He rammed the controls full ahead, and the dying rocket cut space,
curving slowly as flaming fuel spurted from the ruptured tanks.
Rip yelled, "Santos! You all right?"
"I think so. Lieutenant, we're on fire!"
"I know it. Get ready to abandon ship."
When the main mass of fuel caught, the rocket would become an inferno.
Rip smashed at the escape hatch above his head, grabbed propulsion tubes
from the rack, and called, "Now!"
He pulled the release on his harness, stood up on the seat, and thrust
with all his leg power. He catapulted out of the burning snapper-boat
into space.
Santos followed a second later, and the crippled rocket twisted wildly
under the two Planeteers.
"Don't use the propulsion tubes," Rip called. "Slow down with your air
bottles." He thrust the tubes into his belt, found his air bottles, and
pointed two of them in the direction they had been traveling. He wanted
to come to a stop, to let the wild snapper-boat get away from them.
The compressed-air bottles did the trick. He and Santos slowed down as
the little jets overcame the inertia that was taking them along with the
burning boat. The boat was spiraling now, burning freely. It moved away
from them, its stern jets still firing weakly.
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