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Cotingidae, sexual differences in; coloration of the sexes of; resemblance of the females of distinct species of. Cottus scorpius, sexual differences in. Coulter, Dr., on the Californian Indians. Counting, origin of; limited power of, in primeval man. Courage, variability of, in the same species; universal high appreciation of; importance of; characteristic of men.
He had sent the snapper-boats to try to draw fire, in an attempt to find out more surely whether Planeteers or Connies had the thorium rock. "The Scorpius doesn't know what's going on," Rip told his Planeteers. "O'Brine didn't know the cruiser was waiting to ambush him, so the rocket we fired made him think the Connies had taken us over." He put himself in O'Brine's place.
The Planeteers on the asteroid blinked with the speed of the cruiser’s getaway. Fire flamed from the stern tubes for an instant and then there was nothing but a fading glow where the Scorpius had been. Rip had a mental image of everything movable in the ship crashing against bulkheads with the terrific acceleration. And in the same moment, the Consops cruiser reacted.
Mercury, however, loomed larger and larger. They would pass close to the hot planet. O'Brine recalled Rip to the Scorpius and handed him a message. Asteroid now within protection reach of Mercury and Terra bases. Your escort no longer required. Proceed immediately Titan, take on cargo and personnel. The commander sighed. "Looks like I'll never get to Earth long enough to see my family."
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.
He sat back in his chair and regarded the commander with mixed respect and something else. Against his will, he was beginning to like the man. No doubt of it, the Scorpius was well named. And the sting in the scorpion’s tail was O’Brine himself. Rip rejoined his Planeteers in the supply room and motioned for them to gather around him.
It was quite another to face the nuclear drive ship with its missile ports cleared for action. The Connie knew he had lost. Rip and the Planeteers saw the Consops ship suddenly flame away, then turn and dive for low space below the asteroid belt in a direction opposite the one the Scorpius had taken. The helmet communicators rang with their cheers.
Commander Scorpius will transport detachment to coordinates given in basic cruiser astrocourse, delivering orders to detachment enroute. Take full steps for maximum security. This is Federation priority A, Space Council security procedures." Rip swallowed hard. The highest possible priority, given by the Federation itself, had cancelled his leave.
The Scorpius had trouble finding the asteroid because it was just one of many sailing along through the belt. But now the asteroid was the only one traveling across the belt. It would make an outstanding blip on any radarscope. It wasn't possible that the Connie cruiser had missed the blip and its significance. "The Connie may be looking us over," Rip added, "but I'll tell you one thing.
Valve Eight was some distance away. Rip decided a cross ramp would be faster than the moving track. He swung the spack to his shoulder and made his legs go. Seconds were ticking off, and he had an idea that the SCN Scorpius would make space on time, whether or not he arrived.
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