In the same instant he whirled and shoved the great door open with all his might. The edge caught the first of the guards behind him, a _fala_, full in the face. Shane leaped upon the creature as it staggered. He caught the barrel of the thing's light-pistol; wrested it away. With a hoarse cry the guard sprang after him, clawing for the weapon. Rock-steady, Shane triggered the exciter. The pistol's purple beam struck the _fala_ full in the face. Still clawing--clawing in the agonies of death, now--the creature lurched backward. * * * * * Beyond it boiled a scene of strange, wild carnage. The _Chonyas_ of Shane's mythical "repeller crew" had leaped upon the other guards--tearing away weapons, beating them down. Now one wrenched the ray-key that activated the locking lever from the Mercurian and slammed it home. The bolt that held the door of bars lifted. With a wild roar, the _Chonyas_ inside the cage burst forth. The _Pervods_ in the corridor beyond the dungeons rushed to bar the great outer door. Shane blasted the first before he had even crossed the threshold. The second turned to flee. The Earthman's light-beam caught him in the middle of his first step. A _Chonya_ came running, a bloody lance-prod in his hands, eyes blazing with excitement. "_Gar_ Shane! What now? The ship--?" "You know where it is?" "Yes. Close by here--" "No matter. Get the men aboard and man the guns. Blast all the corridors but one. I'll need that to get back to you." "But where--?" "There's a job to do before we leave, if we're not to be dragged back here as we were before." "The Paulsini--!" "Right!" Shane laughed harshly. The sheer joy of battle shone in his face. "They'll expect us to blast off the instant the crew's aboard." The _Chonya's_ eyes gleamed fiercely. "You'll need help--" "Three men, and a guard to guide us--" The _Chonya_ laughed aloud. "Two others and a guard, _Gar_ Shane! I am the first!" he cried, exulting. Commands crackled, then, and other crewmen crowded forward; and in brief seconds Shane and the _Chonyas_ and a bloody-headed, bewildered Uranian were roaring down the echoing dimness of the corridor in a guard-car. * * * * * Then, on the Uranian's order, they changed direction, and now they were hurtling through vast, high-ceilinged chambers where giant machines stood row on row in countless thousands. No living being was anywhere evident ... only the machines, churning endlessly at their task with cold efficiency. "Converters!" Shane muttered, half beneath his breath. "Power converters.... A different kind, one I've never seen before." "Nor I," a _Chonya_ technician at his side echoed grimly. "Who needs such power today, _Gar_ Shane? And the source--where is it? It would take whole seas of energy to feed these monsters. There are too many!"