely as possible. If the Earth blasts Luhor out of
space, we face surrender or slow starvation. If Luhor wins, he can
starve us out or blast his way in here with his allotropic cruisers,
now that he's forewarned by you. Either way we lose--but I guarantee
you, Carston, _you_ won't come out of this easily!" Each word was like
ice, and Aladdian nodded slowly at Mark's words, a strange light in her
brilliant eyes.
* * * * *
"We haven't lost yet, Mark." With a swift motion she crossed to the
ethero-magnum again, and turned it on. "Remember, I have still a
weapon. My people are behind me."
"But Venus doesn't have a fleet! Earth has seen to that."
"Wait." Her unerring precision brought the screen to life in a burst
of light. A scene took place, alien, exotic--the imperial palace on
Venus. A great crowd stood before it in silence, extending into the
distance, as if the park-like expanse had become a place of pilgrimage.
In eternal vigil all faced the televise screen that rose from the floor
level to the top of the palace. Fantastic blue-green mountains filled
the background, dwarfing the small fragile figure that materialized on
the receiving screen.
"My people, I speak to you for the third, perhaps for the last time--"
There was a world of yearning in the cello-like voice as Aladdian
opened her arms toward them. A cyclonic roar burst forth in tribute and
greeting, but quickly died down as they awaited her message.
"When I last spoke, I told you not to act without word from me. I
hoped I would never have to give that word, but now I fear I must. The
hour is almost here. What I will ask of you, is the supreme sacrifice.
You know what that means. I, too, am prepared to make it. There is no
other way. Many will die, but only that the others may avoid an even
worse slavery than they now endure, and that we may attain our rightful
inheritance, an equal place in the Planetary Federation." The voice
rose like a stream of music, and tears were in Aladdian's eyes. "The
choice is yours, my people!"
When the thunderous response had died down in waves of overpowering
sound, Aladdian stood in silence for several moments; in silence, too,
the Venusian multitude remained with upturned faces. Mark had an eerie
feeling that a _Planet_ was in tune with the fragile, winged figure.
When the connection had been broken, and once more the laboratory had
reverted to semi-gloom, Mark turned to Carston and removed his weapons
from him. "I can't take any chances with you now," he said coldly,
"after what you've done. You wanted to become a hero in the eyes of the
Earth Council. Well, from now on you'll dance to my tune."
"But not for long!" Carston sneered openly, recovering his poise and
confidence. "The game's up, Denning; you're a renegade to Earth and
shall be treated as such. It'll be child's play for Earth's fleet to
burn Luhor and his asteroid to a crisp. After that--" He stopped and
grinned contemptuously.
"After that, we'll be taken care of?" It was Aladdian who spoke,
and her voice was soft like dark molten gold. "Careful, Mark," she
interposed quickly, placing her hand on Mark's arm as his grip
tightened on the electro.
"_I_ don't deserve any lenience," Cynthia said dully. "I've been a
fool."
Aladdian gazed at the Earth-girl with a universe of pity in her eyes,
and a great understanding. "No, my dear," she said softly, "not a fool.
Only a girl in love."
"But you!" she lashed at Carston. "You shall reap the whirlwind; and I
assure you, a Venusian whirlwind is beyond your ken!"