Lea was still unconscious when he looked at her again. There was no way of telling how long the coma would last. He would probably have to waken her out of it, but he didn’t want to do it too early. It took an effort to control his impatience, even though he knew the drug needed time in which to work. He finally decided on at least a minimum of an hour before he should try to disturb her. That would be noon—twelve hours before destruction.

One thing he should do was to get in touch with Professor-Commander Krafft. Maybe it was being defeatist, but he had to make sure that they had a way off this planet if the mission failed. Krafft had installed a relay radio that would forward calls from his personal set. If this relay had been in the Foundation building, contact was broken. This had to be found out before it was too late. Brion thumbed on his radio and sent the call. The reply came back instantly.

“This is fleet communications. Will you please keep this circuit open? Commander Krafft is waiting for this call and it is being put directly through to him now.” Krafft’s voice broke in while the operator was still talking.

“Who is making this call—is it anyone from the Foundation?” The old man’s voice was shaky with emotion.

“Brandd here. I have Lea Morees with me….”

“No more? Are there no other survivors from the disaster that destroyed your building?”

“That’s it, other than us it’s a … complete loss. With the building and all the instruments gone, I have no way to contact our ship in orbit. Can you arrange to get us out of here if necessary?”

“Give me your location. A ship is coming now—”

“I don’t need a ship now,” Brion interrupted. “Don’t send it until I call. If there is a way to stop your destruction I’ll find it. So I’m staying—to the last minute if necessary.”

Krafft was silent. There was only the crackle of an open mike and the sound of breathing. “That is your decision,” he said finally. “I’ll have a ship standing by. But won’t you let us take Miss Morees out now?”

“No. I need her here. We are still working, looking for—”

“What answer can you find that could possibly avert destruction now?” His tone was between hope and despair. Brion couldn’t help him.

“If I succeed—you’ll know. Otherwise, that will be the end of it. End of Transmission.” He switched the radio off.