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<div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<div id="pgheader" class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 4.00em; margin-top: 4.00em"><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 3.00em; margin-top: 3.00em"><p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 2.00em">The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rip Foster Rides the Gray Planet by Blake Savage</p></div><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 3.00em; margin-top: 3.00em"><p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost
and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it,
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Gutenberg License <a href="#pglicense" class="tei tei-ref">included with this
eBook</a> or online at <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license" class="tei tei-xref">http://www.gutenberg.org/license</a></p></div><pre class="pre tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 3.00em; margin-top: 3.00em">Title: Rip Foster Rides the Gray Planet
Author: Blake Savage
Release Date: December 20, 2006 [Ebook #20147]
Language: English
Character set encoding: UTF-8
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RIP FOSTER RIDES THE GRAY PLANET***
</pre></div>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<div class="block tei tei-docTitle"><div class="block tei tei-titlePart" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Rip Foster Rides the Gray Planet</span></div></div><div class="block tei tei-byline" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">by </span><span class="inline tei tei-docAuthor" style="text-align: left"><span style="font-size: 173%">Blake Savage</span></span></div><div class="tei tei-div" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 5.76em; margin-top: 5.76em"><span class="tei tei-docEdition" style="text-align: left"><span class="tei tei-edition" style="text-align: left"><span style="font-size: 144%">Edition 1</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 144%">, (</span><span class="tei tei-docDate" style="text-align: left"><span class="tei tei-date" style="text-align: left"><span style="font-size: 144%">December 20, 2006</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 144%">)</span></div>
</div>
<div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">Illustrated by E. Deane Cate</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<p class="tei tei-p" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.00em">Extensive research did not uncover any
evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"><a name="fig1" id="fig1"></a></p><div class="tei tei-figure" style="text-align: center"><img src="images/image01.png" width="507" height="640" alt="Illustration: hard cover illustration" /></div>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Dust Jacket Blurb</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">"Foster, Lieutenant, R. I. P.," blared
the voice horn, and five minutes later
Rip Foster was off into space on an
assignment more exciting than any he
had ever imagined. He could hardly
believe his ears. Could a green young
Planeteer, just through his training,
possibly carry out orders like these?
Sunny space, what a trick it would be!</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">From the moment Rip boards the
space ship <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> there is a thrill a
minute. He and his nine daring Planeteers
must cope with the merciless
hazing of the spacemen commanding
the ship, and they must outwit the
desperate Connies, who threaten to
plunge all of space into war. There are
a thousand dangers to be faced in
high vacuum—and all of this while
carrying out an assignment that will
take every reader's breath away.</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"><a name="fig5" id="fig5"></a></p><div class="tei tei-figure" style="text-align: center"><img src="images/image05.png" width="640" height="981" alt="Illustration: Major Barris Faced Rip and the New Planeteers" title="Major Barris Faced Rip and the New Planeteers" /><div class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em">Major Barris Faced Rip and the New Planeteers</div></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="tei tei-body" style="margin-bottom: 6.00em; margin-top: 6.00em">
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page009">[pg 009]</span><a name="Pg009" id="Pg009" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Rip Foster Rides the Gray Planet</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em"></p>
</div>
<div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<a name="toc6" id="toc6"></a>
<a name="pdf7" id="pdf7"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Chapter One - SCN Scorpius, Spacebound</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A thousand miles above earth's surface the great
space platform sped from daylight into darkness.
Once each two hours it circled the earth completely,
spinning along through space like a mighty wheel
of steel and plastic.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Through a telescope from earth the platform
seemed a lifeless, lonely disk, but within it, hundreds
of spacemen and Planeteers went about their
work.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
In a ready-room at the outer edge of the platform,
a Planeteer officer faced a dozen slim, blackclad
young men who wore the single golden orbits
of lieutenants. This was a graduating class, already
commissioned, having a final, informal get-together.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The officer, who wore the three-orbit insignia of
a major, was lean and trim. His hair was cropped
short, like a gray fur skull cap. One cheek was
marked with the crisp whiteness of an old radiation
burn.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page010">[pg 010]</span><a name="Pg010" id="Pg010" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Stand easy," he ordered briskly. "The general
instructions of the Special Order Squadrons say that
it's my duty as senior officer to make a farewell
speech. I intend to make a speech if it kills me—and
you, too."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The dozen new officers facing him broke into
grins. Major Joe Barris had been their friend, teacher,
and senior officer during six long years of training
on the space platform. He could no more make
a formal speech than he could breathe high vacuum,
and they all knew it.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Lieutenant Richard Ingalls Peter Foster, whose
initials had given him the nickname of "Rip," asked,
"Why don't you sing us a song instead, Joe?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Major Barris fixed Rip with a cold eye. "Foster,
three orbital turns, then front and center."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip obediently spun around three times, then
walked forward and stood at attention, trying to
conceal his grin.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Foster, what does SOS mean?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Special Order Squadrons, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Right. And what else does it mean?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"It means, 'Help!' sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Right. And what else does it mean?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Superman or simp, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
This was a ceremony in which questions and answers
never changed. It was supposed to make
Planeteer cadets and junior officers feel properly
humble, but it didn't work. By tradition, the Planeteers<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page011">[pg 011]</span><a name="Pg011" id="Pg011" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
were the cockiest gang that ever blasted
through high vacuum.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Major Barris shook his head sadly. "You admit
you're a simp, Foster. The rest of you are simps,
too. But you don't believe it. You've finished six
years on the platform. You've made a few little
trips out into space. You've landed on the moon a
couple times. So now you think you're seasoned
space spooks. Well, you're not. You're simps."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip stopped grinning. He had heard this before.
It was part of the routine. But he sensed that this
time Joe Barris wasn't kidding.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The major rubbed the radiation scar on his cheek
absently as he looked them over. They were like
twelve chicks out of the same nest. They were all
about the same size, a compact five-feet-eleven
inches, 175 pounds. They wore loose black tunics,
belted over full trousers which gathered into white
cruiser boots. The comfortable uniforms concealed
any slight differences in build. The twelve were all
lean of face, with hair cropped to the regulation half
inch. Rip was the only redhead among them.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Sit down," Barris commanded. "I'm going to
make a farewell speech."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip pulled a plastic stool toward him. The others
did the same. Major Barris remained standing.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Well," he began soberly, "you are now officers
of the Special Order Squadrons. You're Planeteers.
You are lieutenants by order of the Space Council,<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page012">[pg 012]</span><a name="Pg012" id="Pg012" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
Federation of Free Governments. And—space protect
you!—to yourselves, you're supermen. But never
forget this: to ordinary spacemen, you're just plain
simps. You're trouble in a black tunic. They have
about as much use for you as they have for leaks
in their air locks. Some of the spacemen have been
high-vacking for twenty years or more, and they're
tough. They're as nasty as a Callistan <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">teekal</span></span>. They
like to eat Planeteer junior officers for breakfast."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Lieutenant Felipe "Flip" Villa asked, "With salt,
Joe?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Major Barris sighed. "No use trying to tell you
space-chicks anything. You're lieutenants now, and
a lieutenant has the thickest skull of any rank, no
matter what service he belongs to."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip realized that Barris had not been joking, no
matter how flippant his speech. "Go ahead," he
urged. "Finish what you were going to say."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Okay. I'll make it short. Then you can catch the
Terra rocket and take your eight earth-weeks leave.
You won't really know what I'm talking about until
you've batted around space for a while. All I have
to say adds up to one thing. You won't like it,
because it doesn't sound scientific. That doesn't
mean it isn't good science, because it is. Just remember
this: when you're in a jam, trust your
hunch and not your head."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The twelve stared at him, open-mouthed. For six
years they had been taught to rely on scientific<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page013">[pg 013]</span><a name="Pg013" id="Pg013" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
methods. Now their best instructor and senior officer
was telling them just the opposite!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip started to object, then he caught a glimmer
of meaning. He stuck out his hand. "Thanks, Joe.
I hope we'll meet again."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Barris grinned. "We will, Rip. I'll ask for you as
a platoon commander when they assign me to cleaning
up the goopies on Ganymede." This was the
major's idea of the worst Planeteer job in the Solar
System.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The group shook hands all around; then the
young officers broke for the door on the run. The
Terra rocket was blasting off in five minutes, and
they were due to be on it.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip joined Flip Villa and they jumped on the
high speed track that would whisk them to Valve
Two on the other side of the platform. Their gear
was already loaded. They had only to take seats on
the rocket and their six years on the space platform
would be at an end.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I wonder what it will be like to get back to high
gravity?" Rip mused. The centrifugal force of the
spinning platform acted as artificial gravity, but it
was considerably less than earth's.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We probably won't be able to walk straight until
we get our earth-legs back," Flip answered. "I wish
I could stay in Colorado with you instead of going
back to Mexico City, Rip. We could have a lot of
fun in eight weeks."
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page014">[pg 014]</span><a name="Pg014" id="Pg014" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip nodded. "Tough luck, Flip. But anyway, we
have the same assignment."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Both Planeteers had been assigned to Special Order
Squadron Four, which was attached to the
cruiser <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Bolide</span></span>. The cruiser was in high space, beyond
the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn doing comet
research.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
They got off the track at Valve Two and stepped
through into the rocket's interior. Two seats just
ahead of the fins were vacant and they slid into
them. Rip looked through the thick port beside
him and saw the distinctive blue glow of a nuclear
drive cruiser sliding sternward toward the platform.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Wave your eye stalks at that job," Flip said
admiringly. "Wonder what it's doing here?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The space platform was a refueling depot where
conventional chemical fuel rockets topped off their
tanks before flaming for space. The newer nuclear
drive cruisers had no need to stop. Their atomic
piles needed new neutron sources only once in a
few years.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The voice horn in the rocket cabin sounded. "The
SCN <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> is passing Valve Two, landing at Valve
Eight."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I thought that ship was with Squadron One on
Mercury," Rip recalled. "Wonder why they pulled
it back here?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Flip had no chance to reply because the chief
rocket officer took up his station at the valve and<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page015">[pg 015]</span><a name="Pg015" id="Pg015" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
began to call the roll. Rip answered to his name.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The rocket officer finished the roll, then announced:
"Buttoning up in twenty seconds. Blast
off in forty-five. Don't bother with acceleration harness.
We'll fall free, with just enough flame going
for control."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The ten-second warning bell sounded, and, before
the bell had ceased, the voice horn blasted.
"Get it! Foster, R.I.P., Lieutenant. Report to the
platform commander. Show an exhaust!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip leaped to his feet. "Hold on, Flip. I'll see
what the old man wants and be right back."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Get flaming," the rocket officer called. "Show an
exhaust like the man said. This bucket leaves on
time, and we're sealing the port."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip hesitated. The rocket would leave without
him!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Flip said urgently, "You better ram it, Rip."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He knew he had no choice. "Tell my folks I'll
make the next rocket," he called, and ran. He
leaped through the valve, jumped for the high speed
track and was whisked around the rim of the space
platform.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He ran a hand through his short red hair, a gesture
of bewilderment. His records had cleared. So
far as he knew, all his papers were in order, and he
had his next assignment. He couldn't figure why
the platform commander would want to see him.
But the horn had called "show an exhaust," which<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page016">[pg 016]</span><a name="Pg016" id="Pg016" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
meant to get there in a hurry.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He jumped off the track at the main crossrun and
hurried toward the center of the platform. In a
moment he stood before the platform commander's
door, waiting to be identified.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The door swung open and a junior officer in the
blue tunic and trousers of a spaceman motioned
him to the inner room. "Go in, Lieutenant."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Thank you." He hurried into the commander's
room and stood at attention.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Commander Jennsen, the Norwegian spaceman
who had commanded the platform since before Rip's
arrival as a raw cadet, was dictating into his command
relay circuit. As he spoke, printed copies were
being received in the platform personnel office,
Special Order Squadron headquarters on earth,
aboard the cruiser <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Bolide</span></span> in high space, and aboard
the newly landed cruiser <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip listened, spellbound.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Foster, R.I.P., Lieutenant, SOS. Serial seven-nine-four-three.
Assigned SOS Four. Change orders,
effective this date-time. Cancel earth-leave. Subject
officer will report to commander, SCN <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> with
detachment of nine men. Senior non-commissioned
officer and second in command, Koa, A.P., Sergeant-major,
SOS. Serial two-nine-four-one. Commander
<span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> will transport detachment to coordinates
given in basic cruiser astrocourse, delivering orders
to detachment enroute. Take full steps for maximum<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page017">[pg 017]</span><a name="Pg017" id="Pg017" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
security. This is Federation priority A, Space
Council security procedures."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip swallowed hard. The highest possible priority,
given by the Federation itself, had cancelled
his leave. Not only that, but the cruiser to which
he was assigned was instructed to follow Space
Council security procedures, which meant the job,
whatever it was, was rated even more urgent than
secret!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Commander Jennsen looked up and saw Rip. He
snapped, "Did you get all of that?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Y-Yessir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"You'll get written copies on the cruiser. Now
flame out of here. Collect your men and get aboard.
The <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> leaves in five minutes."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip ran. The realization hit him that the big
nuclear cruiser had stopped at the platform for the
sole purpose of collecting him and nine enlisted
Planeteers.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The low gravity helped him cover the hundred
yards to the personnel office in five leaps. He swung
to a stop by grabbing the push bar of the office
door. He yelled at the enlisted spaceman on duty,
"Where do I find nine men?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The spaceman looked at him vacantly. "What
for? You got a requisition, Lieutenant?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Never mind requisitions," Rip snapped. "I've
got to find nine Planeteers and get them on the
<span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> before it flames off."
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page018">[pg 018]</span><a name="Pg018" id="Pg018" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The spaceman's face cleared. "Oh. You mean
Koa's detachment. They left a few minutes ago."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Where? Where did they go?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The spaceman shrugged. The doings of Planeteers
were no concern of his. His shrug said so.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip realized there was no use talking further.
He ran down the long corridor toward the outer
edge of the platform. The enlisted men's squadrooms
were near Valve Ten. So was the supply
department. His gear had departed on the Terra
rocket, and he couldn't go to space with only the
tunic on his back. He swung to the high speed
track and braced himself as it sped him along the
platform's rim.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There was no moving track inward to the enlisted
Planeteers' squadrooms. He legged it down the corridor
in long leaps, muttering apologies as blue-clad
spacemen and cadets moved to the wall to let him
pass.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The squadrooms were on two levels. He looked
in the upper ones and found them deserted. The
squads were on duty somewhere. He ran for the
ladder to the lower level, took the wrong one, and
ended up in a snapper-boat port. He had trained
in the deadly little fighting rockets, and they never
failed to interest him. But there wasn't time to
admire them now. He went back up the ladder with
two strong heaves, found the right ladder, and
dropped down without touching. His knees flexed<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page019">[pg 019]</span><a name="Pg019" id="Pg019" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
to take up the shock. He came out of the crouch
facing a black-clad Planeteer sergeant who snapped
to rigid attention.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Koa," Rip barked. "Where can I find him?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"He's not here, sir. He and eight men left fifteen
minutes ago. I don't know where they went, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip shot a worried glance at his wrist chronometer.
He had two minutes left, before the cruiser
departed. No more time now to search for his men.
He hoped the sergeant-major had sense enough to
be waiting at some sensible place. He went up the
ladder hand over hand and sped down the corridor
to the supply room.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The spaceman first class in charge of supplies was
turning an audio-mag through a hand viewer, chuckling
at the cartoons. At the sight of Rip's flushed,
anxious face he dropped the machine. "Yessir?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I need a spack. Full gear including bubble."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yessir." The spaceman looked him over with a
practiced eye. "One full space pack. That would be
medium-large, right, sir?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Correct." Rip took the counter stylus and inscribed
his name, serial number, and signature on
the blank plastic sheet. Gears whirred as the data
was recorded.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The spaceman vanished into an inner room and
reappeared in a moment lugging a plastic case called
a space pack, or "spack" for short. It contained complete
personal equipment for space travel. Rip<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page020">[pg 020]</span><a name="Pg020" id="Pg020" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
grabbed it. "Fast service. Thanks, Rocky." All spacemen
were called "Rocky" if you didn't know their
names. It was an abbreviation for rocketeer, a title
all of them had once carried.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Valve Eight was some distance away. Rip decided
a cross ramp would be faster than the moving track.
He swung the spack to his shoulder and made his
legs go. Seconds were ticking off, and he had an
idea the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> would make space on time, whether
or not he arrived. He lengthened his stride and
rounded a turn by going right up on the wall,
using a powerful leg thrust against a ventilator tube
for momentum.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He passed an observation port as he reached the
platform rim and caught a glimpse of ruddy rocket
exhaust flames outlined against the dark curve of
earth. That would be the Terra rocket making its
controlled fall to home with Flip aboard. Without
slowing, he leaped across the high speed track, narrowly
missing a senior space officer. He shouted
his apologies, and gained the entrance to Valve
Eight just as the high buzz of the radiation warning
sounded, signaling a nuclear drive cruiser preparing
to take off.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Nine faces of assorted colors and expressions
turned to him. He had a quick impression of black
tunics and trousers. He had found his detachment!
Without slowing, he called, "Follow me!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The cruiser's safety officer had been keeping an<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page021">[pg 021]</span><a name="Pg021" id="Pg021" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
eye on the clock, his forehead creased in a frown
as he saw that only a few seconds remained to departure
time. He walked to the valve opening and
looked out. If his passengers were not in sight, he
would have to reset the clock.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip went through the valve opening at top speed.
He crashed head-on into the safety officer.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The safety officer was driven across the deck, his
arms pumping for balance. He grabbed at the nearest
thing, which happened to be the deputy cruiser
commander.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The pre-set control clock reached firing time. The
valve slid shut and the take-off bell reverberated
through the ship.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
And so it happened that the spacemen of the
SCN <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> turned their valves, threw their controls
and disengaged their boron control rods, and
the great cruiser flashed into space, while the deputy
commander and the safety officer were completely
tangled with a very flustered and unhappy new
Planeteer lieutenant.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Sergeant-major Koa and his men had made it before
the valve closed. Koa, a seven-foot Hawaiian,
took in the situation and said crisply in a voice all
could hear, "I'll bust the bubble of any son of a
space sausage who laughs!"
</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page022">[pg 022]</span><a name="Pg022" id="Pg022" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<a name="toc8" id="toc8"></a>
<a name="pdf9" id="pdf9"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Chapter Two - Rake That Radiation!</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The deputy commander and the safety officer got
untangled and hurried to their posts with no more
than black looks at Rip. He got to his feet, his face
crimson with embarrassment. A fine entrance for
a Planeteer officer, especially one on his first orders!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Around him, the spacemen were settling in their
acceleration seats or snapping belts to safety hooks.
From the direction of the stern came a rising roar
as liquid methane dropped into the blast tubes,
flaming into pure carbon and hydrogen under the
terrible heat of the atomic drive.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip had to lean against the acceleration. Fighting
for balance, he picked up his spack and made his
way to the nine enlisted Planeteers. They had
braced against the ship's drive by sitting with backs
against bulkheads, or by lying flat on the magnesium
deck. Sergeant-major Koa was seated against a
vertical brace, his brown face wreathed in a grin as
he waited for his new officer.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip looked him over carefully. There was a saying
among the Planeteers that an officer was only
as good as his senior sergeant. Koa's looks were
reassuring. His face was good-humored, but he had<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page023">[pg 023]</span><a name="Pg023" id="Pg023" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
a solid jaw and a mouth that could get tough when
necessary. Rip wondered a little at his size. Big men
usually didn't go to space; they were too subject to
space sickness. Koa must be a special case.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip slid to the floor next to the sergeant-major
and stuck out his hand. He sensed the strength in
Koa's big fist as it closed over his.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa said, "Sir, that was the best <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">fleedle</span></span> I've ever
seen an earthling make. You been on Venus?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip eyed him suspiciously, wondering if the big
Planeteer was laughing at him. Koa was grinning,
but it was a friendly grin. "What is a <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">fleedle</span></span>?" Rip
demanded. "I've never been on Venus."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"It's the way the water-hole people fight," Koa
explained. "They're like a bunch of rubber balls
when they get to fighting. They ram each other
with their heads."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip searched his memory for data on Venus. He
couldn't recall any mention of <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">fleedling</span></span>. Venusians,
if his memory was right, had a sort of blowgun as
a main weapon. He told Koa so.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The sergeant-major nodded. "That's when they
mean business, Lieutenant. <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Fleedling</span></span> is more like
us fighting with our fists. Sort of a sport. Great Cosmos!
The way they dive at each other is something
to see."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip grinned. "I didn't know I was going to <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">fleedle</span></span>
those officers. It isn't the way I usually enter a
cruiser." He hadn't entered many. He added, "I<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page024">[pg 024]</span><a name="Pg024" id="Pg024" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
suppose I ought to report to someone."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa shook his head. "No use, sir. You can't walk
around very well until the ship reaches brennschluss.
Besides, you won't find any space officers
who'll talk to you."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip stared. "Why not?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Because we're Planeteers. They'll give us the
treatment. They always do. When the commander
of this bucket gets good and ready, he'll send for
you. Until then, we might as well take it easy." He
pulled a bar of Venusian <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">chru</span></span> from his pocket.
"Have some. It will make breathing easier."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The terrific acceleration made breathing a little
uncomfortable, but it was not too bad. The chief
effect was to make Rip feel as though a ton of invisible
feathers were crushing him against the vertical brace.
He accepted a bite of the bittersweet
vegetable candy and munched thoughtfully. Koa
seemed to take it for granted that the spacemen
would give them a rough time.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He asked, "Aren't there any spacemen who get
along with the Special Order Squadrons?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Never met one." Koa chewed <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">chru</span></span>. "And I was
on the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Icarus</span></span> when the whole thing started."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip looked at him in surprise. Koa didn't seem
that old. The bad feeling between spacemen and
the Special Order Squadrons had started about 18
years ago when the cruiser <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Icarus</span></span> had taken the first
Planeteers to Mercury.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page025">[pg 025]</span><a name="Pg025" id="Pg025" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He reviewed the history of the expedition. The
spacemen's job had been to land the newly created
Special Order Squadron on the hot planet. The
job of the squadron was to explore it. Somehow,
confusion developed and the spacemen, including
the officers, later reported that the squadron had
instructed them to land on the sun side of Mercury,
which would have destroyed the spaceship and its
crew, or so they believed at the time.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The commanding officer of the squadron denied
issuing such an order. He said his instructions were
to land as close to the sun side as possible, but not
on it. Whatever the truth—and Rip believed the
SOS version, of course—the crew of the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Icarus</span></span> mutinied,
or tried to. They made the landing on Mercury
with squadron guns pointed at their heads. Of
course, they found that a sun-side landing wouldn't
have hurt the ship. The whole affair was pretty
well hushed up, but it produced bad feeling between
the Special Order Squadrons and the spacemen.
"Trigger happy space bums," the spacemen called
them, and much worse besides.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The men of the Special Order Squadrons, searching
for a handy nickname, had called themselves
Planeteers, because most of their work was on the
planets. As Major Joe Barris had told the officers
of Rip's class, "You might say that the spacemen
own space, but we Planeteers own everything solid
that's found in it."
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page026">[pg 026]</span><a name="Pg026" id="Pg026" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers were the specialists—in science,
exploration, colonization, and fighting. The spacemen
carried them back and forth, kept them supplied,
and handled their message traffic. The Planeteers
did the hard work and the important work.
Or so they believed.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
To become a Planeteer, a recruit had to pass
rigid intelligence, physical, aptitude, and psychological
tests. Less than 15 out of each 100 who applied
were chosen. Then there were two years of
hard training on the space platform and the moon
before a recruit was finally accepted as a Planeteer
private. Out of each 15 who started training, an
average of five fell by the wayside.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
For Planeteer officers, the requirements were even
tougher. Only one out of each 500 applicants finally
received a commission. Six years of training made
them proficient in the techniques of exploration,
fighting, rocketeering, and both navigation and astrogation.
In addition, each became a full-fledged
specialist in one field of science. Rip's specialty was
astrophysics.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Sergeant-major Koa continued, "That business on
the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Icarus</span></span> started the war, but both sides have been
feeding it ever since. I have to admit that we Planeteers
lord it over the spacemen like we were old
man Cosmos himself. So they get back at us with
dirty little tricks while we're on their ships. We
command on the planets, but they command in<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page027">[pg 027]</span><a name="Pg027" id="Pg027" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
space. And they sure get a great big nuclear charge
out of commanding us to do the dirty work!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We'll take whatever they hand us," Rip assured
him, "and pretend we like it fine." He gestured
at the other Planeteers. "Tell me about the men,
Koa."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"They're a fine bunch, sir. I hand-picked them
myself. The one with the white hair is Corporal
Nels Pederson. He's a Swede. I served with him at
Marsport, and he's a real rough space spickaroo in
a fight. The other corporal is little Paulo Santos.
He's a Filipino, and the best snapper-boat gunner
you ever saw."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He pointed out the six privates. Kemp and Dowst
were Americans. Bradshaw was an Englishman, Trudeau
a Frenchman, Dominico an Italian, and Nunez
a Brazilian.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip liked their looks. They were as relaxed as
acceleration would allow, but you got the impression
that they would leap into action in a microsecond
if the word were given. He couldn't imagine
what kind of assignment was waiting, but he was
satisfied with his Planeteers. They looked capable
of anything.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He made himself as comfortable as possible, and
encouraged Koa to talk about his service in the Special
Order Squadrons. Koa had plenty to tell, and
he talked interestingly. Rip learned that the big
Hawaiian had been to every planet in the system,<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page028">[pg 028]</span><a name="Pg028" id="Pg028" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
had fought the Venusians on the central desert, and
had mined nuclite with SOS One on Mercury. He
also found that Koa was one of the 17 pure-blooded
Hawaiians left. During the three hours that acceleration
kept them from moving around the ship,
Rip got a new view of space and of service with the
SOS—it was the view of a Planeteer who had spent
years around the Solar System.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I'm glad they assigned you to me," Rip told Koa
frankly. "This is my first job, and I'll be pretty
green, no matter what it is. I'll depend on you for
a lot of things."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
To his surprise, Koa thrust out his hand. "Shake,
Lieutenant." His grin showed strong white teeth.
"You're the first junior officer I ever met who admitted
he didn't know everything about everything.
You can depend on me, sir. I won't steer you into
any meteor swarms."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa had half turned to shake hands. Suddenly he
spun on around, his head banging against the deck.
Rip felt a surge of loosened muscles that had been
braced against acceleration. At the same time, silence
flooded in on them with an almost physical shock.
He murmured, "brennschluss," and the murmur
was like a trumpet blast.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> had reached velocity and the nuclear
drive had cut out. From terrific acceleration
they had dropped to zero. The ship was making
high speed, but velocity cannot be felt. For the<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page029">[pg 029]</span><a name="Pg029" id="Pg029" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
moment, the men were weightless.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A near-by spaceman had heard Rip's comment.
He spoke in an undertone to the man nearest. His
voice was pitched low enough so Rip couldn't object
officially, but loud enough to be heard.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Get this, gang. The Planeteer officer knows what
brennschluss is. He doesn't look old enough to know
which end his bubble goes on."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip started to his feet, but Koa's hand on his
arm restrained him. With a violent kick the big
sergeant-major shot through the air. His line of
flight took him by the spaceman, and somehow their
arms got linked. The spaceman was jerked from his
post and the two came to a stop against the ceiling.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa's voice echoed through the ship. "Sorry. I'm
not used to no-weight. Didn't mean to grab you.
Here, I'll help you back to your post."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He whirled the helpless spaceman like a bag of
feathers and slung him through the air. The force
of the action only flattened Koa against the ceiling,
but the hapless spaceman shot forward head first
and landed with a clang against the bulkhead. He
didn't hit hard enough to break any bones, but he
would carry a bump around on his head for a day
or two.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa's voice floated after him. "Great Cosmos! I
sure am sorry, spaceman. I guess I don't know my
own strength." He kicked away from the ceiling,
landing accurately at Rip's side. He added in a hard<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page030">[pg 030]</span><a name="Pg030" id="Pg030" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
voice all could hear, "They sure are a nice gang,
these spacemen. They never say anything about
Planeteers."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
No spaceman answered, but Koa's meaning was
clear. No spaceman had better say anything about
the Planeteers! Rip saw that the deputy commander
and the safety officer had appeared not to notice the
incident. Technically, there was no reason for an
officer to take action. It had all been an "accident."
He smiled. There was a lot he had to learn about
dealing with spacemen, a lot Koa evidently knew
very well indeed.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Suddenly he began to feel weight. The ship was
going into rotation. The feeling increased until he
felt normally heavy again. There was no other sensation,
even though the space cruiser now was spinning
on its axis through space at unaltered speed.
The centrifugal force produced by the spinning
gave them an artificial gravity.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Now that he thought about it, brennschluss had
come pretty early. The trip apparently was going to
be a short one. Brennschluss ... funny, he thought,
how words stay on in a language even after their
original meaning is changed. Brennschluss was German
for "burn out." It was rocket talk, and it
meant the moment when all the fuel in a rocket
burned out. It had come into common use because
the English "burn out" also could mean that the
engine itself had burned out. The German word<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page031">[pg 031]</span><a name="Pg031" id="Pg031" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
meant only the one thing. Now, in nuclear drive
ships, the same word was used for the moment when
power was cut off.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Words interested him. He started to mention it
to Koa just as the telescreen lit up. An officer's face
appeared. "Send that Planeteer officer to the commander,"
the face said. "Tell him to show an
exhaust."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip called instantly to the safety officer. "Where's
his office?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The safety officer motioned to a spaceman. "Show
him, Nelson."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip followed the spaceman through a maze of
passages, growing more weightless with each step.
The closer to the center of the ship they went, the
less he weighed. He was pulling himself along by
plastic pull cords when they finally reached the door
marked "Commander."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The spaceman left without a word or a salute.
Rip pushed the lock bar and pulled himself in by
grabbing the door frame. He couldn't help thinking
it was a rather undignified way to make an entrance.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Seated in an acceleration chair, a safety belt across
his middle, was Space Commander Keven O'Brine,
an Irishman out of Dublin. He was short, as compact
as a deto-rocket, and obviously unfriendly. He
had a mathematically square jaw, a lopsided nose,
green eyes, and sandy hair. He spoke with a pronounced
Irish brogue.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page032">[pg 032]</span><a name="Pg032" id="Pg032" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip started to announce his name, rank, and the
fact that he was reporting as ordered. Commander
O'Brine brushed his words aside and stated flatly,
"You're a Planeteer. I don't like Planeteers."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip didn't know what to say, so he kept still. But
sharp anger was rising inside of him.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine went on, "Instructions say I'm to hand
you your orders enroute. They don't say when. I'll
decide that. Until I do decide, I have a job for you
and your men. Do you know anything about nuclear
physics?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip's eyes narrowed. He said cautiously, "A little,
sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I'll assume you know nothing. Foster, the designation
SCN means Space Cruiser, Nuclear. This ship
is powered by a nuclear reactor. In other words, an
atomic pile. You've heard of one?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip controlled his voice, but his red hair stood
on end with anger. O'Brine was being deliberately
insulting. This was stuff any new Planeteer recruit
knew. "I've heard, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Fine. It's more than I had expected. Well, Foster,
a nuclear reactor produces heat. Great heat. We
use that heat to turn a chemical called methane into
its component parts. Methane is known as marsh
gas, Foster. I wouldn't expect a Planeteer to know
that. It is composed of carbon and hydrogen. When
we pump it into the heat coils of the reactor, it
breaks down and creates a gas that burns and drives<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page034">[pg 034]</span><a name="Pg034" id="Pg034" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
us through space. But that isn't all it does."
</p>
<a name="fig10" id="fig10"></a><div class="tei tei-figure" style="text-align: center"><img src="images/image06.png" width="640" height="979" alt="Illustration: "You're a Planeteer. I Don't Like Planeteers."" title=""You're a Planeteer. I Don't Like Planeteers."" /><div class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em">"You're a Planeteer. I Don't Like Planeteers."</div></div>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip had an idea what was coming, and he didn't
like it. Nor did he like Commander O'Brine. It was
not until much later that he learned that O'Brine
had been on his way to Terra to see his family for
the first time in four years when the cruiser's orders
were changed. To the commander, whose assignments
had been made necessary by the needs of the
Special Order Squadrons, it was too much. So he
took his disappointment out on the nearest Planeteer,
who happened to be Rip.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"The gases go through tubes," O'Brine went on.
"A little nuclear material also leaks into the tubes.
The tubes get coated with carbon, Foster. They
also get coated with nuclear fuel. We use thorium.
Thorium is radioactive. I won't give you a lecture
on radioactivity, Foster. But thorium mostly gives
off the kind of radiation known as alpha particles.
Alpha is not dangerous unless breathed or eaten. It
won't go through clothes or skin. But when mixed
with fine carbon, thorium alpha contamination
makes a mess. It's a dirty mess, Foster. So dirty that
I don't want my spacemen to fool with it.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I want you to take care of it instead," O'Brine
said. "You and your men. The deputy commander
will assign you to a squadroom. Settle in, then draw
equipment from the supply room and get going.
When I want to talk to you again, I'll call for you.
Now blast off, Lieutenant, and rake that radiation.<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page035">[pg 035]</span><a name="Pg035" id="Pg035" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
Rake it clean."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip forced a bright and friendly smile. "Yes, sir,"
he said sweetly. "We'll rake it so clean you can see
your face in it, sir." He paused, then added politely,
"If you don't mind looking at your face, sir—to see
how clean the tubes are, I mean."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip turned and got out of there.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa was waiting in the passageway outside. Rip
told him what had happened, mimicking O'Brine's
Irish accent.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The sergeant-major shook his head sadly. "This
is what I meant, Lieutenant. Cruisers don't clean
their tubes more'n once in ten accelerations. The
commander is just thinking up dirty work for us to
do, like I said."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Never mind," Rip told him. "Let's find our
squadroom and get settled, then draw some protective
clothing and equipment. We'll clean his tubes
for him. Our turn will come later."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He remembered the last thing Joe Barris had
said, only a few hours before. Joe was right, he
thought. To ourselves we're supermen, but to the
spacemen we're just simps. Evidently O'Brine was
the kind of space officer who ate Planeteers for
breakfast.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip thought of the way the commander had
turned red with rage at that crack about his face,
and resolved, "He may eat me for breakfast, but I'll
try to be a good, tough mouthful!"
</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page036">[pg 036]</span><a name="Pg036" id="Pg036" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<a name="toc11" id="toc11"></a>
<a name="pdf12" id="pdf12"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Chapter Three - Capture and Drive!</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Commander O'Brine had not exaggerated. The
residue of carbon and thorium on the blast tube
walls was stubborn, dirty, and penetrating. It was
caked on in a solid sheet, but when scraped, it broke
up into fine powder.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers wore coveralls, gloves, and face
masks with respirators, but that didn't prevent the
stuff from sifting through onto their bodies. Rip,
who directed the work and kept track of the radiation
with a gamma-beta ion chamber and an alpha
proportional counter, knew they would have to undergo
personal decontamination.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He took a reading on the ion chamber. Only a
few milliroentgens of beta and gamma radiation.
That was the dangerous kind, because both beta
particles and gamma rays could penetrate clothing
and skin. But the Planeteers wouldn't get enough
of a dose to do any harm at all. The alpha count
was high, but so long as they didn't breathe any of
the dust it was not dangerous.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> had six tubes. Rip divided the Planeteers
into two squads, one under his direction and
one under Koa's. Each tube took a couple of hours'<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page037">[pg 037]</span><a name="Pg037" id="Pg037" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
hard work. Several times during the cleaning the
men would leave the tube and go into the main mixing
chamber while the tube was blasted with live
steam to throw the stuff they had scraped off out
into space.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Each squad was on its last tube when a spaceman
arrived. He saluted Rip. "Sir, the safety officer says
to secure the tubes."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
That could mean only one thing: deceleration.
Rip rounded up his men. "We're finished. The
safety officer passed the word to secure the tubes,
which means we're going to decelerate." He smiled
grimly. "You all know they gave us this job just out
of pure love for the Planeteers. So remember it when
you go through the control room to the decontamination
chamber."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers nodded enthusiastically.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip led the way from the mixing chamber through
the heavy safety door into the engine control room.
His entrance was met with poorly concealed grins
by the spacemen.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Halfway across the room Rip turned suddenly and
bumped into Sergeant-major Koa. Koa fell to the
deck, arms flailing for balance—but flailing against
his protective clothing. The other Planeteers rushed
to pick him up, and somehow all their arms and
hands beat against each other.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The protective clothing was saturated with fine
dust. It rose from them in a choking cloud, was<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page038">[pg 038]</span><a name="Pg038" id="Pg038" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
picked up, and dispersed by the ventilating system.
It was contaminated dust. The automatic radiation
safety equipment filled the ship with an ear-splitting
buzz of warning. Spacemen clapped emergency respirators
to their faces and spoke unkindly of Rip's
Planeteers in the saltiest space language they could
think of.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip and his men picked up Koa and continued
their march to the decontamination room, grinning
under their respirators at the consternation around
them. There was no danger to the spacemen since
they had clapped on respirators the moment the
warning sounded. But even a little contamination
meant the whole ship had to be gone over with instruments,
and the ventilating system would have
to be cleaned.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The deputy commander met Rip at the door of
the radiation room. Above the respirator, his face
looked furious.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Lieutenant," he bellowed. "Haven't you any
more sense than to bring contaminated clothing into
the engine control room?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip was sorry the deputy commander couldn't see
him grinning under his respirator. He said innocently,
"No, sir. I haven't any more sense than that."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The deputy grated, "I'll have you up before the
Discipline Board for this."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip was enjoying himself thoroughly. "I don't
think so, sir. The regulations are very clear. They<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page039">[pg 039]</span><a name="Pg039" id="Pg039" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
say, 'It is the responsibility of the safety officer to
insure compliance with all safety regulations both
by complete instructions to personnel and personal
supervision.' Your safety officer didn't instruct us
and he didn't supervise us. You better run him up
before the Board."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The deputy commander made harsh sounds into
his respirator. Rip had him, and he knew it. "He
thought even a stupid Planeteer had sense enough
to obey radiation safety rules," he yelled.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"He was wrong," Rip said gently. Then, just to
make himself perfectly clear, he added, "Commander
O'Brine was within his rights when he made us
rake radiation. But he forgot one thing. Planeteers
know the regulations, too. Excuse me, sir. I have to
get my men decontaminated."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Inside the decontamination chamber, the Planeteers
took off their masks and faced Rip with admiring
grins. For a moment he grinned back, feeling
pretty good. He had held his own with the spacemen,
and he sensed that his men liked him.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"All right," he said briskly. "Strip down and get
into the showers."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
In a few moments they were all standing under
the chemically treated water, washing off the contaminated
dust. Rip paid special attention to his
hair, because that was where the dust was most
likely to stick. He had it well lathered when the
water suddenly cut off. At the same moment, the<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page040">[pg 040]</span><a name="Pg040" id="Pg040" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
cruiser shuddered slightly as control blasts stopped
its spinning and left them all weightless. Rip saw
instantly what had happened. He called, "All right,
men. Down on the floor."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers instantly slid to the shower deck.
In a few seconds the pressure of deceleration pushed
at them.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I like spacemen," Rip said wryly. "They wait
until just the right moment before they cut the
water and decelerate. Now we're stuck in our birthday
suits until we land—wherever that may be."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Corporal Nels Pederson spoke up in a soft Stockholm
accent. "Never mind, sor. Ve'll get back at
them. Ve alvays do!"
</p>
<div class="tei tei-tb"> </div>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
While the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> decelerated and started maneuvering
for a landing, Rip did some rapid calculations.
He knew the acceleration and deceleration
rates of cruisers of this class measured in terms of
time, and part of his daily routine on the space platform
had been to examine the daily astro-plot which
gave the positions of all planets and other large
bodies within the solar system.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There was only one possible destination: Mars.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip's pulse quickened. He had always wanted to
visit the red planet. Of course he had seen all the
films, audio-mags, and books on the planet, and he
had tried to see the weekly spacecast. He had a good
idea of what the planet was like, but reading or<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page041">[pg 041]</span><a name="Pg041" id="Pg041" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
viewing was not like actually landing and taking a
look for himself.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Of course they would land at Marsport. It was
the only landing area equipped to handle nuclear
drive cruisers.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The cruiser landed and deceleration cut to zero.
At the same moment, the water came on.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip hurriedly finished cleaning up, dressed, then
took his radiation instruments and carefully monitored
his men as they came from the shower. Private
Dowst had to go back for another try at getting
his hair clean, but the rest were all right. Rip handed
his instruments to Koa. "You monitor Dowst when
he finishes. I want to see what's happening."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He hurried from the chamber and made his way
down the corridors toward the engine control room.
There was a good possibility he might get a call from
O'Brine, with instructions to take his men off the
ship. He might finally learn what he was assigned
to do!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
As he reached the engine control room, Commander
O'Brine was giving instructions to his spacemen
on the stowage of equipment that evidently was
expected aboard. Rip felt a twinge of disappointment.
If the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> had landed to take on supplies
of some kind, his assignment was probably not on
Mars.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He started to approach the commander with a
question about his orders, then thought better of it.<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page042">[pg 042]</span><a name="Pg042" id="Pg042" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
He stood quietly near the control panel and watched.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The air lock hissed, then slid open. A Martian
stood in the entryway, a case on his shoulder. Rip
watched him with interest. He had seen Martians
before, on the space platform, but he had never gotten
used to them. They were human, still....
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He tried to figure out, as he had before, what it
was that made them strange. It wasn't the blue-whiteness
of their skins nor the very large, expressionless
eyes. It was something about their bodies.
He studied the Martian's figure carefully. He was
slightly taller and more slender than the average
earthman, but his chest measurements would be
about the same. Nor were his legs very much longer.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Suddenly Rip thought he had it. The Martian's
legs and arms joined his torso at a slightly different
angle, giving him an angular look. That was what
made him look like a caricature of a human. Although
he was human, of course. As human as any
of them.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip saw that other Martians were in the air lock,
all carrying cases of various sizes and shapes. They
came through into the control room and put them
down, then turned without a word and hurried back
into the lock. They were all breathing heavily, Rip
noticed. Of course! The artificial atmosphere inside
the space ship must seem very heavy and moist to
them after the thin, dry air of Mars.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The lock worked and the Martians were replaced<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page043">[pg 043]</span><a name="Pg043" id="Pg043" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
by others. They, too, deposited their cases. But these
cases were bigger and heavier. It took four Martians
to carry one, which meant they weighed close to half
a ton each. The Martians could carry more than
double an earthman's capacity.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
When the lock worked next time, a Planeteer captain
came in. He breathed the heavy air appreciatively,
fingering the oxygen mask he had to wear
outside. He saluted Commander O'Brine and reported,
"This is all, sir. We filled the order exactly
as Terra sent it. Is there anything else you need?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine turned to his deputy. "Find out," he
ordered. "This is our last chance. We have plenty
of basic supplies, but we may be short of audio-mags
and other things for the men." He turned his back
on the Planeteer captain and walked away.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The captain grinned at O'Brine's retreating back,
then walked over to Rip. They shook hands.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I'm Southwick, SOS Two. Canadian."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip introduced himself and said he was an American.
He added, "And aside from my men, you're
the first human being I've seen since we made space."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Southwick chuckled. "Trouble with the spacemen?
Well, you're not the first."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Talking about assignments wasn't considered good
practice, but Rip was burning with curiosity. "You
don't by chance know what my assignment is, do
you?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The captain's eyebrows went up. "Don't you?"
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page044">[pg 044]</span><a name="Pg044" id="Pg044" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip shook his head. "O'Brine hasn't told me."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I don't know a thing," Southwick said. "We got
instructions to pack up a pretty strange assortment
of supplies for the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> and that's all I know.
The order was in special cipher, though, so we're
all wondering about it."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The deputy commander returned, reported to
O'Brine, then walked up to Rip and Southwick.
"Nothing else needed," he said curtly. "We'll get
off at once."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Southwick nodded, shook hands with Rip, and
said in a voice the deputy could hear, "Don't let
these spacemen bother you. Trouble with them is,
they all wanted to be Planeteers and couldn't pass
the intelligence tests." He winked, then hurried to
the air lock.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Spacemen worked quickly to clear the deck of the
new supplies, stowing them in a near-by workroom.
Within five minutes the engine control room was
clear. The safety officer signaled and the radiation
warning sounded. Taking off!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip hurried to the squadroom and climbed into
an acceleration chair. The other Planeteers were
already in the room, most of them in their bunks.
Koa slid into the chair beside him. "Find out anything,
sir?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Nothing useful. A bunch of equipment came
aboard, but it was in plain crates. I couldn't tell
what it was."
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page045">[pg 045]</span><a name="Pg045" id="Pg045" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Acceleration pressed them against the chairs. Rip
sighed, picked up an audio-circuit set, and put it
over his ears. Might as well listen to what the circuit
had to offer. There was nothing else to do. Music
was playing, and it was the kind he liked. He settled
back to relax and listen.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Brennschluss came some time later. It woke Rip
up from a sound sleep. He blinked, glancing at his
chronometer. Great Cosmos! With that length of
acceleration they must be high-vacking for Jupiter!
He waited until the ship went into the gravity spin,
then got out of his chair and stretched. He was hungry.
Koa was still sleeping. He decided not to wake
him. The sergeant-major would see that the men
ate when they wanted to.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
In the messroom only one table was occupied—by
Commander O'Brine.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip gave him a civil hello and started to sit alone
at another table. To his surprise, O'Brine beckoned
to him.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Sit down," the spaceman invited gruffly.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip did, and wondered what was coming next.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We'll start to decelerate in about ten minutes,"
O'Brine said. "Eat while you can." He signaled and
a spaceman brought Rip the day's ration in an individual
plastic carton with thermo-lining. The
Planeteer opened it and found a block of mixed
vegetables, a slab of space-meat, and two units of
biscuit. He wrinkled his nose. Space-meat he didn't<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page046">[pg 046]</span><a name="Pg046" id="Pg046" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
mind. It was chewy but tasty. The mixed vegetable
ration was chosen for its food value and not for taste.
A good mouthful of earth-grass would be a lot more
palatable. He sliced off pieces of the warm stuff and
chewed thoughtfully, watching O'Brine's face for a
clue as to why the commander had invited him to
sit down.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
It wasn't long in coming. "Your orders are the
strangest things I've ever read," O'Brine stated. "Do
you know where we're going?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip figured quickly. They had accelerated for six
and a half hours. Now, ten minutes after brennschluss,
they were going to start deceleration. That
meant they had really high-vacked it to get somewhere
in a hurry. He calculated swiftly.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I don't know exactly," he admitted. "But from
the ship's actions, I'd say we were aiming for the
far side of the asteroid belt. Anyway, we'll fall short
of Jupiter."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There was a glimmer of respect in O'Brine's
glance. "That's right. Know anything about asteroids,
Foster?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip considered. He knew what he had been taught
in astronomy and astrogation. Between Mars and
Jupiter lay a broad belt in which the asteroids swung.
They ranged from Ceres, a tiny world only 480
miles in diameter, down to chunks of rock the size
of a house. No accurate count of asteroids—or minor
planets, as they were called—had been made, but<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page047">[pg 047]</span><a name="Pg047" id="Pg047" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
the observatory on Mars had charted the orbits of
over 100,000. Most of them were only a mile or two
in diameter. Others, much smaller, had never been
charted by anyone. One leading astronomer had
estimated that as many as 50,000 asteroids filled the
belt.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I know the usual stuff about them," he told
O'Brine. "I haven't any special knowledge."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine blinked. "Then why did they assign you?
What's your specialty?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Astrophysics."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"That might explain it. Second specialty?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Astrogation." He couldn't resist adding, "That's
what scientists call space navigation, Commander."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine started to retort, then apparently thought
better of it. "I hope you'll be able to carry out your
orders, Lieutenant," he said stiffly. "I hope, but not
much. I don't think you can."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip asked, "What are my orders, sir?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine waved in the general direction of the
wall. "Out there, somewhere in the asteroid belt,
Foster, there is a little chunk of matter about one
thousand yards in diameter. A very minor planet.
We know its approximate coordinates as of two days
ago, but we don't know much else. It happens to be
a very important minor planet."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip waited, intent on the commander's words.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"It's important," O'Brine continued, "because it
happens to be pure thorium."
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page048">[pg 048]</span><a name="Pg048" id="Pg048" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip gasped. Thorium! The rare, radioactive element
just below uranium in the periodic table of
the elements, the element used to power this very
ship! "What a find!" he said in a hushed voice. No
wonder the job was Federation priority A, with
Space Council security! "What do I do about it?"
he asked.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine grinned. "Ride it," he said. "Your orders
say you're to capture this asteroid, blast it out of its
orbit, and drive it back to earth!"
</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page049">[pg 049]</span><a name="Pg049" id="Pg049" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<a name="toc13" id="toc13"></a>
<a name="pdf14" id="pdf14"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Chapter Four - First, Find the Needle!</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip walked into the squadroom with a copy of
the orders in his hand. After one look at his face,
the Planeteers clustered around him. Santos woke
those who were sleeping, while Rip waited.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We have our orders, men," he announced. Suddenly
he laughed. He couldn't help it. At first he
had been completely overcome by the responsibility,
and the magnitude of the job, but now he was getting
used to the idea and he could see the adventure
in it. Ten wild Planeteers riding an asteroid! Sunny
space, what a great big thermo-nuclear stunt!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa remarked, "It must be good. The lieutenant
is getting a real atomic charge out of it."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Sit down," Rip ordered. "You'd better, because
you might fall over when you hear this. Listen, men.
Two days ago the freighter <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Altair</span></span> passed through
the asteroid belt on a run from Jupiter to Mars."
He sat down, too, because deceleration was starting.
As his men looked at each other in surprise at the
quickness of it, he continued, "The old bucket found
something we need. An asteroid of pure thorium."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The enlisted Planeteers knew as well as he what
that meant. There were whistles of astonishment.<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page050">[pg 050]</span><a name="Pg050" id="Pg050" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
Koa slapped his big thigh. "By Gemini! What do
we do about it, sir?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We capture it," Rip said. "We blast it loose from
its orbit and ride it back to earth."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He sat back and watched their reactions. At first
they were stunned. Trudeau, the Frenchman, muttered
to himself in French. Dominico, the Italian,
held up his hands and exclaimed, "Santa Maria!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Kemp, one of the American privates, asked, "How
do we do it, sir?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip grinned. "That's a good question. I don't
know."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
That stopped them. They stared at him. He added
quickly, "Supplies came aboard at Marsport. We'll
get the clue when we open them. Headquarters
must have known the method when they assigned
us and ordered the equipment."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa stood up. He was the only one who could
have moved upright against the terrific deceleration.
He walked to a rack at one side of the squadroom
and took down a copy of "The Space Navigator."
Then, resuming his seat, he looked questioningly at
Rip. "Anything else, sir? I thought I'd read what
there is about asteroids."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Go ahead," Rip agreed. He sat back as Koa began
to recite what data there was, but he didn't
listen. His mind was going ten astro units a second.
He thought he knew why he had been chosen for
the job. Word of the priceless asteroid must have<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page051">[pg 051]</span><a name="Pg051" id="Pg051" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
reached headquarters only a short time before he
was scheduled to leave the space platform. He could
imagine the speed with which the specialists at Terra
base had acted. They had sent orders instantly to the
fastest cruiser in the area, the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>, to stand by
for further instructions. Then their personnel machines
must have whirred rapidly, electronic brains
searching for the nearest available Planeteer officer
with an astrophysics specialty and astrogation training.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He could imagine the reaction when the machine
turned up the name of a brand-new lieutenant. But
the choice was logical enough. He knew that most,
if not all, of the Planeteer astrophysicists were either
in high or low space on special work. Chances are
there was no astrophysicist nearer than Ganymede.
So the choice had fallen to him.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He had a mental image of the Terra base scientists
feeding data into the electronic brain, taking the
results, and writing fast orders for the men and supplies
needed. If his estimate was correct, work at
the Planeteer base had been finished within an hour
of the time word was received.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
When they opened the cases brought aboard by
the Martians, he would see that the method of blasting
the asteroid into a course for earth was all figured
out for him.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip was anxious to get at those cases. Not until
he saw the method of operation could he begin to<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page052">[pg 052]</span><a name="Pg052" id="Pg052" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
figure his course. But there was no possibility of getting
at the stuff until brennschluss. He put the problem
out of his mind and concentrated on what his
men were saying.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"... and he slugged into that asteroid going close
to seven AU's," Santos was saying. The little Filipino
corporal shrugged expressively.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip recognized the story. It was about a supply
ship, a chemical drive rocket job that had blasted
into an asteroid a few years before.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Private Dowst shrugged, too. "Too bad. High
vack was waiting for him. Nothing you can do when
Old Man Nothing wants you."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip listened, interested. This was the talk of old
space hands. They had given the high vacuum of
empty space a personality, calling it "high vack," or
"Old Man Nothing." With understandable fatalism,
they believed—or said they believed—that when
high vacuum really wanted you, there was nothing
you could do.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip had come across an interesting bit of word
knowledge. Spacemen and Planeteers alike had a
way of using the phrase, "By Gemini!" Gemini, of
course, was the constellation of the Twins, Castor
and Pollux. Both were useful stars for astrogation.
The Roman horse soldiers of ancient history had
sworn, "By Gemini," or "By the Twins." The Romans
believed the stars were the famous Greek warriors
Castor and Pollux, placed in the heavens after<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page053">[pg 053]</span><a name="Pg053" id="Pg053" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
their deaths. In later years, the phrase degenerated
to simply "by jiminy" and its meaning had been
lost. Now, although few spacemen knew the history
of the phrase, they were using it again, correctly.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Other space talk grew out of space itself, and not
history. For instance, the worst thing that could happen
to a man was to have his helmet broken. Let the
transparent globe be shattered and the results were
both quick and final. Hence the oft-heard threat,
"I'll bust your bubble."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Speaking of bubbles ... Rip realized suddenly
that he and his men would have to live in bubbles
and space suits while on the asteroid. None of the
minor planets were big enough to have an atmosphere
or much gravity.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
If only he could get a look into those cases! But
the ship was still decelerating and he would have
to wait. He put his head against the chair rest and
settled down to wait as patiently as he could.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Brennschluss was a long time coming. When the
deceleration finally stopped, Rip didn't wait for gravity.
He hauled himself out of the chair and the
squadroom and went down the corridor hand over
hand. He headed straight for where the supplies
were stacked, his Planeteers close behind him.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Commander O'Brine arrived at the same time.
"We're starting to scan for the asteroid," he greeted
Rip. "May be some time before we find it."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Where are we, sir?" Rip asked.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page054">[pg 054]</span><a name="Pg054" id="Pg054" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Just above the asteroid belt near the outer edge.
We're beyond the position where the asteroid was
sighted, moving along what the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Altair</span></span> figured as its
orbit. I'm not stretching space, Foster, when I tell
you we're hunting for a needle in a junk pile. This
part of space is filled with more objects than you
would imagine, and they all register on the rad-screens."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We'll find it," Rip said confidently.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine nodded. "Yes. But it probably will take
some hunting. Meanwhile, let's get at those cases.
The supply clerk is on his way."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The supply clerk arrived, issued tools to the Planeteers,
then opened a plastic case attached to one
of the boxes and produced lists. As the Planeteers
opened and unpacked the crates, Rip and O'Brine
inspected and the clerk checked the items off.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The first case produced a complete chemical cutting
unit with an assortment of cutting tips and
adapters. Rip looked around for the gas cylinders
and saw none. "Something's wrong," he objected.
"Where's the fuel supply for the torch?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The supply clerk inspected the lists, shuffled papers,
and found the answer.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"The following," he read, "are to be supplied
from the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> complement. One landing boat,
large, model twenty-eight. Eight each, oxygen cutting
unit gas bottles. Four each, chemical cutting
unit fuel tanks."
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page055">[pg 055]</span><a name="Pg055" id="Pg055" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"That's that," Rip said, relieved. Apparently he
was supposed to do a lot of cutting on the asteroid,
probably of the thorium itself. The hot flame of the
torch could melt any known substance. The torch
itself could melt in unskilled hands.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The next case yielded a set of astrogation instruments
carefully cradled in a soft, rubbery plastic.
Rip left them in the case and put them to one side.
As he did so, Sergeant-major Koa let out a whistle
of surprise.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Lieutenant, look at this!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Corporal Santos exclaimed, "Well stonker me for
a stupid space squid! Do they expect us to find any
people on this asteroid?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The object was a portable rocket launcher designed
to fire light attack rockets. It was a standard
item of fighting equipment for Planeteers.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I recognize the shape of those cases over there,
now," Koa said. "Ten racks of rockets for the launcher,
one rack to a case."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip scratched his head. He was as puzzled as Santos.
Why supply fighting equipment for a crew on
an asteroid that couldn't possibly have any living
thing on it?
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He left the puzzle for the future and called for
more cases. The next two yielded projectile type
handguns for ten men, with ammunition, and standard
Planeteer space knives. The space knives had
hidden blades which were driven forth violently<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page056">[pg 056]</span><a name="Pg056" id="Pg056" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
when the operator pushed a thumb lever, releasing
the gas in a cartridge contained in the handle. The
blades snapped forth with enough force to break a
bubble, or to cut through a space suit. They were
designed for the sole purpose of space hand-to-hand
combat.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers looked at each other. What were
they up against, that such equipment was needed
on a barren asteroid?
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Private Dowst opened a box that contained a complete
tool kit, the tools designed to be handled
by men in space suits. Yards of wire, for several
purposes, were wound on reels. Two hand-driven
dynamos capable of developing great power were
included.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Corporal Pederson found a small case which contained
books, the latest astronomical data sheets, and
a space computer and scratch board. These were
obviously for Rip's personal use. He examined them.
There were all the references he would need for
computing orbit, speed, and just about anything
else that might be required. He had to admire the
thoroughness of whoever had written the order. The
unknown Planeteer had assumed that the space
cruiser would not have all the astrophysics references
necessary and had included a copy of each.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Several large cases remained. Koa ripped the side
from one and let out an exclamation. Rip hurried
over and looked in. His stomach did a quick orbital<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page057">[pg 057]</span><a name="Pg057" id="Pg057" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
reverse. Great Cosmos! The thing was an atomic
bomb!
</p>
<a name="fig15" id="fig15"></a><div class="tei tei-figure" style="text-align: center"><img src="images/image07.png" width="640" height="982" alt="Illustration: Great Cosmos! It Was An Atomic Bomb!" title="Great Cosmos! It Was An Atomic Bomb!" /><div class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em">Great Cosmos! It Was An Atomic Bomb!</div></div>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Commander O'Brine leaned over his shoulder and
peered at the lettering on the cylinder. "Equivalent
ten KT."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
In other words, the explosion the harmless-looking
cylinder could produce was equivalent to 10,000
tons of TNT, a chemical explosive no longer in
actual use but still used for comparison.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip asked huskily, "Any more of those things?"
The importance of the job was becoming increasingly
clear to him. Nuclear explosives were not used
without good reason. The fissionable material was
too valuable for other purposes.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The sides came off the remaining cases. Some of
them held fat tubes of conventional rocket fuel in
solid form, the detonators carefully packed separately.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There were three other atomic bombs, making
four in all. There were two bombs each of five KT
and ten KT.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Commander O'Brine looked at the amazing assortment
of stuff. "Does that check, clerk?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The spaceman nodded. "Yes, sir. I found another
notation that says food supplies and personal equipment
to be supplied by the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Well, vack me for a Venusian rabbit!" O'Brine
muttered. He tugged at his ear. "You could dump
me on that asteroid with this assortment of junk and<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page059">[pg 059]</span><a name="Pg059" id="Pg059" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
I'd spend the rest of my life there. I don't see how
you can use this stuff to move an asteroid!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Maybe that's why the Federation sent Planeteers,"
Rip said, and was sorry the moment the
words were out.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine's jaw muscles bulged, but he held his
temper. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that,
Foster. We have to get along until the asteroid is
safely in an orbit around earth. After that, I'm going
to take a great deal of pleasure in feeding you to the
spacefish, piece by piece."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
It was Rip's turn to get red. "I'm sorry, Commander.
Accept my apologies." He certainly had a
lot to learn about space etiquette. Apparently there
was a time for spacemen and Planeteers to fight each
other, and a time for them to cooperate like friends.
He hoped he'd catch on after a while.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what to do
with this stuff," O'Brine said. "If you need help, let
me know."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
And Rip knew his apology was accepted.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The deputy commander arrived, drew O'Brine
aside, and whispered in his ear. The commander let
out an exclamation and started out of the room. At
the door he turned. "Better come along, Foster."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip followed as the commander led the way to
his own quarters. At the door, two space officers were
waiting, their faces grave.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine motioned them to chairs. "All right. Let's<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page060">[pg 060]</span><a name="Pg060" id="Pg060" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
have it."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The senior space officer held out a sheet of flimsy.
It was pale blue, the color used for highly confidential
documents. "Sir, this came in Space Council
special cipher."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Read it aloud," O'Brine ordered.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yessir. It's addressed to you, this ship. From Planeteer
Intelligence, Marsport. 'Consops cruiser departed
general direction your area. Agents report
crew <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Altair</span></span> may have leaked data re asteroid. Take
appropriate action.' It's signed 'Williams, SOS, Commanding.'"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip saw the meaning of the message instantly. The
Consolidation of People's Governments of earth,
traditional enemies and rivals of the Federation of
Free Governments, needed radioactive minerals as
badly, or worse, than the Federation. In space it was
first come, first take. They had to find the asteroid
quickly. It was to prevent Consops from knowing of
the asteroid that security measures had been taken.
They hadn't worked, because of loose space chatter
at Marsport.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine issued quick orders. "Now, get this. We
have to work fast. Accelerate fifty percent, same
course. I want two men on each screen. If anything
of the right size shows up, decelerate until we can
get mass and albedo measurements. Snap to it."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The space officers started out, but O'Brine stopped
them. "Use one long-range screen for scanning high<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page061">[pg 061]</span><a name="Pg061" id="Pg061" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
space toward Mars. Let me know the minute you
get a blip, because it probably will be that Consops
cruiser. Have the missile ports cleared for action."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip's eyes opened. Clear the missile ports? That
meant getting the cruiser in fighting shape, ready
for instant action. "You wouldn't fire on that Consops
cruiser, would you, sir?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine gave him a grim smile. "Certainly not,
Foster. It's against orders to start anything with Consops
cruisers. You know why. The situation is so
tense that a fight between two space ships might
plunge earth into war." His smile got even grimmer.
"But you never know. The Consops ship might fire
first. Or an accident might happen."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The commander leaned forward. "We'll find that
asteroid for you, Mr. Planeteer. We'll put you on it
and see you on your way. Then we'll ride space along
with you, and if any Consops thieves try to take over
and collect that thorium for themselves, they'll find
Kevin O'Brine waiting. That's a promise, boy."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip felt a lot better. He sat back in his chair and
regarded the commander with mixed respect and
something else. Against his will, he was beginning
to like the man. No doubt of it, the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> was
well named. And the sting in the scorpion's tail was
O'Brine himself.
</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page062">[pg 062]</span><a name="Pg062" id="Pg062" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<a name="toc16" id="toc16"></a>
<a name="pdf17" id="pdf17"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Chapter Dive - The Small Gray World</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip rejoined his Planeteers in the supply room
and motioned for them to gather around him. "I
know why Terra base sent us the fighting equipment,"
he announced. "They were afraid word of
this thorium asteroid would leak out to Consops—and
it has. A Connie cruiser blasted off from Marsport
and headed this way."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He watched the faces of his men carefully, to see
how they would take the news. They merely looked
at each other and shrugged. Conflict with Consops
was nothing new to them.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"The freighter that found the asteroid landed at
Marsport, didn't it?" Koa asked. Getting a nod from
Rip, he went on, "Then I know what probably happened.
The two things spacemen can't do are breathe
high vack and keep their mouths shut. Some of the
crew blabbed about the asteroid, probably at the
Space Club. That's where they hang out. The Connies
hang out there, too. Result, we get a Connie
cruiser after the asteroid."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"You hit it," Rip acknowledged.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Corporal Santos shrugged. "If the Connies try to
take the asteroid away, they'll have a real warm time.<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page063">[pg 063]</span><a name="Pg063" id="Pg063" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
We have ten racks of rockets, twenty-four to a rack.
That's a lot of snapper-boats we can pick off if they
try to make a landing."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers stopped talking as the voice horn
sounded. "Get it! We are going into no-weight. Prepare
to stay in no-weight indefinitely. Rotation stops
in two minutes."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip realized why the order was given. The <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>
could not maneuver while in a gravity spin and
O'Brine wanted to be free to take action if necessary.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The voice horn came on again. "Now get it again.
The ship may maneuver suddenly. Prepare for acceleration
or deceleration without warning. One minute
to no-weight."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip gave quick orders. "Get lines around the
equipment and prepare to haul it. I'll get landing
boats assigned and we can load. Then prepare space
packs. Lay out suits and bubbles. We want to be
ready the moment we get the word."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Lines were taken from a locker and secured to the
equipment. As the Planeteers worked, the ship's
spinning slowed and stopped. They were in no-weight.
Rip grabbed for a hand cord that hung from
the wall and hauled himself out into the engine control
room. The deputy commander was at his post,
waiting tensely for orders. Rip thrust against a bulkhead
with one foot and floated to his side. "I need
two landing boats, sir," he requested. "One stays on
the asteroid with us."
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page064">[pg 064]</span><a name="Pg064" id="Pg064" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Take numbers five and six. I'll assign a pilot to
bring number five back to the ship after you've
landed."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Thank you." Rip would have been surprised at
the deputy's quick assent if Commander O'Brine
hadn't shown him that the spacemen were ready to
do anything possible to aid the Planeteers. He went
back to the supply room and told Koa which boats
were to be used, instructed him to get the supplies
aboard, then made his way to Commander O'Brine's
office.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine was not in. Rip searched and found him
in the astro-plot room, watching a 'scope. Green
streaks called "blips" marked the panel, each one
indicating an asteroid.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"All too small," O'Brine said. "We've only seen
two large ones, and they were too large."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Space is certainly full of junk," Rip commented.
"At least this corner of it is full."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A junior space officer overheard him. "This is
nothing. We're on the edge of the asteroid belt.
Closer to the middle, there's so much stuff a ship
has to crawl through it."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip wandered over to the main control desk. A
senior space officer was seated before a simple panel
on which there were only a dozen small levers, a
visiphone, and a radar screen. The screen was circular,
with numbers around the rim like those on
an earth-clock. In the center of the screen was a tiny<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page065">[pg 065]</span><a name="Pg065" id="Pg065" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
circle. The central circle represented the Scorpius.
The rest of the screen was the area dead ahead. Rip
watched and saw several blips on it that indicated
asteroids. They were all small. He watched, interested,
as the cruiser overtook them. Once, according
to the screen, the cruiser passed under an asteroid
with a clearance of only a few hundred feet.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"You didn't miss that one by much," Rip told the
space officer.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Don't have to miss by much," he retorted. "A
few feet are as good as a mile in space. Our blast
might kick them around a little, and maybe there's
a little mutual mass attraction, but we don't worry
about it."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He pointed to a blip that was just swimming into
view, a sharp green point against the screen. "We
do have to worry about that one." He selected a
lever and pulled it toward him.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip felt sudden weight against his feet. The green
point on the screen moved downward below center.
The feeling of weight ceased. He knew what had
happened, of course. Around the hull of the ship,
set in evenly spaced lines, were a series of blast holes
through which steam was fired. The steam was produced
instantly by running water through the heat
coils of the nuclear engine. By using groups or combinations
of steam tubes, the control officer could
move the ship in any direction or set it rolling, spin
it end over end or whirl it in an eccentric pattern.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page066">[pg 066]</span><a name="Pg066" id="Pg066" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"How do you decide which tubes to use?" Rip
asked.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Depends on what's happening. If we were ducking
missiles from an enemy, I'd get orders from the
commander. But to duck asteroids, there's no problem.
I go over them by firing the steam tubes along
the bottom of the ship. That way, you feel the acceleration
on your feet. If I fired the top tubes the ship
would drop out from under those who were standing.
They'd all end up on the ceiling."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip watched for a while longer, then wandered
back to Commander O'Brine. He was getting anxious.
At first, the task of capturing an asteroid and
moving it back to earth had been rather unreal, like
some of the problems he had worked out while training
on the space platform. Now he was no longer
calm about it. He had faith in the Terra base Planeteer
specialists, but they couldn't figure everything
out for him. Most of the problems of getting the
asteroid back to earth would have to be solved by
Lieutenant Richard Ingalls Peter Foster.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A junior space officer suddenly called, "Sir, I have
a reading at two seventy degrees, twenty-three degrees
eight minutes high."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Commander O'Brine jumped up so fast that the
action shot him to the ceiling. He kicked down again
and leaned over the officer's 'scope. Rip got there by
pulling himself right across the top of the chart table.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The green point of light on the 'scope was bigger<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page067">[pg 067]</span><a name="Pg067" id="Pg067" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
than any other he had seen.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"It's about the right size," O'Brine said. There
was excitement in his voice. "Correct course. Let's
take a look at it."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
All hands gripped something with which to steady
themselves as the cruiser spun swiftly onto the new
course. The control officer called, "I have it centered,
sir. We'll reach it in about an hour at this
speed."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Jack it up," O'Brine ordered. "Heave some neutrons
into it. Double speed, then decelerate to reach
it in thirty minutes."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The control officer issued orders to the engine
control room. In a moment acceleration plucked at
them. O'Brine motioned to Rip. "Come on, Foster.
Let's see what Analysis makes of this rock."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip followed the commander to the deck below
where the technical analysts were located. His heart
was pounding a little faster than usual, and not from
acceleration, either. He found himself wetting his
lips frequently and thought, "Get hold of it, boy.
You got nothing to worry about but high vacuum."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He didn't really believe it. There would be plenty
to worry about. Like detonating nuclear bombs and
trying to figure their blast reaction. Like figuring
out the course that would take them closest to the
sun without pulling them into it. Like a thousand
things—all of them up to him.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The chief analyst greeted them. "We got the orders<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page068">[pg 068]</span><a name="Pg068" id="Pg068" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
to change course, Commander. That gave us
the location of the asteroid. We're already working
on it."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Anything yet?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"No, sir. We'll have the albedo measurement in a
few minutes. It will take longer to figure the mass."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The asteroid's efficiency in reflecting sunlight was
its albedo. The efficiency depended on the material
of which it was made. The albedo of pure metallic
thorium was known. If the asteroid's albedo matched
it, that would be one piece of evidence.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
In the same way, the mass of thorium was known.
The measurements of the asteroid were being taken.
They would be compared with a chunk of thorium
of the same size. If it worked out, that would be
evidence enough.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Commander O'Brine motioned to chairs. "Might
as well sit down while we're waiting, Foster." He
took one of the chairs and looked closely at Rip. Suddenly
he grinned. "I thought Planeteers never got
nervous."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Who's nervous?" Rip retorted, then answered his
own question truthfully. "I am. You're right, sir.
The closer we get, the more scared I get."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"That's a good sign," O'Brine replied. "It means
you'll be careful. Got any real doubts about the job?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip thought it over and didn't think so. "Not any
real ones. I think we can do it. But I'm nervous
just the same. Great Cosmos, Commander! This is<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page069">[pg 069]</span><a name="Pg069" id="Pg069" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
my first assignment, and they give me a whole world
to myself and tell me to bring it home. Maybe it
isn't a very big world, but that doesn't change things
much."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine chuckled. "I never expected to get an
admission like that from a Planeteer."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"And I," Rip retorted, "never expected to make
one like that to a spaceman."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The chief analyst returned, a sheet of computations
in his hand. "Report, sir. The albedo measurement
is correct. Looks like this may be the one."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"How long before we get the measurements and
comparisons?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Ten minutes, perhaps."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip spoke up. "Sir, there's some data I'll need."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"What, Lieutenant?" The chief analyst pulled a
notebook from his pocket.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I'll need all possible data on the asteroid's speed,
orbit, and physical measurements. I have to figure
a new orbit and what it will take to blast the mass
into it."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We'll get those. The orbit will not be exact, of
course. We have only two reference points. But I
think we'll come pretty close."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine nodded. "Do what you can, Chief. And
when Foster gets down to doing his calculations,
have your men run them through the electronic
computer for him."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip thanked them both, then stood up. "Sir, I'm<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page070">[pg 070]</span><a name="Pg070" id="Pg070" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
going back to my men. I want to be sure everything
is ready. If there's a Connie cruiser headed this way,
we don't want to lose any time."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Good idea. I think we'll dump you on the asteroid,
Foster, and then blast off. Not too far, of course.
Just enough to lead the Connie away from you if
its screen picks us up."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
That sounded good to Rip. "We'll be ready when
you are, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The chief analyst took less than the estimated ten
minutes for his next set of figures. Commander
O'Brine called personally while Rip was still searching
for the right landing boat ports. The voice horn
bellowed, "Get it! Lieutenant Foster. The mass
measurements are correct. This is your asteroid. Estimated
twelve minutes before we reach it. Your
data will be ready by the time you get back here.
Show an exhaust!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip found Koa and the men and asked the sergeant-major
for a report.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We're ready, sir," Koa told him. "We can get out
in three minutes. It will take us that long to get into
space gear. Your stuff is laid out, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Get me the books and charts from the supplies,"
Rip directed. "Have Santos bring them to the chief
analyst. I'm going back and figure our course. No
use doing it the hard way on the asteroid when I can
do it in a few minutes here with the ship's computer."
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page071">[pg 071]</span><a name="Pg071" id="Pg071" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He turned and hurried back, hauling himself
along by handholds. The ship had stopped acceleration
and was at no-weight again. As he neared the
analysis section it went into deceleration, but the
pressure was not too bad. He made his way against
it easily.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The chief analyst was waiting for him. "We have
everything you need, Lieutenant, except the orbital
stuff. We'll do the best we can on that and have a
good estimate in a few minutes. Meanwhile, you can
mark up your figures. Incidentally, what power are
you going to use to move the asteroid?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Nuclear explosions," Rip said, and saw the chief's
eyes pop. He added, "With conventional chemical
fuel for corrections."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He felt rising excitement. The whole ship seemed
to have come to life. There was excited tension in
the computer room when he went in with the chief.
Spacemen, all mathematicians, were waiting for him.
As the chief led him to a table, they gathered around
him.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip took command. "Here's what we're after. I
need to plot an orbit that will get us out of the
asteroid belt without any collisions, take us as close
to the sun as possible without having it capture us,
and land us in space about ten thousand miles from
earth. From then on I'll throw the asteroid into a
braking ellipse around the earth and I'll be able to
make any small corrections necessary."
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page072">[pg 072]</span><a name="Pg072" id="Pg072" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He spread out a solar system chart and marked in
the positions of the planets as of that moment, using
the daily almanac. Then he put down the position
of the asteroid, taking it from the paper the chief
analyst handed him.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Will you make assignments, Chief?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The chief shook his head. "Make them yourself,
Lieutenant. We're at your service."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip felt a little ashamed of some of the unkind
things he had said about spacemen. "Thank you."
He pointed to a spaceman. "Will you calculate the
inertia of the asteroid, please?" The spaceman hurried
off.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"First thing to do is plot the orbit as though there
were no other bodies in the system," Rip said.
"Where's Santos?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Here, sir." The corporal had come in unnoticed
with Rip's reference books.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip had plotted orbits before, but never one for
actual use. His palms were wet as he laid it out, using
prepared tables. When he had finished he pointed
to a spaceman. "That's it. Will you translate it into
analogue figures for the computer, please?" He assigned
to others the task of figuring out the effect
Mercury, the sun, and earth would have on the orbit,
using an assumed speed for the asteroid.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
To the chief analyst he gave the job of putting
all the data together in proper form for feeding to
the electronic brain.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page073">[pg 073]</span><a name="Pg073" id="Pg073" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
It would have taken all spacemen present about
ten days to complete the job by regular methods, but
the electronic computer produced the answer in
three minutes.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Thanks a million, Chief," Rip said. "I'll be calling
on you again before this is over." He tucked
the sheets into his pocket.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Any time, Lieutenant. We'll keep rechecking the
figures as we go along. If there are any corrections,
we'll send them to you. That will give you a check
on your own figures."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Don't worry," Rip assured him. "We'll have
plenty of corrections."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Deceleration had been dropping steadily. It ceased
altogether, leaving them weightless. O'Brine's voice
came over the speaker. "Get it! Valve crews take
stations at landing boats five and six. The Planeteers
will depart in five minutes. Lieutenant Foster will
report to central control if he cannot be ready in
that time."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Santos grinned at Rip. "Here we go, Lieutenant."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip's heart would have dropped into his shoes if
there had been any gravity. Only a little excitement
showed on his face, though. He waved his thanks at
the analysts and grinned back at Santos.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Show an exhaust, Corporal. High vack is waiting!"
</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page074">[pg 074]</span><a name="Pg074" id="Pg074" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<a name="toc18" id="toc18"></a>
<a name="pdf19" id="pdf19"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Chapter Six - Rip's Personal Planet</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip rechecked his space suit before putting on his
helmet. The air seal was intact and his heating
and ventilating units worked. He slapped his knee
pouches to make sure the space knife was handy to
his left hand and the pistol to his right.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa was already fully dressed. He handed Rip the
shoulder case that contained the plotting board.
Santos had taken charge of Rip's astrogation instruments.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A spaceman was waiting with Rip's bubble. At
a nod, the spaceman slipped it on his head. Rip
reached up and gave it a quarter turn. The locking
mechanism clamped into place. He turned his belt
ventilator control on full and the space suit puffed
out. When it was fully inflated he watched the pressure
gauge. It was steady. No leaks in suit or helmet.
He let the pressure go down to normal.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa's voice buzzed in his ears. "Hear me, sir?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip turned the volume of his communicator down
a little and spoke in a normal voice. "I hear you.
Am I clear?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yessir. All men dressed and ready."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip made a final check. He counted his men, then<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page075">[pg 075]</span><a name="Pg075" id="Pg075" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
personally inspected their suits. The boats were
next. They were typical landing craft, shaped like
rectangular boxes. There was no need for streamlining
in the vacuum of space. They were not pressurized.
Only men in space suits rode in the ungainly
boxes.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He checked all blast tubes to make sure they were
clear. There were small single tubes on each side of
the craft. A clogged one could explode and blow the
boat up.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa, he knew, had checked everything, but the
final responsibility was his. In space, no officer or
sergeant took anyone's word for anything that might
mean lives. Each checked every detail personally.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip looked around and saw the Planeteers watching
him. There was approval on the faces behind
the clear helmets, and he knew they were satisfied
with his thoroughness.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
At last, certain that everything was in good order,
he said quietly, "Pilots, man your boats."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Dowst got into one and a spaceman into the other.
Dowst's boat would stay with them on the asteroid.
The spaceman would bring the other to the ship.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Commander O'Brine stepped through the valve
into the boat lock. A spaceman handed him a hand
communicator. He spoke into it. Rip couldn't have
heard him through the helmet otherwise. "All set,
Foster?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Ready, sir."
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page076">[pg 076]</span><a name="Pg076" id="Pg076" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Good. The long-range screen picked up a blip a
few minutes ago. It's probably that Connie cruiser."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip swallowed. The Planeteers froze, waiting for
the commander's next words.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Our screens are a little better than theirs, so
there's a slim chance they haven't picked us up yet.
We'll drop you and get out of here. But don't
worry. We have your orbit fixed and we'll find you
when the screens are clear."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Suppose they find us while you're gone?" Rip
asked.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"It's a chance," O'Brine admitted. "You'll have to
take spaceman's luck on that one. But we won't be
far away. We'll duck behind Vesta or another of the
big asteroids and hide so their screens won't pick up
our motion. Every now and then we'll sneak out for
a look, if the screen seems clear. If those high-vack
vermin do find you, get on the landing boat radio
and yell for help. We'll come blasting."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He waved a hand, thumb and forefinger held together
in the ancient symbol for "everything right,"
then ordered, "Get flaming." He stepped through
the valve.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Clear the lock," Rip ordered. "Open outer valve
when ready."
</p>
<a name="fig20" id="fig20"></a><div class="tei tei-figure" style="text-align: center"><img src="images/image08.png" width="640" height="962" alt="Illustration: "Get Flaming, Foster!"" title=""Get Flaming, Foster!"" /><div class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em">"Get Flaming, Foster!"</div></div>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He took a quick final look around. The pilots
were in the boats. His Planeteers were standing by,
safety lines already attached to the boats and their
belts. He moved into position and snapped his own<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page078">[pg 078]</span><a name="Pg078" id="Pg078" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
line to a ring on Dowst's boat. The spacemen vanished
through the valve and the massive door slid
closed. The overhead lights flicked out. Rip snapped
on his belt light and the others followed suit.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
In front of the boxlike landing boats a great door
slid open and air from the lock rushed out. Rip
knew it was only imagination, but he felt for a
moment as though the bitter cold of space, near
absolute zero, had penetrated his suit. Beyond the
lights from their belts he saw stars, and recognized
the constellation for which the space cruiser was
named. A superstitious spaceman would have taken
that as a good sign. Rip admitted that it was nice
to see.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Float 'em," he ordered.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers gripped handholds at the entrance
with one hand and launching rails on the boats with
the other and heaved. The boats slid into space. As
the safety lines tightened, the Planeteers were pulled
after the boat.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip left his feet with a little spring and shot
through the door. Directly below him the asteroid
gleamed darkly in the light of the tiny sun. His first
reaction was, "Great Cosmos! What a little chunk
of rock!" But that was because he was used to looking
from the space platform at the great curve of
Terra or at the big ball of the moon. Actually the
asteroid was fair-sized when compared with most of
its kind.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page079">[pg 079]</span><a name="Pg079" id="Pg079" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers hauled themselves into the boats
by their safety lines. Rip waited until all were in,
then pulled himself along his own line to the black
square o£ the door. Koa was waiting to give him a
hand into the craft.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers were standing, except for Dowst.
Rip had never seen an old-type railroad or he might
have likened the landing boat to a railroad box car.
It was about the same size and shape, but it had huge
"windows" on both sides and in front of the pilot—windows
that were not enclosed. The space-suited
men needed no protection.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Blast," Rip ordered.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A pulse of fire spurted from the top of each boat,
driving them bottom-first toward the asteroid.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Land at will," Rip said.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The asteroid loomed large as he looked through
an opening. It was rocky, but there were plenty of
smooth places.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Dowst picked one. He was an expert pilot and Rip
watched him with pleasure. The exhaust from the
top lessened and fire spurted soundlessly from the
bottom. Dowst balanced the opposite thrusts of the
top and bottom blasts with the delicacy of a man
threading a needle. In a few moments the boat was
hovering a foot above the asteroid. Dowst cut the
exhausts and Rip stepped out onto the tiny planet.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers knew what to do. Corporal Pederson
produced hardened steel spikes with ring tops.<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page080">[pg 080]</span><a name="Pg080" id="Pg080" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
Private Trudeau had a sledge. Driving the first spike
would be the hardest, because the action of swinging
the hammer would propel the Planeteer like a rocket
exhaust. In space, the law that every action has an
equal and opposite reaction had to be remembered
every moment.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip watched, interested in how his men would
tackle the problem. He didn't know the answer himself,
because he had never driven a spike on an airless,
almost gravityless world and no one had ever
mentioned it to him.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Pederson searched the gray metal with his torch
and found a slender spur of thorium perhaps two
feet high a short distance from the boat. "Here's a
hold," he said. "Come on, Frenchy. You, too, Bradshaw."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Trudeau, carrying the sledge, walked up to the
spur of rock and stood with his heels against it.
Pederson sat down on the ground with the spur
between his legs. He stretched, hooking his heels
around Trudeau's ankles, anchoring him. With his
gloves he grabbed the seat of the Frenchman's space
suit.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Bradshaw took a spike and held it against the gray
metal ground. The Frenchman swung, his hammer
noiseless as it drove the tough spike in. A few inches
into the metal was enough. Bradshaw took a wrench
from his belt, put it on the head of the spike and
turned it. Below the surface, teeth on the spike bit<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page081">[pg 081]</span><a name="Pg081" id="Pg081" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
into the metal. It would hold.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The rest was easy. The spike was used to anchor
Trudeau while he drove another, at his longest
reach. Then the second spike became his anchor, and
so on, until enough spikes had been set to lace the
boat down against any sudden shock.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The boat piloted by the spaceman was tied to the
one that would remain and the Planeteers floated its
supplies through a window. It took only a few moments,
with Planeteers forming a chain from inside
the boat to a spot a little distance away. Even the
heaviest crates weighed almost nothing. They passed
them from one to the other like balloons.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"All clear, sir," Koa called.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip stepped inside and made a quick inspection.
The box was empty except for the spaceman pilot.
He put a hand on the pilot's shoulder. "On your
way, Rocky. Thanks."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"You're welcome, sir." The pilot added, "Watch
out for high vack."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip and Koa stepped out and walked a little distance
away. Santos and Pederson cast the landing
boat adrift and shoved it away from the anchored
boat. In a moment fire spurted from the bottom
tube, spreading over the dull metal and licking at
the feet of the Planeteers.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip watched the boat rise upward to the great,
sleek, dark bulk of the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>. The landing boat
maneuvered into the air lock with brief flares from<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page082">[pg 082]</span><a name="Pg082" id="Pg082" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
its exhausts. In a few moments the sparkling blast of
auxiliary rocket tubes moved the spaceship away.
O'Brine was putting a little distance between his
ship and the asteroid before turning on the nuclear
drive. The ship decreased in size until Rip saw it
only as a dark, oval silhouette against the Milky
Way, then the exhaust of the nuclear drive grew
into a mighty column of glowing blue and the ship
flamed into space.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
For a moment Rip had a wild impulse to yell for
the ship to come back. He had been in vacuum before,
but only as a cadet, with an officer in charge.
Now, suddenly, he was the one responsible. The job
was his. He stiffened. Planeteer officers didn't worry
about things like that. He forced his mind to the
job in hand.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The next step was to establish a base. The base
would have to be on the dark side of the asteroid,
once it was in its new orbit. That meant a temporary
base now and a better one later, when they had
blasted the little planet onto its new course. He
estimated roughly the approximate positions where
he would place his charges, using the sun and the
star Canopus as visual guides.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"This will do for a temporary base," he announced.
"Rig the boat compartment. While two of
you are doing that, the rest break out the rocket
launcher and rocket racks and assemble the cutting
torch. Koa will make assignments."
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page083">[pg 083]</span><a name="Pg083" id="Pg083" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
While the sergeant-major translated Rip's general
instructions into specific orders for each man, the
young lieutenant walked to the edge of the sun belt.
There was no atmosphere, so the edge was a sharp
line between dark and light. There wasn't much
light, either. They were too far from the sun for that.
But as they neared the sun, the darkness would be
their protection. They would get so close to Sol that
the metal on the sun side would get soft as butter.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He bent close to the uneven surface. It was clean
metal, not oxidized at all. The thorium had never
been exposed to oxygen. Here and there, pyramids
of metal thrust up from the asteroid, sometimes singly,
sometimes in clusters. They were metal crystal
formations. He guessed that once, long ages ago, the
asteroid had been a part of something much bigger,
perhaps a planet. One theory said the asteroids were
formed when a planet exploded. This asteroid might
have been a pocket of pure thorium in the planet.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There would be plenty to do in a short while, but
meanwhile he enjoyed the sensation of being on a
tiny world in space with only a handful of Planeteers
for company. He smiled. "King Foster," he said to
himself. "Monarch of a thorium space speck." It
was a rather nice feeling, even though he laughed
at himself for thinking it. Since he was in command
of the detachment, he could in all truth say this was
his own personal planet. It would be a good bit of
space humor to spring on the folks back on Terra.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page084">[pg 084]</span><a name="Pg084" id="Pg084" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yep, I was boss of a whole world, once. Made
myself king. Emperor of all the metal molecules
and king of the thorium spurs. And my subjects
obeyed my every command." He added, "Thanks to
Planeteer discipline. The detachment commander
is boss."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He reminded himself that he'd better stop gathering
spacedust and start acting like a detachment
commander. He walked back to the landing boat,
stepping with care. With such low gravity a false
step could send him high above the asteroid. Of
course that would not be dangerous, since the space
suits were equipped with six small compressed air
bottles for emergency propulsion. But it would be
embarrassing.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Inside the boat, Dowst and Nunez were setting up
the compartment. Sections of the rear wall swung
out and locked into place against airtight seals, forming
a box at the rear end of the boat. Equipment
sealed in the stern next to the rocket tube supplied
light, heat, and air. It was a simple but necessary
arrangement. Without it, the Planeteers could not
have eaten.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There was no air lock for the compartment. The
half of the detachment not on duty would walk in,
seal it up, turn on the equipment, and wait until the
gauges registered sufficient air and heat, then remove
their space suits. When it was time to leave again,
they would don suits, open the door and walk out,<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page085">[pg 085]</span><a name="Pg085" id="Pg085" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
and the next shift would enter and repeat the process.
Earlier models had permanent compartments,
but they took up too much room in craft designed
for carrying as many men and as much equipment
as possible. They were strictly work boats, and hard
experience had showed the best design.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The rocket launcher was already set up near the
boat. It was a simple affair, with four adjustable legs
bolted to ground spikes. The legs held a movable
cradle in which the rocket racks were placed. High-geared
hand controls enabled the gunner to swing
the cradle at high speed in any direction except
straight down. A simple, illuminated optical sight
was all the gunner needed. Since there was no gravity
and no atmosphere in space, the missiles flashed out
in a straight line, continuing on into infinity if they
missed their targets. Proximity fuses made this a
remote possibility. If the rocket got anywhere near
the target, the shell would explode.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip found his astrogation instruments set carefully
to one side. He took the data sheets from his
case and examined them. Now came the work of
finding the exact spots in which to place his atomic
charges. Since the computer aboard ship had done
all the mathematics necessary, he needed only to take
sights to determine the precise positions.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He took a transit-like instrument from the case,
pulled out the legs of its self-contained tripod, then
carried it to a spot near where he had estimated the<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page086">[pg 086]</span><a name="Pg086" id="Pg086" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
first charge would be placed. The instrument was
equipped with three movable rings to be set for the
celestial equator, for the zero meridian, and for the
right ascension of any convenient star. Using a regular
level would have been much simpler. The
instrument had one, but with so little gravity to
activate it, the thing was useless.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The sights were specially designed for use in space
and his bubble was no obstacle in taking observations.
He merely put the clear plastic against the
curved sight and looked into it much as he would
have looked through a telescope on earth.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
As he did so, a hint of pale pink light caught the
corner of his eye. He backed away from the instrument
and turned his head quickly, looking at the
colorimeter-type radiation detector at the side of his
helmet. It was glowing.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
An icy chill sent a shiver through him. Great, gorgeous
galaxies! He had forgotten ... had Koa and
the others? He turned so fast he lost balance and
floated above the surface like a captive balloon. Santos,
who had been standing near by to help if requested,
hooked a toe on a ground spike, caught him,
and set him upright on the ground again.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Get me the radiation detection instruments," he
ordered.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa sensed the urgency in his voice and got the
instruments himself. Rip switched them on and read
the illuminated dial on the alpha counter. Plenty<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page087">[pg 087]</span><a name="Pg087" id="Pg087" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
high, as was natural. But no danger there—alpha
particles couldn't penetrate the space suits. Then,
his hand clammy inside the space glove, he switched
on the other meter. The gamma count was far below
the alpha, but there were too many of the rays
around for comfort. Inside the helmet, his face
turned pale.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There was no immediate danger. It would take
many days to build up a dose of gamma that could
hurt them. But gamma was not the only radiation.
They were in space, fully exposed to equally dangerous
cosmic radiation.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers had gathered while he read the
instruments. Now they stood watching him. They
knew the significance of what he had found.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I ought to be busted to recruit," he told them.
"I knew this asteroid was thorium, and that thorium
is radioactive. If I had used my head, I would have
added nuclite shielding to the list of supplies the
<span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> provided. We could have had enough of it
to protect us while around our base, even if we
couldn't be protected while working on the charges.
That would at least have kept our dosage down
enough for safety."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"No one else thought of it, either, sir," Koa reminded.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"It was my job to think of it, and I didn't. So I've
put us in a time squeeze. If the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> gets back
soon, we can get the shielding before our radiation<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page088">[pg 088]</span><a name="Pg088" id="Pg088" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
dosage has built up very high. If the ship doesn't
come back, the dosage will mount."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He looked at them grimly. "It won't kill us, and
it won't even make us very sick. I'll have the ship
take us off before we build up that much dosage."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Santos started. "But, sir! That means ..."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I know what it means," Rip stated bitterly. "It
means the ship has got to return in time to give us
some nuclite shielding, or we'll be the laughingstock
of the Special Order Squadrons—the detachment
that started a job the spacemen had to finish!"
</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<a name="toc21" id="toc21"></a>
<a name="pdf22" id="pdf22"></a>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page089">[pg 089]</span><a name="Pg089" id="Pg089" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Chapter Seven - Earthbound!</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There was something else that Rip didn't add,
although he knew the Planeteers would realize it in
a few minutes. Probably some of them already had
thought of it.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
To move the asteroid into a new orbit, they were
going to fire nuclear bombs. Most of the highly
radioactive fission products would be blown into
space, but some would be drawn back by the asteroid's
slight gravity. The craters would be highly
radioactive and some radioactive debris would be
scattered around, too. Every particle would add to
the problem.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Is there anything we can do, sir?" Koa asked.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip shook his head inside the transparent bubble.
"If you have a good luck charm in your pocket, you
might talk to it. That's about all."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Nuclear physics had been part of his training. He
read the gamma meter again and did some quick
mental calculations. They would be exposed to radiation
for the entire trip, at a daily dosage of—
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa interrupted his train of thought. Evidently
the sergeant-major had been doing some calculations
of his own. "How long will we be on this rock, sir?<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page090">[pg 090]</span><a name="Pg090" id="Pg090" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
You've never told us how long the trip will take."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip said quietly, "With luck, it will take us a
little more than three weeks."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He could see their faces faintly in the dim
sunlight. They were shocked. Space ships blasted
through space between the inner planets in a matter
of hours. The nuclear drive cruisers, which could
approach almost half the speed of light, had brought
even distant Pluto within easy reach. The inner
planets could be covered in a matter of minutes on
a straight speed run, although to take off from one
and land on the other meant considerable time used
in acceleration and deceleration.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers were used to such speed. Hearing
that it would take over three weeks to reach earth
had jarred them.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"This piece of metal isn't a space ship," Rip reminded
them. "At the moment, our speed around
the sun is just slightly more than ten miles a second.
If we just shifted orbits and kept the same speed, it
would take us months to reach Terra. But we'll use
two bombs to kick the asteroid into the orbit, then
fire one to increase speed. The estimate is that we'll
push up to about forty miles a second."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa spoke up. "That's not bad when you think
that Mercury is the fastest planet and it only makes
about thirty miles a second."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Right," Rip agreed. "And when we really have
the sun's gravity pulling us, we'll increase speed.<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page091">[pg 091]</span><a name="Pg091" id="Pg091" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
We'll lose a little after we pass the sun, but by then
we'll be almost home."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
It was just space luck that Terra was on the other
side of the sun from the asteroid's present position.
By the time they approached, it would be in a good
place, just far enough from the line to the sun to
avoid changing course. Of course Rip's planned orbit
was not aiming the asteroid at earth, but at where
earth would be at the end of the trip.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"That means more than three weeks of radiation,
then," Corporal Santos observed. "Can we take it,
sir?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip shrugged, but the gesture couldn't be seen
inside his space suit. "At the rate we're getting radiation
now, plus what I estimate we'll get from the
nuclear explosions, we'll get the maximum safety
limit in just three weeks. That leaves us no margin,
even if we risk getting radiation sickness. So we have
to get shielding pretty soon. If we do, we can last
the trip."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Private Dominico saluted, clumsy in his space suit.
"Sir, I ask permission to speak."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip hid a smile at the little Italian's formal manner.
In space, formality was forgotten. "What is it,
Dominico?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Sir, I think we not worry so much about this
radiation, eh? You will think of some ways to take
care of it, sir. What I want to ask, sir, is when do
we let go the bombs? Radiation I do not know much<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page092">[pg 092]</span><a name="Pg092" id="Pg092" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
about, but I can set those bombs like you want
them."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip was touched by the Italian Planeteer's faith
in his ability to solve the radiation problem. That
was why being an officer in the Special Order Squadrons
was so challenging. The men knew the kind of
training their officers had and they expected them
to come up with technical solutions as the situation
required.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"You'll have a chance to set the bombs in just a
short while," he said crisply. "Let's get busy. Koa,
load all bombs but one ten KT on the landing boat.
Stake the rest of the equipment down. While you're
doing that, I'll find the spots where we plant the
charges. I'll need two men now and more later."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He went back to his instrument, putting the radiation
problem out of his mind—a rather hard thing
to do with the colorimeter glowing pink next to his
shoulder. Koa detailed men to load the nuclear
bombs into the landing craft, left Pederson to supervise,
and then brought Santos with him to help Rip.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"The bombs are being put on the boat, sir," Koa
reported.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Fine. There isn't too much chance of the blasts
setting them off, but we'll take no chances at all.
Koa, I'm going to shoot a line straight out toward
Alpha Centauri. You walk that way and turn on
your belt light. I'll tell you which way to move."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He adjusted his sighting rings while the sergeant-major<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page093">[pg 093]</span><a name="Pg093" id="Pg093" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
glided away. Moving around on a no-weight
world was more like skating than walking. A regular
walk would have lifted Koa into space with every
step. Of course the asteroid had some gravity, but it
was so slight that it didn't count.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip centered the top of the instrument's vertical
hair line on Alpha Centauri, then waited until Koa
was almost out of sight over the asteroid's horizon,
which was only a few hundred yards away.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He turned up the volume on his helmet communicator.
"Koa, move about ten feet to your left."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa did so. Rip sighted past the vertical hairline
at the belt light. "That's a little too far. Take a
small step to the right. Good ... just a few inches
more ... hold it. You're right in position. Stand
where you are."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yessir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip turned to Santos. "Stand here, Corporal. Take
a sight at Koa through the instrument to get your
bearings, then hold position."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Santos did so. Now the two lights gave Rip one
of the lines he needed. He called for two more men,
and Trudeau and Nunez joined him. "Follow me,"
he directed.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip picked up the instrument and carried it to
a point 90 degrees from the line represented by Koa
and Santos. He put the instrument down and zeroed
it on Messier 44, the Beehive star cluster in the constellation
Cancer. For the second sighting star he<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page094">[pg 094]</span><a name="Pg094" id="Pg094" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
chose Beta Pyxis as being closest to the line he wanted,
made the slight adjustments necessary to set the
line of sight since Pyxis wasn't exactly on it, then
directed Trudeau into position as he had Koa. Nunez
took position behind the instrument and Rip had
the cross-fix he wanted.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He called for Dowst, then carried the instrument
to the center of the cross formed by the four men.
Using the instrument, he rechecked the lines from
the center out. They were within a hair or two of
being exactly on, and a slight error wouldn't hurt
anyway. He knew he would have to correct with
rocket blasts once the asteroid was in the new orbit.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"X marks the spot," he told Dowst. He put his toe
on the place where the cross lines met.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Dowst took a spike from his belt and made an X
in the metal ground.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"All set," Rip announced. "You four men can
move now. Let's have the cutting equipment over
here, Koa."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers were all waiting for instructions
now. In a few moments the equipment was ready,
fuel and oxygen bottles attached.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Who's the champion torchman?" Rip asked.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa replied, "Kemp is, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Kemp, one of the two American privates, took the
torch and waited for orders. "We need a hole six feet
across and twenty feet deep," Rip told him. "Go
to it."
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page095">[pg 095]</span><a name="Pg095" id="Pg095" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"How about direction, sir?" Kemp asked.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Straight down. We'll take a bearing on an overhead
star when you're in a few feet."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Dowst inscribed a circle around the X he had
made and stood back. Kemp pushed the striker button
and the torch flared. "Watch your eyes," he
warned. The Planeteers reached for belt controls
and turned the rheostats that darkened the clear bubbles
electronically. Kemp adjusted his flame until it
was blue-white, a knife of fire brighter by far than
the sun.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa stepped behind Kemp and leaned against his
back, because the flame of the torch was like an
exhaust, driving Kemp backward. Kemp bent down
and the torch sliced into the metal of the asteroid
like a hot knife into ice. The metal splintered a little
as the heat raised it instantly from almost absolute
zero to many thousands of degrees.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
When the circle was completed, Kemp adjusted
his torch again and the flame lengthened. He moved
inside the circle and cut at an angle toward the
perimeter. His control was quick and certain. In a
moment he stood aside and Koa lifted out a perfect
ring of thorium. It varied from a knife edge on the
inner side to 18 inches thick on the outer edge.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
In the middle of the circle there was now a cone
of metal. Kemp cut around it, the torch angling
toward the center. A piece shaped like two cones
set base to base came free. Since the metal cooled in<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page096">[pg 096]</span><a name="Pg096" id="Pg096" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
the bitter chill of space almost as fast as Kemp could
cut it, there was no heat to worry about.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Alternately cutting from the outside and the center
of the hole, Kemp worked his way downward
until his head was below ground level. Rip called
a halt. Kemp gave a little jump and floated straight
upward. Koa caught him and swung him to one side.
Rip stepped into the hole and Santos gave him a
slight push to send him to the bottom. Rip knelt
and sighted upward. Kemp had done a good job.
The star Rip had chosen as an overhead guide was
straight up.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He bounced out of the hole and as Koa caught
him he told Kemp to go ahead. "Dominico, here's
your chance. Get tools and wire. Find a timer and
connect up the ten kiloton bomb. Nunez, bring it
here while Dominico gets what he needs."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Kemp was burning his way into the asteroid at a
good rate. Every few moments he pushed another
circle or spindle of thorium out of the hole. Rip
directed some of the men to carry them away, to the
other side of the asteroid. He didn't want chunks of
thorium flying around from the blast.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The sergeant-major had a sudden thought. He cut
off his communicator, motioned to Rip to do the
same, then put his helmet against Rip's for direct
communication. He didn't want the others to hear
what he had to say. His voice came like a roar from,
the bottom of a well. "Lieutenant, do you suppose<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page097">[pg 097]</span><a name="Pg097" id="Pg097" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
there's any chance the blast might break up the
asteroid? Maybe split it in two?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The same thought had occurred to Rip on the
<span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>. His calculations had showed that the metal
would do little more than compress, except where it
melted from the terrific heat of the bomb. That
would be only in and around the shaft. He was sure
the men at Terra base had figured it out before they
decided that A-bombs would be necessary to throw
the asteroid into a new orbit. He wasn't worried.
Cracks in the asteroid would be dangerous, but he
hadn't seen any.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"This rock will take more nuclear blasts than we
have," he assured Koa. He turned his communicator
back on and went to the edge of the hole for a look
at Kemp's progress. He was far down, now. Pederson
was holding one end of a measuring tape. The other
end was fastened to Kemp's shoulder strap.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Swedish corporal showed Rip that he had
only about eight feet of tape left. Kemp was almost
down. Rip called, "Kemp. When you reach bottom,
cut toward the center. Leave an inverted cone."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Got it, sir. Be up in two more cuts."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Dominico had connected cable to the bomb terminals
and was attaching a timer to the other end.
Without the wooden case, the bomb was like a fat,
oversized can. It had been shipped without a combat
casing.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Koa, make a final check. You can untie the landing<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page098">[pg 098]</span><a name="Pg098" id="Pg098" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
boat, except for one line. We'll be taking off in
a few minutes."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Right, sir." Koa glided toward the landing boat,
which was out of sight over the horizon.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
It was nearly time. Rip had a moment's misgiving.
Had his figures or his sightings been off? His red hair
prickled at the thought. But the ship's computer had
done the work, and it was not capable of making a
mistake.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Kemp tossed up the last section of thorium and
then came out of the hole himself, carrying his torch.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip inspected the hole, saw with satisfaction it
was in almost perfect alignment, and ordered the
bomb placed. He bent over the edge of the hole and
watched Trudeau pay out wire while Dominico
pushed the bomb to the bottom. The Italian made
a last minute check, then called to Rip. "Ready, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He dropped into the hole and inspected the connections
himself, then personally pulled the safety
lever. The bomb was armed. When the timer acted,
it would go off.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Back at ground level, he turned up his communicator.
"Koa, is everything ready at the boat?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Ready, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers had already carried away the torch
and its fuel and oxygen supplies. The area was clear
of pieces of thorium.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip announced, "We're setting the explosion for
ten minutes." He leaned over the timer, which rested<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page099">[pg 099]</span><a name="Pg099" id="Pg099" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
near the lip of the hole, took the dial control in his
glove and turned it to position ten. He held it long
enough to glance at his chronometer and say, "Starting
now!" Then he let it go.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Wasting no time, but not hurrying, he and Dominico
returned to the landing boat. The Planeteers
were already aboard, except for Koa, who stood by
to cast off the remaining tie line. Rip stepped inside
and counted the men. All present. He ordered, "Cast
off." As Koa did so and stepped aboard, he added,
"Pilot, take off. Straight up."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The landing boat rose from the asteroid. Rip
counted the men again, just to be sure. The boat
seemed a little crowded, but that was because the
rear compartment took up quite a bit of room.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip watched his chronometer. They had plenty of
time. When the boat reached a point about ten miles
above the asteroid, he ordered, "Stern tube." The
boat moved at an angle. He let it go until a sight at
the stars showed they were about in the right position,
90 degrees from the line of blast and where
they would be behind the asteroid as it moved toward
the new course.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He looked at his chronometer again. "Two minutes.
Line up at the side if you want to watch, but
darken your helmets to full protection. This thing
will light up like nothing you've ever seen before."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
It was a good thing space cruisers depended on
their radar and not on sight, he thought. Usually<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page100">[pg 100]</span><a name="Pg100" id="Pg100" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
spacemen opened up visual ports only when landing
or taking a star sight for an astro-plot. The clear
plastic of the domes had to be shielded from chance
meteors. Besides, radar screens were more dependable
than eyes, even though they could pick up only
solid objects. If the Consops cruiser happened to be
searching visually, it would see the blast. But the
chance had to be taken. It wasn't really much of a
chance.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"One minute," he said. He faced the asteroid,
then darkened his helmet, counting to himself.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The minute ticked off slowly, though his count
was a little fast. When he reached five, brilliant,
incandescent light lit up the interior of the boat.
Rip saw it even though his helmet was dark. The
light faded slowly, and he put his helmet back on
full transparent.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A mighty column of fire now reached out from
the asteroid into space. Rip held his breath until he
saw that the little planet was sheering off its course
under the great blast. Then he sighed with relief.
All was well so far.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Someone muttered, "By Gemini! I'm glad we're
out here instead of down there!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The column of fire lengthened, thinned out, grew
fainter until there was only a glow behind the asteroid.
Rip took his astrogation instruments and made
a number of sights. They looked good. The first blast
had worked about as predicted, although he wouldn't<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page101">[pg 101]</span><a name="Pg101" id="Pg101" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
be able to tell how much correction was needed until
he had taken star sights over a period of five or six
days.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Let's go home," he ordered.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Back on the asteroid, a pit that glowed with radioactivity
marked the site of the first blast. Rip ordered
it covered as much as possible with the thorium that
had been taken from the hole. While the men
worked, he plotted the lines for the second blast,
found the spot, and put Kemp back to work on a
new hole.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Two hours later the second blast threw fire into
space. In another three hours, with the asteroid now
speeding on its new course, Rip set off the explosion
that blasted straight back and gave extra speed.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Three radioactive craters marked the asteroid. Rip
checked the radiation level and didn't like it a bit.
He decided to set up the landing boat and their supplies
as far away from the craters as possible, which
was on the sun side. They could move to the dark
side as they approached the orbit of earth. By then
the radioactivity from the blasts would have died
down considerably.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He was selecting the location for a base when
Dowst suddenly called. "Lieutenant! Lieutenant
Foster!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There was urgency in the Planeteer's voice. "What
is it, Dowst?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Sir, take a look, about two degrees south of<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page102">[pg 102]</span><a name="Pg102" id="Pg102" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
Rigel!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip found the constellation Orion and looked at
bright Rigel. For a moment he saw nothing; then,
south of the star, he saw a thin, orange line.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Nuclear drive cruisers didn't have exhausts of that
color, and there was only one rocket-drive ship
around, so far as they knew.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip said softly, "Let's get our house in order,
gang. Looks like we're going to get a visit from our
friends the Connies!"
</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page103">[pg 103]</span><a name="Pg103" id="Pg103" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<a name="toc23" id="toc23"></a>
<a name="pdf24" id="pdf24"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Chapter Eight - Duck - Or Die!</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Sergeant-major Koa's great frame loomed in front
of Rip. "Think they've spotted us, sir?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip hated to say it. "Probably. Koa, can you estimate
from the exhaust how far away they are?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Not very well, Lieutenant. From the position of
the streak, I'd say they're decelerating."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers looked at Rip. He was in command,
and they expected him to do something about
the situation. Rip didn't know what to do. The
rocket launcher, their only weapon, wasn't designed
for fighting spaceships. It was useful against snapper-boats
and people, but firing at a cruiser would
be like sending mosquitoes to fight elephants.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He sized up their position. For one thing, they
were right out in the open, exposed to anything the
Connie cruiser might throw at them. If they could
get under cover, there might be a chance. It would
at least take the Connies a while to find them.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
For a moment he thought of hurrying into the
landing boat and sending out a call for help to the
<span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>, but he thought better of it. They weren't
certain that Connie had spotted them. He would
wait until there was no doubt. Meanwhile, they had<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page104">[pg 104]</span><a name="Pg104" id="Pg104" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
to find cover.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
His searching eyes fell on the cutting torch. If they
could use that to cut themselves right into the asteroid ... suddenly
he knew how it could be done.
On the sun side he remembered a series of high-piled,
giant crystals of thorium. They could cut into
the side of one of those. And with Kemp's skill, they
might be able to do it in time.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He called, "Kemp! Koa, bring the torch and fuel
and follow me."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
In his haste he took a misstep and flew headlong
a few feet above the metal surface. Koa, gliding along
behind him, turned him upright again. He saw that
the giant Hawaiian was grinning. Rip grinned back.
It was the second time he had lost his footing.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
They reached the peaks of thorium and Rip looked
them over. The tallest was perhaps 40 feet high. It
was roughly pyramidal, with a base about 60 feet
thick. It would do.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Kemp." The private hurried to his side. "Take
the torch and make us a cave. Make it big enough
for all hands and the equipment."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Kemp was a good Planeteer. He didn't stop to ask
questions. He said, "I'll make a small entrance and
open the cave out inside." He picked up the torch
and got busy.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip smiled. The Planeteer was right. He should
have thought of it himself, but it was good to see
increasing proof that his men were smart as well as<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page105">[pg 105]</span><a name="Pg105" id="Pg105" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
tough and disciplined.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Bring up all supplies," he told Koa. "Move the
boat over here, too. We won't be able to bury that,
but we want it close by." He had an idea for the
landing boat. It could maneuver infinitely faster
than the big cruiser. They could put the supplies in
the cave, then take to the boat, depending on its
ability to turn quickly and on Dowst's skill at piloting
to play hide and seek. Dowst certainly could
keep the asteroid between them and the cruiser.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The plan would fail when the cruiser sent a landing
party. They would certainly come in snapper-boats,
and the deadly little fighting craft could blast
rings around the landing boat. The snapper-boats
had gotten their name because fast acceleration and
quick changes of position could snap a man right out
of his seat, if he forgot to buckle his harness tightly.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The solution would be to keep the landing boat
close to the asteroid. At the first sign of a landing
party, they would blast in and take to the cave, using
the rocket launcher as a defense.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The supplies began to arrive. The Planeteers
towed them two crates at a time in a steady line of
hurrying men.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Kemp's torch sent an incandescent knife three feet
into the metal at each cut. He was rapidly slicing
out a cave. He cut the metal out in great triangular
bars, angling the torch from first one side, then the
other.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page106">[pg 106]</span><a name="Pg106" id="Pg106" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa came and stood beside Rip. "I haven't seen
the Connie's exhaust for a while, sir. Looks like
they've stopped decelerating. We can't see them at
all."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Meaning what?" Rip asked. He thought he knew,
but he wanted Koa's opinion.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"They're in free fall now, sir. That could mean
they're just hunting in the area. Or it could mean,
that they've stopped somewhere close by. They could
be looking us over, for all we know."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip surveyed the stars. "If that's so, they're not
too close, Koa. Otherwise they'd block out a patch
of stars."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Well, sir—" Koa hesitated. "I mean, if you were
looking over this asteroid and you weren't sure
whether the enemy had it or not, how close would
you get?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Probably about one AU," Rip said jokingly. That
was one astronomical unit, equal to about 93 million
miles, the distance from earth to the sun.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"That would be a good, safe distance, sir," Koa
agreed with a grin.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"But let's suppose the Connie isn't as timid as I
am," Rip went on. "He might be only a few miles
out. The question is, would he wait to get closer
before launching his snapper-boats?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The big Hawaiian answered frankly, "I've never
been in a spacegrab like this before. I don't know
what the answer is."
</p>
<a name="fig25" id="fig25"></a><div class="tei tei-figure" style="text-align: center"><img src="images/image09.png" width="640" height="972" alt="Illustration: "That Connie Cruiser's Not Too Close, Koa."" title=""That Connie Cruiser's Not Too Close, Koa."" /><div class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em">"That Connie Cruiser's Not Too Close, Koa."</div></div>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page108">[pg 108]</span><a name="Pg108" id="Pg108" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We'll soon know," Rip replied grimly. A thought
had just struck him. The <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> had trouble finding
the asteroid because it was just one of many
sailing along through the belt. But now the asteroid
was the only one traveling <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">across</span></span> the belt. It would
make an outstanding blip on any radar 'scope. It
wasn't possible that the Connie cruiser had missed
the blip and its significance.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"The Connie may be looking us over," Rip added,
"but I can tell you one thing for sure. He knows
we've taken the asteroid." Only human hands could
swerve a heavenly body from its orbit.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa looked wistfully at the atomic bomb which
remained. "If we had a way to throw that thing at
them...."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"But we haven't. And the thing wouldn't explode
anyway. We don't have the outside casing with an
exploder mechanism, so it has to be turned on electrically."
Rip could see no way to use the atomic
bomb against the Connies. It was too big for use
against a landing party. Besides, it would put the
Planeteers in danger.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Ever have trouble with the Connies before?" he
asked Koa.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"More'n once, sir. Sometimes it seems like I'll
never get a job where I don't have to fight Connies."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip was trained in science and Planeteer techniques
and he didn't pretend to know the ins and
outs of interplanetary politics. Just the same, he<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page109">[pg 109]</span><a name="Pg109" id="Pg109" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
couldn't help wondering about the strange relationship
between the Consolidation of People's Governments
and the Federation of Free Nations.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Connies and Feds, mostly Planeteers but sometimes
spacemen, were constantly skirmishing. They
fought over property, over control of ports on distant
planets and moons, and over space salvage.
Often there was bloodshed. Sometimes there were
pitched battles between groups of platoon size.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
But at that point, the struggle ended. The law of
the Federation said that no spaceship could fire on
a Connie spaceship, or on Connie land bases, except
with special permission of the Space Council. The
theory was that small struggles between men, or even
between small fighting craft like the snapper-boats,
was not war. But firing on a spaceship was war, and
the first such act could mean starting war throughout
the Solar System.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
It made a sort of sense to Rip when he thought
about it. Little fights here and there were better
than a full war among the planets.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa suddenly gripped his arm. "Sir! Look up!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The short hairs on the back of Rip's neck prickled.
Far above, blackness blotted out stars in the shape
of a spaceship. The Connie had arrived!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip ordered urgently, "Kemp! Stop cutting. The
rest of you get the stuff under cover. Ram it!" He
hurried to lend a hand himself, hustling crates into
the cave.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page110">[pg 110]</span><a name="Pg110" id="Pg110" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Kemp had made astonishing progress. There was
room for the crates, if stacked properly, and for the
men besides. Rip supervised the stacking, then the
placement of the rocket launcher at the entrance.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"All hands inside the boat," he ordered. "Dowst,
be ready to take off at a moment's notice. You'll have
to buck this box around like never before." He explained
to the pilot his plan to dodge, keeping the
asteroid between the boat and the cruiser.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We'll make it, sir," Dowst said.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I'm not worried," Rip replied, and wished it
were true. He looked up at the Connie again. It was
getting larger. The cruiser was within a few miles
of the asteroid.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
As Rip watched, fire spurted from the cruiser and
it moved with gathering speed toward the asteroid's
horizon. He watched the exhaust trail, wondering
why the Connie had blasted off.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"He has something up his sleeve," Koa muttered.
"Wish we knew what."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Let's take no chances," Rip stated. "Come on."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The men were already in the boat. He and Koa
joined them. They stood at a window, watching the
Connie's trail.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The trail dwindled. Koa said, "Something's up!"
Suddenly new fire shot from one side of the cruiser
and it spun. Balancing fire came from the other side,
and for an instant the three exhausts formed a cross
with the darkness of the Connie's hull in the center.<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page111">[pg 111]</span><a name="Pg111" id="Pg111" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
Then they could see only the exhausts from the
sides. The stern flame was out of sight.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"He's made a full turn to come back this way,"
Rip stated tensely. "Dowst, get ready."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie was perhaps 20 miles away. It grew
larger, and the side jets winked out. A few seconds
later fire spurted from the nose.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip figured rapidly. The cruiser had gone away
far enough to make a turn. It had straightened out,
heading right for them. Now the nose tube was blasting,
slowing the cruiser down.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He sighted, holding out one glove and gauging
the Connie's distance above the horizon, and his
heart speeded. The Connie was right on the horizon!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Ram it!" Rip called. "Around the asteroid.
Quick!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Acceleration jammed him back against his men as
Dowst blasted. No sooner had he recovered than
acceleration in a different direction shoved him up
to the ceiling so hard that his bubble rang. He
clawed his way to the window as the Connie cruiser
flashed by, bathing the asteroid in glowing flame.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There was a chorus of gasps from the men, as they
saw the thing Rip had realized a moment before.
The Consops cruiser was playing it safe, using its
rocket exhaust as a great blowtorch to burn the surface
of the asteroid clean!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The sheer inhumanity of the thing made Rip's
stomach tighten into a knot. No asking for surrender,<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page112">[pg 112]</span><a name="Pg112" id="Pg112" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
no taking of prisoners. Not even a clean fight.
The Connie was doing its arguing with fire, knowing
that the exhaust would char every man on the
asteroid's surface.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers watched as the Connie sped away,
blasted with its side jets and turned to come back.
Dowst tensed over the controls, trying to anticipate
the next move. He touched the firing levers delicately,
letting out just enough flame to maneuver.
He slid the craft over the asteroid's surface to the
side away from the Connie, going slowly enough so
they could watch the enemy's every move.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Here he comes," Rip snapped, and braced for
acceleration. The landing craft shot to safety as the
cruiser's nose jet flamed. Dowst was just in time.
Tiny sparks from the edge of the fiery column
brushed past the boat.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip realized that the Connie couldn't know the
Federation men were in a boat, dodging. The cruiser
would make about two more runs, just enough to
allow for hitting every bit of the asteroid. Then it
would assume that anything on it was finished and
send a landing party.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"He'll be back," he stated. "About twice more.
Three at most." He suddenly remembered the landing
boat radio. "Dowst, where is the radio connection?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The pilot handed him a wire with a jack plug on
the end of it. Rip plugged it into his belt. Now his<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page113">[pg 113]</span><a name="Pg113" id="Pg113" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
voice would be heard on the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Calling <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>! Calling <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>! Foster reporting.
We are under attack. Repeat, we are under attack.
Over to you."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The answer rang in his helmet. "<span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> to Foster.
Hold 'em, Planeteers. We're on our way!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Here comes the Connie," Koa yelled.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip braced. The landing boat shot forward, then
piled the Planeteers in a heap on the bottom as
Dowst accelerated upward.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There was a sudden wrenching crash that sent the
Planeteers in a jumbled mass into the front of the
boat. It whirled crazily, then stopped.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip was not hurt. He shoved at someone whose
bubble was in his stomach and cleared the way.
"Turn on belt lights," he called. "Quick!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Lights flared on. He searched quickly, swinging
his light. The Planeteers were getting to their feet.
His light focused on Private Bradshaw and he gasped.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Bradshaw's face was scarlet, and his skin was
flecked with drops of blood. His eyes were closed,
and bulging terribly.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip jumped forward, but big Koa was even faster.
The Hawaiian jerked a repair strip from a belt
pouch, slapped it on the crack in Bradshaw's bubble.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip wasted no time, either. By the time Koa had
the strip in place he had pulled the connections from
his belt light. He ran the tips of the wires over the
edges of the strip. The current sealed the patch in<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page114">[pg 114]</span><a name="Pg114" id="Pg114" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
place instantly.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa grabbed the atmosphere control on Bradshaw's
belt and turned it. The suit puffed up. Rip
watched the repair anxiously in the light from Koa's
belt. It held.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip reconnected his light as he asked swiftly,
"Anyone else hurt? Answer by name."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There were quick replies; No one else had been
injured.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Run for the cave," Rip commanded. "Follow
Koa. Santos and Pederson drag Bradshaw."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Englishman's voice sounded bubbly. "I can
make it."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Good for you!" Rip exclaimed. "Call for help if
you need it."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa was already out of the craft and leading the
way. Rip went out through a window and saw the
cause of the trouble. Dowst had been a hair too close
to the asteroid. A particularly high crystal of thorium
had snagged the craft.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip looked for the Connie and saw it starting
another turn. They had only a moment or two before
the next run. "Show an exhaust," he called. The
Connie must have blasted the opposite side of the
asteroid while they were hung up.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The cave was a quarter of the asteroid away. Rip
stayed in the rear, watching for stragglers. But even
Bradshaw was moving rapidly. Koa reached the cave
well ahead of the rest, reached for a rack of rockets,<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page115">[pg 115]</span><a name="Pg115" id="Pg115" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
and slapped it into the launcher.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip urged the men on. The Connie was squared
off for another run.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
They catapulted to safety as the cruiser flamed
past, the exhaust splashing over the metal and sending
sparks into the cave.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip looked out. That, if he had guessed right, was
the last run. He watched the Connie's stern jet cut
off, saw the nose exhaust as the cruiser decelerated
to a fast stop.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Check your weapons," he ordered.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He pulled his pistol from the knee pocket and
checked it carefully. There was a clip in the magazine.
Other clips were in his pocket. The clips were
loaded with high velocity shells that exploded on
contact. One slug could stop a Venusian <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">krel</span></span>, a mammoth
beast that had been described as a cross between
a sea lion and a cactus plant.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
His knife was in place in the other knee pocket.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie cruiser decelerated, went into reverse,
and came to a full stop about a mile from the asteroid.
The Planeteers saw fire in two places along the
hull, marking the exhausts of two small craft.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Snapper-boats," Koa said tonelessly. "Five men
in each, if those are the regular Connie kind."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip made a quick decision. With only one launcher
they couldn't guard the whole asteroid. "We'll
stay under cover, except for Santos and Pederson.
You two sneak out. Take advantage of every bit of<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page116">[pg 116]</span><a name="Pg116" id="Pg116" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
cover you can find. I don't want you spotted. When
a boat lands, report its position. The Connies operate
on different communicator frequencies, so they
won't overhear. Well let them think they've burned
the asteroid clean."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He paused. "They'll search for a while. Then,
when they're pretty well satisfied that all is quiet,
we'll show up." Rip grinned at his Planeteers. "We
can have a real, old-fashioned surprise party."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa slid the safety catch from his pistol. "With
fireworks," he added.
</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<a name="toc26" id="toc26"></a>
<a name="pdf27" id="pdf27"></a>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page117">[pg 117]</span><a name="Pg117" id="Pg117" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Chapter Nine - Repel Invaders!</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The snapper-boats came out of the darkness of
space, leaving a glowing trail of fire. They were not
graceful. Rip could see no beauty in their lines, but
to his professional eye there was plenty of deadly
efficiency.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie fighting craft looked like three globes
strung evenly on a steel tube. The middle globe was
larger than the end ones, and it was transparent.
From it projected the barrels of two kinds of weapons—explosive
and ultrasonic. Five men usually
rode in the middle ball. One piloted. The other four
were gunners.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The end globes were pierced by five large holes.
They were blast holes for the rocket exhaust. Unlike
the landing boats, each tube did not have its own
fuel supply. One fuel tank served each globe. The
pilot could direct the exhaust through any tube or
combination of tubes he wished, by operating valves
that either sealed or opened the vents.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The system gave high maneuverability to the
boats. By playing on the controls with the skill of
an organist, the pilot could shift direction with dazzling
speed.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page118">[pg 118]</span><a name="Pg118" id="Pg118" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Snapper-boats used by the Federation operated on
the same principle, but they were of American design,
and they showed the American's love of clean
lines. Federation fighter craft were slim and streamlined,
even though the streamlining was of no use
whatever in space. With blast holes at each end, they
looked like double-ended needles. The pilot's canopy
in the center controlled guns that fired through
the front only. Rear guns were handled by a gunner,
who sat with back to the pilot.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Where Connie snapper-boats carried five men, the
Federation boats carried two. The Connies could
fire in any direction. The Federation pilots aimed by
pointing the snapper-boat itself, as fighter pilots of
conventional aircraft had once aimed their guns.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip watched the boats approach. He was ready to
duck inside if they decided to look the asteroid over
before landing. He hoped they wouldn't catch sight
of his two scouts. He also hoped his nervousness
would vanish when the fight started. He knew what
to do, at least in theory. He had gone through combat
problems on the moon during training. But this
was different. This was real. The lives of his men
depended on his being right, and he was afraid of
making a wrong decision.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Sergeant-major Koa, an experienced Planeteer
with a lot of understanding, came and stood beside
him. He said, "Guess I'll never get over being jittery
while waiting for the fight to start. I'm sweating so<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page119">[pg 119]</span><a name="Pg119" id="Pg119" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
hard my dehumidifier is humming like a Callistan
honey lizard. But it doesn't last long once the shooting
begins. I get so busy I forget to be jittery."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Before Rip could reply, the snapper-boats flashed
over the cave, circled the asteroid once, and landed
on the dark side close by the bomb craters.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The first scout reported. "Santos, sir. I'm fifty
yards beyond the stakes where we had the first base.
The snapper-boats landed between the first two craters.
Men coming out of one boat. I count six. Now
they're coming out of the other boat, but I can't see
very well."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The other scout picked up the report, his Swedish
accent thick with excitement. "I can see them, sor!
By Cosmos! There be seven in this boat on my side.
I am behind a rock forty yards to sunward of the
second crater."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip turned up the volume of his communicator.
"How are they armed? Santos, report."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"One is carrying a pneumatic chattergun. The rest
have nothing in their hands."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Pederson, report."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"No weapons I can see, sor."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa looked at Rip. "They must think the asteroid
is clean. Otherwise they'd have more than a chattergun
in sight. You can bet they have knives and pistols,
too."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip had been playing with an idea. He tried it on
his men. "These Connies would be useful to us alive,<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page120">[pg 120]</span><a name="Pg120" id="Pg120" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
if we could capture them."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
It was Dowst who caught his meaning first. "You
mean as hostages, sir?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"That's it. If we could capture them, the Connie
cruiser would be helpless. We could use the snapper-boat
radios to warn the ship that any false move
would mean harm to their men."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa shook his head doubtfully. "I'm not sure the
Connies worry about their men, but it's worth the
try. We can capture some of them if they split up
to search the asteroid. But we won't be able to sneak
up on them all."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We have an advantage," Rip reminded them.
"We've been on the asteroid longer. We know
our way around, and we're used to space-walking.
They've just come out of deceleration and they
won't have their space-legs yet."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Santos reported. "They're breaking up into groups
of two. Three are guarding the snapper-boats. One
is the man with the chattergun."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Are their belt lights on?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yes."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Then keep out of the beams. Don't let them
walk into you. Keep low, and keep moving. Stay over
on the dark side."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We'd better get to the dark side ourselves," Koa
warned.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He was right, Rip knew. The Connies didn't have
far to search before reaching the sun side. "Koa, you<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page121">[pg 121]</span><a name="Pg121" id="Pg121" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
take Trudeau and Kemp. I'll take Dowst and Dominico.
Nunez and Bradshaw stay here to guard the
cave. If they arrive in twos, let them get into the
cave before you jump them. Bradshaw, how do you
feel?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I'm all right, Lieutenant."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip admired the Planeteer's nerve. He knew Bradshaw
was in pain, because bleeding into high vacuum
was always painful. The crack in the English-man's
helmet had let most of the air out, and his
own blood pressure had done the rest. He would
carry the marks for days. A few more moments and
all air and all heat would have been gone, with fatal
results. Fortunately, bubbles didn't shatter easily
when cracked. To destroy them took a good blow
that knocked out a piece.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"All right. Let's travel. Koa, go right. I'll go the
other way and we'll work around the asteroid until
we meet."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip led the way, gliding as rapidly as he could
toward the edge of darkness. He called, "Santos. Any
coming in the direction of the cave?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Two pair. About fifty yards apart. They will be
out of my sight in a few seconds."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Which meant they would be within sight of Rip
and the others. He knew Koa had heard the message,
too. Both groups put on more speed, and reached
the safety of darkness. "Get down," Rip ordered.
They could still be seen, if silhouetted against the<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page122">[pg 122]</span><a name="Pg122" id="Pg122" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
edges of sunlight.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Starlight gave a little light, but it was too faint to
see much. Rip's plan was that the Connies would
supply the light needed for an attack.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
In a few seconds, as Santos had predicted, belt
light beams cut sharp paths through the darkness.
Rip sized up the possibilities. There were two teams
of two men each, and they were getting farther apart
with each step. One team was coming almost directly
toward them. The other team was slanting away from
them and would soon be out of sight behind the
thorium crystals in which the cave was located. Fortunately,
the Connies were going away from the
cave.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A Connie from the near-by team swung his beam
back and forth, and it cut space over their heads.
Rip saw a few low pyramids of thorium a few rods
away. He directed swiftly, "Dowst, take my boots.
Dominico, take Dowst's boots."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He lay face down on the metal ground until he
felt hands grip his boots, then he asked, "All set?"
Two voices answered. "Ready."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip put his gloves on the ground and pulled himself
forward and slightly upward. Since there was
very little gravity, the action both lifted and pulled
him. He slid parallel to the surface and a foot above
it, heading for the crystals. Once or twice he reached
down and gave another push. It was like swimming,
except that only the tips of his gloves touched the<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page123">[pg 123]</span><a name="Pg123" id="Pg123" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
ground, and there was no resistance of any kind. He
felt Dowst's grip on his boots, but he couldn't feel
the weight of his men.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He reached the first crystal and directed, "Get behind
these rocks and stay down. Feel your way. Use
me for a guide. I'll hold on until you're under
cover." He gripped a crystal. "Come on."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Dominico pulled himself along Dowst's prone
form, and then along Rip's. When Dominico had
reached the shelter of the crystals, Dowst crawled
along with Rip's body for his guide, passed over him,
and reached cover. Rip followed.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The belt lights of the two Connies were almost
abreast of them. Far to their left, Rip saw another
pair of lights. That was a pair he hadn't seen before.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We'll wait until they pass," he told his men.
"Then we'll get up and rush them from behind.
They can't hear us coming. Dowst, you take the near
one. I'll take the far one. Dominico, you help as
needed, but concentrate on cutting off their equipment.
The first thing we must do is cut their communicators.
Otherwise they'll warn the rest. Then
turn off their air supplies and collapse their suits."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
One thing was in their favor. The space suits worn
by the Connies were almost the same as theirs. The
controls were of the same kind. The only way to
know a Connie was by his bubble, which was a little
more tubular than the round bubbles of the Federation.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page124">[pg 124]</span><a name="Pg124" id="Pg124" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip suddenly realized that he wasn't nervous anymore.
He grinned, licking his lips. After all, this was
what he had been trained for.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connies came abreast and passed. "Let's go,"
Rip said, and as he rose he heard Koa's voice.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The sergeant-major said, "Kemp, kneel on their
right side. Trudeau and I will hit them from the left
and tumble them over you. Get their communicators first."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa had methods of his own, apparently, and they
sounded good.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip started slowly. He wanted to get directly behind
the Connies. He stayed down low until he was
sure they couldn't see him, unless they turned.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Dowst and Dominico were right with him. "Come
on," he said, and started gliding after the helmeted
figures. He kept his eyes on the one he had selected,
and he called on all the myriad stars of space to give
him luck. If the men turned, his plan for quick victory
would fail.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He sensed his Planeteers beside him as the figures
loomed ahead. He gave a final spring that sent him
through space with knees bent and outthrust, his
hands reaching.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
His knees connected solidly with the Connie's
thighs and his hands groped around the bulky space
suit. He felt a rheostat control and twisted savagely,
then groped for the distinctive star-shaped button of
the air supply.
</p>
<a name="fig28" id="fig28"></a><div class="tei tei-figure" style="text-align: center"><img src="images/image10.png" width="640" height="978" alt="Illustration: Rip Used a Flying Tackle on the Connie" title="Rip Used a Flying Tackle on the Connie" /><div class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em">Rip Used a Flying Tackle on the Connie</div></div>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page126">[pg 126]</span><a name="Pg126" id="Pg126" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie wrenched violently and threw them
both upward. Rip felt the star shape and twisted. If
he could only deflate the Connie's suit! But the man
was writhing from his grip, clawing for a weapon.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip stopped reaching for the deflation valve. He
grabbed for his knife, jerked it free, and thrust it
against the middle of the Connie's back. Then he
clanged his bubble against the man's helmet for direct
communication and shouted, "Grab some space,
or I'll let vack into you!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie understood English. Most earthlings
did. But even better was his understanding of the
pressure on his back. He stopped struggling and his
arms shot starward.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip breathed freely for the first time since he had
leaped, and exultation grew in him. He had his first
man! His first hand-to-hand fight had ended in victory
so easy that he could hardly believe it.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He took time to look around him and saw that he
was a good five feet above the asteroid. Below him,
a Connie belt light sent its shaft parallel with the
ground, and he knew the second man was down.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The question was, had either of them shouted before
their communicators were cut off?
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Dowst," he called urgently. "All okay?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"No," Dowst said grimly. "We got the Connie,
but he got Dominico. Cut his leg with a space knife.
I'm putting a patch on it. You okay?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yes. When you can, pull me down."
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page127">[pg 127]</span><a name="Pg127" id="Pg127" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Right."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Dominico spoke up. "Don't worry about me, sir.
Nothing bad. I don't lose much air."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Fine, Dominico. Glad it wasn't worse."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
But Rip knew it wasn't good, either. A cut with
a space knife let air out of the suit and created at
least a partial vacuum. If it also cut flesh, the vacuum
let the blood pressure force out blood and
tissue to turn a minor wound into an ugly one.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
They would have to bring this spaceflap with the
Connies to a quick end, Rip thought. He had to get
his men into air, somehow, to take a look at their
wounds. Bradshaw needed attention, and now so did
Dominico.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Dowst reached up, took Rip's ankle, and pulled
him down. Rip held onto his captive. Then the private
bound the Connie's hands, jerked his communicator
control completely off, and turned his air
back on. Since Rip had been unable to collapse the
suit, the Connie was comfortable enough. The reason
for collapsing the suit was to deprive the enemy
of air instantly, so that he could be tied up while
helpless from lack of oxygen. There was enough air
in the suit to last for a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie on the ground was neatly trussed.
Rip's prisoner joined him. Dowst switched off his
belt light. "Now what, sir?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Dominico was standing patiently near by. He said
nothing. Rip knew that no more could be done for<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page128">[pg 128]</span><a name="Pg128" id="Pg128" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
the Italian at present. "Go back to the cave, Dominico,"
he ordered.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I can stay with you, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"No, Dominico. Thanks for the offer, but we'll
get along. Go back to the cave."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yessir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip was a little worried. He had heard nothing
from Koa since that first exchange. He told Dowst
as much. Koa himself heard and answered.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Lieutenant, we're all right. Got two Connies, and
I don't think they had a chance to yell. But I'm sorry
about one, sir. Kemp had to swing at him and busted
his bubble."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Fatal?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"No, we got a patch on in time. But worse than
Bradshaw."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Tough." Rip couldn't feel too sympathetic. After
all, it was the Connie cruiser's fault Bradshaw had
felt high vack. "All right. We have four. That leaves
nine."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Santos came on the circuit. "Sir, this is Santos.
Only three men are at the snapper-boats. If you can
get here without being seen, maybe we could knock
them off. The rest wouldn't be much good if we had
their boats."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"You're right, Santos," Rip replied instantly. Why
hadn't he seen that for himself? He knew how he
and Dowst could approach the craters without being
spotted, now that they had removed two teams of<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page129">[pg 129]</span><a name="Pg129" id="Pg129" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
Connies. "We're on our way. Koa, make it if you
can."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yes, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Dominico was already making his way back to the
cave. Rip and Dowst started for the horizon at a
good walk, not afraid now to use their lights, at least
for a few yards. If any of the remaining Connie
search teams saw the lights they would think it was
two of their own men.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip remembered the lay of the ground, and Santos's
description of the snapper-boats' position. He
circled almost to the horizon, then told Dowst to cut
his light. He cut his own. In a moment they topped
the horizon, and standing with only helmets visible
from the snapper-boats, looked the situation over.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The three Connies were standing between him
and the boats. To the left of the boats was the second
crater. Rip studied the ground as best he could
in the Connie belt lights and decided on a plan of
action. Calling to Dowst, he circled again. Presently
they were approaching the crater. The Connies were
about 25 yards from the crater's opposite rim.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip said, "I hate to do this, Dowst, but I can't see
any way out. We have to go into the crater."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Dowst merely said, "Yes, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The extra radiation might put both of them well
over the safety limits long before earth was reached,
and they both knew it. Rip didn't hesitate. He
reached the crater's edge and walked right down<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page130">[pg 130]</span><a name="Pg130" id="Pg130" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
into it.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
They were out of sight of the Connies now. Rip
walked up the other side of the crater until his bubble
was just below ground level. The chunks of
thorium he had ordered thrown in to block some of
the radiation made walking a little difficult.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Santos," he said, "we're in the second crater."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Sir, I'm beyond the first, between two crystals.
Pederson is near you somewhere."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Good. When I give the word, turn up your helmet
light until they can see a pretty good glow. Keep
watching them." The bubbles were equipped with
lights, but they were seldom used. He outlined his
plan swiftly. Both Santos and Dowst acknowledged.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa reported in. "We're after two more Connies
near the wreck of the landing boat, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Be careful. Pederson, go help Koa. Nunez, how
are things at the cave?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Nunez reporting, sir. Two Connies in sight, but
they haven't seen us yet."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Let me know when they spot the cave."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yes, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Santos, go ahead."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
For long moments there was silence. Rip felt for
a solid foothold, found one, and flexed his knees. He
kept his back straight and his eyes on the crater rim.
His hands were occupied with two air bottles taken
from his belt, and his thumbs were on their valve
releases. He waited patiently for word from Santos<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page131">[pg 131]</span><a name="Pg131" id="Pg131" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
that his helmet glow had been seen.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Santos yelled, "Now!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip's legs straightened with a mighty thrust. He
flashed into space headfirst, at an angle that took
him over the crater's rim and 50 feet above the
ground. He caught a glimpse of Santos's helmet,
glowing like a pink balloon, and of the three Connies
facing it, one with gun upraised.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip's arms flashed above his head. His thumbs
compressed. Air spurted from the two bottles, driving
him downward, feet first, directly at the heads
of the Connies!
</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<a name="toc29" id="toc29"></a>
<a name="pdf30" id="pdf30"></a>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page132">[pg 132]</span><a name="Pg132" id="Pg132" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Chapter Ten - Get the Scoprion!</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
From the corner of his eye Rip saw Dowst's heavy
space boots and knew the private was right with him.
As they drove down, one of the Connies stepped a
little distance away from the others, probably to get
a better look at Santos. The Connie sensed something
and turned, just as Rip and Dowst flashed
downward on his two mates.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip's boots caught one Connie where his bubble
joined his suit, and the impact drove the man downward
to the unyielding surface of the asteroid with
a soundless smash. Rip threw up his arms to cushion
his helmet as he struck the ground beyond his enemy.
He threw the air bottles away. He fought to
keep his feet under him and almost succeeded, but
his knees hit the ground and pistol and knife bit
into them painfully.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Two figures came into his view, locked tightly
together, arms flailing. It was Dowst and the second
Connie. He got to his feet and was moving to the
Planeteer's aid when Santos's voice shrilled in his
helmet. "Sir! Look left!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip whirled. The Connie who had stepped aside
was advancing, pistol in hand. His light caught Rip<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page133">[pg 133]</span><a name="Pg133" id="Pg133" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
full in the face.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The young officer thought quickly. The Connie
hadn't fired. Why? Suddenly he had it. The man
hadn't fired for fear of hitting his friend, who was
battling with Dowst. Rip was in front of them.
Quickly he dropped to one knee, reaching for his
own pistol. The Connie wouldn't dare fire now. The
high velocity slug would go right through him, to
explode in one of the struggling figures behind—and
the wrong one might get it.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie saw Rip's action and tossed his pistol
aside. He, too, knew he couldn't fire. He reached
into a knee pouch and drew out his space knife. He
leaped for the Planeteer.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip pulled frantically at his pistol. It was stuck
fast, probably caught in the fabric by his knee landing.
The space knife wouldn't be caught. It was
smooth, with no projections to catch. He shifted
knees and jerked it out.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie's flying body hit him, and a powerful
arm circled his waist. Rip thrust upward with his
knees, one hand reaching for the Connie's suit valve.
But the Connie had one arm free, too. He drove his
glove up under Rip's heart. Rip let go of the valve
and used his elbow to lever away just as the Connie
pressed his knife's release valve. The blade slammed
outward, drove into the inside of Rip's right arm
just above the elbow.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Pain lanced through him, and he felt the blood<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page134">[pg 134]</span><a name="Pg134" id="Pg134" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
rush to the wound as air poured through the gap in
his suit. He gritted his teeth and smashed at the
Connie with his own knife. It rammed home and he
squeezed the release. The blade connected solidly.
He was suddenly free.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He pressed the wounded arm to his side, stopping
the outpouring of air. The cut hurt like all the devils
of space. With his other hand he increased the air
in his suit, then looked swiftly around. The Connie
was on his knees, both gloves pressed tightly to his
side.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Dowst was just finishing a knot in the safety line
that bound a second enemy's hands. The Connie Rip
had rocketed down on was still lying where he had
fallen. And Corporal Santos, the enemy's pneumatic
chattergun at the ready, was standing guard.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip turned up the volume in his communicator.
He tried to sound calm, but the shakiness of triumph
and excitement was in his voice. "All Planeteers. We
have the Connie snapper-boats. Koa, bring your men
here."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He felt someone working on his arm and turned
to see Corporal Pederson, his face one vast grin in
the glare from Dowst's belt light. "Koa didn't need
me," he said.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip grinned back. "Nunez," he called. "How are
things at the cave?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Sir, this is Nunez. Two Connies were prowling
around, but they didn't see the entrance. Then, a<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page135">[pg 135]</span><a name="Pg135" id="Pg135" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
minute ago, they turned and hurried away."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip considered. "Koa. How many Connies have
you?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Four, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
With the five he and Dowst had taken, that meant
four still at large, and from Nunez's report, some
Connie yelling had been going on. The four certainly
knew by this time there were Federal men on
the asteroid. Unless something were done quickly
the four Connies would be shooting at them from
the darkness. He ordered, "All Planeteers. Kill your
belt lights."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The lights on the Connies they had just taken still
glowed. Dowst was putting a patch on the Connie
Rip had stabbed. He waited until the private had
finished, then said, "Turn out the Connie lights,
too."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
If he could get in touch with the Connies, he could
tell them they were finished. But using the snapper-boat
radios was out, because the enemy cruiser would
hear. The cruiser couldn't hear the helmet communicators,
though, because they carried only a short
distance. The cruiser was close enough so that a
helmet communicator turned on full volume might
barely be heard, although it was unlikely.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He couldn't stick his head in a Connie helmet, but
he could talk to a Connie by direct communication
and have him give instructions.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There was complete darkness with all belt lights<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page136">[pg 136]</span><a name="Pg136" id="Pg136" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
out, but he groped his way to the Connie Dowst had
been patching, felt for his helmet, and put his own
against it. He yelled, "Do you hear me?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yes." Then, "Why did you patch me?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
It was a perfect opening. "Because we don't want
to kill you. Listen. We have all but four of you.
Understand?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yes. What will you do with us?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Treat you as prisoners. If you behave. Get on
your communicator and tell those four men to surrender.
Tell them to come to the boats, with lights
on. Tell them we'll give them five minutes. If they
don't come, we'll hunt them with rockets."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"They will come," the Connie said. "They don't
want to die. I will do it."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip kept his helmet against the Connie's, but the
man spoke in another language, which Rip identified
as the main Consops tongue. When he had finished,
Rip told his Planeteers to have weapons ready and
to keep lights off. Time enough for light when the
Connies were all disarmed.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
It didn't take five minutes. The Connie teams
came quickly and willingly, and they seemed almost
glad to give up their pistols and knives. This was
not unusual. Rip had seen many Planeteer reports
that spoke of the same thing. Many Connies, it
seemed, were glad to get away from the iron Consops
rule even if it meant becoming Federation
prisoners.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page137">[pg 137]</span><a name="Pg137" id="Pg137" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Inside one of the snapper-boats, a light glowed.
Rip put his helmet against that of the man who had
given the surrender order and demanded, "What's
that light?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"The cruiser wants us."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip considered demanding that the Connie answer,
then thought better of it. He would do it
himself. After all, they had hostages. The cruiser
wouldn't take any further action. He climbed into
the snapper-boat and hunted for the plug-in terminal.
It fitted his own belt jack. He plugged in and
said, "Go ahead."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There was an instant of silence, then an accented
voice demanded, "Why are you speaking English?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip replied formally, "This is Lieutenant Foster,
Federation Special Order Squadrons, in charge on
the asteroid. Your landing party is in our hands, as
prisoners, two wounded, none dead. If you agree to
withdraw, we will send the wounded men back to
you in one boat. The rest will remain here as hostages
for your good behavior."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Stand by," the voice said. There was silence for
several moments, then a new voice said, "This is the
cruiser commander. We make a counter-offer. If you
release our men and surrender to them, we will spare
the lives of you and your men."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip listened incredulously. The commanding officer
didn't understand. He, Rip, held the whip hand,
because the lives of the Connie prisoners were in his<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page138">[pg 138]</span><a name="Pg138" id="Pg138" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
hands. He repeated what he had said before.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"And I repeat," the commander retorted. "Surrender
or die. Choose now."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I refuse," Rip stated flatly. "Try anything and
your men will suffer, not us."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"You are mistaken," the harsh voice said. "We
will sweep the asteroid clean with our exhaust, but
this time we will be more thorough. When we have
finished, we will hammer you with guided missiles.
Then we will send snapper-boats with rockets to
hunt down any who remain. We intend to have that
thorium. You had better surrender."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip couldn't believe it. The cruiser commander
had no hesitation in sacrificing his own men! But it
was not a bluff. He knew instinctively that the Connie
commander meant it. Instantly he unplugged
the radio connection from his belt and spoke urgently.
"Koa, get everyone under cover in the cave.
Hurry! Collect all the Connies and take them with
you."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Then he plugged in again. "Commander, I must
have time to think this over."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"You have one minute."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He watched his chronometer, planning the next
move. When the minute ended, he asked, "Commander,
how do we know you will spare our lives
if we surrender?" Through the transparent shell of
the snapper-boat he saw lights moving toward the
horizon and knew Koa was following orders.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page139">[pg 139]</span><a name="Pg139" id="Pg139" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"You don't know," the cruiser answered. "You
must take our word for it. But if you surrender, we
have no reason to wish you harm."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip remained silent. The seconds ticked past until
the commander snapped, "Quickly! You have no
more time."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Sir," Rip said plaintively, "two of my men do
not wish to surrender."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Shoot them, fool! Are you in command or not?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip grinned. He made his voice whine. "But sir,
it is against the law of the Federation to shoot men
without a trial."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The commander lapsed into his own language,
caught himself, then barked, "You are no longer
under Federation law. You are under the Consolidation
of People's Governments. Do you surrender
or not? Answer at once, or we take action anyway.
Quick!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip knew he could stall no longer. He said coolly,
"If you had brains in your head instead of high
vacuum, you'd know that Planeteers never surrender.
Blast away, you filthy space pirate!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He jerked the plug loose, hesitated for a second
over whether or not to take the snapper-boat, and
decided against it. He wasn't familiar with Connie
controls and there wasn't time to experiment. He
headed for the cave as fast as he could glide.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie cruiser lost no time. Its stern tubes
flamed, then its steering tubes. It was going to drive<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page140">[pg 140]</span><a name="Pg140" id="Pg140" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
directly at the asteroid without making a long run!
Rip estimated quickly and realized that the Connie
would get to the asteroid at the same time that he
reached the cave—if he made it.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He speeded up as fast as he dared. With little
gravity on the asteroid, he couldn't fall, but a false
step could lift him into space and make him lose
time while he got out an air bottle to propel him
down again. The thought gave him an idea. Without
slowing he took two bottles from his belt, turned
them so the openings were to his rear, and squeezed
the release valves.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie was gaining speed, blasting straight
toward him. Rip sped forward, and crossed to the
sun side, intent on the cave entrance, but no longer
sure he would make it. The Connie's nose tube shot
a cylinder of flame forward, reaching for the asteroid.
He saw the fire lick downward and sweep toward
him with appalling speed as he put everything he
had in a frantic dive for the cave entrance. The
flaming rocket exhaust seemed to snatch at him as
a dozen hands pulled him to safety, then beat the
sparks from his suit.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He was safe. He leaned against Koa, his heart
thumping wildly. For a moment or two he couldn't
speak, then he managed, "Thanks."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa spoke for the Planeteers. "We're the ones to
say thanks, sir. If you hadn't thought of stalling the
cruiser, and if you hadn't stayed behind to give us<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page141">[pg 141]</span><a name="Pg141" id="Pg141" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
time, we'd have some casualties, and so would the
Connies we captured."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"There wasn't anything else I could do," Rip
replied. "Come on, Koa. Let's see what the cruiser
is doing."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
They stepped outside. The metal was already cold
again. Things didn't stay hot in the vacuum of space.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
They didn't see the Connie until the fire of its
exhaust suddenly blasted above the horizon, then
they ducked for cover. The cruiser had taken a swing
at the other side of the asteroid. They peered out
again and saw it making a turn to come back.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"He won't get us," Rip said confidently. "Our
tough time will come when he sends a fleet of
snapper-boats."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We'll get a few," Koa replied grimly. "Wait!
What's he doing?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The cruiser had started for the asteroid. Suddenly
jets flamed from every quarter of the ship. He was
using all steering jets at once! Rip watched, bewildered,
as the great ship spun slowly, advanced, then
settled to a stop just at the horizon.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"He can't be launching boats already," he said
worriedly. "What's he up to?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
They ran forward a short distance until they could
see below the cave's horizon level. The cruiser released
exhausts from both sides of the ship, the
outer ones the slightest bit stronger. Rip exclaimed,
"Great Cosmos, he's cuddling right up to the asteroid!<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page142">[pg 142]</span><a name="Pg142" id="Pg142" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
Why?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Hiding," Koa said. "By Gemini! Come on, sir!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip saw his meaning instantly and they raced to
the side of the asteroid, away from the ship. As they
crossed into the dark half, Rip looked back. He
couldn't see the cruiser from here. But he looked
out into space, across the horizon, and knew that
Koa's guess had been right. The distinctive glow of
a nuclear drive cruiser was clear among the stars.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> had returned!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"The Connie saw it," Rip said worriedly, "but
didn't blast away. That means he's intending to
ambush the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>. Koa, if he does, that means
war."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The big Hawaiian shook his head. "Sir, the Connie
has guided missiles with atomic warheads just
like our ship does. If he can launch one from ambush
and hit our ship, that's the end of it. The <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>
will be nothing but space junk. Commander O'Brine
will never have time to get off a message, because
he'll be dead before he knows there is danger."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The logic of it sent chill fear down Rip's spine.
The Connie could get the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> with one nuclear
blast and then clean up the asteroid at leisure. The
Federation would suspect, but it would be unable
to prove anything, because there would be no witnesses.
If the Connie took time to tow the remains
of the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> deep into the asteroid belt, it likely
would never be found, no matter how the Federation<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page143">[pg 143]</span><a name="Pg143" id="Pg143" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
searched.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
They had to warn the ship. But how? Their
helmet communicators wouldn't reach it until it was
right at the asteroid, and that would be too late.
They had no other radio. If only the radios in the
snapper-boats were on a Federation frequency ...
hey! They could take one of the boats and intercept
the cruiser!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He was hurrying toward them before Koa understood
what he was saying. He tried to make his legs
go faster, but they were unsteady. He knew he was
losing blood. He had lost plenty. He gritted his
teeth and kept going.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The snapper-boats seemed miles away to Rip, but
he plugged ahead until his belt light picked them
up. He took a long look, then turned away, heartsick.
The Connie's exhaust had charred them into
wreckage.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Now what?" he asked.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I don't know, sir," Koa answered somberly.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
They went back to the cave, not hurrying because
Rip no longer had the strength to hurry. Weakness
and a deep desire to sleep almost overcame him,
and he knew that he was finished anyway. His wound
must be too deep to clot, which meant it would
bleed until he bled to death. Whether he warned
the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> or not, his end was the same.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Back in the cave, he leaned against the wall and
asked tiredly, "How is Dominico?"
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page144">[pg 144]</span><a name="Pg144" id="Pg144" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I am fine, sir. My wound stopped bleeding."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"How is the Connie I got?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Unconscious, sir," Santos replied. "He must be
bleeding badly, but we can't tell. The one you landed
on is all right now, but he may have a broken
rib or two."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Because his voice was weak, Rip had to turn up
the volume on his communicator to tell the Planeteers
about the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>. They were silent when he
finished, then Dowst spoke up.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Looks like they have us, sir. But we'll take plenty
of them with us before we're finished."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"That's the spirit," Rip approved. He told them,
"I won't last much longer. When I get too weak, Koa
will take over. Meanwhile, I want to get outside.
Bring the rocket launcher outside, too. Who's the
gunner? Santos? Stand by, then. We'll need you in
case the Connie decides to send a few snappers before
it goes after the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The cruiser's glow was plain above the horizon,
now. It was so close they could make out its form
against the background of stars. O'Brine was decelerating
and Rip was certain he was watching his
screens for a sign of the enemy. He would see nothing,
because the enemy was in the shadow of the
asteroid. He would think the coast was clear, and
come to a stop near by while he asked why Rip had
called for help. Failing to get a reply, since the landing
boat was wrecked, he would send a landing party,<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page145">[pg 145]</span><a name="Pg145" id="Pg145" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
and the Connie would attack while he was launching
boats, off guard.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip watched the prediction come true. The nuclear
cruiser slowed gradually, its great bulk nearing
the asteroid. O'Brine was operating as expected.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip was having trouble keeping his vision from
blurring. He leaned against the rocket launcher and
his glove caressed one of the sharp noses in the rack.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He heard his own voice before the idea had even
taken full form. "Santos! Do you hear me? Santos!
Get the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>! Fire before it comes to a stop. And
don't miss!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Santos started to protest, but Koa bellowed, "Do
it. The lieutenant's right. It's the only chance we've
got to warn the ship. Get that scorpion, Santos. Dead
amidships!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Filipino corporal swung into action. His
space gloves flew as he cranked the launcher around,
turned on the illuminated sight and bent low over it.
Rip stood behind the corporal. He saw the cruiser's
shape stand out in the glow of the sight, saw the
sighting rings move as Santos corrected for its speed.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The corporal fired. Fire flared back past his shoulder.
The rocket flashed away, its trail dwindling as
it sped toward the great bulk above. It reached
brennschluss and there was darkness. Rip held his
breath for long seconds, then he gave a weak cry of
victory.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A blossom of orange fire marked a perfect hit.
</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<a name="toc31" id="toc31"></a>
<a name="pdf32" id="pdf32"></a>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page146">[pg 146]</span><a name="Pg146" id="Pg146" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Chapter Eleven - Hard Words for O'Brine</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> could have taken direct hits with
little or no major damage from a hundred rockets
of the kind Rip had used, but Commander O'Brine
took no chances. When the alarm bell signaled that
the outer hull had been hit, the commander acted
instantly with a bellowed order.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers on the asteroid blinked with the
speed of the cruiser's getaway. Fire flamed from the
stern tubes for an instant and then there was nothing
but a fading glow where the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> had been.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip had a mental image of everything movable
in the ship crashing against bulkheads with the terrific
acceleration.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
And in the same moment, the Consops cruiser
reacted. The Connie commander was ready to fire
guided missiles, when his target suddenly, mysteriously
blasted into space at optimum acceleration.
There was only one reason the Connie could imagine:
his cruiser had been spotted. The ambush had
failed. It was one thing for the Connie to lie in
ambush for a single, deadly surprise blast at the
Federation cruiser. It was quite another to face the
nuclear drive ship with its missile ports cleared for<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page147">[pg 147]</span><a name="Pg147" id="Pg147" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
action. The Connie knew he had lost.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip and the Planeteers saw the Consops ship suddenly
flame away, then turn and dive for low space
below the asteroid belt in a direction opposite the
one the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> had taken. The helmet communicators
rang with their cheers.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The young officer clapped Santos on the shoulder
and exclaimed weakly, "Good shooting!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The corporal turned anxiously to Koa. "The lieutenant's
pretty weak. Can't we do something?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Forget it," Rip said. There was nothing anyone
could do. He was trapped inside his space suit. There
was nothing anyone could do for his wound until
he got into air.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa untied his safety line and moved to Rip's side.
"Sir, this is dangerous, but there's just as much danger
without. I'm going to tie off that arm."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip knew what Koa meant. He stood quietly as
the big sergeant-major put the line around his arm
above the wound, then put his massive strength into
the task of pulling the line tight. The heavy fabric
of the suit was stiff, and the air pressure gave further
resistance that had to be overcome. Rip let most of
the air out of the suit, then fought for breath until
the pain in his arm told him that Koa had succeeded.
He inflated the suit again and thanked the sergeant-major
weakly.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The tight line stopped the bleeding, but it also
cut off the air circulation. Without the air, the heating<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page148">[pg 148]</span><a name="Pg148" id="Pg148" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
system couldn't operate efficiently. It was only
a matter of time before the arm froze.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Stand easy," Rip told his men. "Nothing to do
now but wait. The <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> will be back." He set an
example by leaning against the thorium crystal in
which the cave was located. It was a natural but
meaningless gesture. With no gravity pulling at them
they could remain standing indefinitely, sleeping
upright.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip closed his eyes and relaxed. The pain in his
arm was less now, and he knew the cold was setting
in. He was getting light-headed, and most of all he
wanted to sleep. Well, why not? He slumped a little
inside the suit.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He awoke with Koa shaking him violently. Rip
stood upright and shook his head to clear his vision.
"What is it?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Sir, the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> has returned."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip blinked as he stared out into space to where
Koa was pointing. He had trouble focusing his eyes
at first, and then he saw the glow of the cruiser.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Good," he said. "They'll send a landing boat first
thing."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I hope so," Koa replied.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip wanted to ask why the big Planeteer doubted,
but he was too tired to phrase the question. He
contented himself with watching the cruiser.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
In a short time the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> was balanced with
nose tubes counteracting the thrust of stern tubes,<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page149">[pg 149]</span><a name="Pg149" id="Pg149" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
ready to flash into space again at a second's notice.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip watched, puzzled. The cruiser was miles away.
Why didn't it come any closer? Then, suddenly, it
erupted a dozen fiery streaks.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Snapper-boats," someone gasped.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip jerked fully awake. In the ruddy glow of the
fighting rockets' tubes he had seen that the cruiser's
missile ports were yawning wide, ready to spew forth
deadly nuclear charges.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The snapper-boats flashed toward the asteroid in
a group, sheered off, and broke formation. They
came back in pairs, streaking space with the sparks
of their exhausts.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Into the cave," Koa shouted.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers obeyed instantly. Koa took Rip's
arm, to lead him inside, but the young officer shook
him off. "No, Koa. I'll take my chances out here. I
want to see what they're up to."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Great Cosmos, sir! They'll go over this rock like
Martian beetles. You'll get it for sure."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Get inside," Rip ordered. He gathered strength
enough to make his voice firm. "I'm staying here
until I figure out some way to call them off. We
can't just stand here and let them blast us. They're
our own men."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Then I'm staying, too," Koa stated.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A pair of snapper-boats flashed overhead, and vanished
below the horizon. Two more swept past from
another direction.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page150">[pg 150]</span><a name="Pg150" id="Pg150" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip watched, curious. What were they up to? Another
pair quartered past them at high speed, then
two more. The dozen boats seemed to be criss-crossing
the asteroid in a definite pattern. Why?
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A pair streaked past, and something sped downward
from one of them, trailing yellow flame. It
exploded in a ball of molten fire that licked across
the asteroid in waves. Rip tensed, then saw that the
chemical would burn out before it reached them.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Fire bomb," Koa muttered.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip nodded. He had recognized it. The Planeteers
were trained in the use of fire bombs, tanks of chemicals
that burned even in an airless world. They were
equipped with simple jets for use in space.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The snapper-boats drew off, back toward the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>.
Rip watched, searching for some reason for
their actions. Then one of the boats pulled away
from the others. It returned to the asteroid with
stern jet burning fitfully.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Is he landing?" Koa asked.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip didn't know. The snapper-boat was moving
slowly enough to make a landing.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Directly over the asteroid it changed direction,
circled, and returned over their heads. Rip could
almost have picked it off with a pistol shot. Santos
could have blasted it into space dust with one rocket.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The snapper-boat changed direction, and for a
fraction of a second stern and side tubes "fought"
each other, making the boat yaw wildly, then it<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page152">[pg 152]</span><a name="Pg152" id="Pg152" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
straightened out on a new course.
</p>
<a name="fig33" id="fig33"></a><div class="tei tei-figure" style="text-align: center"><img src="images/image11.png" width="640" height="990" alt="Illustration: "They're Using Fire Bombs," Muttered Koa." title=""They're Using Fire Bombs," Muttered Koa." /><div class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em">"They're Using Fire Bombs," Muttered Koa.</div></div>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa exclaimed, "That's a drone!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip got it then. A pilotless snapper-boat! That's
why its actions were a little uneven. Only one thing
could explain its deliberate slowness. It was bait.
The <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> had sent piloted snapper-boats over
the asteroid at high speed, criss-crossing in order to
cover the thorium world completely, expecting to
have the unknown rocketeer fire at them. Then a
fire bomb had been dropped as a further means of
getting the asteroid to fire. But no rockets had been
fired from the asteroid, so the pilot in control of the
drone had sent it at low speed, a perfect target.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
That meant O'Brine wasn't sure of what was going
on. He must have seen the blip on his screen as
the Connie cruiser flamed off, Rip reasoned. But the
commander probably suspected that the Connies had
overcome the Planeteers and were in control of the
asteroid. He had sent the snapper-boats to try and
draw fire in an attempt to find out more surely
whether Planeteers or Connies had the thorium rock.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"The <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> doesn't know what's going on,"
Rip told his Planeteers. "O'Brine didn't know the
cruiser was waiting to ambush him, so the rocket
we fired made him think the Connies had taken
us over."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He put himself in O'Brine's place. What would
his next step be? The snapper-boats hadn't drawn
fire, even when a drone was sent over at low speed.<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page153">[pg 153]</span><a name="Pg153" id="Pg153" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
The next thing would be to send a piloted boat over
slowly enough to take a look.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip hoped O'Brine would hurry. There was no
longer any feeling in his arm below Koa's safety
line. That meant the arm had frozen. He had to get
medical attention from the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> pretty soon.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He gritted his teeth. At least he was no longer
losing blood. He wasn't getting any weaker. But
every now and then his vision fogged and he had
to shake his head to clear it.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The pilotless snapper-boat made another slow run,
then put on speed and flashed back to the group of
boats near the cruiser. Another boat detached itself
from the squadron and moved toward the asteroid.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip wished for a communicator powerful enough
to reach the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>, but knew it was useless to try
with his helmet circuit. The carrier waves of the
snapper-boats were on the same frequency, and they
would smother the faint signal from his bubble.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
But the boats might be able to hear if they got
close enough! He had a swift memory of the communications
circuits. The pilots were plugged into
their boat communicators. If a boat got near enough,
he could turn up his bubble to full volume and yell.
Not only would the boat pilot hear him, but his
voice would go through the pilot's circuit and be
heard in the ship!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip grabbed Koa's arm. "Let's move away from
the cave a little farther."
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page154">[pg 154]</span><a name="Pg154" id="Pg154" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The two of them stepped away from the cave and
stood in full view as the snapper-boat moved cautiously
down toward the asteroid. Rip planned what
he would say. "Commander O'Brine, this is Foster!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
No, that wouldn't do. Connies would know that
Kevin O'Brine commanded the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>, and if they
had taken over the Planeteers on the asteroid, they
would also have learned Rip's name. He had to say
something that would identify him beyond a doubt.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The snapper-boat was closing in slowly. Rip knew
the pilot and gunner must be tense, frightened, ready
to blast with their guns at the first wrong move on
the asteroid. He groped with his good arm and
turned up his helmet communicator to full volume.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The fighting rocket drew closer, cut in its nose
tube, and hovered only a few hundred feet above
the Planeteers.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip summoned enough strength to make his voice
sharp and clear. His words sped through space into
the bubble of the pilot, echoed in the helmet and
were picked up by the pilot's microphone, then
hurled through the snapper-boat circuit through
space to the control room of the cruiser.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine stiffened as the speaker threw Rip's voice
at him, amplified and hollow-sounding from reverberations
in the boat pilot's helmet.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"<span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">O'Brine is so ugly he won't look at his face in a
clean blast tube! That no-good Irishman wouldn't
know what to do with an asteroid if he had one!</span></span>"
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page155">[pg 155]</span><a name="Pg155" id="Pg155" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The commander turned purple with rage. He bellowed,
"Foster!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A junior space officer hid a grin and murmured,
"Looks like the Planeteers still have the asteroid."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine bent over the communicator and yelled,
"Deputy commander! Launch landing boats. Get
those Planeteers and bring them here, under armed
guard. Ram it!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The snapper-boat pilot through whose circuit Rip
had yelled turned to look wide-eyed at his gunner.
"Did you hear that? Throw a light down on the
asteroid. It must have come from there."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The gunner threw a switch and a searchlight port
opened in the boat's belly. Its beam searched downward,
swept past, then steadied on two space-clad
figures.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"It worked," Rip said tiredly. He closed his eyes
to guard them against the brilliant glare, then waved
his good arm.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Santos called from the cave entrance. "Sir, landing
boats are being launched!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Bring out the prisoners," Rip ordered. "Line
them up. Planeteers fall in behind them."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The landing boats, with snapper-boats in watchful
attendance, blasted down to the surface of the asteroid.
Spacemen jumped out, awkward at first on the
no-weight surface. An officer glided to meet Rip, and
he had a pistol in his hand.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"It's all right," Rip told him. "The Connies are<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page156">[pg 156]</span><a name="Pg156" id="Pg156" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
our prisoners. You won't need guns."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The spaceman snapped, "You're under arrest."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip stared incredulously. "What for?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"The commander's orders. Don't give me any
arguments. Just get aboard."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I can't argue with a loaded gun," Rip said wearily.
He called to his men. "We're under arrest. I
don't know why. Don't try to resist. Do as the spacemen
order."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip got aboard the nearest landing boat, his head
spinning. O'Brine had made a mistake of some kind.
The landing boats, loaded with Planeteers and
Connies, lifted from the asteroid to the cruiser. They
slid smoothly into the air locks and settled. The massive
lock doors slid closed and lights flickered on.
Rip waited, trying to keep consciousness from slipping away.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The lock gauges registered normal air, and the
inner valves slid open. Commander O'Brine stepped
through, his square jaw outthrust and his face flushed
with anger. He bellowed, "Where's Foster?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
His voice was so loud Rip heard him faintly even
through the bubble. He stepped out of the landing
boat and faced the irate commander.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine ordered, "Get him out of that suit."
Two spacemen jumped forward. One twisted
Rip's bubble free and lifted it off. The heavy air of
the ship hit him with physical force.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine grated, "You're under arrest, Foster, for<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page157">[pg 157]</span><a name="Pg157" id="Pg157" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
firing on the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>, for insubordination, and for
conduct unbecoming an officer. Get out of that suit
and get flaming. It's the spacepot for you."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip had to grin. He couldn't help it. He started
to reply, but the heavy air of the cruiser, so much
richer and denser than that of the suits, was too
much. He slumped unconscious.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There was no gravity to pull him to the floor, but
the action of his relaxing muscles swung him slowly
until he lay face down in the air a few feet above
the floor.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Commander O'Brine stared for a moment, then
he took the unconscious Planeteer and swung him
upright. His quick eyes took in the patch on the
arm, the safety line tied tightly. He roared, "Quick!
Get him to the wound ward!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip came back to consciousness on the operating
table. The wound in his arm had been neatly repaired,
and below the wound, where his arm had
frozen, a plastic temperature bag was slowly bringing
the cold flesh back to normal. On his other side,
a pulsing pressure pump forced new blood from the
ship's supplies into his veins.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A senior space officer with the golden lancet of
the medical service on his blue tunic bent over him.
"How do you feel?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip's voice surprised him. It was as full and strong
as ever. "I feel wonderful. Can I get up?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"When we get enough blood into you and your<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page158">[pg 158]</span><a name="Pg158" id="Pg158" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
arm is fully restored."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Commander O'Brine appeared in the door frame.
"Can he talk?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yes. He's fine, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine glared down at Rip. "Can you give me a
good reason why I shouldn't have you treated for
space madness, then toss you in the spacepot until
we reach earth?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Best reason in the galaxy," Rip said cheerfully.
"But before we talk about it, I want to know how
my men are. One got cut and another had his bubble
cracked. Also, one of the Connies got badly cut,
another had some broken bones, and a third one
bled into high vack when Koa cracked his bubble."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The doctor answered Rip's question. "Your men
are all right. We put the one with the cracked bubble
into high compression for a while, just to relieve
his pain a little. The other one didn't bleed much.
He's back in the squadroom right now. Two of the
prisoners are patched up, but the third one is in the
other operating room. I don't know whether we can
save him or not. We're trying."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine nodded. "Thanks, doctor. Now, Foster,
start talking. You fired on this ship, scored a hit,
and broke the airseal. No casualties, fortunately. But
by forcing us to accelerate at optimum speed, you
caused so much breakage of ship's stores that we'll
have to put into Marsport for new stocks. And on
top of all that, you insulted me within the hearing<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page159">[pg 159]</span><a name="Pg159" id="Pg159" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
of every man on the ship. I don't mind being insulted
by Planeteers. I'm used to it. But when it's
done over the ship's communications system, it's bad
for discipline."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip tried to keep a straight face. He said mildly,
"Sir, I'm surprised you even give me a chance to
explain."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I wouldn't have," O'Brine said frankly. "I would
have shot off a special message to earth relieving you
of command and asking for Discipline Board action.
But when I saw those Connie prisoners, I knew there
was more to this than just a young space-pup going
vack-wacky."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"There was, Commander." Rip recited the events
of the past few hours while the Irishman listened
with growing amazement. He finished with, "I had
to convince you in a hurry that we still held the
asteroid, so I used some insulting phrases that would
let you know who was talking without any doubt at
all. And you did know, didn't you, sir?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine flushed. For a long moment his glance
locked with Rip's, then he roared with laughter.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip grinned his relief. "My apologies, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Accepted," O'Brine chuckled. "I'm sorry I won't
have an excuse for dumping you in the spacepot,
Foster. Your explanation is acceptable, but I have
a suspicion that you enjoyed calling me names."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I might have," Rip admitted, "but I wasn't in
very good shape. The only thing I could think of<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page160">[pg 160]</span><a name="Pg160" id="Pg160" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
was getting into air so I could have my arm treated.
Commander, we've moved the asteroid. Now we
have to correct course. And we have to get some new
equipment, including nuclite shielding. Also, sir,
I'd appreciate it if you'd let my men clean up and
eat. They haven't been in air since we left the
cruiser."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
For answer, O'Brine strode to the operating room
communicator. "Get it," he called. "The deputy
commander will prepare landing boat one and issue
new space suits and helmets for all Planeteers with
damaged equipment. Put in two rolls of nuclite.
Sergeant-major Koa will see that all Planeteers have
an opportunity to clean up and eat immediately. The
Planeteers will return to the asteroid in one hour."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip asked, "Will I be able to go into space by
then?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The doctor replied. "Your arm will be normal in
about twenty minutes. It will ache some, but you'll
have full use of it. We'll bring you back to the ship
in about twenty-four hours for another look at it,
just to be sure."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Sixty minutes later, clean, fed, and contented, the
Planeteers were again on the thorium planet while
the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>, riding the same orbit, stood by a few
miles out in space.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The asteroid and the great cruiser arched high
above the belt of tiny worlds in the orbit Rip had
set, traveling together toward distant Mars.
</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<a name="toc34" id="toc34"></a>
<a name="pdf35" id="pdf35"></a>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page161">[pg 161]</span><a name="Pg161" id="Pg161" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Chapter Twelve - Mercury Transit</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The long hours passed, and only Rip's chronometer
told him when the end of a day was reached.
The Planeteers alternately worked on the surface
and rested in the air of the landing boat compartment
while the asteroid sped steadily on its way.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
When a series of sightings over several days gave
Rip enough exact data to work on, he recalculated
the orbit, found the amount that the course had to
be corrected, and supervised the cutting of new and
smaller holes in the metal.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Tubes of ordinary rocket fuel were placed in these
and fired, and the thrust moved the asteroid slightly,
just enough to make the corrections Rip needed. It
was not necessary to take to the landing boat for
these blasts. The Planeteers retired to their cave,
which was now lined with nuclite as a protection
against radiation.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip watched his dosimeter climb steadily as the
radiation dosage mounted. Then he took the landing
boat to the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>, talked the problem over
with the ship's medical department and arranged
for his men to take injections that would keep them
from coming down with radiation sickness.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page162">[pg 162]</span><a name="Pg162" id="Pg162" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
They left the asteroid belt far behind, and passed
within ten thousand miles of Mars. The <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span>
sent its entire complement of snapper-boats to the
asteroid for protection, in case Consops made another
try, then flamed off to Marsport to put in new
supplies to replace those damaged when Rip had
forced sudden and disastrous acceleration.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The asteroid had reached earth's orbit before the
cruiser returned. Of course, earth was on the other
side of the sun. Rip ordered a survey and found the
best place on the dark side to make a new base. The
Planeteers cut out a cave with the torch, lined it
with nuclite, and moved in their supplies. It would
be their permanent base to the end of the trip.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The sun was very hot now. On the sunny side of
the asteroid the temperature had soared far past the
boiling point of water. But on the dark side, Rip
measured temperatures close to absolute zero.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
When the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> returned he arranged with
Commander O'Brine for the Planeteers to take turns
going to the cruiser for showers and decent meals.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The asteroid approached the orbit of Venus, but
the bright planet was some distance away, at its
greatest elongation to the east of the sun. Mercury,
however, loomed larger and larger. They would pass
close to the hot planet.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine recalled Rip to the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scorpius</span></span> and handed
him a message.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.00em">
ASTEROID NOW WITHIN PROTECTION<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page163">[pg 163]</span><a name="Pg163" id="Pg163" class="tei tei-anchor" style="text-align: center"></a>
REACH OF MERCURY AND TERRA BASES.
YOUR ESCORT NO LONGER REQUIRED.
PROCEED IMMEDIATELY TITAN, TAKE ON
CARGO AND PERSONNEL.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The commander sighed. "Looks like I'll never
get to earth long enough to see my family."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip sympathized. "Tough, sir. Perhaps the cargo
from Titan will be scheduled for Terra."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"That's what I hope," O'Brine agreed. "Well,
here's where we part. Is there anything you need?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip made a mental check on supplies. He had
more than enough. "The only thing we need is a
long-range communicator, sir. If you're leaving,
we'll have no way to contact the planet bases."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I'll see that you get one." The Irishman thrust
out his hand. "Stay out of high vack, Foster. Too
bad you didn't join us instead of the Planeteers. I
might have made a decent officer out of you."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip grinned. "That's a real compliment, sir. I
might return it by saying I'd be glad to have you
as a Planeteer corporal any time."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
O'Brine chuckled. "All right. Let's declare a truce,
Planeteer. We'll meet again. Space isn't very big."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A short time later Rip stood in front of his asteroid
base and watched the great cruiser drive into
space. A short distance away a snapper-boat was
lashed to the landing boat. O'Brine had insisted on
leaving it, with a word of warning.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"These Connies are plenty smart. I don't like<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page164">[pg 164]</span><a name="Pg164" id="Pg164" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
leaving you unprotected, even within reach of Mercury
and Terra, but orders are orders. Keep the
snapper-boat and you'll at least be able to put up a
fight if you bump into trouble."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The asteroid sped on its lonely way for two days
and then a cruiser came out of space, its nuclear
drive glowing. The Planeteers manned the rocket
launcher and Rip and Santos stood by the snapper-boat
just in case, but the cruiser was the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Sagittarius</span></span>,
out of Mercury.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Captain Go Sian-tek, a Chinese Planeteer officer,
arrived in one of the cruiser's landing boats accompanied
by three enlisted Planeteers. They were all
from the Special Order Squadron on Mercury.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Captain Go greeted Rip and his men, then handed
over a plastic stylus plate ordering Rip to deliver
six cubic meters of thorium for use on Mercury.
While Koa supervised the cutting of the block, Rip
and the captain chatted.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Mercurian Planeteer base was in the twilight
zone, but the Planeteers did all their work on the
sun side, using special alloy suits to mine the precious
nuclite that only the hot planet provided.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
At some time during its first years, Mercury had
been so close to the sun that its temperature was
driven high enough to permit a subatomic thermo-nuclear
reaction. The reaction had shorn some elements
of their electrons and left a thin coating of
material composed almost entirely of neutrons. The<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page165">[pg 165]</span><a name="Pg165" id="Pg165" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
nuclite was incredibly dense. It could be handled
only in low gravity because of its weight. But nothing
else provided the shielding against radiation and
meteors half so well and it was in great demand for
spaceship skins.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Things aren't so bad," Go told Rip. "The base
is comfortable and we only work a two hour shift
out of each ten. We've had a plague of silly dillies
recently. They got into one man's suit while we were
working, but mostly they're just a nuisance."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip had heard of the creatures. They were like
earth armadillos, except that they were silicon animals
and not carbon like those of earth. They were
drawn to oxygen like iron to a magnet, and their
diamond hard tongues, used for drilling rock in
order to get the minerals on which they lived, could
drive right through a space suit. Or, if they could
work undetected for a short while, they could drill
through the shell of a space station.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
<span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Scralabus primus</span></span> was the scientific name of the
creature, but the fact that it looked like a silicon
armadillo had given it the popular name of "silly
dilly." Apart from its desire for oxygen it was harmless.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa reported, "Sir, the block of thorium is ready.
We've hung it on a line behind the landing boat.
The blast won't hurt it, and it's too big to get inside
the boat."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Fine, Koa. Well, Captain, that does it."
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page166">[pg 166]</span><a name="Pg166" id="Pg166" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Mercurian Planeteers got into their craft and
blasted off, trailing the block of thorium in their
exhaust. Rip watched the cruiser take the craft and
thorium aboard, then drive toward Mercury, brilliant
sunlight reflecting from its sleek sides. The
planet was only a short distance away by spaceship.
It was the largest thing in space, except for the sun,
as seen from the asteroid. To Rip it looked about
three times the size of the moon as seen from earth.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Past the orbit of Mercury, the sun side of the asteroid
grew dangerously hot for men in space suits. Rip
and the Planeteers stayed in the bitter cold of the
dark side, which ceased to be entirely dark. Even
the temperature rose somewhat. They were close
enough to the sun so that the prominences, great
flaming tongues of hydrogen that sped many thousands
of miles into space, gave them light and enough
heat to register on Rip's instruments.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Mercury was left far behind, and earth could not
be seen because of the sun. There was nothing to
do now but ride out the rest of the trip as comfortably
as possible until it was time to throw the asteroid
into an ever-tightening series of elliptical orbits
around earth, known as braking ellipses. The method
would use earth's gravity to slow them down
to the proper speed. A single atomic bomb and a
half dozen tubes of rocket fuel remained.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Then, as Rip was enjoying the comfort of air during
his off-watch hour in the boat compartment, Koa<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page167">[pg 167]</span><a name="Pg167" id="Pg167" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
beat an alarm on the door.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip and the Planeteers with him hurriedly got
into space suits and opened up.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"It's Terra base calling on the communicator,
sir," Koa reported. "Urgent message, they said, and
they want to talk to you, personally."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip hurried to the base cave. The communicator
indicator light was glowing red. He plugged in his
helmet circuit and said, "This is Lieutenant Foster.
Go ahead."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A voice crackled across space from earth. "This is
Terra base. Foster, a Consops cruiser has apparently
been hiding behind the sun waiting for you. Our
screens just picked it up, heading your way. We've
sent orders to the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Sagittarius</span></span> on Mercury to give you
cover, and the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Aquila</span></span> has taken off from here. But
get this, Foster. The Consops cruiser will reach you
first. You have about one hour. Do you understand?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip understood all right. He understood too well.
"Got you," he said shortly. "Now what?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The communicator buzzed. "Take any appropriate
action. You're on your own, Foster. Sorry. Sending
the cruisers is all we can do. We'll stand by for
word from you. If you think of any way we can help,
let us know."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip asked, "How long before the cruisers arrive?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"You're too close to us for them to move fast.
They'll have to use time accelerating and decelerating.
The <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Sagittarius</span></span> should arrive in something less<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page168">[pg 168]</span><a name="Pg168" id="Pg168" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
than two hours and the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Aquila</span></span> a few minutes later."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The communicator paused, then continued. "One
thing more, Foster. The Connies know how badly
we want that asteroid, but they also know we don't
want it enough to start a war. Got that?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Got it," Rip stated wryly. "I got it good. Thanks
for the warning, Terra base. Foster off."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Terra base off. Stay out of high vack."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Fine advice, if it could be taken. Rip stared up
at the brilliant stars, thinking fast. The Connie
would have almost an hour's lead on the space patrol
cruisers. In that hour, if the Connie were willing
to pay the price in blasted snapper-boats, Consops
would have the asteroid. And Terra base had made
it clear that the space patrol would not try to blast
the Connie cruiser and take back the asteroid, because
that would mean war.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Added together, the facts said just one thing: they
had one hour in which to think of some way to hold
off the Connies for an additional hour.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers were clustered around him. Rip
asked grimly, "Any of you ever study the ancient
art of magic?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers remained silent and tense.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Magic is what we need," Rip told them. "We
have to make the whole asteroid disappear, or else
we have to conjure up a space cruiser out of the
thorium. Otherwise, we have a little more than an
hour before we're either prisoners or dead!"
</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<a name="toc36" id="toc36"></a>
<a name="pdf37" id="pdf37"></a>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page169">[pg 169]</span><a name="Pg169" id="Pg169" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Chapter Thirteen - Peril at Perihelion</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Sergeant-major Koa had made no comment since
notifying Rip of the call from Terra base. Now he
asked thoughtfully, "Lieutenant, can the Connie
launch boats this close to the sun? Won't the sun's
pull suck them right in?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Corporal Pederson scoffed, "Naw, Koa. If sun's
gravity be that strong, it pull us in, too."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Not quite, Pederson," Rip corrected. "Koa is on
the right track. The pull of the sun is pretty strong.
But I don't think it's strong enough to capture
boats."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He had figured the asteroid's orbit to pass as close
to the sun as possible while maintaining a margin
of safety. He had wanted to use the sun's gravity to
pick up speed. His regular star sightings had told
him several days before that the sun was dragging
them.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
But Koa had started a train of ideas running
through Rip's head. If they could get close enough
to the sun so small boats would be unable to break
free of its gravity, the Connie wouldn't dare send a
landing force. The powerful engines of a cruiser
could break loose from Sol's pull, but not the chemical<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page170">[pg 170]</span><a name="Pg170" id="Pg170" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
jets of a cruiser's boats.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip got his instruments and pulled out a special
slide rule designed for use in space. He had Koa
stand by with stylus and computation board and take
down figures as he called them off.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He recalculated the safety factor he had used when
deciding how close to put the asteroid to the sun,
then took quick star sights to determine their exact
position. They were within a few miles of perihelion,
the point at which they would be closest to Sol.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip tapped gloved fingers on his helmet absently.
If they could blast out of the orbit and drive into
the sun ... he estimated the result. A few miles per
second of extra speed would put them so far within
the sun's field of gravity that, within an hour or so,
small boats would venture into space only at their
peril.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He reviewed the equipment. They had tubes of
rocket fuel, but the tubes wouldn't give the powerful
thrust needed for this job. They had one atomic
bomb. One wasn't enough. Not only must they drive
toward the sun, they must keep reserve power to
blast free again. If only they had a pair of nuclear
charges!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He called his Planeteers together and outlined the
problem. Perhaps one of them would have an idea.
But no useful suggestions were forthcoming until
little Dominico spoke up. "Sir, why don't we make
two bombs from one?"
</p>
<a name="fig38" id="fig38"></a><div class="tei tei-figure" style="text-align: center"><img src="images/image12.png" width="640" height="976" alt="Illustration: "Sir, Why Don't We Make Two Bombs From One?"" title=""Sir, Why Don't We Make Two Bombs From One?"" /><div class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em">"Sir, Why Don't We Make Two Bombs From One?"</div></div>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page172">[pg 172]</span><a name="Pg172" id="Pg172" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I wish we could," Rip said. "Do you know how,
Dominico?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"No, Lieutenant. If we had parts, I could put
bombs together. I can take them apart, but I don't
know how to make two out of one." The Italian
Planeteer looked accusingly at Rip. "I thought maybe
you know, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip grunted. If they had parts, he could assemble
nuclear bombs, too. Part of his physics training had
been concerned with fission and its various applications.
But no one had taught him how to make two
bombs out of one.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The theory of nuclear explosions was simple
enough. Two or more correctly sized pieces of plutonium
or uranium isotope, when brought together,
formed what was known as a critical mass, which
would fission. The fissioning released energy and
produced the explosion.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
But there was a wide gap between theory and
practice. A nuclear bomb was actually pretty complicated.
It had to be complicated to keep the pieces
of the fissionable material apart until a chemical
explosion drove them together fast and hard enough
to create a fission explosion. If the pieces weren't
brought together rapidly enough, the mass would
fission in a slow chain reaction and no explosion
would result.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip was trained in scientific analysis. He tackled
the problem logically, considering the design of a<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page173">[pg 173]</span><a name="Pg173" id="Pg173" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
nuclear bomb and the reasons for it.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Atomic bombs had to be carried. That meant an
outer casing was necessary. Probably the casing had
a lot to do with the design. Suppose no casing were
required? What would be needed?
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He took the stylus and computation board from
Koa and jotted down the parts required. First, two
or more pieces of plutonium large enough to form
a critical mass. Second, a neutron source—some material
with the type of radioactivity that produced
neutrons—to start the reaction. Third, some kind
of neutron reflector. And fourth, explosive to drive
the pieces together.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Did they have all those items? He checked them
off. Their single five KT bomb contained at least
enough plutonium for two critical masses, if brought
together inside a good neutron reflector. Each mass
should give about a two kiloton explosion. And they
did have a good neutron reflector—nuclite. There
wasn't anything better for the purpose.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"What have we got for a neutron source?" he
asked aloud. He was really asking himself, but he
got a quick answer from Koa.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Sir, some of the stuff left in the craters from the
other explosions gives off neutrons."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"You're right," Rip agreed instantly. A small piece
from one of the craters, when combined with half of
the neutron source in the bomb, should be enough.
As for the explosive, they had exploding heads on<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page174">[pg 174]</span><a name="Pg174" id="Pg174" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
their attack rockets.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
In other words, he had what he needed—except
for a method of putting all the pieces together to
create a bomb.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
If only they had a tube of some sort that would
withstand the chemical explosion—the one that
brought the critical mass together!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He told the Planeteers what he had been thinking,
then asked, "Any ideas for a tube?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"How about a tube from the snapper-boat?" Santos
suggested.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip shook his head. "Not strong enough. They're
designed to withstand the slow push of rocket fuel,
not the fast rap of an explosion. When I say slow, I
mean slow-burning when compared with explosive.
Who has another idea?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Kemp, the expert torchman, said, "Sir, I can burn
you a tube into the asteroid."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip grabbed the Planeteer so hard they both
floated upward. "Kemp, that's wonderful! That's it!"
The details took form in his mind even as he called
orders. "Dominico, tear down that bomb. Santos,
remove two heads from your rockets and wire them
to explode on electrical impulse. Kemp, we'll want
the tube just a fraction of an inch wider than a rocket
head. Get your torch ready."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He took the stylus and began calculating. He
talked as he worked, telling the Planeteers exactly
what they were up against. "I'm figuring out where<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page175">[pg 175]</span><a name="Pg175" id="Pg175" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
to put the charge so it will do the most good, but my
data isn't complete. If our homemade bomb goes
off, I don't know exactly how much power it will
give. If it gives too much, we'll be driven so close to
the sun well never get free of its gravity."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Bradshaw, the English Planeteer, said mildly,
"Don't worry, Lieutenant. We're caught either way.
If it isn't the solar frying pan, it's Connie fire."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A chorus of agreement came from the other Planeteers.
What a crew! Rip thought. What a great gang
of space pirates!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He finished his calculations and found the exact
spot where Kemp would cut. A few feet away from
the spot was a thick pyramid of thorium. That would
do, and they could cut into it horizontally instead
of drilling straight down. He pointed to it. "Let's
have a hole straight in for six feet. And keep it
straight, Kemp. Allow enough room for a lining of
nuclite. Koa, pull a sheet of nuclite out of the cave
and cut it to size."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Kemp's torch already was slicing into the metal.
Rip asked, "Can you weld with that thing, Kemp?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Just show me what you want, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Good." Rip motioned to Trudeau. "Frenchy,
we'll need a strong rod at least eight feet long."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The French Planeteer hurried off. Rip consulted
his chronometer. Less than ten minutes had passed
since the call from Terra base.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He went over his plan again. It had to work! If<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page176">[pg 176]</span><a name="Pg176" id="Pg176" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
it didn't, asteroid and Planeteers would end up as
subatomic particles in the sun's photosphere, because
he had calculated his blast to drive the asteroid
past the limit of safety. It was the only way he could
be sure of putting them beyond danger from Connie
landing boats or snapper-boats. The Connie would
have only one chance—to bring his cruiser down on
the asteroid.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
If he tried that, Rip thought grimly, he would get
a surprise. The second nuclear charge would be set,
ready to be fired. The Connie cruiser was so big
that no matter how it pulled up to the asteroid,
some part of it would be close enough to the charge
to be blown into space dust. No cruiser could survive
an atomic explosion within five hundred yards,
and the Connie would have to get closer to the
nuclear charge than that.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Dominico reported that the bomb had been dismantled.
Rip went to it and examined the raw plutonium,
being careful to keep the pieces widely
separated.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
This particular bomb design used five pieces of
plutonium which were driven together to form a
ball. Rip made a quick estimate. Two were enough
to form a critical mass. He would use two to blast
into the sun and three to blast out again. He would
need the extra kick.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There was only one trouble. The pieces were
wedge shaped. They would have to be mounted in<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page177">[pg 177]</span><a name="Pg177" id="Pg177" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
thorium in order to keep them rigid. Only Kemp
could do that. They had no cutting tool but the
torch.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Santos appeared, carrying a rocket head under
each arm. They had wires wound around them,
ready to be attached to an electrical source.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip hurried back to where Kemp was at work.
The private was using a cutting nozzle that threw
an almost invisible flame five feet long. In air, the
nozzle wouldn't have worked effectively beyond two
feet, but in space it cut right down to the end of the
flame. Kemp had his arm inside the hole and was
peering past it as he finished the cut.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Done, sir," he said, and adjusted the flame to a
spout of red fire. He thrust the torch into the hole
and quickly withdrew it as pieces of thorium flew
out. A stream of water hosed into the tube would
have washed them out the same way.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip took a block of plutonium from Dominico
and handed it to Kemp. "Cut a plug and fit this
into it. Then cut a second plug for the other piece.
They have to match perfectly, and you can't put
them together to try out the fit. If you do, we'll have
fission right here in the open."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Kemp searched and found a piece he had cut in
making the tube. It was perfectly round, ideal for
the purpose. He sliced off the inner side where it
tapered to a cone, then, working only by eye estimate,
cut out a hole in which the wedge of fission<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page178">[pg 178]</span><a name="Pg178" id="Pg178" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
material would fit. He wasn't off by a thirty-second
of an inch. Skillful application of the torch melted
the thorium around the wedge and sealed it tightly.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa was ready with a sheet of nuclite. Trudeau
arrived with a long pole he had made by lashing
two crate sticks together.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip gave directions as they formed a cylinder of
nuclite. Kemp spot-welded it, and they pushed it
into the hole, forming a lining.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Nunez found a small piece of material in one of
the earlier craters. It would provide some neutrons
to start the chain reaction. Rip added it to the front
of the plutonium wedge along with a piece of beryllium
from the bomb, and Kemp welded it in place.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
They put the thorium block which contained the
plutonium into the hole, the plutonium facing outward.
Trudeau rammed it to the bottom with his
pole. The neutron source, the neutron reflector, and
one piece of fissionable material were in place.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Kemp sliced another round block of thorium out
of a near-by crystal and fitted the second wedge of
plutonium into it. At first Rip had worried about
the two pieces of plutonium making a good enough
contact, but Kemp's skillful hand and precision eye
removed that worry.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The torchman finished fitting the plutonium and
carried the block to the tube opening. He tried it,
removed a slight irregularity with his torch, then
said quietly, "Finished, sir."
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page179">[pg 179]</span><a name="Pg179" id="Pg179" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip took over. He slid the thorium-plutonium
block into the tube, took a rocket head from Santos
and used it to push the block in farther. When the
rocket head was about four inches inside the tube,
its wires trailing out, Rip called Kemp. At his direction,
the torchman sliced a thin slot up the face of
the crystal. Rip fitted the wires into it and held them
in place with a small wedge of thorium.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Kemp cut a plug, fitted it into the hole, and welded
the seams closed. The tube was sealed. When
electric current fired the rocket head, the thorium
carrying the plutonium wedge would be driven forward
to meet the wedge in the back. And, unless Rip
had miscalculated the mass of the two pieces, they
would have their nuclear blast. Rip surveyed the
crystal with some anxiety. It looked right.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Dominico already had rigged the timer from the
atomic bomb. He connected the wires, then looked
at Rip. "Do I set it, sir?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Load the communicator, the extra bomb parts,
the rocket launcher and rockets, the cutting equipment,
my instruments, and the tubes of fuel," Rip
ordered. "Leave everything else in the cave."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers ran to obey. Rip waited until the
landing boat was nearly loaded, then told Dominico
to set the timer for five minutes. He wondered how
they would explode the second charge, since they
had only the one timer left, then forgot about it.
Time enough to worry when faced with the problem.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page180">[pg 180]</span><a name="Pg180" id="Pg180" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I'll take the snapper-boat," he stated. "Santos in
the gunner's seat. Koa in charge in the landing boat.
Dowst pilot. Let's show an exhaust."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He fitted himself into the tight pilot seat of the
snapper-boat while Santos climbed in behind. Then,
handling the controls with the skill of long practice,
he lifted the tiny fighting rocket above the asteroid
and waited for the landing boat. When it joined up,
Rip led the way to safety. As he cut his exhaust to
wait for the explosion, he sighted past the snapper-boat's
nose to the asteroid.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He was moving, and the direction of his move
told him the sun was already pulling. Its pull was
strong, too. He cut his jets back on, just to hold position,
and saw Dowst do the same.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Another few miles toward the sun and the landing
boat wouldn't have the power to get away from Sol's
gravity. A few miles beyond that, even the powerful
little snapper-boat would be caught.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Below, the timer reached zero. A mighty fan of
fire shot into space. The asteroid shuddered from
the blast, then swerved gradually, picking up speed
as well as new direction.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip swallowed hard. Now they were committed.
They would reach a new perihelion far beyond the
limits of safety. P for perihelion and P for peril. In
this case, they were the same thing!
</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<a name="toc39" id="toc39"></a>
<a name="pdf40" id="pdf40"></a>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page181">[pg 181]</span><a name="Pg181" id="Pg181" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Chapter Fourteen - Between Two Fires</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Back on the asteroid, the Planeteers started laying
the second atomic charge. Rip selected the spot,
found a near-by crystal that would serve to house the
bomb, and Kemp started cutting.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers knew what to do now, and the
work went rapidly. Rip kept an eye on his chronometer.
According to the message from Terra base, he
had about fifteen minutes before the Consops cruiser
arrived.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We have one advantage we didn't have back in
the asteroid belt," he remarked to Koa. "Back there
they could have landed anywhere on the rock. Now
they have to stick to the dark side. Snapper-boats
could last on the sun side, but men in ordinary
space suits couldn't."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"That's good," Koa agreed. "We have only one
side to defend. Why don't we put the rocket launcher
right in the middle of the dark side?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Go ahead. And have all men check their pistols
and knives. We don't know what's likely to happen
when that Connie flames in."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip walked over to the communicator and plugged
his suit into the circuit. "This is the asteroid calling<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page182">[pg 182]</span><a name="Pg182" id="Pg182" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
Terra base. Over."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"This is Terra base. Go ahead, Foster. How are
you doing?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"If you need anything cooked, send it to us," Rip
replied. "We have heat enough to cook anything,
including tungsten alloy." He explained briefly what
action they had taken.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A new voice came on the communicator. "Foster,
this is Colonel Stevens."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip responded swiftly, "Yes, sir!" Stevens was the
top Planeteer, commanding officer of all the Special
Order Squadrons.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We've piped this circuit into every channel in
the system," the colonel said. "Every Planeteer in
the Squadrons is listening, and rooting for you. Is
there anything we can do?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yes, sir," Rip replied. "Do you know if Terra
base has plotted our course this far?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There was a brief silence, then the colonel answered,
"Yes, Foster. We have a complete track from
the time you started showing on the Terra screens,
about halfway between the orbits of Mars and earth."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Did you just get our change of direction?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yes. We're following you on the screens."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Then, sir, I'd appreciate it if you'd put the calculators
to work and make a time-distance plot for
the next few hours. The blast we're saving to push
back to safety is about three kilotons. Let us know
the last moment when we can fire and still get free<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page183">[pg 183]</span><a name="Pg183" id="Pg183" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
of Sol's gravity."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"You'll have it within fifteen minutes. Anything
else, Foster?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Nothing else I can think of, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Then good luck. We'll be standing by."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yes, sir. Foster off."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip disconnected and turned up his helmet communicator,
repeating the conversation to his men.
Koa came and stood beside him. "Lieutenant, how
do we set off this next charge?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There was only one way. When the time came to
blast, they would be too close to the sun to take to
the boats. The blast had to be set off from the
asteroid.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We'll get underground as far away from the
bomb as we can," Rip said. He surveyed the dark
side, which was rapidly growing less dark. "I think
the second crater will do. Kemp can square it off
on the side toward the blast to give us a vertical
wall to hide behind."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa looked doubtful. "Plenty of radiation left in
those holes, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip grinned mirthlessly. "Radiation is the least
of our problems. I'd rather get an overdose of gamma
than get blasted into space."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A yell rang in his helmet. "Here comes the
Connie!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip looked up, startled. The Consops cruiser
passed directly overhead, about ten miles away. It<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page184">[pg 184]</span><a name="Pg184" id="Pg184" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
was decelerating rapidly. Rip wondered why they
hadn't spotted it earlier and realized the Connie had
come from the direction of the hot side.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The enemy cruiser was probably the same one
that had attacked them before. He must have lain
in wait for days, keeping between the sun and Terra.
That way, the screens wouldn't pick him up, since
only a few observatories scanned the sun regularly.
To the observatories, the cruiser would have been
only a tiny speck, too small to be noticed. Or if they
had noticed it, the astronomers probably decided it
was just a very tiny sunspot.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers worked with increased speed.
Kemp welded the final plug into place, then hurried
to the crater from which they would set off the
charge. Dominico and Dowst connected the wires
from the rocket head to a reel of wire and rolled
it toward the crater. Nunez got a hand-driven dynamo
from the supplies and tested it for use in setting
off the charge. Santos stood by the rocket launcher,
with Pederson ready to put another rack of rockets
into the device when necessary.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip and Koa watched the Connie cruiser. It decelerated
to a stop for a brief second, then started
moving again, with no jets showing.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"That's the sun pulling," Rip said exultantly.
"They'll have to keep blasting to maintain position."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Consops commander didn't wait to trim ship
against the sun's drag. His air locks opened, clearly<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page185">[pg 185]</span><a name="Pg185" id="Pg185" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
visible to Rip and Koa because that side of the
cruiser was brilliant with sunlight. Ten snapper-boats
sped forth. Rip was certain now that this was
the enemy cruiser they had fought off back in the
asteroid belt. Two Connie snapper-boats had been
destroyed in that clash, which explained why the
commander was sending out only ten boats, instead
of the full quota of twelve.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The squadron instantly formed a V, like a strange
space letter made up of globes. The sun's gravity
pulled at them, dragging them off course. Rip
watched as flames poured from their stern tubes.
They were firing full speed ahead, but the drag of
the sun distorted their line of flight into a great arc.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip saw the strategy instantly. The Connie commander
knew the situation exactly, and he was staking
everything in one great gamble, sending his
snapper-boats to land on the asteroid—to crash land
if necessary.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The asteroid was so close to the sun that even the
powerful fighting rockets would use most of their
fuel in simply combatting its gravity.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"All hands stand by to repel Connies," Rip shouted,
and drew his pistol. He looked into the magazine,
saw that he had a full clip, and then charged
the weapon.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Santos was crouched over the rocket launcher, his
space gloves working rapidly as he kept the rockets
pointed at the enemy.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page186">[pg 186]</span><a name="Pg186" id="Pg186" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip called, "Santos, fire at will."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers formed a skirmish line which pivoted
on the launcher. Only Kemp remained at work.
His torch flared, slicing through the thorium as he
prepared their firing position.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The atomic charge was ready. The wires had been
laid up to the rim of the crater in which Kemp
worked, and the dynamo was attached.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip was everywhere, checking on the launcher, on
Kemp, on the pistols of his men. And Santos,
hunched over his illuminated sight, watched the
Connie snapper-boats draw near.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Here we go," the Filipino corporal muttered. He
pressed the trigger.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The first rocket sped outward in a sweeping curve,
and for a moment Rip opened his mouth to yell at
Santos. The sun's gravity affected the attack rockets,
too! Then he saw that the corporal had allowed for
the sun's pull.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The rocket curved into the squadron of oncoming
boats and they all tried to dodge at once. Two
of them met in a sideways crash, then a third staggered
as its stern globe flared and exploded. Santos
had scored a hit!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip called, "Good shooting!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The corporal's reply was rueful, "Sir, that wasn't
the one I aimed at. The sun's pull is worse than I
figured."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The damaged snapper-boat instantly blasted from<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page187">[pg 187]</span><a name="Pg187" id="Pg187" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
its nose tubes, decelerated and went into reverse,
flipping through space crabwise as it tried to regain
the safety of the cruiser. The two boats that had
crashed while trying to dodge were blasting in great
spurts of flame, following the example of their damaged
companion.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Seven left," Rip called, and another rocket
flashed on its way. He followed its trail as it curved
away from the asteroid and into the squadron. Its
proximity fuse detonated in the exhaust of a Connie
boat, blowing the tube out of position. The boat
yawed wildly, cut its stern tubes, and blasted to a
stop from the bow tube. Then it, too, started backward
toward the cruiser.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Six left!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Flame blossomed a few yards from Rip. He was
picked up bodily and flung into space, whirling end
over end. Koa's voice rang in his helmet.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Watch it! They're firing back!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip tugged frantically at an air bottle in his belt.
He pulled it out and used it to whirl him upright
again, then its air blast drove him back to the surface
of the asteroid. Sweat poured from his forehead
and the suit ventilator whined as it worked to pick
up the extra moisture. Great Cosmos! That was
close.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa called, "All right, sir?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Fine."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Santos fired again, twice, in rapid succession. The<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page188">[pg 188]</span><a name="Pg188" id="Pg188" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
Connie snapper-boats scattered as the proximity
fuses produced flowers of fire among them. Two
near misses, but they threw the enemy off course.
Rip watched tensely as the boats fought to regain
their course. He knew asteroid, cruiser, and boats
were speeding toward the sun at close to 50 miles
a second, and the drag was getting terrific. The Connies
knew it too.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There was an exultant yell from the Planeteers
as two of the boats gave up and turned back, using
full power to regain the safety of the mother ship.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Four left, and they were getting close!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Santos scored a direct hit on the nose of the nearest
one, but its momentum drove it within a few
yards of the asteroid. Five space-suited figures erupted
from it, holding hand propulsion units, tubes of
rocket fuel used for hand combat in empty space.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connies lit off their propulsion tubes and
drove feet first for the asteroid. The Planeteers estimated
where the enemy would land, and were there
waiting with pointed handguns. The Connies had
their hands over their heads, holding the propulsion
tubes. They took one look at the gleaming Planeteer
guns and their hands stayed upright.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers lashed the Connies' hands behind
them with their own safety lines and, at Rip's orders,
dumped all but one of them into the crater where
Kemp was just finishing.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Three snapper-boats remained. Rip watched, holding<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page189">[pg 189]</span><a name="Pg189" id="Pg189" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
tightly to the arm of the Connie he had kept at
his side. The man wore the insignia of an officer.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The remaining snapper-boats were going to make
it. Santos threw rockets among them and scored hits,
but the boats kept coming. The Connies were too
far away from the cruiser to return, and they knew
it. Getting to the asteroid was their only chance.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip called, "Santos. Cease fire. Set the launcher
for ground level. Let them land, but don't fire until
I give the word." He hoped his plan would work.
Experience back in the asteroid belt had taught him
something about Connies.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He put his helmet against his prisoner's for direct
communication. "You speak English?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The man shouted back, "Yes."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Good. We're going to let your friends land. As
soon as they do, I want you to yell to them. Say we
have assault rockets trained on them. Tell them to
surrender or they'll be killed in their tracks. Got
that?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie replied, "Suppose I refuse?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip put his space knife against the man's stomach.
"Then we'll get them with rockets. But you won't
care because you won't know it."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The truth was, Santos couldn't hope to get them
all with his rockets. They might overcome the Connies
in hand-to-hand fighting, but there would be a
cost to pay in Planeteer casualties. Rip hoped the
Connie wouldn't call his bluff, because that's all it<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page190">[pg 190]</span><a name="Pg190" id="Pg190" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
was. He couldn't use a space knife on an unarmed
prisoner.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie didn't know that. In Rip's place he
would have no compunctions about using the knife,
so instead of calling Rip's bluff he agreed.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The snapper-boats blew their front tubes, decelerating,
and squashed down to the asteroid in a roar
of exhaust flames, sending the Planeteers running
out of the way. Rip thrust harder with his space
knife and yelled, "Tell them!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie officer nodded. "Turn up my communicator."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip turned it on full, and the Connie barked quick
instructions. The exhausts died and five men filed
out of each boat with hands held high. Rip blew a
drop of perspiration from the tip of his nose. Empty
space! It was a good thing Connie morale was bad.
The enemy's willingness to surrender had saved
them a costly fight.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers rounded up the prisoners and
secured them while Rip took an anxious look at the
communicator. It was about time he heard from
Terra base.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The light was glowing. For all he knew, it might
have been glowing for many minutes. He plugged
into the circuit.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"This is Foster on the asteroid."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Terra base to Foster. Listen, you will reach optimum
position on the time-distance curve at twenty-three-oh-six.<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page191">[pg 191]</span><a name="Pg191" id="Pg191" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
Repeat back, twenty-three-oh-six."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Got it. We will reach optimum position at
twenty-three-oh-six." He looked at his chronometer
and his pulse stopped. It was 2258! They had just
eight minutes before the sun caught them forever,
atomic blast or no!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
And the Connie cruiser was still overhead, with
no friendly cruisers in sight. He looked up, white-faced.
Not only was the Connie still there, but its
main air lock was sliding open to disclose a new
danger.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
In the opening, ready to launch, an assault boat
waited. The assault boats were something only the
Connies used. They were about four times the size
of a snapper-boat, less maneuverable but more powerful.
They carried 20 men and a pair of guided
missiles with atomic warheads!
</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<a name="toc41" id="toc41"></a>
<a name="pdf42" id="pdf42"></a>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page192">[pg 192]</span><a name="Pg192" id="Pg192" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Chapter Fifteen - The Rocketeers</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip ran for the snapper-boat, feet moving as rapidly
as lack of gravity would permit. He called instructions.
"Santos! Turn the launcher over to Pederson
and come with me. Koa, take over. Start throwing
rockets at that boat and don't stop until you run
out of ammunition."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He reached the snapper-boat and squeezed in,
Santos close behind him. As he strapped himself into
the seat he called, "Koa! Get this, and get it straight.
At twenty-three-oh-five, fire the bomb. Fire it whether
I'm back or not. Got that?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa replied, "Got it, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
That would give the Planeteers a minute's leeway.
Not much of a safety margin, especially when he
wasn't sure how much power the improvised atomic
charge would produce.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He plugged into the snapper-boat's communicator
and called, "Ready, Santos?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Ready, Lieutenant."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He braced himself against acceleration and flipped
the speed control to full power. The fighting rocket
rammed out from the asteroid, snapping him back
against the seat. He made a quick check. Gunsight<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page193">[pg 193]</span><a name="Pg193" id="Pg193" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
on, fuel tanks almost full, propulsion tubes racked
handy to his hand, space patches ready to be grabbed
and slapped on in case an enemy shot holed helmet
or suit.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
They drove toward the enemy cruiser at top speed,
swerving in a great arc as the sun pulled at them.
The enemy's big boat was out of the ship, its jets
firing as it started for the asteroid.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip leaned over his illuminated gunsight. The
boat showed up clearly, the rings of the sight framing
it. He estimated distance and the pull of the sun,
then squeezed the trigger on the speed control handle.
The cannon in the nose spat flame. He watched
tensely and saw the charge explode on the hull of
the Connie cruiser. He had underestimated the sun's
drag. He compensated and tried again.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He missed. Now that he was closer and the charge
had less distance to travel, he had overestimated the
sun's effect. He gritted his teeth. The next shot
would be at close range.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The fighting rocket closed space, and the landing
boat loomed large in the sight. He fired again and
the shot blew metal loose from the top of the boat's
hull. A hit, but not good enough. He leaned over
the sight to fire again, but before he had sighted an
explosion blew the landing boat completely around.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa and Pederson had scored a hit from the asteroid!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The big boat fired its side jets and spun around<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page194">[pg 194]</span><a name="Pg194" id="Pg194" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
on course again. Flame bloomed from its side as
Connie gunners tried to get the range on the snapper-boat.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip was within reach now. He fired at point-blank
range and flashed over the boat as its front end exploded.
Santos, firing from the rear, hit it again as
the snapper-boat passed.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip threw the rocket into a turn that rammed
him against the top of his harness. He steadied on
a line with the crippled Connie craft. It was hard
hit. The bow jets flickered fitfully, and the stern
tubes were dead. He sighted, fired. A charge hit the
boat aft and blew its stern tubes off completely.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
And at the same moment, a Connie gunner got
a perfect bead on the snapper-boat.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Space blew up in Rip's face. The snapper-boat
slewed wildly as the Connie shot took effect. Rip
worked his controls frantically, trying to straighten
the rocket out more by instinct than anything else.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
His eyes recovered from the blinding flash and
he gulped as he saw the raw, twisted metal where
the boat's nose had been. He managed to correct the
boat's twisting by using the stern tubes, but he was
no longer in full control.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
For a moment panic gripped him. Without full
control he couldn't get back to the asteroid! Then
he forced himself to steady down. He sized up the
situation. They were still underway, the stern tubes
pushing, but their trajectory would take them right<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page195">[pg 195]</span><a name="Pg195" id="Pg195" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
under the crippled Connie boat. The sun was blazing
into the fighting rocket with such intensity that
he had trouble seeing.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There was nothing he could do but pass close to
the Connie. The enemy gunners would fire, but he
had to take his chances. He looked down at the asteroid
and saw an orange trail as Koa launched another
rocket.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The shot from the asteroid ticked the bottom of
the Connie boat and exploded. The Connie rolled
violently. Tubes flared as the pilot fought to correct
the roll. He slowed the spinning as Rip and Santos
passed, just long enough for a Connie gunner to get
in a final shot.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The shell struck directly under Rip. He felt himself
pushed violently upward, and at the same moment
he reacted, by hunch and not by reason. He
rammed the controls full ahead and the dying rocket
cut space, curving slowly as flaming fuel spurted
from the ruptured tanks.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip yelled, "Santos! You all right?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I think so. Lieutenant, we're on fire!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I know it. Get ready to abandon ship."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
When the main mass of fuel caught, the rocket
would become an inferno. Rip smashed at the escape
hatch above his head, grabbed propulsion tubes from
the rack and called, "Now!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He pulled the release on his harness, stood up on
the seat, and thrust with all his leg power. He catapulted<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page196">[pg 196]</span><a name="Pg196" id="Pg196" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
out of the burning snapper-boat into space.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Santos followed a second later and the crippled
rocket twisted wildly under the two Planeteers.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Don't use the propulsion tubes," Rip called.
"Slow down with your air bottles." He thrust the
tubes into his belt, found his air bottles, and pointed
two of them in the direction they had been traveling.
He wanted to come to a stop, to let the wild snapper-boat
get away from them.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The compressed air bottles did the trick. He and
Santos slowed down as the little jets overcame the
inertia that was taking them along with the burning
boat. The boat was spiraling now, and burning freely.
It moved away from them, its stern jets firing
weakly as fuel burned in the tank.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip took a look toward the enemy cruiser. The
assault boat was no longer showing an exhaust. Instead,
it was being dragged rapidly away from the
Connie cruiser by the pull of the sun. At least they
had hit it in time to prevent launching of the atomic
guided missiles. Or, he thought, perhaps the enemy
had never intended using them. The principal effect,
besides killing the Planeteers, would have been to
drive the asteroid into the sun at an even faster rate.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The enemy assault boat was no longer a menace.
Its occupants would be lucky if they succeeded in
saving their own lives.
</p>
<a name="fig43" id="fig43"></a><div class="tei tei-figure" style="text-align: center"><img src="images/image13.png" width="640" height="1020" alt="Illustration: Rip and Santos Fell Through Space" title="Rip and Santos Fell Through Space" /><div class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em">Rip and Santos Fell Through Space</div></div>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip wondered what the Connie cruiser commander
would try now. Only one thing remained, and<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page198">[pg 198]</span><a name="Pg198" id="Pg198" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
that was to set the cruiser down on the asteroid. If
the Connie tried, he would arrive at just about the
time set for releasing the nuclear charge. And that
would be the end of the cruiser—and probably of
the Planeteers as well.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Santos asked coolly, "Lieutenant, wouldn't you
say we're in sort of a bad spot?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip had been so busy sizing up the situation that
he hadn't thought about his own predicament. Now
he looked down and suddenly realized that he was
floating free in space, a considerable distance above
the asteroid, and with only small propulsion tubes
for power.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He gasped, "Great space! We're in a mess, Santos."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Filipino corporal asked, still in a calm voice,
"How long before we're dragged into the sun, sir?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip stared. Santos had used the same tone he
might have used in asking for a piece of Venusian
<span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">chru</span></span>. An officer couldn't be less calm, so Rip replied
in a voice he hoped was casual, "I wouldn't worry,
Santos. We won't know it. The heat will get through
our suits long before then."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
In fact, the heat should be overloading their ventilating
systems right now. In a few minutes the
cooling elements would break down and that would
be the end. He listened for the accelerated whine as
the ventilating system struggled under the increased
heat load, and heard nothing.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Funny. Had it overloaded and given out already?<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page199">[pg 199]</span><a name="Pg199" id="Pg199" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
No, that was impossible. He would be feeling the
heat on his body if that were the case.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He looked for an explanation and realized for the
first time that they weren't in the sunlight at all.
They were in darkness. His searching glance told
him they were in the cone of shadow stretching out
from behind the asteroid. The thorium rock was
between them and the sun!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
His lips moved soundlessly. Major Joe Barris had
been right! <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">In a jam, trust your hunch.</span></span> He had acted
instinctively, not even thinking what he was doing
as he used the last full power of the stern tubes to
throw them into the shadow cone.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
And he knew in the same moment that it could
save their lives. The sun's pull would only accelerate
their fall toward the asteroid. He said exultantly,
"We're staying out of high vack, Santos. Light off a
propulsion tube. Let's get back to the asteroid."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He pulled a tube from his belt, held it above his
head, and thumbed the striker mechanism. The tube
flared, pushing downward on his hand. He held
steady and plummeted feet first toward the rock.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Santos was only a few seconds behind him. Rip
saw the corporal's tube flare and knew that everything
was all right, at least for the moment, even
though the asteroid was still a long way down.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He looked upward at the Connie cruiser and saw
that it was moving. Its exhaust increased in length
and deepened slightly in color as Rip watched, his<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page200">[pg 200]</span><a name="Pg200" id="Pg200" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
forehead creased in a frown. What was the Connie
up to?
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Then he saw side jets flare out from the projecting
control tubes and knew the ship was maneuvering.
Rip realized suddenly that the cruiser was going to
pick up the crippled assault boat.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He hadn't expected such a humane move after his
first meeting with the Connie cruiser when the commander
had been willing to sacrifice his own men.
This time, however, there was a difference, he saw.
The commander would lose nothing by picking up
the assault boat, and he would save a few men. Rip
supposed that manpower meant something, even to
Consops.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
His propulsion tube reached brennschluss, and
for a few moments he watched, checking his speed
and direction. Then, before he lit off another tube,
he checked his chronometer. The illuminated dial
registered 2301. They had just four minutes to get
to the asteroid!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He spoke swiftly. "Waste no time in lighting off,
Santos. That nuclear charge goes in four minutes!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Filipino corporal said merely, "Yessir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip pulled a tube from his belt, held it overhead,
and triggered it. His flight through space speeded
up but he wasn't at all sure they would make it. He
turned up his helmet communicator to full power
and called, "Koa, can you hear me?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The sergeant-major's reply was faint in his helmet.<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page201">[pg 201]</span><a name="Pg201" id="Pg201" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
"I hear you weakly. Do you hear me?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Same way," Rip replied. "Get this, Koa. Don't
fail to explode that charge at twenty-three-oh-five.
Can you see us?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The reply was very slightly stronger. "I will explode
the charge as ordered, Lieutenant. We can see
a pair of rocket exhausts, but no boats. Is that you?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yes. We're coming in on propulsion tubes."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa waited for a long moment, then: "Sir, what
if you're not with us by twenty-three-oh-five?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"You know the answer," Rip retorted crisply.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Of course Koa knew. The nuclear blast would
send Rip and Santos spinning into outer space, perhaps
crippled, burned, or completely irradiated. But
the lives of two men couldn't delay the blast that
would save the lives of eight others, not counting
prisoners.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip estimated his speed and course and the distance
to the asteroid. He was increasingly sure that
they wouldn't make it, and the knowledge was like
the cold of space in his stomach. It would be close,
but not close enough. A minute would make all the
difference.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
For a few heartbeats he almost called Koa and told
him to wait that extra minute, to explode the nuclear
charge at 2306, at the very last second. But even
Planeteer chronometers could be off by a few seconds
and he couldn't risk it. His men had to be given
some leeway.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page202">[pg 202]</span><a name="Pg202" id="Pg202" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The decision made, he put his mind to the problem.
There must be some way out. There must be!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He surveyed the asteroid. The nuclear charge was
on his left side, pretty close to the sun line. At least
he and Santos could angle to the right, to get as far
away from the blast as possible.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The edge of the asteroid's shadow was barely visible.
That it was visible at all was due to the minute
particles of matter and gas that surrounded the sun,
even millions of miles out into space. He reduced
helmet power and told Santos, "Angle to the right.
Get as close to the edge of shadow as you can without
being cooked."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
As an afterthought, he asked, "How many tubes
do you have?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"One after this, sir. I had three."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip also had one left. That was correct, because
snapper-boats carried three in each man's position.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Save the one you have left," he ordered.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He didn't know yet what use they would be, but
it was always a good idea to have some kind of
reserve.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie cruiser was sliding up to the crippled
assault boat. Rip took a quick look, then shifted his
hands, and angled toward the edge of shadow. When
he was within a few feet he reversed the direction
of the tube to keep from shooting out into sunlight.
A second or two later the tube burned out.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Santos was several yards away and slightly above<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page203">[pg 203]</span><a name="Pg203" id="Pg203" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
him. Rip saw that the Planeteer was all right and
turned his attention to the cruiser once more. It was
close enough to the assault boat to haul it in with
grappling hooks. The hooks emerged and engaged
the torn metal of the boat, then drew it into the
waiting port. The massive air door slid closed.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The question was, would the Connie try to set his
ship down on the asteroid? Rip grinned without
mirth. Now would be a fine time. His chronometer
showed a minute and half to blast time.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He took another look at his own situation. He and
Santos were getting close to the asteroid, but there
was still over a half mile earth distance to go. They
would cover perhaps three-fourths of that distance
before Koa fired the charge.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He had a daring idea. How long could he and
Santos last in direct sunlight? The effect of the sun
in the open was powerful enough to make lead run
like water. Their suits could absorb some heat and
the ventilating system could take care of quite a lot.
They might last as much as three minutes, with luck.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
They had to take a risk with the full knowledge
that the odds were against them. But if they didn't
take the risk, the blast would push them outward
from the asteroid-into full sunlight. The end result
would be the same.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We're not going to make it, Santos," he began.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I know it, sir," Santos replied.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip thought, anyone with that much coolness and<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page204">[pg 204]</span><a name="Pg204" id="Pg204" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
sheer nerve rated some kind of special treatment.
And the Filipino corporal had shown his ability time
and time again. He said, "I should have known you
knew, <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Sergeant</span></span> Santos. We still have a slight chance.
When I give the word, use an air bottle to push you
into the sunlight. When I give the word again, light
off your remaining tube."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yessir," Santos replied. "Thank you for the promotion.
I hope I live to collect the extra rating."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Same here," Rip agreed fervently. His eyes were
on his chronometer, and with his free hand he took
another air bottle. When the chronometer registered
exactly one minute before blast time, he called,
"Now!" He triggered the bottle and moved from
shadow into glaring sunlight. A slight motion of the
bottle turned him so his back was to the sun, then
he used the remaining compressed air to push him
downward along the edge of shadow. The sun's gravity
tugged at him.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He pulled the last tube from his belt and held
it ready while he watched his chronometer creep
around. With five seconds to go, he called to Santos
and fired it. Acceleration pushed at him.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
In the same moment, the nuclear charge exploded.
</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<a name="toc44" id="toc44"></a>
<a name="pdf45" id="pdf45"></a>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page205">[pg 205]</span><a name="Pg205" id="Pg205" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Chapter Sixteen - Ride the Gray Planet!</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A mighty hand reached out and shoved Rip,
sweeping him through space like a dust mote. He
clutched his propulsion tube with both hands and
fought to hold it steady.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He swiveled his head quickly, searching for Santos,
and saw the Filipino a dozen rods away, still
holding fast to his tube.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
From the far horizon of the asteroid the incandescent
fire of the nuclear blast stretched into space,
turning from silver to orange to red as it cooled.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip knew they had escaped the heat and blast of
the explosion, but there was a question of how
much of the prompt radiation they had absorbed.
During the first few seconds, a nuclear blast vomited
gamma radiation and neutrons in all directions. He
and Santos certainly had gotten plenty. But how
much? Putting their dosimeters into a measuring
meter aboard a cruiser would tell them. His low-level
colorimeter had long since reached maximum
red, and his high-level dosimeter could be read only
on a measuring device.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Meanwhile, he had other worries. Radiation had
no immediate effect. At worst, it would be a few<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page206">[pg 206]</span><a name="Pg206" id="Pg206" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
hours before he felt any symptoms.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
As he sized up his position and that of the asteroid,
he let out a yell of triumph. His gamble would
succeed! He had estimated that going into the direct
gravity pull of the sun at the proper moment, and
lighting off their last tubes, would put them into a
landing position. The asteroid was swerving rapidly,
moving into a new orbit that would intersect the
course he and Santos were on. He had planned on
the asteroid's change of orbit. In a minute at most
they would be back on the rock.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
His propulsion tube flared out and he released it.
It would travel along with him, but his hands would
be free. He watched closely as the asteroid drew
nearer and estimated they would land with plenty
of room to spare.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Then he saw something else. The blast had started
the asteroid turning!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He reacted instantly. Turning up his communicator
he yelled, "Koa! The rock is spinning! Cut the
prisoners loose, grab the equipment, and run for it!
You'll have to keep running to stay in the shadow.
If sunlight hits those fuel tanks or the tubes of
rocket fuel, they'll explode!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa replied tersely, "Got it. We're moving."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers and their prisoners would have to
move fast, running to stay out of direct sunlight. A
moment or two in the sun wouldn't hurt the men,
but the chemical fuels in the cutting tanks and rocket<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page207">[pg 207]</span><a name="Pg207" id="Pg207" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
tubes would explode in a matter of seconds.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
At least the Connie cruiser couldn't harm them
now, Rip thought grimly. He looked for the cruiser
and failed to find it for several seconds. It had moved.
He finally saw its exhausts some distance away.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He forgot his own predicament in a grin. The
Connie cruiser had moved, but not because its commander
had wanted to. It had been right in the path
of the nuclear blast, although some distance from it.
The Connie had been literally shoved away.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Then Rip forgot the cruiser. His suit ventilator
was whining under the terrific heat and his whole
body was bathed in perspiration. The sun was getting
them. It was only a short time until the ventilator
overloaded and burned out. They had to
reach the asteroid before then. The trouble was,
there was nothing further he could do about it. He
had only air bottles left, and their blast was so weak
that the effect wouldn't speed him up much. Nevertheless,
he called to Santos and directed him to use
his bottles. Then he did the same.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Santos spoke up. "Sir, we're going to make it."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
In the same instant, Rip saw that they would land
on the dark side. The asteroid was turning over and
over, and for a second he had the impression he was
looking at a turning globe of the earth, the kind
used in elementary school back home. But this gray
planet was scarcely bigger than the giant globe at
the entrance of the Space Council building on Terra.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page208">[pg 208]</span><a name="Pg208" id="Pg208" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The gray metal world suddenly leaped into sharp
focus and seemed to rush toward him. It was an
optical illusion. The ability of the eyes to perceive
depth sharply—the faculty known as depth perception—didn't
appear to operate normally until the
eyes were within a certain distance of an object.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He knew he was going to hit hard. The way to
keep from being hurt was to turn the vertical energy
of his arrival into motion in another direction. As
he swept down to the metal surface he started running,
his legs pumping wildly in space. He hit with
a bone-jarring thud, lost his footing and fell sideways,
both hands cradling his helmet. He got to his
feet instantly and looked for Santos. A good thing
his equipment was shock-mounted, he thought. Otherwise
the communicator would be knocked for a
line of galaxies.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"You all right, sir?" Santos called anxiously.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yes. Are you?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I'm fine. I think the others are over there." He
pointed.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We'll find them," Rip said. His hip hurt like fury
from smashing against the unyielding metal, and the
worst part was that he couldn't rub it. The blow
had been strong enough to hurt through the heavy
fabric and air pressure, but his hand wasn't strong
enough to compress the suit. Just the same, he tried.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
And while he was trying, he found himself in
direct sunlight!
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page209">[pg 209]</span><a name="Pg209" id="Pg209" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He had forgotten to run. Standing still on the
asteroid meant turning with it, from darkness into
sunlight and back again. He yelled at Santos and
legged it out of there, moving in long, gliding steps.
He regained the shadow and kept going.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The first order of business was to stop the rock
from turning. Otherwise they couldn't live on it.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip knew that they had only one means of stopping
the spin. That was to use the tubes of rocket
fuel left over from correcting the course. They had
three tubes left, but he didn't know if that was
enough to do the job.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Moving rapidly, he and Santos caught up to Koa
and the Planeteers.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie prisoners were pretty well bunched
up, gliding along like a herd of fantastic sheep. Their
shepherds were Pederson, Nunez, and Dowst. The
three Planeteers had a pistol in each hand. The
spares were probably those taken from prisoners.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Planeteers were loaded down with equipment.
A few Connie prisoners carried equipment,
too.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Trudeau had the rocket launcher and the remaining
rockets. Kemp had his torch and two tanks of
oxygen. Bradshaw had tied his safety line to the
squat containers of chemical fuel for the torch and
was towing them behind like strange balloons. The
only trouble with that system, Rip thought, was that
Bradshaw could stop, but the containers would have<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page210">[pg 210]</span><a name="Pg210" id="Pg210" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
a tendency to keep going. Unless the English Planeteer
were skillful, his burdens would drag him
right off his feet.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Dominico had a tube of rocket fuel under each
arm. The Italian was small and the tubes were
bulky. Each was about ten feet long and two feet in
diameter. With any gravity or air resistance at all,
the Italian couldn't have carried even one.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip smiled as Dominico glided along. He looked
as though the tubes were floating him over the asteroid,
instead of the other way around.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Santos took the radiation detection instruments
and the case with the astrogation equipment from
Koa. Rip greeted his men briefly, then took his
computing board and began figuring. He knew the
men were glad he and Santos had made it. But they
kept their greetings short. A spinning asteroid was
no place for long and sentimental speeches.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He remembered the dimensions of the asteroid
and its mass. He computed its inertia, then figured
out what it would take to overcome the inertia of
the spin.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The mathematics would have been simple under
normal conditions, but doing them on the run, trying
to watch his step at the same time, made things
a little complicated. He had to hold the board under
his arm, run alongside Santos while the new sergeant
held the case open, select the book he wanted, open
it and try to read the tables by his belt light and<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page211">[pg 211]</span><a name="Pg211" id="Pg211" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
then transfer the data to the board.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
His ventilator had quieted down once he got into
the darkness, but now it started whining slightly
again because he was sweating profusely. Finally he
figured out the thrust needed to stop the spin. Now
all he had to do was compute how much fuel it
would take.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He had figures on the amount of thrust given by
the kind of rocket fuel in the tubes. He also knew
how much fuel each tube contained. But the figures
were not in his head. They were on reference sheets.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He collected the data on the fly, slowing down
now and then to read something, until a yell from
Santos or Koa warned that the sun line was creeping
close. When he had all data noted on the board,
he started his mathematics. He was right in the middle
of a laborious equation when he stumbled over
a thorium crystal. He went headlong, shooting like
a rocket three feet above the ground. His board flew
away at a tangent. His stylus sped out of his glove
like a miniature projectile, and the slide rule clanged
against his bubble.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
It happened so fast neither Koa nor Santos had
time to grab him. The action had given him extra
speed and he saw with horror that he was going to
crash into Trudeau. He yelled, "Frenchy! Watch
out!" Then put both hands before him to protect
his helmet. His hands caught the French Planeteer
between the shoulders with a bone-jarring thud.
</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<a name="toc46" id="toc46"></a>
<a name="pdf47" id="pdf47"></a>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page212">[pg 212]</span><a name="Pg212" id="Pg212" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Chapter Seventeen - The Archer and the Eagle</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Trudeau held tight to the launcher, but the rocket
racks opened and spilled attack rockets into space.
They flew in a dozen different directions. Trudeau
gave vent to his feelings in colorful French.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa and Santos laughed so hard they had trouble
collecting the scattered equipment. Rip, slowed by
his crash with Trudeau, got his feet under him again.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The asteroid had turned into the sun before they
collected everything but Rip's stylus and five attack
rockets. The space-pencil was the only thing that
could write on the computing board. It had to be
found.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Next time around," Rip called to the others, and
led the way full speed ahead until they regained the
safety of shadow.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip suspected the stylus was somewhere above the
rock and probably wouldn't return to the surface for
some minutes. While he was wondering what to do,
there was a chorus of yells. A rocket sped between
the Planeteers and shot off into space.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Our own rockets are after us," Trudeau gasped.
There hadn't been time to collect them all after
Rip's unwilling attack on the Frenchman scattered<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page213">[pg 213]</span><a name="Pg213" id="Pg213" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
them. Now the sun was setting them off. Another
flashed past, fortunately over their heads. The sun's
heat was causing them to fire unevenly. Rip hoped
they would all go off soon and get it over with.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Three more to go," Koa called. "Watch out!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Only two went, and they were far enough away
to offer no danger.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Santos had been fishing around in the instrument
case. He triumphantly produced another stylus. "It
was under the sextant," he explained. "I thought
there was another one around somewhere."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"If we get through this I'll propose you for ten
more stripes," Rip vowed. "We'll make you the
highest ranking sergeant that ever made a private's
life miserable."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Working slowly but more safely, Rip figured that
slightly more than two and a half tubes would do
the trick.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Now to fire them. That meant finding a thorium
crystal properly placed and big enough. There were
plenty of crystals, so that was no problem. The next
step was for Kemp to cut holes with his torch, so
that the thrust of the rocket fuel would be counter
to the direction in which the asteroid was spinning.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip explained to all hands what had to be done.
The burden would fall on Kemp, who would need
a helper. Rip took that job himself. He took one
oxygen tank from Kemp. Koa took the other, leaving
the torchman with only his torch.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page214">[pg 214]</span><a name="Pg214" id="Pg214" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Then Rip took a container of chemical fuel from
Bradshaw. Working while running, he lashed the
two containers together with his safety line. Then
he improvised a rope sling so they could hang on
his back. He wanted his hands free.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Kemp, meanwhile, assembled his torch and put
the proper cutting nozzle in place. When he was
ready, he moved to Rip's side and connected the
hoses of the torch to the tanks the lieutenant carried.
Kemp had the torch mechanism strapped to his own
back. It was essentially a high pressure pump that
drew oxygen and fuel from the tanks and forced
them through the nozzle under terrific pressure.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
When he had finished, he pressed the trigger that
started the cutting torch going. The fuel ignited
about a half inch in front of the nozzle. The nozzle
had two holes in it, one for oxygen and the other
for fuel. The holes were placed and angled to keep
the flame always a half inch away, otherwise the
nozzle itself would melt.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"How do we work this?" Kemp asked.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We'll get ahead of the others," Rip explained.
"Keep up speed until we're running at the forward
sun line. Then, when the crystal we want comes
around into the shadow, we can stop running and
work until it spins into the sunshine again."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Got it," Kemp agreed.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip estimated the axis on which the asteroid was
spinning and selected a crystal in the right position.<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page215">[pg 215]</span><a name="Pg215" id="Pg215" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
He had to be careful, otherwise their counter-blast
might do nothing more than start the gray planet
wobbling.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He and Kemp ran ahead of the others. The Planeteers
and their prisoners were running at a speed
that kept them right in the middle of the dark area.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
It was like running on a treadmill. The Planeteers
were making good speed, but were actually
staying in the same place relative to the sun's position,
keeping the turning asteroid between them and
the sun.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip and Kemp ran forward until they were right
at the sun line. Then they slowed down, holding
position and waiting for the crystal they had chosen
to reach them. As it came across the sun line into
darkness they stopped running and rode the crystal
through the shadow until it reached the sun again.
Then the two Planeteers ran back across the dark
zone to meet the crystal as it came around again.
There was only a few minutes' working time each
revolution.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Kemp worked fast, and the first hole deepened.
Rip helped as best he could by pushing away the
chunks of thorium that Kemp cut free, but it was
essentially a one-man job.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
As Kemp neared the bottom of the first hole, Rip
reviewed his plan and realized he had overlooked
something. These weren't nuclear bombs; they were
simple tubes of chemical fuel. The tubes wouldn't<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page216">[pg 216]</span><a name="Pg216" id="Pg216" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
destroy the hole Kemp was cutting.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He reached a quick decision and called Koa to
join them. Koa appeared as Kemp pulled his torch
from the hole and started running again to avoid
the sun. Rip and Koa ran right along with him,
crossing the dark zone to meet the crystal as it came
around again.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"There's no reason to drill three holes," Rip explained
as they ran. "We'll use one hole for all three
charges. They don't have to be fired all at once."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"How do we fire them?" Koa asked.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Electrically. Who has the exploders and the hand
dynamo?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Dowst has the exploders. One of the Connies is
carrying the dynamo."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Speaking of the Connies ... Rip hadn't seen the
Consops cruiser recently. He looked up, searching
for its exhaust, and finally found it, a faint line some
distance away.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie commander was stalemated for the
time being. He couldn't land his cruiser on a spinning
asteroid, and he had no more boats. Rip thought
he probably was just waiting around for any opportunity
that might present itself.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Federation cruisers should be arriving. He
studied his chronometer. No, the nearest one, the
<span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Sagittarius</span></span> from Mercury, wasn't due for another ten
minutes or so. He turned up his helmet communicator
and ordered all hands to watch for the exhaust<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page217">[pg 217]</span><a name="Pg217" id="Pg217" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
of a nuclear drive cruiser, then turned it down again
and gave Koa instructions.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Have Trudeau turn his load over to a Connie
and collect the exploders and the dynamo. We'll
need wire, too. Who has that?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Another Connie."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Get a reel. Cut off a few hundred feet and connect
the dynamo to one end and an exploder to the
other."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The crystal came around again and Kemp got to
work. Rip stood by, again reviewing all steps. They
couldn't afford to make a mistake. He had no margin
of error.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Kemp finished the hole a few seconds before the
crystal turned into the sunlight again. Rip told him
to keep the torch going. There might be some last
minute cutting to do. Then the lieutenant hurried
off at an angle to where Dominico was plodding
along with the fuel tubes.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa had turned the tube he carried over to a
Connie. Rip got it, and told Dominico to follow him.
Then he angled back across the asteroid to where
Kemp was holding position.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The asteroid turned twice before Koa arrived. He
had a coil of wire slung over his arm and he carried
the dynamo in one hand and an exploder in the
other, the two connected by the wire.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip took the exploder. "Uncoil the wire," he directed.
"Go to its full length at right angles to the<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page218">[pg 218]</span><a name="Pg218" id="Pg218" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
hole. We have to time this exactly right. When the
crystal comes around again, I'll shove the tube into
the hole, then scurry for cover. When I'm clear I'll
yell and you pump the dynamo. Dominico and Kemp
stay with Koa. Make sure no one is in the way of
the blast."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa unreeled the wire, moving away from Rip.
The lieutenant pushed the exploder into one end of
the fuel tube and crimped it tightly with his gloved
hand.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa and the others were as far away as they could
get now, the wire stretching between them and Rip.
Kemp had made sure no one was running near the
line of blast.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip watched for the crystal. It would be coming
around any second now. He held the tube with the
exploder projecting behind him, ready for the hole
to appear.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa's voice echoed in his helmet. "All set, Lieutenant."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"So am I," Rip answered. "Stand by."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The crystal appeared across the sun line and
moved toward him. He met it, slowed his speed, put
the end of the tube into the hole and shoved. Kemp
had allowed enough clearance. The tube slid into
place. Rip turned and angled off as fast as he could
glide. When he was far enough away from the blast
line he called, "Fire!"
</p>
<a name="fig48" id="fig48"></a><div class="tei tei-figure" style="text-align: center"><img src="images/image14.png" width="640" height="982" alt="Illustration: "Fire!" Called Rip" title=""Fire!" Called Rip" /><div class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em">"Fire!" Called Rip</div></div>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa squeezed the dynamo handle. The machine<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page220">[pg 220]</span><a name="Pg220" id="Pg220" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
whined and current shot through the wire. A column
of orange fire spurted from the crystal.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip watched the stars instead of the exhaust. He
kept running as it burned soundlessly. In air, the
noise would have deafened him. In airless space,
there was nothing to carry the sound.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The apparent motion of the stars was definitely
slowing. The spinning wouldn't cease entirely, but
it would slow down enough to give them more time
to work.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The tube reached brennschluss and Rip called
orders. "Same process. Get ready to repeat. Dominico,
bring one of your tubes."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
While Koa was connecting another exploder to
the wire, Rip took a tube from Dominico. "Take
your space knife and saw through the tube you have
left. We'll need about three-fifths of it. Keep both
pieces."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Dominico pulled his knife, pressed the release,
and the gas capsule shot the blade out. He got to
work.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa called that he was ready. Rip took the wired
exploder from him and thrust it into the tube Dominico
had given him.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
As the crystal came around again, the process was
repeated. The hole was undamaged.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There was more time to get clear because of the
asteroid's slower speed. The second tube slowed the
rock even more, so that they had to wait long minutes<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page221">[pg 221]</span><a name="Pg221" id="Pg221" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
while the crystal came around again.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip did some estimating. He wanted to be sure
the next charge would do nothing more than slow
the asteroid to a stop. If the charge were too heavy,
it would reverse the spin. He didn't want to make
a career of running on the asteroid. He was tired
and he knew his men were getting weary, too. He
could see it in their strides—they were less sure o£
foot.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He decided it would be best to use a little less
fuel rather than a little more. If the asteroid failed
to stop its spin completely, they could always set off
a small charge or two.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Hold it," he ordered. "We'll use the small end
of Dominico's tube and save the big one."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The fuel was a solid mass, so cutting the tube in
two sections caused no difficulty. Rip pushed the
exploder into the small section, seated it in the hole,
and hurried to cover. As he watched the fuel burn,
he wondered why the last nuclear charge had started
the spin. He had made a mistake somewhere. The
earlier blasts had been set so they wouldn't cause a
spin. He made a mental note to look at the place
where the charge had exploded when things were
more quiet.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The rocket fuel slowed the asteroid down to a
point where it was barely turning, and Rip was glad
he had been cautious. The heavier charge would
have reversed it a little. He directed the placing of<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page222">[pg 222]</span><a name="Pg222" id="Pg222" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
a very small charge and was moving away from it so
Koa could set it off when Santos suddenly yelled,
"Sir! The Connie is coming!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip called, "Fire the charge, Koa," then looked
up. The Consops cruiser was moving slowly toward
them. The canny Connie had been waiting for something
to happen on the asteroid, Rip guessed. When
the spinning slowed and then stopped, the Connie
probably had decided that now was the time for a
final try.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Where is the communicator?" Rip asked Koa.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"One of the Connies has it."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Get it. I'll notify Terra base of what happened."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa found the Connie with the communicator,
tested it to be sure the prisoner hadn't sabotaged it,
and brought it to Rip.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"This is Foster to Terra base. Over."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Come in, Foster."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip explained briefly what had happened and
asked, "How is our orbit? I haven't had time to take
sightings."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"You're free of the sun," Terra base answered.
"Your orbit will have to be corrected sometime within
the next few hours. The last blast pushed you off
course."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"That's a small matter," Rip stated. "Unless we
can think of something fast, this will be a Connie
asteroid by then. The Consops cruiser is moving in
on us. He's careful, because he isn't sure of the situation.<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page223">[pg 223]</span><a name="Pg223" id="Pg223" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
But even at his present speed he'll be here
in ten minutes."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Stand by." Terra base was silent for a few moments,
then the voice replied. "I think we have an
answer for you, Foster. Terra base off. Go ahead,
MacFife."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A Scottish burr thick enough to saw boards came
out of the communicator. "Foster, this is MacFife,
commander of the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Aquila</span></span>. Y'can't see me on account
of I'm on yer sunny side. But, lad, I'm closer to ye
than the Connie. We did it this way to keep the
asteroid between us and him. Also, lad, if ye'll take
a look up at Gemini, ye'll see somethin' ye'll like.
Look at Alhena, in the Twins' feet. Then, lad, if
ye'll be patient the while, ye'll have a grandstand
seat for a real big show."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip tilted his bubble back and stared upward at
the constellation of the twins. He said softly, "By
Gemini!" For there, a half degree south of the
star Alhena, was the clean line of a nuclear cruiser's
exhaust. The <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Sagittarius</span></span>, out of Mercury, had
arrived.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He cut the communicator off for a moment and
spoke exultantly to his men. "Stand easy, you hairy
Planeteers. Forget the Connie. He doesn't know it,
but he's caught. He's caught between the Archer and
the Eagle!"
</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<a name="toc49" id="toc49"></a>
<a name="pdf50" id="pdf50"></a>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page224">[pg 224]</span><a name="Pg224" id="Pg224" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Chapter Eighteen - Courtesy - with Claws</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
<span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Sagittarius</span></span>, constellation of the Archer, and <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Aquila</span></span>,
constellation of the Eagle, had given the two
Federation patrol cruisers their names. The Eagle
was commanded by a tough Scotsman, and the Archer
by a Frenchman.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Commander MacFife spoke through the communicator.
"Switch bands to universal, lad. Me'n
Galliene are goin' to talk this Connie into a braw
mess. MacFife off."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip guessed that the two cruiser commanders had
been in communication while enroute to the asteroid
and had cooked up some kind of plan. He turned
the band switch to the universal frequency with
which all long-range communicators were equipped.
Each of the earth groups had its own frequency, and
so did the Martians and Jovians. But all could meet
and talk on the universal band.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Special scrambling devices prevented eavesdropping
on regular frequencies, so there was no danger
that the Connie had overheard the plan. Rip wondered
what it was. He knew the cruisers had to be
careful not to cross the thin line that might lead to
war.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page225">[pg 225]</span><a name="Pg225" id="Pg225" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Sagittarius</span></span> loomed closer, decelerating with
a tremendous exhaust. The Connie couldn't have
failed to see it, Rip knew. He was right. The Consops
cruiser suddenly blasted more heavily, rushing
in the direction away from the Federation ship. The
direction was toward the asteroid.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
And at the same moment, the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Aquila</span></span> flashed above
the horizon, also decelerating. The Connie was
caught squarely.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A suave voice spoke on the universal band. "This
is Federation <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">SCN Sagittarius</span></span>, calling the Consolidation
cruiser near the asteroid. Please reply."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip waited anxiously. The Connie would hear,
because every control room monitored the universal
band.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A heavy, reluctant voice replied after a pause of
over a minute.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"This is Consolidation cruiser Sixteen. You are
breaking the law, <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Sagittarius</span></span>. Your missile ports are
open and they are pointing at me. Close them at
once or I will report this."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The suave voice with its hint of French accent
replied, "Ah, my friend! Do not be alarmed. We
have had a slight accident to our control circuit and
the ports are jammed open. We are trying to repair
the situation. But I assure you, we have only the
friendliest of intentions."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip grinned. This was about the same as a man
holding a cocked pistol at another man's head and<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page226">[pg 226]</span><a name="Pg226" id="Pg226" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
assuring him it was nothing but a nervous arm that
kept the gun so steady.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie demanded, "What do you want?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The two friendly cruisers were within a few miles
of the Connie now and their blasts were just strong
enough to keep them edging closer, while counteracting
the sun's pull.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The French spaceman spoke reassuringly. "My
friend, we want only the courtesy of space to which
the law entitles us. We have had an unfortunate
accident to our astrogation instruments, and we wish
to come aboard to compare them with yours."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip laughed outright. Every cruiser carried at
least four full sets of instruments. There was as
much chance of all of them being knocked off scale
at once as there was of his biting a cruiser in half
with bare teeth.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
MacFife's voice came on the air. "Foster. Switch
to Federation frequency."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip did so. "This is Foster, Commander."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Lad, it's a pity for ye to miss the show. I'm sending
a boat for ye."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"The sun will get it!" Rip exclaimed.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Never fear, lad. It won't get this one. Now switch
back to universal and listen in."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip did so in time to catch the Connie commander's
voice. "... and I refuse to believe such a story!
Great Cosmos, do you think I am a fool?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Of course not," the Frenchman replied. "You<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page227">[pg 227]</span><a name="Pg227" id="Pg227" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
are not such a fool as to refuse a simple request to
check our instruments."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Sagittarius</span></span> commander was right. Rip understood
the strategy. Equipment sometimes did go out
of operation in space, and Connies had no hesitation
in asking Federation cruisers for help, or the other
way around. Such help was always given, because no
commander could be sure when he might need help
himself.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I agree," the Connie commander said with obvious
reluctance. "You may send a boat."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
MacFife's Scotch burr broke in. "Federation <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">SCN
Aquila</span></span> to Consolidation Sixteen. Mister, my instruments
are off scale, too. I'll just send them along to
ye and ye can check them while ye're doing the
<span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Sagittarius</span></span>!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I object!" the Connie bellowed.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Come now," MacFife burred soothingly. "Checking
a few instruments won't hurt ye."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A small rocket exhaust appeared, leaving the
<span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Aquila</span></span>. The exhaust grew rapidly, more rapidly
than that of any snapper-boat. Rip watched it, while
keeping his ears tuned to the space conversation.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa tugged his arm. "See that, sir?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip nodded.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Surely sending boats is too much of a nuisance,"
the French commander said winningly. "We will
come alongside."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"It's a trick," the Connie growled. "You want me<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page228">[pg 228]</span><a name="Pg228" id="Pg228" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
to open my valves, then your men will board us and
try to take over my ship!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"My friend, you have a suspicious mind," Galliene
replied smoothly. "If you wish, arm your men. Ours
will have no weapons. Train launchers on the valves
so our men will be annihilated before they can board,
if you see a single weapon."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
This was going a little far, Rip thought, but it
was not his affair and he didn't know exactly what
MacFife and Galliene had in mind.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Aquila's</span></span> boat arrived with astonishing speed.
Rip saw it flash in the sunlight and knew he had
never seen one like it before. It was a perfect globe,
about 20 feet in diameter. Blast holes covered the
globe at intervals of six feet.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The boat settled to the asteroid and a new voice
called over the helmet circuit, "Where's Foster?
Show an exhaust! We're in a rush."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip ordered, "Take over, Koa. I'll be back."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yessir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He hurried to the boat and stood there, bewildered.
He didn't know how to get in.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Up here," the voice called. He looked up and
saw a hatch. He jumped and a space-clad figure
pulled him inside. The door shut and the boat blasted
off. Acceleration shoved him backward, but the
spaceman snapped a line to his belt, then motioned
him to a seat. Rip pulled himself up the line and
got into the seat, snapping the harness in place.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page229">[pg 229]</span><a name="Pg229" id="Pg229" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I'm Hawkins, senior space officer," the spaceman
said. "Welcome, Foster. We've been losing weight
wondering if we'd get here in time."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I was never so glad to see spacemen in my life,"
Rip said truthfully. "What kind of craft is this, sir?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Experimental," the space officer answered. "It
has a number, but we call it the ball-bat because it's
shaped like a ball and goes like a bat. We were
about to take off for some test runs around the space
platform when we got a hurry call to come here.
The <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Aquila</span></span> has two of these. If they prove out,
they'll replace the snapper-boats. More power, greater
maneuverability, heavier weapons, and they carry
more men."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There was only the officer and a pilot, but Rip
saw positions for several others.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He looked out through the port and saw the two
Federation cruisers closing in on the Connie. Apparently
the Connie commander had agreed to let the
cruisers come alongside.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The ball-bat blasted to the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Aquila</span></span>, paused at an
open port, then slid inside. The valve was shut before
Rip could unbuckle his harness. Air flooded
into the chamber and the lights flicked on. The
space officer gave Rip a hand out of the harness, and
the young Planeteer went through the hatch to the
deck.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The inner valve opened and a lean, sandy-haired
officer in space blue with the insignia of a commander<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page230">[pg 230]</span><a name="Pg230" id="Pg230" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
stepped through. Grinning, he hurried to Rip's
side and twisted his bubble, lifting it off.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Hurry, lad," he greeted Rip. "I'm MacFife. Get
out of that suit quick, because ye don't want to miss
what's aboot to happen." With his own hands he
unlocked the complicated belt with its gadgets and
equipment, disconnected the communicator and ventilator,
and then unfastened the lock clips that held
top and bottom of the suit together.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip slipped the upper part over his head and
stepped out of the bottom. "Thanks, Commander.
I'm one grateful Planeteer, believe me!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Come on. We'll hurry right across ship to the
opposite valve. Lad, I've a son in the Planeteers and
he's just about your own age. He's on Ganymede.
He and the others will be proud of what ye've done."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
MacFife was pulling himself along rapidly by the
convenient handholds. Rip followed, his breathing
a little rapid in the heavier air of the ship. He followed
the Scottish commander through the maze of
passages that crossed the ship and stopped at a valve
where spacemen were waiting. With them was an
officer who carried a big case.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"The instruments," MacFife said, pointing.
"We've tinkered with them a bit just to make it look
real."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"But why do you want to board the Connie?" Rip
asked curiously.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
MacFife's eye closed in a wink. "Ye'll see."
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page231">[pg 231]</span><a name="Pg231" id="Pg231" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There was a slight bump as the cruiser touched
the Connie. The waiting group recovered balance
and faced the valve. Rip knew that spacemen in the
inner lock were making fast to the Connie cruiser,
setting up the airtight seal.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
It wasn't long before a bell sounded and a spaceman
opened the inner valve. Two men in space suits
were waiting, and beyond them the outer valve was
joined by a tube to the outer valve of the Connie
ship. Rip stared at the Connie spacemen in their red
tunics and gray trousers. One, a scowling officer with
two pistols in his belt, stepped forward.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip noted that the other Connies were heavy with
weapons, too. None of his group had any.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I'm the commander," the scowling Connie said.
"Bring your instruments in quickly. We will check
them, then you get out."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Ye're no verra friendly," MacFife said, his burr
even more pronounced. He led Rip and the officer
with the instruments into the Connie ship.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A handsome Federation spaceman with a mustache,
the first Rip had ever seen, stepped into the
room from a passageway on the opposite side. The
spaceman bowed with exquisite grace. "I have the
honor of making myself known," he proclaimed.
"Commander Rémy Galliene of the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Sagittarius</span></span>."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie commander grunted. He was afraid,
Rip realized. The Connie suspected a trick, and he
had no idea of what it might be.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page232">[pg 232]</span><a name="Pg232" id="Pg232" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip looked him over with interest. This was the
man who had been willing to burn his own spacemen
back at the asteroid belt.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Galliene saw Rip's black uniform and hurried to
shake his hand. "So this is the young lieutenant who
is responsible! Lieutenant, today the spacemen honor
the Planeteers because of you. Most days we fight
each other, but today we fight together, eh? I am
glad to meet you!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"And I'm glad to meet you, sir," Rip returned.
He liked the twinkle in the Frenchman's eye. He
would have given a lot to know what scheme Galliene
and MacFife had cooked up.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie had overheard Galliene's greeting.
He glared at Rip. The Frenchman saw the look and
smiled happily. "Ah, you do not know each other?
Commander, I have the honor to make known Lieutenant
Foster of the Federation Special Order Squadrons.
He is in command on the asteroid."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie blurted, "So! I send boats to help
you and you fire on them!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
So that was to be the Consops story! Rip thought
quickly, then held up his hand in a shocked gesture
that would have done credit to the Frenchman. "Oh,
no, Commander! You misunderstand. We had no
way of communicating by radio, so I did the only
thing we could do. I fired rockets as a warning. We
didn't want your boats to get caught in a nuclear
explosion." He shrugged. "It was very unlucky for<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page233">[pg 233]</span><a name="Pg233" id="Pg233" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
us that the sun threw my gunner's aim off and he
hit your boats, quite by accident."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
MacFife coughed to cover up a chuckle. Galliene
hid a smile by stroking his mustache.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie commander growled, "And I suppose
it was accident that you took my men prisoner?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Prisoner?" Rip looked bewildered. "We took no
prisoners. When your boats arrived, the men asked
if they might not join us. They claimed refuge,
which we had to give them under interplanetary
law."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I will take them back," the Connie stated.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"You will not," Galliene replied with equal positiveness.
"The law is very clear, my friend. Your
men may return willingly, but you cannot force
them. When we reach Terra we will give them a
choice. Those who wish to return to the Consolidation
will be given transportation to the nearest
border."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie commander motioned to a heavily
armed officer. "Take their instruments. Check them
quickly." He put his lips together in a straight line
and stared at the Federation men. They stared back
with equal coldness. Around them, Connie spacemen
with wooden, expressionless faces waited without
moving.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The minutes ticked by. Rip wondered again what
kind of plan MacFife and Galliene had. When would
the excitement start?
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page234">[pg 234]</span><a name="Pg234" id="Pg234" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Additional minutes passed and the officer returned
with the cases. Wordlessly he handed them to
Galliene and MacFife. The Connie commander
snapped, "There. Now get out of my ship."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Galliene bowed. "You have been a most courteous
and gracious host," he said. "Your conversation has
been stimulating, inspiring, and informative. Our
profound thanks."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He shook hands with Rip and MacFife, bowed to
the Connie commander again, and went out the way
he had come. There wasn't anything to say after the
Frenchman's sarcastic farewell speech. MacFife, Rip,
and the officer with the instruments went back
through the valves into their own ship.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Once inside, MacFife called, "Come with me.
Hurry." He led the way through passages and up
ladders to the very top of the ship, to the hatch
where the astrogators took their star sights. The protective
shield of nuclite had been rolled back and
they could see into space through the clear vision
port.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip and MacFife hurried to the side where they
were connected to the Connie. Rip looked down
along the length of the ship. The valve connection
was in the middle of each ship, at the point of
greatest diameter. From that point each ship grew
more slender.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
MacFife pointed to the Connie's nose. Projecting
from it like great horns were the ship's steering<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page235">[pg 235]</span><a name="Pg235" id="Pg235" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
tubes. Unlike the Federation cruiser which blasted
steam through internal tubes that did not project,
the Connie used chemical fuel.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Watch," MacFife said.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There were similar tubes on the Connie's stern,
Rip knew. He wondered what they had to do with
the plan.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
MacFife walked to a wall communicator. "Follow
instructions."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He turned to Rip. "Remember, lad. The <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Sagittarius</span></span>
is on the other side of the Connie, about to
do the same thing."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip waited in silence, wondering.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Then the voice horn called, "Valve closed!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A second voice yelled, "Blast!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A tremor jarred its way through the entire ship,
making the deck throb under Rip's feet. He saw that
the ship's nose had swung away from the Connie.
What in space—
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Blast!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The nose swung into the Connie again with a jar
that sent Rip sliding into the clear plastic of the
astrodome. His nose jammed into the plastic but he
didn't even wince, because he saw the Connie's steering
tubes buckle under the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Aquila</span></span>'s sudden shove.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
And suddenly the picture was clear. The two Federation
cruisers hadn't cared about getting into the
Connie ship. They had only wanted an excuse to
tie up to it so they could do what had just been done.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page236">[pg 236]</span><a name="Pg236" id="Pg236" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
They had sheared off the enemy's steering tubes,
first at the stern, then at the bow, leaving him helpless,
able to go only forward or back in the direction
in which he happened to be pointing!
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
MacFife had a broad grin on his face. As Rip
started to speak, he held up his hand and pointed
at a wall speaker.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The Connie commander came on the circuit. He
screamed, "You planned that! You—you—" He subsided
into his own language.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Galliene's voice spoke soothingly. "But my dear
commander! How can I apologize enough? Believe
me, the man responsible will be reward—I mean,
the man responsible will be disciplined. You may
rest assured of it. How unfortunate! I am overcome
with shame. A terrible accident! Terrible."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
MacFife picked up a microphone. "Same here,
Connie. A terrible accident. Aye, the man who did
it will hear from me."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"It was no accident," the Connie screamed.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Ah," Galliene replied, "but you cannot prove
otherwise. Commander, do you realize what this
means? You are helpless. Interplanetary law says
that a helpless spaceship must be salvaged and taken
in tow by the nearest cruiser, no matter what its
nationality. We will do this jointly, the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Aquila</span></span> and
the <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Sagittarius</span></span>. We will take turns towing you, my
friend. We will haul you to Terra like any other
piece of space junk."
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page237">[pg 237]</span><a name="Pg237" id="Pg237" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
MacFife could remain quiet no longer. "Yes, mister.
And that's no' the end o' it. We will collect the
salvage fee. One half the value of the salvaged vessel.
Aye! My men will like that, since we share and share
alike on salvage. Now put out a cable from your
nose tube. I'll take ye in tow first."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He cut the communicator off, and met Rip's grin.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The two spacemen had figured out the one way
to repay the Connie for his attempts on the asteroid.
They couldn't fire on him, but they could fake an
"accident" that would cripple him and cost Consops
millions of dollars in salvage fees.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Nor would Consops refuse to pay. Salvage law
was clear. Whoever performed the salvage was not
required to turn the ship back to its owners until
the fee had been paid, in whatever currency he cared
to specify.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
And there was another angle. The cruisers would
tow the Connie into the Federation spaceport in
New Mexico. If past experience was any indication,
the Connie would lose about half its crew—perhaps
more. They would claim sanctuary in the Federation.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip shook hands solemnly with the grinning
Scotchman. It would be a long time before Consops
tried space piracy again.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We'll be back at our family fight again tomorrow,"
MacFife said, "but today we celebrate together.
Ah, lad, this is pure joy to me. I've had a score<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page238">[pg 238]</span><a name="Pg238" id="Pg238" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
to settle with yon Connies for years. Now I've done
it."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He put an arm around Rip's shoulders. "While
I'm in a givin' mood, which is not the way of us
Scots, is there anything ye'd like?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip could think of only one thing. "A hot shower.
For me and my men. And will you take the prisoners
off our hands?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yes to both. Anything else?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"We'll need some rocket fuel. Terra says we have
to correct course. Also, we'll need a nuclear charge
to throw us into a braking ellipse. And we need a
new landing boat. The sun baked the equipment
out of ours."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
MacFife nodded. "So be it. I'll send men to the
asteroid to bring back the prisoners and your Planeteers."
He smiled. "We'll let yon rock go by itself
while hot showers and a good meal are had by all.
It's the least of what ye've earned."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip started to thank the Scot, but his stomach
suddenly turned over and black dizziness flooded in
on him. He heard MacFife's sudden exclamation,
felt hands on him.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
White light blinded him. He shook his head and
tried to keep his stomach from acting up. A voice
asked, "Were you shielded from those nuclear
blasts?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"No," he said past a constricted throat. "Not from
the last. We got some prompt radiation. I don't<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page239">[pg 239]</span><a name="Pg239" id="Pg239" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
know how much."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"When was that? The exact time?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip tried to remember. He felt horrible. "It was
twenty-three-oh-five."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Bad," the voice said. "He must have taken
enough roentgens of gamma and neutrons to reach
or exceed the median-lethal dose."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip found his voice again. "Santos," he said urgently.
"On the asteroid. He got it, too. The rest
were shielded. Get him. Quick!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
MacFife snapped orders. The ball-bat would have
Santos in the ship within minutes. Being sick in a
space suit was about the most unpleasant thing that
could happen to anyone.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A hypospray tingled against Rip's arm. The drug
penetrated, caught a quick lift to all parts of his
body through his bloodstream. Consciousness slid
away.
</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<a name="toc51" id="toc51"></a>
<a name="pdf52" id="pdf52"></a>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page240">[pg 240]</span><a name="Pg240" id="Pg240" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Chapter Nineteen - Spacefall</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip was never more eloquent. He argued, he
begged, and he wheedled.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The <span class="tei tei-hi"><span style="font-style: italic">Aquila's</span></span> chief physician listened with polite
interest, but he shook his head. "Lieutenant, you
simply are not aware of the close call you've had.
Another two hours without treatment and we might
not have been able to save you."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I appreciate that," Rip assured him. "But I'm
fine now, sir."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"You are not fine. You are anything but fine.
We've loaded you with antibiotics and blood cell
regenerator, and we've given you a total transfusion.
You feel fine, but you're not."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The doctor looked at Rip's red hair. "That's a
fine thatch of hair you have. In a week or two it will
be gone and you'll have no more hair than an egg.
A well person doesn't lose hair."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The ship's radiation safety officer had put both
Rip's and Santos's dosimeters into his measuring
equipment. They had taken over a hundred roentgens
of hard radiation above the tolerance limit.
This was the result of being caught unshielded when
the last nuclear charge went off.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page241">[pg 241]</span><a name="Pg241" id="Pg241" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Sir," Rip pleaded, "you can load us with suppressives.
It's only a few days more before we reach
Terra. You can keep us going until then. We'll both
turn in for full treatment as soon as we get to the
space platform. But we have to finish the job, can't
you see that, sir?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The doctor shook his head. "You're a fool, even
for a Planeteer. Before you get over this you'll be
sicker than you've ever been. You have a month in
bed waiting for you. If I let you go back to the
asteroid, I'll only be delaying the time when you
start full treatment."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"But the delay won't hurt if you inject us with
suppressives, will it?" Rip asked quickly. "Don't
they keep the sickness checked?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Yes, for a maximum of about ten days. Then
they no longer have sufficient effect and you come
down with it."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"But it won't take ten days," Rip pointed out. "It
will only take a couple, and it won't hurt us."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
MacFife had arrived to hear the last exchange. He
nodded sympathetically. "Doctor, I can appreciate
how the lad feels. He started something and he wants
to finish it. If y'can let him, safely, I think ye should."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The doctor shrugged. "I can let him. There's a
nine to one chance it will do him no harm. But the
one chance is what I don't like."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I'll know it if the suppressives start to wear off,
won't I?" Rip asked.
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page242">[pg 242]</span><a name="Pg242" id="Pg242" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"You certainly will. You'll get weaker rapidly."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"How rapidly?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Perhaps six hours. Perhaps more."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip nodded. "That's what I thought. Doctor,
we're less than six hours from Terra by ship. If the
stuff wears off, we can be in the hospital within a
couple of hours. Once we go into a braking ellipse,
we can reach a hospital in less than an hour by
snapper-boat."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Let him go," MacFife said.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The doctor wasn't happy about it, but he had run
out of arguments. "All right, Commander. If you'll
assume responsibility for getting him off the asteroid
and into a Terra or space platform hospital in time."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I'll do that," MacFife assured him. "Now get
your hyposprays and fill him full of that stuff you
use. The corporal, too."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Sergeant," Rip corrected. His first action on getting
back to the asteroid would be to recommend
Santos's promotion to Terra base. He intended to
recommend Kemp for corporal, too. He was sure the
Planeteers at Terra would make the promotions.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The two Federation cruisers were still holding
course along with the asteroid, the Connie cruiser
between them.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Within an hour, Rip and Santos, both in false
good health thanks to medical magic, were on their
way back to the asteroid in a ball-bat boat.
</p>
<a name="fig53" id="fig53"></a><div class="tei tei-figure" style="text-align: center"><img src="images/image15.png" width="640" height="959" alt="Illustration: "Let Him Go Back to the Asteroid, Doctor."" title=""Let Him Go Back to the Asteroid, Doctor."" /><div class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em">"Let Him Go Back to the Asteroid, Doctor."</div></div>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The remaining time passed quickly. The sun receded.<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page244">[pg 244]</span><a name="Pg244" id="Pg244" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
The Planeteers corrected course. Rip sent in
his recommendations for promotions, and looked
over the last nuclear crater to see why the blast had
started the asteroid spinning.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The reason could only be guessed. The blast probably
had opened a fault in the crystal, allowing the
explosion to escape partially in the wrong direction.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Once the course was corrected, Rip calculated the
position for the final nuclear charge. When the asteroid
reached the correct position relative to earth, the
charge would not only change its course but slow its
speed somewhat. The asteroid would go around the
earth in a series of ever-tightening ellipses, using
Terra's gravity, plus rocket fuel, to slow it down to
the right orbital speed.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
When it reached the proper position, tubes of
rocket fuel would change the course again, putting
it into an orbit around the earth close to the space
platform. It wasn't practical to take the thorium rock
in for a landing. They would lose control and the
asteroid would flame to earth like the greatest meteor
ever to hit the planet.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Putting the asteroid into an orbit around earth
was actually the most delicate part of the whole trip,
but Rip wasn't worried. He had the facilities of
Terra base within easy reach by communicator. He
dictated his data and let them do the mathematics
on the giant electronic computers.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He and his men rode the gray planet past the<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page245">[pg 245]</span><a name="Pg245" id="Pg245" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
moon, so close they could almost see the Planeteer
Lunar base, circled Terra in a series of ellipses, and
finally blasted the asteroid into its final orbit within
sight of the space platform.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Landing craft and snapper-boats swarmed to meet
them and within an hour after their arrival the
Planeteers were surrounded by spacemen, cadets
from the platform, and officers and men wearing
Planeteer black.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A cadet approached Rip and looked at him with
awe. "Sir, I don't know how you ever did it!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
And Rip, his eyes on the great curve of earth,
answered casually, "There's one thing every space-chick
has to learn if he's going to be a Planeteer.
There's always a way to do anything. To be a Planeteer
you have to be able to figure out the way."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
A new voice said, "Now that's real wisdom!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip turned quickly and looked through a helmet
at the grinning face of Major Joe Barris.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Barris spoke as though to himself, but Rip turned
red as his hair. "Funny how fast a man ages in space,"
the Planeteer major remarked. "Take Foster. A few
weeks ago he was just a cadet, a raw recruit who had
never met high vack. Now he's talking like the grandfather
of all space. I don't know how the Special
Order Squadrons ever got along before he became
an officer."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip had been feeling a little too proud of himself.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"It's good to get back," Rip said.
</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<a name="toc54" id="toc54"></a>
<a name="pdf55" id="pdf55"></a>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page246">[pg 246]</span><a name="Pg246" id="Pg246" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Chapter Twenty - On the Platform</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
There were two things Rip could see from his
hospital bed on the space platform. One was the
great curve of earth. He was anxious to get out of
the hospital and back to Terra.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The second thing was the asteroid. Spacemen were
at work on it, slowly cutting it to pieces. The pieces
were small enough to be carried back to earth in
supply rockets. It would be a long time before the
asteroid was completely cut up and transported to
Terra base.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Sergeant-major Koa came into the hospital ward
and sat on Rip's bed. The plastifoam mattress compressed
under his weight. "How are you feeling, sir?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Pretty good," Rip replied. The worst of the radiation
sickness was over and he was mending fast.
Here and there were little blood stains just below
the surface of his skin, and he had no more hair than
a plastic ball. Otherwise he looked normal. The
stains would go away and his hair would grow back
within a matter of weeks.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Santos, now officially a sergeant, was in the same
condition. The rest of Rip's Planeteers had resumed
duties on the space platform. He saw them frequently<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page247">[pg 247]</span><a name="Pg247" id="Pg247" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
because they made a point of dropping in whenever
they were near the hospital area.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa looked out at the asteroid. "I sort of hate to
see that rock cut up. There isn't much about a chunk
of thorium to get sentimental over, but after fighting
for it the way we did, it doesn't seem right to
cut it into blocks."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I know how you feel," Rip admitted, "but after
all, that's what we brought it back for."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He studied Koa's brown face. The big Hawaiian
had something on his mind. "Got vack worms chewing
at you?" he asked. Vack worms were a spaceman's
equivalent of "the blues."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Not exactly, sir. I happened to overhear the doctor
talking today. You're due for a leave in a week."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"That's good news!" Rip exclaimed. "You're not
unhappy about it, are you?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Koa shrugged. "We were all hoping we'd be together
on our next assignment. The gang liked serving
under you. But we're overdue for shipment to
somewhere, and if you take eight weeks' leave, we'll
be gone by the time you come back to the platform."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"I liked serving with all of you, too." Rip replied.
"I watched the way you all behaved when the space-flap
was getting tough and it made me proud to be
a Planeteer."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Major Joe Barris came in. He was carrying an
envelope in his hand.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Hello, Rip. How are you, Koa? Am I interrupting<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page248">[pg 248]</span><a name="Pg248" id="Pg248" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
a private talk?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"No, Major," Koa replied. "We're just passing the
time. Want me to leave?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Stay here," Barris said. "This concerns you, too.
I've been reassigned. My eight years on the platform
are up, and that's all an instructor gets. Now I'm off
for space on another job."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip knew that instructors were assigned for eight-year
periods. And he knew that the major's specialty
was the Planeteer science of exploration. Barris's
specialty required him to be an expert in biology,
zoology, anthropology, navigation and astrogation,
and in land fighting. Not to mention a half dozen
other lesser things. Only ten Planeteers rated expert
in exploration and all were captains or majors.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Where are you going?" Rip asked. "Off to explore
something?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"That's it." Major Barris smiled. "Remember
once I said that when they gave me the job of cleaning
up the goopies on Ganymede I'd ask for you as
a platoon leader?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip stared. "Don't tell me that's your assignment!"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Almost. Tell me, would you recommend any
more of your men for promotion? I'll need a new
sergeant and two more corporals."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip thought it over. "Koa can check me on this.
I'd suggest making Pederson a sergeant and Dowst
and Dominico corporals. Kemp and Santos already
have promotions."
</p>
<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page249">[pg 249]</span><a name="Pg249" id="Pg249" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"That would be my choice, too," Koa agreed.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
"Fine." Barris tapped the envelope. "I'll correct
the orders in here and recommend the promotions.
We'll get sixteen new recruits from the graduating
class at Luna and that will complete the platoon I'm
supposed to organize. Two full platoons are waiting,
and the new platoon will give me a full-strength
squadron. Except for new officers. How about Flip
Villa for a platoon commander, Rip?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip knew the Mexican officer was among the best
of his own graduating class. "I have to admit prejudice,"
he warned. "Flip is a pal of mine. But I don't
think you could do better." His curiosity got the best
of him and he asked, "Can you tell me what this is
all about?"
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Joe Barris reached over and rubbed Rip's bald
head. "By the time fur grows back on that irradiated
dome of yours, I'll be on my way with Koa, Pederson,
and the new recruits. Santos and the rest of your
crew will report to Terra base. Flip Villa will join
them there. You'll be on earth-leave for eight weeks,
but it will take about that much time for Flip and
the men to assemble the supplies and equipment
we'll need."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He pulled a sheaf of papers out of the envelope.
"Koa, here are orders for you and your men. They
say you're to report to Special Order Squadron
Seven, on Ganymede. SOS Seven is a new squadron,
the first one organized exclusively for exploration<span class="tei tei-pb" id="page250">[pg 250]</span><a name="Pg250" id="Pg250" class="tei tei-anchor"></a>
duties, and I'm its commanding officer. Koa, you'll
be my senior noncommissioned officer. I want you
and Pederson with me because you can organize the
new recruits enroute. They have a lot more to learn
from you than they got in their two years of training.
You'll make real Planeteers out of 'em."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
He picked a paper from the sheaf and waved it
at Rip. "This is for you, Lieutenant Foster." He
read, "Foster, R.I.P., Lieutenant, SOS. Serial seven-nine-four-three.
Authorized eight weeks' earth-leave
upon discharge from hospital. Upon completion of
leave subject officer will report to Terra base for
transportation to SOS Seven on Ganymede."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Joe Barris handed Rip his new orders. "You'll be
on the same ship with Flip Villa and your men. Flip
will be another of my platoon leaders. I'll be waiting
for you on Ganymede. The moons of Jupiter will
be our home for quite a while, Rip. Our first assignment
is to explore Callisto from pole to pole."
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Rip didn't know what to say. To serve under Barris,
to have his own men in a regular squadron platoon,
to have Flip Villa in the same outfit, and to
be assigned to exploration duty—dirtiest but most
exciting of all Planeteer jobs—it was just too much.
He couldn't say anything. He could only grin.
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Major Joe Barris looked at Rip's shiny head and
chuckled. "From what I hear of Callisto, we're in
for a rough time. Your hair will probably grow back
just in time to turn gray!"
</p>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Whitman Books for Boys and Girls</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.00em">
NEW STORIES
OF ADVENTURE AND MYSTERY
</p>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
Up-to-the-minute novels for boys and girls about favorite
characters, all popular and well known—
</p>
<table summary="This is a list." class="tei tei-list" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"><tbody><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">ROY ROGERS and the Rimrod Renegades</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">ROY ROGERS and the Gopher Creek Gunman</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">ROY ROGERS and the Raiders of Sawtooth Ridge</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">ROY ROGERS and the Outlaws of Sundown Valley</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">ROY ROGERS and the Ghost of Mystery Rancho</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table summary="This is a list." class="tei tei-list" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"><tbody><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">GENE AUTRY and the Big Valley Grab</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">GENE AUTRY and the Bad Men of Broken Bow</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">GENE AUTRY and the Thief River Outlaws</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">GENE AUTRY and the Redwood Pirates</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">GENE AUTRY and the Golden Ladder Gang</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table summary="This is a list." class="tei tei-list" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"><tbody><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">TARZAN and the City of Gold</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">TARZAN and the Forbidden City</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table summary="This is a list." class="tei tei-list" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"><tbody><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">THE BOBBSEY TWINS: Merry Days Indoors and Out</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">THE BOBBSEY TWINS in the Country</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">THE BOBBSEY TWINS at the Seashore</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The books listed above may be purchased at
the same store where you secured this book.
</p>
</div>
<hr class="page" /><div class="tei tei-div" style="margin-bottom: 5.00em; margin-top: 5.00em">
<h1 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 3.46em; margin-top: 3.46em"><span style="font-size: 173%">Whitman Books for Boys and Girls</span></h1>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 1.00em">
NEW STORIES
OF ADVENTURE AND MYSTERY
</p>
<table summary="This is a list." class="tei tei-list" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"><tbody><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">THE WALTON BOYS in High Country</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">THE WALTON BOYS in Rapids Ahead</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">THE WALTON BOYS and Gold in the Snow</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table summary="This is a list." class="tei tei-list" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"><tbody><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">SAND DUNE PONY</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table summary="This is a list." class="tei tei-list" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"><tbody><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">RIP FOSTER Rides the Gray Planet</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table summary="This is a list." class="tei tei-list" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"><tbody><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">TOM STETSON and the Blue Devil</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">TOM STETSON and the Giant Jungle Ants</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">TOM STETSON on the Trail of the Lost Tribe</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table summary="This is a list." class="tei tei-list" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"><tbody><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">GINNY GORDON and the Mystery at the Old Barn</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">GINNY GORDON and the Mystery of the Missing Heirloom</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">GINNY GORDON and the Disappearing Candlesticks</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table summary="This is a list." class="tei tei-list" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"><tbody><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">TRIXIE BELDEN and the Gatehouse Mystery</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">TRIXIE BELDEN and the Red Trailer Mystery</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">TRIXIE BELDEN and the Secret of the Mansion</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table summary="This is a list." class="tei tei-list" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"><tbody><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">ZANE GREY'S The Spirit of the Border</td></tr><tr class="tei tei-labelitem"><th class="tei tei-label"></th><td class="tei tei-item">ZANE GREY'S The Last Trail</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="tei tei-p" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em">
The books listed above may be purchased at
the same store where you secured this book.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<hr class="doublepage" /><div class="tei tei-back" style="margin-bottom: 2.00em; margin-top: 6.00em">
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