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Within the Solarian fleet, quick orders and consultations passed. The
fleet took battle shape, spread out, and gave chase according to
plan. Their space pattern became that which was developed by the
Terran command to avoid sown toroids, and in comparative safety,
they settled down to the long, stern chase.
Before them, Maynard's fleet ran easily. Forward-flying toroids died
abruptly, killed by the anti-radiations of Guy's high-powered
projectors; torpedoes were sought and prematured in space; and
MacMillan fire was not answered save to cross the oncoming beam
with a backward-flung beam. The initial flurry of fire stopped, then,
and the chase became a matter of hare and hounds.
The Solarian fleets were forcing the flight. Mephisto's fleet was
obviously running to their base. That meant, to the Solarians, that at
midway, there must be a turnover maneuver so that Mephisto's fleet
could decelerate for their landing. Then they would catch up, for the
velocity attained by Maynard's outfit must be forced down. The
Solarians were not trying to effect a Mephistan landing, but were
after the other fleet. They would not turnover at mid-point, and then
they could catch that fleet of pirates that stayed just out of range.
XXIII.
Turnover came, inevitably. Maynard's fleet flashed up to the "fix" in
space and began the end-swapping job. Solarians watched, gloating.
Maynard was going to turnover! The gap closed. Terra and Ertene
alerted for action, and the entire personnel of the combined fleets
went on double-watch. No one knew how much stuff Maynard's men
had developed.
Vortex projectors sowed toroids that floated with Guy's ships. In and
about the pirate fleet, the huge vortexes of energy roamed, covering
the fleet by sheer number.
Torpedoes directed against the toroids prematured. MacMillan fire
entered them, and added to their total energy. Other toroids flung
into them merely added to their number.
And the very number of them made operations in the combined
fleets difficult. The space pattern was never intended to fight into a
massed effect. Ertene and Terra spread slightly, opening up a hole.
Through this hole flowed the toroid-covered Mephistan fleet, and
Maynard's men were behind. Turnover was completed, and with the
indifference to the Solarian fleet that was maddening, Maynard gave
the order to decelerate for landing on Mephisto.
Solarians fell behind—below, now, for they were dropping onto
Mephisto, the deceleration creating a false gravity.
They crammed on the deceleration too; not to do so would have put
them far beyond Mephisto. They crammed on all they had, and it
was just enough to stay below Maynard's fleet—
Just outside of range.
The men in the combined fleets of Ertene and Terra writhed in
hatred. Mars, unable to keep up with the man-killing gravities,
laughed nastily—she thought that the fun would have been over
before her slower ships could join.
But though amused, Mars was none the less angry. Her men in her
ships were killing themselves to keep from arriving too late. They
knew now that the big fight would be around Mephisto.
It takes but a minute to tell, but it was days and days in the action.
Men slept and changed watches and went through the tiresome
routines of space travel across the System. And ever before them
was the specter of Maynard's fleet, just out of range. It maddened
them, and it made them sacrifice a few fighter ships that tried to run
ahead, into the other fleet. They were lost, every time, without doing
any damage.
And the temper of the men increased by the minute—and days and
days with hours full of minutes went by with not one bit of action to
salve their hatred.
Mephisto loomed in the sky below, eventually, and the fleets swept
down to Mephisto, and the Solarian fleet spread wide and passed
the planet. They did not like the idea of being between a fighting fleet
and its home base. Maynard landed easily, and was able to
consolidate his force on the ground before the combined Ertinian
and Terran fleets circled and returned.
"Just hold 'em off," said Guy.
And again there passed the maddening job of not being able to do
anything to the enemy. They patrolled the planet, but it was
unsatisfactory patrol. Any ship that came too low was fired upon and
collected by Guy's planet-mounted projectors. Solarians thought that
they knew how to arm a planet, but Mephisto was well-nigh
impregnable. Toroids stopped, torpedoes prematured, and
MacMillans flashed in the sky, dissipating the energy with no harm
save the blown fuses in the ships.
"How long?" asked Neville.
"Wait for Mars," smiled Monogon. "I insist that Mars be not left out.
What's good enough for them is good enough for my world, too."
"He's right," said Guy. "We'll wait."
And finally Mars arrived on the scene, and the fleets went high to
discuss the problem of extinguishing this menace. Guy followed their
conference—and they suspected that he did. Their plan was bold. A
power play, and it came in a down-thrust of the ships of three worlds.
They drove toroids before them, filled the air with torpedoes, and
interlaced the sky with MacMillans.
"Now?" asked Neville.
"Now," smiled Guy. His smile was bitter and hard. He stepped to the
vast instrument and put the helmet over his head. His left hand
turned the switch and the right hand adjusted the intensity. "Cease
fire!"
The fighting stopped.
"Land!"
The inrushing of fighting ships continued, and they landed quietly,
one after the other. Immediately, doors opened in three of them and
three men emerged. Stiffly they walked to Maynard's headquarters
where they were greeted and taken to Guy's room.
"You can not touch me," said Guy in a hard, cool voice. "I am
impregnable. You will never be able to touch me!"
"You stinker," snarled Space Marshal Mantley.
Guy faced Thomakein next. "Have you anything to say?" he
snapped.
"We are defeated," said Thomakein. "What would you have me
say?"
Guy turned to the Martian. "Marshal Ilinoran, any comment?"
"We are defeated—but we need take no insult! What have you in
mind?"
"At the present time, the carriers of your fleets are being packed with
your men. Some of them will remain, of course. But I like the size of
your fleet, gentlemen. I'm keeping most of it for my own. I have
prepared a little proclamation which you may take back to your
respective governments. I, gentlemen, proclaim myself the Emperor
of Sol!"
"Megalomaniac!"
"As Emperor of Sol, I will tell you," continued Guy, indifferent to the
snarl, "how and when to collect the yearly tribute from each and
every Terran, Martian, and Ertinian. You may suit yourselves to any
other arrangements. Mephisto is mine, and will stay mine. But I shall
require money, merchandise, and supplies to stock the planet.
"And if you think differently, you may try to defeat me! And I hope
you try!"
"We'll pay nothing—"
"I hope you try that, too," snapped Maynard. "You have no idea of
how tough a real tyrant can get! A single lesson might convince you.
A super-toroid hurled into the Manhattan area—?"
"You're a fiend!"
Guy nodded. "Never make me prove it," he said quietly. "Now,
gentlemen, you will receive your instructions as you leave, if you
prefer to leave. I offer you the chance to join me—but remember that
I can read your mind and find out how true you intend to be. I intend
to be very harsh with spies."
"I'm leaving—but I'll be back!" promised Mantley. He tried to sound
ominous, but his position was not firm to carry it away. He knew that
he sounded flat and it enraged him.
"We'll both be back, together!" snapped Ilinoran.
"Ertene will be back, too!" added Thomakein. "You wouldn't permit us
to leave, and I know it!"
Guy nodded. "I'll be waiting. But don't forget that I am still master of
you all. And I'm going to stay master. I've spent ten years being
pushed around, and now I'm going to do some pushing myself! I
have very little affection for any of you; Terra disowned me, Ertene
did not want my offer of fidelity; Mars wanted to torture me and did,
partly. Had any one of you taken me for what I had to offer, this
would never have happened."
Mantley and Ilinoran left. But Thomakein came forward and put out a
hand.
Guy looked at the hand and then at Thomakein. "Why?" he said
sharply.
"You did it!"
"I did it, all right. But look at me. And what have you to offer?"
"You still do not know. Guy, forgive me. I tried, myself, and failed.
Your plan is superior to mine—yours works."
"Plan? Know?"
"I forced you into this."
"Yes, but you had no plan except a sort of self-aggrandizement."
Thomakein shook his head. "You didn't read my mind deep enough,
Guy. The instrument you carried was never perfect and deep-seated
concepts are often hidden because of the more powerful surface
thoughts. I thought of conquest—and realized that sleepy, lazy
Ertene couldn't conquer the Solar System and keep it conquered.
What Sol needed was a man with drive and ability. No one wanted
you, Guy, because you were continually torn between your own
promises. I was responsible for that, I fear. I took you because of
your latent ability, those long years ago, and planned well."
"And so you forced me into this place?"
"Yes," smiled Thomakein. "But the only way that you'll hold this sun
full of cross-purposes together is to provide a common menace.
Terra hates you more than she hates Mars, and Mars will co-operate
with Ertene to get you. Ertene, burning mad because her desire to
wander is curtailed by you, will throw in with both of them. Perhaps
they will get used to co-operation after a bit, but never forget that
competition will make advances far quicker than complete co-
operation.
"Yes," said Thomakein, "I tried. I plotted and tried, and then knew
that Ertene did not have the drive, the ambition. You, Guy, had the
ambition, and all you needed was to get the killer-instinct, so to
speak. You had to be driven to it. You did it. Can you hold it once
someone finds the key to the mental-gadget?"
Guy grinned. "They never will. Mephisto is the only world with normal
temperatures low enough to make key more than a feeble-order
effect. Upon Mephisto, it becomes evident in the third decimal place;
on any other world it is several decimal places beyond the
experimental error. Besides," Guy said with a hardening of the jaw
muscles, "I've got the whole System under coverage. I'll permit no
experiments along those lines!"
"I see what you mean. Well, Guy, you're the Emperor. For the love of
God, stay that way! The first time you abdicate, hell will break loose
all over the System. You are the common menace that will hold us
together."
Guy smiled wryly. "So you drove me to it. It was necessary. I know.
But it was a dirty trick to play on any man. It goes deeper than that.
Joan and I can't see raising a kid in this mess."
"Your children must be raised absolutely incognito. I owe you more
than life, Guy. May I help, please?"
Maynard took Thomakein's outstretched hand.
"Finished," said Thomakein, shaking the hand hard.
"Not finished—nor will it be. I have a lifetime job of making myself
more hated than any traditional enemy."
Thomakein nodded. He stepped back and saluted.
"Farewell, Guy Maynard—Ruler of The Solar Worlds!"
THE END.
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