We'll get the clue when we open them. Headquarters
must have known the method when they assigned us and ordered the
equipment they thought we'd need."
Koa stood up. He was the only one who could have moved upright against
the terrific deceleration. He walked to a rack at one side of the squad
room and took down a copy of _The Space Navigator_. Then, resuming his
seat, he looked questioningly at Rip. "Anything else, sir? I thought I'd
read what there is about asteroids."
"Go ahead," Rip agreed. He sat back as Koa began to recite what data
there was, but he didn't listen. His mind was going ten astro-units
a second. He thought he knew why he had been chosen for the job. Word of
the priceless asteroid must have reached headquarters only a short time
before he was scheduled to leave the space platform. He could imagine the
speed with which the specialists at Terra base had acted. They had sent
orders instantly to the fastest cruiser in the area, the _Scorpius_, to
stand by for further instructions. Then their personnel machines must
have whirred rapidly, electronic brains searching for the nearest
available Planeteer officer with an astrophysics specialty and
astrogation training.
He could imagine the reaction when the machine turned up the name of a
brand-new lieutenant.
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