Space Bat

In Short

Lou Flint, a rugged trapper on the planetoid-strewn Ring of Saturn, fights to save the helpless, feather-bearing deer of his ancestral lands from ruthless commercial butchery. When an Earth fur corporation sends corporate executive Karen Vaun to purchase his unrecognised territory, Flint orchestrates a wild plan involving a telepathic Venusian and an attack by a legendary space bat. Through shared peril against the monstrous creature, Karen sheds her rigid corporate shell, allies with Flint, and transforms the venture into a protected ranch.

The Story

Lou Flint patrols his ancestral planetoids in the Ring of Saturn, defending the indigenous feather-deer from brutal corporate hunters who slaughter the creatures for Earth's fashion market. Finding that his land lacks legal recognition and is being sold to an Earth fur corporation for one million dollars, Flint resolves to protect the wildlife. He visits Greeno, a telepathic Venusian living on a neighboring jungle world, to hatch a ransom plan involving Karen Vaun, the incoming head of the fur firm.

When the space liner arrives at Saturn, Flint discovers that Karen Vaun is not a man, but a severe, bespectacled corporate executive accompanied by her lawyer, John Leggett, and a fur expert named Simon Hudson. Despite his initial surprise, Flint guides them out toward the Ring. Mid-flight, a colossal space bat with a hundred-foot wingspread and glowing red eyes attacks their vessel, smashing the fuel pump and terrifying the passengers. Karen helps pump the auxiliary fuel, earning Flint's grudging respect as they narrowly escape the monster by diving toward a planetoid.

Deciding to hunt the creature instead, Flint attempts to hand off his passengers to Greeno, but misunderstandings lead to a brawl and Flint's arrest by the Stellar Patrol. The patrolmen subject Flint to brutal pressure interrogation in an air lock, suspecting him of kidnapping Karen. While they interrogate him, a radio broadcast reveals that Greeno has carried out the ransom plan anyway.

Suddenly, the space bat attacks Greeno's compound, trapping Karen and the Venusian. Flint breaks free from his guards, hijacks a police plane, and races to the rescue. Using the police craft, he lures the monstrous bat and snares it with a dangling tow cable and tree. Flint drops down a cable into the jungle, climbs into the foliage, and shoots the beast with an ice pistol, temporarily grounding it and shredding its wings.

As the Stellar Patrol and corporate associates arrive on the scene, Karen defends Flint against the kidnapping charges, revealing that she understands his mission and wishes to join him. Instead of selling the land for slaughter, she and Flint pool their resources—including the reward money from capturing the space bat—to establish a protected feather-deer ranch, appointing Greeno as their foreman.

How It Unfolds

• The feather-deer defense — Lou Flint intercepts brutal hunters slaughtering delicate, feather-covered deer on his Ring planetoid, using an ice-ray pistol to freeze their leader's arm and drive them away.
• The corporate sale — Visiting Saturn's governor, Flint learns his family's twenty-two planetoids lack legal standing and are being sold to an Earth fur syndicate for one million dollars.
• The Venusian alliance — Flint travels via cable to a dense jungle world to enlist Greeno, a deaf, telepathic Venusian, in a scheme to intercept the incoming fur executive.
• The unexpected executive — At the Saturn spaceport, Flint is stunned to find that the corporate buyer, K. V. Vaun, is actually a stern, no-nonsense woman wearing a luxurious greenish-gold coat.
• The space bat attack — While flying toward the Ring, the ship is violently intercepted by a six-headed, six-foot-faced space bat that claws the hull and smashes the fuel pump.
• The desperate escape — Karen frantically works the manual fuel pump while Flint executes a high-speed power dive through the trees to shake off the pursuing monster.
• Arrest and interrogation — Miscommunications with Greeno lead to a fight, landing Flint in the custody of the Stellar Patrol, who subject him to harsh pressure-chamber interrogation.
• The rescue flight — Breaking free from his captors and hijacking a police plane, Flint returns to the jungle to battle the rampaging space bat with his ice pistol.
• The final showdown — Flint swings from a dangling cable into the jungle canopy, shooting the beast with his ice pistol and permanently grounding its ruined wings.
• A new partnership — Karen steps forward to clear Flint of all criminal charges, announcing her intention to fund a protected feather-deer ranch alongside him.

The People

• Lou Flint — A rugged, stubborn trapper and native of the Saturn Ring who wants to preserve his family's land and protect the helpless feather-deer. Standing in his way are corrupt government policies, corporate greed, and the Stellar Patrol, but he ends up a committed partner in a conservation ranch.
• Karen Vaun — A severe, highly efficient Earth executive for a fur fashion company who initially wants to exploit the Ring's animal population for maximum profit. Challenged by the dangers of space and Flint's ideals, she sheds her cold corporate persona, uncovers her own adventurous background, and joins forces with Flint.
• Greeno — A supplent, green-skinned Venusian who is deaf and dumb but communicates via a throat microphone and reads brain waves. He wants to save his hunting grounds from destruction and aids Flint, ultimately becoming the foreman of their new ranch.
• John Leggett and Simon Hudson — Karen's legal advisor and fur expert respectively, who want to maximize hide production and enforce strict corporate enterprise. They stand for relentless industrial exploitation and end up defeated by the unexpected alliance between Flint and Karen.

In Its Own Voice

Out of the caves of space it flew--huge, rapacious, terrifying.

This opening line establishes the monstrous threat posed by the titular creature before introducing the protagonist's bold reaction.

The jungle was filled with the shouts of the hunters and the sounds of their heavy boots crashing through the dry sword grass.

This description sets the frantic, violent atmosphere of the commercial slaughter taking place across the planetoids.

His ruggedly handsome face was angry, his gray eyes cold as he watched the animals futilely leaping at the surrounding fence.

This line characterizes Lou Flint's fierce protectiveness and quiet intensity as he prepares to defend the wildlife.

What It's Really About

The story explores the clash between industrial exploitation and ecological preservation, contrasting the cold, ledger-driven mentality of Earth corporations with a visceral respect for wild spaces. It questions the morality of hunting helpless, non-fighting creatures versus facing beasts that can fight back. Beneath the science fiction adventure, it examines personal transformation, suggesting that rigidity and corporate detachment can be melted away by genuine danger, shared purpose, and a return to authentic human connection.

Why Read It Today

Readers who love fast-paced 1940s pulp science fiction filled with alien planetoids, ray guns, and daring rescues will thoroughly enjoy this novella. Reading it feels like stepping straight into a classic planetary adventure comic, complete with atmospheric prose about misty voids, gleaming spaceports, and towering jungle canopies. Modern readers should approach it with historical perspective, recognizing the period's brisk, breathless pacing and traditional gender dynamics that gradually shift as the narrative progresses. What stays with you is the striking image of the massive space bat looming against the cabin glass and the satisfying evolution of its characters from bitter adversaries into dedicated partners.