"In that case, forget it," said the Admiral. "I'm not going to have you torn to shreds."
Webster started to protest, but the Admiral cut him off.
"No. That's final."
Webster strode out mad enough to spit. He pulled up in front of a bulkhead, raised a mighty fist—and stopped. He didn't even give a second thought to the idea that crashed into his mind. He lit out down the passageway.
Ten minutes later the second gig took off, with Third Webster at the controls.
In the first few seconds Webster had a horrible thought. Suppose the Uranians now had enough data. Suppose their experiments were over and he just flew in, and they didn't even try to knock him down.
He switched on the visi-scope and radio. No. The Uranian ship was turning around and coming to meet him. Good. He reached for the throttle and cut off his rockets. The Admiral's voice came over the radio:
"Webster, you'll get thrown out for this. Come back here. And for God's sake don't slow down like that. You're a sitting duck for them."
Webster cut in his forward rockets to slow himself even more. He turned on the magnetic shield and then spoke to Admiral Cantwell.
"That's the idea, Admiral. All the ships that have been knocked down have been travelling at full speed. And that's what's done it."