Around About rigel by J Read online

  Thrilling Wonder Stories, August, 1937

  LAZING Novas!” exclaimed

  Lemon yellow bodies writhed from

  Lieutenant Hermer, looking torn yard long cocoons; tiny yellow arms, legs

  “B down cautiously into the funnel and antennae developed as the sun dried shaped declivity. “They’re hatching. It must

  agglutinous coverings. Since hatching the

  be an incubator here on Vaporia.”

  figures had expanded incredibly.

  High overhead shone the pinkish hued

  “What a childhood!” murmured

  Rigel, tiny as a child’s marble, yet so intensely Lieutenant Hermer, noting the shafts of

  luminous as to give scarcely less light than the seaweed consistency that composed the outer

  solar sun on Earth, even through the diffusing walls of the incubator, while it was obviously atmosphere of Vaporia, a cold husk of a covered by a transparent conical roof that former star, which just now was acting as

  sheltered the fledgling bodies. “What kind of

  Lieutenant Hermer’s prison.

  creatures are there on Vaporia! Ouch!”

  He had been marooned here a few

  He had leaned over a huge empty

  hours before by two of his erstwhile prisoners, shell, and his hand was cut on a horny

  the Mason brothers, whose elusive trail of

  projection. The slope below was covered with

  savagery and crime had led across space from

  empty shells, some reminding him of gigantic

  planet to planet. Now he was startled at what

  icicles, of crooked tubes of a pipe organ, but was taking place in the funnel shaped cleft.

  all of them recalling to mind that an aqueous

  Thrilling Wonder Stories

  2

  world had come and gone on cooling Vaporia.

  An earsplitting scream of greed and

  Back on Earth, people would have scoffed at

  triumph halted, froze him to the spot. There,

  the lavender of Vaporia’s horizon, the pink

  scrambling down the opposite side of the

  flower blossom zenith.

  funnel shaped cleft, raced a green monster that A sulphurous wind soughed defied his sense of comparison. A mastodonic mysteriously through crumbling shells, myriapod, each cylindrical leg a foot in carrying crackles and rustlings that hinted of diameter. A head that terminated in a

  unseen things moving, and a difference in air

  monstrous bifurcated beak, swung on a

  pressure benumbed the flesh. An unusual flexible neck. Huge boulders and shells scene; a terrible one when the outer flesh was sprayed from groveling splay toed feet.

  crying for nourishment.

  Eon Hermer knew a moment of

  Two possibilities. One to die here and

  unparalleled fear, even though he became

  end the career of an officer of the Space

  aware that the globular eyes, protruding high

  Guard. Another to learn to eke sustenance

  in the beak, were focused on the incubator of

  from this bizarre environment? And a third—

  little yellow men. Avalanching down, the beak

  Eon Hermer would give a good slice of

  crushed the transparent conical roof, and

  his life to get his hands around the necks of

  began to snap up the xanthic men, rearing its

  the Mason brothers. A short while before, he

  head viciously to gobble them down. Their

  had been their captor, with the ovoid space

  frantic cries sounded pitiable and infantile.

  patrol vessel as their prison, but the two

  It was a soldier of space that responded

  criminals had loosed a stupefying gas that had almost instinctively. The terrestrial knelt and overcome the Space Guard officer.

  discharged the dissembler weapon.

  Yet before they marooned him, he had

  For one instant, striated lines of violet

  secretly managed to destroy the element tanks

  barreled out. A foot wide swat of nothingness

  wherein lay the precious source for water.

  emptied out of the deradiated atoms of air and Before they left Vaporia for a flight across

  green flesh. Outside atmosphere, rushing into

  space, they would have to make another the dead vacuum, clapped together and landing to restore the missing elements.

  resounded like thunder. Sand rustled up with

  the air suck, revealing his strategy in kneeling.

  LIEUTENANT HERMER had a slim chance

  Three giant legs of the myriapod had

  of stumbling on them as they did so. He had

  been destroyed. The beaked head dropped a

  his bare fists, a compact, space hardened nymphlike troll in midair. It wabbled body, and a small dissembler revolver that had hesitantly, sighted the officer abruptly and

  been concealed in his clothing. Three precious charged across the badly crushed incubator.

  charges reposed in the diminutive chambers of

  He fired again, but felt his finger

  the gun, each of which would sweep all matter

  tremble on the focus, and it was a clean miss.

  aside in a foot wide swath before the He couldn’t have missed that last shot. The projector.

  myriapod occupied most of the horizon. The

  The gun was blue metal glyzite, blue

  striated convolutions appeared, followed by

  like the glittering insignia over his left breast.

  the whipcrack of thunder, and quieted to

  The rocket and shooting star of the Space

  reveal a collapsed bundle of greenish flesh,

  Guard. He unfastened the emblem, pocketed

  sliding down the declination.

  it. Its polished gleam might catch an inimical Eon Hermer flung the dissembler

  eye here in this world of unknown terrors.

  weapon aside disgustedly. Its three blasts were Only a fool courts danger.

  gone, leaving but a useless chunk of metal as

  Around About Rigel

  3

  protection against a strange world of such

  “Came for you!” exclaimed Eon

  ferocious denizens. Out of the strange horizon Hermer dazed. “Who are you?”

  came startled cries and eerie squeaks,

  Her lips became a small impatient “o”.

  revealing that other beings had been aroused.

  “I’m Jewel Collahan,” she said. “And you’re

  Turning swiftly, he ran along a rude gravelly

  of the Space Guard. I know I’d be missed

  runway, his curiosity sated utterly concerning sooner or later.”

  the malformed inhabitants of this dead star.

  Then it wasn’t a dream! The girl

  stiffened a bit haughtily.

  HE stumbled over what looked like a low

  “You spoke your thoughts aloud. May

  shrub. Something clung, his ankle twisted. He

  I take that as a compliment?”

  went down, glimpsing a crustaceous valve

  On his feet, Eon Hermer rubbed his

  opening from the rocky surface, a sluglike

  head wonderingly. “you can, at that,” he said

  being that stirred ponderously and spat forth a after a second look. “But don’t get me wrong.

  few drops of oily liquid that struck his bare

  I’ve never heard of you, and I’d never have

  hand and burne
d hotly up the nerves. He tried

  been on Vaporia if I hadn’t been shoved off,

  to move his arm, and his opposite leg moved.

  very much against my will.”

  His body jiggled erratically as though afflicted

  “Shoved off!” She seemed about to

  with St. Vitus dance. The few drops of cry. “You were marooned! And I’ve been poisonous liquid had short-circuited his nerves waiting for two years to get off this biological in such a fashion that his thought commands

  madhouse.”

  became hopelessly sidetracked along the nerve

  Hermer chuckled. “That is a bit odd,”

  chains.

  he asserted, “waiting two years for rescue and Helpless horror overcame him as a row

  then receiving another derelict for a

  of gaping mouths opened like raw wounds for

  companion.”

  his traitorous flesh. His last memory was of a

  “There’s nothing funny about it!”

  ribbon of orange light bathing his attacker

  snapped Jewel Collahan decisively. “And if

  fluorescently. Then ecstatic envisionment. you’d use your eyes you’d see you were still Yellow wings, beating against a pinkish on Vaporia, Captain.” Lieutenant Hermer background. Memories of long months, looked up. Rigel, pink as ever, glared following the elusive Masons across unmovingly from its diminutive marble size interplanetary space. A more brilliant dream

  overhead.

  persisted.

  “Oh, well,” he ventured. “Perhaps I

  That of a woman seated on the ruins of

  should have picked some other planet of Rigel

  a wrecked space ship, half buried in sand.

  to get marooned on!”

  Broken bits of metal stuck up into the sky.

  Twisted girders like metallic entrails. More

  SHE was quick to catch him up. “There are

  terrible though, was the respectful esteem of

  none,” she proclaimed scornfully. “Vaporia is

  the strange yellow men who formed a large

  a dead star, out of its gravity range. Have you circle about the space ship, with jagged forgotten that Rigel gives off light so intensely vitreous pikes on guard. Yet she was quite

  that its light pressure is two hundred and fifty-terrestrial when she smiled. Dark eyes. Hair

  six times that of the sun, which counteracts its with the lustrous yellow of sodium flames.

  gravity pull.”

  “You’re coming around, Captain,” she

  “Pardon my astronomy,” agreed

  said. “I’m glad you came for me at last.” Her

  Lieutenant Hermer. “I don’t get around this

  tones shattered unreality.

  way often.” He told her of his exact

  Thrilling Wonder Stories

  4

  predicament.

  are almost priceless on Earth. It was easy.

  “Vaporia is a virtual prison!” Before I knew it I held the controlling share of exclaimed Jewel Collahan. “These yellow their money exchange system, had tied up the insect people are very amiable and tractable,

  economic balance and almost started a

  although they can fight viciously with what

  depression.”

  science they have when aroused. They’re

  “They’re more human than I thought,”

  grateful to you. A detachment of them had set

  admitted Hermer.

  out to examine the incubator, placed in a high

  “After the rocket tubes smashed,”

  region to get the full rays of Rigel, and continued Jewel Collahan, “I couldn’t see the witnessed your brave attempt to save their

  Vaporians suffer, and returned the

  incubator; they arrived in time to rescue you

  coruscants.”

  from the spitting crowl, and brought you here.

  “Coruscants!” ejaculated Eon. “That’s

  Your nerve shorting paralysis has worn off by

  queer. They’re worthless. They’re mining

  this time. They will do anything in their power them out of the moon.”

  to aid you in finding the Mason brothers, if

  She led him toward the adjacent side

  they have indeed landed for restocking.”

  of the ruined Void Plover IV. From a pile of

  “That’s an idea!” ejaculated Eon. rocks a leather winged bird soared, plunging

  “Could they locate the space ship?”

  down into the tortuous chasm that opened

  “I’m sure they could! They might before them. The Vaporian City was bring the fugitives sooner than you think. composed of crude mud structures, stuck on They have an extraordinary system of the precipitous walls of the chasm like wasps’

  telepathic communication,” answered Jewel.

  nests. From various apertures he perceived

  Lieutenant Hermer ran his hand over his chitinous lemon yellow features, staring in a aching muscles; his expression gave the girl

  manner not unlike inquisitive humans.

  momentary misgivings, not knowing he was

  thinking of the Mason brothers.

  AS they moved along the gorge’s floor, small

  “In that case, I’ll get you back to flying creatures were aroused. Insectlike Earth, and be glad to,” he promised. Jewel

  things. Leathery bull birds. Others had no

  Collahan shouted a command in an odd tone,

  earthly simile, but floated around on fragile

  at which the attentive bodyguard of Vaporians

  wing spumes. Tiny seedpod parasols soared

  answered in short, crisp syllables. Presently

  by, hurling themselves like twirled pie pans

  they began to depart in flying groups, fading

  but never hitting anything, since they seemed

  into the lavender distance. Perhaps the loss of to possess an animalistic instinct. Jewel called his triple charge weapon had not been at too

  them Spaerella. Flying plants, akin to

  dear a price, after all.

  microscopic unicellular plants on Earth, the

  “I came to Vaporia on an ill-fated Protophyta, with dilating flagella to propel expedition,” said Jewel ruefully. “There is them through water. Vaporian science was what remains of the Void Plover IV! Rocket unique.

  tubes blown away at the takeoff.”

  “It’s mostly natural science,” she

  It had been an unwieldy rocket vessel,

  explained. “The yellow Vaporians utilize few

  quite unlike the trim gravito_propulsion patrol implements. The orange emanation you saw

  craft of the Space Guard. “Overloaded?”

  destroy the spitting crowl was a natural

  “I suppose so,” she admitted. “I came

  electric emanation that comes from them

  to trade gaudy trinkets for curious pebbles

  when aroused.”

  they use as a medium of exchange here, that

  Without warning the light of Rigel was

  Around About Rigel

  5

  suddenly extinguished. Stygian night a circle of yellow figures. A closing cordon.

  descended.

  “Make for the patrol ship,” gasped

  “I forgot!” she exclaimed. “It’s the Lieutenant Hermer. “If I get to those controls night period. You see there is a swarm of

  they’ll think a comet backfired.” He carried

  meteorites circling Vaporia, and ever so often with him water element tanks.

  it eclipses Rigel. These periods don’t last

  Halfway across the intervening

  long.”

  distance the pinkish light of Rigel reappeared Lieutenant Hermer was learning with a vivid glare; the meteorite swarm had something every minute. He was su
ddenly passed. Swerving around a huge boulder, they aware of the soft warmth of her nearness. She

  leaped into the open airlock, as an alarmed

  must have stumbled in the dark, for their lips shout sounded behind.

  came together quite by accident. He was so

  amazed that he held her thus for a thrilling

  EXCLAIMING exultantly, Lieutenant Hermer

  moment. Then blinked.

  sprang to the guiding mechanisms. Jewel was

  “That was a fast ten minutes,” he gasping like a fish out of water, but she remarked in confusion, for a beam of light was moaned at what she saw beyond the glassite.

  cutting a white cylinder down out of Tartarian The Mason brothers were retreating slowly

  gloom.

  toward the patrol ship, unharmed. After all,

  “I—I don’t understand,” stammered the yellow Vaporians had been told merely to Jewel Collahan. “That’s not Rigel.”

  find the brothers, not to destroy them. The

  “I do!” whooped Hermer. “It’s the ovoid patrol ship rose as softly as a feather, search beam of the Space Guard patrol vessel.

  gained momentum. Vaporia fell away rapidly.

  I'd know her anywhere.” The beam swept A hideous, bulbous face, as scarred and over, wavered, became motionless over a high

  pocked as a full moon, passed a circular

  shelf where lay the ruins of the Void Plover.

  spaceport. Alf Mason! Jewel Collahan

  “They’re descending. Can you take me up

  screamed. After all they had passed through,

  there on the run? It may mean—” For answer

  the Mason brothers had not been eluded. They

  her hand fitted snugly in his own and they

  had clung to the outer degravite shutters like headed out pell-mell through the blackness.

  flies. Soon the mass gravity of the space ship The cylinder of light was a mere would carry them along as satellites.

  slanted hyphen, glaring across at the ruins and An insistent tapping came from the