Axel followed me. "Just a minute before you put on your helmet, Bill," he said.
I gave him a curious look. "Okay. What's on your mind?"
"Take Gail with you," he said.
"But this will be a dangerous mission," I told him.
"Not half as dangerous for all of us if you leave her behind."
"Why?"
"I don't trust Joel," said Axel. "If he turned the tables and got the drop on Gail and me, nothing could keep Spartan from blasting off, leaving you behind and probably me, too, if I lived that long. But Spartan has his plans for Gail. He won't leave without her. If she's with you, he won't do anything till you get back."
"And if he's in control, what chance would we have?"
Axel shrugged. "As long as there's life there's some kind of chance," he replied. "But if Gail were aboard the ship, you wouldn't have any chance. Spartan could go back to earth, report a mutiny and subsequent casualties that occurred in quelling it. Nobody could prove anything different. But with Gail gone, I think Spartan will postpone any moves he might make until she returns."
I thought it over. Gail, being one of us, would never live to reach the earth, that was certain.