"What's the matter, Lump? Something you ate?"
"Sit down, Pat," I said, pointing to the navigation table. "Go on, sit down!" I yelled.
She turned white.
"You know what kind of a ship this is, don't you?" I said, feeling like I was a hundred years old.
"Sure." She nodded. She was beginning to get it. "You weren't supposed to know about that."
"I didn't. Not until we were spaceborne."
Didn't she realize? Couldn't she see what she was doing to me?
"Pat, do you know what'll happen if the Marties get this drive? They'll be able to hit Earth and Venus with everything they've got, coming out of nowhere and going back into hyperspace when they're through. The TSN won't stand a chance against them."
She shrugged. "They probably would, if they ever got it, but they won't. Harry's going to assemble the drive, install it in his ships, and then we'll take off. The Marties'll be stuck."
"Wait a minute—you just mentioned taking off. Where to?"