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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!" 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.
The parcel-delivery array of them! Besides the small bundles of the long bones, there were full skeletons, tapa-wrapped, lying in one-man, and two- and three-man canoes of precious koa wood, with curved outriggers of wiliwili wood, and proper paddles to hand with the io-projection at the point simulating the continuance of the handle, as if, like a skewer, thrust through the flat length of the blade.
When he arrived the war was practically over, but everywhere were signs of strife. As soon as he was able, he took A Hoa and Koa Kau and visited the chapels all over the country. Everywhere were sights to make his heart very sad. The Japanese soldiers had used many of the chapels for military stables, and they were in a filthy state.
Don't fail to explode that charge at twenty-three-oh-five. Can you see us?" 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?" "Yes. We're coming in on propulsion tubes." Koa waited for a long moment, then asked, "Sir, what if you're not with us by twenty-three-oh-five?"
The rest have nothing." "Pederson, report." "No weapons I can see, sir." Koa looked at Rip. "They must think the asteroid is clean. Otherwise they'd have more than a chatter gun in sight. You can bet they have knives and pistols, too." Rip had been playing with an idea. He tried it on his men. "These Connies would be useful to us alive, if we could capture them." Dowst caught his meaning first.
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 eighteen inches on the outer side.
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." Then he plugged in again. "Commander, I must have time to think this over." "You have one minute."
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. 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.
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. "You don’t know," the cruiser answered. "You must take our word for it.
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." 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 squad room right now.
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