e to stay in no-weight indefinitely. Rotation
stops in two minutes."

Rip realized why the order was given. The _Scorpius_ could not maneuver
while in a gravity spin and O'Brine wanted to be free to take action if
necessary.

The voice horn came on again. "Now get it again. The ship may maneuver
suddenly. Prepare for acceleration or deceleration without warning. One
minute to no-weight."

Rip gave quick orders. "Get lines around the equipment and prepare to haul
it. I'll get landing boats assigned and we can load. Then prepare space
packs. Lay out suits and bubbles. We want to be ready the moment we get
the word."

Lines were taken from a locker and secured to the equipment. As the
Planeteers worked, the ship's spinning slowed and stopped. They were in
no-weight. Rip grabbed for a hand cord that hung from the wall and hauled
himself out into the engine control room. The deputy commander was at his
post, waiting tensely for orders. Rip thrust against a bulkhead with one
foot and floated to his side. "I need two landing boats, sir," he
requested. "One stays on the asteroid with us."

"Take numbers five and six. I'll assign a pilot to bring number five back
to the ship after you've landed."

"Thank you." Rip would have been surprised at the deputy's quick assent if
Commander O'Brine hadn't shown him that the spacemen were ready to do
anything possible to aid the Planeteers. He went back to the supply room
and told Koa which boats were to be used, instructed him to get the
supplies aboard, then made his way to Commander O'Brine's office.

O'Brine was not in. Rip searched and found him in the astro-plot room,
watching a 'scope. Green streaks called "blips" marked the panel, each one
indicating an asteroid.

"All too small," O'Brine said. "We've only seen two large ones, and they
were too large."

"Space is certainly full of junk," Rip commented. "At least this corner of
it is full."

A junior space officer overheard him. "This is nothing. We're on the edge
of the asteroid belt. Closer to the middle, there's so much stuff a ship
has to crawl through it."

Rip wandered over to the main control desk. A senior space officer was
seated before a simple panel on which there were only a dozen small
levers, a visiphone, and a radar screen. The screen was circular, with
numbers around the rim like those on an earth-clock. In the center of the
screen was a tiny circle. The central circle represented the Scorpius. The
res