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diff --git a/25713.txt b/25713.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e76febc --- /dev/null +++ b/25713.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2012 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Judas Valley, by Gerald Vance + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Judas Valley + +Author: Gerald Vance + +Release Date: June 7, 2008 [EBook #25713] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE JUDAS VALLEY *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell, and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: He had lost all sense of right or wrong. Justice and +injustice were the same, and his only thought was, kill--kill--kill!] + + + + + THE JUDAS VALLEY + + By GERALD VANCE + + + _Why did everybody step off the ship in this strange valley + and promptly drop dead? How could a well-equipped corps of + tough spacemen become a field of rotting skeletons in this + quiet world of peace and contentment? It was a mystery Peter + and Sherri had to solve. If they could live long enough!_ + + +Peter Wayne took the letter out of the machine, broke the seal, and +examined it curiously. It was an official communication from the +Interstellar Exploration Service. It read: + + FROM: Lieutenant General Martin Scarborough, I.E.S. + TO: Captain Peter Wayne, Preliminary Survey Corps + + Report immediately to this office for assignment to I.E.S. _Lord + Nelson_. Full briefing will be held at 2200 hours, 14 April 2103. + + By order of the Fleet Commandant. + +It was short, brief, and to the point. And it gave no information +whatsoever. Peter Wayne shrugged resignedly, put the letter down on his +bed, walked over to the phone, and dialed a number. + +A moment later, a girl's face appeared--blonde-haired, with high +cheekbones, deep blue-green eyes, and an expression of the lips that +intriguingly combined desirability and crisp military bearing. + +"Lieutenant James speaking," she said formally. Then, as Wayne's image +appeared on her screen, she grinned. "Hi, Pete. What's up?" + +"Listen, Sherri," Wayne said quickly. "I'm going to have to cancel that +date we had for tomorrow night. I just got my orders." + +The girl laughed. "I was just going to call _you_, I got a fac-sheet +too. Looks as though we won't see each other for a while, Pete." + +"What ship are you getting?" + +"The _Lord Nelson_." + +It was Wayne's turn to laugh. "It looks as though we _will_ be seeing +each other. That's my ship too. We can keep our date in the briefing +room." + +Her face brightened. "Good! I'll see you there, then," she said. "I've +got to get my gear packed." + +"Okay," Wayne said. "Let's be on time, you know how General Scarborough +is." + +She smiled. "Don't worry, Peter. I'll be there. So long for now." + +"Bye, Sherri." He cut the connection, watched the girl's face melt away +into a rainbow-colored diamond of light, and turned away. There were a +lot of things to do before he would be ready to leave Earth for an +interstellar tour of duty. + +He wondered briefly as he started to pack just what was going on. There +was usually much more notice on any big jump of this order. Something +special was up, he thought, as he dragged his duffle-bag out of the +closet. + + * * * * * + +He was at the briefing room at 2158 on the nose. The Interstellar +Exploration Service didn't much go for tardiness, but they didn't pay +extra if you got there a half-hour early. Captain Peter Wayne made it a +point of being at any appointment two minutes early--no more, no less. + +The room was starting to fill up, with men and women Wayne knew well, +had worked with on other expeditions, had lived with since he'd joined +the IES. They looked just as puzzled as he probably did, he saw; they +knew they were being called in on something big, and in the IES big +meant _big_. + +At precisely 2200, Lieutenant General Scarborough emerged from the inner +office, strode briskly up the aisle of the briefing room, and took his +customary stance on the platform in front. His face looked stern, and he +held his hands clasped behind his back. His royal blue uniform was neat +and trim. Over his head, the second hand of the big clock whirled +endlessly. In the silence of the briefing room, it seemed to be ticking +much too loudly. + +The general nodded curtly and said, "Some of you are probably wondering +why the order to report here wasn't more specific. There are two reasons +for that. In the first place, we have reason to believe that we have +found a substantial deposit of double-nucleus beryllium." + +There was a murmur of sound in the briefing room. Wayne felt his heart +starting to pound; D-N beryllium _was_ big. So big that a whole fleet of +IES ships did nothing but search the galaxy for it, full time. + +"Naturally," the general continued, "we don't want any of this +information to leak out, just in case it should prove false. The +prospect of enough D-N beryllium to make fusion power really cheap could +cause a panic if we didn't handle it properly. The Economics Board has +warned us that we'll have to proceed carefully if there actually is a +big deposit on this planet." + +Captain Wayne stared uneasily at Sherri James, who frowned and chewed +her lip. To his left, a short, stubby private named Manetti murmured +worriedly, "That means trouble. D-N beryllium always means trouble. +There's a catch somewhere." + +General Scarborough, on the platform, said, "There's a second reason for +secrecy. I think it can better be explained by a man who has the +evidence first-hand." + +He paused and looked around the room. "Four weeks ago, the Scout Ship +_Mavis_ came back from Fomalhaut V." There was a dead silence in the +briefing room. + +"Lieutenant Jervis, will you tell the crew exactly what happened on +Fomalhaut V?" + + * * * * * + +Lieutenant Jervis stepped forward and took his place on the platform. He +was small and wiry, with a hawk nose and piercingly intense eyes. He +cleared his throat and smiled a little sheepishly. + +"I've told this story so many times that it doesn't even sound real to +me any more. I've told it to the Supreme Senate Space Committee, to half +the top brass in the IES, and to a Board of Physicians from the Medical +Department. + +"As well as I can remember it, it goes something like this." + +Laughter rippled through the room. + +"We orbited around Fomalhaut V for a Scouting Survey," Jervis said. "The +planet is hot and rocky, but it has a breathable atmosphere. The +detectors showed various kinds of metals in the crust, some of them in +commercially feasible concentration. But the crust is so mountainous and +rocky that there aren't very many places to land a ship. + +"Then we picked up the double-nucleus beryllium deposit on our +detectors. Nearby, there was a small, fairly level valley, so we brought +the ship down for a closer check. We wanted to make absolutely positive +that it was double-nucleus beryllium before we made our report." + +He paused, as if arranging the story he wanted to tell in his mind, and +went on. "The D-N beryllium deposit lies at the top of a fairly low +mountain about five miles from the valley. We triangulated it first, and +then we decided we ought to send up a party to get samples of the ore if +it were at all possible. + +"I was chosen to go, along with another member of the crew, a man named +Lee Bellows. We left the ship at about five in the morning, and spent +most of the day climbing up to the spot where we had detected the +beryllium. We couldn't get a sample; the main deposit is located several +feet beneath the surface of the mountaintop, and the mountain is too +rough and rocky to climb without special equipment. We got less than +halfway before we had to stop." + +Wayne felt Sherri nudge him, and turned to nod. He knew what she was +thinking. This was where he came in; it was a job that called for a +specialist, a trained mountaineer--such as Captain Peter Wayne. He +frowned and turned his attention back to the man on the platform. + + * * * * * + +"We made all the readings we could," Jervis continued. "Then we headed +back to our temporary base." + +His face looked troubled. "When we got back, every man at the base was +dead." + +Silence in the room. Complete, utter, deafening silence. + +"There were only nine of us in the ship," Jervis said. He was obviously +still greatly affected by whatever had taken place on Fomalhaut V. "With +seven of us dead, that left only Bellows and myself. We couldn't find +out what had killed them. They were lying scattered over the valley +floor for several yards around the ship. They looked as though they had +suddenly dropped dead at whatever they were doing." + +Peter Wayne made use of his extra few inches of height to glance around +the briefing room. He saw row on row of tense faces--faces that +reflected the same emotions he was feeling. Space exploration was +something still new and mostly unknown, and even the experienced men of +IES still knew fear occasionally. The galaxy was a big place; unknown +terrors lurked on planets unimaginably distant. Every now and then, +something like this would come up--something to give you pause, before +you ventured into space again. + +"We couldn't find out what had killed them," Jervis said again. "They +were lying scattered every which way, with no clues at all." The small +man's fingers were trembling from relived fright. "Bellows and I were +pretty scared, I'll have to admit. We couldn't find a sign of what had +killed the men--they'd just--just _died_." + +There was a quiver in his voice. It was obvious he could never take the +story lightly, no matter how many times he had to tell it. + +Wayne heard Private Manetti mutter, "There's always a price for D-N +beryllium." + +"The Scout Ship hadn't been molested," Jervis went on. "I went inside +and checked it over. It was untouched, undisturbed in every way. I +checked the control panel, the cabins, everything. All unbothered. The +ship was empty and dead. And--outside-- + +"When I came out, Bellows was dead too." He took a deep breath. "I'm +afraid I panicked then. I locked myself inside the ship, set the +autocontrols, and headed back to Earth at top velocity. I set the ship +in an orbit around the moon and notified headquarters. I was quarantined +immediately, of course, to make sure I wasn't carrying anything. The +medics checked me over carefully. I wasn't and am not now carrying any +virus or bacteria unknown to Terrestrial medicine. + +"Since I'm the only one who knows exactly where this valley is, the +general has asked me to guide the _Lord Nelson_ to the exact spot. +Actually, it could be found eventually with the D-N beryllium as a +guide. But the _Mavis_ was in orbit around Fomalhaut V for two weeks +before we found the D-N beryllium deposit, and the Service feels that we +shouldn't waste any time." + +The lieutenant sat down, and General Scarborough resumed his place on +the platform. + + * * * * * + +"That's the situation," Scarborough said bluntly. "You know the setup, +now--and I think some of you see how your specialities are going to fit +into the operation. As Lieutenant Jervis pointed out, we don't know what +killed the crew of the _Mavis_; therefore, we are going to take every +possible precaution. As far as we know, there are no inimical life forms +on Fomalhaut V--but it's possible that there are things we don't know +about, such as airborne viruses that kill in a very short time. If so, +then Lieutenant Jervis is immune to the virus and is not a transmitter +or carrier of it. + +"However, to guard against such a possibility, no one will leave the +_Lord Nelson_, once it has landed, without wearing a spacesuit. The air +is breathable, but we're taking no chances. Also, no one will go out +alone; scouting parties will always be in pairs, with wide open +communication with the ship. And at no time will more than ten percent +of the ship's company be outside at any one time." + +Wayne made a rough mental computation. _The_ Lord Nelson _holds sixty. +That means no more than six out at any single time. They really must be +worried._ + +"Aside from those orders, which were decided on by the Service Command, +you'll be under the direct orders of Colonel Nels Petersen. Colonel +Petersen." + +Petersen was a tall, hard-faced man with a touch of gray at his temples. +He stepped forward and stared intently at the assembled crew. + + * * * * * + +"Our job is to make the preliminary preparations for getting D-N +beryllium out of the crust of Fomalhaut V. We're supposed to stay alive +while we do it. Therefore, our secondary job is to find out what it was +that killed the scouting expedition of the _Mavis_. There are sixty of +us going aboard the _Lord Nelson_ tomorrow, and I'd like to have sixty +aboard when we come back. Got that?" + +He leaned forward, stretched upward on his toes, and smiled +mechanically. "Fine. Now, you all know your jobs, but we're going to +have to work together as a team. We're going to have to correlate our +work so that we'll know what we're doing. So don't think we won't have +anything to do during the two weeks it will take us to get to Fomalhaut +V. We're going to work it as though it were a shakedown cruise. If +anyone doesn't work out, he'll be replaced, even if we have to turn +around and come back to Earth. On a planet which has wiped out a whole +scouting expedition, we can't afford to have any slip-ups. And that +means we can't afford to have anyone aboard who doesn't know what he's +doing or doesn't care. Is that clear?" + +It was. + +"All right," said the colonel. "Let's go out and get acquainted with the +_Lord Nelson_." + + * * * * * + +The briefing session broke up well past midnight, and the group that +shortly would become the crew of the _Lord Nelson_ filtered out of the +building and into the cool spring air. Each man had a fairly good idea +of his job and each man knew the dangers involved. No one had backed +out. + +"What d'ye think of it, Pete?" Sherri James asked, as they left +together. "Sounds pretty mean." + +"I wish we knew what the answers were beforehand," Wayne said. He +glanced down at Sherri. The moon was full, and its rays glinted brightly +off her golden hair. "It's a risky deal, as Petersen said. Nine men go +out, and eight die--of what? Just dead, that's all." + +"It's the way the game goes," Sherri said. "You knew that when you +joined the corps." They turned down the main road of the IES compound +and headed for the snack bar. + +Wayne nodded. "I know, kid. It's a job, and it has to be done. But +nobody likes to walk into an empty planet like that knowing that eight +of the last nine guys who did didn't come back." + +He put his arm around her and they entered the snack bar that way. Most +of the other crew-members were there already; Wayne sensed the +heightening tenseness on their faces. + +"Two nuclear fizzes," he said to the pfc at the bar. "With all the +trimmings." + +"What's the matter, Captain?" said a balding, potbellied major a few +stools down, who was nursing a beer. "How come the soft drinks tonight, +Wayne?" + +Peter grinned. "I'm in training, Major Osborne. Gotta kill the evil +green horde from Rigel Seven, and I don't dare drink anything stronger +than sarsaparilla." + +"How about the amazon, then?" Osborne said, gesturing at Sherri. "Her +too?" + +"Me too," Sherri said. + +Osborne stared at his beer. "You two must be in Scarborough's new +project, then." He squinted at Peter, who nodded almost imperceptibly. + +"You'll need luck," Osborne said. + +"No we won't," Wayne said. "Not luck. We'll need more than just luck to +pull us through." + +The nuclear fizzes arrived. He began to sip it quietly. A few more +members of the crew entered the snack bar. Their faces were drawn +tensely. + +He guzzled the drink and looked up at Sherri, who was sucking down the +last of the soda. "Let's get going, Lieutenant James. The noncoms are +coming, and we don't want them to make nasty remarks about us." + + * * * * * + +The _Lord Nelson_ blasted off the next evening, after a frenzied day of +hurried preparations. The crew of sixty filed solemnly aboard, Colonel +Petersen last, and the great hatch swung closed. + +There was the usual routine loudspeaker-business while everyone quickly +and efficiently strapped into his acceleration cradle, and then the ship +leaped skyward. It climbed rapidly, broke free of Earth's grasp, and, +out past the moon, abruptly winked out of normal space into overdrive. +It would spend the next two weeks in hyperspace, short-cutting across +the galaxy to Fomalhaut V. + +It was a busy two weeks for everyone involved. Captain Peter Wayne, as a +central part of the team, spent much of his time planning his attack. +His job would be the actual climbing of the mountain where the +double-nucleus beryllium was located. It wasn't going to be an easy job; +the terrain was rough, the wind, according to Jervis, whipped ragingly +through the hills, and the jagged peaks thrust into the air like the +teeth of some mythical dragon. + +Study of the three-dimensional aerial photographs taken from the _Mavis_ +showed that the best route was probably up through one end of the +valley, through a narrow pass that led around the mountain, and up the +west slope, which appeared to offer better handholds and was less +perpendicular than the other sides of the mountain. + +This time, the expedition would have the equipment to make the climb. +There were ropes, picks, and crampons, and sets of metamagnetic boots +and grapples. With metamagnetic boots, Wayne thought, they'd be able to +walk up the side of the mountain almost as easily as if it were flat. + +He studied the thick, heavy soles of the boots for a moment, then set to +work polishing. Wayne liked to keep his boots mirror-bright; it wasn't +required, but it was a habit of his nonetheless. + +He set to work vigorously. Everyone aboard the ship was working that +way. Sherri James, who was in charge of the Correlation Section, had +noticed the same thing the day before. Her job was to co-ordinate all +the information from various members of the expedition, run them through +the computers, and record them. She had been busy since blastoff, +testing the computers, checking and rechecking them, being overly +efficient. + +"I know why we're doing it," she said. "It keeps our mind off the end of +the trip. When we spend the whole day working out complicated circuits +for the computers, or polishing mountain boots, or cleaning the jet +tubes, it's just so we don't have to think about Fomalhaut V. It helps +to concentrate on details." + +Wayne nodded and said nothing. Sherri was right. There was one thought +in everyone's mind: what was the deadly secret of the valley? + +There was another thought, after that: + +_Will we find it out in time?_ + + * * * * * + +After two weeks of flight through the vast blackness of interstellar +space, the _Lord Nelson_ came out of overdrive and set itself in an +orbit around Fomalhaut V. Lieutenant Jervis, the sole survivor of the +ill-fated _Mavis_, located the small valley between the giant crags that +covered the planet, and the huge spherical bulk of the spaceship settled +gently to the floor of the valley. + +They were gathered in the central room of the ship ten minutes after the +_all-clear_ rang through the corridors, informing everyone that the +landing had been safely accomplished. From the portholes they could see +the white bones of the _Mavis's_ crew lying on the reddish sand of the +valley bottom. + +"There they are," Jervis said quietly. "Just bones. Those were my +shipmates." + +Wayne saw Sherri repress a shudder. Little heaps of bones lay here and +there on the sand, shining brightly in the hot sun. That was the crew of +the _Mavis_--or what was left of them. + +Colonel Petersen entered the room and confronted the crew. "We're here," +he said. "You know the schedule from now on. No one's to leave the ship +until we've made a check outside, and after that--assuming it's OK to go +out--no more than six are to leave the ship at any one time." + +He pointed to a row of metal magnetic tabs clinging to the wall nearest +the corridor that led to the airlock. "When you go out, take one of +those tabs and touch it on your suit. There are exactly six tabs. If +none are there, don't go out. It's as simple as that." + +Four men in spacesuits entered the room, followed by two others. The +leader of the group saluted. "We're ready, sir," he said. + +"Go out and get a look at the bodies," the colonel told the men, who +were Medical Corpsmen. "You know the procedure. Air and sand samples +too, of course." + +The leader saluted again, turned, and left. Wayne watched the six +spacesuited figures step one at a time to the wall, withdraw one of the +metal tabs, and affix it to the outer skin of his suit. Then they went +outside. + +Captain Wayne and Sherri James stood by one of the portholes and +watched the six medics as they bent over the corpses outside. "I don't +get it, I just don't understand," Wayne said quietly. + + * * * * * + +"What don't you get?" Sherri asked. + +"Those skeletons. Those men have only been dead for two months, and +they've been reduced to nothing but bones already. Even the fabric of +their clothing is gone. Why? There must be something here that causes +human flesh to deteriorate much faster than normal." + +"It does look pretty gruesome," Sherri agreed. "I'm glad we've been +ordered to keep our spacesuits on. I wouldn't want to be exposed to +anything that might be out there." + +"I wonder--" Wayne muttered. + +"What? What's the matter?" + +Wayne pointed to one figure lying on the sand. "See that? What's that +over his head?" + +"Why--it's a space helmet!" + +"Yeah," said Wayne. "The question is: was he wearing just the helmet, or +the whole suit? If he was wearing the whole suit, we're not going to be +as well protected as we thought, even with our fancy suits." + +Fifteen minutes passed slowly before the medics returned, and five +minutes more before they had passed through the decontamination chambers +and were allowed into the ship proper. A ring of tense faces surrounded +them as they made their report. + + * * * * * + +The leader, a tall, bespectacled doctor named Stevelman, was the +spokesman. He shrugged when Colonel Petersen put forth the question +whose answer everyone waited for. + +"I don't know," the medic replied. "I don't know what killed them. +There's dry bones out there, but no sign of anything that might have +done it. It's pretty hard to make a quick diagnosis on a skeleton, +Colonel." + +"What about the one skeleton with the bubble helmet?" Peter Wayne asked. +"Did you see any sign of a full suit on him?" + +Stevelman shook his head. "Not a sign, sir." + +Colonel Petersen turned and glanced at Lieutenant Jervis. "Do you +remember what the circumstances were, Lieutenant?" + +Jervis shrugged. "I don't recall it very clearly, sir. I honestly +couldn't tell you whether they were wearing suits or bubble-helmets or +anything. I was too upset at the time to make careful observations." + +"I understand," Petersen said. + +But the medic had a different theory. He pointed at Jervis and said, +"That's a point I've meant to make, Lieutenant. You're a trained space +scout. Your psychological records show that you're not the sort of man +given to panic or to become confused." + +"Are you implying that there's something improper about my statement, +Dr. Stevelman?" + +The medic held up a hand. "Nothing of the sort, Lieutenant. But since +you're not the sort to panic, even in such a crisis as the complete +destruction of the entire crew of your scout ship, you must have been +ill--partly delirious from fever. Not delirious enough to cause +hallucinations, but just enough to impair your judgment." + +Jervis nodded. "That is possible," he said. + +"Good," said Stevelman. "I have two tentative hypotheses, then." He +turned to the colonel. "Should I state them now, Colonel Petersen?" + +"There's to be no secrecy aboard this ship, Doctor. I want every man and +woman on the ship to know all the facts at all times." + +"Very well," the medic said. "I'd suggest the deaths were caused by some +unknown virus--or, perhaps, by some virulent poison that occurred +occasionally, a poisonous smog of some kind that had settled in the +valley for a time and then dissipated." + +Wayne frowned and shook his head. Both hypotheses made sense. + +"Do you have any suggestions, Doctor?" Petersen said. + +"Since we don't have any direct information about why those men died, +Colonel, I can't make any definite statements. But I can offer one bit +of advice to everyone: _wear your suits and be alert_." + + * * * * * + +During the week that followed, several groups went out without suffering +any ill effects. A short service was held for the eight of the _Mavis_ +and then the skeletons were buried in the valley. + +They ran a check on the double-nucleus beryllium toward the end of the +week, after it had been fairly safely established that no apparent harm +was going to come to them. Wayne and Sherri were both in the crew that +went outside to set up the detector. + +"You man the detector plate," said Major MacDougal, who was in charge of +the group, turning to Wayne. + +He put his hand on the plate and waited for the guide coordinates to be +set. MacDougal fumbled at the base of the detector for a moment, and the +machine began picking up eloptic radiations. + +Wayne now looked down at the detector plate. "Here we are," he said. +"The dial's oscillating between four and eight, all right. The stuff's +here." + +MacDougal whistled gently. "It's really sending, isn't it!" He pointed +toward the mountaintop. "From up there, too. It's going to be a nice +climb. Okay, pack the detector up and let's get back inside." + +They entered the airlock and passed on into the ship. + +"The D-N beryllium up there, sir," Major MacDougal said. "It's going to +be a devil of a job to get up to find the stuff." + +"That's what Captain Wayne's here for," Petersen said. "Captain, what +do you think? Can you get up here?" + +"It would have been easier to bring along a helicopter," Wayne said +wryly. "Pity the things don't fit into spaceships. But I think I can get +up there. I'd like to try surveying the lay of the land, first. I want +to know all the possible routes before I start climbing." + +"Good idea," Petersen said. "I'll send you out with three men to do some +preliminary exploring. Boggs! Manetti! MacPherson! Suit up and get with +it!" + + * * * * * + +Wayne strode toward the spacesuit locker, took out his suit, and donned +it. Instead of the normal space boots, he put on the special +metamagnetic boots for mountain climbing. The little reactors in the +back of the calf activated the thick metal sole of each boot so that it +would cling tightly to the metallic rock of the mountain. Unlike +ordinary magnetism, the metamagnetic field acted on all metals, even +when they were in combination with other elements. + +His team of three stood before him in the airlock room. He knew all +three of them fairly well from Earthside; they were capable, +level-headed men, and at least one--Boggs--had already been out in the +valley surveying once, and so knew the area pretty well. + +He pulled on the boots and looked up. "We're not going to climb the +mountain this time, men. We'll just take a look around it to decide +which is the best way." + +"You have any ideas, sir?" Sergeant Boggs asked. + +"From looking at the photographs, I'd guess that the western approach is +the best. But I may be wrong. Little details are hard to see from five +hundred miles up, even with the best of instruments, and there may be +things in our way that will make the west slope impassible. If so, we'll +try the southern side. It looks pretty steep, but it also seems rough +enough to offer plenty of handholds." + +"Too bad we couldn't have had that helicopter you were talking about," +said Boggs. + +Wayne grinned. "With these winds? They'd smash us against the side of +the mountain before we'd get up fifty feet. You ought to know, +Sergeant--you've been out in them once already." + +"They're not so bad down in this valley, sir," Boggs said. "The only +time you really notice them is when you climb the escarpment at the +northern end. They get pretty rough up there." + +Wayne nodded. "You can see what kind of a job we'll have. Even with +metamagnetic boots and grapples, we'll still have to use the old +standbys." He looked at the men. "Okay; we're all ready. Let's go." + +They unhooked four of the six tabs from the wall and donned them. Then +they moved on into the airlock and closed the inner door. The air was +pumped out, just as though the ship were in space or on a planet with a +poisonous atmosphere. As far as anyone knew, the atmosphere of Fomalhaut +V actually was poisonous. Some of the tension had relaxed after a week +spent in safety, but there was always the first expedition to consider; +no one took chances. + +When all the air had been removed, a bleeder valve allowed the outer air +to come into the chamber. Then the outer door opened, and the four men +went down the ladder to the valley floor. + + * * * * * + +Wayne led the way across the sand in silence. The four men made their +way toward the slope on the western side of the valley. Overhead, the +bright globe of Fomalhaut shed its orange light over the rugged +landscape. + +When they reached the beginning of the slope, Wayne stopped and looked +upwards. "Doesn't look easy," he grunted. "Damned rough hill, matter of +fact. MacPherson, do you think you could make it to the top?" + +Corporal MacPherson was a small, wiry man who had the reputation of +being a first-rank mountaineer. He had been a member of the eighteenth +Mount Everest Party, and had been the second of that party to reach the +summit of the towering peak. + +"Sure I can, sir," he said confidently. "Shall I take the rope?" + +"Go ahead. You and Manetti get the rope to the top, and Sergeant Boggs +and I will follow up." + +"Righto, sir." + +Corporal MacPherson reached his gloved hands forward and contracted his +fingers. The tiny microswitches in his gloves actuated the relays, and +his hands clung to the rock. Then he put his boots against the wall and +began to move up the steep escarpment. + +Private Manetti followed after him. The two men were lashed together by +the light plastisteel cable. The sergeant held the end of the cable in +his hands, waiting for the coil to be paid out. + +Wayne watched the two men climb, while a chill wind whipped down out of +the mountains and raised the sand in the valley. It was less than eighty +feet to the precipice edge above, but it was almost perpendicular, and +as they climbed, the buffeting winds began to press against their bodies +with ever-increasing force. + +They reached the top and secured the rope, and then they peered over the +edge and signalled that Wayne and the sergeant should start up. + +"We're coming," Wayne shouted, and returned the signal. It was at that +instant that he felt something slam against the sole of his heavy +metamagnetic boot. It was as though something had kicked him savagely on +the sole of his right foot. + +He winced sharply at the impact. Then, somewhat puzzled he looked down +at the boot. He felt something move under the sand. He tried to step +back, and almost tripped. It was as though his right foot were stuck +firmly to the sand! + +He pushed himself back, and with a tremendous heave managed to pull +himself free. He braced his body against the cliff, lifted his foot, and +looked at it. + +Hanging from his boot sole was one of the ugliest monstrosities he had +ever seen, unusually grotesque. + + * * * * * + +It was about the size and shape of a regulation football, and was +covered with a wrinkled, reddish hide. At one end was a bright red gash +of a mouth studded with greenish, gnashing teeth. From the other end of +the creature's body protruded a long, needle-like projection which had +imbedded itself in the metal sole of Wayne's boot. + +"Good God! If I'd been wearing ordinary boots, that thing would have +stuck clear into my foot!" + +He hefted the weighted pick with one hand and swung, catching the +monster with the point. It sank in and ripped through the creature, +spilling red-orange blood over the sand. Shuddering a little, Wayne put +his other foot on the dead thing and pulled his right boot free of the +needle beak. + +He started to say something, but he had a sudden premonition that made +him look up in time. Sergeant Boggs put both hands against the +Captain's shoulder and pushed. + +"What the hell?" Wayne asked in surprise as he felt the shove. He almost +fell to the sand, but he had had just enough warning to allow him to +keep his balance. He put out a foot and staggered wildly. + +A sudden strange noise caused him to turn and look back. Five needles +were jabbing viciously up out of the sand in the spot where he would +have fallen. + +"You out of your head, Boggs?" he started to ask--but before the last +word was out of his mouth, the sergeant charged in madly and tried to +push him over again. He was fighting like a man gone berserk--which he +was. + +Wayne grabbed him by the wrist and flipped him desperately aside. The +sergeant fell, sprawled out for a moment on the sand, then bounced to +his feet again. His eyes were alight with a strange, terrifying flame. + +Silently, he leaped for Wayne. The captain slammed his fist forward, +sending it crashing into Boggs's midsection. The sergeant came back with +a jab to the stomach that pushed Wayne backward. Again the deadly +needles flicked up from the ground, but they did not strike home. + +Wayne gasped for breath and reached out for Boggs. Boggs leaped on him, +trying to push Wayne down where the beaks could get to him. Wayne +sidestepped, threw Boggs off balance, and clubbed down hard with his +fist. + +Boggs wandered dizzily for a second before Wayne's other fist came +blasting in, knocking the breath out of him. A third blow, and the +sergeant collapsed on the sand. + +Wayne paused and caught his breath. The sergeant remained unconscious. +Wayne shook his head uncertainly, wondering what had come over the +mild-mannered Boggs. A chilling thought struck him: _was this what +happened to the crew of the Mavis?_ + + * * * * * + +He looked up the cliff, where the other two men were still peering over +the edge. + +"MacPherson! Manetti! Come down! We're going back to the ship!" + +He heaved the unconscious body of Sergeant Boggs over his shoulder like +a potato-sack, and waited for the two men to come down. They drew near. + +"Boggs must have gone out of his head," Wayne said. "He jumped me like +a madman." + +They had nothing to say, so he turned and began to trudge back to the +_Lord Nelson_, trying to assemble the facts in his mind. They followed +alongside. + +What was behind the attack? After seeing the monster, why had Boggs +attempted to push his superior officer over into the sand? There were +other little beasts under that sand; why would Boggs want one of +them--there seemed to be dozens--to jab him with its needle of a beak? + +And what were the beastly little animals, anyway? + +There were no answers. But the answers would have to come, soon. + +He tossed Boggs into the airlock and waited for the others to catch up. +They climbed up the ladder and said nothing as the airlock went through +its cycle and the antibacterial spray covered them. + + * * * * * + +Colonel Petersen looked at him across the desk and put the palms of his +hands together. "Then, as I understand it, Captain, Sergeant Boggs tried +to push you over into the sand when this--ah--_monster_ jabbed you in +the foot?" + +"That's right, sir," Wayne said. He felt uncomfortable. This wasn't a +formal court-martial; it was simply an inquiry into the sergeant's +actions. Charges would be preferred later, if there were any to be +preferred. + +Sergeant Boggs stood stolidly on the far side of the room. A livid +bruise along his jaw testified to the struggle that had taken place. One +eye was puffed, and his expression was an unhappy one. Near him, +MacPherson and Private Manetti stood stiffly at attention. + +The colonel looked at Boggs. "What's your side of the story, Sergeant?" + +The non-com's face didn't change. "Sir, the captain's statement isn't +true." + +"_What's that?_" Wayne asked angrily. + +"Quiet, Captain," Petersen said. "Go ahead, Boggs." + +The sergeant licked his bruised lips. "I was about to start up the rope +when, for no reason at all, he struck me in the stomach. Then he hit me +again a few more times, and I passed out." + +"Did he say anything when he did this?" the Colonel asked. + +"No, sir." + +Wayne frowned. What was the sergeant trying to do? What the devil was he +up to? + +"Corporal MacPherson," the colonel said, "Did you witness the fight?" + +"Yes, sir," the small man said, stepping a pace forward. + +"Describe it." + +"Well, sir, we were up on top of the cliff, and we called--or rather, +_I_ called for the captain and the sergeant to come on up. Sergeant +Boggs took a hold of the rope and then the captain hit him in the belly, +sir. He hit him twice more and the sergeant fell down. Then the captain +told us to come down, which we did, sir. That was all." He gestured with +his hands to indicate he had no more to say. + +Wayne could hardly believe his ears. Making an effort, he managed to +restrain himself. + +"Private Manetti, do you have anything to add to that?" the colonel +asked. + +"No, sir. It happened just like that, sir. We both seen the entire +thing. That's the way it happened. The captain hauled off and let him +have it." + +The colonel swivelled around and let his cold eyes rest on Wayne. +"Captain, you have stated that Sergeant Boggs did not talk to either of +these two men after you struck him. That eliminates any collusion." + +"Yes, sir," Wayne said stonily. + +"I talked to both men separately, and they tell substantially the same +story. The records of all three of these men are excellent. The sergeant +claims he never saw any monster of the type you describe, and the group +I sent out to check says that there is no body of any alien animal +anywhere near the spot. How do you explain the discrepancies between +your story and theirs?" + + * * * * * + +Wayne glared angrily at the three men. "They're lying, sir," he said +evenly. "I don't know why they're doing it. The whole thing took place +exactly as I told you." + +"I find that very difficult to believe, Captain." + +"Is that a formal accusation, sir?" + +Petersen shrugged and rubbed his hands against his iron-grey temples. +"Captain," he said finally, "you have a very fine record. You have never +before been known to strike an enlisted man for any cause whatever. I +hold that in your favor." + +"Thank you, sir." + +"On the other hand, the evidence here definitely indicates that your +story is not quite true. Now, we know that Lieutenant Jervis acted +peculiarly after the crew of the _Mavis_ met its mysterious end, and the +Medical Corps thinks that whatever is causing the deaths could also +cause mental confusion. Therefore, I am remanding you to the custody of +the Medical Corps for observation. You'll be kept in close confinement +until this thing is cleared up." + +Wayne frowned bitterly. "Yes, sir," he said. + + * * * * * + +Peter Wayne sat in his cell in the hospital sector and stared at the +wall in confusion. What in blazes was going on? What possible motive +would three enlisted men have to frame him in this way? It didn't make +any sense. + +Was it possible that he really _had_ gone off his rocker? Had he +imagined the little beast under the sand? + +He lifted his foot and looked again at the sole. There it was: a little +pit about an eighth of an inch deep. + +The colonel had explained it away easily enough, saying that he might +possibly have stepped on a sharp rock. Wayne shook his head. He knew he +wasn't nuts. But what the hell was going on? + +There were no answers. But he knew that the eventual answer, when it +came, would have something to do with the mystery of the _Mavis's_ eight +corpses. + +It was late that afternoon when Sherri James came storming into the +hospital sector. She was wearing a spacesuit, and she was brandishing a +pass countersigned by Colonel Petersen himself. She was determined to +enter. + +"The medics didn't want to let me in," she explained. "But I told them +I'd wear a spacesuit if it would make them any happier." + +"Sherri! What the devil are you doing here?" + +"I just wanted to check on you," she said. Her voice sounded oddly +distorted coming over the speaker in the helmet. "You're supposed to +have blown your wig or something. Did you?" + +"No. Of course not." + +"I didn't think so." She unscrewed her helmet quickly. "Listen, Peter, +there's something funny going on aboard this ship." + +"I've known that a long time," he said. + +"I think Boggs and those other two are trying to frame you," she said, +her voice low. "Do you know of anyone aboard named Masters?" + +"Masters?" Wayne repeated. "Not that I know of--why?" + +"Well, I overheard Boggs talking to one of the other men. I didn't hear +very clearly, but it sounded as though he said: 'We've got to get Moore +out and turn him over to Masters.' Bill Moore is one of my +computermen--tall, skinny fellow." + +Wayne nodded, frowning. "Yeah, but who is Masters? This is the queerest +thing I ever heard of." + +Footsteps sounded in the corridor outside. + +"Better put your helmet on," Wayne advised. "Whoever's coming might not +like to see you this way." + +Quickly, she slipped the helmet back on. "I don't know what's going on," +she said. "But I intend to find out." + + * * * * * + +One of the medics entered the cell without knocking and came up to +Sherri. "You'll have to go now, Lieutenant," he said. "We're going to +perform some tests on the captain now." + +Sherri bristled. "Tests? What kind of tests?" + +"Nothing very serious," the medic said. "Just a routine checkup to +clarify some points we're interested in." + +"All right," Sherri said. "You won't find anything the matter with +him." She left. + +"Come with me, Captain," said the medic politely. He unlocked the cell +door and, equally politely, drew a needle-beam pistol. "Don't try +anything, please, sir. I have my orders." + +Silently, Wayne followed the medic into the lab. Several other medics +were standing around watching him, with Stevelman, the head man, in the +back. + +"Over this way, Captain," Stevelman called. + +There was a box sitting on a table in the middle of the room. It was +full of sand. + +"Give me your hand, please, Captain," the medic said tonelessly. + +In a sudden flash of insight, Wayne realized what was in the box. He +thought fast but moved slowly. He held out his hand, but just as the +medic took it, he twisted suddenly away. + +His hand flashed out and grasped the other's wrist in a steely grip. The +medic's fingers tightened on the needle-beam, and managed to pull the +trigger. A bright beam flared briefly against the lab's plastalloy +floor, doing nothing but scorching it slightly. Wayne's other hand +balled into a fist and came up hard against the medic's jaw. + +He grabbed the needle-beam pistol from the collapsing man's limp hand +and had the other three men covered before the slugged medic had +finished sagging to the floor. + +"All of you! Raise your hands!" + +They paid no attention to him. Instead of standing where they were, they +began to move toward him. Wayne swore and, with a quick flip of his +thumb, turned the beam down to low power and pulled the trigger three +times in quick succession. + +The three men fell as though they'd been pole-axed, knocked out by the +low-power beam. + +"The whole ship's gone crazy," he murmured softly, looking at the three +men slumped together on the lab floor. "Stark, staring, raving nuts." + +He took one step and someone jumped him from behind. The needle-beam +pistol spun from his hand and slithered across the floor as Wayne fell +under the impact of the heavy body. Apparently the whole Medical Corps +was out to knock him down today. + +He twisted rapidly as an arm encircled his neck, and rammed an elbow +into the newcomer's midsection. Then he jerked his head back, smashing +the back of his skull into his opponent's nose. + +The hold around his neck weakened, and Wayne tore himself loose from the +other's grasp. He jumped to his feet, but the other man was a long way +from being unconscious. A stinging right smashed into Wayne's mouth, and +he felt the taste of blood. Hastily he wiped the trickle away with the +back of his hand. + +With his nose pouring blood, Wayne's antagonist charged in. His eyes +burned with the strange flame that had been gleaming in Boggs's face out +on the desert in the valley. He ploughed into Wayne's stomach with a +savage blow that rocked Wayne back. + +He grunted and drove back with a flurry of blows. The other aimed a wild +blow at Wayne's head; Wayne seized the wrist as the arm flew past his +ear, and twisted, hard. The medic flipped through the air and came to +rest against the wall with a brief crunching impact. He moaned and then +lapsed into silence. + + * * * * * + +Quickly, Wayne grabbed the gun off the floor and planted his back to the +wall, looking around for new antagonists. But there was evidently no one +left who cared to tangle with him, and the four medics strewn out on +the floor didn't seem to have much fight left in them. + +Wayne crossed the room in a couple of strides and bolted the door. Then +he walked over to the box of sand. If it contained what he suspected-- + +He stepped over to the lab bench and picked out a long steel support rod +from the equipment drawer. He placed the rod gently against the sand, +and pushed downward, hard. There was a tinny scream, and a six-inch +needle shot up instantly through the surface. + +"Just what I thought," Wayne murmured. "Can you talk, you nasty little +brute?" He prodded into the sand--more viciously this time. There was a +flurry of sand, and the football-shaped thing came to the surface, +clashing its teeth and screaming shrilly. + +Wayne cursed. Then he turned the needle gun back up to full power and +calmly burned the thing to a crisp. An odor of singed flesh drifted up +from the ashes on the sand. + + * * * * * + +He stooped and fumbled in Stevelman's pocket, pulling out a ring of +keys. + +"They better be the right ones," he told the unconscious medic. +Holstering the needle gun, he walked over to the medical stores cabinet, +hoping that the things he needed would be inside. He knew exactly what +he was facing now, and what he would have to do. + +He checked over the labels, peering through the neatly-arranged racks +for the substance he was searching for. + +Finally he picked a large plastine container filled with a white, +crystalline powder. Then he selected a couple of bottles filled with a +clear, faintly yellow liquid, and took a hypodermic gun from the rack. +He relocked the cabinet. + +Suddenly a knock sounded. He stiffened, sucked in his breath, and turned +to face the door. + +"Who's there?" he asked cautiously, trying to counterfeit Stevelman's +voice. + +"Harrenburg," said a rumbling voice. "I'm on guard duty. Heard some +noise coming from in there a while back, and thought I'd look in. +Everything all right, Dr. Stevelman? I mean--" + +"Everything's fine, Harrenburg," Wayne said, imitating the medic's thin, +dry voice. "We're running some tests on Captain Wayne. They're pretty +complicated affairs, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't interrupt +again." + +"Sure, sir," the guard said. "Just a routine check, sir. Colonel +Petersen's orders. Sorry if I've caused any trouble, sir." + +"That's all right," Wayne said. "Just go away and let us continue, will +you?" + +There was the sound of the guard's footsteps retreating down the +corridor. Wayne counted to ten and turned back to the things he had +taken from the cabinet. + +The bottles of liquid and the hypo gun went into his belt pouch. He +tucked the big bottle of white powder under his left arm and cautiously +unbolted and opened the door. There was no sign of anyone in the +corridor. _Good_, he thought. It was a lucky thing Harrenburg had +blundered along just then, and not two minutes later. + +He stepped outside the Medic Section and locked the door behind him with +the key he'd taken from Stevelman. After turning the needle gun back to +low power again in order to keep from killing anyone, he started on +tiptoe toward the stairway that led into the bowels of the ship. + +After about ten paces, he saw a shadow on the stairway, and cowered in a +dark recess while two crewmen passed, talking volubly. Once they were +gone, he came out and continued on his way. + +It took quite a while to get where he was going, since it involved +hiding and ducking two or three more times along the way, but he finally +reached the big compartment where the water repurifiers were. He climbed +up the ladder to the top of the reserve tank, opened the hatch, and +emptied the contents of the jar into the ship's water supply. + +"That ought to do it," he said to himself. Smiling, he carefully smashed +the jar and dropped the fragments down the waste chute. He surveyed his +handiwork for a moment, then turned and headed back. + +He hadn't been seen going down, and he didn't want to be seen going out. +If anyone even suspected that he had tampered with the water supply, all +they would have to do would be to run the water through the purifiers. +That would undo everything Wayne had been carefully preparing. + + * * * * * + +He made his way safely back up to the main deck and headed through the +quiet ship toward the airlock. He wasn't so lucky this time; a guard saw +him. + +"Where you goin', Captain?" the guard demanded, starting to lift his +gun. "Seems to me you ought to be in the brig, and--" + +Wayne made no reply. He brought his gun up in a rapid motion and beamed +the man down. The guard toppled, a hurt expression on his face. + +Wayne raced to the airlock. He didn't bother with a spacesuit--not +_now_, when he knew that the air was perfectly harmless outside. He +opened the inner door, closed it, and opened the outer door. + +Then, grinning gleefully, he pressed the button that would start the +pumping cycle. The outer door started to close automatically, and Wayne +just barely managed to get outside and onto the ladder before it clanged +shut. As soon as the great hatch had sealed itself, the pumps started +exhausting the air from the airlock. No one could open the doors until +the pumping cycle was over. + +He climbed down the ladder and began walking over toward the western +wall. He would have to keep away from the ship for a while, and the +rocks were as good a place as any to hide out. + + * * * * * + +It was dark. Fomalhaut had set, leaving the moonless planet in utter +blackness, broken only by the cold gleam of the stars. The lights +streaming from the portholes of the _Lord Nelson_ gave a small degree of +illumination to the valley. + +The valley. It was spread out before him, calm and peaceful, rippling +dunes of sand curling out toward the mountains. The valley, he knew, was +a betrayer--calm and quiet above, alive with an army of hideous vermin a +few feet below its surface. + +He started to walk, and moistened his lips. He knew he was going to get +awfully thirsty in the next few hours, but there was not the slightest +help for it. There hadn't been any way to carry water from the ship. + +"I can wait," he told himself. He stared back at the circular bulk of +the _Lord Nelson_ behind him, and his fingers trembled a little. He had +known, when he joined the Corps, that space was full of traps like this +one--but this was the first time he had actually experienced anything +like this. It was foul. + +Something slammed into his boot sole, and this time Wayne knew what it +was. + +"Persistent, aren't you!" He jerked his foot up. This monster hadn't +stuck as the other one had, but he saw the tip of the needle-beak +thrashing around wildly in the loose sand. Wayne thumbed the gun up to +full power, and there was a piercing shriek as the gun burned into the +sand. There was a sharp shrill sound, and the odor of something burning. +He spat. + +The little beasts must be all over the floor of the valley! Scurrying +frantically, like blood-red giant crabs, sidling up and down beneath the +valley, searching upward for things to strike at. How they must hate his +metamagnetic boots, he thought! + +He kept on walking, expecting to feel the impact of another thrust +momentarily, but he was not molested again. _They must be getting wise_, +he thought. _They know they can't get through my boots, and so they're +leaving me alone. That way they don't call attention to themselves._ + +A new, more chilling question struck him: + +_Just how smart are they?_ + +He had made it to the wall and was climbing up the treacherous slope +when the airlock door opened, and someone stood outlined in the bright +circle of light that cut into the inky blackness. An amplified voice +filled the valley and ricocheted back off the walls of the mountains, +casting eerie echoes down on the lone man on the desert. + +"CAPTAIN WAYNE! THIS IS COLONEL PETERSEN SPEAKING. DON'T YOU REALIZE +THAT YOU'RE A SICK MAN? YOU MAY DIE OUT THERE. COME BACK. THAT'S AN +ORDER, CAPTAIN. REPEAT: COME BACK. THAT'S AN ORDER!" + +"I'm afraid an order from you just doesn't hold much weight for me right +now, Colonel," Wayne said quietly, to himself. Silently he went on +climbing the escarpment, digging into the rough rock. + +He kept on climbing until he found the niche for which he had been +heading. He dragged himself in and sat down, as comfortably as possible. +He began to wait. + + * * * * * + +Dawn came in less than three hours, as Fomalhaut burst up over the +horizon and exploded in radiance over the valley. With dawn came a +patrol of men, slinking surreptitiously across the valley, probably with +orders to bring him in. Wayne was ensconced comfortably in his little +rock niche, hidden from the men in the valley below, but with a perfect +view of everything that went on. The wind whistled around the cliffs, +ceaselessly moaning a tuneless song. He felt like standing up and +shouting wildly, "Here I am! Here I am!" but he repressed the perverse +urge. + +The patrol group stood in a small clump in the valley below, seemingly +waiting for something. Moments passed, and then it became apparent what +that something was. Hollingwood, the metallurgist, appeared, dragging +with him the detector. They were going to look for Captain Wayne with +it, just as they had searched out the double-nucleus beryllium. + +Wayne frowned. It was a possibility he hadn't thought about. They could +easily detect the metal in his boots! And he didn't dare take them off; +he'd never make it back across that hellish stretch of sand without +them. He glanced uneasily at his watch. _How much longer do I have to +keep evading them?_ he wondered. It was a wearing task. + +It looked as though it would be much too long. + +The muzzle of the detector began to swing back and forth slowly and +precisely, covering the valley inch by inch. He heard their whispered +consultations drifting up from below, though he couldn't make out what +they were saying. + + * * * * * + +They finished with the valley, evidently concluding he wasn't there, and +started searching the walls. Wayne decided it was time to get out while +the getting was good. He crawled slowly out of the niche and wriggled +along the escarpment, heading south, keeping low so the men in the +valley wouldn't see him. + +Unfortunately, he couldn't see them either. He kept moving, hoping they +wouldn't spot him with the detector. He wished he had the metamagnetic +hand grapples with him. For one thing, the sharp rock outcroppings +sliced his hands like so much meat. For another, he could have dropped +the grapples somewhere as a decoy. + +_Oh, well, you can't think of everything_, Wayne told himself. He +glanced at his watch. How long was it going to take? + +He heard the scrape of boot leather on a rock somewhere ahead of him. He +glanced up sharply, seeing nothing, and scowled. They had spotted him. + +They were laying a trap. + +Cautiously, he climbed over a huge boulder, making no sound. There was +one man standing behind it, waiting, apparently, for Wayne to step +around into view. He peered down, trying to see who it was. It seemed to +be Hollingwood, the dignified, austere metallurgist. + +Wayne smiled grimly, picked up a heavy rock, and dropped it straight +down, square on the man's helmet. The plexalloy rang like a bell through +the clear early-morning air, and the man dropped to his knees, dazed by +the shock. + + * * * * * + +Knowing he had just a moment to finish the job, Wayne pushed off against +the side of the rock and plummeted down, landing neatly on the +metallurgist's shoulders. The man reeled and fell flat. Wayne spun him +over and delivered a hard punch to the solar plexus. "Sorry, Dave," he +said softly. The metallurgist gasped and curled up in a tight ball. +Wayne stood up. It was brutal, but it was the only place you could hit a +man wearing a space helmet. + +_One down_, Wayne thought. _Fifty-eight to go._ He was alone against the +crew--and, for all he knew, against all fifty-nine of them. + +Hollingwood groaned and stretched. Wayne bent and, for good measure, +took off the man's helmet and tapped him none too gently on the skull. + +There was the sound of footsteps, the harsh _chitch-chitch_ of feet +against the rock. "He's up that way," he heard a deep voice boom. + +That meant the others had heard the rock hitting Hollingwood's plexalloy +helmet. They were coming toward him. + +Wayne sprang back defensively and glanced around. He hoped there were +only five of them, that the rule of six was still being maintained. +Otherwise things could become really complicated, as they hunted him +relentlessly through the twisted gulleys. + +He hated to have to knock out too many of the men; it just meant more +trouble later. Still, there was no help for it, if he wanted there to be +any later. He thought of the bleached bones of the crew of the _Mavis_, +and shuddered. + +It was something of an advantage not to be wearing a helmet. Even with +the best of acoustical systems, hearing inside a helmet tended to be +distorted and dimmed. The men couldn't hear him as well as he could hear +them. And since they couldn't hear themselves too well, they made a +little more noise than he did. + +A space boot came into view around a big rock, and Wayne aimed his +needle-beam at the spot where the man's head would appear. + +When the head came around the rock, Wayne fired. The man dropped +instantly. _Sorry, friend_, Wayne apologized mentally. _Two down. +Fifty-seven to go._ The odds were still pretty heavy. + +He knew he had to move quickly now; the others had seen the man drop, +and by now they should have a pretty good idea exactly where Wayne was. + +He picked up a rock and lobbed it over a nearby boulder, then started +moving cat-like in the other direction. He climbed up onto another +boulder and watched two men move away from him. They were stepping +warily, their beam guns in their hands. Wayne wiped away a bead of +perspiration, aimed carefully, and squeezed the firing stud twice. + +_Four down. Fifty-five to go._ + + * * * * * + +A moment later, something hissed near his ear. Without waiting, he spun +and rolled off the boulder, landing cat-like on his feet. Another +crewman was standing on top of a nearby boulder. Wayne began to sweat; +this pursuit seemed to be indefinitely prolonged, and it was beginning +to look unlikely that he could avoid them forever. + +He had dropped his pistol during the fall; it was wedged between a +couple of rocks several feet away. + +He heard someone call: "I got him. He fell off the rock. We'll take him +back down below." + +Then another voice--ominously. "He won't mind. He'll be glad we did it +for him--afterwards." + +"I'll go get him," said the first voice. The man stepped around the side +of the boulder--just in time to have a hard-pitched rock come thunking +into his midsection. + +"Oof!" he grunted, took a couple of steps backwards, and collapsed. + +_Five down. Fifty-four to go._ It could go on forever this way. + +"What's the matter?" asked the man who had replied to the first one with +those chilling words. + +"Nothing," said Wayne, in a fair imitation of the prostrate crewman's +voice. "He's heavy. Come help me." + +Then he reached down and picked up the fallen man's beam gun. He took +careful aim. + +When the sixth man stepped around the rock, he fired. The beam went +wide of the mark, slowing the other down, and Wayne charged forward. He +pounded two swift punches into the amazed crewman, who responded with a +woozy, wild blow. Wayne ducked and let the fist glide past his ear, then +came in hard with a solid body-blow and let the man sag to the ground. +He took a deep breath. + +_Six down and only fifty-three to go._ + + * * * * * + +He crawled back to the edge of the precipice and peered down into the +valley. There was no one to be seen. It was obvious that Colonel +Petersen was still enforcing the six-man rule. + +As he watched, he saw the airlock door open. A spacesuited figure +scrambled down the ladder and sprinted across the deadly sand of the +valley floor. + +It was Sherri! Wayne held his breath, expecting at any moment that one +of the little monsters beneath the sand would sink its vicious needle +upward into Sherri's foot. But her stride never faltered. + +As she neared the precipice, another figure appeared at the airlock door +and took aim with a gun. + +Wayne thumbed his own needle-beam pistol up to full and fired hastily +at the distant figure. At that distance, even the full beam would only +stun. The figure collapsed backwards into the airlock, and Wayne grinned +in satisfaction. + +_Seven down. Fifty-two to go._ + +He kept an eye on the airlock door and a finger on his firing stud, +waiting to see if anyone else would come out. No one else did. + +As soon as Sherri was safely up to the top of the precipice, Wayne ran +to meet her. + +"Sherri! What the devil did you come out here for?" + +"I had to see you," she said, panting for breath. "If you'll come back +to the ship before they beam you down, we can prove to Colonel Petersen +that you're all right. We can show them that the Masters--" + +She realized suddenly what she said and uttered a little gasp. She had +her pistol out before the surprised Wayne could move. + +He stared coldly at the pistol, thinking bitterly that this was a hell +of a way for it all to finish. "So they got you too," he said. "That +little display at the airlock was a phony. You were sent out here to +lure me back into the ship. Just another Judas." + +She nodded slowly. "That's right," she said. "We all have to go to the +Masters. It is--it--is--is--" + +Her eyes glazed, and she swayed on her feet. The pistol wavered and +swung in a feeble spiral, no longer pointed at Wayne. Gently, he took it +from her nerveless fingers and caught her supple body as she fell. + +He wiped his forehead dry. Up above, the sun was climbing toward the top +of the sky, and its beams raked the planet below, pouring down heat. + + * * * * * + +He glanced at his wristwatch while waiting for his nerves to stop +tingling. Sherri must have been the last one--the drug must have taken +effect at last, and not a moment too soon. He decided to wait another +half hour before he tried to get into the spaceship, just the same. + +The huge globe of the _Lord Nelson_ stood forlornly in the center of the +valley. The airlock door stayed open; no one tried to close it. + +Wayne's mouth was growing dry; his tongue felt like sandpaper. +Nevertheless, he forced himself to sit quietly, watching the ship +closely for the full half hour, before he picked up Sherri, tied his +rope around her waist, and lowered her to the valley floor. Then he +wandered around the rocks, collecting the six unconscious men, and did +the same for them. + +He carried them all, one by one, across the sand, burning a path before +him with the needle beam. + +Long before he had finished his task, the sand was churning loathsomely +with the needles of hundreds and thousands of the monstrous little +beasts. They were trying frantically to bring down the being that was so +effectively thwarting their plans, jabbing viciously with their upthrust +beaks. The expanse of sand that was the valley looked like a pincushion, +with the writhing needles ploughing through the ground one after +another. Wayne kept the orifice of his beam pistol hot as he cut his way +back and forth from the base of the cliff to the ship. + +When he had dumped the seven unconscious ones all inside the airlock, he +closed the outer door and opened the inner one. There was not a sound +from within. + +_Fifty-nine down_, he thought, _and none to go_. + +He entered the ship and dashed down the winding staircase to the water +purifiers to change the water in the reservoir tanks. Thirsty as he +was, he was not going to take a drink until the water had been cleared +of the knockout drug he had dropped into the tanks. + +After that came the laborious job of getting everyone in the ship +strapped into their bunks for the takeoff. It took the better part of an +hour to get all sixty of them up--they had fallen all over the ship--and +nestled in the acceleration cradles. When the job was done, he went to +the main control room and set the autopilot to lift the spaceship high +into the ionosphere. + +Then, sighting carefully on the valley far below, he dropped a flare +bomb. + +"Goodbye, little monsters," he said exultantly. + +For a short space of time, nothing happened. Then the viewplate was +filled with a deadly blue-white glare. Unlike an ordinary atomic bomb, +the flare bomb would not explode violently; it simply burned, sending +out a brilliant flare of deadly radiation that would crisp all life +dozens of feet below the ground. + +He watched the radiation blazing below. Then it began to die down, and +when the glare cleared away, all was quiet below. + +The valley was dead. + +When it was all over, Wayne took the hypodermic gun from his pouch, +filled it with the anti-hypnotic drug that he had taken from the medical +cabinet, and began to make his rounds. He fired a shot into each and +every one aboard. He had no way of knowing who had been injected by the +small monsters and who had not, so he was taking no chances. + +Then he went to the colonel's room. He wanted to be there when the +Commanding Officer awoke. + + * * * * * + +The entire crew of the _Lord Nelson_ was gathered in the big mess hall. +Wayne stared down at the tired, frightened faces of the puzzled people +looking up at him, and continued his explanation. + +"Those of you who were under the control of the monsters know what it +was like. They had the ability to inject a hypnotic drug into a human +being through a normal space boot with those stingers of theirs. The +drug takes effect so fast that the victim hardly has any idea of what +has happened to him." + +"But why do they do it?" It was Hollingwood, the metallurgist, looking +unhappy with a tremendous bruise on his head where Wayne had clobbered +him. + +"Why does a wasp sting a spider? It doesn't kill the spider, it simply +stuns it. That way, the spider remains alive and fresh so that young +wasps can feed upon it at their leisure." + +Wayne glanced over to his right. "Lieutenant Jervis, you've been under +the effect of the drug longer than any of us. Would you explain what +_really_ happened when the _Mavis_ landed?" + +The young officer stood up. He was pale and shaken, but his voice was +clear and steady. + +"Just about the same thing that almost happened here," Jervis said. "We +all walked around the valley floor and got stung one at a time. The +things did it so quietly that none of us knew what was going on until we +got hit ourselves. When we had all been enslaved, we were ready to do +their bidding. They can't talk, but they can communicate by means of +nerve messages when that needle is stuck into you." + +Nearly half the crew nodded in sympathy. Wayne studied them, wondering +what it must have been like. They _knew_; he could only guess. + +"Naturally," Jervis went on, "those who have already been injected with +the drug try to get others injected. When everyone aboard the _Mavis_ +had been stung, they ordered me to take the ship home and get another +load of Earthmen. Apparently they like our taste. I had to obey; I was +completely under their power. You know what it's like." + +"And what happened to the others--the eight men you left behind?" asked +Colonel Petersen. + +Jervis clenched his teeth bitterly. "They just laid down on the +sand--and waited." + +"Horrible!" Sherri said. + + * * * * * + +Jervis fell silent. Wayne was picturing the sight, and knew everyone +else was, too--the sight of hordes of carnivorous little aliens +burrowing up through the sand and approaching the eight Earthmen who lay +there, alive but helpless. Approaching them--and beginning to feed. + +Just when the atmosphere began to grow too depressing, Wayne decided to +break the spell. "I'd like to point out that the valley's been +completely cauterized," he said. "The aliens have been wiped out. And I +propose to lead a mission out to reconnoitre for the double-nucleus +beryllium." + +He looked around. "MacPherson? Boggs? Manetti? You three want to start +over where we left off the last time?" + +Sergeant Boggs came up to him. "Sir, I want you to understand that--" + +"I know, Boggs," Wayne said. "Let's forget all about it. There's work to +be done." + +"I'm sorry I misjudged you, Wayne. If it hadn't been for your quick +action, this crew would have gone the way of the _Mavis_." + +"Just luck, Colonel," Wayne said. "If it hadn't been for those +heavy-soled climbing boots, I'd probably be lying out there with the +rest of you right now." + +Colonel Petersen grinned. "Thanks to your boots, then." + +Wayne turned to his team of three. "Let's get moving, fellows. We've +wasted enough time already." + +"Do we need spacesuits, sir?" Manetti asked. + +"No, Manetti. The air's perfectly fine out there," Wayne said. "But I'd +suggest you wear your climbing boots." He grinned. "You never can tell +when they'll come in handy." + + +THE END + + + + +Transcriber's Note: + + This etext was produced from _Amazing Stories_ October 1956. + Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. + copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and + typographical errors have been corrected without note. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Judas Valley, by Gerald Vance + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE JUDAS VALLEY *** + +***** This file should be named 25713.txt or 25713.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/5/7/1/25713/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell, and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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