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  By the dawn of the 14th Century, the Crusaders’ Order of the Knights Templar was well on its way to die control of Europe— enormously wealthy, a secret society stronger than many monarchies. By the middle of that century, it was brutally suppressed on the confession of some of its members that it was a conspiracy intending to conquer die world at die orders of a demon named Baphomet.

  That is history as our Earth knows it.

  But the only sort of "demon" enlightened

  modern men would recognize would be an

  extra-terrestrial voyager with the tools of a

  higher technology than medieval men knew.

  And what if Baphomet had been just that?

  Who then would have called the tune?

  PIERRE BARBET is the by-line of one of the most popular science fiction writers in France today, and it is also the nom de plume of a distinguished doctor of pharmacology and authority on many branches of medicine. A devoted sf enthusiast, he is particularly proud of these novels which he regards as his first and most detailed “historicals” and into which he poured a great amount of research.

  Among the novels made available in English translation by DAW Books are:

  GAMES PSYBORGS PLAY

  THE ENCHANTED PLANET

  THE NAPOLEONS OF ERIDANUS

  THE JOAN-OF-ARC REPLAY

  COSMIC

  CRUSADERS

  by

  Pierre Barbet

  Two complete novels:

  STELLAR CRUSADE

  Translated by C. J. Cherryh

  BAPHOMET'S METEOR

  Translated by Bernard Kay

  DAW BOOKS, INC.

  Donald A. Wollheim, Publisher

  1633 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10019

  BAPHOMETS METEOR

  Copyright ©, 1972, by DAW Books, Inc.

  Original edition entitled L’Empire du Baphomet, © 1972 by Editions Fleuve Noir, Paris, France. Published by arrangement with Editions Fleuve Noir.

  STELLAR CRUSADE

  Copyright ©, 1980, by DAW Books, Inc.

  Original edition entitled Croisade Stellaire, © 1974 by Editions Fleuve Noir, Paris, France. Published by arrangement with Editions Fleuve Noir.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  COVER ART BY OLIVIERO BERNL

  FIRST PRINTING, DECEMBER 1980

  123456789

  PRINTED IN U.S.A.

  Contents

  COSMICCRUSADERS BY PIERRE BARBET

  STELLAR CRUSADE

  Chapter I

  Chapter II

  Chapter III

  Chapter IV

  Chapter V

  Chapter VI

  Chapter VII

  Chapter VIII

  Chapter IX

  Chapter X

  Epilogue

  BAPHOMET’S METEOR

  Chapter I

  Chapter II

  Chapter III

  Chapter IV

  Chapter V

  Chapter VI

  Chapter VII

  Chapter VII

  Chapter IX

  Epilogue

  STELLAR

  CRUSADE

  Translated by C.J. Cherryh

  DEDICATION

  A Donald A. Wollheim, de la part d'un

  modeste falseur d’univers qu’il a mené an

  Royanme de Féerie ...

  Chapter I

  ☆

  On the eighteenth of March in the year of Our Lord 1277, the morning sun touched the massive walls of Chang-Chu Castle with gold.

  A human sea was rolling toward the drawbridge. The Templars, robed in their immaculate white surcoats, on which a crimson cross showed like a stain of blood, clove the howling flood, disciplined, priestlike, on their caparisoned horses. The heavily armed cavalry followed in their wake. Peasants were there in large straw hats, dusty drovers herded their flocks and camels knelt under their loads. Now and again some Mongol astride his shaggy pony streaked through this motley crowd with the flash of silver-damascened armor.

  This joyous mob had come from the four comers of the Earth ... to celebrate the anniversary of the glorious triumph of Grand Master William of Beaujeu, liberator of the fortress of St. John of Acre—but everyone was wondering just why the ceremony had been moved up two months.

  Far overhead, against the sky, the Baussant flag, black and white pierced with a red cross, cracked proudly from the crest of the keep.

  At the center of the hexagonal keep a group of dignitaries was proceeding into the huge vaulted Chapter Hall.

  At this hour of the morning, all the faithful followers of the Grand Master were already assembled: his marshal, Peter of Sevry, thickset and ruddy; commander Thibaud Gaudin, administrator of the vast Templar domains; John of Grailly, the gallant Frank from the distant fief of Bassora; Otto of Granson, a huge Swiss, a mercenary of King Edward 1 of England; Kubla, the Mongol Khan who was now an ally of the Templars; learned Brother Joubert; the brave Venetian explorer Marco Polo; the Templar lord of Tyre, keeper of the chronicles of the Order;* and countless other officers—the Grand Hospitaler, the Draper, the Seneschal, the Turcopoler, the Chaplain, not to mention the castellan lords of fortresses.

  *This document has been faithfully edited thanks to the chronicles of the Templar of Tyre, which faithfully record the crusade against the vile Baphomets.

  Such was lord William’s generosity that he had extended equal invitations to his most dangerous rivals—ascetic John of Villiers, Grand Master of the Hospitalers, along with his marshal Matthew Clermont; and the Grand Master of the Teutonic order, Conrad von Thierberg.

  The latter kept visibly to themselves, next to their standard-bearers.

  With a grand wave of his hand toward this glittering assembly, William of Beaujeu took his place on the throne under a black and white canopy. The heralds lifted their long trumpets and sounded three long fanfares, stopping the lively conversation.

  The Council was in session. They all listened, compelled by the solemnity of the reunion.

  The Templar drew himself up to his full height, fixed his keen eyes on each in turn, as if to assure himself that all his guests had come. Then he knelt for the opening invocation. As one man, the soldier-monks followed his example, signing themselves with the cross.

  "In nomine Patris et Fili et Spiritus Sanctit Non nobis Domine; non nobis, sed Nomini Tuo da gloriam!* May the grace of the Holy Spirit aid us, Lord Jesus, Holy Christ, Eternal Father and omnipotent God, wise creator, dispenser benevolent overseer and beloved friend, pious and humble Redeemer, kind and merciful Savior, I pray Thee humbly and beseech Thee to enlighten us, through Mary, Star of the Sea. Amen.”

  *In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost! Not to us, Lord; not to us, but to Thy Name give the glory!

  Each of these rough soldiers felt his heart strangely touched. They remembered another Council Hall, at St. John of Acre, where most of them had sat, and whence they had set out on a great adventure, the conquest of the East.

  William remained silent a brief moment, hands crossed on his breast. Then he rose. “Sirs, our Brothers of the Hospitalers and Teutons, I’ve called you here today to share with you a piece of news that has filled my heart with grief. We have scarcely escaped one terrible disaster which might ha* fallen on all humankind; we destroyed a demoniac creature who had us in the power of his pernicious lies. This Baphomet, this envoy of a despicable race, fell on our sweet Earth from the unguessable depths of the universe to make us his slaves. By the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we put him beyond any hope of harming us. But I was not at all unaware that the skies are full of treacherous demons, ruling other planets, who would sooner or later threaten our existence again. Alas, that day is upon us.”

  The Grand Master paused for effect, while Brother Joubert uncover
ed several spheres studded with countless glittering points, hidden till this moment beneath a red velvet doth.

  All eyes turned to these magical objects.

  “You have before your eyes a model of the universe, copied from the one our learned Brother Joubert has painstakingly recovered from the ships which fell into our hands. Know that our sphere follows an endless track around a brazier, our sun, which heats and lights it Our astronomers have also told us we are not alone in the universe: other fiery spheres light other balls of earth bearing other living creatures. Among them, alas, the demoniacal Baphomets, who have vowed to destroy us.”

  John of Villiers frowned doubtfully. “Esteemed brother commander,” he objected, “these are wild assumptions. These pernicious creatures might simply be demons vomited up out of hell to destroy us. To the wisest of us, there’s no proof that the lights that shine in the firmament are suns like ours, and even less proof that spheres like our Earth move around them. Besides, most scholars think the Earth is flat.”

  Conrad von Thierberg nodded in agreement, but did not involve himself in the debate.

  “ ‘Blessed are they who have not seen and yet believe,’ says Holy Writ. I’ve weighed my words carefully, brother Hospitaler, and I put nothing forward without proof. See this blood-red spot and the scarlet mark shining on the breast of it: this is the land of the invaders who are trying to enslave our earth. Our learned Brother Joubert, after long study, is sure of it. More than that, he has gained power over the talismans that let them speak through the subtle flows of the ether, and—most frighteningly—he has overheard the clamor of other Baphomets who have taken ship into those unplumbable depths. They're summoning their comrades, seeking information on our civilization, our defenses! Brothers, I tell you the truth, a terrible danger is upon us. Someday a powerful fleet is going to drift down on us and complete the mission one of these monsters could not carry out Then it’s going to be too late to stop them."

  “Now, Master William,” exclaimed the Grand Master of the Teutons, “don’t take us for novices. By the description of the Baphomet’s refuge in the forest of the East, that great metal mass could just as well have come up out of the bowels of the Earth, or out of the Tartarus of the ancients.”

  “Holy Spirit, give me patience,” sighed the ascetic Templar. “You maintain these ships can’t navigate the subtle ethers that completely surround the Earth. Or do you reckon that our Earth is not a globe orbiting the sun in the company of other planets? Well, if you like, I’ll prove my assertions to you here and now.”

  “Faith,” the Hospitaler growled, “I don’t know how you’re going to convince us, but I’m quite ready to listen.”

  “It’s not my word alone will prove your error, but the witness of your own senses. . . . My distinguished friends,” William went on, turning to the audience, “we’re going to leave you for a few hours and rejoin you about the hour of nones. While you wait, I pray you climb the ramparts to watch a spectacle I think is going to astonish you.”

  From his place on the dais the Grand Master signaled the Teuton and the Hospitaler to follow him. Brother Joubert went with them.

  The four of them first passed a door concealed by a tapestry and came out again into a secret corridor lit by smoky torches, finally arrived at the base of a tower hollowed by recent construction.

  Dazzled by bright sunlight reflected in vast, mirroring steel, the visitors could see nothing for a moment. Then as their eyes adjusted to that brilliant light, they saw before them, perched on a huge iron tripod, a ship in all points identical to those the Templars had lately discovered.

  “Here’s the ship that’s going to carry us into the skies with incredible speed, passing all understanding,” the Templar declared proudly. “By unceasing efforts, our learned Joubert has deciphered the Baphomets’ grimoire, and by using the apparatus still intact and by making the ruined pieces according to the instruction in the documents, he’s put this metal globe into working order. If you have confidence in him, would you kindly trust your weight to this ladder and enter the bowels of this remarkable machine?”

  “I suppose my noble brother has already tried it?" John of Villiers asked in a somewhat dubious tone.

  “Of course! And I've seen wonders. That’s what’s given me the formal proof of the shape of our universe.”

  “In that ease I am completely satisfied,” John of Villiers assured him, and climbed the rungs of the ladder, followed by Conrad von Thierberg, who was frowning anxiously.

  They all stood then in a rather large living space furnished with couches, armchairs bolted to the floor and equipped with heavy belts.

  William of Beaujeu invited his guests to sit down and, providing them his example, buckled the leather strap of his chair.

  Joubert, too, sat down, before a sort of ebony lectern inset with dials and buttons. His fingers plied them agilely; the door clicked shut with a dry sound while a screen lit in front of him.

  “Noble brothers,” the Templar declared then, “you are about to live moments which will mark your souls forever. I’ve already made several excursions aboard this vessel and I was in no wise harmed by the splendors it showed me. In a few moments we are going to lift into the winds and ride the pure waves of clouds, far above the Earth—around which we are going to revolve.”

  This is a great magic,” the Teuton said indignantly. “And why then shut us up in here? We won’t be able to see a thing In this box."

  The air we breathe fails completely at a certain height," William answered plainly. ‘That’s why we have to put an airtight seal on the entry. All the images of the outside world are going to be faithfully relayed to this luminous table.”

  “You take us for simpletons," John of Villiers objected. “Your so-named ship hasn’t even wings to fly with. How can it get into the air?”

  William smiled and simply gestured to Joubert

  Joubert slighdy lifted a short lever.

  A cry of shock passed the lips of the two passengers.

  “Christ! We’re skimming over the castle!”

  “Holy Mother of God! The knights are no bigger than ants!”

  At that moment the nobles the Templar had invited, faces uplifted, were watching the departure of the starship, which was rapidly vanishing from sight They were all dumbfounded. They had seen the sphere rise from the dark bowels of the tower and the massive machine had taken off like a feather in the wind.

  Aboard it, John Villiers and Conrad von Thierberg held their breath and said not a word, rubbing their eyes as if they could not accept the witness of their senses.

  Now the palace of Cambaluc had vanished. Plains, rivers mountains passed under the ship, which was still climbing into the cloudless sky. The sea appeared, glittering under the sun. On its surface, thin bows of spray and a few tiny dots: the vessels which sailed the China Sea.

  At last an isle grew distinct in the distant blue.

  “Cipanghu!” the Grand Master announced. ‘"The realm of my vassal Otto of Granson. We’re going to veer off now to the north, and you’ll see the eternal snows which cover both poles of our world. Look! already you can see ice mountains afloat on the water.”

  This time his guests made no protests. They were beginning to realize that William of Beaujeu was telling them the truth, that they were living moments which would go down in human history.

  Now immense cottony spirals of unbearable whiteness spread beneath the voyagers’ feet, clouds partially veiling the land. Through the clear spots the icepack, glittering under the sun, spread out over the pole, which was girt with an azure bow of atmosphere athwart the dark sky.

  But the two soldier-monks gaped in admiration while a fairylike kaleidoscope continued to unfurl before them.

  The ship lanced higher still into the firmament; the thin, fine strand of air became dappled with the ocher of continents, the indigo of oceans, the alabaster of clouds spun into fine threads.

  At last the globe of Earth shone in all its glory, a sphere of
lapis lazuli posed on the ebon black of the sky. The ship waa now following a circular orbit at incredible speed.

  The Grand Master of the Templars saw fit to give a few explanations. “We’ve flown over Cathay,” he said, indicating a map of the world. “After passing over the pole, we’ll go down again to the nadir, crossing the extreme end of the vast ocean which separates our beloved France from a huge continent hitherto unknown to us.”

  ‘What?” exclaimed John of Villiers. “There are unknown lands between Europe and Cathay?”

  “Indeed. If a ship went west from the shores of the kingdom of France, it would meet a territory which extends for vast distances. After crossing mountains and valleys, the voyager would have to set out again to cross a vast stretch of sea, and finally arrive at Cathay.”

  "I’m quite overcome,” said the Teuton. "Faith, learned brother, I repent me of mine unbelief. We’re actually creeping round on a globe hung in the sky.”

  “But,” asked the ever-practical Hospitaler, "is this unknown continent inhabited by creatures made in our likeness?”

  “Assuredly it is. I’ve met there men not only like ourselves (except that their skin has an ocher tint), but they’re much more like our race than the ebon black folk who live in Africa. Yet the animal species are different. I saw there cattle with massive foreheads, deer with huge racks of antlers, birds colored like the rainbow. Strangely enough, these primitive people have no horses at all.”