The Battle in Space
He lay back on the bunk and for several minutes stared fixedly up at
nothing. The performance was reminiscent of the seance of an ancient
spirit meeting. He sat up, and again his big eyes fastened themselves
upon Shelby, and the uncanny voice spoke in the Earthman's brain:
"I get father. He on scouting expedition--very close. He bring five
thousand men to rescue you and me. They get here maybe three, four
hours. My father--his army same weapons as Black Emperor's. Flash,
flash--all gone--everything gone."
There was the sound of movement beyond the door. Shelby waved his hand
in a quick downward gesture which Ankova interpreted correctly. He
slumped limply upon the bedding in a very excellent counterfeit of
unconsciousness. And then Hekalu Selba entered. His face was white as
chalk, and yet there was nothing in it that hinted even of a trace of
fear--only icy calm. Behind him was Sega.
"Mr. Shelby," the Martian said with slow cool deliberation, "think well.
Either you will reveal the secret of the Atomic Ray immediately or I
shall have you immersed in the juice of the flame flowers."
Austin Shelby met Hekalu's chilly stare with a taunting smile. He sensed
in the Martian's manner that his plans had met with some serious danger.
"Though I am your prisoner," he told him, "I believe that I can defy
you. In the first place I do not fear the tortures that you might
inflict upon me." Here he took a tiny glass capsule from his sleeve
pocket and placed it in his mouth. "I do not mean by that that I am
super-human, that I can endure any pain. But should the torture become
unbearable I would crunch the poison vial which I have carried since I
joined the Sekor fraternity back on Mars, between my teeth and bring
death. That, I am not afraid of. Besides, I could give you the formulas
for almost any number of unknown compounds, any one of which might be
the missing crystal for all you might know. It would be several hours
before you would discover that I had not given you the right one."
The Martian's face grew even whiter and harder at these words. Thoughts
and plans flashed through his mind. Should he tell the Earthman what had
happened--that Alkebar, the Black Emperor, had secretly slipped through
the air lock into space?--that he was certainly intent upon conquering
the planets alone? It would not be hard to convince the Earthman that
the savage Alkebar would be an infinitely more terrible and ruthless
master than any human being ever could be. Perhaps he could win Shelby
to his side for as long as he needed him. He was wavering, and then,
with the sudden rush of inspiration a better idea came.
"I have told you many times that you are clever, my friend," he said
with some slight show of his old careless air. "Again I compliment you.
But listen carefully: suppose I took the girl--put her in the gentle
embrace of the juice of the flame flowers--told you to produce a formula
that would work before I released her?"
The effect on the Earthman was electrical, but it was not quite what
Hekalu Selba had expected. The blood red haze of murder rushed before
Austin Shelby's eyes, and with movements more suggestive of a wounded
panther than a human being he leaped from the bunk and tore for the
Martian with flailing fists. He gave no thought to the idea that what
Hekki had said might be only a histrionic gesture.
"Oh, God!" he shrieked raspingly, "You Devil! You unutterable stinking,
rotten fiend!" But it was a wild useless move. Hekalu was lightening
quick and sure with the pistol. He inflicted death, or merely produced a
disabling wound almost at will. And so it was that Shelby sprawled
senseless on the floor with a nasty though not very dangerous bullet
wound across the side of his head.
Sega and the Martian were bending over him, and then again the
unexpected happened. An ebony form whose great hands and incredible
muscles seemed quite equal to the task of tearing a gorilla limb from
limb, arose from the other bunk and towered over the Prince of Selba and
his Space Man companion.
The former, hearing a slight sound, turned, and realizing his peril
fired two shots at the mountainous monster. Then he darted agilely for
the door. He gave one quick backward look--saw the hand of Ankova
descending with trip-hammer force upon the skull of Sega, and then
slammed the stout portal behind him.
Sega had been unfortunate, but now all his troubles were over for his
neck was broken. Ankova transferred to his own belt the weapons of the
corpse--his heavy pistol--his case of atomic grenades--his bejeweled war
club. Then he devoted his attention to Shelby.
Gently he carried him to the bunk and made awkward attempts to bandage
his head with strips torn from the bedding. Satisfied at last with the
crude but effective results of his efforts, he strode to the window.
For a long time he stood there, staring. But he saw nothing that
interested him. The ether all about was crowded with Space Men coursing
with the _Selba_. Except for a gentle swaying shifting movement they
seemed to hang perfectly motionless in the void, and yet their speed was
many miles a second.
The fantastic cavalcade aroused no wonder in the mind of Ankova, for to
him they were as prosaic and commonplace as the grass under the feet of
any Earthian. He cocked his head on one side as though listening.
Perhaps at that moment something was coming to him from across the
endless regions of the etheric desert--something which only his
incredibly refined telepathic sense could detect.
* * * * *
His unshod feet sensed the faint vibration in the metal floor. Someone
was approaching the room. First taking the precaution of tearing
Shelby's chain from the wall, he turned and waited before the door with
ready war club. He did not wait long for it banged open almost
immediately. A Space Man appeared. Behind him were others.
Ankova did not ask their mission for he saw that they wore the insignia
that meant loyalty to the man from the Fourth World. Instead he leaped
in to close quarters. His whirring war club, toothed with sharp spikes,
ripped and tore at the head and shoulders of the unfortunate warrior.
Falteringly, the creature tried to parry the blows with his own weapon;
but it was useless. Before he was able to attain his fighting stride he
was down, the purple radio-active liquid that flowed in his veins in
lieu of blood, dyeing the threshold. His lips curled in a grimace of
agony, but he made no sound--mute he had lived and he died in the same
manner.
Ankova stepped over the prostrate form and engaged the one who had stood
behind him. The second Space Man fared little better. He made but a
brief and unsuccessful defense and then he too went down. And so Ankova,
who before his capture had won fame among the tribes of the Star People
as one of the mightiest fighters that their race had ever produced,
battled on in the narrow passage until the seven Space Men whom Hekalu
had sent to put him and Austin Shelby under restraint were either dying
or dead.
The victor glanced down the corridor--saw at the farther end a small
portion of the control room's interior. Koo Faya, the Martian, was
there, working with demoniac haste over switches and dials.
Ankova drew his pistol, started to aim at the slave, and then thought
better of it. There was a tenseness within the hull of the
_Selba_--something which made a deep impression on Ankova's keen
intuition. His muscles tautened and a tingling sensation rippled over
his ebony hide. The vibrations of the rocket motors were more noticeable
than usual. Evidently the ship was tearing along at the greatest speed
it could attain. And it swayed unnaturally.
Ankova knew the layout of the _Selba_ well, for he had traveled in it
often. And now he sensed quite clearly what was happening. He hurried to
a supply room and selected a space armor from a rack. His Earthman
friend might need it. Then he dashed back to the room In which he and
Shelby had been imprisoned.
A glance out of the window confirmed his suspicions as to what was going
on. The force of Space Men which was acting as an escort for the _Selba_
had arranged itself in a sort of spherical protecting network around the
craft. Another and superior force was attempting savagely to pierce this
formation. The foes of Hekalu's henchmen would draw themselves into
cone-shaped groups and rush the defenders, and the latter would swarm
over the cones like angry and determined hornets. A hot fight was in
progress out there. The ether was lit with green flashes of light, and
fragments of the bodies of Space Men and their vehicles already strewed
the void. In this running battle the _Selba_ was not idle. Her torpedoes
were exploding among the attackers with blinding glares of light.
Ankova wondered who the would-be destroyers of the _Selba_ were. Clearly
they were not the forces of his father, for they had not yet had time to
arrive. Some stray tribe perhaps. He wished that he might see their
insignia, but owing to their distance from the ship and their eccentric
movements, this was impossible. He did not know that they were the
minions of Alkebar who had turned enemy to Hekalu but a few hours
before.
The Space Man realized that for the time being he was safe enough, but
he took the precaution of planning for escape from the ship should it
become necessary. He eyed the heavily glazed porthole. A few deft blows
with his war club would shatter that. Beyond, there were a few discs
without Space Men circling about. With luck it would be possible to
capture one. First he barricaded the door with metal bars torn from the
bunks, and then put the space armor on the still senseless Earthman.
Then there was nothing to do but wait.
The battle was going against the defenders. Shattering concussions of
atomic projectiles banging against the _Selba's_ hull made the hurtling
vessel pitch and roll frightfully. The thunder of shells waxed and
waned.
It must have been over two hours later that a huge torpedo set in motion
by the forces of the Black Emperor, struck the ship. The explosion
rolled her completely over, and tore a jagged though not disabling hole
in her side. The air puffed out from the control room compartment, but
the men who labored so feverishly there, were clad in heavy space armor,
and aside from being badly bruised they were unhurt.
The torpedo was the last gesture of the Alkebarians. Ankova saw a cloud
of luminous specks approaching from the void at terrific velocity. They
grew rapidly brighter. A blue and an orange star shot up from their
midst--the identification signal of Telaba, Ankova's father. That signal
was quite enough for the Black Emperor's men. Without waiting to argue
they turned and fled. So quickly did they go that Telaba's warriors were
unable to identify them.
* * * * *
The rebel tribesmen were checking their speed now, preparing to fight.
But still they came on apparently like hurtling comets. They swept the
remnants of Hekalu Selba's loyalists before them in one terrific charge,
and then they were swarming over the _Selba_ and through the rent in her
side. There was a brief flurry of pistol shots from the crew before they
were captured and bound.
In a prison compartment aft, Austin Shelby had regained his senses
sufficiently to have a vague idea of what was going on around him.
Ankova was supporting him, and he was staggering toward the door. His
mind took up a train of thought from where it had left off. He was
calling for Jan and cursing Hekalu. Cased as his head was, in an oxygen
helmet, his shrieking voice was magnified a dozen times, and assumed a
weird vaulted quality that startled him back to sensibility.
Ankova read his thoughts, and by telepathy replied to him: "Your lady? I
forget. But we find her. She all right--sure!"
The Space Man removed the barricade and opened the door. The sudden
outrush of air from the room almost toppled Shelby from his feet. And
then the Earthman heard a familiar voice in the head-phones of the radio
with which his helmet was equipped: "I'm in X7, Austin. Let me out if
you can."
"Janice!" he cried, and with new vigor hurried to the door of the room
she had mentioned.
Ankova smashed the lock with his war club and the portal flew open. Jan
was standing there encased in space armor. She was trying hard to smile.
"You're safe, darling!" Shelby cried, "And I thought that that fiend was
going to hurt you!"
"My luck," she said. "Koo Faya was thoughtful enough to bring this space
armor, otherwise, I wouldn't have been fit to look at any more." She
pointed to a shattered window. "And you--heaven's how you can yell--and
swear! I am ashamed of you!"
Her eyes widened when she looked at Ankova, but Shelby reassured her.
"This is Ankova, and he is our friend--big shot, too," he said. "And
Jan, I guess we're free now--really free."
Ugly Space Men, some of them gashed and wounded, crowded about as though
bent on destroying the two feeble Earthians. But with imperious gestures
Ankova waved them back. He conversed by signs with these warriors of his
father, and then took Janice Darell and Austin each by the arm.
"Big surprise," he told them. "Come."
He led them to the control room. And there, in the grip of a black
colossus was Hekalu Selba--captive. The Martian nodded perfunctorily to
the girl and then turned his level gaze toward the man. His face showed
no hint of anger, and it seemed that a shadow of a smile twinkled about
his lips.
"Here we have a contrast, Mr. Shelby," he said quietly, "triumph and
disaster staring at each other!"
Shelby told him that he should be wreaking vengeance on the noble for
the numerous wrongs he had done him, but the calm unflinching attitude
of the Prince of Selba made him almost like the captive.
Shelby waved the Martian's captors back and he stood free. "There is no
contrast now, Akar Hekalu, for an outsider could not tell which was
which!"
As Hekki's jailer led him away, Shelby, assisted by Janice Darell,
busied himself with the ship's controls.
And so the battered _Selba_ escorted by five thousand Space Men set out
for a certain minor planet where were amassed the forces of Telaba,
insubordinate vassal of the Black Emperor. And on another planet was
Alkebar, the Black Emperor himself, ready to hurl his shock troops, a
horde five million strong, at the planets.