United States or Belarus ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
His body was covered with little, short feather-like things that moved now with a volition of their own. They were moving very slowly and regularly. The space-ship was heated to a comfortable temperature, and the little fans were helping to cool Gresth Gkae.
An automatically controlled ship was sent ahead, and began the bombardment. It approached slowly, and was not destroyed by the UV beams till it had come to within 40,000 miles of the fort. At 60,000 Gresth Gkae stationed his fleet and returned to 150,000 immediately as the titanic UV beams of the Lunar Fort stretched out to their maximum range. The focus made a difference.
The Mirans there looked up at him with drawn faces. "The instruments Gresth Gkae the instruments. The instruments read impossible things, the motors worked without reason, the fields fluctuated the atomic engines stopped and the magnetic shield broke down and gripped part of the ship instead!" reported the bewildered pilot. "I do not know some strange weapon of " began the old scientist.
He sighed in resignation, and turned to walk back to the chapel aboard the ship. One last prayer to Jarth Gresth Gkae stopped abruptly. The great ship was lurching strangely. Men shouted sudden, frightened cries. The clanking and thud of relays sounded, the shrill of alarms.
It is compact as yours, with an ultra-light sun such as yours, and four of the planets are habitable. Together we can colonize that system! It is a system of stable heat and stable light. And it is small, yet large enough. And with the devices such as your new energy has permitted, we need never fear the stony meteors again." Gresth Gkae smiled happily.
Perhaps he wants us to go somewhere with him" Gresth Gkae smiled sadly "and anyway, we can do nothing." For nearly a billion miles the great ship was hurled through space at tremendous normal-space velocity. Then abruptly it was halted, without a sign of strain or hurt. The great twenty-foot UV beam on the nose of the "S Doradus" broke into glowing gentle red light. It flashed twice.
In the meantime all we can do is hold on and hunt, and let's hope better than the Strangers do." Sadly the convalescent Gresth Gkae listened to the reports of his lieutenants. More and more disgraced he felt as he realized how badly he had blundered in reporting the people of this system unable to cope with the attackers' weapons. Gresth Gkae looked up at his old friend and physician, Merth Skahl.
"Let us deflect our course at least he may not know our destination." The interstellar ship turned very slightly in her course. Plainly they saw the "S Doradus" flash on, in a straight line, headed for distant, red-glowing Mira. Gresth Gkae watched, and shrugged. Silently he put the ship back on its course, at its utmost speed. Parallel with them, near to them, the "S Doradus" flashed on.
Great interstellar ships flashed suddenly into speeds greater than that of light, seeking to ram and destroy the smaller ship. The "S Doradus" flashed into equal or greater speed, and eluded them. Kendall had determined now, which was the leader's ship. Gresth Gkae watched dully as his ships attempted to destroy the single, small ship.
Day after day, the two hurled through space faster than light. Gradually Mira brightened, and at last became a disc. Gresth Gkae slowed his ships, and Kendall, watching, slowed to match his speed. Five billion miles from Sthor, they had reached normal space speeds. Viciously the Miran fleet attacked the lone ship from Earth. Their rays, their bombs, their every weapon was flaming.
Word Of The Day