Douglas stepped up the rungs. Bruno cut it short, saluted Douglas, and left.
Douglas watched him go, coldly. "What'd Bruno want?" he asked of the old man. "Captain's orders, you're to see nobody."
Nibley's wrinkles made a smile. "Watch that guy Bruno. I got his orbit fixed all round and arced. I see him goin' now, and I see him reachin' aphelion and I see him comin' back."
Douglas pulled his lip. "You think Bruno might be working for the Martian industrial clique? If I thought he had anything to do with stopping us from getting to the Jovian colony—"
"He'll be back," said Nibley. "Just before we reach the heavy Asteroid Belt. Wait and see."
The ship swerved. The computators had just dodged a meteor. Douglas smiled. That griped Nibley. The machines were stealing his feathers. Nibley paused and closed his eyes.
"Here come two more meteors! I beat the machine this time!"
They waited. The ship swerved, twice.
"Damn it," said Douglas.