“Good,” he said, “in this game we’ve still got our hole card.
“Now, remember this one thing. Our objective is the science building—they operate there—and that’s where they’ll store the catalyst. Anything else is secondary.
“We’ll try a feint on the slave compartment. We’ll drive in force on all communication centers. I’ll make maps showing their locations—I made it my job to get that info before I left Earth. And we’ve got to kill every tetrarchian space ship crew either at the same time or immediately after we destroy communications. We’ve none too much oxygen for a job of this size. That’s our main weapon. So make it count. We’ll use what blasters we have. And if you run into any tetrarchians with space suits on aim for the mask. That’s all you need to do before you give him the explosion treatment. Is everything clear?”
“All we need is to know who’s going to lead who to where,” Bunny said.
“I’ll have plans drawn up at headquarters in half an hour,” Rod promised. “Meantime leave a twenty-percent reserve of oxygen here and break the rest down from tanks to all the cannisters you can get your hands on.”
Rod walked rapidly up the hill outlining details of the battle plan to Williamson as they entered the cave.
The slave compartment feint-party left first. Communications-destroyers left in four groups. Space-hangar attack-parties followed. Under Bunny’s direction, they had managed to rig up a fairly creditable camouflage.
There was an argument about command of the main force against the science building. Rod had assumed it without second thought. Williamson was obdurate.
“I don’t care who handles it, Rod,” he said, “but you can’t. If anything goes wrong there’ll be no one left to carry the fight. You’ve got to stay here until we control the lowlands.”
“I’ll be twenty-five next month,” Rod said briefly. “So it can’t matter much one way or the other.”