Nathan was about to protest, then changed his mind. He and his father had gone into space so often with decrepit and half worn equipment that it should have made no difference, but this vessel was so sleek and perfect that danger seemed to lurk in any minor imperfection.
Nathan strapped himself into the inertia-controlling chair next to Firebird. He studied the duplicate controls in front of him but kept his hands off.
Firebird started the warming coils to preheat the tubes. After a moment she adjusted the ignition controls and twisted the fuel valve.
Nathan felt as if he had been slapped suddenly with a giant pillow that pressed him flat in the chair. The acceleration of the Corsair was greater than any he had experienced before, and his father's old ship had never been equipped with inertia chairs.
He caught no glimpse of the edge of the cavern's maw as the ship passed upward through it. One instant they were in the cave, the next they were in the sky and only seconds passed until they were soaring above the thick cloud layer of Venus.
After five minutes of such intense acceleration, the Firebird relaxed and cut the controls to a point where they could breathe more easily.
"Why the hurry?" Nathan gasped. "Nobody is chasing us!"
Firebird made no answer. She reached towards the small panel at the lower edge of the control board and switched on the viewing plate. Silently, she scanned the heavens behind them and the surface of the planet they were leaving. The focus of the plate extended and retreated, then suddenly it concentrated upon a blunt-nosed black vessel rising somewhere below them.
"The Black Warrior," said Firebird. "He was watching for us to leave."