"You don't know," the cruiser answered. "You must take our word for it. But if you surrender, we have no reason to wish you harm."
Rip remained silent. The seconds ticked past until the commander snapped, "Quickly! You have no more time."
"Sir," Rip said plaintively, "two of my men do not wish to surrender."
"Shoot them, fool! Are you in command or not?"
Rip grinned. He made his voice whine. "But sir, it is against the law of the Federation to shoot men without a trial."
The commander lapsed into his own language, caught himself, then barked, "You are no longer under Federation law. You are under the Consolidation of People's Governments. Do you surrender or not? Answer at once, or we take action anyway. Quick!"
Rip knew he could stall no longer. He said coolly, "If you had brains in your head instead of high vacuum, you'd know that Planeteers never surrender. Blast away, you filthy space pirate!"
He jerked the plug loose, hesitated for a second over whether or not to take the snapper-boat, and decided against it. He wasn't familiar with Connie controls and there wasn't time to experiment. He headed for the cave as fast as he could glide.
The Connie cruiser lost no time. Its stern tubes flamed, then its steering tubes. It was going to drive[pg 140] directly at the asteroid without making a long run! Rip estimated quickly and realized that the Connie would get to the asteroid at the same time that he reached the cave—if he made it.
He speeded up as fast as he dared. With little gravity on the asteroid, he couldn't fall, but a false step could lift him into space and make him lose time while he got out an air bottle to propel him down again. The thought gave him an idea. Without slowing he took two bottles from his belt, turned them so the openings were to his rear, and squeezed the release valves.