Action Division Three

by Perry Rhodan

  Larry figured that the man must have come through a hypno-course of some kind-if it had come to that, then something big was really cooking somewhere.

  "You were about to say something when you came in my friend," suggested Ron. "What was it? I didn't mean to interrupt you."

  Zatok made a cross-like sign at the level of his head, which meant: And how! "I believe somebody wants to see one of you two," he announced.

  Ron gave him a friendly smile. "If you believe that much, then probably that somebody is outside the door. Bring him in. Who is it?"

  At that moment there was a din of stomping feet without. Zatok was somewhat unceremoniously shoved aside as the giant figure of a bearded man marched into the small room. He was even a slight bit taller than Ron Landry.

  Larry struggled to conceal his surprise. This man was Alboolal chieftain of the Springer clan that operated the large trading station on Ghama.

  "Just happened to be in the area," he said in Arkonese. His blustering tone was typical of his kind. "I thought maybe it'd be a good idea to drop in to say hello."

  He looked about him. Larry offered him a seat after introducing him to Ron.

  The Springer was obviously curious. "So you're intending to stay here for awhile?"

  Ron shrugged. He made no attempt to be courteous. His interkosmo was so abominable that even Larry could hardly understand it.

  "Don't know... depends on a couple of things... have to see."

  Alboolal let out a thunderous laugh. "Aha! I get it! Secret-right? Something you don't want the opposition to know about. But I assure you the Ghama trade is beginning to drag for us. I think we'll be pulling out of here before long. You can have this water world all to yourselves..."

  "Oh...?" muttered Ron.

  "Yes, that's right. For you people it can still be a big chunk of commerce maybe." Alboolal made a deprecating gesture. "But we're not much for these country trading posts. We go for the main stream."

  Nobody answered. Alboolal looked about and suddenly felt uneasy. He got to his feet. "Maybe I shouldn't take up so much of your time. Anyway, all I wanted to do was say hello. Well-here's to good neighbors!" He nodded to Ron as he said this.

  Ron got up and although he might have been a hand-breadth shorter than Alboolal there was something in his supple efficiency of movement that was quite impressive enough. Alboolal's grinning expression froze. He seemed to sense the hostility that radiated from Ron. He had been about to leave but now he stood there transfixed by Ron's glaring look.

  "Don't forget to make your will and appoint your successor," said Ron in a low tone of voice.

  But his words were unmistakable because he spoke Interkosmo this time without the trace of an accent.

  5/ DAY OF THE MONSTER

  Relay 14 to EMPRESS OF ARKON: All cups are in the pantry. All cups are in the pantry. Over...

  Freighter EMPRESS OF ARKON to Relay 14: Housekeeping's fine down here. How about you? Over and out...

  • • •

  When it was over with, Richard Silligan didn't know how or in what sequence of events everything had transpired. When he was finally able to think clearly he knew that in any ease he was sitting on a wooden bench and close before him was the face of a creature that seemed to have spring from a nightmare.

  He remembered Tony had sought to bring the nose up fast before they hit the water. He had succeeded partially. The lifeboat had groaned as if ready to explode-but it had responded. It even climbed slightly higher. It served to cut down some more of their speed but the final crash from a height of several hundred meters had been rough.

  For a few seconds Richard lost consciousness. As a regulation precaution his spacesuit was closed, so nothing could happen to him in the water. When he had opened his eyes again there was a dim green light around him and the outside microphones were picking up nothing but gurgling sounds. He found himself paddling through water, actually at a considerable depth, judging by the comparative darkness. When his reason returned to him he had started to call out. The others also had their spacesuits on and if something hadn't happened to all of them at the moment of impact at least one of them should hear him.

  But before Richard had received an answer there was a sudden movement in the water. He had seen a shadow approaching him. At first he thought it to be a large fish that had caught his scent Ghama was famous for its voracious sea monsters and the thought of a lidiok or whatever the things were called did not fill him with any special enthusiasm.

  But it had not been a Lidiok. It was a fairly crude-looking submersible craft of some kind with thick glass portholes. It had come to a stop next to him. A hatch opened on the side of its hull and a pair of hands gripped him heftily, pulling him into an airlock chamber. The hatch closed and water was pumped out of the small room. Until this point Richard had not been able to see any of his rescuers: however now another hatch opened and somebody had dragged him into the interior of the boat. Breathlessly he sat down on a wooden bench and in the dimly-lit chamber he was aware of many other benches around him.

  "The brown-skinned creature with the protruding eyes and hairless skull observed him carefully as though he wished to memorize every detail of his face and never forget them. A Ghamese, thought Richard. Friendly, peaceloving, motivated by childish curiosity. This much he remembered-but also that they were faithfully subservient to the Springers. He concluded his own observation with the mental note that this latter was the only drawback these creatures had.

  He looked around. Two benches behind him sat Tony Laughlin, who had his helmet off and was staring about in wide-eyed amazement. At the end of the same bench where the bulkhead served as a back support, he saw Lyn Trenton and Dynah Langmuir. Neither Lyn nor Dynah had opened their helmets. Dynah seemed to be unconscious, probably from fright.

  But something else was stirring back there. Two of the benches began to shake and wobble as an unkempt head of white hair came into view. This was followed by a pair of curious, beady eyes and finally the rest of the little man rose up with his helmet back on his shoulders like the hood of a Capuchin monk.

  Ezekiel Dunlop Rykher was grumbling bitterly: "I pity the next person who tries to talk me into a cratchy (lousy) contest...!"

  • • •

  Other than the one Ghamese who had just finished studying him, there were no others of his kind in this inner chamber. However, as Richard's eyes became accustomed to the twilight dimness of the place he made out a door in the forward bulkhead which no doubt led to the craft's control room. Undoubtedly more of the small fishmen were up there.

  The meager light available came directly through the portholes from the water outside. The vessel was in motion. Richard could see it in the swirling of the water and he could feel the powerful vibrations which came through the walls. Everything smelled of sea-water and fish. Even the Ghamese smelled of the sea and fish. Richard caught himself wonderingly asking what else they were supposed to smell of.

  He was still a bit confused and his reasoning powers returned only slowly. A few moments before, it had seemed that he was sitting in a crashing lifeboat Now he was crouched on a primitive bench inside a wooden submarine that was being piloted by the smooth-skinned native inhabitants!

  Meanwhile their Ghamese rescuer had moved to the wall near the airlock and was now observing the five Terrans with a smile on his face.

  Richard turned around. "How are you doing, Tony?" he asked.

  Tony seemed startled. "OK, thanks," he more or less stammered. "Still a little confused."

  Richard nodded to him encouragingly. On the bench behind Tony, Ez Rykher had been brushing imaginary dust from his suit, which of course was a ludicrous instinctive gesture, but now he turned to see what he could do for Dynah.

  "Leave her alone!" Trenton challenged him. "It's just as well she doesn't experience too much of this."

  Ez paid no attention. He simply stretched out his arm and shoved Trenton to one side. The latter was not accustomed to such treatment. He fail
ed to react out of sheer astonishment. Ez opened Dynah's helmet and threw it back. Then he lifted the girl from where she was sitting and stretched her out on the bench. He had shaped the plastic helmet material into a cushioning sort of pillow for her head.

  When Dynah opened her eyes her first words did not sound too feminine. "Phew-what a stink in here!"

  Ez laughed in his grumbling sort of way. "It's not the most elegant of drawing-rooms," he told her, "but it's dry in here!"

  Dynah sat up, assisted by Ez. "Where are we?" she asked.

  Ez turned around. "Hey, Dick! She's asking where we are. Do you think these natives can understand Interkosmo!"

  Richard was chagrined that he had to be reminded of this. He turned to the Ghamese and spoke to him in Interkosmo. "We are grateful for our rescue," he said. "You've really helped us out of a bad scrape."

  The Ghamese grinned. "I Gherek," he answered brokenly. "No need thank. We go city. You rest. Then see what do."

  "But we don't prefer to go to the city," asserted Lyn Trenton suddenly and his tone was none too gentle. "Take us to the Terran base!"

  Richard turned toward him with an angry retort on the tip of his tongue but before he could express himself Gherek answered.

  "Not possible. Must go city. Friends say."

  While speaking he had been slipping along the wall toward the forward bulkhead door. Richard could clearly see that the situation was going to become unpleasant. He turned quickly to Trenton again and shouted at him.

  "Trenton, you keep your mouth shut. These people have..."

  Trenton had jumped to his feet. The events of the last few minutes appeared to have taken him half out of his mind. He was no longer the calm, superior man that he had represented himself to be. He interrupted Richard in mid-sentence to yell in Arkonese at their rescuer.

  "I'll show you whose orders you are to obey! We're going to our own base here and not to your filthy city. We..."

  His hand lowered to his belt since every spacesuit was equipped with a small beam weapon. It was plain to see that Trenton wanted to intimidate the Ghamese with it and force him to do his will. But it was Trenton who was the first to discover that they no longer had their weapons.

  "They... they've taken our beamers from us!" gasped Trenton chokingly. He looked as if he were about to faint from fright.

  Richard jumped up, instinctively grasping their dangerous position. If the Ghamese had taken their weapons he knew he'd have to capture Gherek and hold him as a hostage. But Gherek was aware of the situation. Before Richard could jump over the bench that was in front of him, the Ghamese opened the door of the forward bulkhead. For the fraction of a second Richard had a glimpse of a small, brightly-lit room filled with strange equipment where two other Ghamese looked up in startlement to see what was happening behind them.

  Then the door slammed into place and Gherek disappeared. Richard hit the door panel with full force but it was solid. The only result was a sharp pain in his right shoulder.

  "Tony! Ez! Trenton! Come here!" he panted. "We have to get this thing open before they..."

  He spared himself the rest of the words since everyone seemed to know what to do and why. They ran against the door with their combined strength. After the first five attacks against the wooden panel it appeared that in time they might succeed. Until now everything had remained silent behind the door.

  But then Richard suddenly heard a hissing sound. "Quiet!" he ordered. "Everybody be still!"

  They stood where they were and listened. The hissing sound appeared to come from all directions. There were a few places along the wall where it seemed to be more audible than elsewhere. Richard found a small hole and when he transferred saliva to it on the tip of his finger, he saw that it made bubbles.

  He was about to say something but at that moment he felt his legs go out from under him. Suddenly the inside of the submarine looked as if he were staring through a long tube. He heard Tony cry out but even his voice sounded strangely remote.

  Richard crashed to the deck but hardly felt a thing. It felt as though the strange vessel were rearing upward wildly. Then for a long time he did not feel or sense another thing.

  • • •

  Larry chewed a bit nervously at his lower lip. "I don't, understand anything about diplomatic strategy," he admitted, "but do you think it was a good idea to say that to Alboolal, right to his face?"

  Ron stood by the window with a glass in his hand. He laughed. "Do you really think we could have pulled the wool over their eyes? The minute they shot down that lifeboat they knew they were sitting on a hot bed of coals around here. So when they saw our supply ship come in five days ahead of schedule they knew what they were in for. The only reason Alboolal came in here was to see who the man was that Terra had decided to send."

  He came away from the window and set the glass down on the table rather emphatically. "No, my friend, Alboolal knows what's up between him and me. What he does not know-and hopefully won't find out-is where we propose to go from here. All security measures we've employed so far have related strictly to the Ghamese. They must not suspect that we're getting ready to make things hot as Hades for the Springers."

  Larry ran both hands through his hair. "Glord!" he moaned, thinking of the space castaways. "If I could only see how we could help the poor devils! Do you think they're even alive at this stage?"

  Ron shrugged his shoulders. "There are three possibilities," he answered. "First: when they crashed the impact killed them or they were so badly wounded by it that they were helpless and sank to the bottom. Secondly: they survived the crash but became victims of one of your hair-raising sea monsters."

  When he gave Larry a white-toothed grin, the latter interrupted him somewhat peevishly. "Laugh as much as you want to, Ron! One of these days you'll get to see a Lidiok and then you won't think they're so funny."

  Ron nodded, though still grinning. "Suits me," he said. "But now then, third: they survived the crash and no Lidiok ate them up. I'm assuming that the lifeboat carried them at least 200 or 300 meters into the depths. Before they quite regained their senses or got to the surface, the Ghamese fished them out. There's a 10-to-1 chance the natives would turn the survivors over to the Springers before they'd bring them to us.

  "In which case they are prisoners."

  "Precisely. Two hours ago the Empress of Arkon received a 'cups-in-the-pantry' sign. You know what that means. The Fleet is deployed to its advanced positions and is ready to give us support if it should come to an open conflict. Tonight we'll pay a visit to the Springer camp and have ourselves a little look around. All I need is for Alboolal to cross my path just once...!"

  He turned again and looked out the window toward the narrow beach which ran along below the small house. It was just wide enough to keep the surf from reaching the foundation wall.

  "What do you do, anyway, if you have a storm here?" he asked.

  "Nothing," Larry answered disinterestedly. "There aren't any storms here. This climate is so well balanced that it never works up a storm. The weather on Ghama is one of the most monotonous things I've experienced."

  Ron laughed. "You should watch out that a Terran tourist agency doesn't find that out. The World with the Absolute Weather Guarantee... or something like that. Already I can see them.

  He interrupted himself to listen. A chorus of cries emerged from somewhere. Larry had also tensed to listen attentively. Outside in the passageway they heard the patter of naked feet. Very close by they heard the high, lamenting cry of a native.

  "Liiidiooook...!"

  Larry was at the door in a flash "A Lidiok!" he exclaimed. "A Lidiok is approaching the island!"

  Ron made an easy jump over the table that was in his way. Larry was already outside in the passageway. Ron ran after him, shouting: "Get your boat ready! This is our chance!"

  • • •

  The sea was as calm as ever. The only thing that hinted of danger was the small group of natives that pressed anxiously inside a se
awall enclosure around a warehouse. From time to time one of the Ghamese would poke his head out to look toward the water but usually after two or three seconds he would go under cover again.

  Larry and Ron sprinted to the boat that lay on the shore, half pulled up onto the sand.

  "Do you have some strong tackle?" Ron called out while they were running.

  Larry widened his eyes at him in amazement. "Are you serious-?! You think you're going to catch a Lidiok with tackle...?"

  Ron smiled. It was a young and insolent smile. Larry thought to himself that he had no idea of what he was doing.

  "With tackle, skill and this here," Ron laughed as he slapped the heavy energy weapon which he wore in his belt.

  They reached the boat and gave it a powerful shove into the water. Larry swung aboard skilfully but Ron didn't know about such things and so missed his chance. The boat was rocking in the water about three meters from shore and there was Ron still on dry land.

  But it didn't seem to matter to him. He yelled to Larry: "Duck!"

  Then he made a short but swift run and jumped. It carried him flat across the water and into the boat with such force that Larry was almost thrown overboard. He caught himself on the gunwale and looked at Ron reproachfully.

  "Do you always embark like that?" he asked.

  "Only when my host can't offer the luxury of a gang-plank," Ron answered. where do you keep the tackle?"

  "Here," said Larry as he produced a box from under the stern seat.

  Ron opened it impatiently and spent awhile looking over the powerful line with the hooks as big as the palm of his hand. "Not bad," he admitted. "what do you usually catch with this stuff-sunken spacecraft?"

  Larry did not answer him. He was looking seaward but the Lidiok was not letting itself be seen yet. The same as with all of its kind. It would show itself just once in the beginning, only to disappear for awhile.