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Updated: June 10, 2025
"There was, Commander." Rip recited the events of the past few hours while the Irishman listened with growing amazement. "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, without any doubt, who was talking. And you did know, didn't you, sir?" O'Brine flushed.
"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!" The commander turned purple with rage. He bellowed, "Foster!" A junior space officer hid a grin and murmured, "Looks like the Planeteers still have the asteroid." O'Brine bent over the communicator and yelled, "Deputy commander! Launch landing boats.
"He thought even a stupid Planeteer had sense enough to obey radiation safety rules," he yelled. "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."
Commander O'Brine stared for a moment, then 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!" Rip came back to consciousness on the operating table.
But it probably will take some hunting. Meanwhile, let's get at those cases. The supply clerk is on his way." 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 off the items.
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 overhead." Rip watched for a while longer, then wandered back to Commander O'Brine. He was getting anxious.
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. O'Brine was not in. Rip searched and found him in the astroplot room, watching a 'scope. Green streaks called "blips" marked the panel, each one indicating an asteroid. "All too small," O'Brine said.
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." Rip grinned. "That's a real compliment, sir. I might return it by saying that you have the makings of a Planeteer officer yourself." O'Brine chuckled. "All right. Let's declare a truce, Planeteer. We'll meet again.
No wonder the job was Federation priority A, with Space Council security! "What do I do about it?" he asked. 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!" Find the Needle! Rip walked into the squad room with a copy of the orders in his hand.
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. The Planeteers wore coveralls, gloves, and face masks with respirators, but that didn't prevent the stuff from sifting through onto their bodies.
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