The Catacombs The Merchandise Guide
Annual 1977


John and Alan in Eagle Cockpit, Assaulted by a Shrieking Noise

   The small, coffin-shaped metal cannister had ap-
peared suddenly. A mere speck in space that
might have passed unnoticed save for the ultra-
sophisticated probe equipment in Main Mission.
Together, Commander John Koenig and Chief Pilot
Alan Carter had taken Eagle Two to investigate, and
now, even as they drew near, their ears were blasted
by a sudden, shrieking transmission that seemed to
fill every inch of their craft!
   That it came from the strange object there could
be no doubt. And it was just as certain that they were
powerless against it! Such was the intensity of that
fearful noise that it shook at the foundations of their
very minds. Blocked their reflex impulses. Paralysed
their nervous systems so that they could only sit con-
torted with agony, their hands clamped in vain over
their jangling ears! Within seconds, both of them
passed mercifully into total unconsciousness!

   In Main Mission, Controller Tony Verdeschi rose
from his desk and strode across to the big video
screen. Neither he nor his colleagues had heard
anything of the shattering din that had overcome
pilot and commander, but audio contact with the
Eagle had naturally been lost.
   "Commander! Come in! Do you copy? Can you
hear me?"
   David Kano turned from the computer. "Must be
some technical fault. The Eagle's okay . . . look."
   Sure enough, the big screen clearly showed Eagle
Two turning from its objective, to begin its run for
home.
   "Standby Medical unit to docking area," snapped
Verdeschi. "Just in case."
   Doctor Helena Russell and her team were ready at
the interior airlock even as the Eagle landed. And
long minutes ticked by.
   "What's keeping them?" This from her assistant,
Doctor Mathias. "Do you reckon we ought to suit up
and go out there . . ?"
   But then the airlock doors slid open, and the med-
ical team were startled into frozen amazement. Yes,
Koenig and Carter were there - but limp in the grasp
of a tall, swarthy alien, his powerful chest banded
with golden straps.
   "Who - who the blazes . . ?" Mathias was the first
to recover his speech.
   The alien smiled, not without a trace of nervous-
ness as he looked about him. "I am Vamar," he said,
simply. "I very much regret what has happened to
your friends!"
   "Are they . . ?" Helena's face was an ashen mask.
   "Oh, no. Not dead," said Vamar hastily. "Believe
me, they will recover. I fear they were stunned by
the protective radiation from my capsule."
   "You flew the Eagle back here . . ?"
   Vamar nodded. "Luckily, the controls were within
my sphere of understanding. Er - should you not take




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