A burst of flame came from the flank of the Scorpiad, and the ports flashed outward, followed by gouts of smoke and incandescence. Four red spots spread outward on the Scorpiad's hull, and the constellation ship lost drive. Unable to keep up the deceleration of the rest of the Terran fleet, Scorpiad fell out of position and dropped below the fleet—farther and farther ahead.
A blinding flash of flame came and died.
"Gone!" moaned Maynard.
"But what a cost!" said Ben.
"No cost is worth it!" said Maynard. Then he calmed and added: "Accursed business. But we may be ahead in the exchange."
"It's brutal," agreed Ben. "Let's keep 'em from getting another."
"Might be robots."
"Nope. If so, the technicians would have scrambled 'em. What's making now?"
"The fighter-cover! It's arrived!"
The incoming jet of Mephistan fighters wavered like a gas flame in a high wind, and scintillations scarred the perfection of the needling ships. The long-range fire of the constellation ships picked off the aimlessly moving ships and as the flaming specks reached an almost-solid appearance, the jet of tiny fighters ceased abruptly.