Rip watched tensely as
the boats fought to regain their course. He knew asteroid, cruiser, and
boats were speeding toward the sun at close to fifty miles a second,
and the drag was getting terrific. The Connies knew it, too.
There was an exultant yell from the Planeteers as two of the boats gave
up and turned back, using full power to regain the safety of the mother
ship. Four left!
Santos scored a direct hit on the nose of the nearest one, but
its momentum drove it to within a few yards of the asteroid. Five
space-suited figures erupted from it, holding hand propulsion units,
tubes of rocket fuel used for hand combat in empty space.
The Connies lit their propulsion tubes and drove feet first for the
asteroid. The Planeteers estimated where the enemy would land, and
they were there waiting, with aimed handguns. The Connies had their hands
over their heads, holding the propulsion tubes. They took one look at the
gleaming Planeteer guns, and their hands stayed upright.
The Planeteers lashed the Connies' hands behind them with their own
safety lines and, at Rip's orders, dumped all but one of them into the
crater where Kemp was just finishing his cutting.
Three snapper-boats remained. Rip watched, holding tightly to the arm of
the Connie he had kept at his side.
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