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Updated: June 18, 2025
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 also his voice would go through the pilot's circuit and be heard in the ship! Rip grabbed Koa's arm. "Let's move away from the cave a little farther."
The spaceman was jerked from his post, and the two came to a stop against the ceiling. 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." He whirled the helpless spaceman like a bag of feathers and slung him through the air.
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. The Scorpius 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' hard work.
He cut the metal out in great triangular bars, angling the torch from first one side, then the other. Koa came and stood beside Rip. "I haven't seen the Connie's exhaust for a while, sir. They've probably stopped decelerating. We can't see them at all." "Meaning what?" Rip asked. He thought he knew, but he wanted Koa's opinion. "They're in free fall now, sir.
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 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.
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. Koa's voice buzzed in his ears. "Hear me, sir?" Rip adjusted the volume of his communicator and replied, "I hear you. Am I clear?" "Yessir. All men dressed and ready." Rip made a final check. He counted his men, then personally inspected their suits.
He kicked away from the ceiling, landing accurately at Rip's side. He added in a hard voice all could hear, "They sure are a nice gang, these spacemen. They never say anything about Planeteers." No spaceman answered, but Koa's meaning was clear. No spaceman had better say anything about the Planeteers!
"Let's go," Rip said, and as he rose he heard Koa's voice. 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." Koa had his own methods and they sounded good. Rip started slowly. He wanted to get directly behind the Connies.
He was picked up bodily and flung into space, whirling end over end. Koa's voice rang in his helmet. "Watch it! They're firing back!" 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.
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