"
Rip put his gloves on the ground, then heaved forward and slightly upward
to overcome his inertia and that of his men. The trio moved slowly,
almost parallel with the surface. Once or twice Rip reached down to a
convenient crystal and put his strength into changing course and
altitude. Those were the only times when he felt the tug of his men.
He reached the first pyramid of thorium and directed, "Get behind these
rocks and stay down. Feel your way. Use me for a guide. I'll hold on
until you're under cover." He gripped a crystal. "Come on."
Dominico pulled himself along Dowst's prone form and then along Rip's.
When Dominico had reached the shelter of the crystals, Dowst crawled
along, with Rip's body for his guide, passed over him, and reached cover.
Rip followed.
The belt lights of the two Connies were almost abreast of them. Far to
their left, Rip saw another pair of lights. That was a pair he hadn't
seen before.
"We'll wait until they pass," he told his men. "Then we'll get up and
rush them from behind. They can't hear us coming. Dowst, you take the
near one. I'll take the far one. Dominico, you help as needed, but
concentrate on cutting off their equipment. The first thing we must do is
cut their communicators; otherwise they'll warn the rest.
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