And then came the emergency signal from the Weapon Control Center. It stated simply and clearly: ALL GUNS INOPERATIVE. CAUSE UNKNOWN.
Rabotax knew that it faced a superior adversary. And more happened as Rab waited…
The 3 teleporters materialized in a high and wide room which was filled with a variety of machines. They materialized ready to teleport away again if the circumstances so dictated.
However there was no need for it as everything remained quiet at first.
Ras and Tako stood idly by for the time being, leaving it to Pucky’s telekinetic abilities to disable the critical machines. To accomplish this, the mousebeaver first had to find out the functions of the machines. Since machines were not telepathic, Pucky had to rely on observation and his technical understanding.
After 10 seconds the first change was noticed. A bank of instruments in a far corner began to hum.
“Ras!” Pucky whispered nervously. “Jump outside and come back right away!”
Ras knew what to do and that it was not dangerous since the ship was in the atmosphere of Azgola. If the guns protruded from the hull of the vessel it was the proof they needed that the weapons were controlled by the humming instruments.
Ras disappeared and was back in 3 seconds. “The guns have moved into position,” he reported tersely.
The first problem was solved. The range of the narcosis guns was unknown but the possibility had to be considered that they could endanger the Sirius and the other units if they would shoot in all directions. It was a must to put them out of action.
Pucky stood motionlessly in the middle of the room. He stared at the bank of instruments and concentrated. All of his energy flowed into the sector of his brain which generated kinetic forces. Powerful mental waves pervaded the instruments, located the contacts and disrupted them. The circuit was broken and the flow of energy ceased.
The hypnotic guns were suddenly stalled in their positions. Immobilized, they were useless objects. The connection to the Command Center was interrupted.
Pucky sighed with relief when Ras confirmed this condition after a second jump to the hull outside. Thus the first part of his task was solved. However, the commander of the ship, the robot, was still in control. Perhaps they would not have to put Rab out of action.
The propulsion system was next.
Betty! Do you hear me?
Her answer was instantaneous. Very well, Pucky! We’re watching the ship on the observation screen. How about the guns?
We’ve taken care of them. Is the impulse transmitter ready?
We’re all set to put it in operation in 20 seconds. Now foul up the propulsion system to prevent the robot from escaping!
Pucky nodded without giving an audible answer. Where was the power plant of the ship?
Suddenly he heard the hatches in the corridor close up. There were rumbling noises all over the vessel. The teleporters realized at once what was going on. The hatches were closed to seal the Command Center off from the other parts of the ship. The robot had registered the entry of strangers and wanted to keep them from reaching the Command Center. It obviously failed to realize that they were teleporters. That was its mistake.
“From now on we’ll stay together,” the mousebeaver decided. Tako and Ras were pleased with his order. They didn’t relish the idea of becoming separated in the lifeless vessel altho they could have saved themselves by jumping out of any nasty situation.
This was true, but not for long, as Rhodan now began to beam his command impulses from the special transmitter to the harvestship.
The propulsion of the robotship was such a complicated system that Pucky was reluctant to interfere telekinetically. He found its location in the aft section and cautiously considered his next step for fear he might accidentally damage an irreplaceable part of the mechanism. If he disabled the ship it would never be able to proceed to Arkon where it was needed to rid the second planet of the spores. Therefore he chose a more sensible method than the indiscriminate destruction of machinery whose designers were long dead or forgotten: Pucky simply disconnected the cable leading from the Command Center to the power plant housed in the rear section.
It was a clever solution but it caused some effects which disturbed Rhodan when he used the impulse sender he had received from Terra to instruct the robot commander that it was to discontinue its harvest at once and proceed to the Arkon system, whose coordinates were simultaneously announced. The entire message was repeated 3 times.
As soon as this had been done, a safety device of the transmitter burned out and incinerated a vital part for which no replacement was immediately available. The technicians were furious but there was nothing they could do. The transmitter could be repaired on Terra again but this didn’t help them now.
To make things worse, the harvestship failed to respond to the beamed command. It continued its flight unperturbed and gathered the spores of the fatmoss as if nothing had happened.
4/ RABOTAX VS. PUCKY
Pucky! The mousebeaver failed to answer the telepathic call of Betty Toufry.
He had left Ras and Tako behind in the power plant compartment after he had severed the cable leading from the Command Center to the propulsion assembly. He searched numerous rooms and corridors till he finally reached an almost circular room in the nose of the ship, half of which was occupied by a huge metallic structure. It looked rather plain and unimpressive compared to the steering controls and vast array of instruments built into Terrestrial or Arkonide spaceships. However this did not deter Pucky from concluding that he was in the Command Center of the harvestship.
The metal block did not react in a visible manner. Pucky took his time to study it cautiously. It certainly did not look like the guiding robot, assuming it was that. The functional parts were concealed by a protective metal plate which Pucky could not penetrate with his eyes. But he had other ways of investigating the inside of the automaton: telekinetic inspection!
With his mental rays Pucky was able to scan invisible objects as satisfactorily as tho, touching them with his fingers. Thus he obtained a concrete shape of the invisible contents in the enclosure which confirmed his tentative conclusions. He stood before Rabotax 3, the robot commander of the ship.
Pucky! Betty called again from the Sirius.
What is it?
The ship doesn’t respond to our signal. You must try to immobilize the ship to keep it from eluding us.
Oh, blast! Pucky blurted. Did the transmitter conk out again? It didn’t occur to him at the moment that the failure of the ship to react to the command could be due to the break in the cable.
We must leave it up to you. Don’t let us down!
I understand, thank you. Then he added: Please don’t disturb me now. I’ll try to establish contact with the robot.
Betty withdrew and Pucky turned his full attention to
the colossus of steel again. The more he inspected the intricate components the less he could doubt that it was the brain guiding the ship. But how could he communicate with the robot? Did it understand a language? Could it read thoughts? Or did it only follow electronic or positronic impulses?
All of a sudden a thought-wave interrupted his reflection of these questions Pucky! Help us – quickly! The machines…
It was Ras! He seemed to be in terrible danger. Pucky was puzzled why he didn’t extricate himself with a teleporter jump. Was he unable to do it?
Pucky pulled himself together, concentrated his mind and jumped into the room where he had left Ras and Tako. When he materialized again, he noticed at once that something was amiss. He was suddenly overcome by a feebleness which caused him to slump to the floor. He had trouble recognizing Ras, who lay crumpled on the floor next to some metallic figure that was about the size of a big man and moved around. Tako was lying motionlessly in a corner.
Pucky was still able to think but he no longer received any impulses from the others. He was in a state of paralysis which he could not explain. It probably originated from the mysterious figure that now stood waiting at the wall.
Inertia rays? A type of narcosis weapon, perhaps? Pucky was unable to move but he didn’t lose consciousness. He could open his eyes but it was impossible for him to turn his head. His position allowed him to see Ras, who seemed to be in a coma and didn’t stir at all.
They were outmaneuvered and made helpless by the robot. Since Rhodan’s impulse transmitter had broken down, they were in dire peril if the robot succeeded in repairing the damage on its own. This was a possibility which had to be seriously considered. If fighter robots were aboard, there were probably also work robots present that could put the propulsion system back in operation. However there was still time for a reprieve.