Life Everlasting
"The life skiff!" thundered Hugh Warren. "That was Borisu. He's escaped to his own fleet!"
"And ruined," groaned Muldoon, "everything. Now they know who we are, where we came from, and what we want!"
MacDonald spoke again from below. "Dr. Bryant, sir—he's coming around. Shall I—?"
"Bring him up here," ordered Lane. "And for God's sake, hurry!"
The audio clicked off. Gary turned to his companions. "Whatever we're going to do, we've got to do fast. Now they've got wind of our scheme, we may never accomplish it. And if we don't—"
He let the sentence dangle. But all knew as well as he what must follow if their mission failed.
Minutes later, a dazed Dr. Bryant appeared in the turret, supported on the shoulder of the young space lieutenant. He shook his head in sorrowful reply to Gary's unspoken query.
"I—I don't know. I can't remember a thing. I was here in the turret with the rest of you. The next thing I knew MacDonald was breaking an ammonia tube under my nostrils. All that happened between is—blank."
"I told you he looked sick," said Muldoon. "He looked sort of dopey. Like he was drugged or—"