by Perry Rhodan
Harno diminished in size as he calmly rose up to the ceiling. His surface images faded out. Bell jumped to his feet. Col. Sikerman also got up but with a bit more dignity.
Together with Rhodan they left the cabin in order to prepare for the next phase of action.
• • •
Marshal Freyt didn't waste time on any arrival speeches. The cruiser had hardly landed inside the giant hangar of the Drusus before an exit ramp emerged from the under portion of its hull. A hospital-type stretcher cart was rolled down the ramp on which was a body wrapped in white sheets. Freyt, Haggard and Jamison followed. They were standing beside the roller cot when Rhodan hurried up to them and shook hands with Freyt.
"That's fast work, Freyt. How's Ellert?"
The marshal's expression was doubtful. "I don't know. I don't like his appearance. Haggard's not happy about it either. The skin coloration of his entire body has taken on a bluish discoloration."
Rhodan's personal physician and friend, Eric Manoli, had just come into the hangar and had caught Freyt's last words. "The mind maintains a connection with the body," he said, "even when separated from it." He greeted the three men. "Ellert is the best proof of that."
"Why do you say that?"
Manoli looked in some surprise at Haggard. "Seems fairly simple to me. Previously, Ellert's vital essence had transmitted a small fraction of its energy to his body—through time and space, down into the tomb. Now that essence itself has become weak, or blocked in some way. Its power may have been used up. The subconsciousness or whatever you may want to call it—is unable to spare any energy. The abandoned body then begins to deteriorate."
Harno had also expressed something like this, quite independently of Manoli.
"And why is Ellert's mind-force becoming so weak?" asked Rhodan.
"Because Onot's own vital essence is becoming stronger," replied Manoli.
Rhodan asked no more questions. He stepped to the stretcher cot and lifted the sheet. His first impression shocked him when he saw Ellert's altered appearance. The closed eyes were deeply sunken into their sockets. The skin was a pale blue.
For 70 years no changes had occurred in Ellert's body. It had seemed as though the time teleporter had only been lying there sleeping but now this state of rest appeared to have ended. Ellert's body already had the look of a dead organism.
Rhodan pulled himself together. Within seconds he arrived at a decision. "I want Bell to take over command of the Drusus in my place. Ras Tschubai and Pucky will accompany me. Yes, you too, Manoli. We're going to Hades. We're taking Ellert's body with us."
Bell was about to say something but he fell silent. Perhaps he saw by Rhodan's expression that any attempt to change his mind would be doomed to failure. Sikerman only nodded his acknowledgement of the arrangement. Freyt seemed to be disappointed.
"Is everything in that much of a rush?"
"Unfortunately, yes—but I want to thank you for acting so swiftly. That may turn out to be the main key to our success, if we do succeed. Fly back to Earth now and I hope we'll see you there soon!"
The departure was brief. Within 10 minutes Rhodan stood in the transmitter cage along with the African teleporter Ras Tschubai and the mouse-beaver Pucky. The stretcher cart supporting the deteriorating body was rolled inside by Manoli and the grid door closed behind him. A green indicator lamp flashed on, signaling that the Hades receiver was in operation.
Rhodan shoved home the activator switch, which appeared to change nothing—at least outside the cage. But outside was another story. Bell, who had been standing near the transmitter, suddenly disappeared and in his place was Capt. Marcel Rous, waiting to receive the expedition. He stepped forward swiftly and opened the door of the receiver cage.
"That was fast," he blurted out in a hurry. "We've picked up another distress signal from Ellert's transmitter. Unfortunately there's no way of answering him. His tiny micro-transmitter has no receiver."
"We'll soon be contacting him ourselves," replied Rhodan and he watched while two men under Manoli's guidance shoved the roller cart out of the cage. "Order one of your Gazelles to be ready for takeoff, Captain. A long-range scout ship is best for our purposes now.
"With crew?"
"No—just a pilot. This operation isn't any milk run and I don't want to place any more people in danger than I have to. The fewer crew, the better."
"Then I'd recommend Lt. Werner Mundi."
"The Hungarian?"
"Actually he's more of an Austrian, sir. A very reliable pilot. I believe you can depend on him."
"I'll have to, Rous. OK, tell Mundi we're taking off in half an hour. Before that I want to take a few things on board the Gazelle."
The somewhat obsolete scoutships of this class were disc-shaped, with a 30-meter diameter. Pole to pole, they were 18 meters in height. Aside from a normal lightspeed capacity, the Gazelles had a hyperjump capability of only five light-years.
Lt. Mundi was already seated at the flight controls, and awaiting orders. He had a ruddy, friendly face, was slightly on the stout side, and appeared to be unusually congenial. When he spoke English, a charming touch of accent betrayed his origin.
Ras Tschubai and Pucky also took their places in the Control Central. They were not in a conversational mood because they weren't greatly enthused over the task which lay ahead of them. There were too many risks involved and there was nothing definite to go on. They had no assurance that they might succeed in escaping from Druufon a second time.
Finally Rhodan entered the control room of the Gazelle, which still lay in an underground hangar of the Hades base. He had seen to it that a large commando case from Solar Intelligence had been stowed away in the hold. In addition to hand weapons, time bombs and other sabotage items it also contained good rations and medical supplies. Beside it had been placed the roller cot containing Ellert's body.
"Lt. Mundi," he ordered, "you may leave Hades now and head for Druufon at normal light-speed. Do not go into transition until I give you the signal."
Mundi responded with a friendly smile and gave the necessary instructions to the airlock crew. Seconds later the disc-shaped scoutship was afloat on its antigravs, rising slowly at first but then with increasing speed as it glided up through the wide shaft to the surface of Hades. The upper locks opened before it and then the Gazelle shot outward into the dark sky of the twilight planet, where it disappeared into the star-fields at a hurtling pace.
• • •
The Druufs were taking their time.
Onot sat hunched on his bed in his prison cell and contemplated the near future with misgivings. Whether or not his invisible tormentor was still present made little difference now. His judges had decided on making a medical examination and a psycho-hypnotic test. It could well be that during such a procedure he might lose his powers of recollection and acquire a new personality.
Perhaps, he thought bitterly, it would have been better if he had listened to the voice. At least then the Superior Magistrate might not have assumed that he had lost his mind. At the most they would have checked him out with a lie detector and found out that he was telling the truth. Ellert would have told him what answers to give and he would have planted a suggestion that he spoke the truth, No lie detector would have been able to tell the difference.
But now it was too late to regret the mistakes of the past.
"It's your own fault," came Ellert's thought. He was still able to monitor Onot's mind effectively. In fact it seemed to him that he was slowly recovering slightly from his recent exertions. If Onot would cease his resistance it might even be possible to get out of the Druuf's body without any detrimental side effects. " Why couldn't you trust me?"
Onot responded mentally and his thoughts were like spoken words: "Why should I trust you, knowing everything about you as I do? You're not concerned about my life since your own is in danger. Didn't I have to assume that whatever you did would be solely for your own benefit? I wanted to be done with all this continuous fal
sification."
"And that's what has gotten you into a serious situation. I can't feel bodily pain—but you can. What are you going to do?"
"I can't do anything but just sit here and wait."
Ellert knew that Onot wasn't lying. The Druuf had definitely given up the fight. But it was also too late even for him, Ellert. If Onot were to suffer a powerful shock it could well be that Ellert's mind and spirit would be forcefully ejected from the Druuf's body and what the outcome would be was anybody's guess.
Suddenly Ellert realized that his already abnormal existence was in danger. He made a small test and found out that he still had enough energy to be able to leave Onot's body. He was sure he'd be able to find another host body he could penetrate. If he remained there silently and passively he'd be able to hold out until Rhodan came for him.
Perhaps that was the best and most reasonable of all solutions.
He shared his thoughts with the scientist but was surprised to see that Onot was opposed to the idea.
"Now you wish to leave me after I've gotten into this terrible mess because of you! No, you must stay! If you can you must help me! Somehow, there must be a way!"
"I don't see any possibility of it," Ellert was forced to confess. "Besides, it's just as much your fault as it is mine. If you had listened to me..."
"If I had the chance again, I'd definitely do so," confirmed Onot.
It was at that moment that the right solution entered Ellert's mind.
4/ PRISON BREAK
Just as the first Druuf patrol units appeared in the far distance, the Gazelle slipped into the protecting realm of hyperspace. It only remained in a dematerialized state for a fraction of a second, however, before it returned to normal space—at least a continuum that was normal for the Druufs. The 16th planet loomed gigantically before them, circled by its 21 moons and a sentry fleet.
A cold smile touched Rhodan's lips as he gave the pilot his instructions. "Keep your residual energy dampers operating and turn on the defense screen. Keep going to the night side of Druufon and take up a holding position there."
Lt. Werner Mundi also smiled but rather than cold, his smile was friendly and full of confidence. "The Druufs are going to be surprised if they don't discover us," he said with a disarming lack of logic. "Do we defend ourselves if they attack?"
"And how!" replied Rhodan.
So to that extent the situation was clear.
Pucky sat on a narrow couch in the corner and listened inwardly. Because of his enormous telepathic faculties he was able to pick up thought-impulses over distances of more than 10,000 km and understand them. Of course at this proximity to Druufon he was picking up a river of thoughts but it was impossible to differentiate Onot's thoughts among them. It was the same as if a person were to hear all radio broadcasts at once and be faced with the task of identifying the program of a specific transmitter.
The mouse-beaver sighed with a mixture of vexation and resignation. "You really should have brought Harno along," he chirped reproachfully, opening his eyes momentarily. "He could have made it easier to locate Onot."
Rhodan spoke gently but firmly. "Harno had to stay with Bell on board the Drusus so that they can be constantly advised of our whereabouts. And besides, what about Ellert? Why don't you try to find him? "
"That's much harder!" protested the mouse-beaver, closing his eyes again. "That phantom just isn't putting out thoughts anymore."
Rhodan refrained from making a comment that wouldn't have been very much in Pucky's favor, but Pucky caught it nonetheless.
Ras Tschubai was a teleporter but he was no telepath, so his question to Pucky was strictly that of a layman. "But don't you know where the prison is located in the capital city? Why don't you search there?"
Pucky opened his eyes again, showing patient resignation. "Now that's real sharp. What makes you think I haven't covered that already? But it seems good old Onot isn't behind bars any more."
Rhodan whirled to stare at him. "What's that, Pucky? Onot isn't in his cell?"
"I can't find him there," said Pucky, rephrasing his report carefully. "Naturally it was the first place I looked but either Onot and Ellert have forgotten how to think—or they're someplace else."
"You could have told us sooner," said Rhodan reprovingly.
"I wanted to find him first," Pucky countered defensively. "Why worry you with only half a report? Maybe they've picked up Onot and taken him to some kind of research institute or something. Don't worry, I'll still find him." Without waiting for a reply, he sank again into his meditations.
Meanwhile, Lt. Mundi pointed to the viewscreen. "If we're going to land we'd better make up our minds soon. We'll soon be through the night zone."
"Any blockade units around?"
"Only far out over the planet. We've already come in under their cover. I hope nobody's tracked us. If our luck holds out, maybe we can sneak into a landing without being noticed. After all, I do have the new anti-tracking screen on."
Rhodan nodded to him. "Make a landing but first turn on the infrared sensors. I'd like to have a look at the terrain. Fortunately there are large portions of the planet covered with mountains and high plateaus—mostly uninhabited. If we can find a safe hiding place, we can operate better from there."
They discovered that they were not far from a small city, which was in a lateral position from their trajectory. They picked up speed and glided several hundred kilometers to the north of it where they found a mountainous area in which there were many deep valleys and canyons. Mundi dropped the Gazelle into a vast declivity until the cliff walls rose on either side of them and the patch of night sky narrowed overhead. Finally the ship landed with hardly a jolt. The engines died down and became silent.
"That was a good landing," said Ras Tschubai appreciatively. "Let's hope nobody finds us here."
"Check this map and see how far we are from the capital," said Rhodan. "We've prepared this according to details from Ellert. Not very exact but it should do for now."
Lt. Mundi got busy and had soon estimated their landing position. "In the capital city it's late at night, sir—about 15,000 km to the West of us. Where we are now it will soon be light."
"Nothing like getting in a good night's sleep!" commented Pucky but he hurried back to his concentration as if to indicate that nobody should take the remark seriously. "I'll give it another try."
"Lay off of that for now," Rhodan told him. "I'd rather have you scout the area around our landing place so that we won't be taken by surprise. Who knows how long we may have to wait here for Ellert?"
"You mean—scout it alone?"
"No. Ras will go with you. Make sure there aren't any Druufs in the near vicinity. Maybe you can also find a hiding place for the Gazelle. I don't like to leave it here in the open, even though we're in a deep gorge. A low-flying patrol ship could easily discover it."
The two teleporters disappeared on their mission to reconnoiter the surrounding terrain. Mundi decided on getting a little sleep. But first he ate a small snack. It was noticeable that he did not relinquish his seat at the controls either to eat or to sleep. Both were accomplished where he sat.
Rhodan sought, out the small sickbay of the ship where Dr. Manoli had established himself. After the landing he had brought Ellert's body here, since the hold didn't seem to him to be the right place for it. In fact he had transferred it onto a bed. Rhodan was able to observe that the bluish coloring had increased—not much but to a disquieting degree nevertheless. "How much longer will the cell structure be capable of responding to resuscitation, Doc?"
Manoli had been present the better part of a century before when Maj. Perry Rhodan of the U.S. Space Force had landed a rocketship on the moon. He too had received the biological cell-shower treatment on Wanderer.
"I can't say definitely but I'd consider even three more days to be a dangerous time span. Tomorrow or at the latest the day after, Ellert had better be back in his body. Otherwise it may be too late."
"The day on Druufon is 48 hours long—so by tomorrow it has to be accomplished. We can't do much during the night."
"If we at least had a telepathic contact with him! I don't understand why Pucky couldn't manage it."
"He hasn't exactly failed us," replied Rhodan in the mouse-beaver’s defense. "The circumstances are against him. Apparently Ellert is so weak that he can hardly radiate his thought-impulses. We can only hope that luck will be on our side." He looked thoughtfully at Ellert's face. "What worries me is the fact that Onot doesn't appear to be in the prison anymore. Pucky can't track him, as he calls it. He has to sort out his thoughts from millions of others."
"Why doesn't he just teleport into the cell where Onot was located? Perhaps he could find a clue."
"He can do that later but not now. We must do everything possible to avoid suspicion on the part of the Druufs. They must not know that their star scientist has any contact with us. Otherwise it would be logical for them to assume that we also possess Onot's discoveries and they would have to take action accordingly. A renewed invasion of the Earth would be inevitable. No, for them Onot must continue to be the traitor—but apparently of his own volition. A mental aberration, perhaps—fine. But possessed by the mind of a Terranian? Never!"
"I understand all that," said Manoli while he paced back and forth in the small clinic. "But I can't figure out how we're going to find Ellert without attracting attention."
"Maybe you're right. While it's still night I'll teleport into the capital with Pucky. Then maybe we'll have a chance to locate Onot. If any Druuf sees our mouse-beaver he certainly won't mistake him for a Terranian. Of course I'll have to keep in the background, myself."
Manoli smiled significantly. "No, they would hardly take Pucky for a human but his appearance among the Druufs would not be without its dangers for us. Someone may have heard of him."
"Pucky will be careful," promised Rhodan and he again sank deep into his thoughts.
