it was uncomfortable for aron, climbing out of the airlock, but jonner threw the ship into a full g acceleration. the marscorp ships loomed suddenly to each side, then faded behind them. a few futile flashes of gunfire blossomed from their noses. then rings of fire appeared behind them as they gave chase.
"strapped down!" called aron, and jonner gave the rockets full blast.
the ship leaped like a frantic old war-horse. jonner was pressed down heavily in his control chair. its beams and plates groaned as g was piled on g.
the egg was gone from the rearward screens, released and floating free in an earthward orbit. the marscorp ships fell farther behind. then they stopped receding and began to grow on the screens again. newer and more powerful, they were overtaking the rebel ship.
suddenly the ship's rockets ceased firing again, and they were in free fall. a moment later, aron popped up from below.
"are we hit?" he asked.
"no, they aren't back in range yet," answered jonner. "we're out of fuel. maybe it's just as well they came along, because i don't believe this clunk had enough fuel to overtake mars again, even if we hadn't blown it in that escape try."
the marscorp attackers apparently interpreted the rebel ship's dead rocket tubes as a surrender. within half an hour they had drawn alongside, and armed men in spacesuits came through the airlock. farlan was freed of his chains, and jonner, stein and aron were herded onto the centerdeck of one of the marscorp ships and secured to stanchions.
the marscorp captain floated before them, looking them over quizzically.
"i don't know what you fellows were trying to prove, but you're lucky," he said. "if you hadn't cut your rockets when you did, we'd have blasted you out of space."
jonner answered out of the knowledge that no ships which had accelerated as these two had in the past hour would have more than enough fuel left to get them back to phobos. the egg, trailing far behind mars now, would overtake the planet gradually as the pull of the sun sped it up, but it would pass mars well to sunward in its plunge toward the orbit of earth. any ship that tried to intercept it from mars now would fight increasing solar gravity and would run the risk of not getting back to mars.
"well, we accomplished our mission, anyhow," jonner said resignedly, "for whatever it's worth."
"a fool's mission," said the marscorp captain, and jonner was inclined to agree with him. "the egg was an experimental laboratory and an auxiliary power station, and we can build another cheaper than we could recover it. as for you fellows, you're better off than you realize."
"how's that?" asked stein.
"why, if you aren't tried as war criminals, you ought to be freed pretty quickly. according to the latest news reports from mars city, our armies are driving your people back into your underground base in the isidis desert. the war will be over as soon as we've cracked that."
