Thorn's brown face hardened. “I know. But we have to keep right on playing our part here, until we get the secret. We've got to take our part in the foray, and keep looking out for trouble."
CHAPTER VI
The Trap
Forty pirate ships throbbed steadily through the wilderness of the Zone. Their course through the jungle of swarms and debris was sunwise. The six basic directions in space navigation are sunwise and counter-sunwise — that is, in the same direction as the rotation of the sun or in an opposite direction; sunward and outward — that is, toward or away from the sun; and up or down, from the equatorial plane of the Solar System as plotted by the fixed stars.
The pirate fleet moved in a close formation of short columns. In the lead was Lana Cain's silvery cruiser, the Lightning. The ship that had been given the Planeteers to command, the Cauphul, was close behind her. On one side of them sailed old Stilicho Keene's cruiser, and on the other the ship of Jenk Cheerly, which was marked on the bows with an ominous, painted black skull.
John Thorn stared through the glassite window of the control-room, as they throbbed on. In the pilot's chair beside him sat Sual Av.
"I don't like this raid,” the Venusian was saying, his ugly face troubled. “An attack on peaceful freighters is out of our line, John."
"Nobody on those freighters will be killed,” Thorn reassured him. “You heard Lana's orders. And we've got to help rob those ships, to keep up the part we're playing here. We've got to do anything until we get that secret out of the girl. And they are not Alliance craft."
"I still can't see how we can get it from her,” muttered Sual Av, his green eyes thoughtful. “We can't use force, when she's surrounded by hundreds of her men all the time. She doesn't look the kind who can be tricked. And from what’ you said, she'll never tell it to you of her own free will."
"We'll find a way,” Thorn declared tightly. “But I wish I knew who planted that Ear on me, and what his game is."
Thorn watched the wilderness of meteor swarms, cross-orbiting planetoids, and occasional stray comets past which they sailed. There was no need for navigating by the wave-code, with Lana's cruiser leading the way.
Finally the silvery torpedo-shape of the Lightning slowed down and stopped. At once all the other pirate ships responded with a blast of fire from their bow tubes, braking themselves.
Thorn looked out. They were lying low in the Zone, close by a meteor swarm whose myriad masses of stone showed very near their ships in the aura-chart. They had reached the point under which the Jovian freighters would soon pass, when they detoured downward under the Zone as all ordinary shipping did.
Thorn spoke into the interphone connecting the ship's divisions.
"Gunner, are you cleared for action down there?"
Gunner Welk's rumbling voice came through the instrument from the gun-decks where the mighty Mercurian had taken command.
"All ready! Every man's at his post."
"On space-suits, everybody,” Thorn ordered sharply. “Then stand by."
It was customary before an action in space for all the crew of a ship to don their suits, so that in case their hull was torn open they could continue to work and fight the ship until there was time to make repairs.
Thorn and Sual Av put on their own suits and helmets. Then they waited in silence, their ship floating beside the others. Lana Cain had strictly forbidden use of the audio between ships until the attack opened, lest the freighters be given the alarm.
Thorn peered through the eyepiece of the telescope built into the wall between the broad windows. He could see no sign of the freighters sunward, and his eyes tired.
A little later, Sual Av gripped his arm and pointed ahead at Lana's ship.
"The signal, John! They're coming!"
Lana's silvery cruiser had emitted three short flashes of fire from its bow and stern tubes, the agreed signal.
Thorn peered again through the scope. Now he saw the coming freighters, far down and sunward. They were coming straight on, and would pass the Zone directly underneath the pirates.
There were thirty big freighters, and lagging after them came forty tankers of the type used for transporting liquefied gases, broad-beamed and very dumpy ships, Thorn's keen eyes searched space for sign of a naval convoy, but found none.
"Those are the dumpiest tankers I've ever seen,” he muttered. “It's a wonder that freighters running without convoy would take such old tubs along to hold their speed down."
Sual Av shrugged. “The League worlds are pressing every old ship they've got into service, in their preparation for war. Anyway,” he grinned, “these pirates aren't going to bother the tankers."
The merchantmen came steadily on, and now the freighters that led were directly underneath the part of the Zone in which the pirate fleet hovered. Thorn knew the aura-charts of the freighters would show the pirate ships only as part of the great meteor swarm they were lying near. That was why Lana had chosen the position.
Thorn's nerves tensed as the Jovian freighters came directly underneath, a little flock of gleaming specks swimming on through black space toward distant Saturn, the slow tankers still lagging behind. Sual Av was leaning tensely over his bank of keys, and there was no sound in the ship except the throb of its power chambers.
Abruptly from the audio-speaker flared Lana Cain's silver voice.
"Attack! Dive on them!"
Forty pirate ships streamed blasting white fire from their stern tubes, forty grim torpedo-like shapes roared down through the spatial vault toward the thirty hapless freighters.
As they swooped, the forty corsair craft split into five divisions of eight ships each. The eight led by the flashing cruiser of the Three Planeteers headed toward the sunwise end of the freighters. Jenk Cheerly and his division headed for the counter-sunwise end. Kinnel King for the sunward and Brun Abo for the outward sides. Lana Cain herself, with Stilicho Keene's ship and six others, cometed down below the merchantmen.
John Thorn saw that the swift maneuver had succeeded. The freighters were “boxed" — hemmed in on every side except the upward one, which was closed by the dreaded Zone. The pirates had not included the worthless, lagging tankers in their trap, and those dumpy ships were still coming bewilderedly on.
The freighters, as the corsairs swooped down around them, milled confusedly with blasts from their bow-tubes braking them, seeking to find a way out of the trap. The few atom-guns with which they were armed spat shells frantically, that exploded in blinding flares of atomic energy.
"Ahoy, freighters"’ rang Lana's silvery voice from the audio. “Cease firing or we'll gun you out of space! Surrender and nobody will be harmed!"
"How do we know you'll keep your promise?” came the hoarse, fear-laden voice of the freight squadron commander.
"This is Lana Cain speaking!” answered the girl's voice instantly. “I keep my promises."
A moment's silence. The scattered fire from the trapped freighters suddenly stopped.
The freight commander's answer came. “You've the reputation of not killing. We'll surrender."
Sual Av, his green eyes gleaming with excitement through his helmet, glanced swiftly at John Thorn.
"The girl's policy of mercy does pay dividends, John,” he muttered.
"Stand by to board the freighters!” crackled Lana's voice to her pirate followers. “Two ships in each division stand off to keep watch. Hurry, men!"
Like sharks eager for prey, thirty of the forty pirate cruisers one to each victim, dashed in at the helpless freighters. The lead-ship of each division, with one other, stood by ready to turn its guns on any freighter that might resist the boarding.