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If it didn't, asteroid and Planeteers would end up as subatomic particles in the sun's photosphere, because he had calculated his blast to drive the asteroid past the limit of safety. It was the only way he could be sure of putting them beyond danger from Connie landing boats or snapper-boats. The Connie would have only one chance to bring his cruiser down.
They would certainly come in snapper-boats, and those deadly little fighting craft could blast rings around the landing boat. The snapper-boats had gotten their name because fast acceleration and quick changes of position could snap a man right out of his seat if he forgot to buckle his harness tightly. The solution would be to keep the landing boat close to the asteroid.
In a short time the Scorpius was balanced, with nose tubes counteracting the thrust of stern tubes, ready to flash into space again at a second's notice. Rip watched, puzzled. The cruiser was miles away. Why didn't it come any closer? Then suddenly it erupted a dozen fiery streaks. "Snapper-boats!" someone gasped. Rip jerked fully awake.
Two Connie snapper-boats had been destroyed in that clash, which explained why the commander was sending out only ten boats, instead of the full quota of twelve. The squadron instantly formed a V, like a strange space letter made up of globes. The sun’s gravity pulled at them, dragging them off course. Rip watched as flames poured from their stern tubes.
What would his next step be? The snapper-boats hadn't drawn fire, even when a drone was sent over at low speed. The next thing would be to send a piloted boat over slowly enough to take a look. Rip hoped O'Brine would hurry. There was no longer any feeling in his arm below Koa's safety line. That meant the arm had frozen. He had to get medical attention from the Scorpius pretty soon.
The Scorpius had sent piloted snapper-boats over the asteroid at high speed, crisscrossing in order to cover the thorium world completely, expecting to have the unknown rocketeer fire at them. Then a fire bomb had been dropped as a further means of getting the asteroid to fire.
"But let’s suppose the Connie isn’t as timid as I am," Rip went on. "He might be only a few miles out. The question is, would he wait to get closer before launching his snapper-boats?" The big Hawaiian answered frankly, "I’ve never been in a spacegrab like this before. I don’t know what the answer is." "That Connie Cruiser’s Not Too Close, Koa." "We’ll soon know," Rip replied grimly.
The Scorpius sent its entire complement of snapper-boats to the asteroid for protection, in case Consops made another try, then flamed off to Marsport to put in new supplies to replace those damaged when Rip had forced sudden and disastrous acceleration. The asteroid had reached Earth's solar orbit before the cruiser returned, though Earth itself was on the other side of the sun.
"We will sweep the asteroid clean with our exhaust, but this time we will be more thorough. When we have finished, we will hammer you with guided missiles. Then we will send snapper-boats with rockets to hunt down any who remain. We intend to have that thorium. You had better surrender." Rip couldn’t believe it. The cruiser commander had no hesitation in sacrificing his own men!
The landing boats, with snapper-boats in watchful attendance, blasted down to the surface of the asteroid. Spacemen jumped out, awkward at first on the no-weight surface. An officer glided to meet Rip, and he had a pistol in his hand. "It's all right," Rip told him. "The Connies are our prisoners. You won't need guns." The spaceman snapped, "You're under arrest." Rip stared incredulously.
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