Hurtling down from cold and hostile space,
battle-worn Ekrado and Ronaro gazed with
joy at the lovely watery world below.
Here, surely, they would find friends—and
the precious help they needed!
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Planet Stories Spring 1950.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Through the outer limits of our solar system, two great ships flashedthrough the void. Light from distant Sol gleamed feebly on their darkhulls, paled to insignificance by the flare of pure energy that blastedeach ship through space at inconceivable velocity. Sol's illuminationwas just enough to pick out the jagged gash near the base of theleading vessel where a force beam had struck a deadly blow.
As the interval between the spaceships lessened, a pale beam lancedout from the pursuing ship and caught the wounded Alarian cruiser onthe flank. Mighty steel plates buckled inward and life-giving waterspouted out through the torn side to freeze instantly in the terriblecold of the void. As the pressure dropped, razor-edged bulkhead doorsshot automatically into place to seal off the stricken compartment.
Although badly damaged, the Alarian ship was not yet out of the fight.Number Five turret lashed back with a heat ray that glowed cherry-red,then white, on the upper forward turret of the pursuing ship ofRu'ukon. A cluster of atomic torpedoes darted from the far side of theAlarian ship and headed for the Ru'ukonian cruiser in an intricateseries of zig-zag maneuvers, only to be caught half way by a force beamand exploded in a blinding flash. Another single torpedo, swinging widethrough space in an arc hundreds of thousands of miles long, came upfrom behind the pursuing ship. For a moment it seemed that it mightstrike a vital blow, but the Ru'ukonian detection apparatus went intoaction at the last possible moment, and the single torpedo was caughtby a force beam when it was but a scant hundred miles from its target.
Again the pale beam struck, and the Alarian ship staggered as theNumber Two port engines exploded.
In the control room, a squid-like shape churned through the clear waterto the vision screen where Ekrado, the ship's commander, floated.
"Yes, Ronaro," his thought was sharp and urgent, "what is it?"
"Number Two port engine out," telepathed his deputy. "Number One turretout."
"That is bad. Prepare our personal lifeboat for immediate use. It maybecome necessary to abandon ship."
"Right away," acknowledged Ronaro. But even as he turned to carry outthe order, Ekrado caught the indication of a half-formed question inhis mind.
"You have doubts, Ronaro," he challenged. "Out with them."
"If we abandon ship now, how can we carry our message?"
"We have no choice; this ship will never carry us to distant Alar.Our communication apparatus is wrecked beyond repair. We must contacta civilized race on one of the planets of this sun and win theircooperation—or Alar will never get our message."
"Never get our message!" echoed Ronaro, shocked.
"Don't float there thinking of failure. We must and will succeed. Now,off to the lifeboat. I'm going to try to dodge behind a planetary bodyof this system."
The Captain gave the orders for a change of course, and the speedingship turned on a long arc as it swung its bow in towards the center ofthe planetary system. The maneuver gained them a brief respite, as theRu'ukonian swept on past before the pilot could react to the change ofcourse. The superior speed of the other cruiser soon told, however, andthe Alarian ship rocked again as anoth