"
Koa waited for a long moment, then asked, "Sir, what if you're not with
us by twenty-three-oh-five?"
"You know the answer," Rip retorted crisply.
Of course Koa knew. The nuclear blast would send Rip and Santos spinning
into outer space, perhaps crippled, burned, or completely irradiated.
But the lives of two men couldn't delay the blast that would save the
lives of eight others, not counting prisoners.
Rip estimated his speed and course and the distance to the asteroid. He
was increasingly sure that they wouldn't make it, and the knowledge was
like the cold of space in his stomach. It would be close but not close
enough. A minute would make all the difference.
For a few heartbeats he almost called Koa and told him to wait that extra
minute, to explode the nuclear charge at 23:06, at the very last second.
But even Planeteer chronometers could be off by a few seconds, and he
couldn't risk it. His men had to be given some leeway.
He surveyed the asteroid. The nuclear charge was on his left side, pretty
close to the sun line. At least he and Santos could angle to the right,
to get as far away as possible.
The edge of the asteroid's shadow was barely visible. That it was visible
at all was due to the minute particles of matter and gas that surrounded
the sun, even millions of miles out into space.
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