"Yeah," said Jordan. "I wonder who they're after. You'll have to move
fast to get to the rocket."
"What can I do when I get there? By myself nothing. You'll have to help
me."
"Get on your back and neither of us get there?" said Jordan. "You can
figure out something later. Start moving."
"I'm not leaving you," said Docchi.
A huge paw clamped on the back of his head. "Now you listen," said
Jordan fiercely. "Together we were a better man than the pilot--your
legs and my arms. Now we got to separate but we can still prove we're
better than Cameron and all his geepees."
"We're not trying to _prove_ anything," said Docchi. "It's a question
of urgent principle. Right now there are men who can go to the stars
and it's up to us to let the rest of mankind know it."
A brilliant light sliced through the darkness and swept around the
rocket dome, revealing beams and columns of the structure. "Maybe
you're not trying to prove anything personal," said Jordan. "I am. The
rest of us are. Otherwise why shouldn't we let them go on spoon feeding
us, rocking us to sleep every night?" Impatiently he hitched himself
along the ground until he came to a column.
"You can't hide behind that," said Docchi.
"Not behind it. On top I can. With no legs that's where I belong." He
grasped the steel member in his great hands and in the light gravity
ascended rapidly.
"Careful," called Docchi.
"What have I got to be careful about?" Jordan's voice floated down from
the lacy structure. And it was no longer directly overhead. Jordan was
moving away along the beams that stretched from column to column. For
those who knew of it there was an unsuspected roadway above. Jordan had
it to himself and the geepees would never find him.
It was foolish to become elated over such a trivial thing. Jordan
wasn't there yet and what he'd do when he arrived was problematical.
But it did prove--yes, there was already proof of some sort for him.
Docchi set out, walking faster and faster until he was running. He
wouldn't have thought it possible but he was able to increase the
distance between himself and the pursuing robots.
Even so he didn't have much time to look around when he reached the
rocket. The first glimpse of the ship was disheartening. Passenger and
freight locks were still closed. Nona either hadn't understood their
instructions completely or she hadn't been able to carry them out.
Probably the first. She'd disrupted the circuits, light and scanning,
with no tools except her hands. Her skill with machines she couldn't
have known about previously was sometimes uncanny. But it was too much
to expect that she'd have the rocket ready for them to walk into.
It was up to Docchi to get in by himself. If he was ever going to
it would have to be by his own efforts. Momentarily he wished for
the toaster they'd taken from the pilot, and then dropped the wish
before it was fully formed. With the toaster he might have managed to
soften the inside catch at the entrance. And the thought itself was an
indication of how his mind rebelled at reality--he had no arms and he
couldn't have used the toaster. It was right and proper that Jordan had
kept the weapon. It was of value to him.
Docchi searched frantically, trying to comprehend the complex
installation around him in a glance. There had to be some provision
made for opening the ship when no one was inside, a device which would
send an impulse to actuate the catches. He'd be lucky if he could
operate it, but luck had been with him so far.
But if there was an external control he failed to find it. And the
approaching lights warned that his chances were diminishing. That there
was any time left was Cameron's mistake--he'd ordered the geepees to
look too thoroughly as they came along. They were capable of faster
pursuit. This mistake was on Cameron and he might make more.
From the sounds that drifted to him Docchi surmised that Jordan was
still at large, perhaps nearby. Did the doctor know this? Probably
not--he'd tend to underestimate the accidentals.
Docchi descended into the shallow landing pit. It was remarkably ill
suited for concealment. The walls were smooth, glazed with a faintly
green substance, and there were no doors or niches anywhere. Yet he had
to be somewhere near the ship and this was as close as he could get.
It wouldn't do to wander away--Cameron would post a robot guard around
the ship and he wouldn't be able to get back through. He had to hide at
once.
He leaned against the stern tube cluster, the metal pressing hard into
the thin flesh that covered his back. Seconds passed before he realized
that the tubes were the answer. He turned around to look at them. A
small boy could climb inside and crawl out of sight. So could a grown
man who had no shoulders or arms to get wedged in the narrow cylinder.
It was difficult to get into them. He tried a lower tube, bending down
and thrusting his head in. He wriggled and shoved with his feet until
he was almost entirely in. His feet were still out and so he bent his
knees to get better purchase and forced himself further in. He didn't
stop until he was certain he couldn't be seen by anyone who didn't
specifically peer into the tube.
He waited there, listening. A geepee came down noisily into the landing
pit. The absence of any other sound indicated to Docchi that it
probably was radio controlled. The robot clambered around, searching.
The noise abated soon but it became apparent that the geepee wasn't
going to leave. It had been stationed to watch the pit.
Docchi couldn't get out. He was caught in the pit. He fought back the
claustrophobia that swirled through his mind. It was nothing to be
afraid of; he could assure his rescue, or capture, by shouting. The
robot would drag him out instantly.
But that was not the only way. The tube extended forward as well as
back. The inner end of the tube was closed with a combustion chamber
which was singed and would swing away. The ship hadn't been used for
months and there was a distinct possibility that the tubes _were_ open
at the other end. He might get through.
He stopped to catch his breath. The metal conducted sound well, almost
magnifying it. In the interval, over his own breathing, he heard the
characteristic sputter, like frying, that the toaster beam made when it
struck metal. A great clatter followed.
"Get him," shouted Cameron. "He's up there."
Jordan had arrived and succeeded in disabling a geepee. And Cameron
would find out that he wasn't easily captured. The diversion came when
Docchi needed it.
"Don't use heat," ordered Cameron. "Get lights on him. Drive him up
higher. Corner him and go up and get him."
Docchi had been wrong; the geepees were voice controlled, not by radio.
It would make it easier once he got inside. If he ever did get in the
ship. But he had to hurry. Jordan couldn't elude the robots forever.
Docchi shoved on less cautiously. The robot in the pit had joined the
others and he needn't fear detection. It became harder to advance,
though. He had expected it but he didn't know it would be this hard to
push through the narrowing tube.
His legs slipped and it didn't matter, somehow he inched along. Blood
pounded furiously but his head slid out of the end of the tube--and he
was looking at the inside of the ship.
He gazed longingly at the combustion cap a few feet away. If he had
hands he could grasp it and pull himself out. But if he had, he'd never
have gotten this far. He closed his eyes to rest for a moment and then
continued wriggling, his back arching with the effort. He was nearly
through now, only his legs were in the tube. He kicked once, hard, and
fell to the floor.
He lay there until his head cleared and his breath came back. He
rolled over, bent his knees, and stood up, staggering forward through
the corridor to the control compartment. The rocket was his but he
didn't want it for himself, and by himself he couldn't use it.
He studied the instrument panel carefully. It had been a long time
since he'd operated a ship. A long time and two arms ago. When he
thought he understood he bent down and thrust his chin against a dial.
Laboriously he rotated his head, turning the dial to the setting he
wanted. Then he sat down and kicked on a switch. The ship rocked--and
rose a few inches.
He was betting that Cameron wouldn't notice it. The doctor ought to
be too busy trying to capture Jordan. But if Cameron did see what was
happening, he had thirty seconds in which to stop Docchi. It wasn't
enough. Things looked good for their plan.
"Rocket landing," said Docchi when the allotted thirty seconds had
passed. "Emergency instructions. Repeat, emergency instructions. Stand
by." Technically the ship was in flight, though by very little, and the
frequency he was using was assurance that the message would be heard,
and heeded.
"All energized geepees lend assistance. This order supersedes any
previous command. Additional equipment is necessary to prepare for a
possible crash landing." After listing what equipment was needed Docchi
sat down and chuckled.
He waited for another few minutes and then flicked on the external
lights with his knee. He got up and went to the passenger entrance,
brushing against the switch on the way. The passenger ramp swung down
and he stood boldly at the entrance, looking out. The whole rocket dome
was floodlighted by the ship, beams and columns standing out in sharp
detail. It was an impressive structure now, even beautiful, though he
remembered hating it once, coming in.
"All right, Jordan, it's safe to come down," he called.
Jordan dangled overhead. He swung along until he reached a column and
slid down. Awkwardly he propelled himself across the floor and up the
ramp. Balancing himself with his hands he looked up at Docchi.
"Well, monster," he grinned. "How did you do it?"
"Monster yourself," said Docchi. "I crawled through the rocket tube."
"I saw you start in," said Jordan. "I wasn't sure you'd make it.
Even when the ship rose I wasn't certain until you came out." Jordan
scratched his cheek. "What I meant was: how did you get rid of Cameron?"
"Doctors usually aren't mechanically inclined," said Docchi. "Cameron
was no exception. He forgot an emergency rocket landing cancels any
verbal orders. So I took the ship up a few inches. Geepees aren't very
bright and it wouldn't matter if they were. As long as the ship was in
the air and I said I was coming in for a landing they had to obey."
Jordan nodded delightedly. "Poor doc," he said. "It wasn't that he was
dumb. There was nothing he could do when you outsmarted him."
"He should have anticipated it," said Docchi. "He could have splashed
heat against a gravity generator. This would have created an emergency
condition in the main dome, artificial of course, but it would have
outweighed the one I set up. He'd have had priority, not me, and he
could have directed the robots from gravity center."
"_I_ wouldn't have thought of it," said Jordan. "Anyway, how did you
get the robots to rush off, carrying Cameron with them?"
"I didn't have to do anything. As long as the pilot of the incoming
ship declares he may crash, the geepees must remove all humans from the
danger zone, willing or not. They'd have taken you too if they could
have reached you but they had to abandon that idea when I ordered crash
equipment."
"Glad they did," said Jordan. "Wouldn't want to hear what Cameron's
saying. Besides it's safer inside the ship." He swung himself in,
touching the hull fondly, peering down the corridor with grave wonder.
"It's ours now," he said. "But what about the others? How do we get
them?"
"Anti's taken care of. Geepees aren't built to question anything and in
their mind she's listed as emergency landing material. They'll bring
her. And Nona is supposed to be waiting with Anti." Docchi's face
showed misgiving. "I think we made it clear she was supposed to stay
there."
"What if she didn't understand?"
"I'm sure she did," said Docchi. "It wasn't complicated. Meanwhile
you'd better get ready to lift ship."
Jordan disappeared, heading toward the control compartment. Docchi
stationed himself at the passenger lock. He had said the instructions
weren't hard to understand, and they weren't--for anyone else. But to
Nona the world was upside down; the simplest things often she didn't
comprehend--and the reverse was true. He hoped she hadn't got mixed up.
He had little time to dwell on it. The geepees were coming back. He
heard them first and saw them seconds later. They came into sight
half carrying, half pushing a huge rectangular tank. With ingenuity
that was unexpected in robots they had mounted it on four of their
smaller brethren, the squat repair robots. This served to support the
tremendous weight.
The tank was filled with blue liquid. Twisted pipes dangled from the
ends--it had been torn from the pit in the ground, lifted up from the
foundation. Broken plants still clung to a narrow ledge on top and
moist soil adhered to the sides. Wracked out of shape and askew, the
tank was intact and did not leak. Five geepees pushed it rapidly toward
the ship, mechanically oblivious to the disheveled man who shouted and
struck at them, incoherent with frustrated rage.
"Jordan, open the freight lock."
In response the ship rose a few more inches and hung quivering. To the
rear a section of the ship hinged outward and downward to form a ramp.
The ship was ready and the cargo had arrived.
Docchi remained at the passenger entrance. Cameron was an idiot. He
should have stayed in the main dome once the geepees had released him.
His presence was unwelcome, more than he may have realized. Still,
they'd gotten rid of him once and it ought to work again.
It was Nona who worried Docchi. She hadn't accompanied the robots and
she wasn't to be seen. It didn't look as if Cameron had found her there
and managed to confine her to the hospital. It had happened too fast;
the doctor was lucky to have kept up with the geepees. Docchi started
uncertainly down the ramp and came back. She wasn't around, he could
see that, and it was too late to go back to the main dome.
The tank neared the ship, the forward section sliding onto the ramp.
The motion slowed as the geepees' effort slackened. Then the robots
stopped altogether, straightening up in bewilderment.
The tank rolled backward. The geepees got out of the way, shaking and
buzzing, looking questioningly around. Simultaneously, it seemed, they
saw Docchi. Their intentions were obvious but he forestalled them,
leaping back in the ship. "Close the passenger entrance," he shouted.