"Thank our lucky stars that Faragaut here, and I, bought up all the
mercury in the system, and had it brought to Earth. We at least have a
supply of materials for the atostors."
"They don't seem to do much good."
"They're the best we've got. All the photocells on Earth and Venus and
Mercury are at present busy storing the sun's power in atostors. I have
two thousand tons of charged mercury in our tanks here in the 'Lunar
Bank.'"
"Much good that will do--they can just pull and pull and pull till it's
all gone. A starfish isn't strong, but he can open the strongest oyster
just because he can pull from now on. You may have a lot of power--but."
"But--we also have those new fifteen-foot UV beams. And one fifteen-foot
UV beam is worth, theoretically, nine five-foot beams, and practically,
a dozen. We have a dozen of them. Remember, this place was designed not
only to protect itself, but Earth, too."
"They can still pull, can't they?"
"They'll stop pulling when they get their fingers burned. In the
meantime, why not use some of those IP ships to bring in a few more
cargoes of charged mercury?"
"They aren't good for much else, are they? I wonder if those fellows
have anything more we don't know?"
"Oh, probably. I'm going to work on that crumbler thing. That's the
first consideration now."
"Why?"
"So we can move a ship. As it is, even those two we built aren't any
good."
"Would they be anyway?"
"Well--I think I might disturb those gentlemen slightly. Remember, they
each have a nose-beam eighteen feet across. Exceedingly unpleasant
customers."
"Score: Strangers; magnetic field, atomic bombs, atomic power, crumbler
ray. Home team; UV beams."
Kendall grinned. "I'd heard you were a pessimistic cuss when battle
started--"
"Pessimistic, hell, I'm merely counting things up."
"McClellan had all the odds on Lee back in the Civil War of the
States--but Lee sent him home faster than he came."
"But Lee lost in the end."
"Why bring that up? I've got work to do." Still smiling, Kendall went to
the laboratory he had built up in the "Lunar Bank." Devin was already
there, calculating. He looked unhappy.
"We can't do anything, as far as I can see. They're using an electric
field all right, and projecting it. I can't see how we can do that."
"Neither can I," agreed Kendall, "so we can't use that weapon. I really
didn't want to anyway. Like the neutron gun which I told Commander
McLaurin would be useless as a weapon, they'd be prepared for it, you
can be sure. All I want to do is fight it, and make their projection
useless."
"Well, we have to know how they project it before we can break up the
projection, don't we?"
"Not at all. They're using an electric field of very high frequency, but
variable frequency. As far as I can see, all we need is a similar
variable electric field of a slightly different frequency to heterodyne
theirs into something quite harmless."
"Oh," said Devin. "We could, couldn't we? But how are you going to do
that?"
"We'll have to learn, that's all."
* * * * *
Buck Kendall started trying to learn. In the meantime, the Mirans were
taking over Jupiter. There were three IP stations on the planet itself,
but they were vastly hindered by the thick, almost ultra-violet-proof
atmosphere of Jupiter. Their rays were weak. And the magnetic fields of
the Mirans were unaffected. Only their atomic bombs were hindered by the
heavier gravity that pulled the rocks back in place faster than the
bombs could throw them out. Still--a few hours of work, and the IP
stations on Jupiter had rolled wildly across the flat plains of the
planet like dented cans, to end in utter destruction.
The Mirans had paid no attention to the fleeing passenger and freighter
ships that left the planet, loaded to the utmost with human cargo, and
absolutely no freight. The IP fleet had to go to their rescue with
oxygen tanks to take care of the extra humans, but nearly three-quarters
of the population of Jupiter, a newly established population, and hence
a readily mobile one, was saved. The others, the Mirans did not bother
with particularly except when they happened to be near where the Mirans
wanted to work. Then they were instantly destroyed by atomic bombing, or
gamma rays.
The Mirans settled almost at once, and began their work of finding on
Jupiter the badly needed atomic fuels. Machines were set up, and work
begun, Mirans laboring under the gravity of the heavy planet. Then,
fifty ships swam up again, reloaded with fuel, and with crews consisting
solely of uninjured warriors, and started for Mars.
Mars was half way between her near conjunction and her maximum
elongation with respect to Jupiter at that time. The Mirans knew their
business though, for they started in on the IP station on Phobos. They
were practiced by this time, and this IP station had only seven
five-foot beams. In half an hour that station fell, and its sister
station on Deimos followed. Three wounded ships returned to Jupiter, and
ten new ships came out. The attack on Mars itself was started.
Mars was a different proposition. There were thirty-two IP stations
here, one of them nearly as powerful as the Lunar Bank station. It was
equipped with four of the huge fifteen-foot beams. And it had fifteen
tons of mercury, more than seven-eighths charged. The Mars Center
Station was located a short ten miles from the Mars Center City, and
under the immediate orders of the IP heads, Mars Center City had been
vacated.
For two days the Mirans hung off Mars, solidifying their positions on
Phobos and Deimos. Then, with sixty-two ships, they attacked. They had
made some very astute observations, and they started on the smaller
stations just beyond the range of the Mars Center Station. Naturally,
near so powerful a center, these stations had never been strong. They
fell rapidly. But they had been counted on by Mars Center as auxiliary
supports. McLaurin had sent very definite orders to Mars Center
forbidding any action on their part, save gathering of power-supplies.
At last the direct attack on Mars Center was launched. For the first
time, the Mirans saw one of the fifteen-foot beams. Mars' atmosphere is
thin, and there is little ozone. The ultra-violet beams were nearly as
effective as in empty space. When the Mirans dropped their ships, a full
thirty of them, into the circle formation, Mars Center answered at once.
All four beams started.
Those fifteen-foot beams, connected directly to huge atostor release
apparatus, delivered a maximum power of two and three-quarter billion
horsepower, each. The first Miran ship struck, sparkled magnificently,
and a terrific cascade of white-hot metal rolled down from its nose. The
great ship nosed down and to the left abruptly, accelerated swiftly--and
crashed with tremendous energy on the plain outside of Mars Center City.
White, unwavering flames licked up suddenly, and made a column five
hundred feet high against the dark sky. Then the wreck exploded with a
violence that left a crater half a mile across.
Three other ships had been struck, and were rapidly retreating. Another
try was made for the ring formation, and four more ships were wounded,
and replaced. The ring did not retreat, but the great magnetic field
started. Atomic and gamma ray bombs started now, flashing sometimes
dangerously close to the station as its magnetic field battled the
rotating field of the ships. The four greater beams, and many smaller
ones were in swift and angry action. Not more than a ten-second exposure
could be endured by any one ship, before it must retreat.
* * * * *
For five minutes the Mirans hung doggedly at their task. Then, wisely,
they retreated. Of the fleet, not more than seven ships remained
untouched. Mars Center Station had held--at what cost only they knew.
Five hundred tons of their mercury had been exhausted in that brief five
minutes. One hundred tons a minute had flowed into and out of the
atostor apparatus. Mars Center radioed for help, when the fleet lifted.
There was one other station on Mars that stood a good chance of
survival, Deenmor Station, with three of the big beams installed, and
apparatus for their fourth was in the station, and being rapidly worked
over. McLaurin did a wise and courageous thing, at which every man on
Mars cursed. He ordered that all IP stations save these two be deserted,
and all mercury fuel reserves be moved to Deenmor and Mars Center.
The Mirans could not land on the North Western section of Mars, nor in
the South Central region. Therefore Mars was not exactly habitable to
Miran ships, because the great beams had been so perfectly figured that
they were effective at a range of nearly twelve hundred miles.
Deenmor station was attacked--but it was a half-hearted attack, for
Mirans were becoming distinctly skittish about fifteen-foot UV beams.
Two badly blistered ships--and the Mirans retreated to Jupiter. But Mira
held Phobos and Deimos. In two weeks, they had set up cannon there, and
proved themselves accurate long-range gunners. Against the feeble
attraction of Deimos, and with Mars' gravity to help them, they began
bombarding the two stations, and anything that attempted to approach
them, with gamma and atomic explosive bombs. Meanwhile they amused
themselves occasionally by planting a gamma-ray bomb in each of Mars'
major cities. They made Mars uninhabitable for Solarians as well as for
Mirans, at least until the deadly slow-action atomic explosives wore
off, or were removed.
Then the Mirans, after a lapse of three weeks while they dug in their
toes on Jupiter, prepared to leap. Earth was the next goal. Miran
scout-ships had been sent out before this--and severely handled by the
concentrated fleets of the IP that hung grimly off Earth and Luna now.
But the scouts had learned one thing. Mirans could never hope to attain
a firm grasp on Earth while terribly armed Luna hung like a Sword of
Damocles over their heads. Further, attack on Earth directly would be
next to impossible, for, thanks to Faragaut's Interplanetary Company,
nearly all the mercury metal in the system was safely lodged on Earth,
and saturated with power. Every major city had been equipped with great
UV apparatus. And neutron guns in plenty waited on small ships just
outside the atmosphere to explode harmlessly any atomic or gamma bombs
Miran ships might attempt to deposit.
An attack on Luna was the first step. But that terrible, gigantic fort
on Luna worried them. Yet while that fort existed, Earth ships were free
to come and go, for Mirans could not afford to stand near. At a distance
of twenty thousand miles, small Miran ships had felt the touch of those
great UV beams.
Finally, a brief test-attack was made, with an entire fleet of one
hundred ships. They drew almost into position, faster than light, faster
than the signaling warnings could send their messages. In position, all
those great ships strained and heaved at the mighty magnetic vortex that
twisted at the field of the fort. Instantly, twelve of the fifteen-foot
UV beams replied. And--two great UV beams of a size the Mirans had never
seen before, beams from the two ships, "S Doradus" and "Cepheid."
The test-attack dissolved as suddenly as it had come. The Mirans
returned to Jupiter, and to the outer planets where they had further
established themselves. Most of the Solar system was theirs. But the
Solarians still held the choicest planets--and kept the Mirans from
using the mild-temperatured Mars.