WHO GOES THERE?

By CHARLES H. DAVIS

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 flashed through the void. Light from distant Sol gleamed feebly on their dark hulls, paled to insignificance by the flare of pure energy that blasted each ship through space at inconceivable velocity. Sol's illumination was just enough to pick out the jagged gash near the base of the leading vessel where a force beam had struck a deadly blow.

As the interval between the spaceships lessened, a pale beam lanced out from the pursuing ship and caught the wounded Alarian cruiser on the flank. Mighty steel plates buckled inward and life-giving water spouted out through the torn side to freeze instantly in the terrible cold of the void. As the pressure dropped, razor-edged bulkhead doors shot 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 of Ru'ukon. A cluster of atomic torpedoes darted from the far side of the Alarian ship and headed for the Ru'ukonian cruiser in an intricate series of zig-zag maneuvers, only to be caught half way by a force beam and exploded in a blinding flash. Another single torpedo, swinging wide through space in an arc hundreds of thousands of miles long, came up from behind the pursuing ship. For a moment it seemed that it might strike a vital blow, but the Ru'ukonian detection apparatus went into action at the last possible moment, and the single torpedo was caught by 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 the Number Two port engines exploded.

In the control room, a squid-like shape churned through the clear water to 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 turret out."

"That is bad. Prepare our personal lifeboat for immediate use. It may become necessary to abandon ship."

"Right away," acknowledged Ronaro. But even as he turned to carry out the order, Ekrado caught the indication of a half-formed question in his 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 contact a civilized race on one of the planets of this sun and win their cooperation—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 body of this system."

The Captain gave the orders for a change of course, and the speeding ship turned on a long arc as it swung its bow in towards the center of the planetary system. The maneuver gained them a brief respite, as the Ru'ukonian swept on past before the pilot could react to the change of course. The superior speed of the other cruiser soon told, however, and the Alarian ship rocked again as another beam struck it.

An excited subordinate swam up, waving his five tentacles frantically. "Captain," he telepathed, "the water-purifying plant has been hit. A beam went right through where Number Five turret used to be. The auxiliary plant was knocked out when Number Two engine exploded."

"We'll abandon ship," decided the Captain. "Some of the lifeboats should reach planets. Set the controls to plunge the ship into the sun of this system."

The junior officer made the necessary adjustments to the controls. With a flick of one tentacle he set the automatic alarm broadcaster into action and swam hastily after his Captain. The metallic command, "Abandon Ship! Abandon Ship!" rang through his mind as the device started functioning.

The Captain was already at the controls of the lifeboat. Ronaro dove after him. A moment later the lifeboat had slipped through the lock into space, darting away from the wounded giant at full speed.

"Several small planets held by this star, Captain," reported Ronaro.

"I see them," telepathed Ekrado. "You keep a watch on the enemy and look to see if any other lifeboats escape. I'll steer for the most likely planet."

As Ronaro watched through the rear-view vision screen, first one and then another darted away from the Alarian hulk until he could count a total of five.

"Rendezvous instructions?" asked Ronaro mentally.

"Third planet from the sun," ordered Ekrado. "We're in luck, Ronaro, the planet is mostly water—plenty of room to swim around in. I'll pick one of the ocean areas to land in and inform the other boats by beacon signals of our exact location."

Even as Ronaro adjusted the communication amplifier to direct his mental command to the scattered lifeboats behind them, a more ominous picture appeared on the screen. The bright red halo that warned of approaching atomic torpedoes blossomed forth on the image of the enemy cruiser. The single halo gradually broke into smaller red circles as the cluster spread apart in space.

They were next. Could they evade the atomic torpedoes?