by Perry Rhodan
It was as though the California had run into an invisible wall of pure energy.
4/ MUTANTS INTO THE FRAY
Zarlt Kosoka sat on his throne.
It was a throne in name only. In reality it no longer possessed any significance. With his pale reddish eyes, Kosoka looked down at the young officer before him.
The latter's bearing and tone of voice reflected the typical Arkonide imperiousness. The words were those of a person accustomed to giving commands. "It appears to me, Zarlt, that you do not understand the seriousness of the situation! You don't just arbitrarily delegate others to carry out my instructions. It's supposed to be your duty to personally concern yourself with these orders. Your own soldiers seem to be practicing a kind of passive resistance. Only yesterday they let a deserter get away!"
"Yes, that was a man," replied the Zarlt, "who was not even allowed to say goodbye to his family before he was to be shipped off to Arkon. Admiral Calus, you know I submit to the orders of Arkon because I have no other choice but I must express my displeasure with the methods by which Zalit is being depopulated."
"You have to obey if you wish to remain in office," retorted Calus coldly. "And above all you'd better remember that you are not to do the thinking. That department is taken care of by the Regent—and that includes all of us!"
The Zarlt nodded. "I know, Admiral. But what appears to be developing is that the robot Brain is no longer going to operate without human assistance in these conflicts. Why all of a sudden this big requirement for human officers and soldiers? He always made out with robot troops and crews before."
"The Regent is not an end in himself, Zarlt. He is not ruling for his own purposes. He operates in the interests of all of us. And now when danger threatens we must help him to eliminate it."
Calus delivered this statement without batting an eye. However, he prudently avoided mentioning that there were other reasons behind the robot Brain's inclusion of Arkonides and Zalites in his plans. He had simply come to realize that he could not get by without organic support. A stellar empire could not survive for long if only backed up by robot armies. Therefore an integration of humanoid intelligences with the electronic military forces of Arkon had become a pragmatic necessity, nothing more and nothing less.
By the same token it was also the first indication of defeat for the mighty robot Brain.
"Why can't Arkon be satisfied 1with volunteers?"
"Because there are too few who are willing to fight for the common Empire. The Zalites have become soft and weak, and on Arkon we are going to toughen you up again. The training period is short, actually, but it includes all important phases of weaponry and ordnance handling."
The Zarlt eyed Calus closely when he asked: "What kind of ships were those that attacked Zalit yesterday—or at least tried to? They were not of the Empire?"
Calus made a deprecating gesture with his hands which was intended to express his disdain. "Pirates or Terranians, who knows? They may have been trying to infiltrate their agents here or perhaps they just wanted to test our defense readiness. Whoever they were, they won't come again."
The Zarlt was about to say more but was interrupted by the entrance of an Arkonide officer.
Calus responded indifferently to his underling's deferential salute, as though a recognition of his exalted position were to be taken as a matter of course. "What is it?" he demanded. "Why do you disturb me?"
"The recruiting schedule, Admiral! Today again more than 200 failed to appear. Their homes were searched but they have disappeared. Their friends and relatives have no idea of where they are."
"That is their story!" raged Calus and he walked back and forth in angry excitement. "There should be no consideration given to them. Families must be held responsible for the insubordination of these men. But where could they have concealed themselves?" He turned to the Zarlt. "Do you have an answer?"
The Zarlt denied any knowledge of the matter.
Calus thought awhile and then turned to the officer. "In the next few days I shall speak to the people of Zalit. I want all tele-stations to be prepared for a planet-wide broadcast. I think we will have fewer difficulties after that."
The officer departed.
Calus then turned scornfully to the Zarlt. "Incidentally, it has just occurred to me—why should Zalit actually need an army? There is no threat of revolution and the planet is under protection of the Imperium. So why soldiers here? I think we shall simply take the whole Zalite army, such as it is, and transfer it into the Fleet. Do you have any particular reflections on the subject, Zarlt?"
A slight silence ensued in which the two men, so dissimilar in character and outlook, proceeded to regard each other searchingly.
Then the Zarlt shook his head. "No, nothing to criticize there—naturally not."
Calus smiled his satisfaction.
• • •
The defense screens of the California were so overloaded by the attack that there was hardly enough energy left to operate the weapons. Emergency power drawn from the accumulator banks flowed into the propulsion units so as to maintain manoeuvrability.
At the flight controls, Gen. Deringhouse strove to evade the ships of the enemy blockade. Ordinarily this would have been practically impossible but the California’s main design feature was speed and mobility. It could outrun and outmanoeuvre the Arkonide ships.
Rhodan knew that his combat commandoes were standing at the transmitters waiting for his orders. Every second lost now could never be regained.
"Blast through!"
He had nothing more to say to Deringhouse—just those two words. And Deringhouse blasted through. Accelerating wildly, the ship broke sharply away from the attackers. It was almost as though it had made a transition jump. Some of the attackers were still able to pursue but even they fell back and their energy beams either fell short of the target or glanced ineffectively off of the defense screens.
Zalit grew swiftly before them. It did not make any difference where the receiver for the matter-transmissions was located, no more than it would have mattered to a normal broadcasting station where the radios were that were receiving its program.
Rhodan spoke into the intercom mike: "First combat unit—go!"
Almost 100 men stood in the five energy cages of the matter-transmitter complex. When Rhodan's command sounded in the speaker, the transmission impulse was given. It only required one second before all the cages were empty.
Somewhere below on the planet's surface, the 1st combat unit would rematerialize—precisely in that spot where Toffner had placed the directional beam device and where the receiver station was also located by now.
Somewhere...? Actually, a cavern which Harno had been able to visualize for him.
Rhodan waited 10 seconds for the rest of the men to get into position. "Second unit—jump!"
Then he got up and said to Deringhouse: "Wait exactly five minutes and then get out of here to your picket position. You'll find the Drusus waiting there for you. Clear sailing, soldier!"
"Yes sir!" answered the general. "Here's luck!"
"Thanks. See you later!"
Rhodan turned swiftly around and left the Command Central. He had to hurry to avoid any delay in timing. When he came into the hangar, the transmitter cages were just about reloaded with the last of the arms and equipment. The California’s crewmen completed their task as he readied himself for the jump. He was the last member of the combat task force to make the daring transfer. The special gear and supplies would be transmitted with him.
He stepped into cage five and checked his watch. By now the second group must have cleared out of the receiver chamber down below. Maybe another 20 seconds...
The officer in charge of the transfer operation wished him luck.
"Thank you," he replied.
Another 10 seconds.
There was a sudden shrill of alarm sirens throughout the ship, followed by Deringhouse's voice over the speakers:
"All hands, alert! We a
re under fire again by a strong attack force. Transition in 20 seconds! Transition in 20 seconds!"
Rhodan still had five seconds to go on his own timing. It was enough.
He grasped the transfer switch and threw it into position—and in the same instant he found himself inside the receiver cage on Zalit. He did not feel any effects of rematerialization; the only change was in his surroundings. Where the smooth bulkheads of the California had been a moment before, he now saw the glistening rock walls and ceiling of a giant cavern.
Men were busily moving about in all directions and some of them dashed into the cage to take care of the last load of equipment. Rhodan quickly determined that everything had gone according to plan. In fact, the receiver was located in the best possible hiding place. The cave was big enough to contain them all and certainly it must be so oriented to the outside terrain that they could not be detected.
He stepped out of the energy-grid cage and discovered Atlan, who was helping Bell to supervise the unloading operation.
"So far, we're right on the beam!" said Bell as he barely eluded somebody moving past with a load. "I'd sure like to know where we are. Toffner didn't give us any details..."
"He'll be contacting us quickly now—that was the agreement," Rhodan answered, attempting to be reassuring. But inwardly he wasn't quite at ease. If anything had happened to Toffner, even if he was only being delayed, they would all be stuck here. "Anyhow, we're on Zalit and no one is the wiser. That, at least, is something to be thankful for."
Bell grinned and turned to Atlan. "How does it feel to be an admiral and yet be wearing the disguise of a Zalite who's going to be a soldier in the robot Regent's army?"
Allan grinned back candidly. "Certainly not any worse than a certain fat friend of mine who'll soon be toeing the line in a barracks yard."
"It's another piece of luck that I'm no human," chirped Pucky as he came waddling up to them. "Here's one body the Arkonides won't be drafting. There'll be no rookie drills for me!"
"They still won't lose the war without you," commented Bell and he looked at him curiously. "Where do you think we really are?"
His question brought the present reality back into focus. Rhodan ordered everybody to unpack the weapons first and get them distributed. In case of attack they didn't want to be unprepared.
In the midst of the ensuing hubbub of activity, Pucky suddenly cried out: "Outside—in front of the cave somebody's coming!"
Rhodan made a swift orientation and observed that the cave only had a single entrance. He shoved a small hand-beamer into the pocket of his civilian outfit, which disguised him as a typical Zalite. Brushing back his copper-colored hair, he strode toward the cavern's exit. "I'll take a look to see who it is," he said, adding: "Pucky, keep in sight. You'll know when you have to take any necessary action."
It was natural for the mouse-beaver to know this, for after all he was a telepath. One thought-signal from Rhodan would suffice.
Even though Rhodan was a true Zalite in the fullest sense of the word, by outward appearances, he nevertheless moved out promptly from the concealment of the cave as soon as he saw the solitary man approaching. By appearances this one was also a native of Zalit but the first thought-impulses Rhodan picked up confirmed his suspicion that he was looking at Toffner.
However, Toffner carried a weapon which he hesitantly aimed at Rhodan. It was a good indication that Rhodan's disguise was genuine. If he could even fool Toffner who had been living on Zalit for three years.
"Greetings, Jeremy Toffner," he said in English. "As you can see, you may save your ammunition."
A wave of relief washed over Toffner as he heard these words in his mother language. He lowered the weapon and replaced it in his pocket. "Thank God!" he exclaimed and completed the distance between them. "May I ask who you are? You look like a Zalite, you know..."
"I am Rhodan," responded the Chief Administrator and he offered his hand to the cosmic agent. "I believe we've met."
"Yes, of course—that time on Terrania when I received my assignment to come to Zalit. I never forgot what you said, that I would have to be a long time alone." Toffner glanced at the cave entrance where a number of men were standing and conversing. "Well, it looks as if the lonesome time is past." Meanwhile, Pucky mingled with the men, having realized that his special services would not be required. "Did everything work out alright, sir?"
"So far," Rhodan smiled. "How do we get to Tagnor? Have you been working out any plans for that?"
Toffner had only one excuse for not having done so. "I didn't know how many men would be in the commando group," he said. "I've worked out how and where you can all be sheltered in Tagnor but it's going to be a tough go getting into the city without being noticed. Guards are everywhere. Everybody is being checked, no matter where they go."
"Credentials are no problem."
"Just your I.D. documents won't be enough, sir. I have excellent papers, myself, but now the Arkonides have started simply grabbing off every man in the usable age bracket to make sure they won't try to escape the conscription into military service.
While Rhodan considered this, Maj. Rosberg and Capt. Gorlat came out into the open and began taking an obvious interest in their surroundings. Apparently they were pleased with the deep basin they were in, surrounded as it was by towering cliff walls. Inside the cave, all the weapons and equipment were being placed in order.
"So the problem is—how do we get into the city and set ourselves up in the hideout you've arranged for us? The matter transmitter can't help us because we only have just this one. It would be a hard task to get it to Tagnor without being conspicuous. Do you think we might get past the checkpoints under cover of darkness?"
"That might be possible but Tagnor in almost 500 kilometers from here. Any march through the desert would not go unobserved, sir."
"Of course. You have a point there." Rhodan looked up at the clear sky. The rays of the sun brightened the upper face of the steep cliff walls surrounding the pocket valley. "However, would you say we are fairly safe here?"
"Yes, pretty much so. Nobody goes voluntarily into the desert. Of course aircraft often fly over the desert and the mountains but they'd hardly notice this particular basin."
Rhodan made no comment. He turned his gaze speculatively toward Pucky who was waddling past Rosberg and Gorlat to have a word with the African teleporter Ras Tschubai. John Marshall, the actual mission leader, was talking to Bell. More and more men were showing up at the cave entrance. The main work of stowing the gear and securing provisions seemed to be nearing completion. The troops were waiting.
"Pucky! Ras!" called Rhodan. He excused himself and left Toffner to go into a side conference with the two mutants. "I have a couple of questions for you."
"Fire away!" said the mouse-beaver. "But if you're going to ask what I think of this place, I'd say we're sitting in a first-class lousetrap!"
"Pucky is right!" agreed the African, grinning. "A deep basin like this can shield us from curious eyes, alright, but once we're discovered there's no way out."
Rhodan nodded. "That's why we have to make ourselves scarce. If the Arkonides start searching for the runaway Zalites who are dodging the draft, they'll certainly go through these hills with a fine-toothed comb. By that time we have to be in safe hiding elsewhere. But Toffner tells me that it would be difficult to get into the city past the control points. So what I'm going to have to ask you is this: how long would it take you to teleport all 200 men and the equipment to Tagnor?"
That was a very good question, for although Pucky and Ras were teleporters they were not without their natural limitations. It was entirely possible for a teleporter to carry two men at a time in a single jump but the strain on the nerves was of no small magnitude. This process could not be repeated in rapid succession without periods of rest. The recuperation periods would be absolutely essential. In this case the distance involved presented no problem: 500 or even 5000 kilometers made no difference.
Puc
ky smoothed down his fur in a casual gesture that may have been a way of covering his momentary embarrassment. "That's a real chore," he confessed. "But if Tako can give us a hand we might be able to handle it in one or two days. Do we know our target area?"
"Toffner will show it to us."
"Then it's no sweat. I didn't see any items among our equipment that might be too heavy. Ras and I can double up on the bigger stuff. When does the shuttle service begin?"
It was a relief to Rhodan to see how calmly the two teleporters accepted their assignment. Naturally they weren't just taking the whole thing lightly—that would have been irresponsible of them. But all the same.
He signaled Toffner to join them and the agent approached them curiously. He had already heard much about the mouse-beaver but had not actually seen him before.
"This is Pucky and this is Ras Tschubai, both of them teleporters," explained Rhodan. "They will take us to Tagnor. The four of us will make the jump first so we can get familiar with the locality. The others will follow later. I'm going to be giving final instructions to the men, so in the meantime you can be explaining to these two what your target area looks like."
Leaving Toffner alone with the mutants, he went over to Rosberg, Gorlat and Bell. The three men stood at the cave entrance where they could see the valley as well as most of the rocky cavern's interior. By now they did not appear to be entirely happy about their surroundings.
"Bell, you'll be taking my place for a couple of hours. I'm going with Toffner and Pucky and Ras to look over our quarters in town. In case of an attack here, no holds barred. Give them all you've got. Of course then our tactics will have to change. Maybe the Arkonides will think we're Zalites who are trying to dodge the draft."
"Why don't we all go together?" asked Rosberg.
"Because it's not possible. Toffner tells me that the control points are tougher to pass through than we figured on. But anyway that only changes our plans very slightly. I'll reconnoiter and make sure of the setup we have in Tagnor and then I'll come back. In two or three days, I hope, we'll all be settled down in the catacombs under the city."
