Rip put his gloves on the ground, then heaved forward and slightly upward
to overcome his inertia and that of his men. The trio moved slowly,
almost parallel with the surface. Once or twice Rip reached down to a
convenient crystal and put his strength into changing course and
altitude. Those were the only times when he felt the tug of his men.
He reached the first pyramid of thorium and directed, "Get behind these
rocks and stay down. Feel your way. Use me for a guide. I'll hold on
until you're under cover." He gripped a crystal. "Come on."
Dominico pulled himself along Dowst's prone form and then along Rip's.
When Dominico had reached the shelter of the crystals, Dowst crawled
along, with Rip's body for his guide, passed over him, and reached cover.
Rip followed.
The belt lights of the two Connies were almost abreast of them. Far to
their left, Rip saw another pair of lights. That was a pair he hadn't
seen before.
"We'll wait until they pass," he told his men. "Then we'll get up and
rush them from behind. They can't hear us coming. Dowst, you take the
near one. I'll take the far one. Dominico, you help as needed, but
concentrate on cutting off their equipment. The first thing we must do is
cut their communicators; otherwise they'll warn the rest. Then turn off
their air supplies and collapse their suits."
One thing was in their favor. The space suits worn by the Connies were
almost the same as theirs. The controls were of the same kind. The only
way to know a Connie was by his bubble, which was a little more tubular
than the round bubbles of the Federation.
Rip suddenly realized that he wasn't nervous anymore. He grinned. After
all, this was what he was trained for.
The Connies came abreast and passed. "Let's go," Rip said, and as he rose
he heard Koa's voice.
The sergeant major said, "Kemp, kneel on their right side. Trudeau and
I will hit them from the left and tumble them over you. Get their
communicators first."
Koa had his own methods and they sounded good.
Rip started slowly. He wanted to get directly behind the Connies. He
stayed down low until he was sure they couldn't see him unless they
turned.
Dowst and Dominico were right with him. "Come on," he said, and started
gliding after the helmeted figures. He kept his eyes on the one he had
selected, and he called on all the myriad stars of space to give him
luck. If the men turned, his plan for quick victory would fail.
He sensed his Planeteers beside him as the figures loomed ahead. He gave
a final spring that sent him through space with knees bent and outthrust,
his hands reaching.
His knees connected solidly with the Connie's thighs, and his hands
groped around the bulky space suit. He felt a rheostat control and
twisted savagely, then groped for the distinctive star-shaped button
of the air supply.
The Connie wrenched violently and threw them both upward. Rip felt the
star shape and twisted. If he could only deflate the Connie's suit! But
the man was writhing from his grip, clawing for a weapon.
Then Rip stopped reaching for the deflation valve. He grabbed his knife,
jerked it free, and thrust it against the middle of the Connie's back.
Then he clanged his bubble against the man's helmet for direct
communication and shouted, "Grab some space, or I'll let vack into
you!"
The Connie understood English. Most earthlings did. But even better was
his understanding of the pressure on his back. He stopped struggling; his
arms shot starward.
Rip breathed freely for the first time since he had leaped, and
exultation grew in him. He had his first man! His first hand-to-hand
fight had ended in victory so easily that he could hardly believe it.
He took time to look around him and saw that he was a good five feet
above the asteroid.
Below him, a Connie belt light sent its shaft parallel with the ground,
and he knew the second man was down.
The question was, had either of them shouted before their communicators
were cut off?
"Dowst," he called urgently. "All okay?"
"No," Dowst said grimly. "We got the Connie, but he got Dominico. Cut his
leg with a space knife. I'm putting a patch on it. You okay?"
"Yes. When you can, pull me down."
"Right you are."
Dominico spoke up. "Don't worry about me, sir. Nothing bad. I don't lose
much air."
"Fine, Dominico. Glad it wasn't worse."
But Rip knew it wasn't good, either. A cut with a space knife let air out
of the suit and created at least a partial vacuum. If it also cut flesh,
the vacuum let the blood pressure force out blood and tissue to turn a
minor wound into an ugly one.
They would have to bring this space flap with the Connies to a quick end,
Rip thought. He had to get his men into air somehow, to take a look at
their wounds. Bradshaw needed attention immediately, and now so did
Dominico.
Dowst reached up, took Rip's ankle, and pulled him down. Rip held on to
his captive. Then the private bound the Connie's hands, jerked his
communicator control completely off, and turned his air back on. Since
Rip had been unable to collapse the suit, the Connie was comfortable
enough. The reason for collapsing the suit was to deprive the enemy of
air instantly, so that he could be tied up while helpless from lack of
oxygen. There was enough air in the suit for only a few breaths once the
supply was cut off.
The Connie on the ground was neatly trussed. Rip's prisoner joined him.
Dowst switched off his belt light. "Now what, sir?"
Dominico was standing patiently nearby. He said nothing. Rip knew that no
more could be done for the Italian at present. "Go back to the cave,
Dominico," he ordered.
"I can stay with you, sir."
"No, Dominico. Thanks for the offer, but we'll get along. Go back to the
cave."
"Yes, sir."
Rip was a little worried. He had heard nothing from Koa since that first
exchange. He told Dowst as much. But Koa himself heard and answered.
"Lieutenant, we're all right. Got two Connies, and I don't think they had
a chance to yell. But I'm sorry about one, sir. Kemp had to swing at him
and busted his bubble."
"Fatal?"
"No, we patched it in time. But worse than Bradshaw."
"Tough." Rip couldn't feel too sympathetic.
After all, it was the Connie cruiser's fault Bradshaw had felt high vack.
"All right. We have four. That leaves nine."
Santos came on the circuit. "Sir, this is Santos. Only three men are at
the snapper-boats. If you could get here without being seen, maybe we
could knock them off. The rest wouldn't be much good if we had their
boats."
"You're right, Santos," Rip replied instantly. Why hadn't he seen that
for himself? He knew how he and Dowst could approach the craters without
being spotted, now that they had removed two teams of Connies. "We're on
our way. Koa, make it if you can."
"Yes, sir."
Dominico was already making his way back to the cave. Rip and Dowst
started for the horizon at a good walk, not afraid now to use their
lights, at least for a few yards. If any of the remaining Connie search
teams saw the lights, they would think they were their own men's.
Rip remembered the lay of the ground and Santos' description of the
snapper-boats' position. He circled almost to the horizon, then told
Dowst to cut his light. He cut his own. In a moment they topped the
horizon and, standing with only helmets visible from the snapper-boats,
looked the situation over.
The three Connies were standing between them and the boats. To the left
of the boats was the second crater. Rip studied the ground as best he
could in the Connie belt lights and decided on a plan of action. Calling
to Dowst, he circled again. Presently they were approaching the crater.
The Connies were just about twenty-five yards from the crater's opposite
rim.
Rip said, "I hate to do this, Dowst, but I can't see any way out. We have
to go into the crater."