"Fine."
Santos fired again, twice, in rapid succession. The Connie snapper-boats
scattered as the proximity fuses produced flowers of fire among them. Two
near misses, but they threw the enemy off course. Rip watched tensely as
the boats fought to regain their course. He knew asteroid, cruiser, and
boats were speeding toward the sun at close to 50 miles a second, and the
drag was getting terrific. The Connies knew it too.
There was an exultant yell from the Planeteers as two of the boats gave up
and turned back, using full power to regain the safety of the mother ship.
Four left, and they were getting close!
Santos scored a direct hit on the nose of the nearest one, but its
momentum drove it within a few yards of the asteroid. Five space-suited
figures erupted from it, holding hand propulsion units, tubes of rocket
fuel used for hand combat in empty space.
The Connies lit off their propulsion tubes and drove feet first for the
asteroid. The Planeteers estimated where the enemy would land, and were
there waiting with pointed handguns. The Connies had their hands over
their heads, holding the propulsion tubes. They took one look at the
gleaming Planeteer guns and their hands stayed upright.
The Planeteers lashed the Connies’ hands behind them with their own safety
lines and, at Rip’s orders, dumped all but one of them into the crater
where Kemp was just finishing.
Three snapper-boats remained. Rip watched, holding tightly to the arm of
the Connie he had kept at his side. The man wore the insignia of an
officer.
The remaining snapper-boats were going to make it. Santos threw rockets
among them and scored hits, but the boats kept coming. The Connies were
too far away from the cruiser to return, and they knew it. Getting to the
asteroid was their only chance.
Rip called, "Santos. Cease fire. Set the launcher for ground level. Let
them land, but don’t fire until I give the word." He hoped his plan would
work. Experience back in the asteroid belt had taught him something about
Connies.
He put his helmet against his prisoner’s for direct communication. "You
speak English?"