Space 1999 #3 - The Space Guardians Read Online Free Page A

here—why?’
    ‘You should know that its destination wasn’t the moon, John. That was only a stopover.’
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘They would watch, from the satellite. From the Moon, they’d watch Earth. That was the intention, anyway.’
    ‘And then?’
    ‘Their computer would check the life-forms. And if they were able to blend in with us—with our ancestors of the Dark Ages—they would make the final flight.’
    ‘To Earth?’
    ‘Yes, John.’ Bergman went on calmly enough, but with a yearning that was painful to see: ‘And both engine and computer were in perfect working order. Both waiting for the orders that never came.’
    ‘The final flight. They never gave it?’
    ‘No. And the ship can take us back to Earth!’

CHAPTER FIVE
    ‘That’s the ship,’ said Bergman.
    Koenig was disappointed. The craft was no larger than one of the Eagles. Stubby, scarred by radiation, it lay half-buried under a fall of ash. A port was open.
    ‘The metals are very dense,’ said Bergman. ‘I’m not familiar with the composition of the materials for the drive—they’ve confused the computer, of course. I had some analyses run, but they’re not enough yet. I had to feed the stuff in manually, John. I don’t want any of the technicians to spread the word.’
    Koenig marvelled. The ship blended into the background. It was impossible to see it when he stood back a few metres. It was no wonder that the survey-ships had missed it.
    ‘I had new gravity and atmosphere units sent out,’ said Bergman.
    ‘You’ve been busy.’
    There was something wrong, though Koenig could not pinpoint why he should feel uneasy. Bergman was right to keep a thing like this to himself. But should he talk so possessively of the ship? And how was it that he had discovered it?
    Bergman was ahead of him.
    ‘I stumbled out after the crash—dazed, you know, John. Carter was busy calling Alpha, and you and Sandra Benes were both unconscious. I panicked, I suppose, and ran out. I fell from that ledge and landed against the ship.’ He indicated the post. ‘I was too dazed to care much about scientific investigation. I must have activated an external switch. It opened at once.’
    ‘So you set up a guard?’
    ‘Yes. With orders not to approach nearer than a hundred metres. I said it was the wreck of an experimental unit I had been testing.’
    ‘So only you know about it—’
    ‘And you, John. Just you and me.’
    Koenig felt a prickling around his scalp. Things were taking shape, but still there were inconsistencies.
    ‘What’s the trouble, John?’ asked Bergman.
    ‘My head.’
    ‘Is it hurting still?’
    ‘It should. But it isn’t.’
    ‘I expect Dr Russell made a good job of it.’
    ‘I was badly hurt—’
    ‘You heal quickly.’ Bergman indicated the open port. ‘See what you make of the ship.’
    Koenig forgot his worries. A thousand-year-old mystery lay before him. He clambered through the tilted port and found himself in a brightly-lit command room. Metals glinted, unstained by time. Dials gleamed, and there was the slight pulse that tells a spaceman a ship is alive.
    ‘The crew?’ he said.
    ‘Look.’
    Koenig turned. A wall of black glass-like material faced him. Behind it, three recesses. Each was slightly more than two metres in height. Each was large enough to hold a man of rather more than average size. Koenig shivered. The long-dead crew of the alien ship had once used those containers. It was as Bergman said. A small heap of dust lay at the bottom of each shadowy recess.
    ‘John, this ship is programmed for a flight to Earth. I’ve checked its power reserves. It will take three of us back to Earth from any part of the Galaxy.’
    ‘It didn’t take them,’ said Koenig. The containers were coffins.
    ‘I’ve checked that too. Their screens must have failed momentarily. There’s a tiny hole in the deepfreeze compartment—’
    ‘Deep-freeze?’
    ‘A voyage such as theirs took time. A lot of time. They should have