"What kind of a deal?" asked Shinny.
"Hot-shot Manning for the satellite!"
"He hasn't told you everything, Mr. Shinny," said Roger in his casual drawl. "They are the ones who caused the crash of the Annie Jones and the deaths of Jardine and Bangs. They framed me!"
"Then," mused Shinny, "you're cleared?"
"Yeah," growled Mason, "he's cleared! Cleared for a long swim in space if Connel doesn't do what Loring tells him! Get in there!" Mason shoved Roger into the cramped storage compartment. He locked the door and turned to Shinny.
"Loring wants you to stand by the power deck in case Connel won't play ball. We might have to make a run for it."
"Yeah, yeah," said Shinny, "I'll stand by the power deck."
Mason turned and walked away. Shinny followed him, a curious gleam in his eyes.
Up on the control deck, Loring was twisting the dials in front of the teleceiver screen.
"Space Devil to Polaris—Space Devil to Polaris—come in, Polaris." He twisted another dial and watched the darkened screen anxiously. After a moment the screen blurred, and Tom's face gradually came into sharp focus.