inner lock indicator. That was Serj coming back inside.

Then Jonner noted that the hand on one dial rested on zero. Above the
dial was the word: "ACCELERATION."

His eyes snapped to the radio controls. The atomic pile levers were
still at their proper calibration. The dials above them said the engines
were working properly.

The atomic tug was still accelerating, but passengers and cargo were in
free fall.

Swearing Jonner jerked at the levers to pull out the piles aboard the
tug.

A blue flash flared across the control board, momentarily blinding him.
Jonner recoiled, only his webbed safety belt preventing him from
plummeting from the control chair.

He swung back anxiously to the dials, brushing futilely at the spots
that swam before his eyes. He breathed a sigh of relief. The radio
controls had operated. The atomic engines had ceased firing.

Tentatively, cautiously, he reversed the lever. There was no blue flash
this time, but neither did the dials quiver. He swore. Something had
burned out in the radio controls. He couldn't reverse the tug.

He punched the general alarm button viciously, and the raucous clangor
of the bell sounded through the confines of the ship. One by one, the
other crew members popped up to the control deck from below.

He turned the controls over to Qoqol.

"Take readings on that damn tug," Jonner ordered. "I think our cable
broke. T'an, let's go take a look."

When they got outside, they found about a foot of the one-inch cable
still attached to the ship. The rest of it, drawn away by the tug before
Jonner could cut acceleration, was out of sight.

"Can it be welded, T'an?"

"It can, but it'll take a while," replied the engineer slowly. "First,
we'll have to reverse that tug and get the other end of that break."

"Damn, and the radio control's burned out. I tried to reverse it before
I sounded the alarm. T'an, how fast can you get those controls
repaired?"

"Great space!" exclaimed T'an softly. "Without seeing it, I'd say at
least two days, Jonner. Those controls are complicated as hell."

They re-entered the ship. Qoqol was working at his diagrams, and Serj
was looking over his shoulder. Jonner took a heat-gun quietly from the
rack and pointed it at Serj.

"You'll get below, mister," he commanded grimly. "You'll be handcuffed
to your bunk from here on out."

"Sir?... I don't understand," stammered Serj.

"Like hell you don't. You cut that cable," Jonner accused.