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Starlight gave a little light, but it was too faint to see much. Rip’s plan was that the Connies would supply the light needed for an attack. In a few seconds, as Santos had predicted, belt light beams cut sharp paths through the darkness. Rip sized up the possibilities. There were two teams of two men each, and they were getting farther apart with each step.
He looked up, white-faced. Not only was the Connie still there, but its main air lock was sliding open to disclose a new danger. In the opening, ready to launch, an assault boat waited. The assault boats were something only the Connies used. They were about four times the size of a snapper-boat, less maneuverable but more powerful.
Rip got aboard the nearest landing boat, his head spinning. O’Brine had made a mistake of some kind. The landing boats, loaded with Planeteers and Connies, lifted from the asteroid to the cruiser. They slid smoothly into the air locks and settled. The massive lock doors slid closed and lights flickered on. Rip waited, trying to keep consciousness from slipping away.
He waited until the private had finished, then said, "Turn out the Connies' lights, too." If he could get in touch with the Connies, he could tell them they were finished. But using the snapper-boat radios was out, because the enemy cruiser would hear. The cruiser couldn't hear the helmet communications, though, because they carried only a short distance.
Where Connie snapper-boats carried five men, the Federation boats carried two. The Connies could fire in any direction. The Federation pilots aimed by pointing the snapper-boat itself, as fighter pilots of conventional aircraft had once aimed their guns. Rip watched the boats approach. He was ready to duck inside if they decided to look the asteroid over before landing.
"Sir, this is Nunez. Two Connies were prowling around, but they didn't see the entrance. Then, a minute ago, they hurried away." Rip considered. "Koa, how many Connies have you?" "Four, sir." With the five he and Dowst had taken, that meant four sill at large, and from Nunex's report, some Connie yelling had been going on.
When the spinning slowed and then stopped, the Connie probably had decided that now was the time for a final try. "Where is the communicator?" Rip asked Koa. "One of the Connies has it." "Get it. I’ll notify Terra base of what happened." Koa found the Connie with the communicator, tested it to be sure the prisoner hadn’t sabotaged it, and brought it to Rip. "This is Foster to Terra base. Over."
When Dominico had reached the shelter of the crystals, Dowst crawled along with Rip’s body for his guide, passed over him, and reached cover. Rip followed. The belt lights of the two Connies were almost abreast of them. Far to their left, Rip saw another pair of lights. That was a pair he hadn’t seen before. "We’ll wait until they pass," he told his men.
To the left of the boats was the second crater. Rip studied the ground as best he could in the Connie belt lights and decided on a plan of action. Calling to Dowst, he circled again. Presently they were approaching the crater. The Connies were about 25 yards from the crater’s opposite rim. Rip said, "I hate to do this, Dowst, but I can’t see any way out. We have to go into the crater."
The space suits worn by the Connies were almost the same as theirs. The controls were of the same kind. The only way to know a Connie was by his bubble, which was a little more tubular than the round bubbles of the Federation. Rip suddenly realized that he wasn't nervous anymore. He grinned. After all, this was what he was trained for. The Connies came abreast and passed.
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