The waning of a world

by W. Elwyn Backus

It was in this hour of impending disaster that Robert had greatness thrust upon him. With implicit confidence in Robert’s ability, Hakon begged him to take charge of his forces to resist the invader. Zola’s trustful belief in him and her urging decided Robert. He became chief commander of the besieged forces.

Immediately upon his appointment Robert in turn appointed Taggert as his aid and placed Professor Palmer in charge of the palace defenses. His next step was to organize an immediate surprize counter-attack upon the invaders. Though he had not slept in many hours, during which time he had endured much, Robert felt no desire for sleep. The excitement and emergency confronting him buoyed him up for the time. He refused to rest until forced to.

Another hasty ascent in the Sphere revealed to them the exact situation. The emperor’s main army had pushed northward along the fertile region of one of the two great parallel canals. It had stopped south of the metropolis, sending out smaller contingents in either direction to begin the encircling movement. This movement had already made considerable progress, encountering little resistance in the nearly deserted, small outlying towns whose loyal defenders had all rallied to Hakon’s main forces in Svergad. The right spur of the invaders had made the most progress, having succeeded in pushing more than half-way round the metropolis.

It was at this right spur that Robert decided to strike first, in an attempt to take it by surprize, cutting it off from the main army, with the hope of defeating it before the main army could come to its aid. He also planned to launch an attack simultaneously upon the main army in an effort to divert its attention from the spur.

A brief council of war with Hakon and his leaders followed, in which the exact point of attacks were determined upon. Also, orders were wired to all loyal pumping stations situated near the southern edge of the regions loyal to Hakon to shut off the water supply. This would deprive Kharnov’s supporters in the region of the equator of all water supplied by ducts leading from the northern polar cap; thus the emperor’s armies and his present supporters would soon be confronted with the difficult problem of existing without water in many regions. An ultimatum, demanding the immediate withdrawal of his forces and informing him of the discontinuance of the water supply until his retreat was well under way, was dispatched to Kharnov at once.

A system of signals from the Sphere was decided upon. It was agreed that, as a weapon of destruction and direction, the Sphere was their most powerful aid. The greatest concern was over the dwindling supply of petrol in its tanks, and the extreme difficulty which Hakon’s best chemists were having in obtaining enough of the planet’s meager supply of mineral oils to produce any quantity of this fuel. Robert was facing the alternative of either remaining to help defend Zola and her people with the possibility of never being able to return to the Earth, or of returning at once with the now barely sufficient supply of petrol to make the trip. He felt that he owed his companions the chance to decide, though he himself was determined to stand by the princess in any event.

“Old man, I’m with you to the finish. Aren’t we all partners in this adventure anyway?” was Taggert’s reply when Robert told him of their quandary.

And Professor Palmer echoed him.

Without further delay the attacks were launched. Lacking any means of observation from above, the invaders were at a disadvantage in spite of their superior numbers. The separation of the spur from the main body was accomplished as planned, and a second body of Hakon’s men striking at the head of the column of invaders completed their rout, killing many and taking the rest prisoners.

The arms captured were a welcome acquisition; but the problem of feeding several thousand prisoners was a difficult one. Fortunately, a small food supply train was captured with them. They were immediately put to work throwing up earthworks and conveying heavy equipment about.