Remember Me, Kama!
By Walter Kubilius
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Astonishing Stories, October 1942.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Old Cobber's hand trembled slightly as he turned his tankbox so thathis guns would point at the crew working outside.
Wilson, atop the white hill, watching the men clear away the ammoniasnow drifts from the jets of the rocket, was the first to notice thechallenging position of Cobber in his tankbox.
"Are you getting in or out of the airlock?" he radioed to Cobber."Make up your mind."
The old man's lips were dry and his voice was hoarse as he spoke intothe mouthpiece.
"I am going to blow up the ship," he said.
Instantly the work of clearing the field stopped. Through the haze ofpoison air that surrounded the planet, Cobber could see them wheel intoa semi-circle not more than thirty yards away from him and the airlockthat he held.
Wilson's tank rumbled a few feet forward from the semi-circle.
"You don't dare shoot, Cobber," he said quietly. "You're outnumberedthirty to one."
"Stand back! All of you!" Cobber shouted into the mike. "I'll blow upthe first one that moves!"
"Don't be a fool, Cobber," Wilson said. "There's enough catalytic rockstored in the ship for all of us. I can make you a rich man. Put downthose guns and we'll forget what has happened. Put down those guns."
"This ship is not going back to Earth," Cobber said.
"Put down those guns, Cobber!" Wilson shouted. "You can't win!"
Cobber turned the knob and shut off Wilson's loud voice. He then openedone of the dinatro bombs that lay beside him, unscrewed the cap andtossed it into the back of the car with the other neatly stacked-upexplosives.
"Ten seconds!" he yelled.
The men were stunned for a moment by the suddenness of his decision toblow up the ship. They stood dumfounded, not knowing what to do, untilone of them screamed "Dinatro!" Panic-stricken, they dashed their tanksfor the meager protection of the nearby cliffs.
Wilson's tank stood still, not moving.
"You're bluffing, Cobber," he called out. "You want to scare the menaway so you can seize the ship and get back to Earth. All right,Cobber, you win. Only you and I will share the cargo. I'm coming in."
One second.
Two.
Three.
"There's more than a cargo at stake," Cobber said.
Four seconds.
Five.
Six.
"Remember me, Kama!" Cobber said softly to himself.
Seven.
Eight....
The silent bulbous mass that was the Great Kama extended an undulatinggrowing finger and pointed. When Cobber saw the charred bodies of theKamae he knew what it meant to have one's people ravaged and killed.In that moment he forget the rosy glow of ammonia snow on the mountaintops and the purple clouds that battled majestically over the planet.
Here and there the anhydrous bodies of the Kamae lay stone still. Thesmall village, tucked away by the shores of the russet sea, was wipedout. Many of the bodies were ripped apart, torn to shreds as if by somemonster from the depths of the methane sea.
He had seen death before and he had seen brother kill brother on ahundred different planets in as many solar systems. Each time itshorror and tragedy cut him deep. Cobber felt sick at heart.
"I did not know ..." he began despairingly.
His words were cut short by the overwhelming emotion of pain and hurtanger t