Part 7 (1/2)

Tiff had come fully alive by now. He had forgotten the meaning of boredom and disappointment. During the briefing session that preceded the attack, Rhodan had a.s.serted that the area around the mutant master's farmhouse was totally uninhabited. And now Tiff discovered a good mile away from the destroyed ranch a newly raised waste dump.

Pete had stepped over to Tiff and peered over his shoulder. ”Looks like someone was digging for ore there,” he stated.

”And brought all the dirt up to the surface?” asked Tiff.

”Sure. I suppose it's a side shaft of the old mine that used to be somewhere around here.”

”When was that?”

”Last time they were working this mine was some 20 years ago.” Pete recalled what he had been told during their briefing course in Terrania before they left for this mission. ”But they gave it up, it didn't yield enough.”

”That's most interesting,” exclaimed Tiff with a note of triumph in his voice. This seemed to further confirm his suspicions. ”And how can you explain that nothing but a bit of gra.s.s, no other vegetation like bushes or shrub has grown on this hill?”

Pete was dumbfounded; he didn't say a thing. He examined the observation screen closer, then remarked: ”You're right, it's real peculiar, Tiff!”

”I'm glad you agree that there's something fishy going on down there. I'd bet that only recently a new...”

He stopped abruptly in mid-sentence. While talking with Pete, he had not taken his eyes off the strange slag heap. Quite by accident his glance had wandered over to the adjoining plateau and he became aware of a sudden change.

”Look! Over there! At the inner side of the mountain!” Right next to the suspicious-looking slag heap they saw the rocky ground start to move. A round disk of 90 feet diameter began to s.h.i.+ft to one side. Below they could make out a dark opening which was weakly illuminated by a light coming from down below.

A s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p! A destroyer of the same type as their own identical to the one that had attacked him near the planet Mars while he was on a training mission.

The s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p below took off with such tremendous speed that it reached the same alt.i.tude as Tiff's and Pete's s.h.i.+p within a few seconds. And in no had disappeared in the dark-violet sky.

Something seemed to snap in Tiff; his doubts and hesitant att.i.tude gave way to instant action now. ”Ray, contact the Stardust and inform Reginald Bell. We're pursuing the unknown s.h.i.+p.” He swung the drive stick all the way forward for utmost acceleration. The gravity fields were, automatically switched on in order to neutralize the sudden jump in G's. ”Pete, man the neutron cannon. Ray is to take up position at the rear guns as soon as he's sent his bulletin to Bell.”

The fugitive s.h.i.+p was lost among the stars and Tiff had to search for minutes before he could locate it again. But since it was the same type of s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p as his own, he could hardly make up for wasted time and hope to overtake it. Its headstart was too great. All he could hope to do now was to follow on its trail, to keep the same distance at least as soon as both s.h.i.+ps would reach maximum speed.

Rapidly the Earth sank away below them, shrinking to the size of a blue globe. Ray emerged from the radio cabin and came to the command centre. He sat next to Tiff in the second pilot's seat. ”That was quite some surprise,” he said quickly. ”You should have heard Reginald Bell! He ordered us to find out the eventual destination of the unidentified s.h.i.+p. Could be the destroyer stolen by the supermutant with him in it, trying to escape. As soon as Bell gets a confirmation from Rhodan whether his a.s.sumptions are justified, he'll follow behind us. He'll get in touch with us, he promised, ”in order to let us know.”

Tiff kept his eyes glued to his radar screen. The blip didn't change size now. He read the range indicator which showed that the fugitive was about 1200 miles ahead of Tiff's craft, his s.h.i.+p constantly accelerating and would soon reach one-fourth the speed of light.

Tiff looked out of the tiny window. Before him stretched the infinity of the universe with all its marvels and dangers. And up ahead, hidden among the myriads of stars, a pinpoint of light was speeding toward its unknown distant destination.

It hit him like a ton of hot bricks when he once again looked at his observation screen.

The spot had grown in size.

The other s.h.i.+p was now only 300 miles away.

It had reduced its speed.

Ras Tschubai materialized less than three feet away from the mutant stranger, who whirled around in fright and stared at the sudden apparition as if it were a ghost.

He was a j.a.panese, a stocky, rather young man whose right forefinger was crooked around the trigger of an automatic pistol. But he held his weapon pointing to the ground and made no attempt to use it.

Ras suspected that the young j.a.panese was waiting for new instructions but apparently none were coming. However he was still subjected to a hypnotic spell which robbed him of his individual freedom of movement and decision.

Two yards farther on there was a door, locked by a magnetic mechanism. Behind it, Ras knew, were the living quarters of the imprisoned scientists.

Swiftly he leapt over to the j.a.panese and relieved him of his weapon. His rapid action took the young fellow so completely by surprise that he couldn't offer any resistance.

Ras seized the automatic and shoved it between his belt and uniform. ”Open the door to the quarters of the scientists!” he ordered the j.a.panese.

At this moment a noise came up from behind. He could hear approaching steps. He turned around and by the light of a dim little ceiling lamp he recognized Rhodan and Tatjana. They obviously must meanwhile have found the elevator and have come down with it.

Ras breathed a sigh of relief. He raised his arm and waved to both Rhodan and Tatjana. At this very instant Monterny's post-hypnotic suggestion grabbed hold again of the young j.a.panese mutant. Ras saw Rhodan and Tatjana simultaneously raise their psychobeamers and point them in his direction. He received the absolutely nonsensical command not to attack Ras Tschubai-to refrain from attacking himself.

This command was, of course, intended for the j.a.panese mutant who was just about to hurl himself against the huge African. However, he stopped midway and, totally perplexed, put his hands to his forehead-and then sank like a sack slowly to the ground. The excessive strain on his tortured brain had rendered him unconscious.

The pressure in Ras Tschubai's head ceased; he turned around and saw the j.a.panese lying limp as a rag on the floor. Rhodan and Tatjana hurried over to him. ”Two psycho-rayguns at a time is a bit too much for anybody,” explained Rhodan. ”Maybe if that idea had occurred to us sooner we might not have lost the Supermutant. Where are the prisoners?”

Ras motioned toward the heavy iron gate. ”Over there.”

And-then he vanished. It took hardly 10 seconds until he reappeared. He smiled and seemed a bit confused.

Rhodan scrutinized his face and asked, quite worried by Tschubai's peculiar expression. ”What's the matter, Ras? Are the prisoners...?”

”They are in there alright,” the African rea.s.sured him, still shaking his head in disbelief. ”But these scientists are some mighty peculiar creatures. I materialized inside the lab of one of the physicists. Do you think that fellow was in the least frightened when I suddenly appeared there like a ghost from nowhere? Not a bit. He hardly looked up when I suddenly stood beside him and watched him as he studied some of his plans. He simply gestured with his hand as if he wanted to shoo me away like a bothersome insect and mumbled something like ”Come back again in 10 minutes, will you?”

Rhodan grinned and turned to Tatjana. ”I bet anything that was the world-famous professor Glenner; sounds just like him.” But then Rhodan grew serious again and said to Ras: ”Open that gate. We can't afford the time to wait for Glenner to be willing to see us. He can continue his work in Terrania.”

Ras walked over to the door.

Destroyer Z-82 closed in on the fleeing s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p. They were already eight million miles away from Earth and the distance increased steadily. Their speed was constant. A radio message from Bell informed them that the Stardust had been ordered to take up pursuit. At least they were supposed to find out where the Supermutant planned to escape to.

Pete's face had a pensive expression. ”If we want to finish off that monster we'll have to be quick about it. Otherwise Bell will beat us to it and grab all the credits too. I know him very well.”

Tiff bestowed a reprimanding glance on the Mexican. ”I'd be ashamed if I were you even to entertain such thoughts. The mutant master is the enemy of the entire world and it doesn't matter a bit who finishes him off-the main thing is he'll be rendered harmless. Ray, try to make radio contact with the s.h.i.+p ahead.”

”You know, there's a direct line to the radio cabin. You can talk to that s.h.i.+p from right where you are this way.”

Tiff made the necessary connections, switched various levers, called the Supermutant in the fleeing s.h.i.+p ahead on the usual telecom wave, then waited at intensive-reception. Hardly 10 seconds pa.s.sed before the face of the world enemy appeared on the glowing picture screen. His bald head was s.h.i.+ning like a polished billiard ball. He wore a smug expression. His small eyes, deeply imbedded in cus.h.i.+ons of fat, were glowering threateningly. He was obviously highly interested as he studied intensely his pursuers. He took his time, looking them over calmly one after the other as if he planned to engrave their images on his brain forever.

Tiff felt an icy shower running down his spine while he was under the scrutiny of the monster. He was sure his friends must have the same reaction.

”What do you want from me?” asked the Supermutant with uncanny composure. He didn't give away, not even with the slightest bat of an eyelash, that in reality he felt defeated.