Chapter Fifteen - The Rocketeers
Rip ran for the snapper-boat, feet moving as rapidly as lack of gravity would permit. He called instructions. "Santos! Turn the launcher over to Pederson and come with me. Koa, take over. Start throwing rockets at that boat and don't stop until you run out of ammunition."
He reached the snapper-boat and squeezed in, Santos close behind him. As he strapped himself into the seat he called, "Koa! Get this, and get it straight. At twenty-three-oh-five, fire the bomb. Fire it whether I'm back or not. Got that?"
Koa replied, "Got it, sir."
That would give the Planeteers a minute's leeway. Not much of a safety margin, especially when he wasn't sure how much power the improvised atomic charge would produce.
He plugged into the snapper-boat's communicator and called, "Ready, Santos?"
"Ready, Lieutenant."
He braced himself against acceleration and flipped the speed control to full power. The fighting rocket rammed out from the asteroid, snapping him back against the seat. He made a quick check. Gunsight[pg 193] on, fuel tanks almost full, propulsion tubes racked handy to his hand, space patches ready to be grabbed and slapped on in case an enemy shot holed helmet or suit.
They drove toward the enemy cruiser at top speed, swerving in a great arc as the sun pulled at them. The enemy's big boat was out of the ship, its jets firing as it started for the asteroid.