"Crewmen?" Paige said. 'Senator, that ship won't hold more than four people, and one of them has to be the tubeman. That leaves nobody to pilot her but me."

"Not this trip," Wagoner said, following him out of the car. "We're only passengers, you and I and Miss Abbott, and of course the marines. The Per Aspera has a separate crew of five. Let's not waste time, please."

It was impossible. On the cleats, Paige felt as though he were trying to climb into a .22 calibre longrifle cartridge. To get ten people into this tiny shell, you'd have to turn them into some sort of human concentrate and pour them, like powdered coffee.

Nevertheless, one of the marines met him in the airlock, and within another minute he was strapping himself down inside a windowless cabin as big as any he'd ever seen on board a standard interplanetary vessel far bigger than any ferry could accommodate. The intercom box at the head of his hammock was already calling the clearance routine.

"Dog down and make all fast. Airlock will cycle in one minute."

What had happened to Anne? She had come up the cleats after him, of that he was sure "All too fast. Takeoff in one minute. Passengers 'ware, but he'd been hustled down to this nonsensical cabin too fast to look back. There was something very wrong. Where was Wagoner? Thirty seconds. 'Ware G's."

Making some sort of a getaway? But from what? And why did he want to take Paige and Anne with him? As hostages they were "Twenty seconds."

Worthless, since they were of no value to the government, had no money, knew nothing damning about Wagoner "Fifteen seconds."

But wait a minute. Anne knew something about Wagoner, or thought she did. "Ten seconds. Stand by."

The call made him relax instinctively. There would be time to think about that later. At takeoff

"Five seconds."

It didn't pay

"Four."

to concentrate

"Three."

on anything

"Two."

else but

"One."

actual

"Zero."

Takeoff hit him with the abrupt, bone cracking, gut wrenching impact of all ferry takeoffs. There was nothing you could do to ameliorate it but let the strong muscles of the arms and legs and back bear it as best they could, with the automatic tetanus of the Seyle GA reaction, and concentrate on keeping your head and your abdomen in exact neutral with the acceleration thrust. The muscles you used for that were seldom called upon on the ground, even by weightlifters, but you learned to use them or were invalided out of the service; a trained spaceman's abdominal muscles will bounce a heavy rock, and no strong man can make him turn his head if his neck muscles say no.