They would pass close to the
hot planet.
O'Brine recalled Rip to the _Scorpius_ and handed him a message.
Asteroid now within protection reach of Mercury and Terra bases. Your
escort no longer required. Proceed immediately Titan, take on cargo and
personnel.
The commander sighed. "Looks like I'll never get to Earth long enough to
see my family."
Rip sympathized. "Tough, sir. Perhaps the cargo from Titan will be
scheduled for Terra."
"That's what I hope," O'Brine agreed. "Well, here's where we part. Is
there anything you need?"
Rip made a mental check on supplies. He had more than enough. "The only
thing we need is a long-range communicator, sir. We'll need one to
contact the planet bases."
"I'll see that you get one." The Irishman thrust out his hand. "Stay
out of high vack, Foster. Too bad you didn't join us instead of the
Planeteers. I might have made a decent officer out of you."
Rip grinned. "That's a real compliment, sir. I might return it by saying
that you have the makings of a Planeteer officer yourself."
O'Brine chuckled. "All right. Let's declare a truce, Planeteer. We'll
meet again. Space isn't very big."
A short time later Rip stood in front of his asteroid base and watched
the great cruiser drive into space.
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