They had stopped before a side door of the main hold. As Scott struggled
into the suit his mind swirled in a chaos of thoughts. When the suit was
adjusted he dropped the helmet shut and stepped forward. Through the
lighter gravity of the air lock they lumbered. Then Elderburg spun the
controls that opened the door.
"There you are," he said to Scott. He sounded completely deflated. No
sting remained in his voice.
Scott stepped forward into the hold, then froze. His body went cold.
The hold was a writhing mass of cats.
Their queer angled bodies darted in a great pile beyond the door. Their
red bodies glowed and twisted strangely. They flew about a huge stack of
lead containers--uranium cells secured for the long trip home.
And Scott went sick with understanding. Through rigid lips, he forced
the words: "Energy-eaters!"
The Captain laughed oddly. "And you wondered how they lived on this
naked rock. They ate the raw ore, of course. No wonder they hung around
Durval's machines sucking up what free energy they could. They broke
through the air feeder system here. No wonder. With cells of 80% pure
uranium waiting for them." His voice broke.
"So we're finished," he continued. "The _Kastil_ will be loaded before
we can even clean the cats out. We're done."
He swayed back against the bulkhead. Scott took his arm.
"Get away from me." Elderburg wrenched away, his loathing clear even
behind the bulky suit. "If what the men say is true. If you sold us
out--" His voice trailed off. "Call your men out of the pits, Jerill.
We're blasting off tonight."
"No." Scott leaned forward, his eyes mere slits behind the lense of his
helmet. "Is there any uranium left?"
"We saved two cells."
"It's enough," Scott snapped. His lean jaw lifted proudly. "It's a
little late, Captain. But I can promise to get rid of the cats in two
hours. With the ore deposits Vaugn and I have collected, we can still
load a good cargo and beat the _Kastil_ out by at least a day."