It was up to him to get in. If he had the toaster they'd taken from the pilot, he might have been able to soften2 the proper area of the passenger lock. But he didn't. Not having arms, he couldn't have used it. For that reason Jordan had kept the weapon.
The alternative was to search the surrounding mechanical jungle for an external control of the rocket. There had to be one, at least for the airlocks. Then it was a matter of luck whether he could work it.
The approaching lights warned him that he no longer had that alternative. If Cameron hadn't tried to search the rocket dome3 as he came along, the geepees would be solidly ringed around the ship now. That was Cameron's mistake, however, and he might make more.
In all probability Jordan was still at large. Perhaps nearby. Would Cameron know that? He might not.
Docchi descended4 into the shallow landing pit. Until both of them were caught, there was always a chance. He had to hide, but the landing pit seemed remarkably5 ill-suited for that purpose.
He leaned against the stern tube cluster and tried to shake his brain into activity. The metal pressed hard into the thin flesh that covered his back. In the smooth glazed6 surface of the landing pit, the only answer was the tubes.
He straightened up and looked into them. A small boy might climb inside and crawl out of sight. Or a grown man who had no shoulders or arms to get wedged in the narrow cylinder7.
Out in space, the inner ends of the tubes were closed with a combustion8 cap wherein the fuel was ignited. But in the dome, where the ship was not used for months at a time....
Yes, there was that possibility.
He tried a lower tube. He lay on the floor and thrust his head inside. He wriggled9 and shoved with his feet until he had forced himself entirely10 in. It was dark and terrifying, but no time for claustrophobia.
He stopped momentarily and listened. A geepee descended noisily into the landing pit. The absence of any other sound indicated to Docchi that it was radio-controlled.
He drove himself on, though it was slow progress. The walls were smooth and it was difficult to get much purchase. The going became even tougher—the tube was getting smaller. Not much, but enough to matter.
Again he stopped. Outside, there was the characteristic sputter11, like frying, that the toaster beam made when it struck metal. A great clatter12 followed.
"Get him!" shouted Cameron. "He's up there!"
Jordan had arrived and had picked off a geepee. And it wasn't going to be easy for Cameron to capture him. The diversion would help.
"Don't use heat," ordered Cameron. "Get your lights on him. Blind him. Drive him in a corner and then go up and get him."
Docchi had been wrong; the geepees were controlled by voice, not radio. That would make it easier for him once he got inside the ship. If he did.
It looked as though he would. The tube wasn't getting narrower. More important, the air was not noticeably stale. The combustion cap had been retracted13, which was a lucky break. His feet slipped. It didn't matter; somehow he inched along. Blood was pounding in his veins14 from the constriction15, but his head emerged in the rocket.
He stared at the retracted combustion cap a few feet away. If he had arms, he could grasp it and pull himself free. But if he had arms, he would never have gotten this far. He wriggled until his body was nearly out and only his legs were in the tube. He kicked hard, fell to the floor.
He lay there while his head cleared, then rolled to his feet and staggered forward to the control compartment16. The rocket was his, but he didn't want it for himself alone.
He stared thoughtfully at the instrument panel. It had been a long time since he had operated a ship. When he understood the controls, he bent17 down and thrust his chin against the gravital dial. Laboriously18 he turned it to the proper setting. Then he sat down and kicked on a switch. The ship rocked and rose a few inches.
Chances were that Cameron wouldn't notice that in the confusion outside. If he did, he had thirty seconds in which to stop Docchi. That wouldn't be enough for Cameron.
"Rocket landing," said Docchi when the allotted19 time passed. "Emergency instructions. Emergency instructions. Stand by." Strictly20 speaking, that wasn't necessary, for the frequency he was using assured him of complete control.
"All energized21 geepees lend assistance. This order supersedes22 previous orders. Additional equipment necessary." After listing the equipment, he sat back and chuckled23.
With his knee he turned on the external lights, got up and walked to the passenger lock, brushing against the switch. The airlock opened. He stood boldly at the threshold and looked out. The rocket dome was floodlighted by the ship.
"All right, Jordan, you can come down now," he called.
Jordan appeared overhead, hanging from a beam. He swung along it until he reached a column, down which he descended. He propelled himself over the floor and up the ramp24 in his awkward fashion. Balancing on his hands, he gazed up at Docchi.
"Well, monster, how did you do it?"
"Monster yourself," said Docchi. "Do what?"
"I saw you crawl in the rocket tubes," said Jordan. "But what did you do after you got inside?"
"Cameron's a medic," said Docchi, "not mechanically inclined. He forgot that an emergency rocket landing cancels any verbal orders. So I took the ship up a few inches. Geepees aren't very bright; that satisfied them that I was coming in for a landing. What Cameron should have done was splash some heat against a gravital unit, and then, having created an artificial emergency condition in the main dome, he could have directed the geepees from the gravity control center. After that, he would have had top priority, not me."
"But they rushed off, carrying Cameron with them." Jordan looked puzzled.
"Easy. I told the geepees that there was danger of crashing and that they must remove any human beings nearby, whether they were willing or not. You weren't nearby and that let you out. They took Cameron because he was."
"It's ours!" breathed Jordan. "But what about Anti and Nona?"
"Anti's taken care of. As far as the geepees are concerned, she comes under the heading of emergency landing material. They'll bring her. Nona is supposed to be waiting with Anti." Docchi frowned. "There's nothing we can do if she isn't. Meanwhile you'd better get ready to take the ship off."
Jordan swung himself inside.
Docchi remained at the passenger lock, waiting. He heard the geepees first and saw them seconds later. They came into sight half pushing, half carrying a huge rectangular tank. With unexpected robotic ingenuity25, they had mounted it on four of their smaller brethren, the squat26 repair robots, which served to support the tremendous weight.
The tank was filled with blue liquid. Twisted pipes dangled27 from the ends; it had been torn and lifted from its foundation. Broken plants still clung to the narrow ledge1 on top and moist soil adhered to the sides. Five geepees pushed it rapidly toward the ship, mechanically oblivious28 to the disheveled man who frustratedly shouted and struck at them.
"Jordan, open the freight lock."
In response the ship rose a few more inches and hung quivering. A section of the ship hinged outward and downward to form a ramp. The ship was ready to take on cargo29.
Docchi stood at his post. That damn fool Cameron should have stayed in the main dome where the geepees had released him. His presence added an unwelcome complication. Still, it should be easy enough to get rid of him when the time came.
It was Nona who really worried him. She wasn't anywhere to be seen. He took an uncertain step down the ramp, came back, shaking his head. It was impossible to look for her now, though he wanted to.
The tank neared the ship. A few feet of it projected onto the ramp. The geepees stopped; their efforts lost momentum30. They looked bewildered.
The tank rolled backward. The geepees shook, buzzed and looked around, primarily at Docchi. He didn't wait any longer. He leaped into the ship.
"Close the passenger lock!" he shouted.
Jordan looked up questioningly from the controls.
"Vogel, the engineer," explained Docchi. "He must have seen the geepees on scanning when they entered the main dome. He's trying to do what Cameron should have done, but didn't have enough sense to do."
The passenger lock swung ponderously31 shut behind him.
"Now what?" Jordan asked, worried.
"First, let's see what you can get on the telecom," said Docchi.
The angle was impossible, so close to the ship, but they did manage to get a corner of the tank on the screen. Apparently32 it was resting where Docchi had last seen it, though it was difficult to be sure because the curve of the ship loomed33 so large.
"Maybe we'd better get out of here," suggested Jordan nervously34.
"Without the tank? Not a chance. Vogel hasn't got complete control of them yet." That seemed to be true. The geepees were nearly motionless, paralyzed.
"What shall I do?" asked Jordan.
"Give me full power on the radio," said Docchi. "Burn it out if you have to. I think the engineer is at the wrong angle to broadcast much power to them. Besides, the intervening structure is absorbing most of his signal."
He waited until Jordan had complied. "The tank must be placed in the ship," he added.
Geepees were not designed to sift35 contradictory36 commands that were nearly at the same level of urgency. Their reasoning power was feeble, but the mechanism37 was complicated enough. In that respect they resembled humans. Borderline decisions were difficult.
"More power," whispered Docchi.
Sweating, Jordan obeyed.
Marionettes. This string led toward a certain action. Another, intrinsically more important, but suddenly far less powerful, pulled for something else. Circuits burned within electronic brains. Micro-relays fluttered under the stress.
Choice....
Stiffly the geepees moved and grasped the tank. The quality of decision, in this case, was strained. Inch by inch the tank rolled up the ramp.
"When it's completely on, raise the ramp," Docchi whispered to Jordan in an even lower voice.
One geepee wavered and fell. Motionless, it lay there. The remaining four were barely equal to the task.
"Now," said Docchi.
The freight ramp began to rise. The tank picked up speed as it rolled into the ship.
"Geepees, save yourselves!" shouted Docchi.
They leaped from the ramp.
Jordan breathed deeply. "I don't think they can hurt us now."
Docchi nodded. "Get me ship-to-asteroid communication, if there's any radio left."
"There is." Jordan made the adjustment.
"Vogel, we're going out. Give us the proper sequence and save the dome some damage."
There was no reply.
"He's trying to bluff," said Jordan. "He knows the airlocks to the main dome will automatically close if we do break through."
"Sure," said Docchi. "Everyone in the main dome is safe, if everyone is in there. Vogel, we'll give you time to think about that."
Jordan gave him the time until it hurt, waiting. Meanwhile he flipped38 on the telecom and searched the rocket dome. Nothing was moving; no geepee was in sight. Docchi watched the screen with interest. What he thought didn't show on his face.
Still there was no reply from Vogel.
"All right," Docchi said in a low, hard voice. "Jordan, take it out. Hit the shell with the bow of the rocket."
The ship hardly quivered as it ripped through the transparent39 covering of the rocket dome. The worst sound was unheard: the hiss40 of air escaping through the great hole in the envelope.
Jordan sat at the controls, gripping the levers. "I couldn't tell," he said slowly. "It happened too fast for me to be sure. Maybe Vogel did have the inner shell out of the way. In that event, it's all right because it would close immediately. The outer shell is supposed to be self-sealing, but I doubt if it could handle that much damage."
He twisted the lever and the ship leaped forward.
"Cameron I don't mind. He had enough time to get out if he wanted to. But I keep thinking that Nona might be in there."
Docchi avoided his eyes. There was no light at all in his face. He walked away.
Jordan rocked back and forth41. The hemisphere that held what remained of his body was well suited for that. He set the auto-controls and reduced the gravity to one-quarter Earth normal. He bent his great arms and shoved himself into the air, deftly42 catching43 hold of a guide rail. He would have to go with Docchi. But not at the moment. He felt bad.
That is, he did until he saw a light blinking at a cabin door. He had to investigate that first.
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1
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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soften
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| v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和 | |
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dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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glazed
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| adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
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7
cylinder
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| n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸 | |
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combustion
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| n.燃烧；氧化；骚动 | |
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9
wriggled
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的过去式和过去分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等） | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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sputter
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| n.喷溅声；v.喷溅 | |
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clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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13
retracted
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| v.撤回或撤消( retract的过去式和过去分词 )；拒绝执行或遵守；缩回；拉回 | |
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14
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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15
constriction
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| 压缩； 紧压的感觉； 束紧； 压缩物 | |
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compartment
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| n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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laboriously
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| adv.艰苦地；费力地；辛勤地；（文体等）佶屈聱牙地 | |
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19
allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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energized
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| v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电 | |
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supersedes
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| 取代，接替( supersede的第三人称单数 ) | |
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chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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ramp
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| n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速 | |
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ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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squat
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| v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的 | |
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27
dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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28
oblivious
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| adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的 | |
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cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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momentum
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| n.动力，冲力，势头；动量 | |
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ponderously
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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33
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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35
sift
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| v.筛撒，纷落，详察 | |
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contradictory
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| adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立 | |
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mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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38
flipped
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| 轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥 | |
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39
transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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40
hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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41
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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deftly
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| adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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43
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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