Down on the floor."
The Planeteers instantly slid to the shower deck. In a few seconds the
pressure of deceleration pushed at them.
"I like spacemen," Rip said wryly. "They wait until just the right moment
before they cut the water and decelerate. Now we're stuck in our birthday
suits until we land--wherever that may be."
Corporal Nels Pederson spoke up in a soft Stockholm accent. "Never mind,
sir. We'll get back at them. We always do!"
While the _Scorpius_ decelerated and started maneuvering for a landing,
Rip did some rapid calculations. He knew the acceleration and
deceleration rates of cruisers of this class, measured in terms of time,
and part of his daily routine on the space platform had been to examine
the daily astroplot, which gave the positions of all planets and other
large bodies within the solar system.
There was only one possible destination: Mars.
Rip's pulse quickened. He had always wanted to visit the red planet. Of
course, he had seen all the films, audio-mags, and books concerning it,
and he had tried to see the weekly spacecast. He had a good idea of what
the planet was like, but reading or viewing was not like actually landing
and taking a look for himself.
Of course, they would land at Marsport.
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