I could see it amidships of the deck. It was already in place. Potan
was there now, superintending the men who were connecting it. The most
powerful weapon on the ship. It had, Potan said, an effective range of
some ten miles. I wondered what it would do to a Grantline building!
The Erentz double walls would withstand it for a time, I was sure. But
it would blast an Erentz fabric suit, no doubt of that. Like a
lightning bolt, it would kill--its flashing free stream of electrons
shocking the heart, bringing instant death.
I whispered, "We must smash that before we leave! But first turn it on
Miko, if he signals now."
I was tensely watchful for that signal. The electronic projector
obviously was not ready. But when it was connected, I must be near it,
to persuade its duty man to fire it on Miko. With this done we would
have more time to plan our other tasks. I did not think Potan would be
ready for his attack before another time of sleep here in the ship's
routine. Things would be quieter then; I would watch my chance to send
a signal to Earth, and then we would escape.
With my thoughts roving, we had been standing quietly at the cubby
door for about fifteen minutes. My hand in my side pouch clutched the
little bullet projector. The brigands had taken it from me and given
it to Potan. He had placed it on the settle with my Erentz suit; and
when we gained his confidence he had forgotten it and left it there. I
had it now, and the feel of its cool sleek handle gave me a measure of
comfort. Things could go wrong so easily. But if they did, I was
determined to sell my life as dearly as possible. And a vague thought
was in my mind: I must not use the last bullet. That would be for
Anita.
"That electronic projector is remote controlled. Look, Anita, that's
the signal room over us. The giant projector will be aimed and fired
from up there."
A thirty foot skeleton tower stood on the deck near us, with a spiral
ladder leading up to a small, square, steel cubby at the top. Through
the cubby window I could see instrument panels. A single Martian was
up there; he had called down to Potan concerning the electronic
projector.
The roof of this little tower room was close under the dome--a space
of no more than four feet. A pressure lock exit in the dome was up
there, with a few steps leading up to it from the roof of the tower
signal room.
We could escape that way, perhaps. In the event of dire necessity it
might be possible. But only as a desperate resort, for it would put us
on the top of the glassite dome, with a sheer hundred feet or more
down its sleek bulging exterior side, and down the outside bulge of
the ship's hull, to the rocks below. There might be a spider ladder
outside leading downward, but I saw no evidence of it. If Anita and I
were forced to escape that way, I wondered how we could manage a
hundred foot jump to the rocks, and land safely. Even with the slight
gravity of the Moon, it would be a dangerous fall.
"You are Gregg Haljan?"