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Updated: May 7, 2025
"They’ll have to keep blasting to maintain position." The Consops commander didn’t wait to trim ship against the sun’s drag. His air locks opened, clearly visible to Rip and Koa because that side of the cruiser was brilliant with sunlight. Ten snapper-boats sped forth. Rip was certain now that this was the enemy cruiser they had fought off back in the asteroid belt.
The Connie teams came quickly and willingly, and they seemed almost glad to give up their pistols and knives. This was not unusual. Rip had seen many Planeteer reports that spoke of the same thing. Many Connies, it seemed, were glad to get away from the iron Consops rule, even if it meant becoming Federation prisoners. Inside one of the snapper-boats a light glowed.
Rip didn't know what to do. The rocket launcher, their only weapon, wasn't designed for fighting spaceships. It was useful against snapper-boats and people, but firing at a cruiser would be like sending mosquitoes to fight elephants. He sized up their position. For one thing, they were right out in the open, exposed to anything the Connie cruiser might throw at them.
Rip stared up at the brilliant stars, thinking fast. The Connie would have almost an hour’s lead on the space patrol cruisers. In that hour, if the Connie were willing to pay the price in blasted snapper-boats, Consops would have the asteroid. And Terra base had made it clear that the space patrol would not try to blast the Connie cruiser and take back the asteroid, because that would mean war.
Before Rip could reply, the snapper-boats flashed over the cave, circled the asteroid once, and landed on the dark side close by the bomb craters. The first scout reported. "Santos, sir. I’m fifty yards beyond the stakes where we had the first base. The snapper-boats landed between the first two craters. Men coming out of one boat. I count six.
We can’t just stand here and let them blast us. They’re our own men." "Then I’m staying, too," Koa stated. A pair of snapper-boats flashed overhead, and vanished below the horizon. Two more swept past from another direction. Rip watched, curious. What were they up to? Another pair quartered past them at high speed, then two more.
"Sir, landing boats are being launched!" "Bring out the prisoners," Rip ordered. "Line them up. Planeteers fall in behind them." 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.
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 wires had been laid up to the rim of the crater in which Kemp worked, and the dynamo was attached. Rip was everywhere, checking on the launcher, on Kemp, on the pistols of his men. And Santos, hunched over his illuminated sight, watched the Connie snapper-boats draw near. "Here we go," the Filipino corporal muttered. He pressed the trigger.
The Connie teams came quickly and willingly, and they seemed almost glad to give up their pistols and knives. This was not unusual. Rip had seen many Planeteer reports that spoke of the same thing. Many Connies, it seemed, were glad to get away from the iron Consops rule even if it meant becoming Federation prisoners. Inside one of the snapper-boats, a light glowed.
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