" He signaled, and a spaceman brought Rip the day's ration
in an individual plastic carton with thermo-lining. The Planeteer opened
it and found a block of mixed vegetables, a slab of space meat, and two
units of biscuit. He wrinkled his nose. Space meat he didn't mind. It was
chewy but tasty. The mixed vegetable ration was chosen for its food value
and not for taste. A good mouthful of Earth grass would be a lot more
palatable. He sliced off pieces of the warm stuff and chewed
thoughtfully, watching O'Brine's face for a clue as to why the commander
had invited him to sit down.
It wasn't long in coming. "Your orders are the strangest things I've ever
read," O'Brine stated. "Do you know where we're going?"
Rip figured quickly. They had accelerated for six and a half hours. Now,
ten minutes after _Brennschluss_, they were going to start deceleration.
That meant they had really high-vacked it to get somewhere in a hurry. He
calculated swiftly.
"I don't know exactly," he admitted. "But from the ship's actions, I'd
say we were aiming for the far side of the asteroid belt. Anyway, we'll
fall short of Jupiter."
There was a glimmer of respect in O'Brine's glance. "That's right. Know
anything about asteroids, Foster?"
Rip considered.
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