“Definitely.” Sam glanced up at the pirate with apprehension.
“Even if they do start looking for us, they’re apt to overlook us—unless they’ve got their ventral detectors on.”
“Which they probably have.”
“With our luck, of course. But even if they do, they probably won’t see us—we’re too close to their skin, in their detectors’ shadow.”
“Nice theory.” Sam settled back. “What happens if you’re wrong?”
“Well, in that case, they shoot away from us faster than we can go, leave us sitting here, and play skeet shoot.”
“Now I know why I always sympathized with the clay pigeons.” Sam shivered. “What’re they doing?”
Dar turned around, looking out over the tail. “Still trying to shoot through the courier … whup!”
“ ‘Whup,’ what?” Sam asked with foreboding.
“The courier’s moving away—‘streaking’ would be more likely. Brace yourself—the pirates’re going after him, and fast! Even damaged, that courier’s quick!”
Sam frowned. “Then how’d the pirates catch ‘em in the first place?”
“Lurking in ambush.”
“Lurking where? There’s no cover bigger than a hydrogen atom out here!”
“Whup! There they go!” Dar spun around and set himself as the silver slab slid away toward their rear. Dar pushed down the acceleration pedal, heading sunwards.
“We … can’t … possibly outrun … them,” Sam grated against the pull of acceleration.
“Not if they’re going … our way,” Dar answered. “But at the moment … they’re going … out, and we’re going … in.”
“Why bother?” Sam spoke more easily. “As soon as they’re done with the courier, they’ll come after us.”
“Assuming we’re big enough to bother with. But by that time, maybe we can find a place to hide.”
“Hide? Where?”
“Wherever they did, while they were lurking … there!” Dar’s forefinger stabbed out, pointing ahead, at a string of pierced diamonds backlit by the sun. “Asteroids! They confused the ship’s detection system; it thought the pirates’ ship was just a large rock, closer than the others!”
Sam stared. “What’re they doing here?”
“This is not the time to ask questions.” Dar craned around, looking aft. “They’re still going after the courier … they’ve overhauled it, they’re gonna fire a warning shot… NO! They’re starting to slow and turn!”
Sam stared. “Why?”
“Because they’re not interested in the courier, obviously! They just took a peek, saw our boat’s pod was still empty and we were nowhere in sight, and started scanning for us!”
Sam frowned, shaking her head. “I don’t get it. You make it sound as though they want us.”
“Guess what?” Dar said dryly. “What I’d like to know is how they knew we were aboard?”
“Maybe they didn’t,” Sam said hopefully. “Maybe they think we’re somebody else.”
“You’ll pardon me if I don’t stay around to find out.” Dar swerved and jammed the deceleration pedal; the ship bucked as the nose rockets spewed superheated steam, slamming them into their webbing. The shiplet danced and curvetted as Dar tried to avoid the smaller chunks of stone and metal. The ship rang like a cymbal in a percussion solo, but nothing holed them. Dar managed to match velocity with an asteroid a little larger than the lifeboat. The ringing diminished to an occasional dong.
“So far, we’re fantastically lucky.” Dar killed all power. “As long as we don’t run into a really fast-moving pebble astern, or a slow-moving one ahead, we’re okay. This lifeboat’s got enough armor to take care of most of the debris.”
Sam released a long, shaky breath. “Taking a bit of a chance, weren’t you?”
Dar shrugged. “I had a choice? Now, as long as we don’t get our engines smashed, we’re okay.”
“And if we do?”
“So, which would you rather be—a prisoner, or an asteroid?”
Sam frowned. “Let me think it over.”
“Sure.” Dar leaned back, folding his arms. “You’ll have plenty of time.”
The asteroid’s path had carried them considerably out of the pirates’ path; the huge silver slab flashed by overhead and well behind them.
“Just like that?” Sam looked about her, puzzled. “They just go by and leave us?”
“Wrong,” Dar said grimly. “They saw us curve off and join the asteroids, you can bet on it. But they couldn’t decelerate fast enough to follow us—we do have an edge in maneuverability. They’ll be back, though, don’t worry.”
“Thanks for the reassurance.” Sam sat very still. “Why’d you kill the power?”
“Because at least one of their detectors searches for it. Right now, that’s the only thing that makes us different from an asteroid, unless they happen to get close enough to eyeball us.”
“Don’t we reflect a lot more light?”
“I chose a bright asteroid to hide next to.”
“Here they come!” Sam yelped.
Dar poised a finger over the power button.
The pirates couldn’t hear them, of course, and they both knew it—but the rabbit reflex took over, and they both sat rock-still as the silver tombstone drifted slowly over them in a prowling zigzag. It cruised closer, closer, and Dar felt an urge to shove his tiny boat to starboard, to nestle up against the comforting bulk of the asteroid. The pirate zagged to the right—and, as it zigged past them, it was out beyond their covering asteroid. It loomed closer and closer, but slanting away now. It crossed their path a good half-mile in front of them, and kept on going.
Sam collapsed back against her chair with a sigh. “Thank heaven.”
“Yeah.” Dar felt himself beginning to tremble as he lowered his finger from the power button. “I never thought I’d be so glad to be inconspicuous.”
“As long as it worked.” Sam eyed him with dawning respect.
Dar felt his pulse quicken—after all, she was the only woman for several million miles. Sam stiffened, pointing ahead. “Look! What’re they doing?”
Dar stared. A giant hatch had opened in the stomach of the silver tombstone.
“They’re gonna send down their scout boat for a closer look!” Dar lunged at the power button.
Sam caught his arm. “No! You said that was a dead giveaway!”
Dar paused, his eyes on the pirate ship. “Wait a minute! They’re thinking it over.”
A shuttle hung halfway out the huge hatchway, motionless. Then it started to rise back up into the mother ship, and the huge doors swung shut.
“But why?” Dar bleated. “They had us dead cold!”
“That’s why!” Sam jabbed a finger toward the back window.
A huge, truncated pyramid came hurtling toward them. A vast eye seemed to float above it. The pirate ship slid into motion, gathering speed, and streaked away.
Dar winced in sympathy. “I’d’ve hated to’ve taken that slap of acceleration … But they didn’t have much choice, did they?”
“Why not?” Sam stared at the approaching pyramid. “What is that megalith?”
“The cops.” Dar shrugged. “Which ones, I’m not sure—but it comes out to the same thing. For once, I’m glad to see them.”
“Yo! Over here! Whoa! Help!” Sam tried to stand up, waving her arms frantically. “Damn! Don’t they hear us?”
“Sound waves don’t travel too well through vacuum,” Dar pointed out.
“I know, I know,” Sam groused, dropping back into her seat. “Just carried away by the heat of the moment.”
“So are they,” Dar noted, watching the police ship zip by.
“Now what do we do? Get out and walk?”
“Well, presumably we’re in the Haldane system, since that’s where we were going. And at our top speed, it can’t be more than three or four months to the nearest habitable planet.”