"There's the hydro—Frank spent a lot of time in there—and the storeroom," he told the places off on his fingers. "The galley and the mess cabin."
Those had been the extent of Mura's world. They could search the storeroom, the galley and the mess cabin—but to interfere with the hydro would endanger their air supply. It was for that very reason that they now looked at each other in startled surmise.
"The perfect place to plant something!" Dane spoke first.
Rip's teeth caught his underlip. The hydro—something planted there could not be routed out unless they made a landing on a port field and had the whole section stripped.
"Devilish—" Rip's mobile lips drew tight. "But how could they do it?"
Dane didn't see how it could have been done either. No one but the Queen's own crew had been on board the ship during their entire stay on Sargol, except for the young Salarik. Could that cub have brought something? But he and Mura had been with the youngster every minute that he had been in the hydro. To the best of Dane's memory the cub had touched nothing and had been there only for a few moments. That had been before the feast also—
Rip got to his feet. "We can't strip the hydro in space," he pointed out the obvious quietly.
Dane had the answer. "Then we've got to earth!"
"You heard that warn-off. If we try it—"
"What about an Emergency station?"