Tom Swift and His Cosmotron Express (21 page)

"The space beings have given up on their experiment and shut it down," stated Hannah. "The guinea pigs were too darn uncooperative!"

The object diminished to a barely-visible line—and then it was gone. "We may not know the science of it," Mr. Swift mused, "but the nature of it is clear. The X-ians created a rift in the continuum, a kind of tear opening a portal to—"

"To somewhere else," finished Andor Emda. "But what sort of somewhere?"

"We’re at 0.37 C," Tom reported, eyes on the board.

"Damon, we learned essentially nothing from this encounter," Hank Sterling said. "What
was
that other version of the
Starward
? Some kind of spacetime mirage? The image of a possibility that didn’t happen? Was the ‘shadowverse’ really another separate universe, with its own history and inhabitants? Or did the X-ians actually
create
it—when they thought they were only opening a window to it? What a thought that is!"

"We
did
learn something, guys," insisted Bud with a grin of enthusiasm. He turned toward Tom, who grinned back, the grin of understanding between two close friends. "You know what I mean, don’t you, genius boy?"

Tom nodded. "Remember what I once told you, Bud? ‘Not all questions have answers’? The reverse is also true.
Not all answers have questions!
What we saw and experienced was a great big floating answer to a question we didn’t know how to ask."

"It’s the things we
can’t
figure out that give what we do—science—its savor," declared Damon Swift with a proud look at his son. "The Planet X beings are right to want to find out ‘what is and what is not.’ But I wonder if our puny species doesn’t know something entirely beyond their reach. The Unknown is
unending
. And that fact is not a problem to be solved, but a truth to build a life around."

"A frontier that never closes," Tom breathed.

"Yep," agreed Chow. "Not even at night!"

With the disappearance of the Emma object the anomalous G-wave phenomenon had also ceased. The
Starward
crew wondered, nervously, if the X-ians would use the end of the interference problem to apply the full measure of their capture technology to the ship—or punish them for their disobedience. But the ensuing days—many days at the upper limit of the spacedriver’s power—passed without comment from either the Planet X authorities or the Space Friends on Deimos.

But the long homeward voyage was not lacking in commentary. Nattan Volj did not enjoy being cooped-up. And made his views known.

They decided not to make any further planetary stops along the way. "Let’s just get home," urged Violet Wohl. "The stars’ll wait for us."

The two Swifts agreed. "We’ll land directly on Earth, at Fearing—the whole ship," Tom explained. "We need to check over the
Starward
. And to check over all you captives, too. You’ve been out here quite a while."

"A cursory check will do for me, thanks," said Violet. "Then back to Nestria—home! I’ve had enough vacation. And there’s someone waiting."

During the long return Tom checked daily with Harlan Ames via the Private Ear Radio. As they finally neared the Earth-Moon system, their final day in space, Tom told the crew that Ames had ended his assignment at Wickliffe Laboratories and had returned to Enterprises. "But what about the informant?" asked Sue Fresnell. "Did it turn out to be that Foger woman?"

Tom shrugged. "The investigation is continuing, but at Enterprises. Harlan’s a fast worker—he may have news for us by the time we set down." He smiled at Sue.

"I hope so," said Bud. "Because the
Fire Fury
is still buzzin’ around out there." Suddenly he chuckled at himself. "Man!—shoulda called it the Fire
Wasp
!"

The youth’s words became an omen. As the Express cleaved the air over the Atlantic, descending toward Fearing Island under repelatron power, Bud exclaimed: "Something coming at us—jetz,
Mach 8!
"

"We can’t outrace it, not on tron power," Tom stated coolly. "Let’s take her back up into space. I don’t know what Ikyoris wants, but the
Viper Spirit
can’t reach us up in orbit."

But even as Tom began the deceleration that would precede a vertical putting-about, he gasped as new figures crossed the monitor. "The Fury—sudden acceleration! It’ll—"

The
Starward
jolted and rocked. "
Buzzed us! Right over our heads!
" cried Bud.

"Cloverleaf—and coming back at us..." warned Neil. Again the weird craft shot by at super-bullet speed, a streak of white fire.

"He’s not letting us ascend!" Tom grated. He grabbed the microphone. "
Starward
to
Viper Spirit
. What is it you’re after, Ikyoris?"

The Brungarian answered after another lightning near-miss. "Don’t worry, Tom. You need do nothing. Relax! ‘There is nothing wrong with your TV set.’
We
have taken control.
We
control the vertical, the horizontal. The X-U is the master here."

"What do you want of us?" demanded the Shoptonian.

"Our main concern is what it always was, Swift—the fate of Professor Nattan Volj!"

"He’s aboard and safe," retorted Tom. "You must know that by now. We’ve rescued him."

"Rescued him? I wouldn’t use quite those words, Tom. I fear we haven’t been, as they say, ‘straight’ with you."

"Aw no," muttered Bud.

The
Fire Fury
flashed by again, and the mighty
Starward
rocked helplessly, its gravitex stabilizers too slow to counteract the unpredictable thrusts. "We don’t ask you to trouble yourself putting our leader in our hands. No need for that little charade, not now. We’ll be more than happy to see his incinerated body drop into the depths of the ocean—along with the rest of you!

"Ah, Nattan, troublesome boy—a failure, an embarrassment. His remaining loyalists were mostly among his space crew. And now
i-Szentimentlya
has decided, in a most democratic way, on a bold new direction, with new leadership, an end to the impediments of the past."

"In other words, he’s been fired," Tom stated. "I suppose you’re the new Big Cheese?"

"Don’t worry your little blond head about it, boy," snarled Ikyoris. "We intend to destroy your ship—no, not merely by singeing it with our exhaust. We will slice you to pieces with your own invention.
We have an X-raser!
But ours, Tom, is a cannon, not a popgun!"

The attacking beam was invisible against the glare of sea and sky, but Hanson exclaimed: "Puncture, hull sector 11-9!"

"The Inertite—" began Emda.

Mr. Swift interrupted him. "Even Inertite can’t stop that kind of concentrated power. A weapon-magnitude X-raser could easily cut the modules from the main hull, slice right through the metallumin shell!"

Another pass underlined the point. A hissing sound burst forth. "The main cabin’s been breached!" Bud warned. "We’ve got to go lower!"

"
Listen, everyone!
" Tom shouted as he manipulated the controls. "Leave the main deck!—everyone except Emda—I may need some emergency help, Andy, the defocus routine we talked about. All the rest of you head for the central compartments, the ones near the spacedriver installation. The raser won’t be able to penetrate to that depth right away."

As the others stumbled toward the elevators, some protesting, Mr. Swift lay a hand on Tom’s shoulder. "Son, we might try—"

"Go with the others, Dad."

"But I—"

"That’s an order!... Dad."

Damon Swift smiled. "Wilco, Captain."

Mr. Swift left, but others defied orders. "Don’t even think that
I’m
leaving you, ‘Captain’," said Bud with the quiet of steel.

"Me neither!" said Chow. "An’ don’t try t’ push me around, son—I outweigh the three o’ you put t’gether!"

Tom nodded his gratitude as the ship rocked from another pass. "Thanks, guys."

"What do you plan to do?" asked Emda. "Can’t you use the repelatrons to force them down—or away?"

Tom shook his head. "Moving way too fast—these embedded trons can’t remain focused long enough." He looked at the others. "I’m going to have to try using the cosmotron, and it’s almost as dangerous as Ikyoris’s X-raser this deep in the gravitational field."

"Inside-out," gulped Chow faintly. "Ain’t that so?"

Reaching for one of the controls, Tom half-rose. "I’m not turning tail and running. There’s a way to use the spacedriver as a defensive weapon—Andy, remember what we worked out just—"

The young inventor’s words were cut short as the
Starward
jolted again—the most violent yet! With a shout Tom tumbled off-balance and slammed into the deck. He lay there unmoving!

"Tom!" cried Bud, still strapped in place. "Andy—"

"I’ll see to him." Emda knelt down, trying to brace himself. "Pulse OK. Just stunned, I think." He stood and stepped toward Tom’s control board. "I know what he had in mind. I can work the—"

"
Stay right there, dad blame it!
" came a gravelly bellow. Chow was aiming an i-gun at Emda! "You jest keep your Brungarian paws off them buttons!"

"Chow!" Emda exclaimed. "I’m the only one who can do this—Tom explained it to me.
We don’t have time to
—"

The ship rocked again as the fire-bolt shot by the viewpane!

"I know’d all along you were jest lookin’ fer a chance," grated the cook. "Let Buddy Boy take over."

"Barclay!" pled the Brungarian. "Talk him down!" Andor Emda shifted his gaze again to Chow. "I know you’ve never trusted me, Winkler.
But Tom did!
—remember that. Whatever his doubts, he decided to trust me!"

The shot was well-placed. Chow’s puffy hand wavered. He half-glanced toward Bud. "Wh-what do you say, Bud?"

Bud shook his head. "I trust
you
, pardner. The decision is yours."

"Okay." The ex-Texan lowered the i-gun. "Go to it."

Emda flew at the board. "Tom told me about your experiment out on the lake," he narrated. "The effects of a bad field focus—a momentum slosh-over entangling nearby matter. Water—
and air!
"

Suddenly the great craft vibrated, as if charging into a powerful head wind. But this was nothing to what was happening to the
Fire Fury
! Through the viewpane the four saw the firebrand twist and waver against the blue sky and the turquoise ocean below.

"Yes—y-
yes
! Follow after them!" Tom Swift had regained his feet.

"Roger!" chortled Bud. "Aye-aye!
Yup
!"

The enemy hyperjet was clearly out of control, battered by the anomalous ever-shifting blasts of air caused by the spacedriver’s distended momentum-field. The Express pursued it across the horizon on repelatron power, slowly drawing near. As Tom engineered an especially forceful blast, the
Viper Spirit
abruptly ducked down and nicked the top of a wave. "Whattaya aim t’ do, boss?" asked Chow cheerily. "Don’t much matter. Them rats sure do
deserve
to drown!"

"The field is sucking away their lift," replied the adventurer. "But they won’t go under. The craft is designed to self-right in a highspeed water landing."

A plume of water, a frothy boiling wake miles long—and the chase was over. As was the deadly career of a little thing nicknamed
Fire Fury
.

As United States naval craft sped toward the stricken hyperjet, the
Starward
made its way to Fearing, settling down on its special drydock pad. "Nice spirited end to our Grand Tour," commented Tom’s father wryly. He could see Mrs. Swift and Sandy waiting on the airfield nearby, along with Hank Sterling’s family, and Bashalli Prandit, who seemed to be rubbing her eyes with a handkerchief.

There was one more bit of business. Harlan Ames stood outside the door of the ship’s access elevator as it opened. He held an i-gun and Mace Vendiablo, next to him, held handcuffs.

"Hey!" gulped Bud. "What’s going on? Is that for Volj and his gang?"

"No, not Volj," said Tom, stepping out and aside. "I’ve known since this morning—Harlan told me on the PER. He cracked the case, just as Pete and I knew he would."

"Oh well. I knew it couldn’t just go on and on." Susan Fresnell held out her wrists with a cynical smile. "I suppose Robert confessed?"

"Yes," said Ames. "Your
own
‘signoth’." The security chief turned to Bud and the other bogglers, a crowd. "She never had an ‘insurance salesman husband.’ Her partner, Robert Jannivie, worked Wickliffe, just as she worked the Enterprises beat. Both on the Ikyoris payroll. And it was
they
who approached
him
."

"I take it Robert was the one who originally passed along the
Viper Spirit
data," stated Mr. Swift.

"We both did," snapped Sue. "We shared everything,
everything
! And what a pleasure, what a
delight
to plant little clues, to paint a target on that snide, pretty Amelia Foger—and then to fly away into space, more danger, more wonder, right there with all of you, undetected! Nothing against you personally, Tom, or any of the others of you. Or even America. No, no. It was...
existential
!"

"Big words!" Chow was red-faced. "Never understand you people,
never
! Great jobs, good money—"

"Yes," said Sue, to all of them. "You never
will
understand. Money? We didn’t do it for
money
. Do you guys think you’re the only people on Earth who want to live a thrilling life? Every
minute
was a chapter cliffhanger! Danger, excitement, risk—Robert and I
had
to see if we could do it.
Had to!
To hold lives in your hands, to share a look into the abyss— Oh, Tom, that night after I pulled you from your car, after I rolled up the cable and took it home, home to Robert—

"None of you will ever know that kind of passion, passion that fuses two people together like fire!"

"Oh, I dunno," smiled Tom. "Even the slow and easy life of science can get the blood stirring now and then."

The thought led him to other thoughts, to thoughts of his
Quantum Telesphere
project and the possibility of another fantastic trek into the heart of Nature, to flashes in memory of many challenges, many moments of peril, many unexpected triumphs marking his young life since the dawn of his Flying Lab.