Ferris pushed himself from the stool and fell over the beam gun. As Siegal bore Brooks to the floor, Ferris rolled over, brought up his arm and pulled the trigger. His aim was bad, but the beam did its work. Siegal simply went limp.
For a long minute Ferris lay there, looking up at the youthful form of Brooks over him. He grinned.
"Good work, Brooks. You make a better stowaway than I do."
"This is the first time," said Galsworth, "I've ever seen bandages on you, Ferris."
"I came to talk business, Galsworth. At least, you called me here for that reason, didn't you?"
The company head placed a pudgy fist against his palm. "Of course. I thought you'd like to know why you were called in from 12."
"Because you wanted to send Brooks there. Well, that's okay. He's a good man—"
"No, not just that. We've a passenger pilot's license for you, if you want it. Something we've been planning for some time. You're the only one of our station operators who has passed the exams."
Ferris grew red in the face. "Then, all this was just a—promotion?"