Rip grabbed the Planeteer so hard they both floated upward. "Kemp, that's wonderful! That's it!" The details took form in his mind even as he called orders. "Dominico, tear down that bomb. Santos, remove two heads from your rockets and wire them to explode on electrical impulse. Kemp, we'll want the tube just a fraction of an inch wider than a rocket head. Get your torch ready."
He took the stylus and began calculating. He talked as he worked, telling the Planeteers exactly what they were up against. "I'm figuring out where[pg 175] to put the charge so it will do the most good, but my data isn't complete. If our homemade bomb goes off, I don't know exactly how much power it will give. If it gives too much, we'll be driven so close to the sun well never get free of its gravity."
Bradshaw, the English Planeteer, said mildly, "Don't worry, Lieutenant. We're caught either way. If it isn't the solar frying pan, it's Connie fire."
A chorus of agreement came from the other Planeteers. What a crew! Rip thought. What a great gang of space pirates!
He finished his calculations and found the exact spot where Kemp would cut. A few feet away from the spot was a thick pyramid of thorium. That would do, and they could cut into it horizontally instead of drilling straight down. He pointed to it. "Let's have a hole straight in for six feet. And keep it straight, Kemp. Allow enough room for a lining of nuclite. Koa, pull a sheet of nuclite out of the cave and cut it to size."
Kemp's torch already was slicing into the metal. Rip asked, "Can you weld with that thing, Kemp?"
"Just show me what you want, sir."
"Good." Rip motioned to Trudeau. "Frenchy, we'll need a strong rod at least eight feet long."
The French Planeteer hurried off. Rip consulted his chronometer. Less than ten minutes had passed since the call from Terra base.
He went over his plan again. It had to work! If[pg 176] it didn't, asteroid and Planeteers would end up as subatomic particles in the sun's photosphere, because he had calculated his blast to drive the asteroid past the limit of safety. It was the only way he could be sure of putting them beyond danger from Connie landing boats or snapper-boats. The Connie would have only one chance—to bring his cruiser down on the asteroid.