The crewman stretched to clutch him.
But Jarl moved faster. Catching Sais about the waist, he flung her bodily against the raider. Then, whirling, he lunged for the proton bomb on the table.
Bor Legat snatched for his pistol.
But Jarl smashed an elbow into his middle.
The Mercurian retched and reeled. Before he could recover, Jarl drove past him—clawing the grenade up from the table, jerking out the pin.
"Corvett, no—!" shrieked a raider. Another whipped up a ray-gun.
Jarl spun about. His hand ached with the strain of holding down the spring of the bomb's curved firing lever.
But fierce exhilaration surged within him. With a shout he swung the grenade high above his head, where all could see. "Look, chitzas!"
One and all, they froze in their tracks, eyes suddenly aglisten with the glassy sheen of fear. Even Sais' dark, lovely face was all at once a mirror of panic.