Beyond The Thunder

back of his neck and then onto his feetagain. He came up running.

  * * * * *

  It was going to be a slow start without rocket-boosters. But rocketsmade light and sound. This had to be a silent takeoff.

  He knew his way around this tiny ship even in complete blackness. He haddesigned it himself, and it was completely functional. Case Damon hadwanted no comforts; those came at the end of a journey. When there was arace for a newly discovered ore field, it was the man who got therefirst, not most comfortably, who won out.

  A sharp click told Case that the anti-grav was on. He was lookingthrough his forward visalloy plate straight up into a starlit sky. Thatwasn't too good. Small as the ship was, it still would make a dark blot.

  His eyes roved, discovered a few wisps of cloud. He prayed them closer.Now!

  This wasn't the first time he'd taken off in darkness, depending onspring power to lift him silently out of the hangar cradle. He'd beatenthem all to Trehos only because they'd figured to catch his takeoff bythe rocket flashes. They'd figured to tail him that way, too, only bythe time the competition had found out he was gone, he'd been half waythere.

  Cranly hadn't called him in on this without good reason. Together, heand Cranly had made many a rocket jaunt to distant and dangerous places.They'd been a good team before Cranly had sought election to theCouncil. Cranly was the cautious kind; but when he knew exactly where hestood, he could move fast enough.

  Case slid the ship behind a cloud and felt his speed slacken. He had torisk a short burst of the jets. The odds were against anyone seeing theflash now.

  At his present low speed, it would be a while before he was out of rangeof detection apparatus. He had time to wonder whether he ought to buzzKarin on the telecast. Better not; there was always the chance his callmight be picked up.

  He was sorry now that he hadn't thought to shoot cross-country to getKarin. Who knew for certain where the next blast would hit? He couldhave dropped her off at the moon base.

  The moon was full in his vision plates now. He was close enough to tunein their local telecast to the moon colonies. The machine was tickingaway and Case switched it onto the pitted satellite's local beam.

  They had the news all right, and they were making preparations for anattack. The fleet base was assuring all colonists that it would furnishthem all possible protection.

  A fat lot of good that was going to do! Case had had enough time now tothink this over, and he was beginning to see the ramifications of thething.

  Someone on Earth, someone _inside the Council_, wanted to take over. Butwith Earth supervision of military manufacture so thorough, he hadn't achance to get started. So he must have enlisted the aid of some powerfrom outer space.

  But how? And what power? And who was the traitor inside the Council?

  Case wasn't going at this blindly. That first question, for instance.There had been in the last year several strange disappearances. Twospace liners from Mars to Venus had utterly vanished, without a trace.Smaller ships, too, had never reported back. They had last been heardfrom in that same area.

  But space liners just didn't vanish. They had equipment for anyemergency, were able to contact Earth at a moment's notice.

  A hole in the sky, observers of the flash had said. Between Mars andVenus, Cranly had told him. It was beginning to add up. It was CaseDamon's job to figure the total.

  * * * * *

  Now the moon was far behind. Case looked at his watch and saw that hewas making real time. Another couple of hours was all he'd need.

  He got out the chart Cranly had given him, set it up alongside his ownnavigation map, figured the time element and aimed his ship at ablankness in space. He would hit that empty space at exactly the righttime.

  After that? Case didn't know. But he wasn't the kind to cross bridgesbefore he got to them.

  What if Cranly was the traitor within the Council? That was hard tobelieve, but you could never tell what lust for power might do to a man.Cranly wasn't the type. Yet, there was a planet to be won. They saidevery man had his price. And Cranly was in charge of Earth'sintelligence services.

  The ticking of the telecast broke into his thoughts. There were breaksin the steady sounds. His code call.

  Case switched on the video and got a blank. What the devil!Automatically he reached for his transmitter switch. And caught himselfin the nick of time. It might be a trick to get him to reveal hisposition. Instead, he turned up the audio.

  "Damon," a voice said. "Case Damon." It was not the same voice he hadheard in the Council chambers. This was vaguely familiar, but definitelydisguised.

  "Better turn back, Damon," the voice said. "You almost tricked us. Don'tlet a small success go to your head. We cannot be defeated. Whysacrifice your life for a lost cause?"

  "You know where you can go, brother," Case said aloud.

  It had been bad psychology to use on a man who had never feared deathanyway. Besides, if they were so omniscient, why bother to try to stophim with words?

  The voice had tried to impress him with power. It had only succeeded indisclosing a weakness. They didn't know where Case Damon was, and theywere worried.

  * * * * *

  Hours had become minutes, and the minutes were ticking away with thesweep of the hand on Case's watch. Ten minutes more to go. UsingCranly's figures and chart, he was only a thousand miles from that pointin space.

  He swung the ship around and cut speed, but held his hand ready at thethrottle. There might not be much time to act. And the telecast wasusing his signal again. He didn't want to turn it up, but he wanted tohear that voice again.

  "Damon," the voice said. "Case Damon. This is your last chance."

  "Change your tune," Case snarled at the instrument.

  But the voice was going on. "If your own life means nothing, perhaps youvalue another more. Turn on your video and you will see something ofinterest to you."

  That got him, brought him bolt upright in his seat. The voice could meanonly one thing--Karin! Somehow they had got to her!

  Maybe this was a trick. Only five minutes or less now. They might betrying to distract him. But he couldn't take the chance. With fingersthat were icy cold, Case Damon flicked on the video.

  A wall was what he first saw. Only a wall. It was a trick. But wait.That wall was familiar, rough, unpainted. The focus was shifting to asection that showed a mounted fish. Now down the wall and across to afamiliar couch. The fishing cabin!

  "Karin!" Case blurted.

  Then he was mouthing incoherent curses. Her figure had been flung acrossthe screen, on the couch. She had put up a fight. Her face wasscratched, her blouse ripped. There was a gag in her mouth and her handswere tied behind her.

  "She dies unless you turn back!" the voice said. It meant every word.

  Karin had guts. She was shaking her head, imploring him with her eyesnot to turn back.

  If he only had time to think! What did the rest of the world mean toCase Damon? Nothing, if it was a world without Karin. Yet, she was hisown kind, this girl he had married. Were their positions reversed, itwould have been Case who shook his head. Better to die than live in aworld dominated by a murderous, merciless power.

  And yet, she was ... Karin. Without her there was nothing. AlreadyCase's hands were busy, throwing switches that would cut in theretarding jets, swinging the responsive craft about. He had to give in.He didn't have time to think.

  "All right," he started to say.

  * * * * *

  His right hand reached out to turn on his transmitter. His lips framedthe words again. But it was too late!

  The video was distorting into a mass of wavy lines, the audio broughtnothing but a jumble of sound. Interference was scrambling the telecastwaves beyond hope of intelligibility. He couldn't get through. The firstrumble rose to audibility and made the ship shiver.

  "Too late," Case said, and was beyond cursing. r />
  Too late to turn back now. But not too late to go ahead. Air waves werepitching the ship like a cork. He fought to control, and finally swungback on course.

  Case took a last quick look at Cranly's chart, and flicked his eyesahead to the vision plate. Only blackness yet, but the sound was growingand rising in pitch past the point where he could hear it. There was thesense of enormous strain, of the tug of unbelievably powerful andoverwhelming contending forces.

  And then the blackness split!

  First, he could see only a pinpoint of light. It grew larger, widened,spread until it became a cleft in the void. Case flung his ship forward.

  The last rumble of thunder was fading. He kept his eyes on that cleft inspace, knowing what would come. Yet, when it came, he was almostblinded. A blast of light, a light so intense that it was a tangible,solid thing, roared through the cleft and hurtled Earthward.

  Then the bolt was gone and the