In making his choice, the haunting memories of a distant story that his father had once told him played a vital role. Pierre had obviously not forgotten the lesson of Captain Danrit.
One of the most intriguing loose ends left by La Hire is the unexplained fate of the French Martian colony established at the end of The Nyctalope on Mars. Subsequent books do mention it a couple of times, then it just disappears from the series, never to be referred to again. This story, by Matthew Dennion, and the next story by Roman Leary, tackle the problem with a clever mixture of originality and emotion. We open on Mars during one of Leo’s return trips near the end of the Great War…
Matthew Dennion: The Hunters of Mars
Helium, 1917
Leo Saint-Clair sat in the transport to Helium and, as always, his mind was dominated by two thoughts: his motherless children here on Mars, and the Great War raging at home on Earth.
Leo loved his children and his country, and both needed him more than ever now. The only problem was, they were literally worlds apart. He silently ran through his decision in his head again. It had been safer to leave his children here on Mars, away from the horrors taking place on Earth. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t stay with them; people needed him too much on Earth. He knew that his physical skills and knowledge of battle tactics were necessary on the battlefield, and his presence there was crucial for the troops’ morale. He was more than just a soldier and an adventurer—he was the Nyctalope! He was a symbol of France, the super-man the other soldiers looked to… His very presence instilled confidence in those around him. He was needed on Earth to inspire the Allies to win the war—and the war needed to be won in order for him to be reunited with his children.
Leo leaned his head back against the wall of the transport. He sighed and mused that this was an opportunity to take a bold step toward ending the horror of the Great War. He had been personally requested to assist in a morbid situation by John Carter, the famous Warlord of Mars.
As Warlord, Carter was in control of some of the most advanced weaponry in the Solar System. With this in mind, when Carter had requested his help to investigate a series of bizarre murders, the Nyctalope knew he couldn’t turn him down.
The people of Barsoom were historically non-trusting. Prior to Carter’s arrival and ascent to power, the red planet was marred by constant war between various races. Carter’s actions had convinced these people who had battled for centuries to unite against common enemies. Later, he had even persuade the other on the far reaches of Mars, such as the Sorns and the Hither people, to join their forces to his and drive off an invading force of Cephales from Mars. They had fled to Earth, where, after crushing the armies of England, they had been wiped out by the many strains of bacteria they had encountered there. The surviving members of that loathsome species had returned to Mars. Leo could vividly remember how he and Oxus had fought them together to protect the newly-established French colony.
It was not until after the defeat of the Cephales that they had learned of the existence of other races on Mars, such as the Tharks and the Red Men of Helium. The technology the latter possessed stunned even Oxus. Despite Carter’s willingness to share their technology with the colony, many of the Elders of Mars did not trust the humans.
Until now, the technology had only been coveted for the advancement of the colony. Oxus, in particular, believed that the radium used by the people of Helium could not only double the power and speed of his ships, for trips back and forth to Earth, but might even revive an ancient capsule he discovered in one of the nearby Martian ruins. The secrets held by that ship could literally advance the speed of space travel by light years. More importantly, the weapons possessed by Carter could end the Great War in a manner of months.
Leo envisioned a fleet of massive, heavily armed sky ships flying over Germany, raining exploding radium bullets down on its soldiers. A smile crept across the adventurer’s grim face as he pictured his country’s flag flying high on the masts of those ships as the Germans surrendered. All of this was within his grasp. The people of Mars judged men by their actions and their prowess in battle. An Earthman could win them over—Carter was proof of that. Leo nodded to himself. He was sure that if he could assist Carter in this matter, his actions would give the Warlord the leverage he would need to convince the Elders to share their technology with Oxus. With that, the Great War would soon be over. With that, Leo could hold his children in his embrace again.
The ship slowed to a stop and Leo Saint Clair cleared his mind as the transport docked.
The Nyctalope stepped off the transport and on to the landing dock at the Royal Tower in Helium. The cool Martian wind blew red dust into his enhanced eyes as he looked down the long runway to a group who approached him.
Just by looking at them, he knew exactly who they were. In the back of the group was a massive green man with four arms and menacing tusks protruding from his jaw. He was a member of the race know as the Tharks. The majestic figure took long strides with confidence and power that proclaimed he was a warrior born. The Nyctalope realized this majestic figure was none other than Barsoom’s most honored son, the mighty Tars Tarkas.
Just in front of him, a woman pushed back her hair to reveal one of the most beautiful faces the Nyctalope had ever seen. Her perfectly shaped body had a red hue to it that only made her more appealing, while her traditional Martian attire left just enough to imagination. Had she not been Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, and, more importantly, the wife of the man next to her, the Nyctalope would have attempted to woo her to his will.
To call her husband a mere man was to do him no justice—he was truly a legend. He stood slightly over six feet tall and had the build of a world class athlete. Dressed in the meager garbs of a warrior of Helium, his chiseled muscles gave him the appearance of a barbarian warrior. The man’s face was rugged and bespoke the look of person who had been through countless battles. This was John Carter, Warlord of Mars.
The Nyctalope had been briefed by French Intelligence before returning to Mars. John Carter was a legend on Earth as well. His age was unknown. He was reported to have fought in the American Civil War, but couldn’t remember his life before that. Even now, he hardly looked a day over thirty! The belief on Earth was that he may have suffered from some kind of amnesia prior to the Civil War, and that his stay on Mars may have slowed the aging process. Outlandish report mentioned a warrior of similar appearance showing up in ancient Phoenicia, as well as a 13th century “Outlaw from Torn.” The Nyctalope wrote off these reports as far-fetched folklore.
What was known was that Carter had somehow been transported to Mars—or Barsoom as the natives called it—and had risen from slave to Warlord in the span of only a few years. He was not just warlord of one race, but had forged several warring races into a single alliance. In effect, he was to Mars what Arthur had been to England, but what he had accomplished had been on a near global scale. Carter was also reported to be a master swordsman, horseback rider, and marksman.
As the group reached him, Leo bowed and said: “Honored emissaries of Helium, I am at your service!”
The group returned the bow as Dejah Thoris spoke: “Leo-Saint-Clair, it is you who honor us, with your presence!”
The Nyctalope quickly made a mental note to be aware of the Barsoomian custom of addressing a person by his full name.
“I am Dejah Thoris, this mighty Thark is Tars Tarkas!” she continued. (The Thark grunted and nodded his head.) “May I also introduce my husband, John Carter, Warlord of Mars!”
Carter extended his hand and the Nyctalope replied in kind: “It is truly an honor to meet a warrior the caliber of one such as yourself, John Carter.”
“Please Leo-Saint-Clair, your own prowess far exceeds mine, if only half of what I heard about you is true. However, we are presently in dire need of your skills as a detective. I fear we may have a serial murderer on our hands.” Carter’s face became grim. “We have had a series of bizarre murders in Helium, and in the
nearby abandoned city the Tharks occupy. Strangely, all of the victims were warriors in the prime of their lives. To slay someone in a duel of honor in Helium is rare, but not unheard of. Tharks slaying other Tharks is far from unusual, as that is how in their culture, one advances his status. Yet, in all of the slayings, no one has come forth to claim a duel of honor, or the status or belongings of the slain Tharks.”
They had now entered the palace. The Nyctalope attempted to learn more about the circumstances of the crimes.
“What of the slayings themselves? You seem to think they’re all connected… Do they have similar wounds in common?”
John Carter looked off into the distance. “Yes, but to describe them as mere wounds hardly conveys what’s been done to the victims. It’s more like mutilations.” Carter sighed. “We have left the latest bodies as we found them. Perhaps you should see for yourself.”
John Carter looked at the Nyctalope. “The room has remained undisturbed and as we found it,” he said. “No one has stepped in it since the bodies were found. I must warn you: it is a gruesome sight.”
The door to the training room swung open. Even the hardened Nyctalope had to turn his head from the stench that came rushing through the doors. John Carter walked in first, followed by Tars Tarkas, and the Nyctalope.
Leo surveyed the room. It was large, about 40 meters longs, 30 meters high, and 25 meters wide. Its center was largely empty, as it was meant for the training and sparring of warriors. The walls were adorned with weapons of various kinds. The floor and the ceiling, however, drew the most attention. They were awash in blood.
The Nyctalope could not help but step in it and leave tracks across the floor. From the ceiling, suspended upside down, were the bodies of two men who had been training when they were attacked. As the Nyctalope walked through the room, he could see that both men had been decapitated, and the red color of their bodies which he had initially thought to be their skins, was in reality nothing but blood and muscle—as both bodies had been totally skinned.
He looked away and rubbed his fingers across his chin, taking a moment to compose himself. He thought that even the notorious Ripper murders in London were nothing compared to what he now beheld.
The Nyctalope asked that the bodies be taken down. He then started examining the walls of the training room. As he slowly walked around, his keen eyes searched every centimeter of the place, looking for information.
After circling the room, he came to back to John Carter and Tars Tarkas.
“I can tell you that the men hanging there were caught completely off guard,” he said. “Moreover, they were both dead before either one of them could react.”
The Nyctalope led the others to the left wall of the room.
“See here, this dark discoloration on the wall… It’s a burn, not a smudge.” John Carter and Tars Tarkas eyed the spot in question. “Strangely, there is no projectile in the wall, nor are there signs of ricochet to another point in the room…”
Leo walked over to the bodies and stopped at the nearest corpse. A cursory exam put the picture of how this man had perished together in his mind. He pointed to the gaping hole in the man’s chest.
“That hole was cauterized instantly,” he said. “Then, whatever hit him blew out his back and hit the wall over there. It was almost as if he was killed by a ball of fire.”
He looked at the second man in question and focused on the man’s muscle tissue.
“This man’s body is even more confusing. His flesh shows a fine pattern of cuts throughout his body as if a net had been thrown over him and then used to slice him to ribbons. The manner in which it was done is unorthodox as well…” Leo pointed to the man’s chest. “Look: small shards of steel are embedded in the chest. I also found small shards of the same steel on the floor over there…”
He led the group to a section of wall with some blood splattered in a distinct pattern.
“This wall has small holes in it, which appear to form a circular pattern. As impossible as it sounds, I believe that a net of some kind was thrown over this man, then it attached itself to the wall and constricted, slicing into his flesh. The odd thing is that, looking at the shards in the man’s chest and on the floor, I’m sure that he’d managed to get his sword between him and the net. Still, in the end, the net sliced through the sword as well as the man…”
Tars Tarkas growled: “What manner of creature could have done this?”
The Nyctalope looked back at the bodies to see if he might have missed anything. After further examination, he turned to the other two. “Over the span of how many nights have these murders occurred?”
John Carter closed his eyes. “Four of the past six nights. The first two murders took place in the city of the Tharks three nights ago. A day went by with nothing, then there was a murder in Helium, and this double murder yesterday.”
The Nyctalope shook his head. “Sadly, I fear this will not be the last murder.”
The Nyctalope awoke to find a frantic Dejah Thoris in his bed room.
“Leo Saint-Clair! Something has attacked Tars Tarkas! Please come with me at once!”
Dejah Thoris raced through the palace with the Nyctalope close on her heels. As they ran through the hallways, Leo was once more struck by her beauty, but he quickly pushed the thought to the back of his mind.
They came upon the room that was Tars Tarkas palace dwelling, and saw the massive warrior being carried out on a stretcher. He was bleeding and unconscious; his lower right arm had been nearly cut in half. Inside, Kantos Kan and several other Martians were gathered around the dead bodies of two palace guards that lay on the floor.
Dejah Thoris ran over to embrace her husband while the Nyctalope crouched down examined the bodies. When he had finished, he stood up and found John Carter standing next to him.
“John Carter what happened?” he inquired. “Is Tars Tarkas in stable condition?”
“Tars Tarkas will heal with time; his wound is serious but his arm can be repaired. It seems that he was returning to his quarters when something attacked him. Several guards heard the commotion in the hallway. Two went to assist Tars Tarkas, while another alerted me. I ran back to find the two guards dead and Tars Tarkas battling a phantom! He fought valiantly, but nothing was there. I saw his arm nearly cut into two as something invisible struck him in the head. I sprang to his aid and crashed into something. Whatever it was made some kind of a clicking sound, like a rock being used to sharpen a knife, and jumped out the window.” John Carter grabbed the Nyctalope by the shoulders and spoke in hurried voice. “My friend, what manner of being is this? The creature is invisible and capable of killing our mightiest warriors.”
“I have a hypothesis of what we might be dealing with,” said Leo. “The bodies of these guards were killed in a much quicker fashion than those victims which were put on display earlier. This one was clearly shot with the same cauterizing weapon we saw utilized on the warriors in the training room. The second guard has double puncture wounds through his heart. He was killed with a twin-bladed instrument, like a pitch fork.”
“Walk with me back to my chambers and explain the matter, please, Leo-Saint-Clair,” said Carter. “I do not wish to discuss the situation in front of such a crowd as has gathered here.”
Kantos Kan and a small group of Carter’s trusted allies walked back toward his chamber, along with the Nyctalope and the Princess.
As they came to an empty hallway, the Nyctalope voiced his thoughts:
“To allay any fears, I do not think that our murderer was a phantom or an evil spirit. However, what I believe him to be may be even more fearsome. With further evidence from the latest victims, I can be certain of only one thing: our attacker is not from any of the known species on Barsoom. Not only does he not seem to operate under the ethical codes of the Tharks, the Sorns, the Hross, the Hither People, or any other known race, but his weapons are clearly beyond the scope of Barsoomian technology. No Martian species has been able to develop weapons a
ble to cut through steel like paper, or use camouflage that renders them invisible.”
The Nyctalope took a deep breath as the group kept walking. “It is my belief that the creature we seek is of alien origin to Barsoom,” he said at last.
Dejah Thoris questioned, “If that is so, why then did the creature attack us in such a brutal way? Why did he not try to make contact with us? Is he the vanguard of an invasion?”
The Nyctalope shook his head. “His method of operation does not imply that he is looking to invade Barsoom. I think he is here on a hunting trip.”
John Carter’s face took on puzzled look “A hunting trip?”
“Yes. Based on the method he is using to mutilate the bodies of his victims, I believe this to be the case. The skinning of the bodies and removal of their heads is akin to what a hunter on Earth would do to a fox or a stag. I think he is collecting trophies. I also feel he is now going for the big game, so to speak. He started out with Thark and Helium warriors; now, he has made a run on Tars Tarkas, one of the most renowned warriors on the planet…”
The group turned a corner and saw a large, spear-like weapon sticking into John Carter’s chamber door. The Nyctalope turned to Carter:
“I think he has just set his sights on the biggest prize on Barsoom.”
Dejah Thoris began to weep and threw her arms around her husband.
John Carter, Leo, and a small squad of a half-dozen guards had set up in the desert as per the Nyctalope’s instructions.
Carter, himself, rode out into the desert shortly before sunset, armed with only a sword. He was purposely making a spectacle of himself to ensure the creature would follow. Shortly after that, the Nyctalope and the guards headed in the opposite direction into the desert. They then double-backed under cover of dark.
The Nyctalope Steps In Page 13
