"You're fools," Mackensie muttered. "This voyage will take a month or more."
"Why not?"
"The alarm will be out for us. The Interplanetary Patrol will pick us up."
"Let us hope not, Captain. You and Miss Nina would be the first to die. But there is not too much danger, I think. The modern electro-telescopes are very wonderful, but there is none, at forty thousand miles, powerful enough to pick up so small a speck of floating dust as the X-87. Or at least, not to identify it."
"I wouldn't be too sure, Torio. And at best, your food will give out."
"We will hope not," Torio smiled. His voice turned brisk. "Chart your course, Captain. Remember, we kept you alive just for this duty."
Nina said suddenly, "This silence everywhere about the ship—where are the passengers?"
Torio turned smilingly to her. "Why, little lady, didn't you know? We gave them pressure suits and put them out the keel porte. Have no fear, they'll drift down safely. Some of the suits are powered. If they're clever they'll get back to Earth."
As though this were an old-fashioned surface vessel—giving the passengers life preservers and tossing them into the middle of an ocean.
"Penelle seems to have recovered his wits," Mokk said suddenly. "See what he knows, Torio."