Accidental Flight Read online

Outside, there was the characteristic sputter, likefrying, that the toaster beam made when it struck metal. A greatclatter followed.

  "Get him!" shouted Cameron. "He's up there!"

  Jordan had arrived and had picked off a geepee. And it wasn't going tobe easy for Cameron to capture him. The diversion would help.

  "Don't use heat," ordered Cameron. "Get your lights on him. Blind him.Drive him in a corner and then go up and get him."

  Docchi had been wrong; the geepees were controlled by voice, notradio. That would make it easier for him once he got inside the ship.If he did.

  It looked as though he would. The tube wasn't getting narrower. Moreimportant, the air was not noticeably stale. The combustion cap hadbeen retracted, which was a lucky break. His feet slipped. It didn'tmatter; somehow he inched along. Blood was pounding in his veins fromthe constriction, but his head emerged in the rocket.

  He stared at the retracted combustion cap a few feet away. If he hadarms, he could grasp it and pull himself free. But if he had arms, hewould never have gotten this far. He wriggled until his body wasnearly out and only his legs were in the tube. He kicked hard, fell tothe floor.

  He lay there while his head cleared, then rolled to his feet andstaggered forward to the control compartment. The rocket was his, buthe didn't want it for himself alone.

  He stared thoughtfully at the instrument panel. It had been a longtime since he had operated a ship. When he understood the controls, hebent down and thrust his chin against the gravital dial. Laboriouslyhe turned it to the proper setting. Then he sat down and kicked on aswitch. The ship rocked and rose a few inches.

  Chances were that Cameron wouldn't notice that in the confusionoutside. If he did, he had thirty seconds in which to stop Docchi.That wouldn't be enough for Cameron.

  "Rocket landing," said Docchi when the allotted time passed."Emergency instructions. Emergency instructions. Stand by." Strictlyspeaking, that wasn't necessary, for the frequency he was usingassured him of complete control.

  "All energized geepees lend assistance. This order supersedes previousorders. Additional equipment necessary." After listing the equipment,he sat back and chuckled.

  With his knee he turned on the external lights, got up and walked tothe passenger lock, brushing against the switch. The airlock opened.He stood boldly at the threshold and looked out. The rocket dome wasfloodlighted by the ship.

  "All right, Jordan, you can come down now," he called.

  Jordan appeared overhead, hanging from a beam. He swung along it untilhe reached a column, down which he descended. He propelled himselfover the floor and up the ramp in his awkward fashion. Balancing onhis hands, he gazed up at Docchi.

  "Well, monster, how did you do it?"

  "Monster yourself," said Docchi. "Do what?"

  "I saw you crawl in the rocket tubes," said Jordan. "But what did youdo after you got inside?"

  "Cameron's a medic," said Docchi, "not mechanically inclined. Heforgot that an emergency rocket landing cancels any verbal orders. SoI took the ship up a few inches. Geepees aren't very bright; thatsatisfied them that I was coming in for a landing. What Cameron shouldhave done was splash some heat against a gravital unit, and then,having created an artificial emergency condition in the main dome, hecould have directed the geepees from the gravity control center. Afterthat, he would have had top priority, not me."

  "But they rushed off, carrying Cameron with them." Jordan lookedpuzzled.

  "Easy. I told the geepees that there was danger of crashing and thatthey must remove any human beings nearby, whether they were willing ornot. You weren't nearby and that let you out. They took Cameronbecause he was."

  "It's ours!" breathed Jordan. "But what about Anti and Nona?"

  "Anti's taken care of. As far as the geepees are concerned, she comesunder the heading of emergency landing material. They'll bring her.Nona is supposed to be waiting with Anti." Docchi frowned. "There'snothing we can do if she isn't. Meanwhile you'd better get ready totake the ship off."

  Jordan swung himself inside.

  Docchi remained at the passenger lock, waiting. He heard the geepeesfirst and saw them seconds later. They came into sight half pushing,half carrying a huge rectangular tank. With unexpected roboticingenuity, they had mounted it on four of their smaller brethren, thesquat repair robots, which served to support the tremendous weight.

  The tank was filled with blue liquid. Twisted pipes dangled from theends; it had been torn and lifted from its foundation. Broken plantsstill clung to the narrow ledge on top and moist soil adhered to thesides. Five geepees pushed it rapidly toward the ship, mechanicallyoblivious to the disheveled man who frustratedly shouted and struck atthem.

  "Jordan, open the freight lock."

  In response the ship rose a few more inches and hung quivering. Asection of the ship hinged outward and downward to form a ramp. Theship was ready to take on cargo.

  Docchi stood at his post. That damn fool Cameron should have stayed inthe main dome where the geepees had released him. His presence addedan unwelcome complication. Still, it should be easy enough to get ridof him when the time came.

  It was Nona who really worried him. She wasn't anywhere to be seen. Hetook an uncertain step down the ramp, came back, shaking his head. Itwas impossible to look for her now, though he wanted to.

  The tank neared the ship. A few feet of it projected onto the ramp.The geepees stopped; their efforts lost momentum. They lookedbewildered.

  The tank rolled backward. The geepees shook, buzzed and looked around,primarily at Docchi. He didn't wait any longer. He leaped into theship.

  "Close the passenger lock!" he shouted.

  Jordan looked up questioningly from the controls.

  "Vogel, the engineer," explained Docchi. "He must have seen thegeepees on scanning when they entered the main dome. He's trying to dowhat Cameron should have done, but didn't have enough sense to do."

  The passenger lock swung ponderously shut behind him.

  "Now what?" Jordan asked, worried.

  "First, let's see what you can get on the telecom," said Docchi.

  The angle was impossible, so close to the ship, but they did manage toget a corner of the tank on the screen. Apparently it was restingwhere Docchi had last seen it, though it was difficult to be surebecause the curve of the ship loomed so large.

  "Maybe we'd better get out of here," suggested Jordan nervously.

  "Without the tank? Not a chance. Vogel hasn't got complete control ofthem yet." That seemed to be true. The geepees were nearly motionless,paralyzed.

  "What shall I do?" asked Jordan.

  "Give me full power on the radio," said Docchi. "Burn it out if youhave to. I think the engineer is at the wrong angle to broadcast muchpower to them. Besides, the intervening structure is absorbing most ofhis signal."

  He waited until Jordan had complied. "The tank must be placed in theship," he added.

  Geepees were not designed to sift contradictory commands that werenearly at the same level of urgency. Their reasoning power was feeble,but the mechanism was complicated enough. In that respect theyresembled humans. Borderline decisions were difficult.

  "More power," whispered Docchi.

  Sweating, Jordan obeyed.

  Marionettes. This string led toward a certain action. Another,intrinsically more important, but suddenly far less powerful, pulledfor something else. Circuits burned within electronic brains.Micro-relays fluttered under the stress.

  Choice....

  Stiffly the geepees moved and grasped the tank. The quality ofdecision, in this case, was strained. Inch by inch the tank rolled upthe ramp.

  "When it's completely on, raise the ramp," Docchi whispered to Jordanin an even lower voice.

  One geepee wavered and fell. Motionless, it lay there. The remainingfour were barely equal to the task.

  "Now," said Docchi.

  The freight ramp began to rise. The tank picked up speed as it rolledinto the ship.

  "Geepees, save yourselves!"
shouted Docchi.

  They leaped from the ramp.

  Jordan breathed deeply. "I don't think they can hurt us now."

  Docchi nodded. "Get me ship-to-asteroid communication, if there's anyradio left."

  "There is." Jordan made the adjustment.

  "Vogel, we're going out. Give us the proper sequence and save the domesome damage."

  There was no reply.

  "He's trying to bluff," said Jordan. "He knows the airlocks to themain dome will automatically close if we do break through."

  "Sure," said Docchi. "Everyone in the main dome is safe, _if_everyone is in there. Vogel, we'll give you time to think aboutthat."

  Jordan gave