Part 16 (1/2)

They settled to the plane's surface like whirling hour-gla.s.ses. Fire spouted from them in all directions. Then their movement stopped. Smoke shrouded them and slowly drifted away.

They were upon a reddish plain. Above them, the red sun filled a twelfth of the sky. That sky was one vast swirl of crimson. Even the few clouds seemed to be on fire. And yet their instruments showed that the temperature of the thin air outside was in the sixties.

There were no mountains or valleys. The giant planet had weathered down to one great curving plain. It was mostly red sandstone, but here and there were reddish carpets of moss and gra.s.s. In the distance were a few gaunt trees. They had seen no rivers or seas before they landed. Odin learned later that there were many muddy ponds left upon the surface from the remains of stagnant seas. He also learned later that huge reservoirs were underground.

With the exception of the trees, the only thing that broke the monotonous line of the horizon was one great dome of violet stone or metal. It flashed like an amethyst in the red glare of the sun--and it was certainly man-made.

But on that occasion Jack Odin had little time to look at the scenery. They had hardly settled to the planet's surface before Grim Hagen trained his guns upon them and began to fire. Flame enveloped them. Bombs of acid and steel shook The Nebula. The battle-stations were already manned, and Ato gave orders to return fire. For nearly an hour, the holocaust continued.

Both s.h.i.+ps rocked upon their steady foundations. They were bathed in flame, acid streamed down their sides, and rockets tore at them. Sh.e.l.ls burst upon them. And then it was over.

The two s.h.i.+ps, scarred and blackened; glared at each other across a three-mile expanse that had now turned to cinders. And that was all.

Practically indestructible, and evenly matched, they had fought to a standstill. Neither s.h.i.+p had lost a man.

”See how it is, Nors-King?” Gunnar said as he drew his fingers across the shaft of his sword. ”It is as I told you before. We have the same weapons.

The same defenses. I will use the Blood-Drinkers yet, before this is over.”

There was a demanding buzz from the loudspeaker.

Ato turned the dial. A strange, harsh voice was calling. ”You there, on the Second s.h.i.+p. You on the second s.h.i.+p. Answer.”

”Yes!” Ato replied gruffly. ”Who are you?”

”I am the head man of the city--the city within the dome.”

”How did you know our language?”

”We have known it for thirty years. For that long have we been in contact with Grim Hagen.”

Jack Odin was never quite able to cope with the pa.s.sing of time on these planets, while the s.h.i.+ps scurried through Trans-s.p.a.ce in what appeared to be a matter of a few days.

The voice continued. ”We invited Grim Hagen to our world. We did not invite you. Go away.”

”I don't think I like his tone,” Gunnar interrupted. ”Some day I will catch the owner of that voice and make him eat his ears.”

”We are not going away,” Ato told the voice stubbornly.

”Then you can stay where you are. We have just witnessed the battle. We do not have weapons such as yours. But we do have a defense. An electric screen nearly half a mile across has been placed about you. Watch.”

They looked at the screen, and a tiny drone-torpedo came winging its way from the violet dome. It came to within a thousand yards of them and suddenly crashed into an unseen barrier. Broken and blazing, it came falling down like a crippled bird.

”There,” the voice said triumphantly. ”That is what will happen to you. Why don't you leave us? You are not wanted. Leave us.”

”Faith, he's a hospitable soul,” Odin murmured.

Ato's voice was shaking in wrath when he answered. ”We can find a way to smash that curtain. We want Grim Hagen and his prisoners. When we have them we will depart.”

”Grim Hagen is our ally. We have already sworn our allegiance. I have no more words for you.”