“But it did receive such orders?”
“They were sent from Mechanica – assuming that we handled it correctly. We received a confirmation and it should be on the way by now.”
“Onward to do battle with the robot!” Pucky chirped cheerfully as he waddled to the door.
“Wait, I’ll go with you,” Rhodan said and followed him into the corridor. Ras Tschubai and Tako Kakuta walked behind them and they all entered the gravitor to go down to the hangar.
The Gazelle was waiting to be launched. A young lieutenant saluted and reported to Rhodan: “Recship G-7 ready to start, sir!”
“Thank you,” Rhodan nodded with a quick smile. “Drop the commando team off on Azgola. It doesn’t matter where but it is important that you take as little time as possible. I don’t want you to stay on Azgola any longer than necessary. As soon as you return to the Sirius we will retreat to our former position.”
The 3 mutants said goodby to Rhodan and climbed into the Gazelle. They were not in very high spirits, which nobody was anxious to admit.
Rhodan watched on the observation screen as the Gazelle was launched from the airlock and shot toward the nearby planet. The hot Azgos star shone brightly in the dark firmament. Azgola looked blue and green, reminding him of Earth. Its surroundings were indeed very similar to those on Earth altho the planet was considerably smaller, about the size of Mars. The surface consisted of wide continents and oceans without islands. The land was mostly covered with forests and interspersed by big rivers. There were also a few prairies and some mountains with bare plateaus where the fatmoss thrived despite lack of care.
The Gazelle returned in less than 20 minutes and the lieutenant reported to Rhodan: “Passengers landed, sir.”
Rhodan glanced at Bell, who stood next to the commander of the Sirius. He nodded silently and left the Command Center without a word.
Bell took a deep breath. His face was grave as he worried about Pucky. Altho he constantly quarrelled outrageously with Pucky, everybody knew very well that the 2 most unlike beings were devoted to each other in great friendship.
Rhodan’s nod was an order, causing Bell to direct the commander: “Return to our former position, Major! Distance from Azgola … 2 light-weeks.”
The lone planet vanished from the observation screen within a few seconds. A planet where only 3 intelligent beings were left behind – 2 humans and a mousebeaver waiting for the harvestship.
Pucky looked around in all directions. He was far from enthusiastic about the scene. Neither were his companions elated about their surroundings. The Gazelle had deposited them on a high plateau without vegetation where not even the undemanding lichen had been able to take root. The stone was naked. The bluish peaks of a distant mountain range touched the clouds in the sky. The plateau was strewn with rocks.
“I’m not going to stay here,” Pucky finally growled. “My fur will get wet if it rains. Besides, we can’t take cover here when the ship arrives.”
“It’s up to us where we want to wait,” Ras reminded him. “If we don’t like it here we can look for a better place.”
“Suits me,” Tako smiled. “Let’s pick a spot to aim for.”
As they were unfamiliar with the geography of Azgola they were limited to teleportation by sight. By choosing a visible point, they could dematerialize and land instantly at their selected goal. In this manner they would be able to circle the planet in a few hours if they wanted to do so.
Ras looked at the distant mountain range but Pucky shook his head. “I’ve had it up to here with cold mountains – at least for now. Let’s look down at the plain. It’s not far to the rim of the plateau and we can walk over there.”
They walked the short distance to the edge where the plateau sloped steeply into a wide plain. The slope was covered with gravel and the rock was divided by deep crevices. A few lone dwarf-trees were the only sign of vegetation on the otherwise desolate mountain landscape.
“Down there is a river,” Tako said, studying the plain. “It winds thru the impenetrable primeval forest stretching as far as the eye can see.”
“I can see an island in the river,” Ras observed, pointing in its direction. “Nobody would find us there and we’ll be more comfortable than up here in the mountains. We can make a fire there if it gets too cold at night.”
Pucky grinned as he concentrated on the jump. “To the island! Who’ll get there first?”
Teleportation was a paranormal feat which required utmost concentration. A brain sector, lying fallow in all normal people, had to be activated. Such dematerialization jumps were extremely strenuous in the initial phase of a teleporter but they performed it without trouble. Thus it was not surprising that the 2 friends responded almost simultaneously to Pucky’s challenge. They disappeared from one second to the next – only a fraction of a moment after the mousebeaver.
Consequently Pucky was the first to materialize on the island in the stream. Due to the long distance it was rather difficult to judge the height precisely. He noticed at once that he was falling thru the air. Opening his eyes he had the presence of mind to grab the first branch within his reach. His fall was braked with a jerk and then he saw that he was hanging 20 meters above the mossy ground.
Ras Tschubai fell like a stone after he materialized. He was not alert enough to go thru a subsequent teleportation and would have hit the ground very hard if the mousebeaver had not used his other ability and held the African up telekinetically, depositing him gently on the ground. Tako landed on a strong branch and clung to it tightly.
“Beat you!” Pucky exclaimed, releasing his stream of mental power. “You would have bored a big hole in the ground.”
“Come down!” the African called. “This island is a beautiful paradise. It’s surrounded by water like my native home where we had dense forests like this and unexplored rivers.”
“Make yourself at home, Ras.” Pucky replied and jumped down. “This is more to my liking.”
Tako slowly climbed down the tree and dropped the last 2 meters into the soft moss. He examined it and frowned. “Blubber moss!” he snorted, disgusted.
Pucky bent down and tore out a clump of the succulent plant. He sniffed it with suspicion and pronounced his judgment. “It doesn’t smell of anything. I would have to starve from hunger to eat this stuff.”
Ras looked at him curiously. “Aren’t you hungry?” he inquired.
“No,” Pucky replied. “Perry was apparently right that nobody is hungry on Azgola. How about you, Ras? You have a well-earned reputation for eating double portions of food. How about a nice steak?”
“No appetite,” Ras declined. “I feel as if I had just eaten half a cow.”
“That’s about the way I feel, too,” Tako confirmed patting his stomach contentedly. “The air of this world is very nourishing. A breath of air makes me feel pleasantly
full.”
“Wait a little,” Pucky growled, and waddled toward the bank of the nearby river. “When you start getting fat you’ll change your tune.”
“I can stand a few more pounds,” Tako reminded him “better than you.”
This had been a sore spot with Pucky for some time. In spite of his vegetarian diet he was inclined to be a little pudgy and each additional pound would be noticeable. He was extremely worried about his sleek lines and anxious to retain his privilege of calling others “fatso” . It would have been a devastating blow to his vanity to be called such a name by Reginald Bell of all people.
The stream contained cool and clear water. They enjoyed a refreshing dip and decided to stay on the island. Since the planet was unpopulated they carried no weapons. Neither did they have any other equipment, provisions or radios. The latter could not have been used anyway because the harvestship had the advantage of very sensitive receivers.
When they finally settled down in a warm groove in the sand and watched the sun go down, Ras suggested: “Can you get in touch with Marshall or Betty or is it too far away?”
Pucky sighed condescendingly. “You’ll never learn, Ras. The distance doesn’t matter too much in telepathy. Of course it does play a certain role but only because it lessens the chances of picking up and directing the impulses. If I can get in touch with Betty? Well, let me see.”
He leaned back on the pad of moss and closed his eyes. His 2 friends watched him intently and were careful not to disturb his concentration. They surmised that the practice was a severe strain on the mousebeaver.
All of a sudden Pucky flinched. He opened his eyes and bared his incisor when he received the message from the invisible speaker many light-hours away. “Splendid,” Pucky said in a loud voice so that the 2 men could hear him. “We landed alright. Tako was hanging in the tree like a ripe prune. We’re feeling as fine as after a firstclass meal. When is the harvestship expected to come?”