The Chaos Weapon Read Free

satisfy your Chaos equations,” supplied Hover, who had come up from the rear.
    “You know, Cass, I think you reached that point ahead of me. Damn, I should have thought of it before! That sort of power isn’t available to that character down there. Somebody or something else with a fantastic control of Chaos technique must be doing the manipulation.”
    “I’m still unhappy,” said Rutter, “about the idea of a disaster hanging around waiting for the arrival of a man.” He turned as a messenger approached and began to scan the information he was handed. “The results of our checks on the cat. As I suspected, it was out of New Sark. Chartered from a transit outfit by two men who came in from outspace a few hours earlier. They gave their names as Jequn and Asbeel.”
    “Hmm!” said the dark man. “Of all times and places!” Lines of deep speculation spread across his brow. “What else did you find out?”
    “The Civil Guard at New Sark ran the immigrationcheckouts through the galactic identifile for us. It drew a blank. Their stated planet of origin doesn’t exist, nor, officially, do the men. Their ship is berthed at New Sark spaceport. It came from so far out in deep-space that the spaceport officials can’t even classify the drive.”
    “I’ll bet they can’t!” This latter remark was Saraya’s aside to himself. “Captain Rutter, I want the Civil Guard instructed to attempt to arrest the man in the cat if he returns to New Sark. I say attempt advisedly, because they’ll have to be damn clever to succeed. Marshal Hover, you see that fellow down there on the plain. I want him sane and alive and delivered to ChaosCenter on Terra. It doesn’t matter what that assignment costs or how the goal is achieved, just make sure that it happens. You’ve Galactic Override Authority for the mission.”
    “You really think he’s that important, Saraya?”
    “I know he is. There’s nobody more important in our galaxy right now. Or potentially more dangerous. He’s one of a kind—and where his kind go, that’s where they point the Chaos Weapon.”
    “The Chaos Weapon? What in creation is that?”
    “I wish to hell I knew.”
    “I’ll go get him,” Hover volunteered. “You can explain the whole thing to me later. Somebody break out a flier for me.”
    “I’ll come with you,” said Rutter.
    “No!” The dark man stepped in decisively. “That character’s going to be well into Edel before the marshal can reach him. Whatever Chaos has waiting for Edel is going to break right then. If we read the energy equation right, there won’t be many survivors left. The marshal has had special preparation for survival in such emergencies—you haven’t.”
    Reluctantly the captain watched as Hover pulled on his warm-suit. Against the dark recess of the locker, Rutter could have sworn that something furry flickered above the marshal’s shoulder. Yet when he examined the phenomenon more carefully, no trace of it couldbe seen. Puzzled, he checked radio contact with the departing space-marshal, then turned to concentrate on monitoring the progress of the lone figure clearing the plain and now almost at the city’s outer limits. Something curious about the atmosphere made the image strangely double-edged.

TWO
    WITH the screens studiously refocused, the progress of the man trudging through the snow was followed with agonized concern. Speculation about the nature of the netted package he dragged behind him proved singularly fruitless. The utility of such a burden was an open question. Shortly the man and his bundle topped a rise and appeared to make easier progress along more compacted tracks until at last he entered the outer limits of the city. In the meantime Hover’s flier had landed well clear of the houses, and the marshal could be seen making fast progress after his quarry on foot.
    If the fellow was aware of the flier’s arrival, he gave no sign of it, but concentrated instead on dragging his load over the