Got
any real doubts about the job?"
Rip thought it over and didn't think so. "Not any real ones. I think we
can do it. But I'm nervous just the same. Great Cosmos, Commander! This
is my first assignment, and they give me a whole world to myself and tell
me to bring it home. Maybe it isn't a very big world, but that doesn't
change things much."
O'Brine chuckled. "I never expected to get an admission like that from a
Planeteer."
"And I," Rip retorted, "never expected to make one like that to a
spaceman."
The chief analyst returned, a sheet of computations in his hand. "Report,
sir. The albedo measurement is correct. This may be it."
"How long before we get the measurements and comparisons?"
"Ten minutes, perhaps."
Rip spoke up. "Sir, there's some data I'll need."
"What, Lieutenant?" The analyst got out a notebook.
"I'll need all possible data on the asteroid's speed, orbit, and physical
measurements. I will have to figure a new orbit and what it will take to
blast the mass into it."
"We'll get those. The orbit will not be exact, of course. We have only
two reference points. But I think we'll come pretty close."
O'Brine nodded. "Do what you can, Chief. And when Foster gets down to
doing his calculations, have your men run them through the electronic
computer for him.
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