now. There was no sound but the deep, almost inaudible drone of the field building its power.
Up there against the stars, a dark spot came into being. It grew with appalling speed, ballooning out into a great black bulk that came rushing down as though the firmament itself were falling upon them. The Sunfire rocked a little from the wind of that coming, as the great grim shape of the heavy cruiser settled for landing, a hundred yards away.
Behrent yelled suddenly, “Take off!'
They went up fast, at the very moment the other cruiser was landing. Behrent watched the figures streaming across the big curving screen, as though he was seeing his future life and death on them. Banning looked down at the palace, the whole planet, sinking beneath them, and then heard Behrent's sharp command, “Fire!'
The palace, the landing-field, the big shark shape of the cruiser that had just landed, all lit to a bursting flare of light. The extreme tail of the cruiser down there was the focus of that blinding blaze, that leapt and died. Then their own upward rush took them away so fast that the whole scene below shrank and was no longer visible to Banning's eyes.
'That did it!” cried Rolf exultantly. “Can't have harmed the personnel, but they won't be after us in a hurry!'
Now the Sunfire was running down the shadow-cone of the planet, and Banning became aware that from the radio room the operator's voice was yelping, “Clear Lane 18—emergency, official! Clear Lane 18—Lane 18—” They burst out of the shadow into the awesome blaze of Rigel's light. The enormous blue-white sun was at their backs as the cruiser broke out for clear space, the great lamps of the outer planets marching steadily as they changed position against the background of the starry heavens.
'Clear away, with Tharanya herself!” Rolf was saying. He clapped Banning's shoulder a mighty blow. “We'll show them that the old Empire has come alive!'
'The captain,” murmured Sohmsei, “has no gladness in his mind.'
Behrent had gone into the radio room and he was coming back, a mirthless grin on his lined face.
I wouldn't,” he said harshly, “do any celebrating yet. The word is already ahead of us and the outer patrols have got us on radar and are closing in ahead.'
'Hell, smash right through them,” Rolf swore. “They're only light cruisers.'
'Wait,” said Banning. “Our guns would outrange them, wouldn't they? A running barrage ahead of us — they couldn't answer at that range and would have to fall aside wouldn't they?'
'All depends,” Behrent said. But he made up his mind in a split-second. “It's worth trying. They don't know yet why we're wanted, or they might come in anyway. But not knowing—'
He didn't finish that. He went to the inter-com, demanded “Fire control!” and gave his orders.
Now Sunfire was passing an icy outer-planet at no more than a million miles. Their speed was such that the dirty, white sphere seemed to roll back across the starry sky like a great bowling ball.
The big guns began to go off. There was only the faintest of tremors as they salvoed, for their atomic shells were not hurled forth explosively but self-propelled, each by its own power unit. But Banning saw the brilliant flares pinpricking the void ahead and to either side of them, a dance of fireflies against the mighty backdrop of stars. And as the great ship rushed on, the fireflies, will-o'-the-wisps of death, kept pace with it, ahead of it and around it.
Radar reported. “Patrols drawing back! We're clear within two parsecs—'
Behrent spoke sharply into the microphone. “Full speed!'
'We've shaken them!” Rolf exclaimed. “I knew they wouldn't have the guts to come in!'
'— but heavy units, battle-cruisers and auxiliaries, have changed course to approach us from 114 degrees,” droned the radar man.
There was a silence like death. Behrent turned, and his smile was agonized. “An Imperial task force got the flash. And they've got us. We can neither outrange them nor outrun ‘em.'
CHAPTER IX
Out here in the void, out here in the abyss so vast that it made a million, million suns mere fretted starfires on the blackness, infinitely tiny bits of metal raced at incredible velocities, their space-tracks marked with minute flickerings as their field-drives discharged energy against the very warp of the continuum. Presently the many metal bits that were following would reach the one that fled ahead, and then death would leap and flare in the interstellar gloom, unless—
Banning said, “Tharanya's the only card that will take us through now.'
Rolf nodded. “If we can convince them that we have her, Sohmsei, bring her and Jommor.'
Banning said, “No, wait.” He told the Arraki, “You and Keesh keep out of this, she's in terror of you and it'll only make things harder. I'll get them.'
He went aft, to the corridor where a guard stood in front of a locked door. He motioned the guard to open up. Then, remembering the bitter hatred that had been in Tharanya's eyes, and in Jommor's too, Banning drew the heavy pistol from his belt.
Tharanya came out, with Jommor close behind her. She looked tired, and there were lines of strain around her mouth, but nothing of her pride had left her. She glanced at the weapon in Banning's hand, and then she smiled, very scornfully.
'Oh, yes,” said Banning. “I'm’ careful. I'm very careful. You will both go ahead of me.'
'Where?'
'You'll find out, just go along.'
You didn't talk to a sovereign that way. Banning rather enjoyed the astonished anger in her face. He admired the lithe stride of her long legs, the poise of her body, as she and Jommor went ahead of him to the bridge.
Jommor stepped first through the bridge-room door. Tharanya followed him, and on the very threshold she stumbled and fell back coming heavily against Banning.
It was not an accident. Banning realized that a split-second too late, when her hands grabbed his forearms and she cried out, “His pistol, Jommor — take it and use it!'
It happened so quickly that those inside the bridge did not see at once what had occurred — and the Arraki, following Banning's orders, were out of sight. But Jommor's reflexes were set on a hair-trigger. He came whirling back at Banning, his face deadly with a sudden hope.
Banning braced his legs and lifted. He swung his arms up high, carrying Tharanya's light weight with them. He swung her into the air and threw her, literally and bodily at Jommor.
He was gambling that Jommor would not sidestep and let her fall. He was right. Jommor caught her, and then Banning's weapon covered them both unwaveringly.
'That was a good try,” he said. “I admire your courage. But I wouldn't do anything like that again.'
They stared at him like two basilisks, bright with hatred, and he couldn't blame them. He wished he could. It would have made things easier.
The scuffle had brought the others around now, and Rolf came storming across the bridge, his face dark with anger.
'So you didn't want to frighten her with Sohmsei?” he said to Banning, who shook his bead.
'It seems I'll have to.” He called the Arraki, and then he said to Tharanya, “They won't harm you unless you force them to.'
Behrent had not left the main screen. But he came to them now. His face was composed but his voice was a little thick as he said, “You'd better work fast. A full wing of battle-cruisers is almost within range of us. Radio room reports a demand to stand by.'
A flash passed across Tharanya's face. Banning's resolve hardened. “This is it, Tharanya,” he said. “You're going into our radio room and you're going to order these cruisers to sheer off.'
'I am not!'
Banning looked at Jommor. “You'd better persuade her, and fast. It means her life.'
Jommor said, “You wouldn't kill her.'
'Wouldn't I? Maybe you're right,” said Banning. “But what about the others here?'
