he reached the rocket and barely had time to look around. it was enough, however. the ship's passenger and freight locks were closed. nona had either not understood all their instructions, or she hadn't been able to carry them out. the first, probably. she had put the light and scanning circuits out of commission with no tools except her hands. that and her uncanny knowledge of the inner workings of machines. it was too much to expect that she should also have the ship ready and waiting for them.

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 soften 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 dome 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 descended 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 remarkably 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 glazed 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 cylinder.

out in space, the inner ends of the tubes were closed with a combustion 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 wriggled and shoved with his feet until he had forced himself entirely 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 sputter, like frying, that the toaster beam made when it struck metal. a great clatter 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 retracted, which was a lucky break. his feet slipped. it didn't matter; somehow he inched along. blood was pounding in his veins from the constriction, 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 compartment. 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 bent down and thrust his chin against the gravital dial. laboriously 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 allotted time passed. "emergency instructions. emergency instructions. stand by." strictly speaking, that wasn't necessary, for the frequency he was using assured him of complete control.

"all energized geepees lend assistance. this order supersedes previous orders. additional equipment necessary." after listing the equipment, he sat back and chuckled.

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 ramp 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 ingenuity, they had mounted it on four of their smaller brethren, the squat repair robots, which served to support the tremendous weight.

the tank was filled with blue liquid. twisted pipes dangled from the ends; it had been torn and lifted from its foundation. broken plants still clung to the narrow ledge on top and moist soil adhered to the sides. five geepees pushed it rapidly toward the ship, mechanically oblivious 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 cargo.

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 momentum. 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 ponderously 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. apparently it was resting where docchi had last seen it, though it was difficult to be sure because the curve of the ship loomed so large.

"maybe we'd better get out of here," suggested jordan nervously.

"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 sift contradictory commands that were nearly at the same level of urgency. their reasoning power was feeble, but the mechanism 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 flipped 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 transparent covering of the rocket dome. the worst sound was unheard: the hiss 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 forth. 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, deftly catching 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.