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Updated: June 27, 2025
Or if they had noticed it, the astronomers probably decided it was just a very tiny sunspot. 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.
The Planeteers and their prisoners were running at a speed that kept them right in the middle of the dark area. 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. Rip and Kemp ran forward until they were right at the sun line.
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. 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." "Where are we, sir?" Rip asked.
It was the largest thing in space, except for the sun, as seen from the asteroid. 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. The temperature rose somewhat.
Rip smashed at the escape hatch above his head, grabbed propulsion tubes from the rack and called, "Now!" He pulled the release on his harness, stood up on the seat, and thrust with all his leg power. He catapulted out of the burning snapper-boat into space. Santos followed a second later and the crippled rocket twisted wildly under the two Planeteers.
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.
He headed straight for where the supplies were stacked, his Planeteers close behind him. 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." "Where are we, sir?" Rip asked. "Just above the asteroid belt near the outer edge.
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."
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. Rip watched the boat rise upward to the great, sleek, dark bulk of the Scorpius.
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.
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