“Sure,” he said. “Pretty good trip.” When he opened the slit in the door of the ship a stinging blast of air cut rawly against his face and he realized then that neither of them were dressed for the bitter cold. He had supplemented his wardrobe with a knee-length leather jacket, but that was scant protection against the freezing temperatures outside the ship.
He looked out again through the swirling snow mists and this time he saw several bulky, fur clad figures struggling through the drifts toward the ship.
“Jan!” he cried excitedly. “We’ve found them.”
Disregarding the cold he wedged his way through the narrow door and stumbled awkwardly forward.
His sensations were terribly mixed. These were Tibetans, Mongols perhaps, but they were humans, intelligent humans who still had the spark of pride and dignity in them.
When he met the first snow-blanketed figure he was so overcome with relief and joy that he threw his arms about him and crushed him to his breast like a long lost brother.
“Please!” a soft muffled voice said against his chest. “Do you always greet strange girls like this? You’re crushing my ribs.”
Dirk grabbed the small figure by the shoulders, his mind reeling incredulously. He bent closer and saw a young girl looking into his eyes. There was a gleam of humor in her dark eyes and a lop-sided grin on her cold-blued lips. “Hello,” she said.
CHAPTER VIII
Morma-Ri, Lama
THE underground rooms of the ancient Tibetan monastery were heated and lighted by mighty log fires blazing in immense hearths carved into the stone walls. Skins and rugs of fur covered the rough floor and the beams of the ceiling were blackened by the strong smoke of fires that had been lighted before the dawn of the Christian era. Scattered about the huge, high-vaulted room were a number of wooden benches and before the fires rude chairs had been built.
Dirk rested in one of these chairs, his feet stretched toward the roaring fire. In spite of the fact that he had been fed and clothed in warm, dry garments, he was far from at ease. There were so many things he had to know that his mind was like a buzzing beehive of questions.
The strange girl had disappeared when they reached the monastery and the two aged monks who had served food then were evidently deaf mutes. Their only answer to his anxious questions had been an inscrutable smile and a slight shrug. After filling his stomach Jan had promptly stretched out on the floor and dropped off to sleep.
Dirk glanced down at his recumbent snoring figure and grinned faintly. There were compensations to the uncivilized state he decided.
His own anxious musings were interrupted a few minutes later by a soft voice behind him which said:
“Welcome to our home, my good friend.”
Dirk turned, startled. Standing behind him was a small, fragile monk, with a seamed, aged face and silvery hair dropping to his shoulders.
And alongside the monk, with a faint amused smile touching her lips, was the strange girl he had met so awkwardly a short while before. She was wearing a blouse and trousers of soft light leather that accentuated the slim feminine contours of her body. Her hair was dark and her eyes were the deep blue of mountain streams.
He found himself blushing under her smiling gaze.
“I am Morma-Ri,” the aged monk said, seemingly oblivious to Dirk’s preoccupation with the girl. “It is I who talked with you by radio. It is unnecessary for me to tell you how delighted I am that you have reached us safely. In this world that has known so much unhappiness we dare not even let ourselves hope for happier times. Still we cannot help but hope that your safe arrival is a symbol that the light will some day shine again through the darkness.”
HE seated himself and the girl dropped to the floor at his knee.
His hand, white and blue-veined, touched her dark hair in an affectionate caress, as he smiled at Dirk.
“You are wondering about her?” he asked.
Dirk grinned in embarrassment. “Was it that obvious?”
The girl smiled. “I’m afraid so. But you can’t be blamed for being surprised. My people were the descendants of missionaries who were here when Earth was invaded. I was born here. The Lama’s have raised and educated me. They call me Chiang-Lee but I think Lee is nicer, don’t you?”
“W—why yes,” Dirk stammered. “I think it’s very nice.”
“Then you’ll call me Lee?”
“Certainly—Lee,” Dirk said. “I’ll be happy to.”
Morma-Ri was smiling softly, almost to himself, but his bright intelligent eyes remained fixed on Dirk’s face and he seemed pleased with what he saw there.
“You must tell us of yourself,” he said finally. “There is so much we need to know.”
Dirk told them everything he could remember, from the day, long years before, when he had first sighted the blue ships from space, to the fight which he and Jan had had with the tendril-armed creatures a few short days ago.
When he had finished Morma-Ri gazed silently into the blazing fire, his eyes clouded. At last he sighed and said:
“The creatures you attacked and killed are the ones who came from Saturn. They inhabit the western coast of what was once known as the United States. The other invaders, by far the most numerous and dangerous, came from Mars. They have built a huge central city on the ancient site of New York.”
“I didn’t know that two separate planets had attacked Earth,” Dirk muttered. “What was their purpose?”
Morma-Ri shrugged slightly.
“Why, for that matter, did ancient Spain send warriors to attack and claim the continent of North America? They desired it and, on the theory that might makes right, they simply took it. The invaders from space may use Earth as a link in their interplanetary chain, a trading post, or source of raw materials.”
“Have the races from Saturn and Mars always worked in harmony?” Dirk asked. “You know that when Spain claimed the continent of North America, the other nations of Europe promptly went to war with her.”
“Apparently,” Morma-Ri said, “Saturn and Mars have had no such trouble. They have evidently worked out an equitable system to apportion the spoils of Earth. I seem to recall that in the past, difference arose between them, but that was long ago. A traveler who came here years ago claimed that he had seen one of the blue ships from Saturn fighting a red ship of Mars. But he was delirious from cold and exposure and he might well have been mistaken. I see what you are thinking, my friend, but I fear it is a useless hope. If the invading races would kill each other off in a civil war it would leave the Earth once again to Man. We have all hoped for something like that to happen, but I am afraid it is merely optimistic thinking.”
“Maybe not,” Dirk muttered.
An idea, the nucleus of a daring fantastic plan was forming in his mind. It was simple and obvious, yet its implications were staggering.
“WHAT are you thinking, my friend?” Morma-Ri asked quietly-
Dirk hesitated, considering his answer. He wanted to be sure that Morma-Ri and the girl, Lee, understood exactly the danger of what he had in his mind. For himself he felt no fear or anxiety. This lack of concern puzzled him a little. For he knew that in his own age he had been no swashbuckling hero, but just a capable engineer, leading a pleasant, interesting life.
“I was thinking,” he said at last, “that a man by the name of Hitler almost subjugated the world with the strategy of dividing and conquering. We might try something on that line.”
“But that’s impossible,” the girl, Lee, said. “We are only a handful of weak, helpless humans. How can we divide two powerful, ruling races?”
“Our daughter speaks wisely,” Morma-Ri said, nodding. “But what is in your mind, friend?”
Dirk leaned forward and the dancing flames from the fire caught the determined glint in his eyes, and the square jutting angle of his jaw.
“We can try,” he said grimly. “If the Martians thought the creatures from Saturn had attacked them, they would probably strike back, wouldn�
�t they?”
But surely,” Morma-Ri admitted.
“But how do you propose to make the ships of Saturn attack the Martians?”
“That’s not my idea,” Dirk said with a faint grin. “But we have a Saturn ship mounted with heavy weapons. And we know the location of the Martian city. Do we need anything else?”
“Oh,” Morma-Ri said softly. “I understand, yes, I understand perfectly.” Lee clapped her hands together excitedly, her face radiant.
“It’s a wonderful idea,” she cried. Then she looked up at Morma-Ri and a determined expression changed her face. “And you just try to keep me from coming along,” she said emphatically.
Morma-Ri smiled wearily.
“That will be decided later. Now there is much to be done.”
CHAPTER IX
Target—New York!
IT was two weeks later that Dirk sighted, from the control cockpit of the blue Saturn ship, the vast Martian city which the invaders from the red planet had built on the ashes of New York, stretching for mile after mile along the Atlantic coast.
Lee was standing beside him, peering excitedly as the screen in front of them mirrored the gigantic metropolis which they were approaching.
Jan and Morma-Ri were in the rear of the ship. It had taken the four of them almost the two complete weeks to prepare for the trip. They had food and clothing to last them several weeks.
Weapons had been their chief problem. Jan and Dirk were equipped with the silver rods which they had appropriated from the slain creatures from Saturn, but these were an unknown quantity so far as effectiveness was concerned.
Dirk had tested the blasting ray weapon which was part of the ship’s equipment and was completely satisfied that it would be satisfactory for their purposes. With one short blast he had almost obliterated a hill of granite.
Cautiously, now that they were nearing their objective, he cut the speed and altitude of the ship until they were coasting a few hundred feet over the outlying segments of the city.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Lee breathed, eyes riveted to the visibility screen.
Dirk glanced up, then studied the controls again.
It was beautiful. Structures of shining white metal were built in perfect geometrical figures as far as the eye could reach.
All were of the same size and shape and color. They towered perhaps two hundred feet in the air and were in the form of perfect squares. Everything seemed to be constructed of the same brilliantly shining metal. Cutting through these white square structures, were broad avenues, almost a mile wide.
Figures could be seen moving on the ground, but it was impossible to determine any of their physical characteristics. From their height they appeared as short squat bugs scurrying over the ground. Vehicles moved through the magnificent streets and, in the air. A great distance away they could see several lazily moving red ships of apparently the same general shape and size as the one they were flying.
“Won’t our blue color attract attention?” Lee asked, turning from the screen.
“That’s the general idea,” Dirk replied.
They flew on in silence for another few minutes, covering miles of the vast city of blocks. Dirk felt a feeling of helplessness sweeping over him as he looked at the immense reaches of the Martian empire. Any effort of theirs would be practically unnoticed in this mighty, unending metropolis.
A FEW seconds later Lee touched his arm and pointed to the screen. On its silvered surface they could see in the distance a majestic structure which rose upward at least four times higher than any of the buildings they had seen.
It too was formed in a square, but its color was a deep crimson. It covered at least a square mile of ground, looking like a huge drop of blood against the brilliant whiteness of the smaller buildings. Four mighty avenues flanked it, setting it apart from the rest of the city. There were no windows visible in the smooth surface of its walls, but then there were no windows in any of the buildings they had seen.
“I wonder what it is?” Lee mused. “Have you any idea?”
An ironical grin touched Dirk’s lean features.
“I know just what it’s going to be,” he answered.
“What?”
“Our target,” he replied. As he spoke his touch flicked the accelerator bar around. The ship spurted ahead under its silent burst of power.
“Why that?” Lee asked.
“Simple enough. It’s obviously some sort of headquarters, palace or main office. We want to make just as nasty an impression as possible so that’s the logical spot to destroy.”
Morma-Ri appeared at the narrow control room door. Fatigue showed in his seamed face, but there was an unquenchable light in his keen eyes.
“We are ready to strike?” he asked, his gaze traveling slowly over the visibility screen.
Dirk nodded. “A few minutes now. Then we’ll head for the caves where Jan’s people are hiding. You’d better tell him to come up here. He’ll be able to spot the landmarks in that section of the country better than I.”
They were hurtling toward the immense blood-red structure at full speed now, and it loomed larger by the second in the screen.
Dirk lifted the nose of the speeding ship and picked up enough altitude to give him a chance to dive for his target. Then his hand closed over the slender bar which served as a trigger for the ray gun mounted in the snout of the ship.
His eyes flicked momentarily to the visibility screen. They were directly above the huge blood red structure, diving toward it at tremendous speed. His fingers tightened on the firing bar.
“This is it,” he said grimly to Lee.
Then he shoved the firing bar forward. Almost instantly a brilliant orange ray of light speared from the nose of the ship, leaping toward the crimson building with the speed and force of a lightning bolt.
THE result was instantaneous. The corner of the building struck by the bolt burst into belching blue flame and a deafening detonation sounded as segments of the wall crashed away from the structure.
A wave of flame and smoke leaped up at them, the force of the blast rocking the ship like a twig in a whirlpool. Dirk leveled out of the dive. As he did so the devastating orange ray flashed over the top of the building, leaving a trail of smouldering destruction in its wake.
Dirk was concentrating on the viza-screen with grim satisfaction in his eyes. So absorbed in the picture of destruction was he, that he didn’t feel
Lee’s tug on his arm until she’d repeated it a second time.
“Dirk,” she cried. There was frantic urgency in her voice. “Dirk, the red ships up in the corner of the screen—”
Dirk’s eyes flashed to where her trembling finger pointed on the uppermost corner of the screen. Tiny red dots were there. Red dots he hadn’t noticed till this instant. Red dots that could mean but one thing—Martian ships, heading at them in a savage burst of speed.
They’d seen the attack, that much was obvious. And now they were streaking through the sky like avenging sharks.
Dirk adjusted his controls frantically and the speedy blue ship zoomed up from the smoking ruins of the majestic red structure in the center of the Martian city.
He didn’t take his eyes off the visibility screen for an instant. The red dots were growing in size, were coming into sight as torpedo-shaped ships, deadly and grim.
“They’ve certainly sighted us,” Lee said tensely. “But that’s what we wanted, wasn’t it?”
Dirk nodded. “We wanted them to get a good look at the blue ship, but we might have done the job too well. It won’t do us much good to start a civil war if we’re burned out of existence before we can take advantage of it.”
He swung the ship around and shoved the accelerator bar hard into place. He could feel the surge of power as they blasted away at bullet-like speed. For silent seconds they raced from the Martian city. Their speed was tremendous, but Dirk realized that the Martian ships were probably just as fast and—there were hundreds, thousands of th
em.
Morma-Ri was suddenly back at the door again.
“The Martian ships are not following,” he said breathlessly. “From the rear port window I have watched them. They stopped at the burning red building and circled about. Later hundreds more of the red ships rose from the ground and joined them. When the sky was dark with their number, they formed formations and flashed away toward the setting sun. They are heading west—toward the city inhabited by the invaders from Saturn. We are safe for the time.”
“I WONDER why they didn’t follow us,” Dirk muttered.
“Perhaps,” Lee said, “they didn’t want to waste time chasing one ship. They evidently decided to avenge the attack on their city with an attack on the Saturn city.”
“Possibly you’re right,” Dirk said. “The Saturns won’t be expecting an attack,” Lee continued excitedly. “They’ll be caught completely by surprise. The Martians may wipe them out completely.”
“Isn’t that a pity,” Dirk said cheerfully. He glanced at the visibility screen for an instant, then turned to Morma-Ri. “Get Jan,” he ordered. “I’ll need him pretty soon to pick out a landing place for us.”
When Morma-Ri had gone, Dirk looked down at Lee and grinned. He felt suddenly a feeling of confidence and elation that, he felt sure, had nothing to do with the fact that a beautiful, dark-haired girl was within arm’s reach.
“The first round goes to us,” he said jubilantly.
“NOW,” Jan said, pointing at the visibility screen. “Now we go down.”
It had taken them perhaps an hour to make the trip, following the ragged Atlantic shore line to the peninsula that once had been known as Florida. The terrain which was mirrored in the visibility screen was strange to Dirk, but Jan seemed positive, so he dipped the nose of the ship in a long glide. Things were breaking so luckily that he hardly dared hope that their good fortune would continue. If they had succeeded in precipitating a civil war between the planetary beings that had invaded Earth, and if they could weld the few remaining humans into a closely knit band they might . . . Dirk shook his head tiredly. There were too many “ifs” involved.
Collected Fiction (1940-1963) Page 102
