drop his pods. "My own ships are all tied up," he
explained, "I'd sure appreciate it!"
15 "No problem," agreed Morn. "We're ahead of schedule
anyway. We can pick up our next load direct. It'll only cost
us two days."
16 "Thank you," acknowledged the Governor. "Your cooperation is
appreciated."
17 As Morn's ship pulled into orbit, the Firing Control Officer looked
up. "Strange," he announced, "for a system whose warships are busy
there's an awful lot of them nearby. I count two star drive cruisers
and eight destroyers. Hey! They're closing in on us, boxing us in! It
looks like they're trying to hold us in orbit!"
18 "Put it on screen," ordered Morn.
19 The Officer did so, and Morn didn't like what he saw. "Something's
going on here," he snapped.
20 A moment later the Governor called him. "Commander Morning Star," he
announced, "I have unquestioned evidence that you are the leader of the
growing Rebel Movement among Fleet Officers. You will surrender at
once, or I will order my ships to open fire!"
21 "Hey!" screamed Helm, "All three pods just took off without
permission!"
22 Morn quickly considered his options. Surrender was out of the
question. He probably wouldn't live an hour in the Governor's hands.
The men had to be mad, even to try to take him. He studied the
formation of the ships around him. "They're all well within firing
range, aren't they?" Morn remarked. "One of the cruisers is right on
top of us. Helm, I want you to give us, on my command, full boost on
our bottom steering thrusters, then cut the forward ones by fifty per
cent and fire the rear top ones until we're pointing stern to the
planet. Cancel out the thrust, then give her everything she's got for
open space!"
23 "What about the cruiser above us?" asked Helm.
24 Morn turned to Firing Control. "We'll take care