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Updated: May 28, 2025
The two ships separated now, the "Cepheid" under McLaurin flashing ahead with sudden, terrific acceleration toward Mars, whispering through space at a speed that made it undetectable, faster than light. The "S Doradus" journeyed out leisurely toward the fleet of forty-seven Miran ships. Gresth Gkae saw the "S Doradus" and as he watched the steady progress, felt sudden fear at his heart.
Those Sthorian people had evolved in a way that made the conditions endurable for savage or uncivilized people, but when a scientific civilization with a well-ordered mode of existence tried to establish itself, Mira was all sorts of a nuisance. Gresth Gkae was a peculiar individual to human ways of thinking. He stood some seven feet tall, on his strange, double-kneed legs and his four toed feet.
Then this race was more intelligent than he had believed. They had not had them before. Had he perhaps given them too much warning and information? There was a sudden, deeper note in the thrumming roar of the great ship. Eagerly Gresth Gkae watched and sighed in relief. The nearer of the three enemy ships was crumbling to dust. Now the other two were beginning to become blurred of outline.
Every one represented nearly the equivalent of thirty million Earth-dollars. Four and a half billions of dollars for mere materials. Gresth Gkae had the honor of lead position, for he had discovered the planets and their stable, though tiny, sun. Still, Gresth Gkae knew his own giant Mira was a super-giant sun and a curse and a menace to any rational society.
They were fleeing but oh, so slowly. Easily the greater ship chased them down, till only floating dust, and a few small pieces of Gresth Gkae shrieked in pain, and horror. The destroyed ships had fought in dying. All space seemed to blossom out with a terrible light, a light that wrapped around them, and burned into him, and through him.
The lower, or microscopic eye was adapted to work for which a human being would have required a low power microscope, the upper eye possessed a more normal power of vision, plus considerable telescopic powers. Gresth Gkae was using it now to look ahead in the blank of space to where gigantic Mira appeared.
In one of the fleeing ships was a broken, tired old man, and his staff. Gresth Gkae looked back at the blank, distorted space behind them, at the swiftly dwindling sun, and spoke. "I was at fault, my friends. Jarth has spoken. They are the stronger and the wiser race. Farth Skalt has shown you they use space fields of intensity 100. That means the energy of the ultimate destruction.
In her cargo holds lay various items of machinery, mining supplies, foods, and records. And in her log books lay the records of many readings on the nine larger planets of a highly satisfactory planetary system. Gresth Gkae had spent no less than three ultra-wearing years going from one sun to another in a definitely mapped out section of space.
Gresth Gkae agreed, and from a wheelchair, conducted his work, began a new line of experimentation he hoped would yield them the weapon they needed. Under him, the staff of scientists worked, aiding and advising and suggesting. The apparatus was built, tested, and found wanting.
"Ah, Jarth they are a brave race, whatever we may say of their queer shape," sighed Gresth Gkae as the last of Mars Center sank in bubbling lava. "They stung as they died." For some minutes he was silent. "We must move on," he said at length.
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