Once more, Jon used the stubray pistol. He marched out of the plastic igloo and ran toward the service station.
He didn't know how weak he was until he stumbled and fell only a few feet from his prison.
The Steel-Blues just watched him.
He crawled on, around the circular pit in the sward of the asteroid where one Steel-Blue had shown him the power of his weapon.
He'd been crawling through a nightmare for years when the quiet voice penetrated his dulled mind.
"Take it easy, Karyl. You're among friends."
He pried open his eyes with his will. He saw the blue and gold of a space guard's uniform. He sighed and drifted into unconsciousness.
He was still weak days later when Capt. Ron Small of SP-101 said,
"Yes, Karyl, it's ironical. They fed you what they thought was sure death, and it's the only thing that kept you going long enough to warn us."