controls, he
bent down and thrust his chin against the gravital dial. Laboriously
he turned it to the proper setting. Then he sat down and kicked on a
switch. The ship rocked and rose a few inches.

Chances were that Cameron wouldn't notice that in the confusion
outside. 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." Strictly
speaking, that wasn't necessary, for the frequency he was using
assured him of complete control.

"All energized geepees lend assistance. This order supersedes previous
orders. 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 to
the passenger lock, brushing against the switch. The airlock opened.
He stood boldly at the threshold and looked out. The rocket dome was
floodlighted by the ship.

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

Jordan appeared overhead, hanging from a beam. He swung along it until
he reached a column, down which he descended. He propelled himself
over the floor and up the ramp in his awkward fashion. Balancing on
his 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 you
do after you got inside?"

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

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

"Easy. I told the geepees that there was danger of crashing and that
they must remove any human beings nearby, whether they were willing or
not. You weren't nearby and that let you out. They took Cameron
because 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 comes
under the he