"All right," Docchi said in a low, hard voice. "Jordan, take it out. Hit the shell with the bow of the rocket."
The ship hardly quivered as it ripped through the transparent covering of the rocket dome. The worst sound was unheard: the hiss of air escaping through the great hole in the envelope.
Jordan sat at the controls, gripping the levers. "I couldn't tell," he said slowly. "It happened too fast for me to be sure. Maybe Vogel did have the inner shell out of the way. In that event, it's all right because it would close immediately. The outer shell is supposed to be self-sealing, but I doubt if it could handle that much damage."
He twisted the lever and the ship leaped forward.
"Cameron I don't mind. He had enough time to get out if he wanted to. But I keep thinking that Nona might be in there."
Docchi avoided his eyes. There was no light at all in his face. He walked away.
Jordan rocked back and forth. The hemisphere that held what remained of his body was well suited for that. He set the auto-controls and reduced the gravity to one-quarter Earth normal. He bent his great arms and shoved himself into the air, deftly catching hold of a guide rail. He would have to go with Docchi. But not at the moment. He felt bad.
That is, he did until he saw a light blinking at a cabin door. He had to investigate that first.
