#58 - Attack from the Unseen

by Clark Darlton

  "Potkin, stay here and stand by for takeoff again. I’ll be right back."

  Rhodan waited for Marcel Rous to get out of his ship so that he could get a first-hand report again on what the lieutenant had experienced. But even the eyewitness account brought him no closer to a solution. The incident had no rational or logical explanation. The attackers apparently had the capability of making themselves as well as other life forms invisible. This was the plain fact and nothing more.

  "This is a foe whom we dare not underestimate," said Rhodan when Marcel had finished. "To combat an invisible enemy like this we’re going to have to concentrate every possible means at our disposal and put it to use. Let’s hope that Becker and his 2 companions can be rescued. Keep your ship ready for action. I don’t know yet how much we’re going to have to throw into this battle."

  Marcel watched him go and then climbed back into the airlock of his guppy. He muttered to himself: "I’d sure like to know what he means by ‘battle’. He can’t mean we should make war against something invisible!"

  Rhodan left the hangar and hurried through various antigrav lifts up to the Command Central where Sikermann was waiting for him. All mutants were present and there also was Khrest whose face reflected an unusual state of alarm.

  "The aliens must be in a continuous state of hypertransition," said the Arkonide gravely when he saw Rhodan. "The tracking equipment makes them show up plainly and then in the next second the indicators give positive proof that nothing’s there. I’m afraid that the theory of invisibility isn’t quite the correct one."

  Rhodan nodded thoughtfully. "That’s what I’ve been afraid of, too, even though that doesn’t explain much, either. How are you doing, Marten? Any success?"

  "About 5 minutes ago I tried a transfer jump. The thought impulses were coming from a definite direction and were holding for quite a few seconds. For a moment or so I made contact and penetrated into an alien brain but before I could start to see through the other entity’s eyes I was ejected violently. That’s something that just never happened before."

  "Do you have any way of explaining it?"

  Ralf Marten shook his head in despair. "None, sir. It’s incomprehensible. But I’m convinced that it wasn’t some other living being that ejected me out of its brain. It was rather something else, a thing that seems to be some uncanny force or power. I was detected by the entity I tried to penetrate and it did something—what it was, I don’t know."

  Rhodan regarded Marten through narrowed eyes. "Did you ever try to penetrate one of these entities just as his ship was going into hyperspace? Would that explain the effect you’re describing?"

  Ralf Marten nodded, somewhat surprised. "Well I can imagine something like that happening, of course, but naturally I don’t know for sure. You don’t mean to say that maybe…?"

  Rhodan dodged the question. "I don’t have any direct supposition about it. It’s just that we have to examine every possibility and put it to use." He looked at the others. "I want to land on Mirsal 3 with all members of the Mutant Corps. We take off in the K-13 in 10 minutes. The Drusus will follow exactly 3 minutes later and will also make a landing. I’ve located a favourable place by the walls of a city."

  "Why do we have to take all the risk by ourselves?" Sikermann wanted to know. "What about the Arkonides?"

  "You mean Talamon and the robot Brain?"

  "Yes, they’re the ones I mean."

  Rhodan shrugged his shoulders. "Talamon is under the command of the Regent, not under mine. I don’t have the right or power yet to interfere with him."

  Sikermann was about to say something more but then he decided to remain silent. With his mouth tightly closed, he turned to the controls. Rhodan regarded his broad back for awhile, then he beckoned to Khrest. "It would be better for you to remain here, Khrest. Give Sikermann all the support you can in his tasks. We’ll remain in contact."

  Together with his mutants he returned to the hangar. It took another 3 minutes for him to shoot out into space in the K-13 and establish a direct course for Mirsal 3.

  At a great distance, the Drusus followed.

  Within another 10 minutes he landed on an open field before the gates of a city which was devoid of any living creature. As though isolated from them, the Drusus made a separate landing 3 minutes later.

  All life on the planet appeared to have been extinguished. Nothing moved and even the mysterious appearance of alien blips on the tracking screens had diminished. Marten and Lloyd were no more successful than Marshall or Pucky. They couldn’t pick up the slightest trace of an alien thought impulse.

  Had the Unseen suspended their attack?

  Rhodan distrusted the lull in activity. He suspected that it was much more like the calm before the storm.

  From his open airlock he watched while a file of fighter robots in full company strength marched out of the storage holds of the Drusus and approached the edge of the city.

  Pucky suddenly appeared beside him. "Sikermann wants to see you, Rhodan. He claims it’s urgent. It seems that Talamon has been heard from."

  Rhodan asked no questions but instead hurried in the lift up, to the Com Central. Sikermann’s face stared at him from the viewscreen.

  "I am in contact with the Arc-Koor, sir. Shall I relay it?"

  "Switch it over here and fast!"

  Sikermann’s face disappeared almost instantly, to be replaced by the massive head of the Mounder. There was a desultory smile on Talamon’s face as he recognized Rhodan. "I wanted to talk to you before I go into transition." There was a note of regret in his booming voice. "I don’t want you to think that I’m afraid but I have to follow the Regent’s orders."

  "And the Regent is telling you to retreat?" asked Rhodan incredulously. "How is that possible? I thought the Brain asked us to investigate the great danger that’s threatening our universe…"

  "It doesn’t want to expose the Arc-Koor to any danger, Rhodan. I’ll bring the ship to Arkon and then I’ll come back here in my own ship. You can depend on that."

  "I can’t stop you, Talamon, however regrettable it is. We have our one chance now to discover the unknown enemy, but—so I’ll have to do it alone. Say hello to the Regent for me."

  "Your words sound bitter to me," said Talamon in a troubled tone. "It’s not my fault if I have to get out of here. The Arc-Koor is already racing toward the transition point—I’ll be hypering in 5 minutes. Goodbye, Perry Rhodan. I’ll still make it back here today."

  "I’ll be expecting you," answered Rhodan, ending the conversation. Deep in thought, he returned to the airlock and watched while the company of robots marched through the gates into the city.

  "What now?" whispered Marshall. "There’s nobody in the city—I should know. There’s not a smidgen of a thought-impulse around."

  Rhodan answered in a slow, strange tone of voice. "The Unseen might as well be non-thinkers as far as thought-waves are concerned. They not only have an optical cloak of invisibility but a mental one as well."

  Marshall did not answer. He felt as if suddenly turned to ice…

  4/ UNSEEN ASSAILANTS

  Through the deserted streets of the city moved 4 men who seemed outwardly calm and collected but were at a vibrant pitch of tension and excitement within. 5 paces behind them waddled Pucky the mouse-beaver, who formed the rearguard. Since he couldn’t walk as swiftly as the others, he had to make the best of it.

  Rhodan and Fellmer Lloyd were in front, followed closely by John Marshall and Ras Tschubai with their weapons in fire-readiness. The Afroterranian strained hard to conceal his instinctive fear of the supernatural but it was a doubtful effort even in spite of his schooling and his state of maturity.

  In separate deployment through the city, the robots searched everywhere for signs of life. Rhodan could participate in their communications through his wrist radio. There had been nothing new up to this point.

  A high, massive-looking building caught his attention. He came to a halt, and—gratefully—so did Pucky. />
  "That looks very imposing," said Rhodan, pointing to the building. "Might be the town hall or something of the sort. Shall we go in?"

  "Why not?" agreed Marshall. "This invisible danger is pre sent everywhere but maybe we can find a clue there as to what’s happened to the inhabitants of the city."

  The others nodded. They all moved forward once more. Then Rhodan stopped before the lofty main entrance. "Pucky, do you care to take a look in there?"

  The mouse-beaver understood immediately. "If you think I’m afraid you’re wrong," he retorted reproachfully, since he was also reading Rhodan’s mind. "After all, any time I want to I can disappear in case something goes wrong."

  Marshall shuddered slightly. "It’s gotten to where I can’t hear that word ‘disappear’ anymore without getting a rash of gooseflesh."

  Pucky gave him a quick glance, concentrated on making a short teleport jump into the building—then disappeared in a swirl of shimmering air. In 10 seconds he was back.

  "It’s a place of public assembly like an auditorium," he announced, smoothing down his fur. "I was in a wide hall where the lights were all still blazing, even with the sunshine. Nobody’s there but it looks to me like they may have taken a break and could be coming back any second."

  "Let’s go," Rhodan decided, already climbing the wide steps. "We can’t neglect the slightest possibility of a clue, however small it might be. We have to find out where these people disappeared to—otherwise we’ll never find our own men who were snatched by the Unseen."

  After traversing various halls and small rooms, they finally arrived in the big chamber that Pucky had visited. They stood wordlessly just inside the door and sensed once more the uncomfortable nearness of the sinister force that threatened to seize them.

  The hall was empty as were the rows of seats which formed a half-circle rising upward toward the rear like an amphitheatre. There was a desk installed in front of each of the seats, on which were papers and writing materials. It actually did appear as though the delegates gathered here had just stepped out for a short recess. Nobody would leave their notes and memoranda lying there like that if they didn’t intend to come right back.

  "Somebody is here," whispered Fellmer Lloyd suddenly. "I can sense it clearly."

  Rhodan himself was a partial telepath but he sensed nothing.

  It was different with Pucky. "Lloyd is right," he whispered. "There’s somebody here in this hall. I can… feel him. Yes, that’s the right word. His thoughts… there are many thoughts but they’re meaningless and fragmentary. They come and they go…"

  Ras Tschubai was grimly silent. His hand clutched the butt of his weapon while his eyes roved about in search of a target. Rhodan, sensing he was getting ready to rescue himself by teleporting, warned him softly, "Under no circumstance may you teleport from here—unless you take 2 of us with you. Is that understood?"

  Ras nodded like a criminal caught in the act.

  There were plenty of hiding places in the chamber. The enemy could find concealment behind every chair, bench or desk—that is, if he found it necessary. Bright light flooded the wide room but there was no one to be seen.

  "Maybe it’s just our nerves," whispered Rhodan, searching for some explanation. "They may be deceiving us."

  "Nobody is fooling me," Pucky protested shrilly and he stiffened his ears attentively in the air. "Somebody is here! In fact there’s quite a few ‘somebodies’—I just can’t see them, that’s all!"

  Rhodan regarded the rows of chairs with a furrowed brow. He was acutely aware of the fearful danger hovering over all of them. He didn’t even think much of his own theory about over-taut nerves.

  He had the sudden impression that he had seen somebody up by the speaker rostrum. It had only been a shadow that emerged out of nothingness and as quickly disappeared. A ghostly wind seemed to waft through the chamber—as cold as a draft from a tomb. It enveloped the 4 men and Pucky in its chilling presence. Then it faded away.

  Again a shadow swept straight through the hall.

  Ras Tschubai raised his weapon swiftly. The high-energy impulse beam whizzed brightly toward the blurred target—passed through it and set fire to the row of benches beyond. Smoke curled up, then flames leapt toward the ceiling.

  Even Marshall fired senselessly at a target that disappeared in the same moment it was perceived.

  "I’m for hightailing it out of here!" cried Pucky in fright. Nobody had ever seen Pucky this way, not even that time on Volat when he had befriended the giant Kittikat after first having fled from her in fear. "There’s no defence against those…!"

  "Smooth it!" Rhodan whispered. "If we run now we won’t ever find out who we’re dealing with." He turned toward the shimmering shadows and outlines of light silhouettes, calling loudly: "Whoever you may be, let yourselves be seen. We have no hostile intentions."

  There was no answer. Instead, something horrible was happening to Fellmer Lloyd: the mutant began to dissolve.

  Rhodan needed only half a second to see the weird phenomenon and take action. On an impulse, he shouted: "Tschubai! Grab Lloyd and Marshall! Jump outside!" Almost simultaneously he reached for Pucky’s arm. "Out! You jump too quick!"

  Then the chamber receded from his eyes and when he opened them again he stood outside on the street next to Pucky. In the same moment 3 human figures materialized about 50 yards away—Ras Tschubai together with Marshall and Fellmer Lloyd, the latter having been reinstated to his full substance and solidity.

  Then Rhodan realized: the only thing that could rescue one from the grasp of the Unseen was a teleporter.

  He breathed a sigh of relief.

  Even if the foe was unknown, at least now there was a means of eluding him: men in the company of a teleporter could escape at any time an attack by the Unseen.

  Rhodan had a sense of having won the first round in this unequal battle. Even though only on points, of course—and that just barely…

  * * * *

  "There’s something about our theories that doesn’t jibe," said Baldur Sikermann, looking dubiously at Rhodan. "I’ve discussed this very thoroughly with Capt. Gorlat."

  An unprepossessing man of middle stature, red-haired and energetic, Capt. Hubert Gorlat was the security officer of the Drusus. His profession had taught him to indulge in sufficient circumspection prior to any conclusion making so that he could avoid mistakes.

  Rhodan looked beyond Khrest and fixed his gaze on Gorlat. "Do you have an idea?" he asked with interest.

  The captain nodded slowly. "Maybe it can’t be called an idea but I’d like to warn everybody against making false conclusions. We’ve determined that the ships of the Unseen actually cannot be seen and can hardly even be picked up by our tracking equipment. Their bogey blips simply disappear again. At least that much, I believe, we can rely on as established fact."

  "Correct!" admitted Rhodan. He concealed his curiosity, even though he had a suspicion of what was to come.

  "It’s also established," continued Gorlat, "that these aliens can even make inorganic matter become invisible. Now I have asked myself why they haven’t done so with our robots. Until now they have only taken humans prisoner—if such they may be called."

  Rhodan nodded reflectively and was about to say something when he was interrupted by the shrill clamour of bells ringing. Simultaneously a howling of sirens was heard outside the ship.

  Red alert!

  They were sitting in the Command Central of the Drusus. The guppies stood close by ready for takeoff. Rhodan and his 4 mutants had only returned a few minutes before from their reconnaissance foray in order to have a palaver with Sikermann and his officers concerning the situation.

  And now this general alarm!

  Rhodan was the first to reach the open airlock. The nature of the alarm indicated that this was an attack here on the surface and not from outer space.

  The 3 other auxiliary craft were standing close to the K13. There was no sign of the crew. The energy cannons aimed threateningl
y at the city walls and the open city gates. The hatch cowlings of the Drusus glided to one side to reveal the spiral-fluted muzzles of the heavy impulse beamers, which now emerged and swivelled toward the city.

  But where was the enemy?

  Sikermann came panting up to Rhodan, gasping for breath. "Our robots… where are they?"

  "They’re combing the town," replied Rhodan. "Up till now they haven’t found a living soul."

  Sikermann pointed ahead. "Don’t you hear that, sir? There’s shooting in the city. The alarm was set off by the robots. They must have clashed with an enemy. Up in Com Central some of the robot radio contacts have been interrupted."

  "Ras Tschubai, come with me," said Rhodan and he took the Afroterranian by the arm. "No, nobody else! Let’s go, Ras—jump!"

  "Where to?"

  "To the market place in the middle of the town. We have to find out what’s happened. And don’t forget, Ras, the minute either of us is attacked by the Unseen, teleport immediately! It doesn’t matter where to—just away! It’s the only security we’ve got."

  Sikermann was still talking but into empty air. Rhodan rind Ras had already disappeared.

  They materialized inside the city and for a moment stood in solitary isolation on the wide plaza. The fronts of the houses loomed menacingly on all sides but Rhodan knew that the weird opponent would not be hiding in these dwellings. He undoubtedly had other capabilities. For all they knew, the foe could be standing right in front of them—and they couldn’t see him. They couldn’t see him because he was invisible and also screened his thoughts from them.

  "Robots—over there!" shouted Tschubai and he grasped Rhodan’s arm, ready for another jump should the occasion demand it. "They’ve opened fire against whom, though? I don’t see anything."

  Rhodan stared in amazement at the opposite side of the square where a broad avenue terminated. There he saw 10 robots retreating toward the plaza while firing all their weapons into the avenue in the direction from which they had come. The energy beams melted the pavement and the walls of the buildings. The molten masonry dropped ponderously to the ground and formed puddles which soon hardened. Once Rhodan made out a fleeting shadow that seemed to crumple in the blast of a ray beam—then it disappeared. Otherwise the invisible enemy remained passive. He did not return the fire.