"
That would give the Planeteers a minute's leeway. Not much of a safety
margin, especially when he wasn't sure how much power the atomic charge
would produce.
He plugged into the snapper-boat's communicator and called, "Ready,
Santos?"
"Ready, Lieutenant."
He braced himself against acceleration and flipped the speed control to
full power. The fighting rocket rammed out from the asteroid, snapping
him back against the seat. He made a quick check. Gunsight on, fuel tanks
almost full, propulsion tubes racked handy to his hand.
They drove toward the enemy cruiser at top speed, swerving in a great arc
as the sun pulled at them. The enemy's big boat was out of the ship, its
jets firing.
Rip leaned over his illuminated gunsight. The boat showed up clearly, the
rings of the sight framing it. He estimated distance and the pull of the
sun, then squeezed the trigger on the speed control handle. The cannon up
in the nose spat fire. He watched tensely and saw the charge explode on
the hull of the Connie cruiser. He had underestimated the sun's drag. He
compensated and tried again.
He missed. Now that he was closer and the charge had less distance to
travel, he had overestimated the sun's effect.
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