n our minds. There was no space wall, there to divide us one from the
other. It was a fortress against the rest of mankind, and in it we were
brothers.

When we struck for the first time, it was not at a Russian missile post
as the histories say. It was at the _Queen of Heaven_, an undefended and
unsuspecting merchantman. The records of Earth say the _Queen_ was lost
in space between Uranus and Mars, and this is so. But she was listed
lost only because no Russian or American patrol found her gutted hulk. I
imagine that at this very moment she hangs out beyond Pluto, rounding
the bend of the long ellipse we sent her on that day we stripped her
bones.

She carried gold and precious stones--and more important yet, women
being furloughed home after forced labor in the mines of Soviet Umbriel.
The _Starhound_ and the _Arrow_ bracketed her a million miles above the
plane of the ecliptic near Saturn's orbit, and killed her. We drew
abreast of her and forced her valves. We boarded her and took what we
chose. Then we slaughtered her men and sent them on their long voyage.
That was the beginning.

The attack against Corfu was our next move. This is the battle that
Celia Witmar Day has described in verse. Very bad verse.

"_Corfu slumbered, gorged and proud--
While _Arrow_, _Hound_ and _Maid_ marshalled
Freedom's might above the tyrant's ground,
And rained down death--_"

There is much more, of course. Brave phrases of emotion and fanciful
unreality written by one who never saw the night of space agleam with
stars.

There was no talk of tyranny or liberty aboard the _Hound_ that day we
leveled with the _Maid_ and the _Arrow_ a thousand miles over the
Russian Base of Corfu. There _was_ talk of the bullion stored under the
fortress' turrets.

Merril's face appeared in my visor screen, superimposed on the image of
the grimy little asteroid floating darkly against the starfields.

"Their radar has picked us up by now, and they're wondering who we are,"
he said, "Take the _Hound_ out on tangent left and join the _Maid_.
Cover my attack and stand by to put a landing party aground."

I watched the image of the _Arrow_--a sliver of darkness against the
crescent of Corfu--lancing down at the fortress. Her forward tubes were
glowing with the familiar pre-discharge emanation.

Below us, confusion reigned. For the first time in memory an asteroid
Base was under attack. Merril brought the _Arrow_ in to within fifty