Rip put his gloves on the ground and pulled himself forward and slightly upward. Since there was very little gravity, the action both lifted and pulled him. He slid parallel to the surface and a foot above it, heading for the crystals. Once or twice he reached down and gave another push. It was like swimming, except that only the tips of his gloves touched the[pg 123] ground, and there was no resistance of any kind. He felt Dowst's grip on his boots, but he couldn't feel the weight of his men.
He reached the first crystal and directed, "Get behind these rocks and stay down. Feel your way. Use me for a guide. I'll hold on until you're under cover." He gripped a crystal. "Come on."
Dominico pulled himself along Dowst's prone form, and then along Rip's. When Dominico had reached the shelter of the crystals, Dowst crawled along with Rip's body for his guide, passed over him, and reached cover. Rip followed.
The belt lights of the two Connies were almost abreast of them. Far to their left, Rip saw another pair of lights. That was a pair he hadn't seen before.
"We'll wait until they pass," he told his men. "Then we'll get up and rush them from behind. They can't hear us coming. Dowst, you take the near one. I'll take the far one. Dominico, you help as needed, but concentrate on cutting off their equipment. The first thing we must do is cut their communicators. Otherwise they'll warn the rest. Then turn off their air supplies and collapse their suits."
One thing was in their favor. The space suits worn by the Connies were almost the same as theirs. The controls were of the same kind. The only way to know a Connie was by his bubble, which was a little more tubular than the round bubbles of the Federation.
Rip suddenly realized that he wasn't nervous anymore. He grinned, licking his lips. After all, this was what he had been trained for.
The Connies came abreast and passed. "Let's go," Rip said, and as he rose he heard Koa's voice.
The sergeant-major said, "Kemp, kneel on their right side. Trudeau and I will hit them from the left and tumble them over you. Get their communicators first."
Koa had methods of his own, apparently, and they sounded good.