"He's still there," Ellik said. "Sometimes I wish his orbit would decay enough to burn him up in this damned sour air." He coughed into his fist.
"He could probably correct," I suggested.
Ellik sneered. "He hasn't got the brains."
"Pretty hard for one man to manage a takeoff. He was lucky to make it into orbit."
"I just wish he would come down. Somehow, someway, I'd get to him, no matter where he went on this planet."
"I suppose that's why he stays up."
Ellik slammed his fist into his palm. "I'm going to call him again. He can't get away without us. If he fouled up a takeoff that badly, he's not going to try to solo into hyperspace."
"I don't think anyone would solo into hyperspace. I don't think he would be able to come back."
"Oh, what do you know about it?" Ellik said shortly. "He's just building up his courage to try the big jump. He's yellow, sure, but sooner or later he'll get desperate enough, or scared enough, to actually go. Then we'll be stranded for fair. This planet may not be colonized for centuries!"
"Probably never," I said. "Not after Lee's reports."