The Revolt of Alkebar
The light of a shrunken sun shone down coldly and ineffectually upon a
jagged and distorted landscape. Along the horizon, which was strangely
abrupt, twisted gray hills loomed up with harsh clearness against a
black starlit sky. There was no atmosphere to soften their lines, nor
to dull the needle-like points of deepest sable that were their shadows.
In the foreground, which was a fairly level plain, were hundreds of
hemispherical shelters hastily built from loose fragments of rock. A
vast horde of Space Men hemmed them in. The sunlight glistened on the
ebony hides of the warriors and on their polished accouterments and
weapons. Some of these rebels of the void were greedily drinking the
purple radio-active liquid which meant life and strength to them, and
attendants were hurrying about carrying large canisters of the food to
each unit of Telaba's army. Most of the men crouched expectantly beside
their discs, waiting.
In a small metal building, which the Man from the Fourth World had
recently had constructed for his own use, four people were gathered. Two
were Space Men, and two belonged to the green planet called Earth. One
of the Space Men was talking, not with his mouth for he had no vocal
cords, but by means of fine mental vibrations which caused a feeble
high-pitched voice to speak within the minds of the Earthians.
"I owe you great debt of gratitude, Mr. Shelbee--you help to save my son
from Alkebar and Fourth World Man. Telaba do not forget this. I do what
I can. But that is little. Black Emperor start to smash Earth and Mars
soon. Perhaps right now. Perhaps in hour. Who know? Spy send signal any
time now. We outnumbered ten to one. Alkebar crush us, wipe us out like
that!" He slapped his palms sharply together. "But we do what we can,
Earthman."
Shelby took Telaba's cold hand for a brief hearty handshake. "Thanks,
Telaba," he said simply. "Jan and I certainly appreciate what you are
going to do for us and our people, and I know that if we are successful,
the worlds shall be mighty grateful too. They have ways of showing their
gratitude. But don't be so sure that we are going to fail. We have the
_Selba_, you know, and a new weapon that has never before been used.
"Hekalu was good enough to construct an immense projector for us. Except
for the resoldering of a few wires, and the insertion of a tiny but
important crystal which I happen to be carrying with me, it was complete
and ready for operation.
"The ship is fueled and ready for action at any moment. When the word
comes and we set out, annoy the forces of Alkebar, but do not engage or
mix with them any more than you have to. I'll be somewhere around, ready
and glad to spray them."
"What do you mean, 'I'?" Jan put in. "It's 'we,' because I am going
along!"
Shelby knew that the undertaking he had in mind was but an ace from
certain death; but he did not argue with the girl. Her cool wit and
nerve would be very helpful, and besides there was little choice, for
death was grimly in pursuit of all of them.
"Right you are, soldier," he said laughingly. "My mistake!"
A red light bulb flashed on the wall, and then, without waiting for
permission, a Space Man rushed into the room, his arms waving wildly,
forming frantic signs of the Star People's deaf mute language. Bent in a
half crouch, his great arms flexed, Ankova translated for the benefit of
the Earthians:
"Fourth World Man escape--in _Selba_. We are betrayed--someone help him.
He out of sight already. Going to help Black Emperor. And now red star
burns in space--spy's warning--Alkebar forces start!"
Telaba rushed to a big lever and pulled it. Immediately a huge trip
hammer began to pound ponderously on a metal plate set in the ground
outside the building--sending vibrating pulsations out through the crust
of the planetoid--the alarm signal which would be sensed by everyone of
Telaba's men, telling them to be ready for instant action.
The four looked at one another. Each knew what this last move of the
Prince of Selba meant, but no one thought for a moment of giving up the
fight.
"It won't do any good to pursue the Martian," Shelby cried. "That ray
projector of his--he'd blast us out of existence. All we can do is try
to hinder Alkebar's invasion--seek to delay him. If I could only somehow
get through to Mars with the secret of the Atomic Ray! Telaba, haven't
you a ship capable of carrying a large enough oxygen supply to last me
for the journey?"
"Never mind!" Ankova cut in. "I go! Many times I been to Mars. Give me
plans. I go right away. I get them to fight."
Shelby drew from his sleeve pocket the black case containing information
concerning the Atomic Ray which he had recovered from Hekalu Selba at
the time of the Martian's capture. He opened it, and with his stylus
added a brief message to the mass of notes inside, and wrote down the
formula for a certain complex chemical compound. Then he handed the case
to the Space Man.
"Take it to Alman Mak in the Checkald of Taboor if you can, Ankova. Good
luck."
The son of the rebel chief hurried from the room with the missive in his
hand. Shelby knew in his heart that to attempt to get Earth and Mars
into action in time was a useless gesture, but he could not suppress a
thrill of admiration for this wild son of the void. There was hard
mettle in Ankova's makeup, hard and true. And most of them were like
that--most of Telaba's men anyway.
"You two come with me," Telaba was saying. "We fight together. Put on
space suits." He was tapping an instrument resembling a telegraph key.
In unison with his movements the heavy signaling hammer sounded out
orders and commands to his forces.
* * * * *
When the Earthians had eased themselves into their heavy protecting
attire, Telaba led the way down a spiral stair and through an air lock,
out into the open. Here everything was grim silent activity. Group after
group of mounted Space Men poured skyward. Telaba's army was a mighty
thing; with luck it might have beat down the resistance of either one of
the two planets. But when compared with Alkebar's colossal horde, it
paled into pitiful insignificance.
Nearby, a space disc, which must have measured fully two hundred feet in
diameter, rested. The three mounted the light ladder which led to the
interior.
In the metal walls were mounted two heat-ray projectors of Martian
design, as well as several torpedo catapults and machine guns. Two Space
Men were inspecting them.
Telaba signaled to the driver who knelt with lever in hand. The great
disc trembled and the propelling force which no human being had yet
learned how to produce, sent it and its burden hurtling toward the
stars. The minions of the rebel chief circled and swirled about their
commander's ship in wild soundless salute.
Telaba was operating the signaling mechanism which fired lights of
various colors up through the roof of the armored coach, and in reply to
his flashing commands, his horde formed a monster cone which shot with
ever increasing speed through the void.
A sickening giddiness came over the two Earthians, for there were no
devices to produce artificial gravity here. It was the space nausea
which had made early interplanetary travel such a nightmare. The Star
People, born where gravity is almost unknown, were of course not
affected in the least.
Clinging to stanchions and hand grips to keep themselves from floating
free, Janice Darell and Austin crept about the floor examining the
weapons and scanning space ahead for signs of the enemy. They disliked
to admit to each other that they were very sick; but if they thought
that it was possible to forget the retching pains in their stomachs by
diligent devotion to other things, they were mistaken.
Their suffering continued until Jan remembered that the force of this
almost forgotten malady could be reduced by lessening the amount of
oxygen taken into the lungs. A few turns of the intake valves of their
helmets accomplished this, and they soon felt much better.
It was a long time before there were any indications of the near
presence of the enemy. Ahead, two asteroids glowed, a dull red. One was
quite close; the other farther away. It was Shelby, peering steadily
through his binoculars, who first discovered the glowing cloud, thin and
faint like the nebulous substance of the Milky Way, pouring up like
ghosts' hair from the rounded pate of the nearer asteroid. He knew that
it was made up of countless points of light, too small to be detected
individually. Not long afterward Telaba discovered a similar cloud
coming from the second of the minor planets.
The rebel chief's greatest advantage, if he had any at all, was that of
surprise. Because of its comparatively small size his force had probably
not yet been discovered by the enemy.
Coolly he flashed the order for long-range bombardment formation.
Instantly the army spread out, forming a thin rectangle whose broadest
surface was perpendicular to the line of firing between the opposing
hordes.
A second or two later the first rocket torpedoes of the rebels went,
spewing fire, toward their goal. In a steady swarm others followed them.
The missiles were not radio controlled and fitted with tiny television
apparatus as were a few of the torpedoes employed by the Interplanetary
Traffic Lane Patrol, but since the approximate range was known, it was
easy to set the time fuses so that the atomic charges would explode in
the midst of the densely-packed enemy.
Without asking anyone's permission, the Earthians had appropriated a
pair of catapults and were working them like demons. As fast as they
could cram the ten-pound rockets into the breeches of the tubes, the
projectiles streaked out in flashes of green flame toward the nearest of
the nebulous clouds.
Shelby was sweating furiously from the exertion, and the moisture
absorption apparatus of his space armor was putting in some tough
service.
Occasionally he glanced at Janice working beside him. Her face, visible
through the glazed front of her helmet, was white and set--almost hard.
And there was boundless determination in the firm curve of her little
rounded chin. He liked her attitude, but it was better to take it easy
until the real fighting began.
"Slow up a bit, soldier," he remarked into his transmitter. "Powder your
nose!"
Her face brightened as she turned toward him. "I wish I could powder my
nose," she said, pouting. "Only I can't reach it!"
"Too bad. These space suits rob a girl of so many of her exquisite
little tricks."
"Well," she put in, "I can still cover up my yawns with my hand if I
find this pastime too much of a bore." They both chuckled at this little
joke.
Janice took the last missile from the case she had been emptying and
rammed it home. She jerked the lanyard, and with a thudding jolt the
torpedo was on its way. Then she paused to scan the horde of Alkebar
through an observation port. "Hurrah," she cried, "we're scoring!"
* * * * *
Without discontinuing his hurried feeding of his smoldering piece,
Shelby looked up. The cloud had grown considerably in the few moments of
action. It had cleared the asteroid now, and the other nebulous spot
that marked the position of the Black Emperor's second army, was coming
up to merge with it. In the midst of the first cloud, hundreds of minute
specks of light were flashing--the atomic torpedoes were exploding. The
sight reminded Shelby of what he had so often seen through the lens of a
spintharoscope.
Alkebar's army continued to increase rapidly in apparent size. It looked
like a monster amoeba. But now the amoeba was beginning to writhe,
to swell up and grow dimmer. It shot out long sinuous pseudopods that
seemed to grope angrily. Both Earthians sensed that the fight was about
to begin in earnest.
With renewed vigor they fell to the task of loading and discharging the
catapults; and close beside them the two Space Men who acted as gunners,
labored coolly and methodically over their weapons, but with even
greater efficiency, for their training had been long and thorough.
Telaba worked the levers of the signaling mechanism, and a brilliant
purple star visible to all his henchmen shot up over the back of his
beast. They saw it and read its meaning. Spread out to avoid enemy fire!
As one man they obeyed, but they were none too soon. With abrupt
suddenness the maelstrom of silent flashing death was upon them.
It was a pretty sight to the Earthians--those soundless globes of green
flame that glowed dazzling for an infinitesimal instant, on the rich
jewels and polished rifle barrels of the hordesmen coursing close by.
But they were not deceived.
A Space Man vanished, torn to tiny fragments that mixed with the cosmic
dust of the void. A huge disc, bearing a cylindrical battle car, was
hit, and a jagged hole torn in its side. It twisted crazily, turning
over and over. Austin and Jan felt the vibration of shell fragments
banging violently against their own vehicle.
The nearer nebulous cloud had ceased to be a cloud now. It had resolved
itself into a myriad swarm of dim specks which the Earthians knew were
Space Men. Plainly Alkebar's minions were charging rapidly, bent on
wiping Telaba's smaller force out of existence at one blow.
The bombardment doubled, tripled, quadrupled in intensity until it
seemed that all space had turned to fire. Before the withering blast the
army of the rebel chief was speedily being dissolved into drifting
wreckage.
An exploding torpedo ripped several yards of armor from one side of
Telaba's vehicle and reduced one of his black gunners to a mangled pulp
from which the purple fluid spurted.
The force of the concussion turned the great disc completely over.
Battered and blinded by the green glare, which exceeded even the sun of
the void in intensity the Earthians tumbled against their weapons.
Janice Darell started to scream but managed to check it--biting her lips
savagely.
An explosive rifle bullet struck the huge vehicle, and it wavered.
Shelby spoke to Telaba who was clinging firmly to a stanchion with one
hand and operating his signaling machine with the other. "Turn back,
chief," the Earthman advised. "Our only motive is to annoy them and
delay them. To continue this charge can mean nothing but destruction for
our entire force."
Telaba sensed the mental vibrations that went with Shelby's words. "To
turn back cannot do, Earthman," he said. And it seemed to the young
engineer that there was a vibrant note of sadness in his telepathic
voice. "Look! You see all guns and catapults point forward only. Not
swing to rear--same on all gun cars. If run, not possible to shoot at
chasing enemy. Then they get us. That Alkebar's idea so his men must
take offensive or die. He think that make them strong."
"But the riflemen are not so handicapped," Shelby persisted. "We can die
here if necessary, but someone must live to carry on. Order them back!"
The chieftain shook his bulbous head. "To try what you say--useless.
They not desert comrades or king. If I command, they disobey." There was
a finality in his words which neither of the Earthians tried to dispute.
So that was it! Well, there was no sense wasting time talking. Shelby
gripped a machine gun and sent a spray of explosive bullets ripping out
into the ether. Janice did likewise.
As they worked their weapons they spoke rapidly to each other. "You
understood what Telaba said? You know what that means?" Shelby asked.
"Yes. It's about the end of our tape, but that's nothing. We've been
fairly lucky. All we can do now is hope that Ankova wins through to Mars
in time, and fight like--like--"
"Hell!" Shelby's words slipped between clenched teeth, and Jan flashed
him a quick smile even as their tracer streams crossed in the midst of a
group of hurtling Alkebarians who had pressed too close together.
"Anyway, good luck!"
"And the very best of luck to you!"
The opposing forces were very close together now. The first of the
Alkebarians were plainly visible--their long guns flashing--their ebony
arms waving signals which probably passed for shouts of triumph among
their ranks.