DAUGHTERS OF DOOM By H. B. HICKEY Deep in space lay a weird and threatening world. And it was there that Ben Sessions found the evil daughters . . . Beyond Ventura B there was no life; there was nothing but one worn out sunafter another, each with its retinue of cold planets and its trail of darkasteroids. At least that was what the books showed, and the books had beenwritten by men who knew their business. Yet, despite the books and the menwho had written them, Ben Sessions went past Ventura B, deliberately andall alone and knowing that the odds were against his returning alive. He went because of a file clerk's error. More correctly, he went as thefinal result of a chain of events which had begun with the clerk's mistake. The clerk's name was Gilbert Wayne and he worked at the Las VegasInterplanetary Port. It was Wayne's job to put through the orders forroutine overhaul of interplanetary rockets. Usually Wayne was quiteefficient, but even efficient men have bad days, and on one of those daysWayne had removed from the active list the name of Astra instead of itssister ship, the Storan. The very next morning the Astra had been turned over to Maintenance. Maintenance asked no questions. It was that department's job to take theship apart, fix what needed fixing, and put it. Ten minutes later Jacobssaw Armando Gomez was the mechanic detailed to check the rocket tubes. Gomez, who always got that job because he was small and slender, dutifullydropped his instruments into his overall pockets and crawled into the leftfiring tube. Half an hour later he stuck his head out of the tube andyelled to Jacobs, who was in charge of the job: "Amigo! How many hours this ship she got?" Jacobs ran his finger down a chart and discovered to his surprise that theAstra had only two hundred hours on its log since the last overhaul. Ordinarily a ship was checked each thousand hours. He scratched his headbut decided that if Operations wanted the Astra tuned it was none of hisbusiness. So he told Gomez not to ask useless questions and to get back inthe tube. Anyone else but Gomez would have obeyed orders and forgotten all about it. Ten minutes later Jacobs saw Armando's head appear. "Amigo!" Gomez shouted. "How many hours?" "Two hundred!" Jacobs shouted back, knowing he would have no peace untilGomez was answered. "Now get to work! We ain't got all year. " But Gomez was out of the tube again in five minutes and yelling for theforeman. "What do you want now?" Jacobs demanded. He swung himself up on the catwalkbeside Gomez. "Something very funny in here, amigo, " Gomez replied. "One plate she is tooclean. " "Less work for you, " Jacobs grunted. "So why complain?" Nevertheless he took a look at the plate, which was near the mouth of thetube. It should have been lightly encrusted with the oxides of rocket fuel. Instead, it was only beginning to dull, in strange contrast to itsneighbors which were welded to it. "That is queer, " Jacobs muttered. "_Si. _ As you say, amigo. Queer. " Once Jacob's interest was aroused he was also not one to let a matter drop;he told Gomez to work on another tube while he consulted the front office. The front office was not especially interested, but at Jacobs' insistencethey called in a metallurgist. The metallurgist, whose name was Britton, was fortunately a thorough young man. He ordered the plate removed and sentto his laboratory for complete analysis. After that things happened fast. Britton scanned the analysis of the plateand without hesitation called in his superior who ordered a second testjust to be safe, and then notified Washington. Washington turned it over toInterplanetary Intelligence, of which Carson was chief of staff. One week later Ben Sessions stood before Carson's desk. * * * * * Sessions was only thirty-five, but in his few years with "Two Eyes, " as theorganization was known, he had rung up an enviable record. Tall, lithe, darkly handsome, he was well liked by the men who worked with him. At themoment there was a puzzled frown on his face, lengthening the line made bya scar which ran from his forehead down the side of his nose. The scar wasthe result of a crash landing on Neptune. "I don't get it, sir, " he said. "A single plate from a rocket tube . . . Sowhat if it didn't oxidize?" "That makes me feel much better. " Carson smiled, an inner bitterness makingthe smile wry. "I didn't get it either, " he went on. "A mechanic namedGomez got it; a foreman named Jacobs got it; a lab man named Britton gotit; but the chief of "Two Eyes" missed the boat. I feel swell about that. "He rose suddenly and hammered his fist on the desk. "Every one of us inIntelligence ought to be cashiered!" "Take it easy, " Ben cautioned. "All because of that plate?" Carson slumped back into his chair. "Yes. And because we have failed in ourduty. Our only hope is that we may have time to make it up. I'll give youthe facts: "Those tubes are made of Virium, but even Virium develops scale. After nextweek it will develop even more, because next week we make the changeover tothe new fuel. If Wayne had made his mistake two weeks later there wouldhave been so much deposit in the tubes that Gomez would not have noticedthe difference. "Now, Virium is one of the most standardized products in the world. SoGomez was rightly astonished that the tube didn't oxidize evenly. Jacobssaw further. Virium is the toughest metal we know of; if this piece wastougher it might be a discovery of major importance. So Britton analyzedthe plate. " "Now we get to the point, " Sessions grinned. Carson stabbed a finger at him. "Right. And the point is that this onesection of plate is not Virium! In fact, it is a substance which we arepositive does not exist in our system!" "Wait a second. What do you mean by 'system'?" "I mean every single bit of matter that lies between here and Ventura B. " "Maybe it's not a natural substance. Not an element. " "We thought of that. It's an element, and one we know nothing of. " "Do you mind if I sit down, sir?" Ben asked suddenly. The enormity of the thing had struck him, almost dazzling him with itsimplications. Carson laughed bitterly and waved him to a chair, then wenton talking. "Precisely, Ben. The question is: How did this strange substance get intothe tube of an Interplanetary rocket called the Astra? To answer that wechecked on the ship. The Astra is one of the few ships which have ever gonebeyond Ventura B!" "I almost expected to hear that, " Sessions said. "It adds up, all right, doesn't it? A foreign substance, a foreign system. But this substance had been made into a plate. That means the work ofintelligent beings. " "Who took the Astra on that trip?" Sessions asked, his body tense. "A licensed space explorer named Murchison. Two others went with him but hereturned alone. Claims they fell into a chasm. " "But no explorer has reported life beyond Ventura B, " Sessions said, takingup the thread of thought. He whistled softly. "You must have been busy thislast week. " "Busy is no word for it. It's only three years since anyone has beenallowed to go outside our system. For the purpose of science InterstellarFlight granted permits to six licensed explorers. All returned with chartsshowing only a desolate waste. In our own quiet way we have checked on eachof these six men, including Murchison, in the last week. " "And . . . ?" "And we discovered something very interesting. The six who returned frombeyond Ventura B were not the same six who went! They are identical inevery facial, bodily, and mental characteristic, identical enough to fooleven the families of the lost explorers. But when we secretly photographedthem with infra-red light we found that their skins contained elementsforeign to our system!" Ventura A and its sister star were the twin beacons that marked the lastoutposts of the Earth System. Past them was only a trackless waste ofinter-stellar space. Ben Sessions knew that the charts he carried wereprobably worse than useless, were likely downright traps. He and Carson had planned the trip. Carson had wanted to send a fightingfleet but Ben had opposed the idea. Wayne's mistake had led them to theuncovering of a gigantic hoax, a hoax which could have only a sinisterpurpose. Somewhere in the void ahead were sentient beings. To send a fleetwould be to let them know that their existence was suspected. Sessions let the automatic controls take over while he examined the chartsonce more. They showed the constellation which lay directly ahead, the oneafter that, and then nothing for hundreds of millions of miles. Those firsttwo reflected a tiny amount of light from Ventura B and were visiblethrough telescopes, therefore it would have created suspicion to falsifytheir position. Past them, however, the blackness was too intense topenetrate. The speed of the rocket ship increased. Atomic blasts replaced those of theregular fuel. Sessions knew that an Earth measurement would have shown theship to have shrunk to half its size. Only light and the radona beam whichprotected the ship from collisions could travel faster. From now on it was just a matter of luck. Someone had pulled those sixexplorers out of space and Sessions was hoping the same thing would happento him. On the third day it happened. He was sitting in the pilot's chair, watching the radona chart before him. Most of the chart was blank, only the upper right hand corner showing amass of black dots which indicated a planetary dispersal about a dead star. Sessions waited for the radona beam to swing the ship leftward. Instead, the ship was curving in the direction of the dots! Ben's firstthought was that the beam had gone out of order, and he switched to manualcontrols. No use. Despite all his efforts he was being carried toward thoseplanets. Habit made him shut off the tubes. Why waste fuel? A tight smile froze onhis lips as his speed dropped to twenty million miles then lifted again asthe ship by-passed a planet. With calm deliberation Ben switched on thecamera he had installed before the flight and let it record his course asshown on the radona chart. Only one dot remained on the chart. It grew larger and larger until itfilled the entire screen. There was no longer any doubt as to the ship'sdestination, and as if to add further proof its speed dropped sharply. Benclicked the switch on the camera and removed a tiny roll of microfilm. Theroll fit snugly into the hollow cap which covered the stub of one of hismolars. The altitude indicator went on automatically, showed fifty thousand feet, then forty thousand, went down to hundreds. Ahead there was only blackness. Ben held his breath and waited for the crash. It never came. Long after thealtimeter showed zero the ship still moved. Ben could think of only oneexplanation: he was below the surface of the dark planet! And then he couldthink no more; the blackness seemed to filter into the ship and into hismind. * * * * * "He awakens, " a voice said. It was a pleasant voice, a feminine one, silkyand soothing. Ben Sessions sat up and said, "Huh?" The first thing he noticed was the light. No more darkness, but a lightthat came from nowhere and yet was everywhere. He was on some sort ofcouch, in a huge room with a vaulted ceiling. Shaking his head groggily, Ben looked for the source of the silken voice. He was alone in the room. His eyes ran down the length of his body. The flash gun was gone from hisbelt. That was hardly unexpected. But the belt was gone too. So were hisclothes. He was clad in a loose robe of shimmering white cloth. That meant he had been unconscious for some time. How long? Ben would havegiven much to know. Suddenly he let out an unearthly moan, threw his armswide and rolled off the couch. He lay still. The silken voice was raised again and added to it was another, moremasculine. Then a door opened and two people stepped into the room. Ben satup and grinned at them, especially at the woman. "I thought that would get you, " he said. "It's not hospitable to hide fromyour guest. " "Resourceful, isn't he?" The woman raised her eyebrows in mock admiration. Her companion growled a reply which Ben couldn't quite catch. They were an odd pair, the woman towering well above ten feet but perfectlyformed, her skin the color of pink marble; the man more beast than human. The women of Saturn were as tall as she, Ben had time to think, but notnearly as beautiful. "Welcome to Teris, Ben Sessions, " she said. Her smile was the smile of theserpent of Eden. "You're pretty resourceful yourself, " Ben grinned. He had carried no papers except a blanket permit from Interstellar Flight. He wondered if the precaution he and Carson had taken would prove to be invain. The woman spoke again. "Ben Sessions, graduate of Neptune School of Rockets; born in Taos, NewMexico, Earth; third of four children; unmarried, unattached at present;first position, co-pilot Earth-Vega Express . . . " She seemed to be choosing items at random from a memorized list. Theexhibition was intended to impress Ben and it was succeeding. More thanthat, however, it was frightening. He held his breath as she neared theend. ". . . Two years with Interstellar Communications; presently a licensedspace explorer, non-affiliated. " "Pretty good, " Ben said. It was better than that. It was perfect. Only the end was wrong. He andCarson had worked that out with the psychoanalyst. The two of them hadwanted to falsify the entire biography, but the analyst had convinced themhe was right. "One lie I might attempt to pound into your very subconscious by hypnotism;a dozen would be spread too thin. We would leave holes. Under the type ofelectroanalysis you seem to think might be used on you I can't even promiseone lie will hold up. " Ben reminded himself to recommend the man for honors if he ever got back toEarth. He had certainly known his business; but then, if he hadn't he wouldnot be working for "Two Eyes. " "Now that you've told me all about myself maybe you'll tell me what's goingon, " Ben said. "One of your compatriots can do that, " the woman told him. Her interestseemed suddenly to have waned. She said a few words in a strange tongue to the man who stood at her side. He grunted, bowed, and advanced toward Ben. Long arms, covered with thickblack hair, reached out. Ben dodged. "You'll be sorry if you make him use force, " the woman said. "Nothing like trying, " Ben told her. He avoided another grab and stepped inand smashed his fist to the hairy man's jaw. [Illustration: The ape-like figure rushed forward and Ben's head was thrownback by a mighty blow . . . ] He might as well have hit a wall. Before Ben could strike another blow hewas lifted from his feet by an upward slap that threatened to tear looseone side of his face. Too dazed to resist, he felt both his wristsencircled by a tremendous hand. The woman's voice rose sharply in a tone ofcommand. * * * * * The corridor through which Ben Sessions was being led was thronged withpeople. There seemed to be three classes: rosy-skinned giantesses like hisescort; men of his own size, but also with pink complexions; and the squat, hairy men who appeared to be nothing more than slaves. It was plain that women dominated this society, and from them Ben receivedcurious but contemptuous glances. Any one of these Amazons would have beenconsidered a beauty on Earth, so regular were their features, but theylacked an air of feminine softness. Instead, cruelty lay thinly maskedbeneath the surface. At the end of the long corridor a huge door swung open and Ben was ledthrough it into an immense room. At the far end of the room was a throne, and on it a woman. Ben blinked. As well proportioned as the others he hadseen, she was half again as tall, twice as beautiful. He could not containa gasp of appreciation. Thick violet hair fell almost to her shoulders, her skin was luminous andflawless, her body breathtaking, more revealed than concealed by aclinging gown of some filmy material. At her breast, flashed a singleviolet jewel larger by far than the famed sapphires of Uranus. "I brought him as soon as he awakened, " said the woman with Ben. A malevolent stare from the woman on the throne rested on Ben. "It wasunnecessary, " she said. "We have no further need of him. Take him to thefield. " "Wait a minute, " Ben snapped. "You are addressing Arndis, Queen of Teris, " he heard his escort say. "I don't give a hoot . . . " He never finished the sentence. From behind thehairy slave seized him, lifted him and flung him bodily toward the doors. The interview was over. They went for a while along the same corridor, then turned off and followeda side passage for a way. It led steadily downward to an arched opening andthrough that out of the building. Here too the light was diffused, but muchbrighter. Ben had to blink several times before he became adjusted to it. They were standing in the center of a vast level plain, apparently endlessand roofless, for overhead there was no sky, only an increasing intensityof light. Ranged in rows on the plain were thousands of space ships. Benturned once as they approached the first line of ships and saw behind himthe building from which he had just come. It rose upward, a single block ofshining stone, for almost a mile. Alongside it were other buildings of thesame material, but none so large. Then Ben and his two escorts were past the first rows of ships. His eyesroved over them, trying to discover what armament they carried. None wasvisible. Their firing tubes were much the same as those of Earth design, but slightly smaller. His attention was diverted from his study by a sudden disturbance aboardthe closest ship. The sound of an angry feminine voice came clearly throughan open porthole, and mingled with it was a pleading, deeper tone. Aninstant later a door was flung open and out of it came hurtling one of themen of Teris. He hit the ground, rolled over, and came to his knees facingthe open door and the giant woman who stood framed in it. * * * * * That the man was pleading for his very life was obvious to Ben, but it wasequally plain that his pleas were having no effect. The woman on the shiputtered a single contemptuous word that cut the pleas short. On her facewas a sadistic anticipation such as Ben had never before seen. Slowly sheraised a cylinder in her hand and pointed it at the man on the ground. From the cylinder came a violet light, weak at first, but growing inintensity as she pressed some sort of trigger. The man shrieked in agony asthe light played on him. Then the smell of burning flesh came to Ben'snostrils, and the shriek became a single high pitched scream which chokedoff suddenly. Ben's escort laughed with ghoulish enjoyment, said something to the womanin the doorway, and gestured at the charred body on the ground. The violetlight grew to blinding intensity. A puff of smoke and the body was gone. "What was that for?" Ben gasped. His escort smiled indulgently and shot a question at the other woman. Thereply was a shrug of shoulders and a few short syllables. "He did something that displeased her, " she told Ben. At his look of horrorshe laughed again, apparently pleased to have shocked him. He noticed, as they went along, that the space ships decreased in size. Those in the first rows had been comparable to Earth's battle cruisers, those in the last were one or two man jobs. His own ship, the _Rapier_, wasat the very end of the last line. Beyond was a vast army of men, both rosy skinned and hairy, at work on agigantic excavation project. Great power shovels scooped load after load ofearth. But most of the work was being done by the men who labored withprimitive pick and shovel. Above the sound of digging rose the sharp voices of the giant women ofTeris, each with a battalion under her command. As far as Ben's eyes couldreach men were digging at the ground. He was hustling along to a point where a dirt spattered group struggledwith a metallic lining for the half-mile hole it had excavated. At thatpoint his escort turned him over to the woman who bossed that crew. Ben sawin the hand of the overseer one of the violet ray cylinders. "Down there, " she said curtly, pointing to where a small knot of men workedon a terrace fifty feet below. "They will tell you what to do. " Ben had found nothing strange in the fact that his escort had spokenEnglish fluently. She had been present at his electroanalysis. But hedoubted that all the women of Teris could have the same command of thelanguage. Nevertheless he said nothing and clambered down the ladder to theterrace beneath. Ben's unasked question was answered when he saw the fivefaces turned up toward him. * * * * * Earth men! Even the grime that covered them could not hide that. And therewas added proof in their widening eyes. They were sorry to see anotherEarth man captive, yet happy at sight of one of their own kind. Willinghands helped Ben down from the bottom rung of the ladder. "We'd heard they had picked up another ship, " one of the men said. "But weweren't sure the rumor was true. " "True enough, as you can see. I'm Ben Sessions. " His outstretched hand was grasped and shaken cordially. Names were flung athim. Murchison, Davies, Kennard, Bannon, Murchison. "Wait a second, " Ben said. "I thought I heard Murchison twice. " "You did, " said the big, rawboned man at whom he was staring. "The first ismy daughter Sally. " It was only then that Ben noticed how small and slender was the figure ofthe one next to Murchison. Even the girl's loose robe, similar to that ofthe men, could not quite conceal her femininity. Her hair was cut short, her hands toil hardened. "Carson didn't tell me, " Ben muttered. He grinned at Murchison. "I expectedto find you and two assistants, but I didn't know one would be yourdaughter. " "Expected--?" Hope glinted in five pairs of eyes. Above them there was ashouted command to get to work, and a cylinder was waved threateningly. "I'll explain as we go along, " Ben said hastily. "Show me what to do. " Bannon, a short, thickset man with a mop of unruly black hair shoved a pairof tongs into Ben's hands and quickly explained how to hold the rivets withwhich the group was working. In effect they were constructing a hugecylinder. Looking down, Ben saw that it descended into the bowels of Teris. The others were pressing Ben for his explanation but he insisted that theytell their stories first. The same thing had happened to them as to him. Within some thousands of miles of Teris they had felt a force pull themtoward it. Then they had passed out and awakened to find themselvesprisoners. "I know all that, " Ben said. "But in all the time you've been here you musthave found out a good deal. What goes on here? Why are they taking prisonerevery one who approaches the planet? Why do they conceal its existence fromour system?" Murchison paused between blows of his hammer, as though to wipe sweat fromhis brow. "Since you seem in a hurry, " he said, "I will tell it in brief. You are inthe center of a planet whose evil people are engaged in one enterprise: theconquering and subjugating of our universe. " "I thought that might be it, " Ben nodded. "But subjugating billions ofpeople may prove tougher than they think. " "Their intention is to reduce our population so it can be easily handled. And I can assure you that these women are perfectly capable of slaughteringas many people as they think necessary. They have both the means and thecontempt for human life that such an undertaking requires. " Ben hazarded a guess. "This project is part of their preparation?" "The final part. Since the surface of Teris has a temperature of absolutezero it can only be reached from here through a series of locks. What theyare building now are new locks big enough to handle their largest ships. Assoon as that's done they plan to attack. " "Any idea when that will be?" "About a week, Earth time. " Murchison's shoulders sagged with despair. "We've been wracking our brains for a way to stop them, but it's no use. They're as clever as they are evil. They've even sent doubles of each of usmen to Earth to pave the way for the attack. I suppose you've seen yourdouble. " "No. " "Then they haven't made one. You have to be awake while it's being done. Isuppose they didn't think it necessary now that there's so little timeleft. " "Less time than I thought, " Ben grunted. "I'd better get moving. " He tiltedhis head back and shouted to the woman above. * * * * * For a second time Ben stood before Arndis, queen of Teris. Her eyes probedat him, trying to divine his thoughts. There was anger in those eyes. Ifshe detected a single flaw in his story it would mean Ben's death. Morethan that, it would mean disaster for Earth. He talked fast. "When we found that plate in the firing tube of Murchison's ship we knew hewas lying. We figured he'd discovered valuable deposits out here and wastrying to keep them secret. " "That was all?" "It's enough, isn't it? Enough for Interplanetary Intelligence to send meon this mission. Those false papers I carried are proof that we suspectedsomething. And if I'm not back in the time we allowed they'll have ourentire battle fleet out looking for me. " "Very clever, " Arndis smiled. "But if you are trying to frighten us you arefailing. The women of Teris had a high civilization before your Earth wasborn. We can do things you never dreamed of. " At her command Ben's arms were seized and bound behind him. He was carriedswiftly into a room nearby, a room filled with a maze of scientificapparatus. On what appeared to be an operating table was a transparentshell, and beneath this Ben was strapped. Through the shell he saw one of the men of Teris brought into the room andplaced in a similar position on another table. Wires were strung betweenthe two shells and somewhere a machine began to hum. The shells filled witha white vapor that lingered a moment and then was gone. Although he had known what was to happen Ben could not control hisamazement. For the man who came out of the other shell was an exact replicaof himself! Within minutes he saw the other dressed in his own flying suit. "You see how simply we solve the problem?" Arndis asked. "Ben Sessions willreturn to Earth and there will be no search. He will report that he foundnothing and request that he be allowed to try again. By that time we shallbe ready to attack. " Ben's arms had been untied, and now he put his hand to his face, as thoughto rub some tender spot. The move attracted no undue attention. An instantlater he had two fingers inside his mouth and was working loose the capover his tooth. His next move took them completely by surprise. With a leap he was half wayacross the room and lunging for his double. Ben brought the man down with aflying tackle and for seconds they wrestled on the floor. Then a hairy handtore Ben loose and he was hauled to his feet. He had done little harm tothe other. "Not quite fast enough, " Arndis said. "Within minutes he will be aboard theRapier and on his way. " Her voice rose. "Take this one back to the locks. " * * * * * "Doesn't it ever get dark here?" Ben asked. He and Murchison and the others had been allowed to come out of the tubeafter what seemed hours of toil. They sat now in a tiny cell into which aircame through slits in the wall. "No, " Murchison said. "But Bannon has a good watch and we're able to keeptrack of time. It's exactly six days and three hours since you were put towork. " Ben nodded thoughtfully. There was not much time left. Work on the lockswent on endlessly, and sooner than he could have believed possible theywere being completed. Given enough slaves, he thought, anything could beaccomplished. Gluing his eyes to one of the slits, he peered out. The last of the giantgates was being installed. Their own crew would have only one more shiftbefore the job was finished. Beyond the excavation Ben could see the tower from which the locks werecontrolled. Bannon, who had been in Teris longest and who had managed togarner some information, had explained their operation to Ben. "I worked on the new controls when they were being installed, " he said, ranging himself alongside Ben. "They're fully automatic. There are fivelocks in each tube between the interior and the surface of Teris. " "How many ships did you say were kept at the tower?" Ben asked. "About ten. They make inspection flights each day, although nothing hasever gone wrong that I've heard of. But the tubes and the locks are theonly outlets to the surface and they watch them carefully. " "What are our chances of getting to the tower?" "Zero, I should say. Only the women are allowed to enter it, or a smallcrew under their supervision. " "Willing to make a try?" Ben asked. He swung around to face them all. Untilnow he had not taken them into his confidence, given them no inkling ofwhat was in his mind. "We've talked about it before, " Murchison answered. "But there's so littlechance we gave up the idea. Better to stay alive and hope for a rescue. " "I can't tell you how I know, " Ben told them, "but there isn't going to beany rescue. " He kept his eyes on the girl. "How about you, Sally? Willingto trust me?" She nodded and Ben heaved a sigh of relief. Rather than leave her behind hewould have stayed with her. Gathering them about him he outlined his plans. The men were more than skeptical but no one had any suggestions. * * * * * Ben and Davies were the last to finish their work, and as they fastened thelast rivet to the last hinge Ben looked up and shook his head. To the giantwoman who stood watching him it seemed only that he was tired. She failedto notice that Sally had drifted off to one side and was coming up behindher. Sally's foot suddenly caught the overseer just behind one knee and knockedher off balance. At the same instant Ben stepped in close and wrenched theviolet ray cylinder from the woman's hand. The others screened them fromsight. Ben looked around and saw that the slight flurry of activity hadgone unnoticed by others of the giant women who were nearby. "We're going to walk to the control tower, " he told the woman grimly. "Ifanyone asks you're to say we have to do some work there. I'm going to havethis ray gun trained on you under my robe, so don't try any tricks. Understand?" She understood all too well. A flicker of fear in her eyes told Ben thatshe knew he would blast her without mercy. They fell in behind her. When they reached the doors of the tower a pair of women barred their way. "We have received no notice of work to be done, " one of them said. Ben sawher eyes narrow with sudden suspicion, and then her hand darted for thecylinder at her side. Ben's ray gun spouted violet death and the charred bodies of three womenlay in the doorway. Ben scooped up their guns and thrust them at Bannon andMurchison. "We'll give you five minutes before we take off, " he shouted as they ranpast him for the control room. Behind him and Davies and Sally there were shouts as the two men went intoaction. But they had their own job to do. The closest inspection ship wasseveral hundred feet away and already women were running to cut them off. Ben cut loose with his cylinder before they had a chance to use theirs. Then he and Davies were lifting Sally into the ship. While they covered theopen door Ben ran for the controls. Somewhere an alarm was wailing and ashe swung the ship about Ben saw other ships being boarded. But Bannon andMurchison had not failed. Just beyond the tower a lock swung open. Ben skimmed along the ground, figuring to pick up the two men as they cameout of the tower. Then he saw Murchison wave him on. He had planted himselfin the doorway and was refusing to budge. Ben saw why as Murchison blastedaway at a group of giant women who were trying to rush the tower. There was no more time. Already other ships were taking off. Another wastedminute and they would beat him to the lock. Ben yelled to Davies to closethe hatch as he turned on the power. A moment later they were in the blackness of the tube. Davies ran forwardto the controls. "There's a light on the ship, " he said. He found theswitch and threw it in time for them to see the next lock open for them. "Three to go, " Ben muttered. "Looks like we're going to make it. " "Maybe not. " Davies tapped his shoulder and pointed to the rear of theship. Looking back through a porthole, Ben could see other ships behindthem. "As long as we're in the tube they won't fire, " Davies said. "But neithercan we get very far ahead!" While he spoke the ship had gone through another lock with the others stilldirectly behind. It looked like Davies was right. But Ben was not yet readyto concede defeat. The fourth lock loomed ahead and he watched it swingopen. Just a few minutes more and they would go through the last one. Itwas still hundreds of miles ahead but at the rate they were travelling theywould be on it soon. He waited until the last possible second and then cut his speed sharply. Behind them the other ships were forced to use their retarding rockets forfear of ramming them. It was just what Ben had expected. As the last lockopened he threw the accelerator all the way forward and felt the ship leapahead. That alone would not have been enough, but as the ship roared out of thetube above the surface of Teris he cut sharply to the right. Had their shipbeen faster it might have worked. But it was not fast enough. Through theblackness of space the exhausts of their pursuers flamed closer. Ben'steeth clamped down on his lips. "I guess we're out of luck. " There was nothing more to say. It was only a matter of minutes before theguns of the ships behind them would blast them to pieces. They held theirbreath and waited, watching the exhausts come through the darkness. And then suddenly there was no more darkness. A light as bright as the noonsun flared. Ben let out a shout, for beyond the light were lined the battlecruisers of Earth. His pursuers turned tail and ran. "Where the devil did those ships come from?" Davies gasped. "I sent for them, " Ben told him. "We had it all arranged. When I tackledthat double I managed to slip a microfilm capsule into his pocket. It had acomplete picture of my radona chart. As soon as the double reached Earth, Intelligence grabbed him. All they had to do was follow my chart to Teris. " They were passing the flagship of the Earth fleet, and Ben dipped the noseof his ship in salute. Then he turned to see what was going on. There was going to be no attempt to invade Teris. Instead, its surface wasilluminated with more of the flares. A moment later Teris was gone, blastedby the guns of a thousand cruisers. And for the strange women who wouldhave enslaved a universe, Ben felt no pity. THE END TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE The sentence on Page 61: "It was that department's job to take the shipapart, fix what needed fixing, and put it. " is exactly as it appears inthe original. On Page 62, in "Once Jacobs' interest was aroused he was also not one tolet a matter drop;" the original had "Jacob's".