The Revolt of the Star Men, Raymond Z. Gallun [best value ebook reader txt] 📗

He opened it, and with his stylus added a brief message to the mass of notes inside, and wrote down the formula for a certain complex chemical compound. Then he handed the case to the Space Man.

"Take it to Alman Mak in the Checkald of Taboor if you can, Ankova. Good luck."

The son of the rebel chief hurried from the room with the missive in his hand. Shelby knew in his heart that to attempt to get Earth and Mars into action in time was a useless gesture, but he could not suppress a thrill of admiration for this wild son of the void. There was hard mettle in Ankova's makeup, hard and true. And most of them were like that—most of Telaba's men anyway.

"You two come with me," Telaba was saying. "We fight together. Put on space suits." He was tapping an instrument resembling a telegraph key. In unison with his movements the heavy signaling hammer sounded out orders and commands to his forces.

When the Earthians had eased themselves into their heavy protecting attire, Telaba led the way down a spiral stair and through an air lock, out into the open. Here everything was grim silent activity. Group after group of mounted Space Men poured skyward. Telaba's army was a mighty thing; with luck it might have beat down the resistance of either one of the two planets. But when compared with Alkebar's colossal horde, it paled into pitiful insignificance.

Nearby, a space disc, which must have measured fully two hundred feet in diameter, rested. The three mounted the light ladder which led to the interior.

In the metal walls were mounted two heat-ray projectors of Martian design, as well as several torpedo catapults and machine guns. Two Space Men were inspecting them.

Telaba signaled to the driver who knelt with lever in hand. The great disc trembled and the propelling force which no human being had yet learned how to produce, sent it and its burden hurtling toward the stars. The minions of the rebel chief circled and swirled about their commander's ship in wild soundless salute.

Telaba was operating the signaling mechanism which fired lights of various colors up through the roof of the armored coach, and in reply to his flashing commands, his horde formed a monster cone which shot with ever increasing speed through the void.

A sickening giddiness came over the two Earthians, for there were no devices to produce artificial gravity here. It was the space nausea which had made early interplanetary travel such a nightmare. The Star People, born where gravity is almost unknown, were of course not affected in the least.

Clinging to stanchions and hand grips to keep themselves from floating free, Janice Darell and Austin crept about the floor examining the weapons and scanning space ahead for signs of the enemy. They disliked to admit to each other that they were very sick; but if they thought that it was possible to forget the retching pains in their stomachs by diligent devotion to other things, they were mistaken.

Their suffering continued until Jan remembered that the force of this almost forgotten malady could be reduced by lessening the amount of oxygen taken into the lungs. A few turns of the intake valves of their helmets accomplished this, and they soon felt much better.

It was a long time before there were any indications of the near presence of the enemy. Ahead, two asteroids glowed, a dull red. One was quite close; the other farther away. It was Shelby, peering steadily through his binoculars, who first discovered the glowing cloud, thin and faint like the nebulous substance of the Milky Way, pouring up like ghosts' hair from the rounded pate of the nearer asteroid. He knew that it was made up of countless points of light, too small to be detected individually. Not long afterward Telaba discovered a similar cloud coming from the second of the minor planets.

The rebel chief's greatest advantage, if he had any at all, was that of surprise. Because of its comparatively small size his force had probably not yet been discovered by the enemy.

Coolly he flashed the order for long-range bombardment formation. Instantly the army spread out, forming a thin rectangle whose broadest surface was perpendicular to the line of firing between the opposing hordes.

A second or two later the first rocket torpedoes of the rebels went, spewing fire, toward their goal. In a steady swarm others followed them. The missiles were not radio controlled and fitted with tiny television apparatus as were a few of the torpedoes employed by the Interplanetary Traffic Lane Patrol, but since the approximate range was known, it was easy to set the time fuses so that the atomic charges would explode in the midst of the densely-packed enemy.

Without asking anyone's permission, the Earthians had appropriated a pair of catapults and were working them like demons. As fast as they could cram the ten-pound rockets into the breeches of the tubes, the projectiles streaked out in flashes of green flame toward the nearest of the nebulous clouds.

Shelby was sweating furiously from the exertion, and the moisture absorption apparatus of his space armor was putting in some tough service.

Occasionally he glanced at Janice working beside him. Her face, visible through the glazed front of her helmet, was white and set—almost hard. And there was boundless determination in the firm curve of her little rounded chin. He liked her attitude, but it was better to take it easy until the real fighting began.

"Slow up a bit, soldier," he remarked into his transmitter. "Powder your nose!"

Her face brightened as she turned toward him. "I wish I could powder my nose," she said, pouting. "Only I can't reach it!"

"Too bad. These space suits rob a girl of so many of her exquisite little tricks."

"Well," she put in, "I can still cover up my yawns with my hand if I find this pastime too much of a bore." They both chuckled at this little joke.

Janice took the last missile from the case she had been emptying and rammed it home. She jerked the lanyard, and with a thudding jolt the torpedo was on its way. Then she paused to scan the horde of Alkebar through an observation port. "Hurrah," she cried, "we're scoring!"

Without discontinuing his hurried feeding of his smoldering piece, Shelby looked up. The cloud had grown considerably in the few moments of action. It had cleared the asteroid now, and the other nebulous spot that marked the position of the Black Emperor's second army, was coming up to merge with it. In the midst of the first cloud, hundreds of minute specks of light were flashing—the atomic torpedoes were exploding. The sight reminded Shelby of what he had so often seen through the lens of a spintharoscope.

Alkebar's army continued to increase rapidly in apparent size. It looked like a monster amœba. But now the amœba was beginning to writhe, to swell up and grow dimmer. It shot out long sinuous pseudopods that seemed to grope angrily. Both Earthians sensed that the fight was about to begin in earnest.

With renewed vigor they fell to the task of loading and discharging the catapults; and close beside them the two Space Men who acted as gunners, labored coolly and methodically over their weapons, but with even greater efficiency, for their training had been long and thorough.

Telaba worked the levers of the signaling mechanism, and a brilliant purple star visible to all his henchmen shot up over the back of his beast. They saw it and read its meaning. Spread out to avoid enemy fire! As one man they obeyed, but they were none too soon. With abrupt suddenness the maelstrom of silent flashing death was upon them.

It was a pretty sight to the Earthians—those soundless globes of green flame that glowed dazzling for an infinitesimal instant, on the rich jewels and polished rifle barrels of the hordesmen coursing close by. But they were not deceived.

A Space Man vanished, torn to tiny fragments that mixed with the cosmic dust of the void. A huge disc, bearing a cylindrical battle car, was hit, and a jagged hole torn in its side. It twisted crazily, turning over and over. Austin and Jan felt the vibration of shell fragments banging violently against their own vehicle.

The nearer nebulous cloud had ceased to be a cloud now. It had resolved itself into a myriad swarm of dim specks which the Earthians knew were Space Men. Plainly Alkebar's minions were charging rapidly, bent on wiping Telaba's smaller force out of existence at one blow.

The bombardment doubled, tripled, quadrupled in intensity until it seemed that all space had turned to fire. Before the withering blast the army of the rebel chief was speedily being dissolved into drifting wreckage.

An exploding torpedo ripped several yards of armor from one side of Telaba's vehicle and reduced one of his black gunners to a mangled pulp from which the purple fluid spurted.

The force of the concussion turned the great disc completely over. Battered and blinded by the green glare, which exceeded even the sun of the void in intensity the Earthians tumbled against their weapons. Janice Darell started to scream but managed to check it—biting her lips savagely.

An explosive rifle bullet struck the huge vehicle, and it wavered.

Shelby spoke to Telaba who was clinging firmly to a stanchion with one hand and operating his signaling machine with the other. "Turn back, chief," the Earthman advised. "Our only motive is to annoy them and delay them. To continue this charge can mean nothing but destruction for our entire force."

Telaba sensed the mental vibrations that went with Shelby's words. "To turn back cannot do, Earthman," he said. And it seemed to the young engineer that there was a vibrant note of sadness in his telepathic voice. "Look! You see all guns and catapults point forward only. Not swing to rear—same on all gun cars. If run, not possible to shoot at chasing enemy. Then they get us. That Alkebar's idea so his men must take offensive or die. He think that make them strong."

"But the riflemen are not so handicapped," Shelby persisted. "We can die here if necessary, but someone must live to carry on. Order them back!"

The chieftain shook his bulbous head. "To try what you say—useless. They not desert comrades or king. If I command, they disobey." There was a finality in his words which neither of the Earthians tried to dispute.

So that was it! Well, there was no sense wasting time talking. Shelby gripped a machine gun and sent a spray of explosive bullets ripping out into the ether. Janice did likewise.

As they worked their weapons they spoke rapidly to each other. "You understood what Telaba said? You know what that means?" Shelby asked.

"Yes. It's about the end of our tape, but that's nothing. We've been fairly lucky. All we can do now is hope that Ankova wins through to Mars in time, and fight like—like—"

"Hell!" Shelby's words slipped between clenched teeth, and Jan flashed him a quick smile even as their tracer streams crossed in the midst of a group of hurtling Alkebarians who had pressed too close together.

"Anyway, good luck!"

"And the very best of luck to you!"

The opposing forces were very close together now. The first of the Alkebarians were plainly visible—their long guns flashing—their ebony arms waving signals which probably passed for shouts of triumph among their ranks.

CHAPTER X The Coming of the Atomic Ray

Both armies had cut down their velocity enormously, but still they tore along at breakneck speed. And they moved like true Cossacks of the void, directing their machines by deft motions on the mysterious levers. Now diving, now climbing, now swinging this way and that to avoid the missiles of their opponents, they tore on. And death was everywhere.

No torpedoes were flying now, but machine guns and rifles were working terrible havoc. And so the horde of Alkebar closed with the forces of the rebel chieftain.

The machine which bore Telaba, directed by its skillful driver, dived and swung and zigzagged like a mad thing; but still the bullets rattled against the metal armor of the car. Its sides had been repeatedly struck, yet owing to its tough shell, had not yet been disabled.

Everywhere about it, mounted horrors whirled in an inextricable tangle, shooting and loading, and dying by the green flashes, their vitals strewing the ether.

Telaba had deserted his post at the signaling machine, for further orders were useless. For his rebels at least, it was every man for himself. He too was operating a machine gun.

The stars spun dizzily about the Earthians, as the machine beneath them careened in its insane fight. Every time a Space Man wearing a red circle on his breast crossed their sights, a burst spat from their hot weapons, frequently with good results.

A group of at least twenty Alkebarians sought to attack from the blind spot at the rear.