"You don't by chance know what my assignment
is, do you?"
The captain's eyebrows went up. "Don't you?"
Rip shook his head. "O'Brine hasn't told me."
"I don't know a thing," Southwick said. "We got instructions to pack up a
pretty strange assortment of supplies for the _Scorpius_, and that's all
I know. The order was in special cipher, though, so we're all wondering
about it."
The deputy commander returned, reported to O'Brine, then walked up to Rip
and Southwick. "Nothing else needed," he said curtly. "We'll get off at
once."
Southwick nodded, shook hands with Rip, and said in a voice the deputy
could hear, "Don't let these spacemen bother you. Trouble with them is
they all wanted to be Planeteers and couldn't pass the intelligence
tests." He winked, then hurried to the air lock.
Spacemen worked quickly to clear the deck of the new supplies, stowing
them in a nearby workroom. Within five minutes the engine control room
was clear. The safety officer signaled, and the radiation warning
sounded. Taking off!
Rip hurried to the squad room and climbed into an acceleration chair. The
other Planeteers were already in the room, most of them in their bunks.
Koa slid into the chair beside him.
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