Skylark Three - Plot Synopsis

Plot Synopsis

Skylark Three (1948) is the second book in the Skylark series and is set a year or so after the events in The Skylark of Space. During that time Marc "Blackie" DuQuesne (pronounced "Du Kane") has used the wealth he was given by the Kondalians of the planet Osnome to buy a controlling interest in World Steel, a large company known for its ruthless attitude, aiming to get what it wants by fair means or foul.

When the story begins DuQuesne announces a long absence from Earth to World Steel executive Brookings. DuQuesne is going to find another species who have more knowledge than the Osnomians. He warns Brookings to leave Seaton alone while he is gone, which Brookings ignores but to no good effect. Shortly thereafter, DuQuesne and a henchman disappear from Earth. DuQuense, by now aware of the Object Compass trained on him, travels far enough away to break the connection, then turns back towards the Green System. Seaton discovers this, but has other problems to occupy his mind.

Seaton has developed a "zone of force" that blocks all matter and energy, essentially a spherical "shield" which is utterly impenetrable (it can be "cast" as if a spherical region at the end of an arm of force, though, which is relevant later on). "Its like hiding in a hole and then pulling the hole in after you" is how Seaton describes it. The zone is a perfect shield, but Seaton is unhappy with it because one is helpless inside it because they are completely cut off from everything and he cannot figure out how to work through it. Even the star drive he has developed does not work through it. Once activated, the contents are adrift in space.

When Dunark, the crown prince of Osnome and his wife, Sitar come to Earth in their copy of the Skylark Two called The Kondal, they ask their "Overlord", Seaton, for aid. A powerful group of beings from another planet (named 'Urvan') in the Green System has invaded Osnome. Dunark seeks salt and X-metal to make a weapon that will destroy the planet of the Urvans. Seaton readily agrees to supply them with the necessary materials, but Dorothy and Margaret object to the genocidal plans. Seaton and Crane load the salt into the Kondal, equip it with Seaton's latest developments (along with The Skylark gaining improvements designed by the Kondalians) and --- along with their wives and Shiro, Crane's valet—lead Dunark and Sitar to the planet with the X-metal.

After slicing off a large piece of X-metal with the zone of force, the Skylark Two and the Kondal head toward Osnome. Nearing the Green System, they encounter a strange, dirigible-shaped spaceship that immediately and without provocation opens fire at both vessels. The stranger's beams are strong enough to almost immediately penetrate all their screens, so, on both ships, automatic devices activate the Zone of Force.

Within the Zone, Seaton is unable to detect the strange ship or do anything against it. He wants to counterattack immediately, but Crane dissuades him, and so they wait for twelve hours before turning off the zone for a brief instant. They see that the Kondal has been destroyed while the Skylark was trapped inside the zone (Dunark having done pretty much what Seaton had intended to do but not having a Martin Crane to dissuade him). With the position of the stranger found, Seaton uses the zone as a weapon to slice up the strange ship. Several crewmen on the strange ship survive and promptly attack the Skylark with energy weapons. Seaton grabs the probable leader with an attractor and beams the others out of existence. Then he reads the mind of the leader with a modified mechanical educator able to force the "victim" to give up information.

Seaton learns that the strangers are called the 'Fenachrone', which is also the name of their home planet. They are a rabidly antisocial species, and have plans to rule the Cosmic All, starting with the Milky Way Galaxy. The strange ship is merely a scout reconnoitering the Green System. Unfortunately, the Fenachrone scout ship got off a message drone to their home planet before the Skylark counterattacked. The Terrans have only a limited time before the Fenachrone respond to the message from the scout. Discovering that Dunark and Sitar survived the destruction of their ship, the Skylark tows the remnants of both the Fenachrone ship and Kondal to Osnome to make plans. While there, Seaton meets the Emperor of the Urvans, and forces both the Emperor of Osnome and the Urvanian to agree to a peace treaty and a mutual aid pact against the Fenachrone. Since both the Osnomians and the Urvanians respect power, Seaton declares himself Overlord of the entire Green System, not just Osnome.

Among other things, the Fenachrone have solved the overall drive problem such that it operates on the entire contents of the vessel, allowing much higher accelerations without the humans being smashed to jelly.

Meanwhile, DuQuesne and his aide have sneaked down to Osnome to inspect a wrecked Kondalian ship which DuQuesne had encountered in an untold side activity during the first Skylark mission. The vessel was attacked by a Fenachrone scout ship and crashed on Osnome. DuQuesne and his aide repair the vessel and rename it the Violet. The Violet, leaving Osnome, finds a lone Fenachrone survivor, the Chief Engineer, from the battle with the Skylark. Ruthlessly reading the Engineer's mind using his own enhanced educator, DuQuesne learns much about Fenachrone science and technology. Then, using the educator, he forces the prisoner convert their drive to the Fenachrone system and travel toward the home planet, DuQuesne has a plan to single-handedly capture an entire Fenachrone battleship for his personal use. Part of this plan is to fool the Fenachrone into thinking he's been killed by the ship he's planning to take over.

Meanwhile, Seaton and company planet hop around the Green System, hoping to find some powerful allies who understand more about the Zone of Force. They encounter the Dasorians, an intelligent aquatic species of humanoid (think of humanoid Dolphins). The Dasorians cannot help Seaton, but they do believe they know someone who can, and so Seaton is directed to an encounter with the Norlaminians, who have all the knowledge Seaton seeks and then some. A much larger successor ship, the Skylark Three, is built and equipped using this new knowledge. Then Seaton reconnoiters Fenachrone world using this new technology far beyond the Fenachrone's own, and, finds out that, after being warned by the scout message drone about the Earthmen, they intend to immediately completely destroy both the Green System and the Earth. Seaton uses his new technology to first trace down all the Fenachrone ships in the field (the Fenachrone have not yet colonized any other worlds), and gives the Fenachrone a warning: to give up their fascist and genocidal plans and return to Fenachrone in peace. Arrogantly and without hesitation, the Fenachrone reject Seaton's demand, and put into place plans to search out and attack Seaton. Unknown to them, however, Seaton has been listening in all along, and so he destroys all the scout ships and then destroys their home world. While quietly surveilling, them, Seaton sees a video that clearly suggests that DuQuesne has been killed (which, of course, is what DuQuesne wanted the Fenachrone to believe).

At the same time, DuQuesne's plans have borne fruit, and he is now in possession of a fully armed Fenachrone ship-of-the-line in orbit around Fenachrone, which he plans to abscond with. Suddenly, the planet is destroyed by Seaton, but, thanks to DuQuesne's foresight, it is not destroyed in the cataclysm which Seaton created, unlike the rest of the ships in orbit around Fenachrone. Duquesne survives, but is very angry that he is once more second fiddle to Seaton's knowledge and power.

Prior to the destruction of Fenachrone, one of the greatest scientists of the Fenachrone, using his scant knowledge of the technologies Seaton is now in full command of, takes Seaton's threats to destroy the Fenachrone if they continue their actions seriously, and flees with a fully stocked battleship and people into intergalactic space. Seaton introduces enhancements to the Fenachrone drive which will allow him to overtake the escaping ship, and chases after them and, in giant climactic battle, destroys them. The story ends with Skylark Three in intergalactic space, and with DuQuesne in possession of a Fenachrone Ship-of-the-Line.