"Yeah, let's open 'er wide up!"
They all clambered up the ship's access ladder in high spirits. In a moment a warning red signal rocket shot into the sky and burst, warning all local aircraft. Another five minutes and the rocket leapt off the Earth with a long, shattering roar.
Bill kept the fissioning metals pouring through the atomic explosive after-chambers until the men screamed at the acceleration. Finally he eased it off to free flight and the Space Dragon followed the trajectory of the Space Bird.
All the way he hovered over the radar scope. Then after long hours of fatiguing watching he crawled into his bunk.
Later he woke up to Radarman Jones' voice in his ear.
"Captain—wake up. We've picked up a ship on the scope!"
Bill piled out and forced his floating feet to magnetic contact with the steel deck. He followed Jones down the short corridor to the communications cabin.
At the radar scope Bill studied the ship, then gave orders decelerating the Space Dragon.
"There's another ship!" Jones exclaimed, pointing at the edge of the scope.
Bill peered at the new ship, studying its characteristics. Then he nodded his head. "It's the Space Bird all right. But that first one—I got an idea it must be an Asteroid Mining ship. Margo must have transmitted the Space Bird trajectory to Asteroid Mining. I don't see how anybody would know where to find us in such immense distances as Beta Quadrant."