He sighted, holding out one glove, and gauging the Connie's distance
above the horizon, and his heart speeded. The Connie was right on the
horizon!
"Ram it!" Rip called. "Around the asteroid. Quick!"
Acceleration jammed him back against his men as Dowst blasted. No sooner
had he recovered than acceleration in a different direction shoved him up
to the ceiling so hard that his bubble rang. He clawed his way to the
window as the Connie cruiser flashed by, bathing the asteroid in glowing
flame.
There was a chorus of gasps from the men as they saw the thing Rip had
realized a moment before. The Consops cruiser was playing it safe, using
its rocket exhaust as a great blowtorch to burn the surface of the
asteroid clean of any possible life!
The sheer inhumanity of the thing made Rip's stomach tighten into a knot.
No asking for surrender, no taking of prisoners, not even a clean fight.
The Connie was doing its arguing with fire, knowing that the exhaust
would char every man on the asteroid's surface.
The Planeteers watched as the Connie sped away, blasted with side jets,
and turned to come back. Dowst tensed over the controls, trying to
anticipate the next move. He delicately touched the firing levers,
letting out just enough flame to maneuver.
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