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Updated: May 2, 2025
"How is the Connie I got?" "Unconscious, sir," Santos replied. "He must be bleeding badly, but we can’t tell. The one you landed on is all right now, but he may have a broken rib or two." Because his voice was weak, Rip had to turn up the volume on his communicator to tell the Planeteers about the Scorpius. They were silent when he finished, then Dowst spoke up. "Looks like they have us, sir.
Commander Jennsen, the Norwegian spaceman who had commanded the platform since before Rip’s arrival as a raw cadet, was dictating into his command relay circuit. As he spoke, printed copies were being received in the platform personnel office, Special Order Squadron headquarters on earth, aboard the cruiser Bolide in high space, and aboard the newly landed cruiser Scorpius.
If the Connie took time to tow the remains of the Scorpius deep into the asteroid belt, it likely would never be found, no matter how the Federation searched. They had to warn the ship. But how? Their helmet communicators wouldn't reach it until it was right at the asteroid, and that would be too late. They had no other radio.
We are going into no-weight. Prepare to stay in no-weight indefinitely. Rotation stops in two minutes." Rip realized why the order was given. The Scorpius could not maneuver while in a gravity spin and O’Brine wanted to be free to take action if necessary. The voice horn came on again. "Now get it again. The ship may maneuver suddenly. Prepare for acceleration or deceleration without warning.
Talking about assignments wasn’t considered good practice, but Rip was burning with curiosity. "You don’t by chance know what my assignment is, do you?" The captain’s eyebrows went up. "Don’t you?" Rip shook his head. "O’Brine hasn’t told me." "I don’t know a thing," Southwick said. "We got instructions to pack up a pretty strange assortment of supplies for the Scorpius and that’s all I know.
"The Connie saw it," Rip said worriedly, "but didn’t blast away. That means he’s intending to ambush the Scorpius. Koa, if he does, that means war." The big Hawaiian shook his head. "Sir, the Connie has guided missiles with atomic warheads just like our ship does. If he can launch one from ambush and hit our ship, that’s the end of it. The Scorpius will be nothing but space junk.
A senior space officer was seated before a simple panel on which there were only a dozen small levers, a visiphone, and a radar screen. The screen was circular, with numbers around the rim like those on an Earth clock. In the center of the screen was a tiny circle. The central circle represented the Scorpius. The rest of the screen was the area dead ahead.
"I ought to be busted to recruit," he told them. "I knew this asteroid was thorium, and that thorium is radioactive. If I had used my head, I would have added nuclite shielding to the list of supplies the Scorpius provided. We could have had enough of it to protect us while around our base, even if we couldn’t be protected while working on the charges.
Subject officer will report to commander, SCN Scorpius, with detachment of nine men. Senior noncommissioned officer and second in command, Koa, A.P., Sergeant Major, SOS. Serial two-nine-four-one. Commander of Scorpius will transport detachment to coordinates given in basic cruiser astro-course; deliver orders to detachment en route. Take required steps for maximum security.
Weakness and a deep desire to sleep almost overcame him, and he knew that he was finished, anyway. His wound must be too deep to clot, which meant it would bleed until he bled to death. Whether he warned the Scorpius or not, his end was the same. Back in the cave, he leaned against the wall and asked tiredly. "How is Dominico?" "I am fine, sir. My wound stopped bleeding."
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