"Don't shoot, Steve," Gerda wailed.
The shock of the first blaster discharge had loosened the magnetic grapnels which held the ships together. The pirate's craft began to drift away, tearing loose the end of the tube.
Hamlin was on his feet, trying to fire his blaster, but the charge was burned out. It only flickered feebly. He leaped the widening distance between the ships and went up the side like a spider, gripping the shell of the Erania with the magnetic soles of his space-boots. Coran climbed round the doorway and went up after him, gun in hand.
Hamlin had disappeared round the curve of the hull. It was rough, dangerous work climbing round the outer shell of a space-ship. One slip meant a plunge into the awesome emptiness of the void. Gravity was practically non-existent, but the grip of the soles was slight, and only one foot could be moved at a time.
From the vantage point of his cover behind a dead rocket tube, Hamlin waited. He knew that his time was short. Off across the black gulf of space three flakes of gleaming light resolved themselves into fast patrol cruisers, racing toward the derelict Erania. Coran had not seen them, but came on steadily, determined to see his assignment through. Hamlin waited, gun resting on the rocket tube, hoping for a clear shot. Mad with hatred, he blamed Coran for the failure of his whole life, and was viciously resolved to take his enemy with him.
The patrol ships moved in close and warped alongside the Aphrodite. Men in space suits poured out of the access hatch and guns were trained on the rocket tube behind which Hamlin held out.
Sick fury possessed Hamlin. With the gesture of a trapped rat, he rammed his blaster-gun up the vents of the rocket tube. If he could ignite the remaining fuel, they would all blow to Kingdom Come in a roaring atomic holocaust.
Coran saw his intent and stood up to fire. His beam went wildly into the darkness as he lost his balance and toppled into space. Another beam whipped out from the patrol cruiser and caught Hamlin full force as he stood up to fire into the tube.
He vanished in a glittering cloud of particles, dispersed instantly by their own radiation.
Lines with magnetic grapnels looped out and snatched Coran reeling him back to the patrol ship like a grotesque fish. For three days, he lay unconscious from space-shock....