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experimented with for years, but pirates
and such always get the new stuff as soon as it's discovered. The only good
thing I can see is that we got part of a
message away, and the scouts can trace that interference out there. But the
pirates know that" too-it won't be long
now," he concluded, grimly.
He spoke truly. Before another word was said the outer screen flared white
under a beam of terrific power, and
simultaneously there appeared upon one of the lookout plates a vivid picture
of the pirate vessel-a huge, black
torpedo of steel" now emitting flaring offensive beams of force.
Instantly the powerful weapons of the Hyperion were brought to bear, and in
the blast of full-driven beams the
stranger's screens flared incandescent. Heavy guns, under the recoil of whose
fierce salvos the frame of the giant
globe trembled and shuddered, shot out their tons of high explosive shell. But
the pirate commander had known
accurately the strength of the liner, and knew that her armament was impotent
against the forces at his command.
His screens were invulnerable, the giant shells were exploded harmlessly in
mid-space, miles from their objective.
And suddenly a frightful pencil of flame stabbed brilliantly from the black
bulk of the enemy. Through the empty
ether it tore, through the mighty defensive screens, through the tough metal
of the outer and inner walls. Every
ether defense of the Hyperion vanished, and her acceleration dropped to a
quarter of its normal value.
"Right through the battery room!" Bradley groaned. "We're on the emergency
drive now. Our rays are done for, and
we can't seem to put a shell anywhere near her with our guns!"
But ineffective as the guns, were, they were silenced forever as a frightful
beam of destruction stabbed relentlessly
through the control room, whiffing out of existence the pilot, gunnery, and
lookout panels and the men before
them. The air rushed into space, and the suits of the three survivors bulged
out into drum-head tightness as the
pressure in the room decreased.
Costigan pushed the captain lightly towards a wall, then seized the girl and
leaped in the same direction.
"Let's get out of here" quick!" he cried, the miniature radio instruments of
the helmets automatically taking up the
duty of transmitting speech as the sound discs refused to function. "They
can't see us-our ether wall is still up and
their spy-rays can't get through it from the outside" you know. They're
working from blue-prints, and they'll
probably take your desk next," and even as they bounded towards the door, now
become the outer seal of an airlock"
the pirates' beam tore through the space which they had just quitted.
Through the air lock, down through several levels of passengers' quarters they
hurried, and into a lifeboat, whose
one doorway commanded the full length of the third lounge -an ideal spot,
either for defense or for escape outward
by means of the miniature cruiser. As they entered their retreat they felt
their weight begin to increase. More and
more force was applied to the helpless liner, until it was moving at normal
acceleration.
"What do you make of that" Costigan?" asked the captain. "Tractor beams?"
"Apparently. They've got something, all right. They're taking us somewhere,
fast. I'll go get a couple of Standishes,
and another suit of armor-we'd better dig in," and soon the small room became
a veritable fortress, housing as it did
those two formidable engines of destruction. Then the first officer made
another and longer trip, returning with a
complete suit of Triplanetary space armor" exactly like those worn by the two
men, but considerably smaller.
"Just as an added factor of safety, you'd better put this on, Clio-those
emergency suits aren't good for much in a
battle. I don't suppose you ever fired a Standish, did you?"
"No, but I can soon learn how to do it"" she replied pluckily.
"Two is all that can work here at once, but you should know how to take hold
in case one of us goes out. And while
you're changing suits you'd better put on some stuff I've got here-Service
Special phones and detectors. Stick this
little disc on to your chest with this bit of tape; low down, out of sight.
Just under your wishbone is the best place.
Take off your wristwatch and wear this one continuously-never take it off for
a second. Put on these pearls, and
wear them all the time, too. Take this capsule and hide it against your skin,
some place where it can't be found
except by the most rigid search. Swallow it in an emergency-it goes down
easily and works just as well inside as
outside. It is the most important thing of all you can get along with it alone
if you lose everything else, but without
that capsule the whole system's shot to pieces. With that outfit, if we should
get separated, you can talk to us-we're
both wearing 'em, although in somewhat different forms. You don't need to talk
loud-just a mutter will be enough.
They're handy little outfits-almost impossible to find, and capable of a lot
of things."
"Thanks, Conway-I'll remember that, too," Clio replied, as she turned towards
the tiny locker to follow his
instructions. "But won't the scouts and patrols be catching us pretty quick?
The operator sent a warning."
"Afraid the ether's empty, as far as we're concerned." Captain Bradley had
stood by in silent astonishment during
this conversation. His eyes had bulged slightly at Costigan's "we're both
wearing 'em," but he had held his peace and
as the girl disappeared a look of dawning comprehension came over his face. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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