There was a shrilling from the tree, and something dark fell, not leaped, from it, to lie writhing on the ground. We dimly heard other sounds, a rustling of movement throughout the brush. Things hiding there were now moving past us toward the cliffs.
Only Eet’s sharp hold and constant misuse of my ears kept me going. For, as I moved, it was as if I waded through a swift current determined to bear me back toward the ruins and the Guild ship, which I had to fight with all my strength.
It was dark here, but Eet rode me as a man might mount a beast of burden, guiding me by his hold, steering me here and there. And I could only obey those tugs, always drawing Hory along by a grip I could not release.
For years, or so it seemed, that zigzag march lasted. Then I smelled charred vegetation and we came to where the growth was shriveled by rocket blast, or burned off altogether. Before us, standing on its fins, was the Patrol scout ship.
Only a dark bulk – I could not make out a ramp, or any dark hatch open on its side. And I remembered Hory’s talk of a time seal. If he could not lift that at will, we had reached our goal but were still barred from safety.
The pull on me, the pain in my head, still existed, but either its force had lessened, or I was now so accustomed to it that the agony had decreased. Eet still kept his grip on my ears, but when I paused before the ship he did not urge me on.
Instead he turned his attention to Hory, though my brain, too, received his imperative command:
“Hory, the time seal – can you denegate it?”
The Patrolman swayed back and forth, tugging feebly against my grip, trying to turn toward the ruins.
“Hory!” This time Eet’s demand for attention was as painful to the receptive mind as the torment from behind.
“What-“ Not quite a word, more nearly a moan. With his free hand the Patrolman pawed at his head. The laser was gone; he must have dropped it at the attack.
“The seal – on – the – ship-“ Eet’s words were heavy in impact, like the ancient solid-type projectiles when they struck into flesh. “Deactivate the seal – now-“
Hory turned his head. I could see him only dimly. With his free hand he fumbled at the front of his tunic. All his movements seemed so uncoordinated that one could not believe he could complete any action. He brought out a hand com.
“Code!” Eet kept at him relentlessly. “What – is – the – code?”
As if he could not even be sure of the position of his mouth, Hory raised his hand in a series of jerks. He mumbled. I could understand none of the sounds clearly. And whether, in spite of his clouded mind, he was responding to Eet’s order, I had no idea. His arm dropped heavily, to swing by his side. It seemed he had failed.
Then there was a noise from the ship. The hatch opened and the tongue of a narrow landing ramp licked forth, to touch the seared earth only feet away.
“In!” Eet’s order rang almost as shrill as one of the sniffers’ screams.
I dragged Hory along. The ramp was very narrow and steep, and I had to negotiate it sideways in order to tow the Patrolman. But step by step we climbed the span to enter the hatch.
It was like walking into a soundproofed chamber and slamming the door behind us. Instantly the tumult in my head ended. I leaned against the wall of the compartment just within the hatch, feeling the drip of my own sweat from my chin. My relief was so great it left me weak and shaking.
By the glow of the light which came on as the hatch closed behind us, I could see that Hory was in no better state. His face was greenish-white under the space tan and slick with sweat. He had bitten his lip and drops of blood still gathered there in bubbles, to feed a thin trickle down his chin.
“They- had- a compeller- on us-“ He got out each word as if to form it with his savaged lips was a fearsome task. “They-“
Eet had released his hold on my ears and had dropped down to my shoulders once again.
“Better get off planet.” If the compeller had affected the mutant, he did not show it. And now it was far easier to follow his suggestion than to undertake any action on my own.
I think Hory was in much the same state. He lurched away from the wall and drew himself through the inner hatch. As we followed I heard the clang of the rewinding ramp, the automatic sealing of the door behind us. Again I felt a wave of relief.
To get at us now they would have to use a superdestruct. And the Guild ship, as well equipped as it might be, could not carry one of those – it was not large enough.
Hory took the lead, pulling up the core ladder of the ship. Then Eet climbed with a speed which left both of us behind. We passed by two levels to enter the control cabin. The Patrolman reached the pilot’s swing chair and began to buckle himself in. He moved as one in a dream and I do not think he was really aware of my presence, though he must have been of Eet’s.
Patrol scouts are not meant to carry more than one man. But in emergencies there might be exceptions, and there was a second blastoff seat in the rear of the cabin. I got into that and was making fast the straps when Hory leaned forward to press the course tape release. Eet sprang from somewhere and lay full length along my body.
There was an awakening of lights on the board, a vibration through the ship. Then came the pressure of blast-off. I had known that of the Free Traders and small freighters, which had seemed so much worse than that of liners. But this was a huge hand squeezing me down into darkness.
When I saw dizzily again, the lights on the board no longer played in flashing patterns but were set and steady. Hory lay in his seat, his head forward on his chest. Eet stirred against me. Then his head arose slowly and his beads of eyes met mine.
“We are out-“
“He set a course tape,” I said. “To the nearest Patrol mother ship or base, I suppose.”
“If he can reach it,” Eet observed. “We may have bought time only.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just that Nactitl cannot afford to lose us. The Guild are playing for the largest stakes they have yet found – for many of your human centuries. They will not allow the fate of a single Patrol scout to upset their plans.”
“They cannot mount a destruct – not on their ship.”
“But they may have other devices, just as useful to them. Also, do you yourself want to be delivered to a Patrol base?”
“What do you mean?” I glanced at Hory. If he was conscious he must be able to “hear” Eet’s communications.
“He still sleeps,” the mutant reassured me. “But- we may not have much time, and I do not know how much an unconscious brain can pick up to retain for the future. This is true – what Nactitl seeks he has not yet found. There are only the stones in the storage vault. But they were not mined on that planet, as Nactitl and the Patrol may continue to believe.”
“How do you know that? What about those cliff tunnels?”
“They sought something else there, those old ones. No, the cache under the ruins held their fuel supply. But Nactitl will believe they found them in the mines, and so will others. However, the man who does eventually find the true source of the stones can make his own luck, if he is clever and discreet. Also – those stones looked dead, did they not?”
“Very dead.”
“Your ring stone partly activated them. Just as it can give a boost to any conventional fuel in these ships of yours. You have a bargaining point, but you must use it well. There will be those who would kill you for that ring. And you have more to fear than just the Guild.”
His head swiveled around on that exceedingly mobile neck and he looked meaningfully at the Patrolman.
“To stand against the Patrol would require more resources than I have,” I answered. The illegality of it did not bother me. The ring was my heritage, and the fact that some musty law made by men I had never seen or heard of might be produced to wrest it from me only raised my anger. I added, “But I will fight for what I now hold.”