"I still can't see how we can get it from her,” muttered Sual Av, his green eyes thoughtful. “We can't use force, when she's surrounded by hundreds of her men all the time. She doesn't look the kind who can be tricked. And from what’ you said, she'll never tell it to you of her own free will."
"We'll find a way,” Thorn declared tightly. “But I wish I knew who planted that Ear on me, and what his game is."
Thorn watched the wilderness of meteor swarms, cross-orbiting planetoids, and occasional stray comets past which they sailed. There was no need for navigating by the wave-code, with Lana's cruiser leading the way.
Finally the silvery torpedo-shape of the Lightning slowed down and stopped. At once all the other pirate ships responded with a blast of fire from their bow tubes, braking themselves.
Thorn looked out. They were lying low in the Zone, close by a meteor swarm whose myriad masses of stone showed very near their ships in the aura-chart. They had reached the point under which the Jovian freighters would soon pass, when they detoured downward under the Zone as all ordinary shipping did.
Thorn spoke into the interphone connecting the ship's divisions.
"Gunner, are you cleared for action down there?"
Gunner Welk's rumbling voice came through the instrument from the gun-decks where the mighty Mercurian had taken command.
"All ready! Every man's at his post."
"On space-suits, everybody,” Thorn ordered sharply. “Then stand by."