He reduced helmet power
and told Santos, "Angle to the right. Get as close to the edge of shadow
as you can without being cooked."
As an afterthought, he asked, "How many tubes do you have?"
"One after this, sir. I had three."
"Save the one you have left."
Rip didn't know yet what use they would be, but it was always a good idea
to have some kind of reserve.
The Connie cruiser was sliding up to the crippled assault boat. Rip took
a quick look, then shifted his hands and angled toward the edge of
shadow. When he was within a few feet, he reversed the direction of the
tube to keep from shooting out into the sunlight. A second or two later
the tube burned out.
Santos was several yards away and slightly above him. Rip saw that the
Planeteer was all right and turned his attention back to the cruiser. It
was close enough to the assault boat to haul it in with grappling hooks.
The hooks emerged and engaged the torn metal of the boat, then drew it
into the waiting port. The massive air door slid closed.
The question was, would the Connie try to set his ship down on the
asteroid? Rip grinned without mirth. Now would be a fine time. His
chronometer showed a minute and a half to blast time.
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