He knew what he had been taught in astronomy and
astrogation. Between Mars and Jupiter lay a broad belt in which the
asteroids swung. They ranged from Ceres, a tiny world only 480 miles in
diameter, down to chunks of rock the size of a house. No accurate count
of asteroids--or minor planets, as they were called--had been made, but
the observatory on Mars had charted the orbits of thousands. A few were
more than a mile in diameter, but most were great boulders of irregular
shape, from a few feet to several hundred feet at their greatest
dimension.
"I know the usual stuff about them," he told O'Brine. "I haven't any
special knowledge."
O'Brine blinked. "Then why did they assign you? What's your specialty?"
"Astrophysics."
"That might explain it. Second specialty?"
"Astrogation." He couldn't resist adding, "That's more advanced than the
simple space navigation you use, Commander."
O'Brine started to retort, then apparently thought better of it. "I hope
you'll be able to carry out your orders, Lieutenant," he said stiffly.
"I hope, but not much. I don't think you can."
Rip asked, "What are my orders, sir?"
O'Brine waved in the general direction of the wall. "Out there somewhere
in the asteroid belt, Foster, there is a little chunk of matter about one
thousand yards in diameter.
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