with one hand, and tried to rewind on his safety
line. Nothing happened. The unit had jammed. The hull droid, realizing
the problem, came to the other end and began to haul them in.
18 Bewildered, North could hear Thundering Star's groans every time the
droid hauled on the line. But finally they were on the hull. By this
time the others had reached them. "Got to get both of you inside!"
ordered Half Moon.
19 "No!" ordered North. Clean my face plate and put an emergency patch
in my ailine. We've got time. Thundering Star can go inside. We've got
to finish this job. Droid, take him to the hatch."
20 "No way!" called Thundering Star. If you're staying out, I'm staying
out!"
21 "You sure?" questioned North. The Engineer nodded. The droid had
been working on the disabled safety reel and it suddenly wound up,
giving everyone a start. Then, with the tension broken, they all
laughed.
22 The repairs quickly completed, they got back to work. Finally, both
ends of the cargo pod were firmly secured to the framework in four
places. The weary workers made their way to the hatch, and North was
desuited. But before he could rest, he checked the ship's stability.
23 They could now, without difficulty, use the scout to line up the
freighter in any position they wanted and maintain stability. North
congratulated everyone. "I've got one more thing to do," he announced.
"Then, I'm going to sleep 'til the rescue ship arrives!"
24 He called the hull droid into the scout. Its ultra-fast recorders
had managed to gain some readings on the break up. These combined with
the information from the freighter's computer gave him a pretty good
idea where the remaining pieces of the craft should be.
25 "As soon as the rescue ship arrives," ordered