SPACE STATION 1
by FRANK BELKNAP LONG
ACE BOOKS
A Division of A. A. Wyn, Inc.
23 West 47th Street, New York 36, N. Y.
SPACE STATION 1
Copyright 1957, by A. A. Wyn, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Printed in U. S. A.
[Transcriber's Note: Extensive research did not uncover any evidence
that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
INTRIGUE IN EARTH'S OUTER ORBIT
Tremendous and glittering, the Space Station floated up out of the BigDark. Lieutenant Corriston had come to see its marvels, but he soonfound himself entrapped in its unsuspected terrors.
For the grim reality was that some deadly outer-space power had usurpedcontrol of the great artificial moon. A lovely woman had disappeared;passengers were being fleeced and enslaved; and, using fantasticdisguises, imposters were using the Station for their own mysteriousends.
Pursued by unearthly monsters and hunted with super-scientific cunning,Corriston struggles to unmask the mystery. For upon his successdepended his life, his love and the future of Earth itself.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
CORRISTON
He saw all the sights of the Space Station ... in fact, he saw toomuch....
HAYES
His decision would mean the beginning or the end for a world.
CLAKEY
This bodyguard needed special protection himself.
CLEMENT
Sometimes it seemed as if he were leading a double life.
HENLEY
With him for a friend one didn't need an enemy.
HELEN RAMSEY
Her father had made her a virtual prisoner.
1
It was a life-and-death struggle—cruel, remorseless, one-sided.Corriston was breathing heavily. He was in total darkness, dodging theblows of a killer. His adversary was as lithe as a cat, muscular anddangerous. He had a knife and he was using it, slashing at Corristonwhen Corriston came close, then leaping back and lashing out with ahard-knuckled fist.
Corriston could hear the swish of the man's heels as he pivoted, couldjudge almost with split-second timing when the next blow would come.He was bleeding from a cut on his right shoulder, and there was atumultuous throbbing at his temples, an ache in his groin.
The fact that he had no weapon put him at a terrifying disadvantage. Hehad been close to death before, but never in so confined a space or insuch close proximity to a man who had certainly killed once and wouldnot hesitate to kill again.
His determination to survive was pitted against what appeared to besheer brute strength fortified by cunning and a far-above-averageagility. He began slowly to retreat, backing away until a massive steelgirder stopped him. He was battling dizziness now and his heart hadbegun a furious pounding.
He found himself slipping sideways along the girder, running his handsover its smooth, cold surface. To his sweating palms the surface seemedas chill as the lid of a coffin, but he refused to believe that itcould trap him irretrievably. The girder had to end somewhere.
The killer was coming close again, his shoes making a scraping soundin the darkness, his breathing just barely audible. Corriston edgedstill further along the girder. Inch by inch he moved parallel to it,fighting off his dizziness, making a desperate effort to keep fromfalling. The wetness on his shoulder was unnerving, the abs