Triplanetary

an S

was even then moving with a velocity far above that of light and that it must be accelerating at a stupendous rate, even th

sleeping soundly upon a pile of cushions in the first of the three inter-connecting rooms. In the middle room, which was to be

io was saying, very seriously. "I know

to know that what we start now we'll go through with for life. It doesn't make any difference, that way, whether I start making love to you now or whether I wait until we're back on Te

both ways, d

r if you marry me? Assume that we get back, which isn't sure, by any means. But even if we do, some da

body, Conway!" Clio exclaimed, undeterred. "But at that, something tells me that any pirate will earn

pt away from her by sheer force of will, swept around her in almost fierce intensity. As his hot lips met hers, he

his usually hard eyes were glowing with a tender light. "T

oing to live until you die of old age--see i

us and Andromeda couldn't take me after this--I've got too much to live f

he saw a beautiful, oval, tanned young face, framed in a golden-blonde corona of hair. His gaze sank into the depths of loyal, honest, dark-blue eyes; and looking deeper and deeper into those blue wells he fell asleep. Upon his face, too set

hen, also according to his habit and training, he ca

hispered. "A

I thought you were going to sleep until we got to wherever it is that we're going! Come on

roke off as he opened the door and saw Clio's wan face. She had evidently spent

eing a little jittery. No need o

ng to see what we can do about it--or say, guess I'll

touched the contact stud lightly with hi

us to talk outside, but his interference is as good as my talking--they can

Nevian waved an arm and fingered controls, and as he did so a wide section of the floor of Clio's room slid aside. The opening thus made revealed a table which rose upon its low pedestal, a table equipped with three softly cushioned benches and spread with a glittering array of silver and glassware. Bowls and platters of dazzlingly white metal, narrow-waisted goblets of sheerest crystal; all were hexagonal, beautifully and intricately carved or etch

food was even more surprising, although in another sense. For the wonderful crystal goblets were filled with a grayish-green slime of a nauseous and overpowering odor, the smaller bowls were fu

ay from the table, but Costigan flipped the three fish into a p

l was not acceptable and that he wanted to talk to him, in person. Finally he made himself c

not exactly a fluent conversation, both sides managed to convey their meanings quite clearly. Nerado would not allow the Terrestrials to visit their own ship--he was taking no chances--but after a thorough ultra-ray inspection he did finally order some of his men to bring into the middle room the electric range and a

ing made tidy and shipshap

artian picnic and you didn't eat half enough breakfast. You've got to sleep and eat to keep fit. We don'

er. I'll sleep to-n

and me on each side of you. We're both right here now, though, and we'll stay here. We'll watch

r long-lashed lids fell and her deep, regular breathing showed that she was sound asleep. The man stared at her, his very heart in his eyes. So young, so beautiful, so lovely--and how he did love her! He was

alf hypnotized by his own mixed emotions and by his staring at the smooth curves of Clio's cheek, his own

dley found them, and a tender, fatherly expressi

o--about as fine a couple of kids as old Tellus ever produced. I could do with some more sleep m

h sparkling eyes. She was refreshed, buoyant, ravenously hungry and highly amused. Costigan was amazed a

ain, but sobered quickly. "I slept wonderfully well, but I wonder

ind doing that,"

d his eyes and his tone spoke vol

rado and his three armed guards entered the room. The Nevian scientist placed a box upon a table and began to make adjustments upon its panels, eyeing

lio, their voices are pitched either higher or lower than ours--probably highe

the other, both knew that intelligent speech and hearing were attributes common to the two races. This fact altered markedly the relations between captors and

ularly since we haven't been able to figure out any possible way of getting away from them. They can talk and hear, and we can learn

at starting at the very bottom they learned as babies learn, but with the great advantage over babies of possessing fully developed and capable brains. And while the human beings were learning the tongue of Nevia, several of the amphibians (and in

mers small enough to be worn collar-like by the Terrestrials, and the captives were allowed to roam at will throughout the great vessel; only the compartment in which was stored the dismembered pirate lifeb

stem for a cargo of the iron which is so plentiful

uttered savagely to his companions as Nerado turned away. "If they have, th

ament and began to show a perceptible disk. Larger and larger it grew, becoming bluer and bluer as the fl

landing. Under the terrific power of the beams braking the descent of that unimaginable load of allotropic iron the water seethed and boiled; and instead of floating gracefully upon the surface of the sea, this time the huge ship of

hree Tellurians to the College of Science, where you are to unde

nd furtive wink at his companions. "Do you expect u

of course, but you must be able to swim a little, and this slight de

opelling yourself in or through the water, we know nothing of it. In water over our heads we

." The Nevian Captain began, doubtfully, but broke off

Nerado, a

cknowledged in

-of weapons and the city reports that it cannot long withstand their attack. The inhabitants are asking for all possible help. Your vessel no

l in the bottom of the dock. In a short time the great vessel was in equilibrium with the water she displac

n directed, and as the Terrestrials obeyed the curt orders the fish-shaped cr

, were back in the middle room of their suite. "You can outswim an otter, a

of any of their cities as long as we can, because they may be hard places to escape from. I've got a couple of ideas, but they aren't ripe eno

nders than millions of men. For the Third City was sore pressed indeed. Around it was one unbroken ring of boiling, exploding water--water billowing upward with searing, blinding bursts of superheated steam, or being hurled bodily in all directions in solid masses by the cataclysmic forces being released by the e

ess--Nerado knew thoroughly his vessel, its strength and its capabilities. There was a mighty splash, but that was all. The artificial gravity was unchanged by the impact

hed and marveled. For the fortresses were full of water; water artificially cooled and aerated, entirely separate from the boiling flood through which they moved. They were manned by fish some five feet in length. Fish with hug

a weapon unknown to Triplanetary warfare. From a fortress there would shoot out, with the speed of a meteor, a long, jointed, telescopic rod, tipped with a tiny, brilliantly shining ball. Whenever this glowing tip encountered any ob

s officers were apparently quite familiar with the Nevian beams which licked at and clung to the green walls in impotent fury. Through the red veil came stabbing tiny ball after brilliant ball, and only the most frantic dodg

aginable explosion water was hurled for miles. The bed of the ocean was not only exposed, but in it there was blown a crater at whose dimensions the Terrestrials dared not even guess. The crawling fortresses themselves were thrown backward violently and the very world was rocked to its core by the concussion, but that iron-driven wall held. The massive nets swayed and gave back, and tidal waves hurled their mountainously destructive masses through the Third City, but the mighty barrier remained intac

doing something for ourselves." Costigan turned away from the absor

e possibly do?"

we'll try it!"

to dope out quite a lot of stuff. I can open most of their locks, and I know how to run their small boats. This battle, fantastic as it is, is deadly stuff, and it isn't one-sided, by any means, either, so that every one of them, from Nerado down, seems to be on emergency duty. There are no guards watchi

what?" asked B

make a break back for our own Solarian system. We know the dire

!" exclaimed Clio. "How about food, wa

g, and we'll have to eat it, since we can't carry enough of our own supplies to the boat to last long. Even so, we may have to go on short rations, but I think that we'll be able to make it. On the other hand, what happens if we stay here? We will certainly strike trouble sooner or later, and we don't know any too much about these ultra-weapons. We a

claimed Clio an

not waste any more ti

inted it briefly at the Nevian lock. There was no light, no noise, but the massive porta

o demanded, almost stu

and there--literally as well as figuratively speaking. Snap it up, guys! Our armor is stored away with the pieces

nvestigating the course ahead for chance Nevians. Bradley and Clio were unarmed, but

a Nevian's head before he can put a paralyzing ray on us," he explained grim

tected as they ran toward the compartment within which was sealed all their Terrestrial belongings. The door of that room opened, as had the other, to Costigan's knowing beam; and all three set hastily to work. They made up

at through his spy-ray goggles he was studying their route. "There's only one boat we stand a chance of reaching, and somebody's mighty apt to

ied along for minutes, dodging to right or left as

-right there's the lowest one. Watch me do it, and when I give you the word, one at a time, you d

yard or so, and scrambled to his feet. He gaz

and the Interplanetary capta

below the invisible network of communicator beams. As she struggled one mailed arm went up, and Costigan saw in his ultra-goggles the faint flash as the beam encountered the interfering field. But already

a few of them, but if they start an organized search we're sunk. But even if they did get a warning by touching your glove, Clio, the

d metal. With no further misadventures the Terrestrials gained entrance to the Nevian lifeboat, where Costigan's first act was to disconnect one steel boot from his armor

carry it in, so this was the only place I could put it in. These lifeboats are equipped with only a couple of grams of iron apiece, you know, and we couldn't get half-way back t

ing to breathe, staring into the plates--Clio and Bradley pushing at metal levers and stepping down hard upon metal brakes in unconscious efforts to help Costigan dodge the beams and rods of death flashing so appallingly close upon all sides. Out of the water and into the air the darting, dodging lifeboat flashed in safety; but in the air, supposedly free from menace,

r and inner plates broken away on a seam. Inter-wall vacuum all lost

gan declared. "We'll put a lot of distance behind

tore along. "The Nevians are bad enough, Heaven knows, but the very

ly became tributary nations, if not actually slaves. Those fish not only serve as food, but work in the mines, hatcheries, and plantations, and do all kinds of work for the Nevians. Those so-called 'lesser deeps' were conquered first, of course, and all their races of fish are docile enough now. But the deep-sea breeds, who live in water so deep that the Nevians can hardly stand the pressure down there, were more intelligent to start with, and more stubborn besides. But the most valuable metals here are deep down--this planet is very light for its

and want to kill them all, as fast

ourse," commented Bradley. "Got pretty

lied. "We'll need all we can get. A full diameter away from that cre

. "Oh, I wish they hadn't hit us--we'

and weld those seams and pump out the shell, and we'd have to fill our air-tanks to cap

was brought to a halt, in the emptiest reaches of the planet's desolate and watery waste. Then in