Murray Leinster Read Online Free PDF Page A

lieutenant commander and he had been instructed to take orders from a junior officer. That was bad enough. But this was humanity’s first contact with an extrasolar civilization, and Freddy Holmes, lieutenant junior grade, had been given charge of the matter by pure political pull.
    Freddy swallowed.
    ‘I… I—’ He swallowed again and said miserably, ‘Sir, I’ve tried to explain that I dislike the present set-up as much as you possibly can. I… wish that you would let me put myself under your orders, sir, instead of—’
    ‘No!’ rasped the commander vengefully. ‘You are in command, Mr. Holmes. Your uncle put on political pressure to arrange it. My orders are to carry out your instructions, not to wet-nurse you if the job is too big for you to handle. This is in your lap! Will you issue orders?’
    Freddy stiffened.
    ‘Very well, sir. It’s plainly a ship and apparently a derelict. No crew would come in without using a drive, or allow their ship to swing about aimlessly. You will maintain your present position with relation to it. I’ll take a spaceboat and a volunteer, if you will find me one, and look it over.’
    He turned and left the bridge. Two minutes later he was struggling into a spacesuit when Lieutenant Bridges - also junior grade - came briskly into the spacesuit locker and observed:
    ‘I’ve permission to go with you, Mr. Holmes.’ He began to get into another spacesuit. As he pulled it up over his chest he added blithely: ‘I’d say this was worth the price of admission!’
    Freddy did not answer. Three minutes later the little spaceboat pulled out from the side of the cruiser. Designed for expeditionary work and tool-carrying rather than as an escapecraft, it was not inclosed. It would carry men in spacesuits, with their tools and weapons, and they could breathe from its tanks instead of from their suits, and use its power and so conserve their own. But it was a strange feeling to sit within its spidery outline and see the great blank sides of the strange object draw near. When the spaceboat actually touched the vast metal wall it seemed impossible, like the approach to some sorcerer’s castle across a monstrous moat of stars.
    It was real enough, though. The felted rollers touched, and Bridges grunted in satisfaction.
    ‘Magnetic. We can anchor to it. Now what?’
    ‘We hunt for an entrance port,’ said Freddy curtly. He added: ‘Those openings that look like gills are the drive tubes.
    Their drive’s in front instead of the rear. Apparently they don’t use gyros for steering.’
    The tiny craft clung to the giant’s skin, like a fly on a stranded whale. It moved slowly to the top of the rounded body, and over it, and down on the other side. Presendy the cruiser came in sight again as it came up the near side once more.
    ‘Nary a port, sir,’ said Bridges blithely. ‘Do we cut our way in?’
    ( Hm-m-m/ said Freddy slowly. Te have our drive in the rear, and our control room in front. So we take on supplies amidships, and that’s where we looked. But this ship is driven from the front. Its control room might be amidships. If so, it might load at the stem. Let’s see.’
    The litde craft crawled to the stem of the monster.
    ‘There!’ said Freddy.
    It was not like an entrance port on any vessel in the solar system. It slid aside, without hinges. There was an inner door, but it opened just as readily. There was no rush of air, and it was hard to tell if it was intended as an air lock or not.
    ‘Air’s gone,’ said Freddy. ‘It’s a derelict, all right. You might bring a blaster, but what we’ll mostly need is light, I think.’
    The magnetic anchors took hold. The metal grip shoes of the spacesuits made loud noises inside the suits as the two of them pushed their way into the interior of the ship. The spacecruiser had been able to watch them, until now. Now they were gone.
    The giant, enigmatic object which was so much like a blind fish in empty space floated on. It swung