United States or India ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
"Yeah," said the Traffic Emergency voice. "Too bad. But we'll get the Aldeb off in six hours." Sergeant Madden pushed another button. It lighted. "Madden," he rumbled. "Desk. The Cerberus' had a breakdown. She's limpin' over to Procyron III for refuge to wait for help. The Aldeb'll do the job on her, but I'm going to ride the squad ship out and make up the report. Who's next on call-duty?"
They were aground on Sirene VIII, on which no human ship had ever landed before them, and they had stirred up a hornet's nest on Sirene IV, which had orbital eighty-gee rocket missiles in orbit around it with bust bomb heads and all the other advantages of civilization. The Aldeb was on the way with a fifteen-man crew.
We always will have 'em. Like old age." Then he made computations with a stubby pencil and asked reflectively: "When're you coming out of overdrive?" Patrolman Willis told him. Sergeant Madden nodded. "I'll take another nap," he observed. "We'll be there a good twenty-two hours before the Aldeb." The little squad ship went on at an improbable multiple of the speed of light.
But everything was nicely in hand. The squad ship headed briskly for the planet Procyron III, and Sergeant Madden would take the data for a proper, official, emergency-call traffic report on the incident, and in time the Aldeb would turn up and make emergency repairs and see the Cerberus out to space again and headed for port once more. This was absolutely all that there was to anticipate.
"How it happened don't matter. Maybe somebody spotted the ship from the Cerberus as it was comin' down. Maybe anything. But whoever run the mine found out somebody knew they were there, so they rushed the Cerberus there prob'ly wasn't even a stun-pistol on board to fight with and they put new rockets on her." The skipper of the salvage ship Aldeb nodded wisely.
The skipper of the Aldeb shrugged. "Might as well. Why go home and have to come back again? There could be a lot of Huks there." "Yeah," admitted Sergeant Madden. "I'd guess a whole planet full of 'em that laid low when the rest were scrapping with the Force. The others lost and went clean across the galaxy. These characters stayed close. I'm guessing. But they hid their mine, here.
Dozing, with his chin tilted forward on his chest, he looked hopelessly commonplace. The skipper of the Aldeb came over to the squad ship, because Sergeant Madden loathed spacesuits and there was no air on Sirene VIII. Patrolman Willis watched as the skipper came wading through the lacy, breast-high gas-frost.
Up where we started down. Then go on away. Back to the squad ship. If I don't come along, anyhow you'll know what's what when the Aldeb comes." Patrolman Willis expostulated. Sergeant Madden was firm. In the end, Patrolman Willis went away. And Sergeant Madden sat at ease and rested until he had time enough to get back to the squad ship. It was true that the Huks didn't booby trap.
But anyhow they sent the Cerberus off and covered everything up and went off to stay, themselves, until we gave up and went home." "I wonder," said the skipper of the Aldeb, "where they took the Cerberus? That's my job!" "Not far," grunted Sergeant Madden. "They had to be taking the Cerberus somewhere.
It was white from a layer of frozen gases piled upon its more solid core. He made observations. "I can find it again, sir, to meet the Aldeb. Orders, sir?" "Orders?" demanded Sergeant Madden. "What? Oh. Head in toward the sun. The Huks'll be on Planet Three or Four, most likely. And that's where they'll have the Cerberus."
Word Of The Day