e screen. It came and he
gave a short sharp blast to signal their readiness. They had two
seconds leeway before the screen went up again. The ship was not fully
warmed. Thane flicked on all the rockets and gave the jet full
throttle.

There was the barest hesitation, and then they were forced back in
their seats, with 5G acceleration. The outbuilding flamed and
collapsed behind them. As Thane went into semi-consciousness he pulled
back on the control wheel to clear the hill ahead. The corners of his
mouth pulled down, his eyeballs felt as if they were being forced down
into his cheekbones. His vision became a red blur, then grey....

He came out and looked down. The house and the Darzent ship were tiny
blurs in the storm, three kilometers below. He looked back at Astrid.
"Make it all right?" he asked anxiously.

Her face was white and strained but she managed a smile. "Still with
you, skipper. Let's get back down."

* * * * *

"Here we go. Hang on and hope. Keep the screens up till I nod. Then
drop them fast." Thane put the jet into a steep dive, lining up the
Darzent ship in the sights of the Baring gun. He was ready to fire
when there was a tremendous jolt and a flash of light. The little jet
was thrown over on its back and Thane fought the controls to steady
it.

He went into a climbing turn and saw, above and behind him, the long
black shape of an Onzarian atmosphere cruiser. "The protector screens
are dead," Astrid cried in alarm. "Whatever that was that hit us
burned them out!"

"That was a disrupter." He pointed at the Onzarian cruiser. "Our
visitor is playing for keeps." His knuckles went white as he pulled
back on the wheel into another long climb with emergency power.
Another disrupter burst behind them barely missed.

"They've got everything on us," he said. "Speed, firepower and range.
Except maneuverability." He turned to Astrid. "Just how far out is the
force screen from the house?"

"Four hundred meters."

"Let's see if we can judge it," he said grimly. "It's going to be
close." He put the jet into a tight turn and slipped off into a steep,
screaming dive. There was another disrupter burst and a sudden flutter
of the controls. He fought them to maintain the dive, straight for the
house and its invisible bubble of force. The flutter became worse as
their speed increased, and vibration racked the whole ship. He judged
the distance by the range-finder on the Barin