Mason formed a plan of action. He decided to leap on the telepath, kill
him if possible; Levron Clargo would kill him but that didn't matter.
Mason realized that if the aliens ever learned the secret of the
telepathic linkage it would be disastrous for Earth.
"Look at my eyes," the alien repeated.
Mason readied himself to spring.
_Don't do it_, whispered the mental voice of Klon Darra.
_That you, Klon?_
_Yes. The mutant has relaxed control over me. Don't jump him as you're
going to do. Let him start to probe you._
_Why?_ Mason asked. He was suspicious; Klon Darra's mental voice had
fooled him once already.
_Two minds are stronger than one, Rick. And we're linked._
Mason understood. Slowly he raised his head and stared levelly into
the brooding, hypnotically-compelling eyes of the alien telepath.
He felt the alien mind begin to enter his. Strange tendrils of thought
probed within his skull. He held his breath, waiting, knowing now that
Klon Darra had spoken the truth.
"Find anything?" the Security chief asked.
"Not yet," replied the telepath. "There's still some resistance. I--"
And Mason struck.
His mind, supported wholeheartedly by Klon Darra's, lashed out
viciously at the mind of the probing mutant. A solid red fist of mental
force crashed through the telepath's barriers. The Mordargan staggered,
arms flailing.
_Hit him again!_ Mason thought triumphantly to Klon Darra, and the
Venusian responded. Jointly they barraged the alien's mind.
"What's happening, Senibro?" asked the Security Chief.
The telepath moaned. "I--I--"
He slumped and fell heavily.
The Solar System agents gave the telepath an extra jolt, a final
thrust, to finish burning out the sensitive mutated mind.
"Senibro! Senibro!" the Security Chief roared. He fumbled for his
blaster.
But Mason had long since anticipated the clumsy move. The speed of
thought is infinite; Mason and the Venusian, working jointly, easily
immobilized the Mordargan.
The blaster dropped to the floor.
"Go easy on him," Mason said aloud to his partner. "We'll need him to
get us out of the palace."
"Right."
Together they bound the alien in a hypnotic compulsion--to conduct the
two Solarians safely out of the palace. Then Mason sent an inquisitive
mind-probe into the Mordargan's psyche.
The yield of the probe was rich--data on Mordargan military movements,
secret plans. Mason carefully memorized these things.
Then he freed the Venusian. Klon Darra smiled in gratitude.
"I was afraid you'd never get here," he said. "After they caught me I
thought we were both finished. But we fooled them."
Mason nodded. "We're still a good team, Klon Darra. A little careless
at times but who minds that as long as we bring home what we went out
here for."
He turned to the stupefied Mordargan. "Let's go, Levron Clargo."
When they returned to the ship, they would file their report.
Mission--_successful_!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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