CRY CHAOS!
By Dwight V. Swain
The dark star held a dread secret that Gar
Shane had to discover before our solar system was
destroyed. But to go there meant certain death....
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy
September 1951
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
They got the great silver ship's hatches pried open, finally, anddragged Shane out by his heels. They dumped him on his face in thegravel and cinders of the ramp like a pole-axed huecco.
He wasn't a particularly big man, as men came out here in thespaceways. But there was a spare, hard quality to his close-knit body,and the old scars that marked him told of forgotten battles, bitterfights to the death with no quarter asked or given. Strange suns hadburnt him dark as a Malya. Mercury's blazing sands, the high desertsof Mars, had dulled the crisp brown of his hair. Faint bluish pockmarksalong his left cheek bespoke Pluto and the ice-things that dwelt there.
And the Chonya belt still girded his waist; the great iron belt ofthe asteroids, one link for every chief who'd vowed fealty, eternalsymbol of his power as gar.
So he lay there in the dirt of the ramp like a dog, while the motleyrabble that were his captors gathered round. And because he was the manhe was; because of the stories and scars; above all, because of thatgreat iron belt of brotherhood he wore, the token of his might, theyhung back just a little, still touched by awe of this fallen great one.
Only then Shane's eyes opened—eyes of that strange, pale blue foundonly among Earthmen; blank now, unseeing. His fingers scrabbled thedirt. Saliva drooled from the loose mouth and puddled beneath his cheek.
Explosively, a hard-faced Venusian Pervod laughed. "I claim thebelt!" he cried, and sprang forward, reptilian claws gouging Shane'sflesh, rolling the Earthman over.
An incoherent, protestful sound rose in Shane's throat. His mouthworked, and his hands batted clumsily at the Pervod's claws.
The Venusian's laugh rang out again—harsh, contemptuous. Skillfully,he fended Shane's blows with bony vestigial wings. His claws worked atthe boss that clasped the belt.
Shane's blue eyes lost a little of their blankness. The loose mouthdrew in a fraction. "No!" he choked. "No!" He clutched at thePervod's wrists; tried to pull them away.
The Pervod twisted free. His claws left bloody paths across Shane'spalms. Catching the Earthman's shoulders, he lifted him half clear ofthe ramp, then slammed him down again with stunning force.
Shane lay limp—panting, head lolled to one side.
The Pervod unclasped the belt and pulled it free of Shane's body.
Feebly, Shane clutched for the Venusian's ankle, and missed. Shaking,sobbing for breath, he struggled to a sitting position, bracing himselfwith his arms.
The Pervod dangled the belt tantalizingly. "Do you want it,Earthman?" he mocked. "Come get it—quick, while you have the chance!"
Veins stood out at Shane's temples. His fingers dug into the dirt. Hebrought one leg forward—levered up on it, lurched to his feet, stoodswaying.
"The belt of the Chonyas!" the Pervod shrilled gleefully. "Here itis, starbo! The belt of a gar for the taking!"
He flicked the belt past Shane's face.
The Earthman lunged for it, staggering