"Three officers shot through the head, sir," said the sergeant. "One of 'em looks like he died of a broken neck, but it's hard to tell after that fifty gees mashed 'em. Crewmen in the engine room—five of 'em. Mashed up, but I'd say they died of radiation, since the shielding on one of the generators was ruptured by the blast that made that dent in the hull."
"Nine bodies," the major said musingly. "All Kerothi. And all of them probably dead before the fifty-gee acceleration. Keep looking, sergeant. We've got to find the tenth man."
Another twenty-minute search gave them all the information they were ever to get.
"No Earth food aboard," said the major. "One spacesuit missing. Handweapons missing. Two emergency survival kits and two medical kits missing. And—most important of all—the courier boat is missing." He bit at his lower lip for a moment, then went on. "Outer air lock door left unlocked. Three Kerothi shot—after the explosion that ruined the A-A drive, and before the fifty-gee acceleration." He looked at the sergeant. "What do you think happened?"
"He got away," the tough-looking noncom said grimly. "Took the courier boat and scooted away from here."
"Why did he set the timer on the drive, then? What was the purpose of that fifty-gee blast?"
"To distract us, I'd say, sir. While we were chasing this thing, he hightailed it out."
"He might have, at that," the major said musingly. "A one-man courier could have gotten away. Our new detection equipment isn't perfect yet. But——"
At that moment, one of the troopers pushed himself down the corridor toward them. "Look, sir! I found this in the pocket of the Carrot-skin who was taped up in there!" He was holding a piece of paper.