CHAPTER III
_The Raid_
A dim, shimmering outline through the infra-red, the valley layrevealed as a great natural cradle for a mammoth body of rock whichhad been swung down from the deeps of space to the surface ofSatellite III.
Titanic, breath-taking in its majesty of sheer bulk, the asteroid ofDr. Ku Sui was made visible.
It hung suspended, low over the tree-tops of the valley, and it filledthe valley with rock and towered above it. This was the asteroid,exploded into a separate entity by the cataclysm that gave birth tothe planets, which Dr. Ku Sui had wrenched from the asteroidal beltbetween Mars and Jupiter and built into a world of his own, swingingit through space as he willed, and cloaking it with invisibility tobaffle those who marveled at how he came and went, unseen, on hisvarious errands. This was the mighty rock fortress in which lay thekey-stone of his mounting power. This his lonely, unsuspected home,come for a while to rest....
Hawk Carse scanned it closely.
It lay roughly head-on to him, its nearest massive, craggy end lyingsome three miles from where he hung. On that end lived the life of theasteroid, and were located all Ku Sui's works. On a space planed flatin the rock, rested the dome, like an inverted quarter-mile-wide bowlof glittering glasslike substance, laced inside with spiderysupporting struts--the half bubble from inside which men guided themass. Therein an artificial atmosphere was maintained, even as on anyspace-ship, and there lay the group of buildings, chief of which wasthe precious laboratory in which were the coordinated brains to whomthe Hawk had made his promise.
Carse lowered the glasses, and again the Jupiter-light poured normallyaround him, the valley hushed and seemingly empty once more. He putthrough his call to Friday and Ban, giving them simple directions howto find him. And twenty-five minutes after that, he saw, looking backdown the ridge, their two giant metallic figures come twisting andturning in noiseless flight through the top lanes of the jungle below,and they were together.
* * * * *
It was seldom that Friday would intrude his thoughts when with hismaster and his master's friends, so when he arrived he merely surveyedthe asteroid through his glasses and was silent. But Ban Wilson, aftera long, comprehensive stare, during which one could almost feel theamazement leaping through him, sputtered:
"By jumping Jupiter, Carse--I never would've believed it! That KuSui's sure a genius! To have that whole asteroid there, man, and totake it with him wherever he wants to go! Look at it! Fifteen, twentymiles long, it must be! And that dome--"
"Yes," said the Hawk shortly, "but easy on that now. We've work to do,and it's got to be done quickly. Now listen:
"There are two main port-locks in the dome for space-ships, and thestarboard one has a smaller man-size lock beside it. We're going tothe smaller one. There'll no doubt be a guard on watch at it, so tohim we're Ku Sui and the two men who accompanied him. We'll have tochance recognition; but at least there's no difference in the suitswe're wearing, and we'll clasp our glasses on all the way to the lock,for surely Dr. Ku has to use some similar device. Keep your facesaverted as much as you can though, when near, and your rayguns in yourbelts. If there's to be gunplay, leave the first shot to me. You'llboth follow me just as those two followed Dr. Ku."
Ban Wilson asked: "Will you go down into the valley between the trees,then up the face of the rock? The guard wouldn't see us until we wereright at the lock."
"No, he wouldn't: but he'd wonder why Ku Sui was being so cautious.We'll go straight across, in full view. We'll get in easily, or--well,that depends. Ready?"
They fastened the glasses over their eyes, keeping the helmetface-plates partly open. The rayguns they eased in their beltholsters, and slid back the hinged palms of their mittens, to giveexit if need be to their gun-hands. They were ready.
Switching on the helmet gravity-plates to swift repulsion, the threesoared out of the trees, soared up on a straight, inclined line forthe dome on the asteroid, a steady, rapid climb that soon raised themone mile, a second and a third, where they leveled off and spedstraight ahead. Now they could look right into the dome.
Rapidly the port-lock that was their objective grew in size. Behind itwere the buildings: the large, four-winged central structure and thesupplementary workshops and hangars, coolie-quarters and outhouses,all dim and shimmering through the infra-red--the mysterious, lonelycitadel of Dr. Ku Sui. There it all was, inside the dome, with therest of the asteroid looming massive behind.
A quarter-mile away, and swiftly half that, and half again the threegrouped figures arrowed ahead without hesitation. And the Hawk saidcurtly:
"I see no men--do either of you? It looks deserted."
"There!" cried Ban, after a second. "There! Beside the port-lock. Justnow!"
* * * * *
Beside the smaller port-lock's inner door a figure had appeared, cladin the neat yellow smock of a servitor of Ku Sui. It was a smooth,impassive Oriental face that turned to stare out at the approachingmen; and even Ban knew that this sentinel stationed at the lock wasone of the coolies whose brains Dr. Ku had altered, turning him into amechanicalized man who obeyed no orders but his. He watched closelythe three who swept on towards him, his hand at a raygun in his belt.The same questions were in the minds of all three of the raiders.Would he recognize something as being different, or suspicious? Wouldhe summon others of his kind from the small guard-box he had come outof?
But the coolie evinced no alarm. It would have been difficult foranyone to have discerned distinguishing features inside the cumbersomehelmets, behind the instruments clamped to the faces of the men whowore the suits. He called no others, but merely watched.
Soon the opaque metal plates of the small lock's outer door had nearedto within a few feet of Hawk Carse, and he stopped short, Ban andFriday following suit. They hovered there outside the door, gentlyswaying like flies against the great gleaming sweep of the dome, thecraggy rock face dropping sickeningly down for miles beneath them.And, like flies, they were powerless to open the door to gainentrance. Only the coolie inside could do that; and he, through thedome to one side, was peering at them.
Apparently he was satisfied with his scrutiny. After a moment, boltsshifted and the door stirred and swung out, revealing the all-metalatmosphere chamber and the inner door at the far side. ImmediatelyCarse floated into the chamber, and the two others pressed in behind.They saw the outer door swing shut, and heard its locks thud over.
They were sealed from sight inside the port-lock's atmosphere chamber.
"Looks to me," whispered Ban Wilson, "like a very sweet trap. If thatfellow inside wants to--"
The Hawk's cool voice cut him off.
"We can take off the glasses now," he said casually. "Keep alert."
And for a full minute they waited.
* * * * *
At length a circle of light showed around the rim of the inner door,and it grew quickly into the full flood of Jupiter-light as the dooropened.
Carse floated through, no longer attempting to avert his face.
The coolie, standing just outside the chamber, saw the adventurer'sfeatures and remembered--and drew the raygun in his belt.
Carse did not shoot. He never killed unless he could not avoid it;this was as much a part of his creed as his remorseless leveling of ablood-debt. He struck with the suit. Under a quick turn of thecontrol, the great heavy bulk of fabric-joined metal lunged forward.The move was quick, but not quite quick enough, for just before thecoolie was bowled headlong to the ground, he got out a high-pitchedwarning yell; and then, as he lay sprawled out, apparentlyunconscious, a thin hot orange streak sizzled by Hawk Carse's helmetfrom the left.
This time Carse shot. His gun leaped from belt to hand, and had twicespoken from the hip before one could quite grasp what had happened.Seemingly without bothering to take aim, his deadly left hand hadstricken into lifeless heaps two coolies who had come running andshooting from the ne
arby guard-box.
As Carse stood looking down at their bodies he was startled by anothersizzling spit. He wheeled to see Friday holding the raygun that hadspoken.
The Negro said apologetically:
"Sorry, suh--I had to. The other coolie, the one you knocked down,came to and was aimin' at you. Guess they're all three dead now, sureenough."
* * * * *
His master nodded, and said in a low, thoughtful voice: "In spite ofwhat some men have said, I never like to kill; but for these robots,more machines than men, with nothing human to live for, it's releaserather than death.
"Well," he began again, more briskly, "we're inside, and whoever elseis here apparently doesn't know it yet. I expected more of acommotion. I wonder how many coolies Ku Sui had, altogether? Fourteenor fifteen were killed when we broke through the dome, before, and nowthese three. There surely can't be many left. Of course, there are thefour white men, his surgical assistants."
Ban Wilson spoke after what was for him a long silence. He had watchedthe Hawk's gunplay with an awe-stricken face; its speed never failedto amaze him. He observed:
"These buildings certainly look lifeless. Well, what now, Carse?"
"A search." He planned it out in his head, then gave quick orders."Ban," he directed, "you go through all the out-buildings, your gunready. The five main ones are a workshop, a power-house, storehouse, aship hangar and a barracks for coolies. Whoever you find, takeprisoner. Keep in touch with me by radio."
"Friday," he continued, "I'm leaving you here. First get these bodiesin that guard-house they came out of. Then keep sharp watch. I don'tthink Ku Sui will return within fifteen minutes, but we must take nochance. At the first sign of him, warn me."
"Yes, suh. But what are you goin' to do?"
"Take over the central building," said the Hawk. "And then, when thewhole place has been reconnoitered, fulfil my promise to the brains."
"And what about Ku Sui?"
"Later," he said. "It should not be hard to take him prisoner.... Now,enough!"
The three parted.