Zerft thought the animal might lead him to the Arkonide and therefore began to follow it. When it noticed that it was being followed it paused and looked back as if annoyed.

"Shove off!" Zerft shouted.

Little impressed by the threat the beast ogled Zerft. Now it kept uttering the smacking sound unwaveringly. It was obviously provoked after showing Zerft that it did not want to be disturbed.

Motivated by a certain amount of curiosity Zerft shook his trunk to make the beast move on. He quickly learned to his sorrow the purpose of the mysterious glands on the head of the creature. A thin concentrated stream of liquid was shot at him. The liquid hit him in the shoulder and made his skin burn a little. Zerft saw a yellow fluid run down on him. Wherever it touched his skin it became irritated. Like a mild burn. But his thick skin protected him. It apparently was a natural defence for the creature. Now Zerft was convinced that the animal was harmless. He approached it with the intention of driving it away and was amazed that he was unable to scare it. The acid-sprayer stubbornly stood its ground.

"Move on!" Zerft commanded. Then he was. .h.i.t by a second acidic stream. He uttered an astonished cry and reeled back. Horrified, he looked at his arm. Within moments the liquid had eaten a deep wound and the pain was more than he was able to bear. He whipped out his thermo-beamer but his attacker had already vanished. He looked around panic-stricken, fearful of a new attack which might occur any moment. That astounding creature was apparently able to throw acid at its enemies with any strength it chose. If Zerft had heeded the first shot, which was intended as a warning, he would have been spared the serious consequences. But he had insisted on provoking the beast and was forced to pay for it. His arm was throbbing in pain and he was losing blood. He quickly tore off a strip from his clothing and tied it around his arm above the wound to constrict the circulation of his blood. He was terrified by the thought that the acid might contain a poison that could paralyse or even kill him. His mind became so confused that he connected the Arkonide with his misfortune. The old man was the cause of all his trouble. Ever since they had run into him, their luck had worsened. Zerft was seething in an all-consuming wrath. Those despised Arkonides! For centuries they had tried to enslave his people. The hate for Arkon was deeply rooted in every Unither. For Zerft, whose mentality had not reached a very high stage of development, the Arkonides equated with misery, poverty and tyranny. There was no middleground between black and white extremes for him. Compromise was a word unknown to Zerft. He was unable to practice tolerance and expected none from others. Like most bullies, it would never have occurred to him to look in himself for reasons that might be responsible for the evils he had suffered. It was always another person who had caused his troubles. This att.i.tude had raised so much hostility in Zerft that he was unable to control it. He had become embittered and found it impossible to extend his trunk in friendship to another Unither.

He clutched his weapon in his uninjured hand. There was no trace of the weird beast and he quickly lost interest in pursuing it. He could only think of Khrest. He wanted to fake revenge on that old man for the calamity that had befallen him.

Thus the outcast Unither stood with a weapon in his hand on a strange planet, a poor misguided being whose acts were determined by the wildest rage. This made him very dangerous.

His enemy had not yet spotted him. Slowly, without making a noise, Khrest pulled out his impulse-blaster. The man with the trunk was badly wounded. He seemed to have tangled with an acid-sprayer. Ufgar had mentioned in his report that these animals were p.r.o.ne to attack bigger opponents only when they felt threatened. When the Unither turned around and Khrest saw his wound, he felt terrible pity for the victim. He felt tempted to climb down from his tree and help Zerft. But he had to keep in mind it was the same Unither who had been so eager to shoot him in the wrecked vessel and there was no reason to believe that he would act differently this time.

Then Khrest saw the acid-sprayer. The animal was sneaking up on him from the back. It was too much for Khrest to witness an intelligent being stalked to death by a vicious beast. Ufgar had also described the diabolical slyness displayed by these harmless-looking creatures. Khrest was torn between two opposing feelings. If he warned the Unither, he exposed himself to the greatest peril. Yet his code demanded that he aid an intelligent fellow being.

The acid-sprayer silently crept closer to his prey. It was only a few meters away from point-blank range. These animals were able to control the content of acid in their liquid jetstream at will. They could regulate it from causing a harmless itch to a corrosive intensity. Khrest had no trouble predicting the concentration of acid which would be launched in the attack on the unsuspecting Unither.

Humane considerations gained over reason in Khrest. When the acid-sprayer reached the critical point the Arkonide shouted a warning. Zerft spun around with a distorted face and the animal instinctively squirted its potent stream. The Unither threw himself to the side and dropped his weapon. Khrest acted without a moment's hesitation. He jumped down from his safe place and shot the acid-sprayer with his impulse-beamer, causing it to collapse instantly.

The stranger lay motionlessly on the ground and Khrest believed that he was unconscious. He cautiously walked over to him with his weapon ready to shoot. When he bent down, the supposedly unconscious figure suddenly sprang to life. His hand holding the impulse-beamer was seized by the trunk and forced back. Khrest realized too late that he had committed a horrible error. He was in no condition to resist the brute force of the trunk. A powerful arm grabbed him around the waist and pulled him irresistibly down.

In his utter helplessness Khrest became sadly aware that his efforts had all been futile.

Liszog shook himself. He had been asleep. He raised himself up to peer anxiously out of his hole. It was bright daylight and it had stopped raining. He was relieved to see that the little ship was still there. He was loath to contemplate what Golath and Zerft would have done to him if the Arkonide had managed to gain possession of his ship because of his negligence. He climbed out of his ditch and looked around. There was n.o.body to be seen. He was bothered by an acc.u.mulation of dirt in his trunk and longed for the treatment of a trunk-cleaner. Liszog ran to the sh.o.r.e of the lake and washed off the mud. Then he slaked his thirst and flung a few pebbles into the water with his appendage.

He wished Golath would come back. He was plagued by unpleasant forebodings, feeling afraid he would never find peace unless they succeeded in returning to Unith and doubted it would ever come to that. He went back and sat down disconsolately next to the hole. His mood grew more and more apathetic.

Finally he saw Golath's lumbering figure at the top of the slope, waving to him. He carried a fiat box and several other objects. Zerft was not with him. Liszog's spirit revived and he got up to meet Golath.

Golath gave him a critical look. "You were sleeping," he stated, disgusted.

Liszog smiled in embarra.s.sment and took over some of Golath's burden.

"Fortunately nothing seems to have happened around here in the meantime," Golath commented in a conciliatory vein. "Watch out that you don't drop anything."

Liszog glanced dubiously at the articles Golath had brought. He knew nothing about technical matters and normally shied away from such things. "What are you going to do with this stuff?" he inquired.

"I was unable to carry all I need for my purpose. I collected a few more pieces at the Kaszill and want you to pick them up for me." They had reached the sh.o.r.e and Golath continued. "Perhaps I can build a generator to create a field which will neutralize the energy screen surrounding the s.p.a.ceship. If it works we can set up a tunnel through which we can pa.s.s into the ship."

Liszog sent a vexed look in the direction of the well-protected flying disk. "What are your chances of making it work?"

"It all depends on the magnitude of the energy which is required to maintain the shield. The critical difference lies in what can produce more powerful energy-my generator or the hidden source of power supplying the defensive field."

Liszog dangled his trunk in thought. "I wonder what method the Arkonide uses if he wants to enter his ship," he mused. "Would he do that from his house?"

"Hardly," Golath speculated. "I should a.s.sume that he carries a device that enables him to board his ship at any time." He tapped his forehead with a look as if he saw Liszog for the firstime. "What a moron I am!" he exclaimed. "Why didn't I think of searching the Arkonide? We could have saved ourselves all this trouble."

"Zerft will capture him again," Liszog said hopefully. "Then we'll have another opportunity to check if he carries the gadget you're talking about."

"If Zerft gets his hands on him, he'll eliminate our chance of searching him," Golath replied, distressed.

Liszog shuddered in silence. They had reached the disk and put down their equipment. Golath looked for a dry place while Liszog watched him idly. He felt a vague sympathy for his bulky partner in crime. At least Golath endeavoured to solve their dilemma by using his brains whereas Zerft always acted in blind fury.

"You better leave now to pick up the rest of the load," Golath urged him. "I've a.s.sembled all the stuff in the control room."

Liszog nodded. He pictured himself lying on the trunk-cleaner and was convinced Golath had also taken advantage of the opportunity to enjoy the same luxury.

"Don't dawdle unnecessarily," Golath admonished him, "and be very careful. Don't listen to Zerft if you see him there."

"I won't," Liszog agreed. "I'll do as you say." He ascended the slope. When he looked down from the top he saw Golath already hard at work.

As desperately as Khrest tried to free himself, he was unable to break Zerft's iron grip. Coloured spots danced before his eyes and his throat was choked so tightly that he could breathe only with the greatest pain. His wounded opponent had no intention of relenting the torture or showing any grat.i.tude for saving his life. Khrest's hands clutching the Unither were much too weak to change the inevitable outcome. He had been unable to hold on to his impulse-beamer and all his last-ditch efforts could accomplish was to prolong the agony of certain death.

Using his brute strength, Zerft rolled his ma.s.sive body around till he lay on top of the old man. Khrest thought that all his bones must break under this load. He closed his eyes in utter exhaustion and his resistance diminished perilously.

Suddenly he received help from unexpected quarters. The acid-sprayer who had been mortally wounded by his impulse-beamer, reared up once more. Gathering its last ounce of strength it got back on its feet. Swaying around, it caught sight of its two enemies thrashing on the ground nearby. It let go an aimless stream of acid and dropped dead. It was its last automatic reflex but it had found its mark in Zerft's back. He screamed and lost his grip on Khrest. The stupefied Arkonide needed several seconds to understand what had happened. He flung himself to the side and seized the weapon of the Unither, who vainly tried to reach his hurt back with his hands. He saw Khrest reach for his weapon and hurled himself against him with a hoa.r.s.e trumpeting.

Khrest saw his attacker only as a blurred shadow. His hands trembled as disaster was about to strike him again. He shot at the lunging silhouette before his eyes. He barely noticed the recoil of the weapon but it was enough to show him that it reacted properly to. his operation of the unfamiliar trigger. A hot beam flashed from the muzzle of the gun and the menacing figure disappeared abruptly. Khrest tried to get up to see what had happened but he was hampered by an attack of nausea and all he could see at the moment were points and circles in colour. Finally he managed to get up on his knees. However there was something in his way, something warm and resilient to his touch. It stunned him to realize that it was the body of the Unither whose life he had taken.

He attacked you, he tried to reason. You have the right to defend your life.

His life? But he had come here to die. Why should he defend his life when he was already resigned to that loss? No, the s.p.a.cejet was a much more valid justification! Rhodan had trusted him to keep it out of the hands of marauders in s.p.a.ce. Mankind was under the strictest obligation to preserve each hard-won advantage at the peril of retrogression. It seems to be my fate to fight for mankind, Khrest reflected and his eyes regained their look of determination as he contemplated the lifeless figure of his enemy.

Khrest's frail and ravaged body still contained enough reserves to rise up with renewed willpower. Now he had a weapon which was as devastating as that of his two remaining foes and he no longer hesitated to go back to his ship and face the other Unithers. The thought that they might be able to destroy the protective shield drove him on.

If some outsider could see me, he mused, he would quickly change his mind about the decadence of the Arkonides. Considering his age he exhibited remarkable fort.i.tude as he unconsciously tautened his stooped body.

He was born an Arkonide but during a long and decisive phase of his life his race had become a source of dissatisfaction to him. For all practical purposes he had almost become an Earthling in word and in deed.

He had lived like a Terran but he would die as an Arkonide and he felt very proud of it.

300 ADVENTURES FROM NOW.

There's Alarm for the Galaxy

7/ ATTACK OF THE HORNED BURROWERS.

The moment Liszog was about to enter the airlock of the Kaszill the idea suddenly occurred to him that the Arkonide might be aboard the shipwreck. He was accustomed to letting other Unithers make decisions for him and obeyed them in most cases. But n.o.body was here to give him advice.

Golath had only mentioned that he been in the control centre of the vessel and it was possible that the prisoner hid somewhere else in the ship till Golath left.

Exercising due caution he pulled out his weapon. He decided it would be safer to enter the ship through the split hull at the forward end. He jumped out again and scanned the trees of the forest in the hope of seeing Zerft but all was quiet around him.

Liszog squeezed himself through the crack torn in the hull by the crash of the Kaszill. The light in the corridor leading to the control centre was very dim and the young Unither felt awkward. He tightened his grip on his thermo- beamer as he walked on.

The hatch to the control room was ajar and he tried to make as little noise as possible. However his caution proved to be unnecessary. The room was empty. He saw the equipment Golath had put together in a pile at the other entrance. Everything was in good order.

He sighed in relief and turned to the trunk-cleaner. He checked if the machine was still functioning properly and reclined with delight on the couch. The machine performed its pleasurable treatment and he was still in a state of euphoria on the couch when the unsuspecting Khrest entered the Kaszill through the airlock.

Khrest's tormented body had become a ma.s.s of pain and involuntary reflexes. The strain had left its mark on his thin face, lined by age. The effect of utter fatigue and exhaustion had deepened its traces. His eyes looked hollow and his hair, which was always neatly combed, was dishevelled. His haggard figure was poorly concealed by his torn tunic.

The Arkonide was sustained by pure willpower. It gave him the energy to persevere and drove him into action. The weapon of the alien seemed to weigh a ton but he could not leave it behind as he considered it a crucial factor in the battle for the s.p.a.cejet.

When he emerged from the trees the plain between the forest and the lake looked like a vast desolate land to him, punctuated only by the dark wreck of the aliens' craft, which lay like an oasis in the desert.

"You must keep going," Khrest told himself but the words pa.s.sed his sore lips only with great difficulty. His voice sounded strange and he listened in astonishment to its tone.

But it would be wise to go to the wreck and take a rest, he carried on the debate in his mind.

And he heard another voice in his mind which was so firm and clear that it sounded real. "No alien must be allowed to take over the s.p.a.cejet!"

And once again he heard Perry Rhodan's voice but this time it was soft and warm. "Thank you, my friend!"

Khrest moved on again. He had lost the bandage he had wrapped around his ankle and it would be futile to put on another one. Therefore he kept shifting the weight of his body to his healthy leg as best he could.

He made better headway than he presumed and covered the distance to the ship in fairly shortime but was tired when he reached the Kaszill. Of course he did not know the name of the ship and could have cared less about it. His body was wracked by fever. He had caught a severe cold in the rainy night on the tree. Khrest could not remember when he had eaten last.

The black hull of the Unithers' s.p.a.ceship looked already strangely familiar to him. As far as Khrest could tell from the demolished remnants the ship had been designed for vertical take-off. He wondered what could have induced these desperados to land on this planet with such a disastrous result. Such losses were the inevitable price s.p.a.ce travellers had to pay-particularly in the early stages of astronautic science. Compared to the Solar System the ship looked like a toy.

Khrest pulled himself into the airlock. The chamber was very s.p.a.cious since it was designed for the huge dimensions of the Unithers. The dilapidated state of the vessel indicated that the ship was quite old and probably represented an obsolete type of the Unithers' s.p.a.cefleet. It had to be a.s.sumed that the occupants were forced to make a crashlanding because of the defective equipment. Khrest could easily understand why they were vitally interested in his s.p.a.cejet. Apparently they had not even a radio available to call for help from Unith. Perhaps it had been destroyed by the crash.

The scientist walked through the corridor, supporting himself with his hand on the wall. The fact that he saw Liszog first by a fraction of a second saved his life.

Liszog shot from his couch but the fiery stream hit only the hatch behind which Khrest had already taken cover. The Arkonide crawled back to the airlock. He was certain no more than one of his adversaries was present in the control room. If he left the ship he would expose himself to the Unither, as the flat terrain offered no protection from the fire of a thermo-beamer.

What would his enemy do next? It was a matter of life or death for Khrest to antic.i.p.ate Liszog's reaction. He could not afford to wait because then it would be too late. Khrest put himself in the position of the Unither who must have believed that Khrest watched the hatch and would fire at any move that looked suspicious. An attack from the control room was hardly to be expected. Liszog would probably climb out through the crack in the hull and try to ambush him from the rear.

The old man crept to the exit of the airlock, peered cautiously out of the opening and spotted the Unither cowering under the nose of the ship.

Khrest fired instantly. Liszog hit the ground and the flaming ray whizzed over him through the air. Khrest muttered an oath. He would not get such an opportunity again.

When he looked out for the second time the Unither had already retreated through the crack into the Kaszill. Khrest knew only too well that the other had the advantage of more agility and endurance.

The airlock had become a trap which he had to leave quickly. His enemy was probably back in the control room getting ready to launch his next attack. Khrest slipped out of the airlock and hobbled quickly to the burned-out stern of the vessel where he sought cover behind a warped plate. It wouldn't take Liszog very long to find out that the airlock was empty and he was smart enough to guess where the Arkonide was hiding. However the stern of the Kaszill was big and its jumble of torn metal offered numerous places for concealment.

Khrest was dismayed that he could see only the airlock but not the gash at the front end from his hiding place. This gave his opponent a chance to approach him from the other side by running around the ship.

A blinding flash zipped past close to his eyes. He almost fired back but remembered in time that the shot was only an attempt to reveal his position, as yet unknown to his a.s.sailant.

Khrest endeavoured to find out from where the shot had come. He leaned around the corner but detected no trace of Liszog. The front end of the Kaszill looked deserted.

Liszog's next shot ploughed through the ground and turned it black. The gra.s.s caught fire and raised a dense smoke. The stench irritated Khrest's nose and he pressed his hands against his face to keep from sneezing. The furrow dug by the formidable weapon was hardly more than one meter away from Khrest.

But now Khrest knew where Liszog was hidden. A piece of debris had been hurled from the wreck when it blew up. It had dug a ditch in the ground and finally buried itself deeply in the soil. Liszog was at an angle of 30 from Khrest and the axis of the Kaszill and the hole gave him a good cover. It was difficult for Khrest to fire in his direction because it would have compelled him to raise himself up, which was tantamount to committing suicide when facing a weapon like the thermo-beamer.

However there were two reasons Khrest had to finish the duel quickly-one way or another. First there was the danger that the other Unither would appear on the scene and join the fracas which would have decided the battle against him. The other reason was even more important-his miserable physical condition, which was bound to prevent him from staving off defeat in an extended fight.

Khrest was a scientist, not a trained soldier. He had devoted his profession to the programming of electronic brains and the research of physical phenomenons left to be explored. Although he had a good knowledge of cosmic strategy and was able to lead a s.p.a.cefleet to victory, it was far different from what he had to contend with in this situation. He stood alone and was compelled to wield a weapon in his own hand against a superior challenger.

It's a miracle that I'm still alive, Khrest observed quietly.

He's lurking somewhere in that pile of junk and playing dead, Liszog reasoned. Does he think he can lure me out like that? I know very well he can't be dead.

He was only an old man but he gave Liszog more trouble than he would have thought possible. He could not expect help from Golath, who waited at Khrest's ship for him. Golath would not risk leaving his place to find out why he failed to come back. And as far as Zerft was concerned it was better to forget him. The fact that the Arkonide had returned from the forest revealed the worst about his fate. Liszog writhed his trunk in anger. Where did the lone man get the strength to put up such a stubborn defence of his ship?

The young Unither dared lift his head above his cover to take a peek at the surroundings. He spotted his foe drawing a bead at him from behind a heavy metal plate and instinctively ducked back into his hole. The blast of fire streaked over the ditch and the heatwave singed Liszog's back. Sand and rocks poured down on him but he remained unhurt.

He crawled several meters along the bottom of the ditch. Now he knew the position of his rival but when he cautiously looked over the edge again the Arkonide had already disappeared behind the plate.

Liszog roared savagely. He raised his thermo-beamer and sprayed the plate protecting Khrest with murderous fire. The metal began to glow and quickly boiled down in a white hot stream. Still shooting, Liszog jumped out of the ditch and ran toward the stern of the shattered Kaszill. The plate had a huge hole and the heat was enough to suffocate any living being.

Liszog trumpeted triumphantly as he darted to his goal. He rushed behind the molten plate with his drawn weapon ready to finish off his prey-but n.o.body was there!

The moment Khrest had pulled the trigger he realized that the Unither was back behind his cover in time. The shot zinged across the ditch without scoring a hit. But Khrest was certain that he had been seen by Liszog. The Arkonide crawled farther into the damaged ship. Behind him the Unither began a furious bombardment but Khrest did not take the time to look back. It was more important to find another place to hide.

Twisted metal braces forced him to get up. He wondered whether he exposed himself to dangerous radioactivity which might have contaminated the ship if its engine was powered by an atomic reactor. However the Unithers moved freely around the ship, leading him to the conclusion that any radiation could not be of very high intensity.

Khrest squeezed himself between the struts and then looked back. The Unither stood near the demolished plate and looked puzzled. Khrest wanted to raise his gun but his sleeve caught in the strut and by the time he freed his arm his target was gone.

The excitement had made Khrest forget his weakness. Now it overcame him again and he had to lean back and look for some support.

Suddenly he became aware of another menace. At first Khrest heard only a sc.r.a.ping noise. When he looked anxiously around he saw the barrel-shaped animals a few meters away crawling out of the ship's interior.

Horned burrowers! They raised their ugly heads, sniffing the air. By day they were almost blind. They must have sought a quiet place for the night and were disturbed by the noise of the altercation with Liszog. They were irritated and wild, crunching their mighty claws. There were over a dozen of them. The horned plates enclosing their bodies rubbed against the floor and against each other, producing the sc.r.a.ping noise.